The Turning Lemons Into Lemonade Podcast

Today's episode of Turning Lemons Into Lemonade features Ariane Trelaun. Ariane is a money expert - who specializes in helping women control their business finances. We had a really fascinating conversation about mindset, fears, and self doubt. Ariane told a story that we hear a lot from women entrepreneurs. She had years of experience, but she had internal feelings of inadequacy. Because of this internal fear, she was afraid that people wouldn't value her expertise, so she invested $26,000 in a certification and program - that did nothing to help improve her skills! Her own self doubt led her to spend money on education and events that she didn't need, in the search for "validity". We talked a lot about knowing your numbers, and why it is so important to measure not only your gross numbers, but especially your expenses and net income! We also talked about the challenges of pricing when you're first starting your business!  It is often hard to know the value of your product and what the market will bear the first time, so as women, we often underprice our services! One of my FAVORITE parts of our conversation was the fact that what you measure improves and that if you're chasing a big income number, that you're often creating a life that wasn't really what you intended.  Ariane considers this the "Hustle to Chill" factor.  And we discussed that in my quest to break seven figures, I was often the most unhappy in my business because I was managing a beast that didn't leave a lot left for me - in terms of net income or time off! Ariane said that her big AHA and big breakthrough in her business came when she quit the traditional service model of trading dollars for hours and traveling to her clients, to instead offering packages and remote meetings!  That is when she started to truly live the business life she longed for! She told the story that we all fear - launching something that flopped - and how she recovered! Ariane's recommended books are: The Big Leap The War of Art The Big Leap is one that I read myself at least once a year, and one that I recommend to all my clients looking for a breakthrough in their life or business!  

Mollie the creative behind Mood Swing Wines, originally the intention was to uncork the conversations about menopause through a bottle of wine, I mean who doesn’t love wine? Now Mood Swing Wines now has given Mollie a platform the speak to women’s audiences all around the globe. Mollie’s motivational high energy and comedic relief have women’s audiences falling off their seats while walking away from any event feeling  inspired and a refreshed with a new zest for life. Mollie has a unique ability to empower any a female audience. Motivational, inspirational, and always approachable, Mollies shoot from the hip, tell-it-like-it-is attitude is a refreshing approach that allows her to authentically connect with women audiences of all ages. Mollie challenges women to CELEBRATE each day of their life and gives them permission to poke fun at themselves every once in awhile.  If you’re experiencing empty nest, midlife, or even menopause  Mollie doesn’t stop there she demonstrates to women of any age all the reasons to celebrate the life they have.

Kimra Luna is a personal branding and online business strategist. She helps freedom-seeking entrepreneurs to stand out, captivate their audiences’ attention and monetize their authentic brands online. Since May 2014, she’s grown her email list and combined social media followings to over 200,000 people.  Kimra has over 5000 students currently enrolled in her digital courses, and her flagship monthly membership, the Freedom Hackers Galaxy, is regarded as one of the most encouraging places in the online space.

I loved this conversation with Kisma Orbovich.  I met Kisma a few years ago in my 90 Day Basecamp program.  Kisma is one of the warmest and most positive people I ever met. Kisma is the founder of The Prosperity Code - a group program to help her clients step into their right to be prosperous. Kisma talked about something that we all hear frequently - that she invested in a coaching program that just didn't provide what was promised!  She said that she had the option to either be upset about it, or to try to make the best of it.  We've ALL been there!  We've all invested in an online program that was a disappointment.  Or we joined a high priced coaching program and the coach didn't do what they said they were going to do.  You have a choice.  You can be a victim.  Or you can look for the things that are available for you to get the most of it! Kisma teaches how to use the laws of the universe - such as the law of attraction, the law of reciprocity - and so many other great lessons.   I have believed in these laws for years, but have often struggled as a Christian as to how it fits into my belief of a divine creator.  Kisma actually teaches how the universal laws fit into religion - which I feel SO much respect for someone who really tries to explain how it RELATES! You're going to love Kisma and her life philosophies!

This episode of the Turning Lemons Into Lemonade podcast covers every business owner's biggest fear - losing your entire business to hackers! One day over seven years ago, hackers took over my website and my instagram account.  It was DEVASTATING, time consuming, and costly to recover!  But in Heather Prestanski's case, if she hadn't been amazing at sales and marketing, it could have literally destroyed her business. We always hear, build your email list - no one can ever take that away from you.  Heather described how hackers took over her facebook page, her email provider - everything!  Imagine building a 100k person email list and losing it all!  She lost her Facebook Custom Audiences.  She lost her Facebook Lookalike Audiences.  We're talking BIG, HUGE, PAINFUL losses. She and her husband had just bought their new house.  She had just brought her husband home to work in her business! And their income dropped by over 80%! Fortunately, Heather is a master marketer and sales trainer.  Heather is still recovering and rebuilding her business.  But with the income drop, she had to immediately figure out how to generate revenue - which meant going back to basics, getting on the phone with relationships and selling more services.

Amy Johnson of AmyJ.co, has built her life and business on the belief that your path can be a casualty of your circumstance or championed by your convictions.  Staying true to this belief, Amy reaffirms her commitment to her convictions daily. 

In this episode of Turning Lemons Into Lemonade, I spoke with my long time client, Niki Riga, about some of the unexpected challenges of running a business. Niki knew from the time she was five years old that she wanted to be a business owner, despite teachers trying to dissuade her!  We talked about how being a business owner often comes with responsibilities and surprises that we never could have planned for, and that you pretty much just have to accept that "it will cost more and it will take longer" than you think it will! Niki shared the internal struggle that so many entrepreneurs face, "now that my life has settled down, do I want to grow, or just enjoy the fruits of my labor?"  We discussed how as entrepreneurs, we often feel this internal need to ask "what's next" and how one of our mutual favorite books "Profit First" by Mike Michalowicz serves as a daily reminder that sometimes we have done "enough" for now and that it is time to reap what we've sown vs. reinvesting it into more growth! Niki shared the role of mentors in her life and business, and how she has never been afraid to get help - with that being one of the key strategies of her business success. We also discussed how lonely it often feels as a successful woman entrepreneur, and the importance of having a support system is imperative to our success and happiness!

In this episode of Turning Lemons to Lemonade, you are going to hear from Felena Hanson.  Felena is a serial entrepreneur who has run marketing agencies, been a professor, and most recently launched a number of companies such as Hera Hub, Hera Labs, and Hera Venture Summit.  In Greek Mythology, Hera was the Queen of the Gods.  Hera serves as the inspiration of the Hera Companies. I met Felena in 2011, just after I launched my second San Diego fitness studio.  We were sitting at a networking event, chatting over wine, when she told me a bit more about what she was doing!  Felena was launching her first Hera Hub women’s co-working space in Sorrento Valley San Diego, but was running into struggles locking down her location. Felena spoke a lot of some of her biggest struggles being a women who is building out brick and mortar locations, and dealing with landlords, contractors, and other very male dominated professions – and the fact that she was often marginalized as a woman!  This truly fueled her push for even more resources for women who want to grow businesses of their own! As we chatted, Felena said that she had recently been asked if she had founded Hera Hub in response to the #MeToo movement.  She explained that Hera Hub had been around for years.  Although it is a women focused co-working space, they have men members.  She described how Hera Hub was created so women could invite men to their table – and we could have needed dialogue about business. If you are a woman business owner in San Diego, you must visit Hera Hub.  If you’ve been looking for a women’s co-working space in your town – maybe you’re the right person to launch one!  Hera Hub is licensing new locations!

In this episode of Turning Lemons into Lemonade, I interviewed my very dear and long time friend, Michelle G.  Michelle is a relationship expert and is up to some VERY big things!  She tells the story of spending years in the military - training on intelligence and communication.  She told the story of how her marriage fell apart in her time in the military - and then how when she transitioned to civilian life, she found that true communication and connection were lacking in many relationships around her! She talked about how she transitioned from military life to launching multiple businesses, then going back to school to truly become an expert in her field.  Today Michelle helps singles and couples achieve and maintain healthy relationships. Michelle spoke about how one of her biggest struggles has been in systematizing her business, training her team, and ensuring that the details of her business run systematically and smoothly - without her having to do it all! Michelle is one of the absolute most genuine people I know.  If you've struggled with finding a team, building a team, focusing on what you do best, and outsourcing the rest - this is a great episode for you!

This episode is SO fun!  I interviewed podcast hosts - JoJami and Lana - the hosts of Ladies Road Map - a podcast that talks about the issues that women face in the second half of their lives! This conversation is so fun.  They tell me about some of the most interesting episodes of their own podcast (see below for a list of some of their faves). We also talked about how as we get older, we become more self aware - and as women, we really need to take more time to journal, meditate, and really reflect on who we are, and who we want to be.

This is sure to become a favorite episode of many!  Christine Whitmarsh really is the impetus for this podcast.  We had worked together and become friends in the past, and she had a situation show up in her business when she was feeling pretty down and depressed with the business she had created! One day, I was standing outside a Starbucks in Encinitas, CA and Christine realized that she had built this big business, with this big team - and that it wasn't what she actually wanted for her business.  She was generating well over $100k per year in her business.  But her team was taking a LARGE portion of this income.  And the part that she loved most about her business - the interacting with her clients, the authors - she had delegated that to her team.  She felt like a failure.  She didn't want the business she had created.  And she said, "I wish there was a place that I could watch videos from other business owners who have had these struggles, and they would share how they got through it!" Imagine one day waking up and realizing that you built this large business, with a large team - that didn't resemble the business that you really wanted to run! Christine was SO brave!  She actually decided to DOWNSIZE her business.  To eliminate parts of her team, and to get back to the elements in her business that she truly loved!  She sold her house.  She moved across the country.  She changed how she spends her days.  She changed her business.  And she changed her life!

In this episode of Turning Lemons Into Lemonade, you are going to hear from Krysti Turznik about how we show up in the world, how we show up in our business, and listening to our internal voice to do what we are really meant to do! As a business coach, I frequently meet people who are struggling to make decisions.  In finance, I called that Analysis Paralysis - when you couldn't make a decision because of ALL the good opportunities.  As a business owner, you often have the same struggles - WHAT to do next.  Results come from TAKING ACTION!  If you can't make a decision - you aren't taking action. Krysti describes how she uses meditation, manifestation to help her clients build a life that of happiness and alignment. Krysti talked about how we are often busy doing what we believe we are "supposed" to do, rather than what we really feel called to do.

If you struggle with business finances at all, this is a GREAT episode for you!  Alison is a certified Profit First accountant and business advisor!  This means that she helps entrepreneurs make more NET income - and keep more of what they generate! If you've ever tried to grow a business, this is a HUGELY critical factor!  We talked about when I was building my fitness business and was so focused on growing my gross revenue that my life was out of control!!  I was measuring (and striving toward a seven figure) gross income - meaning that I was way too focused on what I generated - NOT what I was keeping for my family! Unfortunately many business owners run their businesses that way! Alison really digs into how what we measure improves.  What we measure drives our business results. And VERY few entrepreneurs are truly measuring net profit! If you need some structure in your business or personal finances - this is the episode for you!

In this episode of Turning Lemons Into Lemonade, I interviewed the amazing Liz Czepiel. Liz spent years in corporate as a productivity coach to Fortune 500 companies and their teams! Over time, she felt pulled to launch her own business - so she started a "side hustle" consulting. For a couple of years, she was constantly juggling her corporate career - AND her consulting business! Despite achieving tremendous success, she still had that common issue that many women entrepreneurs face "imposter syndrome." She felt tremendously confident in her skills in corporate. But as an entrepreneur, she started worrying about "who do I think I am offering these services on my own?" She had these fears - DESPITE all her successes. So she did what she thought was right at the time - so she shut down her business, closed the LLC - and went back to corporate full time. It didn't take long back in corporate for her to feel that tug again to re-launch her consulting practice. So she did it again! But this time, she realized that she couldn't straddle the fence (or as my friend, Kelly Lucente says, she couldn't ride two horses with one a**). So she took the brave step and went all in on her consulting business. Today she's built a six figure consulting business that fits her goals and her lifestyle! She loves what she does, and loves making an impact! I also shared the story of how when I was launching my first business, my long term corporate boss said they no longer wanted me part time, and that I had to either commit to full time or leave entirely. As painful as it was to lose that identity and stable paycheck, I can honestly say that my own business may not have ever been profitable had I still had that corporate income to rely on - never the less, would I have turned that into THREE multi-six figure businesses in seven years!

Emily Borja is an American Sign Language interpreter and a successful entrepreneur. She helps women look at their situations as an opportunity to advance their personal and professional development. When her husband was hit with a cancer, she was completely unprepared. Months later she was presented with the opportunity to open a virtual business. Broke and exhausted, she silenced her fear and took a leap of faith. Emily candidly shares her story of how she became the CEO of her own company while juggling a full time job, a chemotherapy schedule, and potty training. Emily is a single mom of two raising her children in Redwood City, California.

In this solo episode of Turning Lemons Into Lemonade, I tell you about one of the worst days in my LIFE - not just my business.  A couple of months ago, my 14 year old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Emma, passed away. Emma had been with me and Mike for 14 years, since she was just 12 weeks old.  I told the story of the first night we picked her up, and the next morning, taking her spunky little self to Petco for all the puppy things she needed! Emma was truly one of the absolute best companions - as an 11 pound animal that would go into a bag, and under the seat on airplanes, never making a PEEP - she went just about every where I went within the continental US! Well, a few months ago, Emma passed away on a Sunday morning. And it WRECKED me!  She had been becoming more and more frail, but I still wasn't prepared for it!  I spent an entire day in bed, sobbing. But on Monday morning, I had to get up and gather myself together and show up for my client appointments!  I talked about how mindset really made a difference in how I made it through that first week - still meeting my responsibilities - even when I wanted to crawl in a hole and cry for days!!! This episode is for all of you women who have had really sucky stuff happen in your life - that derailed your business!  It's a sad one - but SUPER real!  I hope you enjoy the stories! Love, Amy

I had really been looking forward to my interview with Trivinia Barber!  I had met her years ago when I attended one of Amy Porterfield's events and she was working as Amy's virtual assistant. Then after she launched Priority VA, we had gotten to know each other better at events and in coaching programs together!  First, let me tell you one of the things I love most about Trivinia, and why I think I always felt like we just "got each other."  Trivinia is one of the absolute most authentic, "what you see is what you get" people you will find.  She's real.  She's funny.  And she is responsible for a WHOLE BUNCH of VA's (and ensuring that their families have food on their table). One of my least favorite parts of being a business owner is the responsibility of staff.  When I was running the studios, August and December were always the slowest - and had the least income.  Imagine being responsible for 30 women and their families - ensuring that you bring in enough income to pay all the bills and that the team gets paid!  It's a lot of pressure sometimes - especially when you're first starting out! Trivinia is the founder of Priority VA - a boutique staffing firm that pairs virtual assistants with successful businesses.  She prides herself in being great at matching teams, and their company SPECIALIZES in providing ongoing training to their virtual assistants to ensure that they are staying up to date on the most current marketing and business strategies!  These are highly skilled assistants who become integral team members.

Before today's episode of Turning Lemons Into Lemonade, I had never met Laura Pennington.  It turns out that she is one of the savviest women building a business that I've interviewed on my show.  We had SO much in common that it felt like I was talking to myself in a lot of ways. First, Laura talked about how she built her writing business as a freelancer while she still was working in corporate.  Then she talked about how despite making more as a part time freelancer than she did in her full time job, she still was afraid to cut the cord and leave the steady bi-weekly paycheck!  We talked about the mindset that we often have about our steady paychecks - and despite having demand for our product or service, that it is still hard to think of building a business that is successful enough to support us consistently! Laura also talked about something I discuss frequently - scaling a successful business that really isn't in alignment with how she wanted to live her life.  You often find that money isn't everything - and that if business growth and business success is actually costing you in your quality of life, that it probably isn't the right thing.  She talked about how both she and her husband (who is a doctor) made very conscious life choices that led them to better quality of life - and not necessarily more income! As Laura was talking about how she juggles building a business - her freelance business and her coaching business, we talked about productivity hacks to help her manage her busy day.  She had some great advice for women business owners - find a mentor who has done what you want to do - not just one who has done something cool!  If you get one who has done something cool - they often think you need to do it their way!  Find one that is RIGHT for where you are in the business. She also advised that you find the things that are most important and do them at the time of day when you are your best!  If you're a morning person - do them then! If you're a night person - do your highest impact activities then.  Understand who you are and build your business and life around you to generate true success and happiness!

In this episode of Turning Lemons Into Lemonade, I had the immense pleasure of interviewing Pam Carpenter. I met Pam just a couple of months ago in Todd Herman's Certified Partners/ 90 Day Basecamp program! Pam specializes in technology - particularly helping create membership sites and create residual income. Pam was SO transparent in sharing her business path and some of the challenges she's faced along the way. She shared how she left her real estate firm after her manager was taken away in handcuffs - and that she either had the choice to get another job - or to start her own business. She launched her consulting business and started building her client roster. But she quickly found that instead of one boss, she had 15 smaller bosses that all had immediate needs. We also talked about one of the biggest challenges in a consulting of service business is that you are sometimes in client acquisition mode, and you are sometimes in client service mode. When you're in full client service mode, it's easy to ignore the client acquisition tasks - until one day you wake up and have no income and no prospect pipeline! As a single mother, she had put herself through college, raised two children, and had never missed a bill - until she was an entrepreneur! Because of the feast and famine cycle of her business, she woke up one day and had no new clients, no money coming, in and she couldn't pay her bills! When she talked to her mom about it, her mother said, "I told you so." As an entrepreneur, we often feel super alone - and like many of the people around us just don't "get us" and aren't supportive of the unknown! Pam had hired a coach who gave her advice on how to step off the income roller coaster - and she just didn't want to do it! So she fought it - until she realized that she was paying this membership coach (Ryan Lee) for his advice - and she wasn't taking it! Her long time boyfriend said what all of our significant others say, "You don't take my free advice all the time - but you're paying for this advice - just do it!" He lent her money to travel to attend a live event - and at that FREE live event - she found her first client for one of her new programs! She said that in October, she had made about $27,000 that whole year, and after the event and implementing a product and program, she earned another $36,000 before year end! This was literally the moment that changed her business from struggling to multi-six figure!

I loved this episode of Turning Lemons Into Lemonade with Lauren Sprinkle!  I know Laura through Todd Herman's 90 Day Basecamp.  At the time of recording, Laura was just finishing a HUGE launch with Selena Soo's Impacting Millions!  Selena's Impacting Millions has been one of my very best investments in my business - and is so powerful for anyone who really wants to increase their visibility in their business! Laura had just served as the Affiliate Manager during the launch, and had done SUCH an amazing job!  We talked about how Laura got started in her entrepreneurial life.  She hadn't necessarily planned on being an entrepreneur, but knew that a life in a cubicle just wasn't for her.  After a few years of traveling, teaching English, and holding different positions, she was diagnosed with a health issue that needed her to slow down a bit and take control of her health.  She trained to be a health coach, and eventually realized that she really enjoyed the marketing side more than really being a health coach. Laura described one of the KEY struggles of being a freelancer.  We're often so busy delivering service, that the marketing arm of our own business take a back seat - leading to an element of feast and famine.  At one point in her business a few years ago, she thought she had "made it" and was doing a lot of client work, but when a bunch of projects were nearing completion, she realized she didn't have enough in the pipeline.  She talked about how hard it is to admit to everyone when your business is struggling.  She had to force herself to ask for help - and texted a few of her friends in town letting them know she was looking for a job!  Ultimately, she took a part time job at Whole Foods (three whole shifts) and got some freelance work - and focused on building back her business! She said she learned a valuable lesson and Laura dropped some REAL value bombs at the end of this episode - both about finances and some of the true secrets of a successful seven figure launch.

In this episode of Turning Lemons Into Lemonade, I interviewed my beautiful friend, Rene Serbon! Rene educates dermatology clinics on all things systems, practice management and business growth strategies! We started the episode talking all things skin care, skin protection, sun protection - and education! But where we hit REAL gold with Rene was in her most challenging moment in her business - she had a brand new baby, and her business partner notified her that they no longer wanted to share in the business! Rene talked about what it felt like to be counting on the opportunity to be home with her first child - and instead finding herself in the midst of business (and personal) turmoil. She shared how her mother would come stay with her new son, and Rene would SERVICE THE HECK out of her long time clients! Over the next year, despite not taking on one new client, business revenues were up by over 37% - just by having more interaction with her existing clients. They experienced growth in their own businesses! They started buying more product. And ultimately - it led to more revenue for her. Because the rug had been pulled out from underneath her, she found more creative ways to service her clients, automate her business, and depend on her team to ensure that everything was still getting done.  When Rene had her second child, she AGAIN had to create systems and depend even more on her team - and that year, she experienced over 50% in growth!

This episode of Turning Lemons Into Lemonade is truly one of my favorites so far!  First, I just adore Jade Duggan.  She is real, no nonsense, and one of the most emotionally intelligent women I know! Second, she really opened up and told us everything about her journey into building a family business with her Dad, and how his illness and death really turned their long standing business upside down.  She talked about the blessings of having time as the business owner to be truly present for her ailing father, and what it felt like to be thrust into the forward facing role of the business leader after his death. Jade also talked about the responsibility of her mother and step mother losing one of their biggest support systems - AND their family wellness center - and income generator.  She talked about how the family business had really been one of the key pieces of their family's past, and that without insurance on a key person - they weren't financially prepared to deal with the fall out. She also talked about the true struggles of letting their family business go - and how hard that was.  But her Lemonade story is how she has instead built a successful business with the pieces she loved the most - with less responsibility, less overhead, and less stress! Jade is truly one of the coolest business women I know.  At the time of this recording, I had received a call from our San Diego business attorney notifying me of a problem between an old employee and the business buyer of our San Diego fitness studio.  We talked about the destructive ways I dealt with that stress and how my actions had likely created a ripple effect on those around me.  Jade gave me some immediate, practical solutions on how to better manage stressful situations in my future (and how you can do the same).

In this episode of Turning Lemons Into Lemonade, I interviewed Maggie Berghoff, a health coach specializing in Functional Medicine from Fort Wayne, Indiana. Maggie had been a RN for years and despite eating well, and doing everything "right" she was gaining weight at a rapid rate, and was becoming more and more unhealthy by the day - gaining 50 pounds in just a couple of months. She kept going from doctor to doctor to find out what was going on, and was given the standard answer, "your tests look fine."  Because of her medical background, she refused to accept that answer.  She KNEW things weren't "fine" and she served as an ADVOCATE for her health. But she knew many other people were in a similar situation and they weren't getting the help they needed - so she decided to provide it! I really enjoyed this interview, because she described many of my own struggles with my own health, thyroid, weight challenges, food intolerances, and more!  And I loved her biggest piece of advice for a woman growing a business "Serve others, the money will follow."

Today's episode of Turning Lemons Into Lemonade featured Media Coach - Victoria Mary Clark.  Victoria lives in Ireland and is just such a cute spitfire!  She is a media coach who really specializes in helping you find alignment in how you show up. Victoria totally understands that one of the biggest challenges for women in business is how they show up in the world - wanting to be authentic, but not necessarily showing all the "yucky stuff" we all feel and experience in our lives and business.  She also talked about our fear in requesting media. She said that as a journalist and media coach, she has often been looking for story ideas, and that you likely have a lot to say, but that you're too afraid to put yourself out there to get real opportunities.  We talked about imposter syndrome and how we eventually just have to get over it and get out of our own way.

This episode of Turning Lemons Into Lemonade was a fun conversation with an ex finance girl - who also happens to be a musician!  Bree talked about how despite being a musician in her soul, she did the responsible thing and went to school to be an accountant.  She spent years managing the books for large companies - and she realized it just wasn't a good fit for her life goals any more!  In order to have the money and freedom to facilitate her dream of leaving corporate and being a full time musician, Bree and her husband sold their Orange County home! Over the next few years, Bree was a touring musician, a freelance book keeper, and the person responsible for booking and promoting herself.  As she went along, she kept running into other musicians and artists who were great at their craft, but didn't excel (or even desire) the management and promotion of their businesses!  At that time, Bree knew she had found her calling.  She stopped touring and decided to focus on her family and helping other creatives with the business of their businesses! On the day of our recording, her kids were home from school, and she talked about the struggles of being a Mom and building a business, and how she has to structure her day to accomplish everything she wants to accomplish.  We also talked about how she is teaching her teenage daughter entrepreneurial skills by having her participate in Bree's business.

In this solo episode of The Turning Lemons Into Lemonade Podcast - I am going to take you on a journey to a day about 12 years ago when I was perfectly healthy and in the best shape of my life. But I knew my life was out of alignment and that I wasn't really being true to the fact that I needed to make a change. Then one Sunday afternoon, in the middle of the Container Store in San Diego, I had a stroke - and it became obvious that it was time to listen to my body, listen to my heard, and do something new, bigger, and better! This one moment and the coming days after were the complete impetus for me to change my life - setting the groundwork to leave my six figure finance career to open my own business!

In today's episode of Turning Lemons Into Lemonade, I interviewed Jessica Valor. Jessica's story started with an attempt to take her own life, and a very clear near death experience.  At that time, she knew she was destined for more.  But it took her another 3 years to actually make the switch. Jessica's story continued with a tale that is not terribly uncommon - but maybe a bit more extreme.  Jessica was in a corporate job complete with verbal and emotional abuse.  One day, she was on the road between appointments and had taken another round of scoldings - and she pulled over to the side of the road and turned in her resignation - effective immediately.  Despite having NO plan, she knew she just couldn't go on in this role another day.  This led to her losing her savings, and her home, and really having to start from scratch - but having the ability to build a business she really was passionate about.

In this episode of Turning Lemons into Lemonade, you are in for a real treat!  I had never met Kathy Haan prior to our recording today, but we had SUCH a good time chatting. Kathy had been a financial advisor who had gained a ton of weight.  As a way to hold herself accountable, she decided to become a health coach for other clients - losing over 120 pounds in the process.  She did this for a while, but realized that although she LOVED coaching women, she really wasn't passionate about health coaching.  She really wanted to help women grow online businesses! Kathy told her story of Lemons - when she was booked for a coaching retreat in PARIS.  The trip had been fully paid for, and she had a flood in her home - causing their family to need to spend their cash reserve replacing their home goods.  Although the trip was paid for, when the time came, she didn't have funds for her coaching fee for the month - and had to miss the retreat.

In this episode of Turning Lemons Into Lemonade, you will hear from Keira Barr. Keira just launched her new book The Skin Whisperer and she talked about how you can tell so many different things about your health from the condition of your skin.  She also gave some things to look for in your skin as a busy woman entrepreneur.  (I'm not going to give it all away - you're going to have to listen.) Keira also talked about some of her biggest struggles in building her business - something many of us deal with - Imposter Syndrome and feeling a bit apprehensive to put ourselves out there!  We talked about how important mindset is in building a business - especially in a crowded space!

In this episode of Turning Lemons Into Lemonade, you'll hear from Janneke den Draak.  Janneke is from the Netherlands and is blazing a trail of coaching and online courses in a country where that isn't the norm! Janneke started her business through two key circumstances that forced her into a life of entrepreneurship.  First, she had been an IT engineer who at the age of 28 was diagnosed with repetitive motion syndrome - meaning that she could no longer use her arms and hands at a computer any more - leaving her with an inability to do a LOT of different types of jobs - not just the one for which she had been trained! In the days prior to Google - Janneke did an internet search and found Dragon Dictation software and started learning how to run her computer with dictation.  Shortly thereafter, she got a job as a consultant on speech recognition and Dragon Dictation.  A few years later, her entire department was let go - and she was out of a job!  Fortunately, because they were eliminating her department, she was able to contact the clients and take them with her.  One of the big struggles she described as a first time entrepreneur was the inexperience of negotiating her own contracts - and how that was a brand new skill that she wasn't prepared for!

In this solo episode of Turning Lemons Into Lemonade, I tell you about how I hired my first business coach and our experience together and after two years together, it was time to part ways and find someone more suited to where I was in my business at that time. This episode covers the tough to talk about topic - whether or not a business coach is truly a fit. First of all - I believe that ALL businesses that really want to grow and scale need either a coach or a mastermind group to help hold them accountable and to help them get clarity and context when we get stuck in our businesses! No matter how brilliant you are - when you're in the middle of your own stuff, you often can't see the best or clearest path to achievement/success! (Or you're in the middle of the forest, and you can't see through the trees.)

In this episode of Turning Lemons Into Lemonade, I interviewed Leana Weller Smith. Leana is the founder and CEO of Weller Smith Designs.  Leana's story is one that we don't hear very often.  You see, Leana worked in the heart of Manhattan on September 11th.  She experienced one of the worst experiences any one of us could ever imagine.  She said that a few days after that traumatic event, she was back in her office and it just was no longer a fit - everything felt different, and that she didn't feel appreciated in what she did.  Her heart just wasn't in it anymore! When she decided to go out on her own as a freelancer, her husband was a hugely supportive fan - telling her, "she'd work it out - because she always did."  We talked about how great it is to have a support system at home who is helping you along the way - especially when you take big leaps of faith!

Tonya Harris is one of my favorite people on this planet.  As you watch or listen to this episode of Turning Lemons Into Lemonade, you will see that she is easy going, fun, and super funny!  We spent a LOT of our time laughing! Tonya is a childhood cancer survivor who is on a quest to minimize the toxins in our environment to make us healthier, and keep us safer.  But in her quest to do this, she has found resistance in the marketplace.  I know I have it myself!  People want to be healthier, but it seems almost impossible to remove all the things that are toxic.  And if I were completely honest, there are some things I don't WANT to fully eliminate! One of the things you will enjoy most about Tonya's story is her ability to PIVOT in her business - in multiple ways!

In this episode of Turning Lemons Into Lemonade, I spoke with fitness marketing expert Kelly Coulter.  Kelly talked about how she started her business as a web developer and graphic designer.  She found one of the key struggles in business - in how to juggle client acquisition with client fulfillment.  She experienced what we all have at some time in a new business - times of feast and times of famine.  At one point, she had been so busy servicing clients that she stopped marketing - causing her income to dry up and doing the thing we all dread the most - going back to get another job! She realized quickly that going back to corporate wasn't for her - and decided that she had to burn the boats behind her and go all in on her business.  She also realized she was leaving a lot of money on the table by not offering more services to her best clients.  So she started to expand her services beyond web development and SEO to include all elements of digital marketing.

In this Turning Lemons Into Lemonade Episode, Stephanie McAuliffe shared some of the "yucky stuff" that really brought her to realize that she was allowing patterns to keep her from living the life she was truly meant to live! Stefanie was a fourth generation wife of an alcoholic. Her two husbands were both alcoholics. And she found herself repeating the same mistakes that had been made in her family for generations! Once she really saw the pattern, and saw herself repeating it - and realized she needed to divorce her second alcoholic husband, she knew she had to be part of a BIG solution!

In this episode of Turning Lemons Into Lemonade, I will tell you about how I got lazy, didn't follow my own processes and took a great day and turned it into TOTAL lemons! H ear how I woke up excited to start the day, and then ended up destroying the first 15 episodes of the podcast!  Fortunately the podcast is Turning Lemons Into Lemonade!! I had to reach out to every single person who had taken the time to record with me!  And even today, I still haven't heard back from some of them!! We all get up in the morning and try not to do something stupid or embarrassing... I kind of blew it!

This is one of the longest episodes I've recorded yet in Turning Lemons Into Lemonade.  I had never met Nancy prior to our recording today, but this conversation was SOOOOOO full of amazing business nuggets. Nancy's Lemons story was based on her content creation strategy.  She batch creates content, and unfortunately had a piece of content go out at a time that her clients and prospects found offensive.  She told the story of waking up to angry client emails and unsubscribes.  She talked about how she tried to reach out and smooth over the miscommunication - but that she eventually realized that there was only so much she could do. Nancy delivered one of the BEST pieces of advice I think a new business owner can get.  

If you've ever felt like you're paddling upstream in your business, this episode of Turning Lemons Into Lemonade is for you! I had known Franziska Neumann for about two years prior to our interview - and I had NEVER heard this story!  Franziska had built an amazing design and furniture business in New York City.  She was featured on Oprah, HGTV and had a THRIVING business, but then had to leave the country over immigration paperwork issues!  It became impossible to ship and transact business from overseas, despite the huge demand for her services. In the meantime, she had a son who needed more time and care - and she needed to literally start from scratch - and build a business that allowed her to take care of her family - and earn a living!

Hear Lori Mercer talk about juggling a thriving business with family needs - and how you can build a business that supports your life - WITHOUT working 24/7.

In business, there are those things that happen that make us feel like we aren't going to be able to pick up and move forward. In the middle of a huge launch, my VA accidentally deleted my entire infusionsoft account. How I picked myself up, dusted myself off - and launched this podcast because of it!

Hear how Kate Spade's death is illustrating one of the biggest challenges and dangers facing women in business today. While scrolling through Instagram, we're looking at everyone's "highlight reel" and often feel inadequate or like an outsider. We don't know what's going on on the inside. This 000 Episode of Turning Lemons Into Lemonade will tell you what you can expect from the podcast - and how you can hear the REAL stories of how women are building 6 and 7 figure businesses today!