Natasha is a leading HR expert, entrepreneur, author and sought-after media commentator for outlets such as Sunrise (Channel 7), ABC Radio and The Australian Financial Review. Natasha co-founded Employee Matters in 2011 to help Australian businesses achieve success through their people.
When you run your own company, trying to wear every single hat is a fast track to burnout. But for many founders, handing over the reins of their daily operations to someone halfway across the world requires a massive leap of faith.
In a recent episode of the Outsourcing Angel podcast, host Linh Podetti sat down with Natasha Hawker, Founder of Employee Matters and author of From Hire to Fire and Everything in Between. Natasha shared her deeply personal, 14-year journey of entrepreneurship, detailing how she evolved from a stressed, overworked founder into a business owner who successfully scaled her company through outsourcing.
Here is how Natasha used an offshore team to maximise productivity, step out of the daily grind, and drive real business growth.
The "Boots and All In" Entrepreneurial Leap
Starting Employee Matters wasn't a casual side-hustle for Natasha. She and her husband were entirely "boots and all in," making the terrifying decision to sell a brand-new car and their house just to fund the business.
Surviving that immense pressure and turning her startup into a thriving consultancy required what Natasha calls the three core traits of a business owner:
Incredible Optimism: The unwavering belief that your hard work will pay off.
Resilience: The ability to pick yourself up after inevitable setbacks.
A Little Bit of Naivety: Because if founders knew how hard it would be at the start, they might never take the leap!
Buying Back Time to Scale
As her business grew, Natasha realied she had hit a ceiling. She needed serious leverage to focus on high-level strategy rather than getting bogged down in administrative tasks. She decided to hire an offshore Executive Assistant, Kathleen.
Fast forward four years, and Kathleen now seamlessly manages both Natasha’s personal and professional life. From editing videos and running social media to acting as the gatekeeper for Natasha's inbox, outsourcing this role sent Natasha's productivity through the roof and gave her the bandwidth to actually scale.
The Secret to Outsourcing: Treat Them Like Locals
The biggest mistake business owners make when they try to scale with offshore talent is the "outsourced, out of mind" mentality. Natasha firmly believes that your offshore team must be integrated exactly like your local employees. Her guiding philosophy? Givers get. You get out of your team exactly what you put into them. Here is Natasha’s blueprint for managing remote talent effectively:
Daily Huddles: Every morning, Natasha holds a 15-minute Zoom huddle with her direct reports. They connect personally about their weekends, review what was achieved the day prior, and set clear goals for the day ahead.
Visibility Over Micromanagement: Using the mantra, "What doesn't get measured, doesn't get done," Employee Matters utilises tools like Trello and HubSpot to keep tasks visible and moving forward.
Public Recognition: Natasha’s team uses a "Shoutouts" system to publicly compliment and reinforce great work across the entire company, ensuring everyone feels valued regardless of their timezone.
Real-World Connection: Natasha didn't let the relationship remain purely digital. She brought Kathleen to Australia twice for team days, even inviting her to her home to have dinner with her family.
Investing in Career Growth
Scaling a business isn't just about delegating tasks; it's about developing people. As Kathleen’s role expanded, Natasha gave her a choice regarding her career trajectory: focus strictly on the Executive Assistant path, or dive deeper into Marketing. Kathleen chose both.
To support this ambition, Natasha invested heavily in Kathleen’s upskilling, even having a marketing contractor build a custom course to hone Kathleen's creative skills. By investing in her growth, Natasha cultivated an incredibly loyal, highly skilled team member who feels a deep sense of ownership over the company's success.
Stop Holding Yourself Back
As Natasha perfectly summarised: "You are holding yourself back as an entrepreneur if you don't outsource." If you are a business owner spending hours on tasks that drain your energy, it’s time to make a change. By finding great talent, applying solid management principles, and treating your offshore staff like true team members, you can buy back your time and finally scale your business.
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