We’re back with another Business Therapy Thursday session. My guest on this episode is Laura Hudson of La Alegria Media.

Laura started her journey as a clothing business and moved on to digital marketing. After launching her own business in October 2024, she wanted to feel more stable as an entrepreneur. She jumped at the opportunity to connect through a Business Therapy Thursday session.

Laura took inspiration from her father and uncle, who started their own businesses, but was wary; according to some of her family members, only a perfect person could start their own business. This left Laura asking herself, can I be perfect like that?

Through our discussion, Laura and I dive into what it means to be a business owner. Anyone can own a business. It’s leadership that makes the difference. 

Laura has dreams of where she wants to take her business in the future. We get into how we can get in our own way when it comes to achieving our goals. We also discuss the process of pushing through failures and the huge impact finances have on your business.

The big lessons in this session that I wanted Laura to take away were to keep it simple and be clear on how you can help your clients. Showcasing your skillset can feel uncomfortable at first, but once you live in it, your confidence grows.

Connect with Laura here:

https://la-alegria-media.com/ 

Instagram: @laalegriamedia

I’m excited to bring back the ONtrepreneur Bonfire Series. It’s a ZERO cost series starting in August running for 4 weeks. Sign up here:

https://marshallstern.net/landing/bonfire

Subscribe to The Stern Truth Business Unfiltered so you never miss an episode and receive a FREE GIFT: http://www.thesterntruth.com/

Join my Business Inner Circle Community for free here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thebusinessinnercirclegroup

Book your complimentary business blindspot assessment with me here: https://attractwell.com/MarshallStern/landing/breakthrough-session

I encourage you to reach out with feedback, topic suggestions, and share your own entrepreneurial challenges.

Get in touch in the comments or head to...
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marshallstern/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarshallDStern
Email: [email protected]

A few weeks back I did a Part 1 of a three-part series, “Have You Lost the Passion for Your Business?” This episode is Part 2, and it’s a little different. I have a guest joining me to share her own story of getting the passion back.

Jessica Weismiller of Your Steel Toed Bookkeeper is my special guest on this episode. Jessica started her company in 2014 as a single mom. After coming back after a maternity leave in late 2024, she felt obsolete in her own business. 

The passion wasn’t the same as when she first started her business, so she reached out to me. We came up with great insights through working together. From navigating Covid changes to deeply understanding her clients, Jessica knows her current position in her business is valuable.

She’s accustomed to getting people out of those deep financial holes. Jessica tells us how her company helps get her clients over the financial humps. Guiding them through financial situations they can’t get out of themselves is what truly energizes Jessica and her team.

I myself am well-known not to sugarcoat things for those who I work with, and Jessica is no different. Hard conversations and big challenges need guidance. Businesses need a budget and cash flow. And leadership needs accountability, trust, and, sometimes the most important, guidance.

Contact Jessica here:

[email protected]

www.yoursteeltoedbookkeeper.com/

I’m excited to bring back the ONtrepreneur Bonfire Series. It’s a ZERO cost series starting in August, running for 4 weeks. Sign up here:

 
https://marshallstern.net/landing/bonfire

Subscribe to The Stern Truth Business Unfiltered so you never miss an episode and receive a FREE GIFT: http://www.thesterntruth.com/

Join my Business Inner Circle Community for free here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thebusinessinnercirclegroup

Book your complimentary business blindspot assessment with me here: https://attractwell.com/MarshallStern/landing/breakthrough-session

I encourage you to reach out with feedback, topic suggestions, and share your own entrepreneurial challenges.

Get in touch in the comments or head to...
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marshallstern/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarshallDStern
Email: [email protected]

On this episode of the Stern Truth, we have Kendra Vyse, founder of Clear Direction Advisors. Kendra takes us through her journey of starting as an accounting practice that eventually turned into a business strategy and consulting firm. 

Accounting itself can be taxing (pun intended), but Kendra tells us how she found a way to take her knowledge and put it towards a new passion. She and I talk about the expectations we need to set when you run your own business, with both clients and vendors. When you’re a small business owner, accountability is everything.

Kendra gives wise advice about what to do if someone doesn’t understand their financials. We get into the importance of cashflow as well as the obligations we have if we choose to hire employees. 

She also highlights the importance of boundaries in her professional life. For her, the end of the day is the end of the day, no matter what. 

I’ve coached Kendra and seen her through some of the changes that defined her business. It’s so rewarding to me to see her thriving and helping people in a way that energizes her the most.

I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I enjoyed recording it. 

Get in touch with Kendra here:

https://www.cleardirectionadvisors.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kendravyse/

[email protected]

I’m excited to bring back the ONtrepreneur Bonfire Series. It’s a ZERO cost series starting in August running for 4 weeks. Email me to get your spot before they’re gone - [email protected].

Subscribe to The Stern Truth Business Unfiltered so you never miss an episode and receive a FREE GIFT: http://www.thesterntruth.com/

Join my Business Inner Circle Community for free here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thebusinessinnercirclegroup

Book your complimentary business blindspot assessment with me here: https://attractwell.com/MarshallStern/landing/breakthrough-session

I encourage you to reach out with feedback, topic suggestions, and share your own entrepreneurial challenges.

Get in touch in the comments or head to...
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marshallstern/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarshallDStern
Email: [email protected]

Have you fallen out of love with your business? Or do you feel like you lost the passion for your business? You aren’t alone in that feeling.

In Part 1 of this series, I explore what I believe are the two main reasons we end up losing that passion. 

The first is the drains that we feel from all the things we do for our businesses. Certain aspects of our businesses can zap us of energy and keep us from building. The second is forgetting your “why”, the reason you started your business.

Speaking to those drains, they can be a huge part of how you run your business. My Business Energy Reset helps define your biggest drains, show you how to fix them, and realign your focus to grow faster. It’s a quick assessment and many business owners have found value in it (email me at [email protected] if you’re interested). 

The drains can stem from the ping-pong of administrative activities, from emails to invoicing to sales. That’s not a long-term growth strategy for anyone. What works is leveraging our strengths, being intentional with our time, and leaning on our community.

Be sure to tune into Part 2 of this series, “Have You Lost the Passion For Your Business?”, coming very soon!

I’m excited to bring back the ONtrepreneur Bonfire Series. It’s a ZERO cost series starting in August running for 4 weeks. Email me to get your spot before they’re gone - [email protected].

Subscribe to The Stern Truth Business Unfiltered so you never miss an episode and receive a FREE GIFT: http://www.thesterntruth.com/

Join my Business Inner Circle Community for free here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thebusinessinnercirclegroup

Book your complimentary business blindspot assessment with me here: https://attractwell.com/MarshallStern/landing/breakthrough-session

I encourage you to reach out with feedback, topic suggestions, and share your own entrepreneurial challenges.

Get in touch in the comments or head to...
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marshallstern/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarshallDStern
Email: [email protected]

It’s been over 5 years since the pandemic. We all know what happened then. Businesses and business owners struggled. Some shut down while others thrived.

David Wallace, owner of Around the Block Butcher & Market, sits down with me to talk about that time. For his business, the pandemic only brought more people in. The safeguards and the media attention helped increase their customer base, which David is very grateful for. 

David took his experience from his very first job at Rona Hardware to his time in Vancouver and mixed it with his pure love of food. One of David’s lessons from the previous owner was “customers first”, something he and his staff still practice every day. 

From working with a marketing agency to navigating the financing, we talk about his takeover of the Mom & Pop butcher shop. A small but mighty team led to expansion with a bigger and just as phenomenal team. He took that team and ran with them while making Around the Block his own. 

I bring it all back to culture. Some people stay while some people go. The accountability to the people on your team, the ownership of your role as a leader, speaks volumes to them.

Becoming an employer is only one stop along your entrepreneurial journey. David’s golden nugget is, be the best version of yourself to cultivate the best path for your business.

Get in touch with David:

www.aroundtheblockbutcherandmarket.ca
[email protected] 
Instagram: @atbbutcherandmarket
Facebook:@aroundtheblockbutcher

I’m excited to bring back the ONtrepreneur Bonfire Series. It’s a ZERO cost series starting in August running for 4 weeks. Email me to get your spot before they’re gone - [email protected].

Subscribe to The Stern Truth Business Unfiltered so you never miss an episode and receive a FREE GIFT: http://www.thesterntruth.com/

Join my Business Inner Circle Community for free here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thebusinessinnercirclegroup

Book your complimentary business blindspot assessment with me here: https://attractwell.com/MarshallStern/landing/breakthrough-session

I encourage you to reach out with feedback, topic suggestions, and share your own entrepreneurial challenges.

Get in touch in the comments or head to...
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marshallstern/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarshallDStern
Email: [email protected]

It’s another Business Therapy Thursday Session! In this powerful episode, I sit down with Jessica Lowen, founder of TM Events and Promotions, for an unfiltered deep dive into a familiar challenge small business owners face. That critical time when you make the leap from solo entrepreneur to employer.

As a small business owner running her event planning and staffing agency single-handedly for eight years, Jessica is at a critical crossroads. She knows she needs to hire support staff. She's drowning in administrative tasks, feeling overwhelmed, but the fear of hiring her first employee is paralyzing her growth.

I walk Jessica through the familiar "Energy Audit". Regular listeners of the Stern Truth will be familiar with it but what we do is identify which activities drain you versus energize you as an entrepreneur. 

What Jessica and I uncovered during our session is that a whopping 50% of her workday goes to tasks like bookkeeping, invoicing, hiring, and social media management. These are ALL things that could, and should, be delegated to an assistant.

We explore the loneliness of being a one-person show, along with the control issues that plague small business owners. Jessica and I explore the importance of trusting yourself, and why it’s just as important as trusting others when building your team.

This episode is raw, honest, and deeply relatable for any founder who's ever felt scared to take that next step. I hope this episode makes any other small business owners looking to scale beyond yourself feel seen, heard, and less alone.

I’m excited to bring back the ONtrepreneur Bonfire Series. It’s a ZERO cost series starting in August running for 4 weeks. Email me to get your spot before they’re gone - [email protected].

Subscribe to The Stern Truth Business Unfiltered so you never miss an episode and receive a FREE GIFT: http://www.thesterntruth.com/

Join my Business Inner Circle Community for free here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thebusinessinnercirclegroup

Book your complimentary business blindspot assessment with me here: https://attractwell.com/MarshallStern/landing/breakthrough-session

I encourage you to reach out with feedback, topic suggestions, and share your own entrepreneurial challenges.

Get in touch in the comments or head to...
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marshallstern/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarshallDStern
Email: [email protected]

What do you want to achieve? Is it what you SAY you want to achieve? Be honest. 

Now ask yourself, what is holding me back from achieving what I truly desire?

In this episode, I go over the common hurdles that small business owners and entrepreneurs face in achieving their goals. The struggles that hold them back are all too common.

If you do every role under the sun to make your business work, you’ll get burnt out. 

Cashflow can be a killer, and many entrepreneurs and small business owners live in a bubble of ignorance when it comes to their finances. 

Working and trying to grow without systems in place can stop a lot of businesses from growing.

All of these have one thing in common – going at it alone. I say, make a tribe, be in a group, join a team of entrepreneur friends, or get a mentor. It makes such a difference. 

I get into why your daily agenda can be your outline for success (inspired by my mentor, part of my tribe, John Maxwell). I also talk about the way that administrative tasks can drain us and take us further away from the needle. 

There are so many ways that you can be sabotaging your own business without meaning to, but I’m here to help with that. I even share what I think stalled me in the past. This is the NUMBER ONE thing that might even be stalling your business right now. 

Grab a pen and a paper for this episode, write down the key points, and don’t forget to reach out if you need help being the leader you’re meant to be. 

I’m excited to bring back the ONtrepreneur Bonfire Series. It’s a ZERO cost series starting in August running for 4 weeks. Email me to get your spot before they’re gone - [email protected].

Subscribe to The Stern Truth Business Unfiltered so you never miss an episode and receive a FREE GIFT: http://www.thesterntruth.com/

Join my Business Inner Circle Community for free here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thebusinessinnercirclegroup

Book your complimentary business blindspot assessment with me here: https://attractwell.com/MarshallStern/landing/breakthrough-session

I encourage you to reach out with feedback, topic suggestions, and share your own entrepreneurial challenges.

Get in touch in the comments or head to...
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marshallstern/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarshallDStern
Email: [email protected]

Mindset matters, especially when it comes to being an entrepreneur. Your strategic edge comes when you get to those limiting beliefs, embrace your fear, and run with it.

We welcome accountant Alma Tarelli to this episode of the Stern Truth. Alma has been an accountant for 23 years and shares her passion of a true winning mindset, especially when it comes to money. 

She captivated the audience at the 2024 ONtrepreneur Growth Summit speaking about the scarcity and abundance mindset. Alma understands the fear that holds people back and the inner work that helps them become aware of patterns, exactly what she helps her clients do.

I go back to Episode Six, “I Will Win” to note how similar our messages are. “I will win when”. The personal, transformative growth comes when you finally make a decision and stop playing the Waiting Game.

Her simple but effective advice is to practice something for 40 days to be excellent at it. The joy of the effort, Alma says, helps you enjoy the result.

One Alma’s many golden nuggets from this episode? Do the inner work to create an abundance mindset. I encourage you to do the same by asking yourself, what’s my intention?

Connect with Alma here:

www.almatarelli.com
[email protected]
Instagram: @abundance_with_alma  

I’m excited to bring back the ONtrepreneur Bonfire Series. It’s a ZERO cost series starting in August running for 4 weeks. Email me to get your spot before they’re gone - [email protected].

Subscribe to The Stern Truth Business Unfiltered so you never miss an episode and receive a FREE GIFT: http://www.thesterntruth.com/

Join my Business Inner Circle Community for free here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thebusinessinnercirclegroup

Book your complimentary business blindspot assessment with me here: https://attractwell.com/MarshallStern/landing/breakthrough-session

I encourage you to reach out with feedback, topic suggestions, and share your own entrepreneurial challenges.

Get in touch in the comments or head to...
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marshallstern/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarshallDStern
Email: [email protected]

Have you ever found yourself believing that someone is incredibly successful? You visit their website and are wowed, but also feel… intimidated? Out of their league? Just not good enough? That’s imposter syndrome.

Small business owners often think they’re going to fail, or that they can’t even do it to begin with. So many people underestimate what they can’t do that they don’t focus on what they can do. 

As an entrepreneur for over 30+ years, I know those limiting beliefs. I’ve seen them and I’ve helped people break through them. 

In this episode of “The Stern Truth”, I reflect on a client who revealed her apprehension about her online presence. Her imposter syndrome told her it wasn’t polished enough, that she wasn’t ready to put it out to the word. Eventually, she came to realize it didn’t need to be right from the start. Just start.

This episode challenges our own perceptions of our abilities, reinforces that pace is personal, and really underlines that we should ENJOY the entrepreneurial journey. 

After all, the first two letters of imposter are I-M. So tell yourself “I am”. 

“I am ready.” 

“I am capable.” 

“I am moving forward.”

Subscribe to The Stern Truth Business Unfiltered so you never miss an episode and receive a FREE GIFT: http://www.thesterntruth.com/

Join my Business Inner Circle Community for free here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thebusinessinnercirclegroup

Book your complimentary business blindspot assessment with me here: https://attractwell.com/MarshallStern/landing/breakthrough-session

I encourage you to reach out with feedback, topic suggestions, and share your own entrepreneurial challenges.

Get in touch in the comments or head to...
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marshallstern/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarshallDStern
Email: [email protected]

Jenny Randhawa is a small business owner and entrepreneur. She owns three blow dry bar locations, aptly called Blo, in the Lower Mainland. Her entrepreneurial journey started in 2007 but hasn’t stopped yet. 

I talk with Jenny in this episode about juggling her early years with her kids with balancing her franchise. She talks about building the business by leading her team and how putting the systems in place helped her locations grow.

We get into the impact that COVID had on her business. Being more open and flexible with scheduling allowed her and her team to maintain business, even becoming more successful, over lockdown. 

Jenny’s confidence in her business may have been shaken but has never been broken. She strongly believes in being accountable and open with a growth mindset. The importance of being able to pivot is a great lesson that Jenny shares.

I put Jenny on the spot to ask, “What would you say to someone who can’t make payroll or pay their rent?”. Tune in to this episode to hear what she has to say.

Reach out to Jenny below:

Email: [email protected]
Website: www.bloblowdrybar.com

Subscribe to The Stern Truth Business Unfiltered so you never miss an episode and receive a FREE GIFT: http://www.thesterntruth.com/

Join my Business Inner Circle Community for free here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thebusinessinnercirclegroup

Book your complimentary business blindspot assessment with me here: https://attractwell.com/MarshallStern/landing/breakthrough-session

I encourage you to reach out with feedback, topic suggestions, and share your own entrepreneurial challenges.

Get in touch in the comments or head to...
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marshallstern/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarshallDStern
Email: [email protected]