What if the business you worked so hard to build is quietly costing you your health?

In this episode of The Real Women Real Business Podcast, Shauna Lynn Simon sits down with Terry Tateossian, founder of THOR: The House of Rose, a wellness brand helping women over 40 reclaim their strength and wellbeing. After years of building tech and media businesses, Terry faced early perimenopause, burnout, and a health crisis that forced her to rethink what success should look like.

Terry shares how she moved from working around the clock to rebuilding her health, losing more than 80 pounds, and creating a purpose-driven business without repeating the patterns that exhausted her. Together, they explore why passion alone cannot sustain a business, how to recognize burnout before it takes over, and why rest deserves a place in every entrepreneur's strategy.

What if the biggest obstacle to financial confidence is not the numbers, but the beliefs shaping every money decision?

In this episode of The Real Women Real Business Podcast, Shauna Lynn Simon sits down with Nancy Benet, CPA, author, and founder of Fix-It Accounting and Success Your Way. Despite her accounting expertise, Nancy once faced $650,000 in debt while raising four children, an experience that forced her to confront the money stories she had inherited and change how she approached her financial future.

Nancy shares how small, intentional actions helped her rebuild, including the surprising impact of setting a new financial "zero" and creating cash reserves before making major business investments. She and Shauna Lynn explore why entrepreneurs avoid their financial reports, how to work with an accountant without feeling intimidated, and how the information people consume can reinforce a scarcity mindset.

What if the offer you are about to create is not really a strategy - but a reaction to fear?

In this episode of The Real Women Real Business Podcast, Shauna Lynn Simon shares a powerful coaching conversation with a client who was considering creating a lower-priced version of her service after facing sticker shock from a prospective client. On the surface, the idea sounded generous and accessible, but after a deeper look, the decision was rooted almost entirely in fear.

Shauna Lynn breaks down how fear shows up when expenses rise, prices increase, teams grow, and business owners start second-guessing what has already been working. She shares five practical gut checks to help listeners evaluate whether a decision is rooted in vision or panic, including why “no” is data, why discounting rarely leads to stronger sales, and why not every client is meant to grow with you.

What if the thing holding your business back is not your team, your market, or your strategy - but the fact that too much still depends on you?

In this episode of The Real Women Real Business Podcast, Shauna Lynn Simon sits down with Melissa Franks, founder of On Call COO and a seasoned fractional COO who has worked inside more than 50 businesses. After leading billion-dollar transformations, M&A initiatives, and operational turnarounds in the Fortune 500 world, Melissa now helps small business owners build companies that can grow without relying on their constant personal effort.

Melissa explains why founders often become the bottleneck, how control can quietly limit growth, and why the strongest leaders are willing to stop being the smartest person in every room. She also breaks down what a fractional COO actually does, why saying yes to everything creates operational chaos, and which metrics business owners should start tracking now.

What if the most powerful business growth does not come from pitching harder, but from creating spaces where people feel genuinely seen?

In this episode of The Real Women Real Business Podcast, Shauna Lynn Simon sits down with Brad Walsh, founder of Empowerography, international speaker, podcast host, producer, photographer, author, and Soul Visibility Guide. What began as a journey through photography and boudoir work became something much larger when Brad saw the transformation that happened when women felt witnessed, confident, and fully themselves.

Brad shares how Empowerography grew into a platform with more than 800 conversations with women around the world, and how those stories shaped his understanding of service, connection, visibility, and community. He also opens up about building the Empowerment Network, a sales-free space where women entrepreneurs can support one another, work through challenges, and feel less alone in business.

What if the growth you are chasing is not hiding in a new marketing strategy, but already sitting inside your business?

In this episode of The Real Women Real Business Podcast, Shauna Lynn Simon challenges the common belief that more revenue always requires more marketing. For many “Accidental CEOs,” the instinct is to add more content, platforms, ads, visibility, and outreach when revenue feels unpredictable. But more is not always the answer, especially when the foundation underneath the business is already overloaded.

Shauna Lynn shares a client example of a 15-year-old business generating strong monthly revenue with very little marketing spend, revealing that the real opportunity was not in adding new tactics, but in clarifying what was already working. She breaks down how referrals, loyal clients, repeat relationships, client experience, and backend processes can quietly hold the key to growth.

What if the reason writing feels so hard has nothing to do with discipline - and everything to do with the system you are using?

In this episode of The Real Women Real Business Podcast, Shauna Lynn Simon sits down with Susanne Schotanus, founder of Passionate Writer Coaching and the world’s first ADHD writing coach for adults. After coaching hundreds of ADHD writers, Susanne has made it her mission to change the narrative from “you are broken” to “you need strategies that work for your brain.”

Susanne explains how executive function challenges affect everything from emails and proposals to books, articles, and business content. She breaks down why a “simple email” may actually be a multi-step project, how overloaded brains freeze when too many mental programs are running, and why shame is often the biggest barrier to getting words on the page.

What if the leadership skills that built a winning team could also build a more profitable, sustainable business?

In this episode of The Real Women Real Business Podcast, Shauna Lynn Simon sits down with Lauren Miles, Owner of Modern by Miles, a full-service interior design firm based in Alabama. After 10 years as a competitive swimming coach, including serving as Associate Head Coach of Women’s Swimming at Auburn University, Lauren found a new creative path after building her family’s forever home in 2020.

Lauren shares how coaching shaped the way she makes decisions, leads her team, builds trust with clients, and creates a strong business culture. She opens up about growing from solo designer to a small but mighty team, why thoughtful leadership matters more than simply paying people well, and how one pivotal pricing moment led her to declare, “this price no longer exists.”

What if the biggest cost in your business is not showing up on your profit and loss statement?

In this episode of The Real Women Real Business Podcast, Shauna Lynn Simon breaks down what she calls the Accidental CEO Tax - the hidden cost women pay when they build a business from passion without a clear plan. For many “Accidental CEOs,” the business starts with excitement, talent, and momentum, but over time it begins to grow in response to demand instead of intention.

Shauna Lynn explores how this tax shows up through lost time, scattered energy, unclear processes, underpriced work, reactive decisions, and the gradual fading of the passion that started it all. She also shares a personal story from the early years of her home staging business, when stepping back, rebranding, and rebuilding her foundation helped her grow to five times the previous year’s sales.

What if you are not starting over at all - you are finally starting from experience?

In this episode of The Real Women Real Business Podcast, Shauna Lynn Simon sits down with Rohanna Doylida, founder of The TrueVoice Brand Mentorship and creator of the Wisdom Bridge Method. Rohanna works with second-career women, especially highly driven women building something new in their 40s, 50s, and 60s, who want their message, positioning, and brand presence to reflect the depth of what they already know.

Rohanna shares how her own path from Chicago stages to running a gluten and dairy-free bakery to teaching in classrooms shaped the work she does today. She explains why women often feel like beginners again when they reinvent themselves, how “starting over” can erase credibility, and why your real-life experience may be the very thing that makes your brand powerful.

What if the success you worked so hard to build still does not feel like the life you actually want?

In this episode of The Real Women Real Business Podcast, Shauna Lynn Simon sits down with Steph Ramirez, strategic marketing consultant, certified identity coach, speaker, and Founder and CEO of Steph Ramirez Consulting & Coaching. After more than 15 years in corporate leadership and marketing, Steph left the traditional path to build a more aligned version of success, and now helps ambitious women strengthen their visibility from the inside out.

Steph shares why high-achieving women often carry perfectionism, people pleasing, overworking, and self-sacrifice from corporate into entrepreneurship, and how those patterns can quietly shape pricing, marketing, client choices, and personal branding. She also explains why visibility is often less of a marketing problem and more of an identity and self-trust challenge.

What if the thing you love doing in your business is also the thing keeping you from building what you actually want?

In this episode of The Real Women Real Business Podcast, Shauna Lynn Simon shares a behind-the-scenes look at a strategic decision she is making in real time: scaling back one-on-one coaching to create more space for the Real Women Real Business Mastery Program. While one-on-one coaching is something Shauna Lynn deeply loves and excels at, she explains why loving the work does not always mean it is the right model for the next stage of business growth.

Shauna Lynn walks listeners through the patterns she has seen with “Accidental CEOs” who start with passion, take on everything, and eventually find themselves running a business that no longer reflects their goals, strengths, or values. She also revisits the Power Play Profit Filter from Episode 76 and explains why decision-making tools only work when the deeper business foundation is clear.

What if recovery is not just about addiction, but about the patterns, roles, and coping habits that keep high-achieving women disconnected from themselves?

In this episode of The Real Women Real Business Podcast, Shauna Lynn Simon sits down with Jeanne Foot, Founder and CEO of The Recovery Concierge. With lived experience, credentials as an International Certified Alcohol and Drug Counsellor, and training in hypnotherapy, NLP, and somatic work, Jeanne brings a grounded and compassionate lens to recovery, resilience, and sustainable change.

Jeanne reframes recovery as something every human can relate to, from people pleasing and overgiving to overworking, numbing out, and abandoning personal needs in the name of productivity. She explains why emotional sobriety is not about never being triggered, but about having the tools to stay connected to yourself when life feels demanding.

What if success is not supposed to feel this heavy?

In this episode of The Real Women Real Business Podcast, Shauna Lynn Simon sits down with Dr. Rosenna Bakari, an empowerment psychologist, leadership consultant, author, and founder of Seven Exits. With more than 30 years of experience studying and teaching human behavior, Dr. Bakari helps high-performing women and leaders bridge the gap between outward success and inner ease.

Through her Seven Exits framework, Dr. Bakari challenges the idea that achievement, credentials, and talent are enough to create sustainable success. Instead, she explores the emotional maturity, self-awareness, joy, and personal mastery required to build a life and business that does not cost women their wellbeing.

What if the new work coming your way is profitable, exciting, and consistent - but you are not sure whether it is a smart pivot or a slow drift away from the business you meant to build?

In this episode of The Real Women Real Business Podcast, Shauna Lynn Simon shares a powerful conversation that came out of a recent Real Women Real Business Mastery Program group coaching call. When one service-based business owner realized the work she originally built her business around had gone quiet, while a different kind of work was gaining traction, it sparked an important question: should she lean into the demand or pause first?

What if the story you are not saying out loud is the one quietly shaping how you lead, price, decide, and show up in your business?

In this episode of The Real Women Real Business Podcast, Shauna Lynn Simon sits down with Jennifer Griffith, author, speaker, and host of the About Your Mother podcast. Jennifer’s work explores the relationships and defining moments that shape who people become, and her debut memoir, Both Sides of Then: Finding Love After Abandonment, offers a powerful lens on motherhood, resilience, abandonment, and rewriting the next chapter without erasing the backstory.

Together, Shauna Lynn and Jennifer explore why authenticity cannot be copied from someone else’s framework, how borrowed business advice can pull entrepreneurs away from their real strengths, and why the most meaningful stories often begin in the places people have been taught to hide.

What if connection is not just a nice-to-have in business, but one of the biggest drivers of trust, performance, and growth?

In this episode of The Real Women Real Business Podcast, Shauna Lynn Simon sits down with Shari Leid, author, speaker, connection expert, attorney, and founder of the Flip the Box movement. Shari shares how her personal story of being found as an orphaned baby in a cardboard box shaped her lifelong search for belonging, and how that same box became the foundation for a powerful leadership framework rooted in connection.

Through her Table for 51 project, Shari traveled to all 50 states and shared meals with women she did not know, uncovering what creates meaningful connection beyond surface-level networking. She explains how disconnection shows up in teams, client relationships, and leadership, and why trust often begins with helping people feel seen.

What if watching your competitors is not giving you clarity - but quietly pulling you away from your own business vision?

In this episode of The Real Women Real Business Podcast, Shauna Lynn Simon explores the fine line between healthy competitor awareness and toxic comparison. For many service-based entrepreneurs, especially in industries like home staging, interior design, consulting, and coaching, it can feel like everyone is watching everyone. But when competitor research turns into obsession, it can lead to reactive decisions, scattered offers, pricing doubts, and a business that no longer feels aligned.

Shauna Lynn breaks down how to learn from others without copying them, why online success is often just a highlight reel, and how to use your own vision, values, differentiators, and client experience as the filter for business decisions.

Thinking about selling your home staging business but unsure what actually happens after you find a buyer?

In the final episode of this special mini-series of The Real Women Real Business Podcast, Shauna Lynn Simon walks through the complete sale process for a home staging business, from the first buyer inquiry to closing day and beyond. While many business owners focus on valuation and preparing their company for sale, understanding how a transaction actually unfolds can make the difference between a smooth transition and a stressful experience.

Listeners will learn how information is shared throughout the sale process, what buyers expect at each stage, and why confidentiality, preparation, and timing matter more than most owners realize. Shauna Lynn breaks down key milestones, including teasers, NDAs, prospectuses, buyer conversations, letters of intent, due diligence, closing, and transition support, helping staging business owners understand what lies ahead and how to prepare with confidence.

Is your home staging business built on solid systems or just what's stored in your head?

In this episode of The Real Women Real Business Podcast mini-series, How to Sell Your Home Staging Business, Shauna Lynn Simon explains why one of the biggest drivers of business value has nothing to do with revenue or inventory. It comes down to transferability. Buyers want confidence that a business can continue without relying on the current owner's memory, instincts, or constant involvement.

From pricing and proposals to client communication, warehouse organization, and team responsibilities, Shauna Lynn breaks down the systems that create a more valuable and sellable home staging business. She also shares a simple exercise to identify where your business is too dependent on you and practical ways to start documenting the processes that matter most without creating an overwhelming operations manual.