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
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...
What's the difference between wanting a goal and truly OWNING it?
In this powerful episode, Maggie reveals the transformational moment that shifted everything—when her biggest, most audacious goal was accidentally revealed during her Legacy Makers TV filming.
Through her candid behind-the-scenes story, discover why hiding your dreams might be holding you back and how public declaration can become your greatest cat...
While everyone's still in summer mode, smart service business owners are preparing for the most profitable four months of the year. September through December is your "mini New Year"—fresh budgets, new priorities, and clients ready to invest before year-end.
3 Ways to Prepare for Q4 Success:
1. Launch Strategic Marketing
Create value-based campaigns targeting your clients' September-December...
Are you playing it safe with your dreams?
In this powerful episode, Maggie shares key insights from her recent 10X Expansion Retreat about why your biggest goals should make you a little nervous—and how to set timelines that push you forward without shutting you down.
Drawing from real client transformations and her own journey, Maggie breaks down the psychology behind why some of us tend to keep ourselves small a...
Stop abandoning your goals the moment your first plan doesn't work perfectly! In this episode, Maggie reveals why so many business owners quit on their important goals when urgent tasks take over, and shares a simple 3-question framework to keep moving forward without starting over.
Key Takeaways:
• Why business owners abandon goals instead of adjusting plans
• How to use the DREAM-PLAN-DO framework to sta...
Ever wondered what it's really like to host your first business event?
In this candid behind-the-scenes episode, Maggie shares the raw, unfiltered lessons from organizing and leading her very first in-person retreat—the 10X Expansion Retreat. From last-minute planning to unexpected challenges, discover what worked, what didn't, and what she'd do differently next time.
What You'll Learn:
• How a ...
Struggling to stand out in a crowded market? The secret is letting clients try before they buy.’
In this episode, you’ll learn how to create irresistible free/low-cost offers for service businesses (like mini-workshops, service trials, or concierge audits) that convert leads into paying clients—without the hard sell.
Letting your potential clients "sample" your services first removes the risk on their part a...
Struggling with productivity guilt every time you try to take a break? You're not alone. In this candid episode, Maggie shares her personal journey from corporate hustle culture to sustainable business success, revealing why high achievers feel guilty about rest and how to break free from this destructive pattern.
What You'll Learn:
• The hidden cost of productivity guilt on your business and life
• W...
Summer mornings on the deck remind Maggie of the deeper reasons behind starting Stairway to Leadership. In this heartfelt 3-minute episode, she shares the four core "whys" that drive her business and challenges you to get crystal clear on yours.
In This Episode:
• Why summer flexibility sparked a gratitude moment
• The ripple effect of coaching real people who need it
• The power of creative agenc...
Ready to transform your relationship with sales and finally scale your service-based business? In this power-packed episode, Maggie reveals the 10 non-negotiable sales principles that separate struggling service providers from those who consistently grow and scale. Whether you're avoiding sales or ready to master it, these insights will change how you think about selling forever.
What You'll Learn:
✅ The ...
Feeling torn between growing your business and being present for your family this summer? You're not alone. In this quick bonus episode, Maggie tackles the "summer guilt" that plagues so many women entrepreneurs and shares the mindset shift that changes everything.
What You'll Learn:
✅ Why "summer guilt" isn't really about time - it's about the story you're telling yours...
Have you ever felt resistance to a business decision you knew would be good for growth? You're not alone. In this episode, Maggie delves into why our brains resist the very changes that could transform our businesses—and more importantly, how to overcome that resistance.
Using real examples from her own wellness journey and a client's staffing challenges, Maggie reveals the science behind why change can be so...
In today's Maggie's Moment, Maggie dives into the critical but overlooked skill of expanding your emotional capacity—the key to navigating uncertainty, avoiding self-sabotage, and achieving 10X growth.
Backed by neuroscience and 2023 studies, she reveals why traditional "hustle" fails and how to rewire your brain to thrive in the unknown.
Key Takeaways:
1️⃣ Why Emotional Capacity Matters
- The ...
In this episode, you'll discover:
- The critical difference between fast action and rushed decisions that separates successful entrepreneurs from those who get left behind
- Why taking 3 months to decide on a business name is costing you more than you think
- The two powerful business concepts that will transform how you launch new services: MVP and LVC
- How to make strategic decisions with courage while being willing t...
Key Points Covered in Today's Maggie's Moment
1️⃣ The Motivation Hack You’re Missing
- Why discipline alone fails (and what Stanford research says works instead).
- Hershfield’s finding: People connected to their future selves 2X success rates.
2️⃣ How to “Meet” Your Future Self
- The VR study reported a 42% reduction in procrastination.
- Why most entrepreneurs see their future self as a stranger (and h...
Here's the reality: Most business owners are trapped in their own success.
You've built something that depends entirely on you being present, available, and "on" all the time. But what if I told you that the most successful, scalable businesses are designed to run seamlessly whether the owner is in the office or on a beach in Bali?
In this episode, I'm sharing the framework that transforms own...
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