Promote Yourself to CEO | Small Business Strategy for Women Entrepreneurs

People keep asking for your time, energy, and attention. Someone invites you to an impromptu coffee date in the middle of something important or wants to meet up with you about something after business hours. But when it comes to your business, you need to learn to say no when necessary.

You want to turn these types of things down but fear it’ll have a detrimental affect on your life or business. Maybe you’ll miss out on an opportunity or offend a client or potential business partner or friend.

But there’s always a trade-off and saying yes to everything is really the thing that can hurt your business. The key to not doing that is the CEO’s best friend: boundaries. You need to set strong boundaries for yourself and your business and not waver on them.

That (especially the not-wavering thing) sounds easier said than done, right? Well, in this episode of the Promote Yourself to CEO podcast, you’ll learn about the three different types of boundaries you as a business owner need to think about setting for yourself. You’ll also learn how to enforce and stick with your new boundaries.

On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:

8:47 - The first boundary you need to examine is the biggest challenge I hear from women entrepreneurs.

12:32 - What is the flow state, and how do you get into it?

16:46 - How do you organize your calendar? I walk you through how I do mine as an example.

19:13 - I talk about how to manage clients when it comes to your calendar’s specificity, including emergency appointments.

23:40 - What about appointments for non-business related things (i.e. lunch with a friend or potential business referral)?

26:50 - So many of us struggle with constant communication. I discuss setting up your boundaries around this so you don’t make yourself seem available 24/7.

30:22 - How can you set expectations for your response turnaround time? Here’s how we do it through my preferred communication channel.

33:27 - I talk about boundaries around your non-preferred methods of business communication.

37:48 - How do you respond to questions? You might experience this particular scenario, especially as your business grows and you become known as an expert.

43:09 - Having clear, upfront boundaries saves you so much time and energy when dealing with sticky clients situations such as these.

48:24 - Feel free to do this with clients when necessary. But make sure it’s in your contract/client agreement.

52:02 - To wrap up the show, I give a quick recap of the three boundaries.

Mentioned in 3 Areas to Think About When Defining Your Boundaries as CEO

• The CEO Collective
• “How a Model Calendar Helps Me Work Just 25 Hours a Week!”
• Help Scout
• Racheal on Instagram and TikTok
•  Rate and review on Apple Podcasts

Connect with Me:

• Instagram: @racheal.cook
• TikTok: @rachealcookmba
• LinkedIn: @rachealcook
• YouTube: @the_ceo_collective
• Website: The CEO Collective

Subscribe & Review:

If you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts!

🎤 Thanks for listening! I'll see you next week!

What does it mean to be CEO of your business anyway?

When you start your business, you’re the marketing team, the sales team, the customer service team, the tech support, all of it. But over time, as your business grows and gets more established, you want to take some of this workload off your plate.

Traditional CEOs have the people and teams in place to help them so they can focus on higher-value tasks and take their business to the next level. But how do you, as the CEO of a smaller business, build an environment that’ll sustainably do the same for you? How do you transition from the role of entrepreneur to the role of CEO?

It all starts with getting clear on five elements that’ll help you figure out your role as CEO. In this episode of the Promote Yourself to CEO podcast, you’ll learn about those elements that make up the job description of a traditional CEO and how to translate that for your small business. I’ll teach you the process to help you define your specific CEO role and reveal questions to help you determine your biggest value to your company.

On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:

4:44 - Transitioning from solopreneur to CEO can be a challenge (and one I’ve faced multiple times). I explain why.

6:12 - What was Sara Blakely’s journey from solopreneur to CEO like? Here’s her story.

11:02 - What is the job description of a CEO? I share a process to help you define your role as CEO of your business.

18:58 - I talk about how we live one of my company's key values (“life comes before business”).

22:42 - Creating a strategic plan is part of your traditional CEO role. What does that look like for entrepreneurs running smaller companies?

26:07 - How do you lead your team as CEO of a small business? I use The CEO Collective as an example.

30:47 - The final piece that defines traditional CEOs is one of the hardest things about running your own company. (And you can’t crowdsource it, either).

35:44 - I quickly recap the five key elements of a traditional CEO role and how it impacts you as an entrepreneurial business owner.

37:43 - Ask yourself these questions to clarify what you need to be responsible for as a small business owner in your company.

45:57 - What do my essential CEO tasks of content, clients, and connections mean in my business? I share how I apply these to give you some clarity and insight.

• Sara Blakely’s Instagram Post 1 and Post 2

• 90-Day CEO Operating System

• Fired Up and Focused Challenge

• The CEO Collective

• The CEO Retreat

• Double Double by Cameron Herold

• National Association of Women Business Owners

Connect with Me:

• Instagram: @racheal.cook
• TikTok: @rachealcookmba
• LinkedIn: @rachealcook
• YouTube: @the_ceo_collective
• Website: The CEO Collective

Subscribe & Review:

If you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts!

🎤 Thanks for listening! I'll see you next week!

Do you feel bogged down in your business?

You might be in your email inbox more often than you want to be. Or chasing people who still need to pay that invoice or scheduling people on your calendar all the time. Or perhaps you’re stuck on the technical side of things every day, messing around with the code on your website or trying to figure out what happened to that client email that seemed to vanish.

Instead of being the CEO of your business, you, my friend, are stuck in employee or manager mode. So how do you shake off those shackles and embody the role you’re meant to? In this new series on the Promote Yourself to CEO podcast, you’ll learn the difference between the employee, manager, and CEO roles. And I’ll teach you how to start firing yourself from those first two modes so you can step into your role as CEO.

On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:

2:13 - Why do women start their own business? Believe it or not, money isn’t at the top of the list of reasons.

9:30 - There’s so much glamorization around the entrepreneurship space for women. But you’ll see something different, if you take a peek under the hood.

11:19 - I discuss the role of the employee and how it’s different from being a manager or CEO.

13:58 - You can start off wearing so many hats as CEO of your business. Then as your company grows, you start bringing in team members in this order.

17:03 - You might find yourself becoming an accidental manager by adding team members. What’s the role of a manager?

21:06 - Most entrepreneurs spend their time in the employee or manager mode. How much time do you actually get to spend in CEO mode?

25:29 - Here’s how shifting into CEO mode gives you more freedom, flexibility, and control in your business.

30:10 - What does it truly mean to step into the role of CEO? I reveal what happens when you take a bigger picture view of your business.

36:02 - I talk about the importance of having a vision and values for you, your team, and your company.

• 90-Day CEO Operating System

• Fired Up and Focused Challenge

• Nichole Forsline’s The Solid Bow

• Racheal on Instagram and TikTok

• Rate and review on Apple Podcasts

Connect with Me:

• Instagram: @racheal.cook
• TikTok: @rachealcookmba
• LinkedIn: @rachealcook
• YouTube: @the_ceo_collective
• Website: The CEO Collective

Subscribe & Review:

If you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts!

🎤 Thanks for listening! I'll see you next week!

On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:

4:29 - Are you spending much of your time doing $10 p/h activities in your business? For big shift #1, I go over what $10, $100, $1,000, and $10,000 hourly tasks look like.

12:28 - Many clients hit another plateau when they refuse to make the second big mindset shift. Here’s how doing so can pay dividends.

15:05 - I reveal another challenge I often see among entrepreneurs (myself included), even when they’ve previously overcome the second mindset hurdle.

17:46 - Where was my focus when I hit this business plateau? It took me a long time to admit this to myself.

22:20 - I discuss the final shift needed and reveal an exercise I frequently do to help me get out of my own way.

26:14 - To wrap the show, I recap the three shifts to think about if you’re feeling stuck and unsure about how to move the needle in your business.

Show Links

• The CEO Collective
• CEO Planner
• “Are You Making CEO Level Work a Priority?”
• 80/20 Sales and Marketing by Perry Marshall
• Racheal on Instagram
• Leave a review on iTunes

Connect with Me:

• Instagram: @racheal.cook
• TikTok: @rachealcookmba
• LinkedIn: @rachealcook
• YouTube: @the_ceo_collective
• Website: The CEO Collective

Subscribe & Review:

If you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts!

🎤 Thanks for listening! I'll see you next week!

Visibility is scary. It’s one of the reasons why so many female entrepreneurs don’t seek out more of it for their business. Yet, it’s also the thing that’ll grow your business.

So how can you feel more confident and empowered in the spotlight? In this episode, I talk with my friend Erica Courdae, a CEO Collective mentor and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion consultant, about what it’s been like to have more visibility than ever before and how you can more confidently embrace greater visibility for your business and message.

On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:

5:54 - What kind of visibility journey has Erica gone on? She talks about her roller coaster ride since 2018 and the dilemma she faced in 2020.

11:51 - Erica used to say yes to every opportunity. Now a bit more discerning about what she takes on, she discusses the key pieces that helped her handle the demand for her time.

15:21 - What does it take to get your message out into the world? We reveal why consistency is key to gaining and handling greater visibility.

17:26 - Having this missing piece really makes things easier when you find yourself suddenly confronted with more demands for your time.

23:25 - How has Erica navigated exposure to larger audiences with people who may vehemently disagree with her message?

31:59 - There’s a difference between visibility for yourself as an individual and visibility for your message.

40:50 - To wrap up, I go over a couple of key points I want to make sure you take away from this episode.

Show Links

• Pause on the Play

• The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
• “CEO Confession: The Darkside of Visibility with MegAnne Ford”
• Racheal on Instagram and TikTok
• Leave a review on iTunes

Connect with Me:

• Instagram: @racheal.cook
• TikTok: @rachealcookmba
• LinkedIn: @rachealcook
• YouTube: @the_ceo_collective
• Website: The CEO Collective

Subscribe & Review:

If you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts!

🎤 Thanks for listening! I'll see you next week!

Do you think you’re attracting new people to your business through social media? The social media platforms that have been around for a while used to be that way. These days, though, fewer people see your content on most social media.

So what is social media good for? Most of it now works best for nurturing your existing audience. But in this episode, I talk about my experiment with TikTok and reveal what I look for when leveraging it to attract brand new people to my business.

On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:

2:36 - I discuss the social media landscape that existed when I first started my business and the magic space you need to best leverage a new platform.

5:15 - What happens when you miss your window of opportunity on a social media platform?

8:20 - I reveal my hypothesis about what makes TikTok different and get into how I decided to play around with it.

16:38 - I’m committing to six months of posting to TikTok five times a week as my goal. What’s my secret to staying consistent on this (or any other) platform?

19:17 - How is my experiment going? I share what I did and what has happened in the two and a half months since I started (as of this recording).

27:02 - I disclose some of my videos that took off and reveal what I’ve learned so far using the platform. It makes me feel even more confident in my TikTok hypothesis.

34:49 - What platform can you use to help you amplify your message? (It doesn’t have to be TikTok!) And why is passive marketing online a myth?

Show Links

• Marketing Strategy Intensive
• ConnieGoogleQueen on TikTok
• Racheal on Instagram and TikTok
• Be Kind Coaching
• Leave a review on iTunes

Connect with Me:

• Instagram: @racheal.cook
• TikTok: @rachealcookmba
• LinkedIn: @rachealcook
• YouTube: @the_ceo_collective
• Website: The CEO Collective

Subscribe & Review:

If you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts!

🎤 Thanks for listening! I'll see you next week!

You know you must get in front of more potential clients to grow your business. So you make plans to get more visible, whether it’s through interviews or guest blog posts or videos or whatever. Yet, you feel this anxiety creep up at the thought of getting more visibility.

So what do you do when the concept of putting yourself out there more feels scary and intimidating? In this episode, I dive into how to prepare yourself for more visibility (even if you feel like you’re not ready) so that more opportunities show up more quickly for you and your business.

On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:

2:57 - Let’s start with the easiest place to set yourself up for success. Ensure these are ready to go before you start the process of increasing visibility.

7:40 - How do I pitch myself? I give an example of how I have everything prepared before an interview and how you can do the same.

10:33 - I make a pitching recommendation that helps if you’re already feeling nervous about putting yourself out there.

12:26 - How do you pitch yourself cold to someone? Follow this process to get the most success out of it.

13:59 - How can you prepare yourself for the mindset challenges that come with more visibility? I discuss my biggest worry about the first attract marketing method I used and how I got over it.

19:19 - I encourage you to do this if you want your visibility strategy to involve video but you feel really self-conscious about it.

24:03 - There’s a dark side to visibility, and it can feel scary for women in particular. What can you do about it?

27:36 - When you pitch yourself and gain visibility, you’re going to get people rejecting you. Here’s the approach I take when that happens.

Show Links

Marketing Strategy Intensive

“How to Go Pitch Yourself with Angie Trueblood”

“From Not Ready Yet to Ready for Next Level Visibility with Nicole Otchy”

“CEO Confession: The Darkside of Visibility with MegAnne Ford”

“Patriarchy Stress Disorder with Dr. Valerie Rein”

Need to write a bio? Use this. - Alexandra Franzen

Yet another way to write your bio. - Alexandra Franzen

Racheal on Instagram

Leave a review on iTunes

Connect with Me:

• Instagram: @racheal.cook
• TikTok: @rachealcookmba
• LinkedIn: @rachealcook
• YouTube: @the_ceo_collective
• Website: The CEO Collective

Subscribe & Review:

If you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts!

🎤 Thanks for listening! I'll see you next week!

You spend so much time posting on social media or writing blog posts or sending newsletters to your email list. But no matter what you do (or how much), your marketing just. isn’t. working! You’re not seeing results in the form of new, paying clients. Today, I kick off a new series all about marketing that converts. In this first episode, I dive into the top three reasons why your marketing isn’t converting and how you can fix it.

On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:

3:10 - Do you only hear crickets when you get your message in front of people? I reveal two reasons why you might be making mistake #1.

7:26 - Fixing the first mistake involves doing something that the current marketing ecosystem ignores.

9:41 - Do you have a plan in place to prevent mistake #2? Here’s how to make sure you do.

15:17 - Mistake #3 is a big one and the basis for my upcoming marketing strategy intensive. It’s where I see gaps in people’s marketing strategy.

19:36 - I clarify attract marketing and discuss the pros and cons of the three primary attract strategies.

29:30 - Where should you begin with attract marketing strategies? I reveal where I always start.

Show Links

• Marketing Strategy Intensive
• “How 100 Conversations Can Transform Your Business with Tami Hackbarth”
• “How 100 Conversations Helped Mado Hesselink Find Her Dream Clients”
• Racheal on Instagram
• Leave a review on iTunes

Connect with Me:

• Instagram: @racheal.cook
• TikTok: @rachealcookmba
• LinkedIn: @rachealcook
• YouTube: @the_ceo_collective
• Website: The CEO Collective

Subscribe & Review:

If you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts!

🎤 Thanks for listening! I'll see you next week!

Imagine you’re watching a movie about two solo entrepreneurs:

One is so excited about her business but finds herself spinning her wheels. She has an amazing vision for growing her business but goes from one idea to the next because instant success eludes her.

The other also loves the idea of growing her business. But instead of constantly changing course while trying everything under the sun, she takes the slow and steady approach and inevitably reaches her goals with the framework and consistency advocated inside The CEO Collective.

So in this tale of two entrepreneurs, which one do you want to be? Tune in as I discuss why what you’ve done over the previous few months has resulted in the business you have now.

On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:

4:57 - What’s the real problem for women entrepreneurs struggling to get clients? I see this so often!

10:58 - My mindset shift during my TikTok experiment thus far demonstrates why giving yourself enough time to try out strategies is so important.

15:44 - Here’s another example of how this struggle plays out for a lot of entrepreneurs.

19:36 - Are you a podcaster struggling to pitch yourself to others for interviews? I reveal what I’ve discovered in my ten years of podcasting.

23:21 - Find out why you’ll never have to worry about bothering people with your offers again, as long as you adopt this shift in perspective.

27:50 - Hiring a coach to hold you accountable isn’t going to do this for you.

Show Links

• The CEO Collective
• The CEO 90-Day Planner
• The CEO Retreat
• Uncommonly More
• Racheal on Instagram
• Leave a review on iTunes

Connect with Me:

• Instagram: @racheal.cook
• TikTok: @rachealcookmba
• LinkedIn: @rachealcook
• YouTube: @the_ceo_collective
• Website: The CEO Collective

Subscribe & Review:

If you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts!

🎤 Thanks for listening! I'll see you next week!

I’m a business growth strategist who’s revealing the truth about scaling your business, so this episode series may have surprised you. But I want your eyes wide open when you go into business growth mode. It’s not just about making more sales; you also need to scale your team, customer experience, and infrastructure behind the scenes so your business doesn’t implode. In this final installment, I break down some key things for you to start thinking about to be more strategic and sustainable when you’re ready to go into high growth business mode.

On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:

3:57 - Which mode allows me to have the lifestyle I want? Being more strategic and intentional while looking towards business growth.

7:26 - Women entrepreneurs tend not to step into leadership in their finances. You can’t allocate resources or make smart decisions otherwise.

11:42 - Keep it simple, upgrade as you go, have perspective, and stop comparing yourself to others. Here’s a particularly helpful recommendation for both new and experienced entrepreneurs.

16:14 - Marketing is one area where I see people get overwhelmed. Some personal examples of how I use my own system to prevent this from happening to me.

20:07 - Slow down. Things take time. We tend to overestimate how much we can accomplish weekly or monthly, yet underestimate our amount of productivity in a year.

25:08 - The biggest disconnect I’ve noticed between entrepreneurs and other small business owners. What the former tend to do.

27:03 - Here’s something not talked about often enough behind the scenes, particularly for female business owners. Having a team of support, both professionally and personally.

30:54 - Growth isn’t linear, and that’s okay. Some pointers on handling plateaus and explosive periods of growth.

Show Links

• The CEO Collective
• The Ultimate Business Growth Checklist
• The CEO Retreat
• “What Is Your Role as CEO?” episode

Connect with Me:

• Instagram: @racheal.cook
• TikTok: @rachealcookmba
• LinkedIn: @rachealcook
• YouTube: @the_ceo_collective
• Website: The CEO Collective

Subscribe & Review:

If you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts!

🎤 Thanks for listening! I'll see you next week!