Diamond Effect - Strategies to Scale Your Service Business as a Sellable Asset
This podcast helps service-based entrepreneurs and business owners scale their businesses in any economy without overworking or overwhelm. The goal is to create an asset you can sell while enjoying life as you build it. Here, you turn your business into a client-attracting gem and become a high-performing CEO. About the Host: Maggie Perotin is the founder of Stairway to Leadership. As an international business and leadership coach, Maggie helps service-based business owners start, grow, and scale their businesses without overworking or being overwhelmed. With her DREAM-PLAN-DO coaching model, her clients scale while transforming into high-performing CEOs of their businesses. This is what USA Today wrote about this model in the article titled: "How Stairway to Leadership is turning small businesses into high-profit ventures." "(...) her DREAM-PLAN-DO coaching model, she helps her clients align their mindset, business strategy, and high-performance habits to transform their businesses from an unreliable source of income to a super-productive client-attracting gem. Maggie adds that she uses all her knowledge and experience to help her clients grow their businesses in a strategic and innovative way while supporting them in building a successful business that consistently attracts their ideal clients. She specializes in helping them build a brand that showcases their uniqueness to reach their full potential, becoming the powerful CEO they’re capable of being." Maggie has over 15 years of experience in corporate leadership in various business domains and coaching. She holds an executive MBA from the Jack Welch Management Institute. Maggie lives in Toronto, Canada, with her blended family with four kids. She loves spending time in nature, traveling, reading, dancing, good food, and giving back. To learn more, head to www.stairwaytoleadership.com To work with Maggie and gain break-through clarity on why your business isn't scaling- schedule a free 50-min consultation https://calendly.com/maggie-s2l/discovery-call
Episodes
Recession fears. Economic uncertainty. Tariffs. Interest rates. It's been a stressful year for small business owners, and you might be worried about what 2026 will bring.
But here's what I learned this week at a Small Business Week event with the Chief Economist from BDC: 2026 won't be as bad as you think.
Yes, we'll see slower growth. But growth nonetheless - not recession. And as a small business o...
Entrepreneurs never lack ideas. The challenge? Actually implementing them.
If you're busy running your business day-to-day and struggling to turn your brilliant ideas into action, today's Maggie's Moment is for you.
I'm sharing three simple questions that will help you prioritize which ideas to implement first - and the one critical step that ensures they actually happen.
Stop collecting ideas. Start ...
You've been listening to my podcast, hearing my voice, learning from my frameworks - but do you actually know who I am?
Recently, I was running an event with local entrepreneurs, and someone mentioned they'd heard about the Diamond Effect Podcast. It hit me: my podcast is being talked about in rooms I'm not in, which means more of you are listening... but you might not really know Maggie.
I'm natural...
Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!
For me, this day marks the start of the holiday season - a time to pause, reflect, and feel grateful for what we have.
But here's the thing: we can't wait for holidays to practice gratitude, kindness, and appreciation. Those need to be part of our everyday lives, not saved for special occasions.
In this quick episode, I'm sharing why I practice gratitude daily in my journal, ex...
What does it really take to scale a service business to nearly seven figures without burning out or missing your kids' adolescence?
In this episode, I'm sitting down with my client Glory Lichon, an Air Force veteran turned entrepreneur who grew GlowBright Therapy from a solo practice to serving over 2,000 families across three states with a team of 30 - all while being present when her kids come home from sch...
"I need to think about it." "I need to talk to my partner." "I'm not sure I can afford it."
Sound familiar?
Here's the truth: these aren't the real objections - they're just the easiest things that come to mind when someone doesn't have enough information to make a decision yet.
In this quick episode, I'm sharing the three powerful words that will help you dig d...
If your plate is full, your team needs you on site all the time, and clients still want to work with YOU specifically - you're not scaling, you're stuck.
In this episode, I'm sharing exactly when and how to start documenting the processes that will take your business from chaotic growth to sustainable scaling.
This episode is for you if:
- You're working alone but your plate is already full with cli...
Feeling the economic slowdown? Stop waiting for things to get better and start taking action today.
In this quick episode, I'm sharing the one thing you can do right now that could land you a client this week - and it's probably sitting right in your CRM.
Spoiler alert: Your next client might already know you, they just haven't heard from you in a while.
Stop doom-scrolling. Start following up :).
Feeling like you're drowning in your own business success? If you're trying to do everything yourself, you're not just burning out - you're actually holding your business back from real growth.
In this episode, I'm breaking down the biggest myths that keep business owners stuck in "do-it-all" mode and sharing the exact framework I use to help clients go from overwhelmed solopreneurs t...
One of my youngest clients just turned 20 and asked our Diamond Effect Group a question that stopped me in my tracks: "What advice would you give your 20-year-old self?"
Her question got me thinking about all the things I wish I'd known back then - the mindset shifts, the courage I needed, and the shortcuts I could have taken if someone had just told me the truth about success.
In this episode, I'm s...
Ever notice how truly successful people never seem busy? They take vacations, have time for friends, and somehow stay calm while running thriving businesses. What's their secret?
It's not that they have more hours in the day or that they face fewer challenges. It's that they've figured out what to actually manage - and it's not what you think.
In this episode, I'm sharing the mindset shift ...
That moment when your business is growing but you feel like you're drowning? You're not alone.
As your business expands, so do the demands on your energy and attention. But here's the reality check every CEO needs: you cannot do everything, and trying to will burn you out.
In today's Maggie's Moment, I share the three critical skills every growing business owner must master. Tune in.
I'm back from vacation and feeling... different. You know that feeling when you step away from your routine and suddenly realize what you didn't even know you were missing?
In this episode, I'm sharing some honest reflections about what two weeks with extended family across Europe reminded me about balance, relationships, and why we high-achieving women sometimes forget we're whole human beings with...
In this bonus episode of Maggie's Moment, I'm sharing the uncomfortable truth about why most service-based entrepreneurs struggle to hit consistent 5K and 10K months. It's not about working harder.
Key Takeaways:
• Why the revenue rollercoaster happens (and how to get off it)
• The one critical piece most entrepreneurs are missing
• What "alignment" really means in business growth
September is here—your "Mini New Year" and the perfect time to set up Q4 for massive success! Discover how service business owners can learn from retail giants who make most of their annual revenue in just the last quarter.
Maggie reveals the strategic playbook to transform your final four months into your most profitable period, complete with month-by-month action plans and operational preparation tips.
What ...
Why do most service businesses never hit $100K, let alone a million and beyond? McKinsey research reveals it's not talent or passion—it's the lack of documented and working systems. Discover the three critical systems every service business needs to scale successfully.
What You'll Learn
- The 3 critical systems every service business must have to reach $100K+
- Why system alignment with your brand and valu...
Are you your own biggest obstacle to business success? In this game-changing episode, Maggie reveals why your brain's survival instinct is sabotaging your entrepreneurial dreams—and exactly how to rewire it to work FOR you instead of against you.
Discover the hidden mental patterns that keep ambitious business owners stuck, plus a proven 4-step process to transform self-sabotaging thoughts into success-driving act...
You bought a course, followed it exactly, and got zero results? You're not alone.
Harvard Business Review reveals that 70% of strategic initiatives fail—not because the strategy is wrong, but because business owners implement them blindly without adapting to their unique circumstances.
What You'll Learn
- The shocking statistic about why most business strategies fail
- The critical mistake 90% of business owne...
Do you often find yourself wondering, "I have no idea how this client found me" or repeating the same mistakes (ex., accepting clients that are cheap super hard to work with)?
In today's episode, Maggie reveals why successful service business owners think like scientists—and how mastering the art of looking back can transform your random wins into predictable, scalable success.
Discover the critical CEO ...
What if cutting your project timeline in half could make you MORE successful? Discover why constraints aren't limitations—they're forcing functions that spark breakthrough thinking and creative solutions.
What You'll Learn:
- Why IKEA and Dropbox used constraints to dominate their industries
- The research behind "productive constraints"
- How limitations prevent complacency and force innovation
- A po...
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