She Talks Business

Move from being in denial about the numbers to being connected to the numbers in your business.

Every once in a while I meet a woman so in tune with her business numbers that I instantly know I’ve found a kindred spirit!  In this week’s episode you are going to fall in love, just like I did, with Margy Feldhuhn’s courageous approach to embracing the metrics inside her business and hear how doing that has made Interview Connections, the business she co-owns, the first and leading podcast booking agency doing 7 and now almost 8-figures a year. 

Margy and I are on a mission to wake you up to what is possible in your business when you start asking the right financial and performance questions and answering those questions with simple math. 

If you're thinking, “Oh, Margy’s probably had a lifetime of experience in the business financial sector.” OR “She’s got to be some kind of math whiz.” You’d be wrong on both counts. Margy is in her twenties and has figured out how to scale a team, exponentially grow revenue and protect profit with her feet on the ground in her business. 

Listen in to hear Margy tell you the story of Interview Connections’ humble beginnings, to how her now business partner, Jessica started the agency as a side hustle, to Margy coming on as a partner and promising to triple each of their take home profits (which they did!), to where they are at now - on target to grow the company from 3 M dollars a year to 10 M dollars a year. 

I know you will love how transparent Margy is about the “failures” she’s learned from growing a company so rapidly and she gives fantastic advice for anyone looking to start or get back on track with profit growth. Get out your P&L spreadsheet, your calculator and let this episode inspire you into action! 

What’s in This Episode

1. Why you CAN run the financial side of your business 

2. How to organize your bank account to make profit a priority 

3. The story of how Margy and Jess built a 3M dollar company

4. What it takes to scale a business to 10M 

5.  Why you need an organization chart with number if you want to scale 

6. The truth behind why businesses are revenue rich and profit poor

What To Do Next

Visit lisalarter.com/e27 for the transcript and all resources from this episode.

3-2-1 Launch!

I can’t wait for you to meet my good friend Sigrun, Europe’s #1 business mentor, in this week’s episode and not because we have similar views on how to start and run a business, but because we are exact opposites! 

Even though Sigrun and I have similar sized businesses, we’ve built them in completely different ways. I started my business with a clear, well-outlined strategy. Sigrun started with more of what she calls a “throw spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks” approach. I slowly built up capital to grow in increments, Sigrun spent all the money she made in the beginning and then rapidly started scaling in 2014. I’m more of an invitational marketing gal, Sigrun is in love with the big launch and has become a master at it! 

I love that you can approach business from many different angles and that two very different people can both create businesses that support the life they want and make a difference in the way they serve. 

Tune in to hear how Sigrun, a woman whose first language isn’t English and who comes from a very small town in Iceland,  built a seven-figure, international business by traveling, giving of her time, and making meaningful connections wherever she went. 

If you’ve ever thought, “I wish I could launch a product and make money!” Sigrun is the woman to tell you how to do it. Listen in to hear her explain what makes a great launch, how to set one up for success and how to keep your clients coming back for your products... Even if you DON’T have a huge list of followers!

Learn how Sigrun has made her and her brand stand out on the international stage and why she believes women entrepreneurship is the answer to gender equality. Sigrun’s unconventional path to creating a business that works and personal wealth might just be the approach you’ve been looking for!

What’s in This Episode

1. What a launch is and why Sigrun is enamoured with them!

2. How to launch with purpose 

3. What makes for a profitable launch

4. How showing up for someone in need can make you a new client 

5. Two different ways to approach starting a business

6. How to build a scalable business from ground zero

7. Why it’s a disservice when you don’t tell people how to work with you 

8. The secret to forming  strong connections that can help you grow

What To Do Next

Visit lisalarter.com/e26 for the transcript and all resources from this episode.

Move Past Your Money Myths

Have you subconsciously bought into any of the eight money myths I’m talking about this week? I bet there are at least two or three of these myths holding you back from reaching your business’ full potential. 

Have no fear! In this episode we look closely at these money myths and reframe them so your mind can get back on track with growing your business. 

The myths we’re going to tackle include: 

1. “People won’t pay that much”

2. “I need another certification/degree/course to make more money”

3. “I can’t sell” (and its cousin: “I hate selling”)

4. “I’m not good at numbers”

… and four more you’ll hear when you tune in! 

There are likely a few of these eating away at your profits and your confidence. It’s time to shine a bright light on the money myths that might be holding you back and get some useful strategies to move past them to make your business more profitable AND grow your confidence as a business owner. 

What’s in This Episode

1. Eight money myths I see business owners buy into

2. The psychology behind pricing

3. Why getting another certificate/degree/course is a mind trap 

4. Why your pricing has everything to do with value and NOT effort

5. How to get over your dislike of selling

6. Why selling today is easier than ever before

7. How your money psychology is keeping you from success 

What To Do Next

Visit lisalarter.com/e25 for the transcript and all resources from this episode.

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Measure What Matters

What if knowing and focusing on ONE metric in your business could spark a change that would take your company from $300,000/year in revenue to 1M+/year? Would that warm you up to the idea of getting intimate with the numbers in your business? I bet it would! 

Listen in to hear the story behind one of my coaching client’s 233% revenue growth and learn how finding, isolating, and changing this ONE measurement brought on this incredible growth. Not overnight, but over time.

Welcome to season 3 where we’re going to bust open every myth you have about money, measurements and metrics. If you’re a little intimidated by the financial jargon floated around in the business sector or embarrassed that you don’t know which numbers you could be using to stimulate growth in your business, take a deep breath, press play and let’s jump in and have a little fun with the numbers in your business.  

In this episode learn how collecting and analyzing the right numbers can:

1. Signal a huge problem in your business

2. Give you time to fix what’s broken before it’s too late

3. Give you the data you need to make decisions

4. Grow your revenue and profits exponentially

5. Get you the best return on your business should you decide to sell it

It’s time to shine a bright light on the money and math monsters you have lurking in the corners of your entrepreneurial mind and business. Let’s do this!

What’s in This Episode

1. Why you might be one measurement away from 233% revenue growth

2. How numbers can 2x or 3x what your business is worth

3. 3 money mistakes most business owners make

4. Why end-of-year financial analysis can bankrupt you

5. What metrics matter

6. How to simplify keeping track of your metrics

What To Do Next

Visit lisalarter.com/e24 for the transcript and all resources from this episode.

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Catch And Implement That One Business-altering Insight

What ONE insight from a business book featured in the Summer of Reading line up translated into $60,000 in revenue for my business this year? Tune in to hear Stephanie Rainey and I discuss not only the book and the insight, but how you too can start reading books and finding your own Ah Ha’s to shape and grow your business. 

In this week’s episode, Stephanie picks my brain on the insights I pulled from The Common Path to Success by John Lee Dumas, Who Not How by Dan Sullivan, and Building a Storybrand by Donald Miller and how I have turned these insights into:

1. A new product with yearly multiplying revenue

2. A team of ‘whos’ growing my business with me

3. A suite of products and services based on my intellectual property

And, hear about the one book that completely changed the way Stephanie thought about business and shaped the organization and structure of her swim school. This episode will  spark your own insights and turn them into profits, systems, and business growth ideas!

What’s in This Episode

1. How to read a book to make your business better

2. Turn insights into profits, systems, and meaning in your business

3. Why reading is the cheapest MBA you’ll ever get

4. 3 insights from 3 books that made me more than $60,000 in revenue 

5. What Lady Gaga has to do with selling

6. Why you need to ‘copy and steal’ other’s ideas and make them your own

7. How to create must-have products and services 

What To Do Next

Visit lisalarter.com/e23 for the transcript and all resources from this episode.

Connect Your Dreams to the Greater Good

What would be possible if you planted your dreams?  This week’s guest, Dr. Tererai Trent, is living proof that a dream can grow even in the poorest, most oppressive of soils. Named Oprah’s All-Time Favourite Guest and one of the Most Inspirational Women Alive, Tererai sat down with me to tell her story, reflect on her best-selling book The Awakened Woman, and to ask you the one question that cuts straight to the matter of what “bigger” work you are here to do on this planet.

Get ready to be moved, to be inspired, and to awaken a longing inside you to set audacious goals that not only move the needle in your business and bring your personal goals to the surface, but also connect your dreams to the greater good. 

If your dreams are getting a little dusty, you're feeling a little cynical lately, or you want to be reminded of all the good there is in the world (and jump to be a part of it!), this is a conversation you don’t want to miss!

What’s in This Episode

1. Tererai’s incredible story of going from an 18 year old mother of three living in poverty to a Ph D., author, speaker, and humanitarian changing the lives of girls and women in rural Zimbabwe. 

2. What ONE question to ask yourself to connect to your greater purpose

3. Why planting your dreams is SO powerful 

4. How Tererai’s story has completely changed the conversation around educating girls in her country

5. Why it’s poverty and not culture that decides what is possible for girls

6. How to move through cynicism and make a difference 

7. Why your dreams matter

What To Do Next

Help Tererai and the young women of rural Zimbabwe reach their goal of sending 20 students to university every year. Click here to donate: www.lisalarter.com/tererai

Visit lisalarter.com/e22 for the transcript and all resources from this episode.

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Cut Through the Overwhelm of Starting Your Podcast

Got a podcast idea? Amanda Roscoe Mayo, specialist in all-things podcasting, coach, and producer knows how to get you started! In this week’s episode, tune in to hear how this broadcast journalist and author grows her client’s ideas from fuzzy concepts in their heads into polished, published podcasts out there in the real world. 

Truth be told, this chat with Amanda (pre-She Talks Business launch) is one of the reasons this podcast exists. Her generous advice on how to bring an idea to life, set yourself up to record, publish, share, and market your new podcast not only helped me get up and running, but shaped the way we work with our clients on their podcasts as well.  

If you’ve been thinking about starting your own podcast, trying to figure out how to get to be a guest on other people’s podcasts, or wondering how podcasting fits into your marketing strategy… hit play and listen in! 

What’s in This Episode

1. 10 podcast best practices

2. The tech behind the sound quality of your podcast made simple

3. Why overwhelm is squashing your idea and how to move past it

4. What recording software to use

5. The steps to get your podcast off the ground

6. The ONE thing you must do to market your podcast

7. How to be a better interviewer

What To Do Next

Visit lisalarter.com/e21 for the transcript and all resources from this episode.

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Pick One Place to be Excellent and Superior

Are you afraid marketing your business for growth these days has come down to trickery and ‘magical unicorn funnels’? In this week’s episode, Mark Schaefer, the best-selling author of Marketing Rebellion (and 8 other best sellers) and I are going to renew your belief in service-first marketing! 

Listen in to hear why this world-renowned marketer, keynote speaker and professor at Rutgers University, advises you to pick ONE marketing lane and create content there until it’s excellent and superior. Also hear the one question you should ask yourself before you create any kind of product or marketing. 

Is your marketing killing your leads? Hear why 95% of your website visitors might be missing out on your best content! Get inspired by Mark’s dedication to never letting his readers down, and hear how you can attract people to your business, grow, AND come from a place of service and connection. This episode might just renew your faith in business goodwill and marketing. 

What’s in This Episode

1. Mark’s strategy behind giving away his content (no email required!)

2. The truth about a ‘human way to market’

3. How you might be driving 95% of your website visitors away

4. Why you’re automated marketing is killing your leads 

5. The ONE question you should ask before you create a product 

6. How to increase the word of mouth around your business

7. Where Mark sees the economy growing after Covid 

What To Do Next

Visit lisalarter.com/e20 for the transcript and all resources from this episode.

Cultivate the Equivalent Courage of Your Talents

Could fear be keeping you from fully expressing your talents and expertise? How do you cultivate the confidence to lead fully?

I can’t wait for you to hear this week’s episode where Alan Weiss and I sit down to discuss the topic of his book, Fearless Leadership and  what it takes to lead courageously in business (and in life).

Alan is often referred to as the ‘rockstar of consulting’, and when it comes to leading and growing a business with courage and confidence, I’ve never met a leader more detached from what others think of him and willing to lead fearlessly. Hear how he cultivates courage as a daily practice and what impact this has had on his business. 

Listen in to hear how fear can mask your talent and cause you to suffer, and how Alan has come to reframe his fears into a mental game. 

What’s in This Episode

1. Why fear will eat away at your leadership if you let it

2. How to make living courageously a habit

3. Questions to ask your clients to build your own confidence

4. How to tap into your own courageous nature 

5. Why you need to stop believing your negative visualizations

6. What to do with negative complaints and customer complaints 

7. How to see fear as a game

What To Do Next

Visit lisalarter.com/e19 for the transcript and all resources from this episode.

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Lead with your biggest hook, and grow your business like it’s a product.

There is more to Allan Dib’s book, The 1-Page Marketing Plan than marketing, and there is way more to the scope of Allan’s expertise, too!

Tune in to hear Allan explain why your business absolutely needs a marketing ‘hook’ and why when you overcomplicate describing what you do, you will lose clients every time.

Hear why Allan believes you should structure your business to sell… even if you never plan on selling it. As well, if you’ve reached a plateau in your business growth, you’ll get some insight into what it takes to grow your business beyond 6 figures and the steps to take to make the leap to 7 figures. Hint: There is no magic involved! Simply some really down-to-earth, straight-forward talk about how to scale your business beyond you.  

I love the way Allan makes the complex simple and I know you will walk away with a great new resource for building a simple and effective marketing plan and a saleable business. Enjoy!

What’s in This Episode

1. Why you absolutely need a marketing hook for your business 

2. The truth about ‘doing it all’ in your business

3. How to build a business that works without you

4. Why simplifying the complex pays big money

5. What’s holding you back from making 7 figures 

6. Allan’s advice on how to sell your business

7. Harnessing what you’re great at to scale your business

What To Do Next

Visit lisalarter.com/e18 for the transcript and all resources from this episode.

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