Woman Owned: The Growth Podcast for Women Entrepreneurs

As entrepreneurs, we hear all the time that we need to build our audiences and grow our businesses through authenticity and authority. But what does that actually mean? How do you build your authority in a highly competitive marketplace with a low barrier to entry – such as coaching or consulting? How do you distinguish yourself from the rest in your industry, and position yourself as the expert in your field? Keep Reading >> On today's episode of Fierce Feminine Leadership, I want to share with you six steps you can take to help cultivate your authority, position yourself as an expert, and take your business to the next level. Today on the Fierce Feminine Leadership Podcast: Why you should invest time in courses, reading materials, and certifications within your industry How to engage with the thought leaders in your industry How publishing your ideas and thoughts helps position you as an expert in your field Why you should share your awards and accomplishments with others 6 Steps to Cultivate Your Authority Cultivate mastery in your field Read the latest research The power of association Publish, publish, publish, publish Highlight your awards and accomplishments Become your own media empire Love the show? Let us know! Are you a fan of the Fierce Feminine Leadership Podcast? If the tips and interviews we share in each episode have helped you gain the confidence and inspiration to become a better, more powerful leader, head on over to iTunes, subscribe to the show and leave your honest review to let us know! Each month, one lucky podcast reviewer will be selected to receive a free coaching session with me – Eleanor Beaton! What are you waiting for? Head on over to iTunes, subscribe and leave a review to enter your name into this month's drawing! And, if you really want to ramp up your fierceness… Reach out to us for a free 30-minute Bold Women in Business Makeover Session with me or one of the fabulous coaches on my team! Explore your path and discover how you can be the fiercest lady-boss possible. Visit EleanorBeaton.com/Discover. A Special Thank You to Our Sponsors This episode was made possible by our wonderful sponsors, BMO – Bank of Montreal – The Bank for Women. Join the conversation at BMO for Women to gain the insight, knowledge, and support you need to succeed and to truly understand how to manage your money!

Have you ever thought about how your clothes impact your self-esteem and the way you feel? Whether you are stepping out on a stage to give a presentation to a massive audience, dressing for success for a day at the office, or you're wearing your "comfy clothes" while running the kids to soccer practice, your style and the clothes you wear have an impact on the way you feel about yourself, your success, and how you present yourself to the world. Keep Reading >> On today's episode, my guest is personal stylist Maegan Watson. Maegan is a dear friend and colleague of mine and the founder of Watson Style Group – a group dedicated to creating wardrobes that help people feel the way they want and love the way they look. She has over 10 years of experience helping women transform their wardrobes and put an end to the seemingly unending question: "What should I wear today?" Maegan shares her thoughts on how style is different from fashion and the insights she has learned from conducting hundreds of in-depth conversations and interviews with women about their style and how it affects their overall view of themselves and how they feel. "When we have a wardrobe or an outfit that reminds us of what we want, they become an anchor." – Maegan Watson Today on the Fierce Feminine Leadership Podcast: Style is creating the image that is going to make you know yourself on a deeper level. All women want the same things when it comes to style – they all want to be able to reflect something about themselves. Reflecting your personal and professional mission through your style and wardrobe. Addressing the idea that style is frivolous or meaningless and why it's important. The process Maegan uses to personalize wardrobes for her clients. The dynamic approach her team uses to support her clients wardrobe transformations. Maegan's Tips for Enhancing Your Style: Stop focusing on how you look. Focus on how you feel in outfits. Connect with Maegan Watson: Watson Style Group Love the show? Let us know! Are you a fan of the Fierce Feminine Leadership Podcast? If the tips and interviews we share in each episode have helped you gain the confidence and inspiration to become a better, more powerful leader, head on over to iTunes, subscribe to the show and leave your honest review to let us know! Each month, one lucky podcast reviewer will be selected to receive a free coaching session with me – Eleanor Beaton! What are you waiting for? Head on over to iTunes, subscribe and leave a review to enter your name into this month's drawing! And, if you really want to ramp up your fierceness… Reach out to us for a free 30-minute Bold Women in Business Makeover Session with me or one of the fabulous coaches on my team! Explore your path and discover how you can be the fiercest lady-boss possible. Visit EleanorBeaton.com/Discover. A Special Thank You to Our Sponsors This episode was made possible by our wonderful sponsors, BMO – Bank of Montreal – The Bank for Women.

Whether you've been in business for several years or are just getting started, scaling your business can be scary and complicated – but also incredibly rewarding. My guest today, Sue Bennett, is the Principle and CEO of Bennett Design Associates, Inc. – a company she founded 20 years ago, and has grown from the ground up. She is also the owner of the Air Force Mavericks All-Star Cheerleading Club, a company she founded from her passion and love for gymnastics and cheer. Keep Reading >> Sue's company, Bennett Design, started with a vision to build a better design firm; one that focused on delivering "detail-driven design." Today, it is one of the largest interior design firms in Toronto with over 40 people on staff. Her company has developed proprietary software for workplace strategy and project management to provide her clients with the absolute best service available. On today's episode, she shares her story of how she got started in business and her journey to success, her secrets of scaling – not one, but two – highly successful businesses, and what she identified as the turning point in her career that helped her on her journey to success. "Every time you grow, you need to make sure you are considering the people working, what's working for them, and what's not." – Sue Bennett Today on the Fierce Feminine Leadership Podcast: Being curious and how following your curiosity can be a huge success factor for your business. The critical nature of having self-belief an its role in achieving success. Evolving your business to keep pace with the modern workforce. Strategies to improve your workplace and work environment. How to Scale Successfully & Thoughtfully: Create a business plan and write it down. Don't scale just for the sake of scaling. Have intentional growth. Hire slow, fire fast. Connect with Sue Bennett: bennettdesign.ca Click here to receive the free Establishing a Clear Set of Ideals worksheet Love the show? Let us know! Are you a fan of the Fierce Feminine Leadership Podcast? If the tips and interviews we share in each episode have helped you gain the confidence and inspiration to become a better, more powerful leader, head on over to iTunes, subscribe to the show and leave your honest review to let us know! Each month, one lucky podcast reviewer will be selected to receive a free coaching session with me – Eleanor Beaton! What are you waiting for? Head on over to iTunes, subscribe and leave a review to enter your name into this month's drawing! And, if you really want to ramp up your fierceness… Reach out to us for a free 30-minute Bold Women in Business Makeover Session with me or one of the fabulous coaches on my team! Explore your path and discover how you can be the fiercest lady-boss possible. Visit EleanorBeaton.com/Discover. A Special Thank You to Our Sponsors This episode was made possible by our wonderful sponsors, BMO – Bank of Montreal.

Being laid off is hard for everyone. My guest today is Kelly Meerbott. In 2009, Kelly was laid off from her high-paid, high-flying job as a Senior Executive of a Fortune 500 company, along with many of her co-workers. Today, Kelly is the founder of the company YOU: Loud and Clear, a highly sought-after coaching business where she helps executives and corporate leaders elevate their businesses, teams, and results to a higher level of consciousness, unlocking tangible results as well as the personal and spiritual benefits. Keep Reading >> On today's episode, Kelly shares how she navigated the turning point of being laid off to growing a highly successful business as a leadership coach and speaker. She shares how she got started in her business, the power of resilience, and the importance of having patience in all areas of your business or organization. "Embrace the pain. Try to endure it because the more you resist it, the more it's going to come back in full force." – Kelly Meerbott Today on the Fierce Feminine Leadership Podcast: How your physical body can sometimes indicate that you need to pivot your career – even before your heart and head. Your social self and what can happen when it is at odds with who you really are. Honing emotional intelligence and creating a culture of ownership. Raising the level of consciousness inside your business to drive results. Being a good corporate citizen and being socially responsible within and outside of your business or organization. How to build a diverse culture within your organization. Being resilient and unafraid of failure. How painful moments and experiences in your career are important for making changes. Connect with Kelly Meerbott: com Twitter Facebook Instagram Love the show? Let us know! Are you a fan of the Fierce Feminine Leadership Podcast? If the tips and interviews we share in each episode have helped you gain the confidence and inspiration to become a better, more powerful leader, head on over to iTunes, subscribe to the show and leave your honest review to let us know! Each month, one lucky podcast reviewer will be selected to receive a free coaching session with me – Eleanor Beaton! What are you waiting for? Head on over to iTunes, subscribe and leave a review to enter your name into this month's drawing! And, if you really want to ramp up your fierceness… Reach out to us for a free 30-minute Bold Women in Business Makeover Session with me or one of the fabulous coaches on my team! Explore your path and discover how you can be the fiercest lady-boss possible. Visit EleanorBeaton.com/Discover. A Special Thank You to Our Sponsors This episode was made possible by our wonderful sponsors, BMO – Bank of Montreal.

Right now is an incredibly exciting time for the state of small business. Thousands of people around the world are getting inspired to start a business, work for themselves, and follow their passions. In fact, statistics have shown that over the last 20 years, the growth rate of non-employer businesses in the United States has grown by a whopping 62%! Payroll jobs, however, have only grown by about 12%. More and more people around the world are realizing the shaky ground that is occurring throughout "traditional employment" and deciding to take action and take their fate into their own hands. Keep Reading > Today, fierce ones, I am talking with author, speaker, and business strategist, Tara Gentile. Tara is a regular instructor on the CreativeLive series and has been featured in many publications including FastCompany, Forbes, and Design Sponge. She has also been featured in The New York Times bestselling book by Chris Guillebeau – The $100 Start Up. Tara passionately works with small businesses and "idea-driven" entrepreneurs, teaching them how to lead themselves and their business based on what makes them most effective and compelling. She joins me on the show today to share her insight and knowledge about what's happening in the state of small business and what fierce women like you should focus on to achieve your business goals. We have to be connected to what it is that we are actually trying to accomplish, the vision that we are actually trying to make real." – Tara Gentile Today on the Fierce Feminine Leadership Podcast: The distinction between "the gig economy" and "the new economy." The difference between the "employee" mindset and the "business owner" mindset. How Tara moved through and overcame the challenge of shifting her mindset from employee to business owner. The "Quiet Power Strategy." What are "growth styles." Why you should 10x your revenue goals. Tara's Advice to Fierce Women Entrepreneurs: Don't hold yourself back. Be mindful of the choices you make. Focus on others. Business is about other people – not filling a personal emotional void. Set bigger goals. Connect with Tara Gentile: TaraGentile.com Profit. Power. Pursuit. Podcast Growth Styles Workshop Love the show? Let us know! Are you a fan of the Fierce Feminine Leadership Podcast? If the tips and interviews we share in each episode have helped you gain the confidence and inspiration to become a better, more powerful leader, head on over to iTunes, subscribe to the show and leave your honest review to let us know! Each month, one lucky podcast reviewer will be selected to receive a free coaching session with me – Eleanor Beaton! What are you waiting for? Head on over to iTunes, subscribe and leave a review to enter your name into this month's drawing! And, if you really want to ramp up your fierceness… Reach out to us for a free 30-minute Bold Women in Business Makeover Session with me or one of the fabulous coaches on my team! Explore your path and discover how you can be the fiercest lady-boss possible. Visit EleanorBeaton.com/Discover.

On today's episode of Fierce Feminine Leadership... It took less than 2 years for CEO and Founder of BikiniLuxe, Candice Galek to parlay her experience as a swimsuit model into a thriving multimillion dollar online swimwear business. What started as a tiny startup on her living room table in Miami Beach, FL is now a global powerhouse business with a team of 40 members worldwide and quarter million social media followers. Keep Reading >> From the onset of BikiniLuxe, Candice realized she needed to leverage her wealth of knowledge about the swimsuit industry as well as the connections she had made during her modeling career to get BikiniLuxe off the ground. That coupled with her strong skillset in sales and customer relations laid the foundation for her success. More about BikiniLuxe They sell over 4000 swimwear products for women and men through the site. Most of the brands represented on the site have demonstrated a corporate social responsibility in which they give back to the community. Entering into their third year they'll hit $5 million in sales. Candice's Advice to Entrepreneurs... Be open to new ideas and push the boundaries Leverage your connections to gain legitimate information and to gain new connections When making connections make the highest connection you can possibly reach. Don't spend too much time on one thing.- pitch 20 people rather than spending a lot of time on one person Look to large scale businesses to see what they are doing wrong and try and do it better Be persistent "Don't spend your time or money on being boring." Candice on embracing controversy and being galvanizing in expressing your views. Attention spans are short- people are one click away from scrolling by you and your content. Controversy can help keep people focused on you and your message. Controversy can be leveraged into massive social media reach. Connect with Candice www.Bikiniluxe.com Serious in taking your own career to the next level? Go to www.eleanorbeaton.com/successpack to download our Success Pack. You'll get access to my Ee-book Success Secrets of Bold Women in Business as well as 4 interview recordings with powerhouse women in business who will help you advance your career.

Happy International Women's Day! This year's motto of International Women's Day is "Be Bold." Which leads to the questions, what does it mean to be truly bold? What would be possible if you were able to unlock 15% more confidence, influence, presence and power- simply put, if you were able to be more bold? Keep Reading >> To create incredible transformation in this world, it is important for us to act in bold ways and harness our confidence. Steps to Being Bold Make the commitment to your dream/goal/idea Have the courage to take action Break things down so you can actually execute said dream/goal/idea Develop the confidence you need to be bold and implement the actions My challenge to you Don't wait for confidence to take your next steps. Make the commitment to the best version of you and to make the changes you want to make so you can ultimately create the life, career, impact and significance that you desire.

Today on Fierce Feminine Leadership… Today we're talking to the accomplished copy conversion mentor, speaker and published author, Sarah Grear. Sarah has personally written copy for over 200 businesses from start-ups to 7 figures. She has been featured by Huffington post as one of the top 50 must follow entrepreneurs for 2017. Keep Reading >> Her focus is on helping entrepreneurs turn online lookers into online buyers with persuasive writing. Today Sarah will demonstrate to us the wealth of opportunity inherent in the world of online business for women entrepreneurs. More about Sarah Grear…. Sarah has been a speaker at many events, including social media week in Los Angeles Her DIY online writing class has over 1000 students She was previously a travel blogger After doing several online videos, Sarah was offered many speaking opportunities. People saw her confidence and authority shine through the camera and realized her potential. The online world helps you close the income gap for earning online, and changes the possibilities from what you were told could not be possible to reality. There is no ceiling for how much you can earn within the online world. According to Sarah, many of her female clients have closed the income gap and been successful in their online businesses by leaning into their strengths. Being clear on what you are good at and building a strong team to fill in the gaps where you have weaknesses is crucial. 3 power moves that Sarah implements to help her be more successful: Celebration- Sarah celebrates every step of her business. All the little things need to be celebrated. No matter the results you have got out of your launch or event, you should still celebrate. Learn how to upgrade your thoughts-You need to learn how to look at things in a positive light, and look at them as upgrades. Learn how to be playful. Learn to be playful, even when there are a lot of moving parts around you. This will allow you to stay grounded and focus on your goals. Mentioned this episode The Well Fed Writer Connect with Sarah Grear https://www.sarahgrear.com/

Today on Fierce Feminine Leadership... When it comes to advancing your career and growing your business, I'm a huge advocate of engaging in panel presentations, speaking on stages, and doing workshops. Recently, I was speaking to... Keep Reading >> Recently I was coaching a very successful, experienced, and established woman in business about speaking and taking the stage more, and she expressed to me that one of her number one concerns around doing that is opening herself up to public criticism. When you are on a stage and somebody raises their hand to ask a question, there is always the possibility that you may encounter some kickback from an audience member. Here's what you can do if you find yourself face-to-face with a dreaded heckler: 5 Tips to Handle Hecklers: Breathe. This is an opportunity for you to step into your leadership and demonstrate your poise. Do that by making sure that your brain is filled with good clean oxygen. Determine if the person is simply asking a tough question or if it is a personal attack. If it's a tough question, you have several choices: You made endeavour to answer that question, You may respond with a question, You may pivot the question to something you actually want to talk about, Or you may simply say" let me get back to you on that, I don't have that information right now." Don't engage, disengage. Do not respond to them by staring at them directly but by looking around at the audience while you are responding. Do not give a heckler energy and focus because that is what they feed on. If there is a rant, interrupt the rant. Say "Excuse me sir/ma'am, what is your question?" If they start ranting again you ask them to use the words "My question is" to receive more clarity. Ask for support. You may ask someone from your team to speak with this person individually or you may choose to involve the audience. You may say respectfully, to the audience, "Should I go on with the rest of my presentation, or do you want to hear more from this person?" At this point you will likely receive support to move on with your presentation. Calling all Coaches, Consultants and Thought Leaders… If you are starting a business or have just launched a business and you are in the thought leader, coach, consultant, or expert space, I want to share with you a fabulous new video training series that I've just launched. In this 4 video training series you'll learn: The biggest mistakes that I see coaches, consultants and thought leader based people making when they are building their businesses. Tips and strategies that you can put in place in your business right now in order to build a healthy thriving business Head over to http://www.eleanorbeaton.com/training to learn more.

Sometimes as women we tend to justify our position, or build up a strong argument in favour of our ask. When we don't want to justify and we don't want to beg, what we need to do is position. Keep Reading >> Positioning is ultimately a skill, that when mastered will become one of the most powerful communication tools you have. This tool can ultimately separate women of pre-eminence from everybody else. You use positioning anytime you want to influence an outcome: when asking someone for a sale, when engaged in business development, when sitting around the boardroom table, or when asking for a job/raise/promotion. Why is it that so many of these opportunities break down? It's a lack of, or improper positioning. Positioning is the way you frame your ask, argument or offer to make it relevant, compelling and urgent. If you want to influence an outcome, you must make it relevant, compelling, and urgent to the person who you are addressing. The idea behind this is that people are far too preoccupied and stressed to care about what you have to say. On a day-to-day basis, the average person focuses primarily on their own problems and issues. If you want to really reach a person, you need to give someone a reason to care about what it is you have say. Most people are tuned into "WIIFM" (What's In It For Me) radio. Moreover, most people do not like change and will avoid making decisions until they need to. That is why if you are trying to make a change, you MUST make it relevant, compelling and urgent.