Shauna Lynn Simon (01:49.998)

Hello and welcome to the Real Women Real Business Podcast. I am your host, Shauna Lynn Simon. And today's guest is Brad Walsh. And now, Brad Walsh didn't set out to build a podcast. And in fact, that's exactly what he's done. But he actually started as a photographer. We're gonna talk a little bit about his journey today and how he got from point A to point, I don't know, on the scale D G H or something like that. but he basically spent years doing AV production on the road and eventually found his way into boudoir photography.

A genre that he fell in love with after mentoring under a photographer in Florida. And he was drawn in by the impact that it had on the women that he worked with. Now, that same instinct, following what actually moved people, led him to launch Empowerography, which is podcast that has been intentionally built to amplify women's voices and has now recorded over 800 episodes. So from there, he's since built a membership community for women entrepreneurs.

And recently sat down with his members actually to ask about what that membership gives them. We're going to dig into that a little bit today, about his entire journey building this, creating the messaging and can really connecting with women. So we want to talk about that winding path he was on, what he's learned from hundreds of conversations, and what real sales-free connection looks like in actual practice. So, Brad, welcome to the show.

Shauna Lynn Simon (01:50.942)

Welcome to the Real Woman Real Business Podcast. I am your host, Shauna Lynn Simon. And today I want to challenge something that a lot of us have sort of just accepted as being true because enough people say something, you start to believe it. But I want to challenge this idea a little bit, and that is that the idea that if your revenue isn't where you want it to be, that the answer is simply more marketing. And don't get me wrong, yes, sometimes that is the answer, but

A lot of times we think, if I just throw more content at this, more visibility, I just need to post more frequently on social media, I need to run some more ads, I need to be on more platforms. And it's all about more, more, more. But what if that's the wrong way to be looking at things? What if the growth you're actually looking for is already inside your business and adding more marketing is actually gonna just pull your attention away from the things that are already working and the things that are going to drive your revenue.

Let me tell you about a client that I worked with recently. And I'm going to share you something with from my own business as well. Because I think that together these kind of tell a story that a lot of Accidental CEOs really need to hear. Now, if you are new to this podcast, I'm going to explain what an Accidental CEO is. If you're not new, you're I'm going to be a bit of a broken record for a moment. But an Accidental CEO is someone who followed more passion than plan.

Shauna Lynn Simon (01:49.966)

Hello and welcome to the Real Women Real Business Podcast. I am your host, Shauna Lynn Simon. And my guest today is Susanne from the Passionate Writer Coaching. And here's what I absolutely love about Susanne's story: that she didn't set out to create a new kind of coaching. And in fact, her clients showed her that they needed it to exist. And we have talked about this on the show previously about how sometimes demand can end up dictating the direction of your business. And this is an example of when that is actually a really good thing.

So Susanne is the world's first ADHD writing coach for adults. And after more than five years of coaching hundreds of ADHD writers, she's on a mission to change a narrative that affects far more of us than we realize. And that is that you're not broken. You just need strategies that actually work for your brain. And something we're gonna be covering today is that even if you are not neurodivergent, I want you to stick with us here.

Because just any woman who has hit capacity because you've got so many things that your brain is holding on to, there are ways to work through what you're navigating. And we're going to dig into some of the tools that are available to support you on your journey. Now, Susanne helps novelists, academics, memoirists, and business owners who have a story to tell get their thoughts on the page without battling themselves in the process. She holds a BA and MA from the University of Amsterdam, and she has brought some serious

academic and publishing industry experience into the coaching world. So, Susanne, I'm so glad you're here. Welcome to the show.

Shauna Lynn Simon (01:49.964)

Welcome to the Real Woman Real Business Podcast. I am your host, Shauna Lynn Simon. And my guest today spent 10 years as a competitive swimming coach, including time as the associate head coach for women's swimming at Auburn University, all before doing a home build in 2020, which lit a creative fire that she just couldn't ignore. So in 2022, she founded the interior design firm Modern by Miles, which is a full-service interior design firm based in Alabama that specializes in new construction.

major renovations and curated furniture projects. And in just a few years, she's grown from solo designer to a small but mighty team. And she's bringing that same intensity and intentionality that she brought into coaching, into how she runs her business and leads her people. So Lauren Miles, welcome to the show.

Lauren Miles (02:37.516)

Well, thank you so much. What a cool intro.

Shauna Lynn Simon (02:40.782)

I'm like, "That was me!" That's you. And I think that's always a fun thing when you hear your own bio being read back to you like, wait a minute, I did those things. And let's talk about this a little bit. So you had this whole career before this one. So take us back. What was life as a swimming coach like and what sort of led you away from it?

Shauna Lynn Simon (01:50.574)

Welcome to the Real Woman Real Business Podcast. I am your host, Shauna Lynn Simon. And today I want to talk about something that you might not have had any warning about before you started your business. Now, listen, I remember when I started my first business, there were a lot of people who asked me, like, do you know what it's like being an entrepreneur? Do you know what you're getting into? You know, writing a business is a lot of work. And I will say that for

All the preparation that I felt that I did for all of the things that like I knew there were gonna be late nights, I knew there were gonna be extra hours, I knew there was gonna be a whole lot of hustle and grind to it. I knew all of that. And yet I still tell people to this day that I don't think there's anything that anyone could have told me to really properly prepare me for what business ownership truly looks and feels like

on the inside. And for myself, I have a background in business. So I did create my proper business plan before launching my business. Nonetheless, you don't know what you don't know before you start your business. So even with a plan, it's really easy to find yourself a little bit off the rails, a little bit running around in circles and not quite sure where to focus your time.

Shauna Lynn Simon (01:50.19)

Hello and welcome to the Real Woman Real Business Podcast. I'm your host, Shauna Lynn Simon. And today's guest is Rohanna Doylida, the founder of The TrueVoice Brand Mentorship and creator of the Wisdom Bridge Method. Rohanna is a brand strategist for second career women, especially highly driven women building something new in their 40s, 50s, or 60s who want their message and positioning to finally make their value obvious.

With a background that spans performing on Chicago stages, running a gluten and dairy-free bakery, and teaching in classrooms, she helps women to connect the dots in their story and turn real life experiences into credible, confident, client-attracting branding. And in today's conversation, we're going to be talking about the shift from starting over to starting from experience and how that shift will change everything. So, Rohanna, welcome to the show.

Rohanna Doylida (02:46.456)

Thank you, Shaunna Lynn. I am delighted to be here.

Shauna Lynn Simon (02:49.738)

I'm really excited not only to have you here, but to dig in further to this topic. Because when I saw this come across my desk, I was like, yes, we need to have this discussion because you draw a line between starting over and starting from experience. Let's talk first of all about what's the difference in this before we get too far into like the shift that this does. Like, what would you say is the difference between starting over and starting from experience? What does that look like?

Shauna Lynn Simon (01:49.934)

Hello, and welcome to the Real Woman Real Business Podcast. I am your host, Shauna Lynn Simon, and today's guest is Steph Ramirez. She is a strategic marketing consultant and certified identity coach for ambitious women. After more than 15 years in corporate leadership and marketing, Steph left the traditional path to build a more aligned definition of success and now helps entrepreneurs, executives, and thought leaders to strengthen their personal brands.

increase their impact and create opportunities through authentic visibility from the inside out. Steph is also a speaker, a voice actor, and a lifelong learner. And she's passionate about helping women trust themselves, embrace reinvention, and build meaningful success without burnout. On today's show, we're going to be talking a little bit about some high achieving women and how that's showing up for us in our everyday life, how that is actually getting in the way of some of our success.

And so this is really for that woman who has accomplished a lot, but still maybe feels like you're chasing something. We're gonna talk about some of the patterns in terms of overachieving, perfectionism, self-sacrifice, what entrepreneurship reveals and how this all fits into your marketing strategy, your visibility, and how you're showing up every single day in your business. So you're gonna love this episode. Steph, welcome to the show.

Shauna Lynn Simon (01:50.07)

Hello and welcome to the Real Woman Real Business Podcast. I'm your host, Shauna Lynn Simon. And today's episode is gonna be a little bit different because I'm not talking about a client experience that I had or a conversation that I had with someone or even a strategy or something I figured out. I'm actually talking about something that I'm in the middle of right now. And I felt that it would be really important to share this with my audience. because as you know, I always like to keep it real. We're called the Real Women Real Business Podcast for very good reason.

And why not share something that's maybe a little bit uncomfortable in all honesty? I think that's exactly why I feel like I need to share it. So today I want to talk about why I am intentionally scaling back my one-on-one coaching clients and what that decision has really felt like from the inside. Because if you've ever made a business decision that made complete strategic sense on paper, but still felt really, really hard to do, then this one is for you.

Shauna Lynn Simon (01:49.902)

Hello and welcome to the Real Women Real Business Podcast. I am your host, Shauna Lynn Simon, and today's guest is Jeanne Foote, founder and CEO of The Recovery Concierge. Jeanne and her team support individuals and families through mental health challenges, addiction recovery, trauma healing, and peak performance using a holistic, trauma-informed approach with lived experience and credentials as an international certified alcohol and drug counselor.

Plus training in hypnotherapy, neurolinguistic programming, otherwise known as NLP. You've heard us talk about that on the show, and somatic work. Jeanne is known for helping people build real resilience and sustainable change. So today we're gonna be talking about what recovery can look like in everyday life and why emotional sobriety and nervous system regulation might be some of the most practical leadership tools we have. And don't worry, we're also gonna explain what all those things we just mentioned actually are. So, Jeanne, welcome to the show.

Jeanne Foot (02:44.322)

Thank you very much for having me. It's my pleasure to be here.

Shauna Lynn Simon (02:47.702)

I'm really excited to get into this. And I want to start with talking about recovery because I think there's probably a lot of people who are listening to this and are saying, like, listen, Shauna Lynn, I'm not an addict, I'm not an alcoholic, I'm not recovering from anything. And you actually say we're all in recovery from something. So what do you mean by that? Because we've got a whole lot of high functioning women listening to this who might not be relating to this word recovery quite the same way. So can you explain that a little bit?

Shauna Lynn Simon (01:50.222)

Hello and welcome to the Real Woman Real Business Podcast. I am your host, Shauna Lynn Simon. And today's guest is Dr. Rosenna Bakari an empowered psychologist, leadership consultant, and the founder and CEO of Seven Exits. With over 30 years of experience studying and teaching human behavior, she's known for translating deep psychological insight into practical strategies that help individuals and leaders to create real change without the burnout and without the constant push.

Now, Dr. Bakari is a Cornell University graduate with a PhD and ICF coaching certification. And her work spans higher education, corporate, and community settings, supporting leaders, organizations, and high-performing professionals through meaningful, sustainable growth. She's also the author of Seven Exits: Leave Behind Who What No Longer Serves You. Gee, that sounds like a

podcast episode I watched it. We're gonna have a great conversation here. So today we're gonna be talking about the often overlooked prerequisites of business success, like emotional maturity, self-awareness, and the internal capacity to hold what you're actually building. So Dr. Bakari, welcome to the show.

Shauna Lynn Simon (01:50.846)

Welcome to The Real Women Real Business Podcast. I'm your host, Shauna Lynn Simon. And today's episode, this came straight out of a recent group coaching call that I had inside the Real Women Real Business Mastery Program. And I knew immediately that I needed to make this into an episode. Because if you weren't in that conversation, you are missing out on some real clarity that we discussed as a group. Because what came up in that conversation is something that I see time and time again with women, especially in

business. And one thing I want to say is that women, we have the sixth sense. We have a level of intuition that is immeasurable. And it's something that has actually been documented over the years, that it is actually something that women are really, really good at being intuitive about things. The challenges that I find in women in business sometimes we're not doing enough gut checks. And so this actually brings us to what today's episode we're going to covering is

how to do those intentional gut checks when certain things are pulling you in a bit of a different direction. So let me set the scene a little bit for you. So one of the women in the group, she's a service-based business owner. She's been building her business for a few years now. And she came to the call with what seemed like a pretty straightforward question about marketing and updating her website. But as we dug into her question, it actually became clear that there was something bigger that was happening. The work that she'd originally planned to have as the core of her business

Shauna Lynn Simon (01:50.094)

Hello and welcome back to the Real Women Real Business Podcast. I am your host, Shauna Lynn Simon. And today's episode is for the woman who looks like she's got it all handled, but privately it feels just a little heavier. Not necessarily because you're not great at business, not because you're not fully capable, but because you might be carrying a story that you're not actually saying out loud. A lot of "Accidental CEOs" are leading from these unspoken scripts, things like I have to be the strong one. If I slow down, everything falls apart. If I'm not impressed, if I'm not safe.

And those stories don't just live in our personal lives, but they show up in our pricing, our boundaries, our capacity, and just how exhausting it can feel to lead. So today's guest, Jennifer Griffith, is an author, speaker, and host of the About Your Mother podcast. Her work explores the relationships and defining moments that shape us. And her debut memoir, Both Sides of Then: Finding Love After Abandonment, is a powerful reminder that rewriting your next chapter doesn't mean erasing the backstory. It means telling the truth about it.

and choosing what comes next. So if you've been craving a little more honesty, a little more self-trust, and a lot less performing, this conversation is going to be for you. So Jennifer, welcome to the show.

Hello and welcome to the Real Women Real Business Podcast. I am your host, Shauna Lynn Simon, and today I'm joined by Shari Leid. Author, speaker, and founder of the Flip the Box Movement. Shari helps leaders and entrepreneurs turn disconnection into a strategic advantage, strengthening relationships, improving communication, and leading with more clarity and confidence. She's also the author of Table for 51, a project that took her across all 50 states.

exploring the role of connection in leadership and life. So Shari, welcome to the show.

Shari Leid (02:22.754)

Thank you. It's great to talk to you today.

Shauna Lynn Simon (02:25.426)

I'm super excited to talk to you as well. And so I want to talk about like some of the things that I kind of said in your intro there can come across as sort of buzzwords essentially for some of the people listening. I think we all get a little bit fatigued sometimes by some of the buzz that's out there, but we're gonna get it down to the actual meat of things. So when you talk about connection and you say that connection is a driver of performance, what are we talking about in kind of plain language? What does that mean?

Hey there and welcome back to the Real Woman Real Business Podcast. I am your host, Shauna Lynn Simon. And today I want to talk about something that comes up more often than I care to admit in a lot of conversations that I have with women surrounding their business, especially in industries like home staging, interior design, business coaching and consulting, and really any service-based business where it can feel kind of like everybody is watching everybody. And the topic I want to talk about is actually competitors. And

As someone who comes from a background in home staging, in staging, we like to consider our competitors colleagues. It's a very collaborative industry, but it doesn't necessarily mean that we're always feeling super collaborative, especially when we're watching what other people are doing online and seeing. It's really easy to look around when you're building a business and you want to know what are other people charging? What are they offering in a staging business, for example? What are the rental terms someone else is offering? An interior design, what type of services are they offering?

Hey there and welcome back to How to Sell Your Home Staging Business, a Real Women Real Business Podcast mini-series for home stagers who are thinking about what it could like to eventually sell their business or at least make sure that they have some options in order before that day comes. I am your host, Shauna Lynn Simon, and I have been walking you through over the last few episodes many different elements of selling your home staging business. We've talked about

Exit readiness, sellability, numbers, valuation, inventory systems, systems and operations, team members, and transferability. And we've done this through the lens of what a buyer is going to be looking at in your business. And as we've identified, it's not all that different sometimes to selling a house. And of course, as home stagers, we know a whole lot about that. But today I want to talk about what happens once the business actually starts to move forward with the sale.

Welcome back to How to Sell Your Home Staging Business, a Real Women Real Business Podcast mini-series for home stagers who are starting to think about what it could look like eventually to sell their business. And they want to build a profitable business now that also builds a valuable and sellable asset for later. So I'm your host, Shauna Lynn Simon. And in the last episode, we talked about inventory. And we talked about why your inventory matters, but it is not the actual business.

Inventory supports value when it helps the business to produce revenue in a clear and organized, transferable way. But a warehouse full of furniture on its own is not the same as a sellable business. And it does not contribute to the listing price of your business the way that you might think that it does, nor does your annual revenue that you're bringing in. So if you haven't listened to that episode, I highly recommend you go back and listen to that first. This is part five today. We've got four other

parts to this series that we've already recorded that you can go back and listen to. And all of the information in those, each one adds on to the next. So if you haven't listened to some of those previous episodes, please go back and do that before listening to today's episode. Because today we're going one layer deeper. Because once a buyer now understands what assets are included in the business, the next question they're going to have is can this business actually continue without the current owner?

Hello, and welcome to the Real Women Real Business Podcast. I am your host, Shauna Lynn Simon. And today's guest is Kalee Boisvert, a financial advisor, author, and speaker who helps women build wealth while staying true to themselves. With over 15 years in finance and an MBA in finance, Kalee blends practical money conversations with honest reflections on identity, self-worth, and what it really means to create a life that feels good to live.

So we're be talking about why money is really just about money and how to redefine rich in a way that supports your business and your capacity. So Kalee, welcome to the show.

Kalee Boisvert (02:25.666)

Thank you. Thank you so much for having me.

Shauna Lynn Simon (02:27.982)

I'm so excited to have you here because money conversations are my jam. This is something we talk about quite often on this show. And I don't think we can possibly ever say enough things about it. So I want to dive in right away to something that actually came up in your bio there. And that is that you say that money is rarely just about money. Tell me what you mean by that.

Welcome back to the How to Sell Your Home Staging Business Podcast mini series, a real women, real business podcast mini-series, specifically for home stagers who are starting to think about what it could look like to eventually sell your business and want to build a profitable business now and build a valuable and sellable asset. I am your host, Shauna Lynn Simon. And in the last episode, we talked about your numbers. Hopefully, you have recovered from any stress that that might have caused, because I know.

We're not all numbers people, and it might not have been the most comfortable conversation, but hopefully you got some really valuable insights out of it. Specifically, what we talked about was how to look at your numbers through a buyer's lens. We talked about why revenue is not the same as value, why your net income may not be telling the full story, and why valuation is often connected to what the business actually produces for the owner. Now, if you missed it.

You're going to want to go back to that one and take a listen to that one before you listen to this episode because I promise you it's all connected and this episode will make way more sense to you if you've already listened to that last episode. So if you haven't done that yet, go do that now and I'll see you when you get back. Okay. So today we need to talk about one of the biggest valuation assumptions.

Welcome back to How to Sell Your Home Staging Business, a Real Woman Real Business Podcast mini-series for home stagers who are starting to think about what it could look like eventually to sell their business. And they want to build a profitable business now and build a valuable and sellable asset so that they can leave that as a part of their legacy when they decide to leave this industry. I'm your host, Shauna Lynn Simon. And in the last episode, we talked about what actually makes a home staging business sellable.

And the big idea was this that a buyer is not looking at your business the same way that you are. You see the history and the relationships and all the effort, the late nights, the blood, sweat, and tears that you've put into this, the inventory investments, the agents you've nurtured, the clients you've helped, the jobs you've pulled together when everything was going sideways and you still managed to pull it off.

A buyer doesn't see all that. What they see is something a little bit different because they're asking, can I understand this business? Can I see exactly how does it make money? Can I see what would continue in a positive way, in a strong way after the current owner has stepped away? And can I see the value clearly enough in order to make a confident decision? So today we're going to be moving into one of the biggest pieces of that confidence, and that is your numbers.

For anyone who knows me, you might recall that I actually do have a bit of a numbers background. My original career path was actually in mathematics. I have a bachelor of mathematics degree and I worked as an analyst for several years before becoming a home stager myself. And while I would love to say that that makes me a financial guru, it's not necessarily the same thing, but I do admit that I do enjoy the data that numbers provide. And that's the same thing that your buyers are going to be looking at.

Hello and welcome to the Real Women Real Business Podcast. I am your host, Shauna Lynn Simon. And listen, have you ever looked at your business and thought, you know, this is really working? So why am I not okay? Because a lot of "Accidental CEOs" who listen to this podcast, you don't necessarily build your business on what we would consider a sustainable system. Instead, we build it on survival systems, right? You're in survival mode. It's the kind that you know gets results, but ends up behind the scenes costing you things like your health, your relationships.

Your capacity, and honestly, at times, even your joy. So today's conversation is for the high-achieving woman who's been holding it all together with bubblegum, duct tape, whatever you've got to hold it together. And you've been doing this for far too long. And maybe you're starting to realize that your nervous system has been running your business. Well, I'm sitting down today with Christina Kantzavelos, a California licensed psychotherapist, writer, and chronic illness advocate.

And the founder of Begin Within Today and WithinMe. After developing severe Lyme disease and navigating complex chronic illness, Christina was forced to rebuild her life, identity, and career from the ground up. And now she supports people navigating chronic illness, trauma, burnout, and nervous system dysregulation through trauma-informed and somatic approaches. And she brings a rare perspective as both a therapist and an entrepreneur.