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!