Small But Mighty Episode 26: Lisa van Reeuwyk on achieving balance in business
Karen Wilson invites Lisa van Reeuwyk, a business coach who runs Bloom Business Development, to the show. Lisa is Karen’s own business coach and an entrepreneur, she understands the ups and downs of business and the power a positive mindset can have on success.
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Full episode transcript
Welcome to the Small But Mighty Biz Stories podcast where we talk about the inspiration and motivation behind your small business. Here's your host, Karen Wilson.
Karen Wilson 00:18
Hello, and welcome to the Small But Mighty Biz Stories podcast. I'm your host, Karen Wilson. And today I'm so excited to have my business coach on. I connected with Lisa van Reeuwyk of Bloom Business Development through LinkedIn toward the end of 2020, when I was starting to seriously think I needed a coach. I've worked with Lisa for almost a full year now. And I'm so grateful to her for her support and influence in all parts of my life. In that time I've heard Lisa's story in a couple of different contexts, usually in a short form. So I'm excited to get to learn a bit more about her business journey today. Welcome, Lisa. Tell everyone about you and your business.
Lisa van Reeuwyk 00:58
Aw, well thank you, Karen, what a lovely introduction. And it's been so much fun and such an honor watching you grow your business this past year with intention and heart and yet so great to be here today. You want me to tell you about my business? My journey? What? What do you think your listeners want?
Karen Wilson 01:17
All of it. Yeah. What's your background? I know that you started out in media. So how did you go from that to helping people grow their businesses?
Lisa van Reeuwyk 01:32
Well good question. Well, maybe I'll go a little deeper and take it more from the beginning beginning, which you may not know is, I was the apple that didn't fall right beside the tree. I was raised in a alcoholic household. And based on people's journeys in life, mine is not as dire as many, many people endure, but it was very hard. And unfortunately, some part of me decided, well, I'm just going to get straight A's in school and do really well in school. It's something where I can immerse myself and feel good about myself. But by the time I graduated, and did my first year university, I felt really lost. So fortunately, my best friend was living in New York City doing this Acting Program at AMDA. And she said, why don't you come move in with me. So I sold my flute from high school band and bought a plane ticket and was in New York City two weeks later. And it was the best thing I could do. And I'm so excited to encourage my own daughters and other people when you're young, like putting this pressure on people to make $100,000 decision. What are you going to do with the rest of your life? Oh, my goodness. There's no way I could have predicted it at 18 what I would be doing now. So that time in New York was such an amazing time where I was exposed to so many cultures. And what I really loved in New York is I could walk down the street and just be like, Wow, nobody is looking at me. No one is listening to me. Nobody cares what I'm doing. Everyone is like, here I am, here's my life. And it really opened up a lot of new ways of thinking for me. And then I wanted to explore and travel. So I went to Australia for a year after spending a year in New York, and traveled there and then felt ready to come home and start my educational journey. And I've always loved art history, storytelling, I used to write songs and poetry. So when I went to school, I decided to study business and marketing with a major in visual communication. And this is way before YouTube and Instagram and all these platforms. So that genesis of my education serves me really well today. And then after that, I knew I wanted to do creative work with creative people. So I went back to school for television production. And after an internship at CTV here in Vancouver I was really fortunate I got hired by a small boutique production company that focused on travel documentary programming. Our executive producer had his own float plane on amphibian float. So for those who don't know what the heck that means, it's wheels and floats. So we could land anywhere in Canada. So not only--
Karen Wilson 04:24
That's so cool.
Lisa van Reeuwyk 04:24
-- it was so cool. I mean, I've been to remote areas of the Yukon. I've shot stand up so I was given my own travel show. I, you know, we'd see a pod of dolphins swimming up the inlet and we'd land and I'd shoot a stand up out on the flow with all these dolphins in the background. I've been to the Arctic, I've been dog sledding, you know, it was just afforded me this amazing adventure that was a continuation of my travel, allowed me to be creative. But then the business side, I essentially got an on the job MBA at that production company. I was given the opportunity by our executive producer to just be at his side, I shared an office with him for four years, and I ran the business with him: hiring, creating programming. Oh my gosh, the sales experience I got there, you know, I somehow was able to sell, put together six figure deals over the phone with people I'd never met. So, just so grateful for that experience. But then you can only really connect the dots in hindsight. And I can see now 2008 was a complete redirection of my life. When I had this, we'll call it a trifecta of trauma, where we were steeped in the real estate and financial crisis and our presale we had bought the year before it was ready. So we couldn't sell our apartment. And we were saddled with two mortgages and a jacked up strata fee that we would never have bought in the first place. So we were paying our two mortgages when my dad suddenly passed away. And nine days after that, two days after I went back to work, I got called in to speak to some lawyer in Virginia and was let go of my job and told that I had 10 minutes to clear out my desk.
Karen Wilson 06:21
That's brutal.
Lisa van Reeuwyk 06:22
It was Karen, it was brutal. And I had a toddler. And I, you know, for the parents, I mean, I was just shattered, I was in no position to make any big decisions. But what I knew was, I had different priorities, being a mother, and I was tired of working so hard and giving so much of myself to other people. So, you know, a few months passed, and I decided, you know, I'm going to try and get some contract work. I ran our corporate media division, I had lots of great connections. So anyone familiar with Vancouver, I went downtown on our West Coast Express train one day, I had three meetings lined up, had a new outfit on. And anyway, by the end of the day, I had three lucrative contracts, like, you're hired to do this for me, Lisa, oh, my gosh, you're available. And yeah, it was amazing. And so I thought, Oh, I guess there's something here. And over the years, my business changed a lot. And about eight years ago, my biggest client was getting acquired by a large corporation that owns a lot of British Columbia. And I just thought, okay, here we go. This work, while it's afforded me a really great lifestyle and tons of freedom, hasn't really been making me feel excited about work. And I worked with a few women that were starting out. And while they weren't lucrative contracts, I loved the work so much. And so I thought, this is my time. So I rebranded, took some new education, and about nine months later, I seamlessly shifted my business model to working with service based providers to help them scale their business. And as I like to say, make more money and have more fun and that's essentially what I do through private business coaching, group coaching, workshops. And as I mentioned to you recently, I'm in the process of turning a lot of my programs into online courses so that they're more affordable to people that are just starting out. And I love what I do. I mean, there's, you know, that do you know that shit sandwich story by Elizabeth Gilbert? Yeah it's like there's nothing else I would do. I mean, it might change in how I serve people. But I think, you know, I don't just work with women, but I would just work with women. I think there's so much conditioning that's been part of our society for for centuries, and we're coming out of it. And there's never been a more exciting time to be a woman, to be in business, to really get clear on what does success mean to me? Because trust me, I've worked with a lot of what most people would be like, yeah, she's got it all together, her lifestyle, her life's like a Pinterest board. But these are people that come to me, and they're like, I got the education, I've got the marriage, the kids, the house, the career. I am not happy. Help me. Right. And so that is, that is a really powerful part of of my business and what I do and why keep showing up for work every day.
Karen Wilson 09:24
And as I was kind of prepping to talk with you, one of the things that I thought about - because you have so many connections and you're so generous with it - I was like, every time I've come to you with some problem that I had there, whether it's personal or in my business, you've got somebody, Oh, I know so so and so can help you with that. And so you just, it's not just about helping each individual you're working with succeed. It's collectively bringing people together, introducing people who can help each other. And that is so powerful, because it's not just about I have a friend who talks about community sometimes. And she used to say that, you know you've built a community when the people who are talking to you start talking to each other. And that's sort of what I see happening with your clients because of what you're doing and being so generous and connecting them with each other.
Lisa van Reeuwyk 10:33
Oh, well, yeah, I'm so glad that I was able to connect you with people, because that's another part of the mindset is years ago, not so much now, but I was working with a lot of newer moms, a lot of my clientele are moms, and they feel this feeling like, I call it the Miss Capable syndrome, oh, I got it, I got it, I got it. We don't necessarily feel comfortable asking for help, whether it's in our personal lives with our kids. And when we aren't comfortable asking for help in one area of our life, it affects every area of our life. And so many people will say to me, I feel like I'm the reason my business isn't successful at this point. I'm in the way of streamlining and automating and scaling and allowing my business to truly become what I want it to be. And I think that goes back to what I hinted on my upbringing, is your family isn't just the people you grew up with, we get to create our community and we need community. You know, there's this famous saying the the Head of Psychology at Stanford, he said in one of his lessons that one of the most beneficial things a man can do for his health is to marry a woman. Yet, one of the most beneficial things a woman can do for her health, is spend time with other women. Because while men talk and bond over things like golf, and their new car, women really talk about what's going on in their lives and support each other. So in business, we need the same thing. We need a community. And I think sometimes I get more excited about connecting people I know than getting a new client that invests in my services, because we need it, we need all the help. And I'll just quickly end that one with last year for 2021, I didn't really make a New Year's resolution per se, but I was I made a commitment to myself that anything I wanted to do or needed to do for my health and well being was that was a yes. Period, it was a year of yes, for my health and wellness. And in practicing that level of radical self care, I had the best year in business I've ever had.
Karen Wilson 12:53
Hmm, that's amazing. And what's interesting is, you kind of helped me through last year, which was rough, to say the least. And I think that, you know, knowing that you had made that conscious decision to to practice radical self care, you also really helped cultivate that, at least for me, and I'm sure that if my experience was like that other clients were as well. What? What kind of impact have you seen that have when when you put so much attention into the self care aspect of nurturing a business?
Lisa van Reeuwyk 13:41
Well, that's a great question. And that that's actually fundamental to my approach is what's what shows up personally shows up professionally. It's kind of, I'll use the gardening metaphor, you know, if we have, if we're planting seeds of hope and wellness and vitality, innovation, creativity and love, or we're planting seeds of lack, of doubt, of stress, of not enough, and the more thoughts that we send to those seeds are essentially watering and fertilizing those seeds to grow deep roots and shoot through the surface and become our lives, to become our personality. So what difference would it make if you started off your day and didn't hit snooze and you got up from the alarm - and I actually have some good tips about the snooze button as well. I'm going to be posting about that on Instagram this month. But what if you started your day--
Karen Wilson 14:37
Oooh do we get a preview?
Lisa van Reeuwyk 14:39
We can circle back to that. But what would it mean if you got up when your alarm went off? And you took a moment, and personally I thank my bed, that's it. Thank you for a good night's sleep, thank you for keeping me safe. That thank you loop starts your day off instead of 'Oh my God, I wish I could go back to sleep', it takes you in a completely different direction. My thoughts go down the hallway and I'm so grateful that I'm in a beautiful home, my kids are safe, I never have to worry about my kids' safety in my home. And that is not true for a lot of people on this planet, and that just snowballs all day long. What is the best thing I can do in this moment in being steeped in gratitude and appreciation and looking towards what you want to cultivate? Because what we think about we bring about in our thoughts, they lead to words, which become conversations, both written and verbal. And in the work you do with marketing and storytelling, it directly correlates back to those seeds of thoughts. What are you thinking about? What are you paying attention to? And when you're energetic, like I always ask, How do you feel? When are you happiest? When do you feel most excited? Do more of those things. Because when you bring that energy to your work, it diminishes stress, doubt, and you can show up, and that is actually in itself a huge time saver. Think of all the time you spend, you know, just in those loops of dialogue, wondering what's possible versus taking aligned action and having faith in moving forward. So really important, I guess is the short answer.
Karen Wilson 16:18
I think that's such a big part, too. You know, when I'm working with clients, I'll hear people say, 'Well, I hate marketing'. It's such a, it's such a drag for them. For whatever reason, there's a lot of different reasons it can be. I think one of the biggest reasons is just a lack of understanding about exactly what marketing is. But that, that leads to sort of that paralysis that you get when you're just like not sure what to do next. And one of the things that, and I'm losing track of my thread, I'm trying to talk my way through it. And I, I lost the thread. I had a question I was going to ask you.
Lisa van Reeuwyk 17:09
We can talk about the snooze button if you want.
Karen Wilson 17:11
Yeah, tell us a little preview of your Instagram posts that are coming about the snooze button.
Lisa van Reeuwyk 17:19
Well, the snooze button is, you know, I always say hashtag the struggle is real. So the key is to minimize the pressure of getting up for the day. What you want to do is allow yourself to wake up incrementally giving yourself permission to go back to bed. So your alarm goes off, I always recommend do not keep your phone on your bedside, that's a whole nother conversation, why you won't do that. But you want to keep it across the room or in your ensuite, because you have to physically get out of the bed to turn it off. So that wakes you up, say 10% more than when the alarm went off. Once you're in the bathroom, you can say, I'm gonna go to the bathroom, then I'm gonna go back to bed. Maybe wash your hands, get a drink of water, and at each step, I want you to say you just do this one more thing and then you can go back to bed. By the time you get to the third activity, you're awake.
Karen Wilson 18:17
Yeah, we've talked a lot about prepping for the next day the night before and having, you know, one of the things that I was doing for a little while until I realized that I just really didn't get the fulfillment I wanted from this was sleeping in my workout clothes. And so I would sleep in my workout clothes so that I could just jump out of bed in the morning and go and there was no, you know, oh, I have to get dressed. And there was no barrier to making that happen. And I've done that before, and it was very effective. But at this stage of my life, I don't want to do that anymore. And so, so I reworked my day. And it was great, because you were very good at giving me permission to do that. And one of the things, as you were speaking a moment ago, is I was thinking, what if you think about something at night that you're looking forward to the next morning so that can be something that you kind of bring that back to mind in the morning so that you can have that extra little boost of energy to get up out of bed.
Lisa van Reeuwyk 19:35
Absolutely. And an interesting add on to what you just mentioned. We spend roughly a third of our life asleep. If you have a bedtime ritual of appreciation, gratitude and expecting good things to happen to you the next day, studies have shown that you are setting your subconscious mind and that tone for your sleep with the last thoughts you're having at the end of the day. So looping in, I do this expect the best meditation/affirmation practice. It's what if before I hopped on this podcast, I felt nervous, and oh, she knows all my stories, this isn't going to go well, it's going to be boring and went on that train versus oh my gosh, this is going to be so much fun. I'm so excited to sit down with Karen in a different format and have a real conversation with her, this is going to be incredible. What, how does that then prepare and set the tone for our exchange? And that's exactly what you do at bedtime when you think, Okay, I am getting up in the morning and I'm going to, I'm going to have a workout. Or even say, I'm going to get up in the morning, and I'm going to put on my running shoes. Like minimize the pressure on yourself. We have so much pressure coming down on us in every area. I'm a huge fan of Dr. BJ Fogg and his work around tiny habits. And the workout vein, I had a client who wanted to do more exercise. And so he talks about new behaviors with the acronym map. So M is for motivation, we have to be motivated for change, like you are motivated to move your body more and for all sorts of reasons. But what happens when there's sickness in the house or big deadlines at work or tech challenges, motivation ebbs and flows, which is essentially the crux why New Year's resolutions don't work because we need the motivation. But we can't rely on it solely to take us where we want to go. The A is for ability, we have to physically be able to do it. And we also want it to be easy, to remove barriers. And then the P, which to me is the exciting element, which most people miss in new behaviors, is the prompt. So after I wrap up my evening, I will put my running shoes at the door before I go to bed. I've had clients do that, because if they see their runners out, they'll put them on. So this after I fill in the blank, I will fill in the blank. And so picking just after I get in the car, I will open up audible because you want to start listening to audiobooks on your drives instead of crappy pop radio.
Karen Wilson 22:25
Yeah, I never listen to the radio anymore.
Lisa van Reeuwyk 22:28
Your car is a university. I'm always listening to podcasts and audiobooks in the car, my kids love it.
Karen Wilson 22:40
In truth, if my son is in the car with me, I'm usually listening to him. That's our talk time. So, but I'm in podcast world all the time, basically, I burn through them. They're excellent. But one of the things that I love about what you described is the very intentional use of language, there's no have to, no shoulds, no... it's more I will and it's less, it's less fake than some of the more positive iterations like I get to, it's just factual. I will do this. And I, what's the thinking behind that for you?
Lisa van Reeuwyk 23:27
Well, words are so powerful. You know, if for the listeners listening to this, if you took a moment with me right now, and I say the words, I am stupid, I feel that in my whole body, it just brought everything down. But if I say, I am smart, I feel a lift. And so this is undeniable. And so really being purposeful about all the words you choose to use, they have an impact on yourself, they have an impact on everyone around you. And yeah, I will is part of expecting the best and the I get to... Yeah, I mean, this whole toxic positivity drives me nuts. But I am a fan of taking the oh, I have to do this, and I have seven meetings today... I do like to flip that to I get to, because it does shift a burden into a blessing. You know, I get to go to work today. And yeah, it's robust. But all of this, this is what I've been working so hard for. So there are there is a time and place for it. But like even affirmations, I'm like, How does this sit with you? Because if it doesn't sit with you, it isn't going to help you, it's going to be another barrier. So you can always turn an affirmation into a question or change the wording, like why do I deserve to have a great life? Why am I worthy of cultivating the success in my business? And when we ask the question, our mind will respond with a narrative and a story because our mind always wants a narrative and a story. And those positive answers will start to pop up by asking yourself the question.
Karen Wilson 25:11
Yeah. And I think that the, the way that we talk about ourselves sometimes is so much worse than we would talk about other people. Especially business owners, because it's such a fraught process, because you are wearing all these different hats. Many of them aren't necessarily in your genius zone. And so there is that tendency to beat ourselves up for the perceived failures that we have in areas that we're not necessarily gifted in. And so removing that tendency to be negative about it makes a lot of sense. Because how do you beat yourself up over something that you literally don't have expertise in?
Lisa van Reeuwyk 26:07
Oh, my goodness, yes. Yes. I love that you brought that up. And it's true. It's the fact that people get in their own way of success. If it isn't in your genius zone, like I work with a ton of wellness service providers, or creatives. They were trained in their craft, not in running a business. Why do you think you need to do it all? Why do you need to wear all these hats? You don't. Why... and parenting is a great analogy. It's like if you're having communication issues, or things aren't going well, like we don't get a training manual. Here you go, here's exactly how to run your business. Oh, and yeah, there might be a pandemic in the middle and some disastrous climate change events as well. But you got it all on your own. No problem. And so yeah, we need to ask for help. And I've seen, I have this amazing client, she's a professional organizer. She just messaged me a couple of weeks ago to let me know her BHAG - which is your big, hairy audacious goal - for the year, she was a stone's throw away from reaching her revenue goal, which doubled her corporate salary when she was in the mix. But she did it through, she came out of the spiritual closet and infused that into our strengths and positioning and her brand. She was able to connect with more clients, she hired a virtual assistant, and some other people on her team that allowed her to shift more into operations. And she was booking clients through her automations while she was on vacation and sending teams to jobs while she would go away on weekend trips with her husband. She couldn't have done that if she had stayed in the zone where she needed to do everything herself.
Karen Wilson 27:51
Yeah, yeah, that's something that I feel like so many business owners have to learn over and over and over again, I know I have, because I will often, because I am pretty tech savvy, and I like to learn software, so I'll jump in and start learning how to do stuff. And I was in a mastermind back in 2020, when I started this podcast, and it got delayed, because I kept, you know, I had downloaded all the software I needed, I was gonna do all the editing myself and figure it out. I didn't have time to do that. And so my mastermind compatriots said to me, 'Karen, stop it, hire it out, you know people who do this'. And I did and it was, it was such a relief. And that took that non genius, I was barely even, I wasn't even competent at it. It wasn't even in my zone of competence. And I took that off my plate and gave it to someone who it was and the amount I paid for it is so worth the time I save. I can go and I can spend that time doing things that will bring in money that will more than cover that cost.
Lisa van Reeuwyk 29:14
Yeah exactly. And it fosters the joy, the reason you started the podcast, you're able to stay connected to that joy and enthusiasm to continue to record it and have these conversations with people that inspire and educate. And as to your point, I encourage all the entrepreneurs listening to this to, if you don't already know, what is an hour of your time worth? Do you have a number? One of the easiest referrals I give clients is hire a housekeeper. Do you know how much time a week a month you spent cleaning your house? Pay someone under $50 an hour to do that for you. It will spark so much joy relief, number one. It takes a burden off of you for all this, oh, my house isn't as clean as it should be. And take all the time you would have spent cleaning your house and allocate it to what I like to call CEO time, allocate time specifically and block it off your calendar because we live and die by the calendar, treat that CEO time as important as a client meeting or new business meeting and work on your business or revenue producing work. Because yeah, your time is valuable. And when you understand Yeah, my time is worth $300 an hour, or maybe it's $150 an hour, it makes a lot of sense to say, oh, yeah, I'm gonna pay someone this amount of money, so I can then grow my business.
Karen Wilson 30:40
Yeah, I have that conversation a lot, too, because I think a lot of women have had it programmed in our heads that, you know, especially when you're working from home, as so many of us are these days, you have it in your head that you have to do it all. You have to do the work, make the money, and also cook all the meals, clean the house. And that just isn't the mentality that we should keep. The the whole idea of a 40 hour work week was predicated on the idea that there was going to be someone at home, doing all those things who wasn't employed, because that was the social norm, at least for middle class and up at the time. And so what we have to do is give ourselves the space to do the things that we need to do in our business. And then, you know, hire out the rest of it. Because if you don't have to be doing it, there's better things you can do with your time and it frees you up to spend quality time with family, friends and other people you care about.
Lisa van Reeuwyk 31:57
Absolutely. Yeah. It's such a great point, a centering question I often give - and please know, like I have a husband, I love him, I'm not a man hater at all, but I do have a lot of awareness as to that we live in a world created by men for men to be supported, safe and successful. And so why would they work hard to change that? So a hugely powerful centering question I hand out at work all the time is that moment, like you're at home, and there is laundry or dishes or whatever is going on, ask yourself, what would a man do right now?
Karen Wilson 32:37
Oh, yeah.
Lisa van Reeuwyk 32:39
Yeah, what would a man do right now and then do that. And it also involves like back to that Miss Capable, Miss capable, like we have amazing maternity leave here in Canada. It's such a gift. But what needs to happen is you generally shift back into this very domestic role. And it just makes sense. Because it's back to that your home so I'm going to do all the things. The woman has to sit the man down with confidence in and then a state of empowerment, be like I'm going back to work. Or if we're business owners, maybe we just had a couple of months, it's like, Hey, I'm starting to do contracts again. Let's talk, we need to divvy some stuff up here. Because the men, maybe some guys like congratulations, who has that husband, but most men will not initiate that conversation. And when we look down the road in the marriage, resentment builds, exhaustion builds, fatigue builds, stress builds, and unfortunately, divorce happens once the kids get a bit older. And so I say like, be a leader in your own life. It's great for you to ask for what you need. And ultimately, our partners want us to thrive. They want us to be happy and energetic and successful, but they need us to direct them. They need us to say hey, you're gonna start doing the laundry and make dinner three nights a week, let's sit down and meal plan.
Karen Wilson 34:00
Yeah, I am really lucky because I have a partner who very much, you know, he is the type of guy who will go and clean something. The last couple of weeks, he's had so much cooking and cleaning around the house, and it's been amazing. I haven't had to worry about any of them. And so in that sense, I really have someone who's very attuned to those things. And, you know, his feminist tendencies are growing as I, you know, influence. But we have had really great conversations about that division of responsibilities because there's a lot of talk these days about emotional labor, and he just isn't comfortable with that aspect of things, like he sees the way I'll handle things with school and other aspects of our son and his life, and he's like, he just defers to me on those things. Together, we'll talk about it and he gets an understanding, but he just tends to like to defer to me because he just feels like I handle it better. And so in those discussions, he takes on more of other loads in a very willing way. And that is... makes such an enormous difference, because neither of us feel like we're being slighted. And I think those real honest conversations make an enormous difference to having a really healthy relationship.
Lisa van Reeuwyk 35:42
And look at all the success you've had in your business as a result of that support. And so whether you have a partner, like Karen here, who is just in it to win it, or you need to sit them down and ask, it may take a little bit of coaxing, but I think women need to understand it's now on us that we are perpetuating old cycles of behavior. And we don't have to, we can do anything we want. And, yeah, you have been so successful this year, because you know you're supported.
Karen Wilson 36:13
Yeah, one pivotal thing I would say that I did, and it was a result of - I'm not going to name a name - but there was a video done by a particular person and they talked about how to talk to your partner about your business and what your plans were. And I kind of followed this formula. And I wrote out something that I wanted him to read, I'm like, okay, I basically pulled him into the process. And I said, okay, here's what my goals are, here's how I'm going to do it. And he didn't have that understanding before. So there was this constant sort of feeling of insecurity of what are you doing? Why are you putting us at financial risk, because it was really early days in my business years ago, and boy did that make such a difference in how he looked at my business and the work that I was doing. It was just total night and day understanding that he got. I think that that's a really important consideration for anyone who's running a business. If you have a partner, make sure you bring them into the back end of your business and show them what's going on.
Lisa van Reeuwyk 37:38
Yeah well, just like you do in your work, you gave him a story. You told him the story. And he's like, oh, okay. Yeah, it's a really good point is they need to see the big picture. And often when we start out, as soon as you start to see some success, you're taking that income and investing it back into the infrastructure of your business, whether it's investing in some new platforms, perhaps a new website, new branding, hiring a marketing maven like you, or a business coach like me, it does take a while. But that doesn't mean it's not worth it. I love to say, you know, it's not going to be easy, but it is going to be worth it. Because we can't be so dedicated, kind, generous, showing up, diligent that we're not going to run into problems, we are always going to hit challenges and roadblocks. So why not work towards those outcomes that you really want in your life, go for it and bring people in and get some enthusiasm and support. We all need more enthusiasm in our lives. I yeah, I love that you are so outspoken and powerful in showing it personally and then doing that for your clients and allowing them to really tell their stories so people can connect.
Karen Wilson 38:58
It's so important. Our stories are the way we can make that emotional connection with others. It's how we, I like to use the iceberg example, you lower the waterline and you show people what's going on under the surface to a certain extent obviously are not going to tell your deep dark secrets, but there is a certain amount that you can share that leads to a deeper connection and it it makes it makes, it more powerful and you attract your people instead of the wrong people.
Lisa van Reeuwyk 39:32
I love that. Yes! I agree. I also share the line to add on your iceberg analogy is share from your scars, not your open wounds. You get to decide where are you drawing the lines on your brand positioning. Do you want to pull your family into your brand, do you not? Do you want to talk about, you know me, I'm able to talk about my childhood and my father passing away because it was a long time ago and I'm okay with it. And I'm okay for people opening up comments online as they do about any of that. But if something is very recent and raw and traumatic for you, you don't need to talk about. If you don't, if your brand isn't aligned with you, you know, like, obviously ours is, but if your business brand is not tied to you at all, then how do you create connection and intimacy without tying yourself to your brand, because maybe you're looking to scale the business and sell it in a few years, you still need to connect with other people person to person, and it can be really tricky to navigate that storyline.
Karen Wilson 40:42
Yeah, yeah. And we're, we're very, we're kind of programmed to not put too much out there that the concept of oversharing people tend to bring up concerns around that. And often, it's just a matter of figuring out how to share in a way that's comfortable. And I like to say personal versus personable are two very different levels of sharing, you can share personal information in a personable manner without giving all the details of what's going on. And, you know, every now and then if you want to get really vulnerable, and it makes sense for your business, then that's, that's a call you want to make in a careful way. But there's a lot we can share without oversharing.
Karen Wilson 41:39
That's amazing. I love hearing that. I think that being a human being, a whole human being, as a business owner, especially if you're serving women primarily in your business, it really makes a difference. It's not, you can't go out and be cold and attract that ideal client of women. Because we like to nurture each other and support each other. It's important for, and I think we're in a moment now where not only is it important to most of us to provide that support, but it's also we just want to see everybody rise up.
Lisa van Reeuwyk 41:39
Absolutely. Well and all my clients within the first few sessions we go into, and you did it, the ideal client. Really unpacking the ideal client. And you, depending on your model, you likely have more than one ideal client. But when you can take your brand strengths, and understand who your ideal client is, and their values and where they intersect, you can pull that into your messaging, the values, and do exactly that. You maybe you want to stand up and have a vulnerable moment about like plastics and the overuse of plastics. Or maybe there's something going on in your community that you're okay standing up and talking about in the political realm. But you want to understand what is my ideal client? What is my audience connected to and going to respond to? Where am I okay, showing up being more personable, and also a little personal? And you know, from your work, these get the most engagement when we show up as human beings. There's someone that I'm close to in my Instagram community, and she's regularly posting about her fertility journey. And she has a textile business. And she's a musician. So she'll sing songs and share them. So she creates this vibe and feeling on her platform and openly shares about her infertility journey. And then also is growing her business and constantly saying, like, I am doing over a million dollars in sales now. So she has people, because people don't just want to say, Oh, I'm selling this today and now I have this and do you like this pattern. She is putting herself out there as a person that people like, they want to hear from, she's funny, she entertains, she performs, and she's crushing it.
Lisa van Reeuwyk 44:14
Yes. Yes. And women have so much buying power. And we also I remember not that long ago, we were in a situation with a builder that I had been fielding all the conversation with. And when we came to a meeting where my husband was there, he spoke to my husband the entire time. I felt like jumping in front of my husband and waving my arms and even my husband was like 'This is confusing, I have no relationship with this person'. And that is not an isolated experience. And I've had financial planners do that as well. And we're like there is no way we're hiring you, like what rock did you crawl out from that you think you can just totally ignore the woman in the room? It's, I don't not hire men, but I will hire a female dentist and a female doctor and a female physio and a female female female whenever I can, because I understand that we still need a lot of help opening the doors to success, we aren't at a level playing field. We all know we're not paid the same wage. And when you start to hit intersectionality, between marginalized groups, it gets harder and harder and harder. And so we get to decide where we spend our dollars. And so first of all, like always go to the small business, you know, one of my kids is an avid reader, and she's like, I want to order all these books on Amazon. I'm like, no, we are going to go to the local bookstore, or even Chapters Indigo because at least it's Canadian. And buy them there, and if for some reason, we can't find it anywhere, then I'll order it for you on Amazon. But where we spend our dollars really matters and supporting people is more important than ever.
Karen Wilson 46:07
Totally, totally. I think that that is one thing that the pandemic has really, really made very obvious. Now before - I know we're gonna have to wrap up in a few minutes - but before we completely end this, I want to ask you about what your advice would be to someone who's thinking about hiring a business coach, because I connected with you on LinkedIn, I mentioned this in the intro. You messaged me when we connected as, you know, on LinkedIn, and then you had a whole process in letting me know what you do that was very engaging. And it ended up that I hired you as a business coach. Your timing was great, because I was already thinking about it. But when is it ideal for a business owner to hire a business coach? And why is it so beneficial?
Lisa van Reeuwyk 47:09
Well, thank you for your kind words and great question. I'd say, don't look back and think I wish I'd done this before. As soon as you start having those thoughts of, I have this vision for my business and I don't know how to get there. Or like I look at it like a phone number. You've got these 10 digits in a phone number. But if I throw them all at you at once, you'll be like, wait a minute, I need to write them down, it's too much. Your business coach can give them to you one at a time to take you down that critical path where you want to go. You don't need to do it all yourself. A business coach can help you get the clarity you need on your vision and that true definition of success that's in your heart, not what you've been conditioned. And to get to true profitability, both in the bank and in your tank. I think you want to be clear on what you want to get out of the business coaching. And I would say talk to at least three. I meet a lot of other business coaches, and they're like, oh, my gosh, we do totally different things. We are not all created equal. Right? What is it you want to get out of it? I think one of the reasons I work with so many creatives and wellness providers and women is because I'm bringing the whole game. I'm not just there at our sessions, we're chatting, I have clients that message me almost daily, hey, Lisa, can you read this for me? What do you think of this? What? You know, I'm in it with you. A lot of other coaches aren't like that. If they're just looking at financial strategies and spreadsheets and talking about org charts, that is great. Make sure that's who you're hiring, and talk to people in your network. You know, I get a lot of client referrals. And there's a lot, it's easier to trust someone when you see someone who's successful. So if you have people in your life that are successful, ask them Hey, have you worked with a coach? Do you know anyone you can recommend? And I do a free discovery conversation, most people do. So you want to be able to have that conversation and be ready with questions, really specific questions, of what you want to get. I've been hired by people that don't even have a name. They just know they want to be a dietician, or they want to open a wellness clinic. And we go through that whole process together. I have other people that are in business and they're like, Oh, I'm stuck. So really, I don't know if there's the best time to hire it more depends on you and your story of what you're looking for help with.
Karen Wilson 49:33
Yeah. I like that answer, though. Because if you are thinking about it, your your intuition is telling you this is the time.
Lisa van Reeuwyk 49:43
Yeah. And so many women, especially as moms, we're used to taking care of everyone else's needs first, it feels like a luxury. But I can tell you this: it is a true investment in your success. To just like, you know, we've heard of our life starts to resemble the five people we spend the most time with. Who do you want your life to resemble? Is there anyone on your list that needs to be bumped? Is there anyone? So I have clients who are like you're on my top five, right? It's, we're always looking to level up, we always want... and not comparing ourselves to anyone else because we're all at different places in the journey, but being like, put your head down on the pillow at night and be, and smile. Like I did, I did a good job today for me. I took care of my needs and the people I care about and I made choices that will take me where I want to go. Like you working on your passive income stream. You don't see the results today. We don't plant a seed and have a mighty oak tomorrow, but we live in this instant downloadable society. So be patient, not a strong suit for a lot entrepreneurs, but we have to practice kindness and patience. Because if beating ourselves up worked, wouldn't life be perfect? It doesn't work.
Karen Wilson 51:00
Yeah. It doesn't work so well. Lisa, how can people find you out on the interwebs?
Lisa van Reeuwyk 51:09
Oh, yes. Well, I'm most active on Instagram. My platform is Bloom Lisa, like a flower. My business is Bloom Business Development. You can find me on LinkedIn if you can spell my last name, then you can find me there. And then my website's BloomLisa.com. I have a business blog. I post monthly, really just very holistic business blogs to support people through their sales, through using their time on purpose. all all sorts of areas, kind of whatever themes are showing up with my clients is what I blog about.
Karen Wilson 51:45
Well, thank you so much for coming on today. And I will see you in our next call.
Lisa van Reeuwyk 51:52
Thank you! Thank you so much for inviting me. It's been so nice, I feel like I could chat for another hour. But yeah, I have a meeting, so...
Karen Wilson 52:00
I know. All right. Well, I will let you go and I hope you have a great day.
Lisa van Reeuwyk 52:06
You too. Thanks, Karen.
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