November 13, 2025 • 30 mins
The Big Gorgeous Goals: Official Workbook can be ordered now! Grab your copy.
We mark 51 episodes of Figure 8 by pausing to extract five powerful lessons from fifty conversations with women who scaled, exited, and reinvented. We share what changed for us, why belief work precedes strategy, and how purpose and profit move together when you lead in public.
You can grab your Big Gorgeous Goals book and workbook bundle here!
You can connect with Julie on LinkedIn or Instagram.
Find Julie's writing at her blog or by ordering her book Big Gorgeous Goals and the brand new official companion workbook!
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FIGURE 8 UPDATE
Hello listeners, thank you for your continued support and interest in my show. You may have noticed that Figure 8 is on a little hiatus right now, please enjoy the catalogue of episodes we have built up for you!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Julie (00:04):
Welcome to Figure 8, where we feature inspiring
stories of women entrepreneurswho have grown their businesses
to seven and eight figuresrevenue.
If you're in the mix of growinga bigger business, these
stories are for you.
Join us as we explore where thetough spots are, how to
overcome them, and how toprepare yourself for the next
(00:26):
portion of the climb.
I'm your host, Julie Ellis.
I'm an author, entrepreneur,and a growth and leadership
coach who co-founded, grew, andexited an eight-figure business.
This led me to exploring whysome women achieve great things.
And that led to my book, BigGorgeous Goals.
(00:47):
Let's explore the systems,processes, and people that help
us grow our businesses to newheights.
If you're interested in growingyour business, this podcast
will help.
Now, let's get g oing.
Hello and welcome to thisepisode of Figure 8.
(01:09):
This is a very special episodetoday.
I'm Julie Ellis, I'm your host,and we have reached 51
episodes.
So I'm pretty, I can hardlybelieve we're here to start
with.
50 conversations, 50 stories,50 opportunities to learn and
grow together.
(01:29):
And so today feels kind ofspecial.
I want to take a moment toreflect on what's shifted for me
over these 50 episodes, what Ihave learned from these
conversations, and where we'reheaded next.
Most importantly, I want tocoach you a little.
I want to invite you toreflect, take stock, and to
(01:54):
posture yourself for what isnext.
Whether you're new here orwhether you've been with me
since day one, thank you forbeing a part of this journey.
Let's dive in.
Let's start off with talkingabout the power of the pause.
And I'm a big fan of pausingand reflecting on what's
(02:18):
happening and why.
And it isn't just about beingnostalgic, it's about being
strategic.
When we pause and reflect andlook back, it reminds us of
where we were, who we were, andhow far we've come, whether
we're still aligned with ourdeepest, biggest, most gorgeous
(02:42):
goals.
It surfaces patterns and blindspots, shifts in our identity,
and it helps us course correctbefore we drift too far off the
path.
Over the past 50 episodes, I'vespoken to women doing
transformational work, scaling,leaping, changing industries,
(03:06):
navigating exits, growing teams,and redesigning their lives.
Through their stories and myown, I've seen that success
doesn't come from avoidingstruggle.
It comes from our ability topause, to reflect, and to adapt.
As I approach this milestone, Ifelt the pull to pause myself.
(03:29):
Growth isn't just forwardmotion, it owes itself to look
back and reflect as well.
So today I'm going to sharewith you the five biggest
lessons that have emerged fromall these conversations.
Two solo episodes, 48interviews with amazing women
(03:50):
entrepreneurs doing all kinds ofthings based on the needs they
see in the world.
And when I started to sit downand think about, you know, what
I wanted to say on thismilestone of all these
interviews and all of theseamazing entrepreneurs, you know,
I reflected on the facts.
(04:13):
And, you know, some of thestats aren't that great.
So 2% of women's ownedbusinesses, 2% of businesses
started by women ever achieve amillion dollars or more a year
in revenue.
In Canada, 4% of venturecapital goes to women-founded
ventures.
In the US, it's about 2.5%.
(04:34):
Um, angel money is a little bitbetter if you're getting angels
to invest in your business.
It's around 25%.
But all of those reasons werethe things that brought me to
the idea that in my small cornerof the world, I could tell the
stories of women entrepreneurswho were building big, beautiful
(04:55):
businesses, who wereunapologetic in what they were
chasing, and to, you know, showthe way for women who are
wishing, dreaming, and hoping toachieve that, to show them it's
possible, to show them all ofthe different women from
different backgrounds and andyou know parts of the world who
(05:15):
have who have done amazingthings with their businesses.
And so here, you know, on the51st episode, I really wanted to
look at those, you know, whatare the lessons, what are the
themes, what commonalities cameout of the conversations that we
have had until now?
And they've been so interestingbecause I think they're the
(05:37):
lessons that continue to shapehow I show up, how I lead, and
how I support women like you, myaudience, who have been
supporting me by listening toall these episodes.
So, with that, let's talk aboutthe lessons.
So, the first lesson I want tobring to you is that leadership
(06:01):
is learned through letting go.
And, you know, when we startbusinesses, um, I do say quite
often that none of us ever startbusinesses because we want 50
people reporting to us.
And the journey of growingthrough being a solopreneur or
having one or two people on yourteam to having a very large
(06:23):
team of people is, you know, ajourney of leadership as much as
it is a journey of scaling andgrowing.
And so you've got to figure outhow to do less, you know, how
to delegate more, how todelegate well.
And you spend a lot of yourtime then managing.
(06:44):
And, you know, whereas in theearly days, you're you're a
doer, you're you're doingeverything.
You're trying to createstrategy, you're trying to act,
you're doing all of theexecution, and you're really
hoping that things stick.
And, you know, in the later umyears, as the business gets more
mature and gets bigger and youhave a bigger team, you need to
become the designer of yourbusiness.
(07:05):
You are the strategist, you arethe person who is, you know,
setting the rhythm and movingthe team forward and all of the
pieces that come with that.
And that is a very, verydifferent feeling to, you know,
the early days where it's like areally long to-do list.
And in fact, I often thinkabout, you know, when I have a
(07:28):
really long to-do list and I'mexecuting on a lot of tasks,
what am I ignoring?
What strategy piece or reallyimportant part of the business
that only I can make thedifference in am I ignoring at
that point in time?
And so when I think throughthese things about, you know,
leadership, I think about HilaryParnell way back in the early
(07:49):
days of the podcast.
And, you know, she she has areally, really successful dance
studio that has many programsthat she's brought in-house,
many different streams ofrevenue.
And, you know, she talked abouthow, you know, for years she
thought she was the only one whoshould be making the fall
(08:10):
schedule for her business.
And, you know, it consumed twoweeks of her life.
And and one day she kind of gotto asking herself, like, why am
I the best person to do this?
Like, I don't possess anyspecial amount of skill.
You know, what if I hand thisoff and let someone on my team
do it?
What would that look like?
Um, and it is that interestingplace of, I think that I saw
(08:36):
over and over again the threador the theme or the echoing call
from all these different womenthat I talked to was, you know,
I need to hand things offbecause there are more important
jobs for me to do.
And, you know, Marla Coffin andI talked about, you know, she
realized if she wanted herbusinesses to grow without her,
(08:57):
she has to really, really figureout what only she can do and
hand off everything else.
And I think that's such asmart, smart way of looking at
how you're going to scale up andscale yourself.
And, you know, that's one greatstrategy is, you know, putting
someone in to really run theday-to-day and you becoming that
(09:20):
strategist, the overseer, thethe setting of the pace and the
goals and the and the rhythmthat a business needs to keep in
order to be successful.
I think that that's a reallyimportant part.
Um, and you know, I talk in thebook and in the workbook about
how there's a lot of skills thatno one ever teaches us, right?
(09:40):
You know, things nobody taughtme as I became an entrepreneur.
And one of the things was, youknow, how to delegate really
well and really effectively.
And, you know, I dedicated partof the book and the workbook to
tools for entrepreneurs becauseit just isn't, you know, you
become this micromanager becauseyou're just not letting go.
(10:03):
And you're not letting theteam, you're not setting the
team up for success.
And nor are you letting them besuccessful by the way that
you're approaching this.
And so I think that it reallyis important that you need to
think about like we really needto step up as leaders when we
start letting go of the reins ofcontrol and become account
(10:27):
culture of accountability.
And, you know, we have teamsthat are reaching for their big,
gorgeous goals.
It's not just about, it's notjust about my big gorgeous goal,
it's about how I cascade thatdown through the team and they
all become invested in reachingfor those bigger things.
And you know, Erika and I, whenI in Erika MacKay's episode, we
(10:48):
talked about how, you know,stepping out of the doing zone
can feel risky.
Like, you know, what if, whatif the team drops the ball?
What if they don't do it aswell as I did it?
What if they don't understand?
And it's where, you know, Ifeel like we're handing over
with um checkpoints and withaccountability of for the person
(11:12):
who's taking the task tounderstand that, you know, that
there's a high level ofexpectation, um, but that you
also are setting the rightcheckpoints for check-ins,
conversation, questions,clarifications, all of the
things that happen along the wayto, you know, teaching someone
how to do these jobs.
And, you know, Erika MacKayalso said, you know, she felt
(11:35):
like the only way she couldscale in her mind was she needed
to become the architect and notthe operator of her business.
And so I would say to you, ifyou're overwhelmed, um, you
start asking yourself, you know,what am I doing that somebody
else could do?
What can I hand off?
(11:56):
How can I hand it off?
Where am I needed most in thisbusiness?
What are the things that I amtruly the only person who can do
them?
And that's where you can startto sort of divide.
I mean, I think anotherpotential way of looking at it
is, you know, what are the tasksthat I'm doing right now that I
(12:18):
could pay somebody?
Uh like I'm, you know, you'redoing low-wage tasks.
You need to do the $100 an hourtasks, not the $20 an hour
tasks.
So how do you start sheddingthose and lifting yourself up to
do more valuable work for thebusiness?
Lesson number two.
Reinvention is required evenafter big success.
(12:43):
And it is the theory of, youknow, what got you here won't
get you there.
The skills that you have thatyou've honed are constantly
evolving.
And and and we need to evolveas people in order for us to
keep expanding.
Um, this conversation came upover and over again.
(13:04):
It's certainly part of mystory.
Um, when I left Mabel's Labelsand I got really stuck, you
know, I wasn't really thinkingabout reinventing myself.
And certainly that's what itturned to over the course of
time.
And, you know, here I sit adecade out from selling the
business just about.
(13:24):
Um, in you know, six weeks fromwhen this episode comes out.
It will be 10 years since wesold our business.
And, you know, it took me agood amount of time to figure
out um that reinvention wasrequired for me.
Um, and I sort of didn't knowhow to begin.
I hesitated a lot.
I got really stuck.
And I think it's this idea thatyou need to evolve to keep
(13:48):
expanding and you need to addnew things into your life sort
of strategically.
I mean, I think that, you know,when you exit your business, it
really is um something thatrequires you to think about what
you're going to replace it withand how you're going to want to
(14:10):
work.
Because I think I didn't havethat.
And, you know, I think in theepisode where I interviewed
Mandy Friend Gigliotti, wetalked about how you have to add
before you subtract.
Because selling your businessand walking out the front door
forever, which I did six monthsafter we sold, is a huge
subtract.
(14:31):
You know, you're you're missingpart of your identity.
The people that you worked withevery day for, you know, in my
case, over 13 years were, youknow, busy with their heads
down, still working on thebusiness.
And I was not uh in that spaceanymore.
And so it was a really bigsubtract.
And so when Mandy and I talkedabout that, I thought it was a
(14:53):
really key um ingredient of howdo you add before you subtract?
What is it you're gonna add?
And you need to be intentionalabout it because it, you know,
it's you can't just wait for itto come.
You have to actually beintentional about getting on the
path to making it happen.
When I had my conversation withSara Michelle Boes, you know,
(15:15):
she said she thought exiting herbusiness would be the finish
line, but instead it's the startof a new question, the next
era, a new, a new race that youmight be running.
And so you really do need tothink about it.
Um, and and like me, you know,when the deal closed, I thought
I had landed.
Like I thought it was thebeginning of a new era, but
(15:36):
instead I found myself stuck onthat plateau.
And getting off of it wasreally hard.
I had to ask, you know, who amI now and what do I really want?
And so if you are facingreinvention, I would really
encourage you to, you know,spend that time reflecting, get
out into nature, um, dosomething inspiring, go and
(16:00):
volunteer.
Uh, there's so many places thatneed help in the world that,
you know, we can make ourselvesoccupied while we gain new
perspectives and really thinkabout what we want next.
And so I think this is thisidea of like Anya Alev talking
(16:20):
to me about like she needed toreinvent her identity as the
owner, um, but as a leader.
You know, it's not just enoughto own the business and to be
there and be in charge.
You actually need to lead andyou need to really step into
that.
And so I I feel like the thebig takeaway here is, you know,
(16:41):
you never really arrivesomewhere.
There's not a big arrival.
You just you, you know, you'rerealigning and reinventing and
and rolling forward into newthings.
Um, and I don't know that thatever ends.
Um, I think it's something thatwill take all of us forward
forever.
(17:03):
Lesson number three is beliefshifts precede business shifts.
So if we are stuck in ourbeliefs, um we will struggle to
shift our businesses and makethe transformations that are
necessary.
Because a transformation alwaysstarts on the inside.
(17:26):
It's our belief system, ourconfidence, our identity.
Um, and then, you know, oncethe shift begins within, it
becomes external, and then wecan shift.
And so, you know, I saw overand over again in my interviews
(17:46):
in the podcast over time, youknow, people who had internal
belief shifts or major lifemoments that caused them to have
the reflection that that thenpushed them into business.
You know, people likeAeryon Ashlie, she had a health
transformation that fueled abusiness idea.
(18:08):
And, you know, she alreadyworked in wellness.
And so it really fueled her togo out and start her own
business and get something goingthat was really quite different
than what she had done before.
Um, you know, Lori Rogers talkedabout how she rewired her
mindset through through usingsticky notes and positive
intentions and and what um whata real difference that makes.
(18:33):
And, you know, thinking aboutum Mandy Friend Gigliotti, who I
mentioned earlier, I mean, shesaid, you know, once once you
get out of production and youknow, whatever production looks
like to you in your business, isit selling, is it doing, is it,
you know, all the differentpieces that go in?
(18:54):
And and but once you get out ofyour value being added that
way, then it's all aboutleadership.
And when those skills are allyou've got, you realize if you
haven't built belief, you're notready.
So, how do we build belief inourselves that will allow us to
shift our leadership and make animpact in the businesses that
(19:18):
we have?
Um, and I think the takeawaythere really is that your
business can only grow as far asyour mindset's gonna let it.
And so if we are holding ourbusiness down, uh holding it
back because of the way that weoperate, we are going to
continue to struggle.
So I believe that we all needto reflect on, you know, how am
(19:42):
I holding myself back?
How am I holding my businessback?
And what do I need to considerand shift?
Lesson number four.
Visibility isn't vanity, it's aleadership tool.
I think that, you know, showingup for yourself and talking
(20:04):
about your business, it's notself-promotion.
It is service and it'samplification.
So I think about, you know,we're all in envy of people who
show up uh very smooth andpolished and really promote
their business and and speakwell about it.
But um, that's not really beenmy comfortable place is to show
(20:30):
up and do that sort of thing.
And so I am encouraging youbecause it is service, it is
amplification.
Your business needs you.
It's part of being the leaderyour business needs.
And, you know, when I talkedwith Anna-Vija McClain, we
talked about, she said, youknow, when she shifted into that
(20:52):
CEO role, she realized thatvisibility wasn't about her, it
was about growth.
She needed to be visible andout there in the world in order
for her business to benefit.
And I think that that is areally, really important point.
You know, we need to stepoutside of our comfort zone a
(21:16):
little bit if that's not, ifthat's not where it is.
Um, you're gonna find you youhave to step out of your comfort
zone somewhere.
So whether it's in thevisibility area, whether it's in
finance, whether it's inoperations, you're going to have
to push yourself on some levelsomewhere.
Um, and if this is it, I think,you know, it's realizing, you
(21:36):
know, like Tarra Stubbins, thatyou have a story to tell and
that leaders need to be visiblein order to lead.
You know, they're they talkabout the different kinds of
leadership style.
You know, if you lead from thefront, you lead from the side,
or you lead from the back.
And there are times, you know,you may prefer to lead from the
(21:57):
back, let put your team forward,lift them up, let them be the
stars.
But there are times when youhave to come around to the front
and you have to take charge.
And that's really what we'retalking about here.
It's in that visibility piece.
Leaders need to be visible.
Denise Bedell and I talkedabout how when she stopped
hiding behind her clients andstarted telling her own story,
(22:21):
everything changed for her.
Her business took off.
She had so much more success,and she was leading from that
place of visibility.
In this area, you know, thetakeaway really is be seen.
Your story, it's a tool for youto help grow awareness, gain
(22:43):
more following, and ultimatelygrow a bigger business.
Lesson number five is that, youknow, purpose-driven profit is
the new power.
I have spoken to so many of myguests who felt called to the
business that they started.
Um, impact and profit are notopposites.
(23:07):
We see that women are bringingthem together and and that
purpose, having purpose-drivenbusinesses gives us an edge.
Um, and we should neverdiscount that.
And I think, you know, I'veseen uh from the guests that
I've had, I've seen, you know,Kristy Harold.
She has culture and play as abusiness strategy.
(23:32):
And, you know, she saw it as apath to a stronger community.
It wasn't just about revenue.
Um, you know, and yes, JamSports, they her business does,
you know, runs like evening umsoccer leagues and sports
(23:52):
leagues in communities all overNorth America for people who
want to have camaraderie,community, fitness, sport in
their lives.
And it means, you know, if youcan get people playing, it
builds stronger community.
And so Kristy was very drivenby, you know, her big gorgeous
goal of one million peopleplaying.
(24:14):
And that really has driven herbusiness forward, uh, the
purpose-driven, getting onemillion people playing.
Um, I think it's an amazingexample of how a big gorgeous
goal can come together withpurpose and help a business
drive forward to bigger andbigger successes.
(24:35):
I think also um, you know,Dionne Laslo-Baker, who came on
and talked about makinghealthier snacks for kids and
how she went about that and howshe really pivoted her career as
a scientist to making food thatwas healthy, delicious,
organic.
And, you know, the idea was areally simple one.
(24:58):
The idea is if it's not goodfor kids, why sell it?
And her whole business began onthat foundational premise.
And now, you know, she has areally large business.
She's all over North America.
Her products are delicious.
And, you know, it's it all camefrom that purpose of healthier
snacks for kids that tastedelicious.
(25:21):
Um, I also think about Dr.
Joan Fallon with her ummedication for children with
autism and the bland diet thatthey eat, the beige diet,
because they are missing anenzyme and they can't digest a
lot of things.
And so, you know, verypurpose-driven.
(25:44):
I don't think uh Joan Fallonwould have told you she would
ever be an entrepreneur in herlife.
And yet she felt so called withher discovery in science to
build a business and get on whatis a very long path to approval
of the drug and all of thethings that go with that.
Um, and so I think, you know,when I think about all of this,
(26:06):
you know, purpose leads, profitfollows, the things that these
women have said.
And I think, you know, it'sreally important to think about
how your values lead you forwardand how we start businesses
that align with our values andknowing what our values are,
because they they don't need tohold us back.
(26:27):
They should not hold us back.
We need them to help us leadforward.
So, five lessons.
Um it's so amazing to me.
So, and just to recap, right?
So, our first lesson number oneis you know, leadership is
learned through letting go.
And I think there's some greatexamples of that throughout the
(26:51):
different episodes.
Um, you know, with HilaryParnell, Marla Coffin, Erika
MacKay talking about how theylet go to grow bigger
businesses.
Lesson number two, reinventionis required even after big
success.
I am a living example of that.
And I think Sara Michelle Boesand Anya Aliev are also um, you
(27:15):
know, have some really greatcommentary about it.
Mandy Friend Gigliotti isanother great episode for that
one.
Lesson three, our belief shiftsin belief precede our shifts in
business.
So, so important.
We have to find the beliefwithin ourselves, the conviction
in what we're doing, and thenwe will find the transformation
(27:39):
that we are looking for.
And I think, you know, AeryonAshlie, Lori Rogers, Mandy
Friend Gigliotti, we see greatexamples of that throughout the
episodes.
Lesson number four (27:49):
visibility isn't vanity, it's a leadership
tool.
Tell the story of yourbusiness, get out there, make
sure people know about you.
And, you know, more.
If you want to learn more,listen to the episodes
Anna-Vija McClain, TarraStubbins, or Denise Bedell, uh,
(28:10):
among others.
But, you know, those three beseen.
Your story is a tool for thesuccess of your business.
And lesson five (28:18):
purpose-driven profit is the new power.
Um, you know, those greatladies, Christy Harrell, Dr.
Dionne Laslo-Baker, and Dr.
Joan Fallon are doing amazingthings in this world.
And I know that so many of usare.
And I think that, you know,leaning into our values to help
us move forward and letting themguide where we go in the world
(28:41):
is such a crucial, crucialthing.
So after all of that, here is myinvitation to you.
What lesson do you need tointegrate right now?
What belief do you have that'sready to shift?
And what values are you goingto lean on to guide your next
(29:04):
big move?
If you want a space to explorethose questions, download the
figure eight reflectionworkbook.
It's designed to help youpause, reflect, and recommit to
your own growth.
You can grab it atjulieellis.ca slash bookshop.
(29:25):
Thank you for being a part ofthe first 50 episodes.
I can't wait to walk with youinto what's next.
Until next time.
I hope you enjoyed today'sepisode.
Please remember to hitsubscribe on your favorite
podcast platform so you won'tmiss any episodes when they
drop.
Figure 8 isn't just a podcast,it's a way of seeing the big,
(29:50):
gorgeous goals of womenentrepreneurs coming to life.
If you're interested inlearning more, you can find my
book, Big Gorgeous Goals, on mywebsite.
At www.julieellis.ca slashbookshop.
That is also a place you canfind out more about my growth
and leadership trainingprograms.
(30:11):
And I'd love to hear from you.
I'm thinking about the next eraof Figure 8 and where we can
take this.
I'd love to know what thingsyou want to learn, what you like
the most, and what changes youthink I could make.
I'm so excited to bring you anew season of Figure 8 in 2026.
(30:34):
See you again soon.
Welcome to Figure 8, where we feature inspiring
stories of women entrepreneurswho have grown their businesses
to seven and eight figuresrevenue.
If you're in the mix of growinga bigger business, these
stories are for you.
Join us as we explore where thetough spots are, how to
overcome them, and how toprepare yourself for the next
(00:26):
portion of the climb.
I'm your host, Julie Ellis.
I'm an author, entrepreneur,and a growth and leadership
coach who co-founded, grew, andexited an eight-figure business.
This led me to exploring whysome women achieve great things.
And that led to my book, BigGorgeous Goals.
(00:47):
Let's explore the systems,processes, and people that help
us grow our businesses to newheights.
If you're interested in growingyour business, this podcast
will help.
Now, let's get g oing.
Hello and welcome to thisepisode of Figure 8.
(01:09):
This is a very special episodetoday.
I'm Julie Ellis, I'm your host,and we have reached 51
episodes.
So I'm pretty, I can hardlybelieve we're here to start
with.
50 conversations, 50 stories,50 opportunities to learn and
grow together.
(01:29):
And so today feels kind ofspecial.
I want to take a moment toreflect on what's shifted for me
over these 50 episodes, what Ihave learned from these
conversations, and where we'reheaded next.
Most importantly, I want tocoach you a little.
I want to invite you toreflect, take stock, and to
(01:54):
posture yourself for what isnext.
Whether you're new here orwhether you've been with me
since day one, thank you forbeing a part of this journey.
Let's dive in.
Let's start off with talkingabout the power of the pause.
And I'm a big fan of pausingand reflecting on what's
(02:18):
happening and why.
And it isn't just about beingnostalgic, it's about being
strategic.
When we pause and reflect andlook back, it reminds us of
where we were, who we were, andhow far we've come, whether
we're still aligned with ourdeepest, biggest, most gorgeous
(02:42):
goals.
It surfaces patterns and blindspots, shifts in our identity,
and it helps us course correctbefore we drift too far off the
path.
Over the past 50 episodes, I'vespoken to women doing
transformational work, scaling,leaping, changing industries,
(03:06):
navigating exits, growing teams,and redesigning their lives.
Through their stories and myown, I've seen that success
doesn't come from avoidingstruggle.
It comes from our ability topause, to reflect, and to adapt.
As I approach this milestone, Ifelt the pull to pause myself.
(03:29):
Growth isn't just forwardmotion, it owes itself to look
back and reflect as well.
So today I'm going to sharewith you the five biggest
lessons that have emerged fromall these conversations.
Two solo episodes, 48interviews with amazing women
(03:50):
entrepreneurs doing all kinds ofthings based on the needs they
see in the world.
And when I started to sit downand think about, you know, what
I wanted to say on thismilestone of all these
interviews and all of theseamazing entrepreneurs, you know,
I reflected on the facts.
(04:13):
And, you know, some of thestats aren't that great.
So 2% of women's ownedbusinesses, 2% of businesses
started by women ever achieve amillion dollars or more a year
in revenue.
In Canada, 4% of venturecapital goes to women-founded
ventures.
In the US, it's about 2.5%.
(04:34):
Um, angel money is a little bitbetter if you're getting angels
to invest in your business.
It's around 25%.
But all of those reasons werethe things that brought me to
the idea that in my small cornerof the world, I could tell the
stories of women entrepreneurswho were building big, beautiful
(04:55):
businesses, who wereunapologetic in what they were
chasing, and to, you know, showthe way for women who are
wishing, dreaming, and hoping toachieve that, to show them it's
possible, to show them all ofthe different women from
different backgrounds and andyou know parts of the world who
(05:15):
have who have done amazingthings with their businesses.
And so here, you know, on the51st episode, I really wanted to
look at those, you know, whatare the lessons, what are the
themes, what commonalities cameout of the conversations that we
have had until now?
And they've been so interestingbecause I think they're the
(05:37):
lessons that continue to shapehow I show up, how I lead, and
how I support women like you, myaudience, who have been
supporting me by listening toall these episodes.
So, with that, let's talk aboutthe lessons.
So, the first lesson I want tobring to you is that leadership
(06:01):
is learned through letting go.
And, you know, when we startbusinesses, um, I do say quite
often that none of us ever startbusinesses because we want 50
people reporting to us.
And the journey of growingthrough being a solopreneur or
having one or two people on yourteam to having a very large
(06:23):
team of people is, you know, ajourney of leadership as much as
it is a journey of scaling andgrowing.
And so you've got to figure outhow to do less, you know, how
to delegate more, how todelegate well.
And you spend a lot of yourtime then managing.
(06:44):
And, you know, whereas in theearly days, you're you're a
doer, you're you're doingeverything.
You're trying to createstrategy, you're trying to act,
you're doing all of theexecution, and you're really
hoping that things stick.
And, you know, in the later umyears, as the business gets more
mature and gets bigger and youhave a bigger team, you need to
become the designer of yourbusiness.
(07:05):
You are the strategist, you arethe person who is, you know,
setting the rhythm and movingthe team forward and all of the
pieces that come with that.
And that is a very, verydifferent feeling to, you know,
the early days where it's like areally long to-do list.
And in fact, I often thinkabout, you know, when I have a
(07:28):
really long to-do list and I'mexecuting on a lot of tasks,
what am I ignoring?
What strategy piece or reallyimportant part of the business
that only I can make thedifference in am I ignoring at
that point in time?
And so when I think throughthese things about, you know,
leadership, I think about HilaryParnell way back in the early
(07:49):
days of the podcast.
And, you know, she she has areally, really successful dance
studio that has many programsthat she's brought in-house,
many different streams ofrevenue.
And, you know, she talked abouthow, you know, for years she
thought she was the only one whoshould be making the fall
(08:10):
schedule for her business.
And, you know, it consumed twoweeks of her life.
And and one day she kind of gotto asking herself, like, why am
I the best person to do this?
Like, I don't possess anyspecial amount of skill.
You know, what if I hand thisoff and let someone on my team
do it?
What would that look like?
Um, and it is that interestingplace of, I think that I saw
(08:36):
over and over again the threador the theme or the echoing call
from all these different womenthat I talked to was, you know,
I need to hand things offbecause there are more important
jobs for me to do.
And, you know, Marla Coffin andI talked about, you know, she
realized if she wanted herbusinesses to grow without her,
(08:57):
she has to really, really figureout what only she can do and
hand off everything else.
And I think that's such asmart, smart way of looking at
how you're going to scale up andscale yourself.
And, you know, that's one greatstrategy is, you know, putting
someone in to really run theday-to-day and you becoming that
(09:20):
strategist, the overseer, thethe setting of the pace and the
goals and the and the rhythmthat a business needs to keep in
order to be successful.
I think that that's a reallyimportant part.
Um, and you know, I talk in thebook and in the workbook about
how there's a lot of skills thatno one ever teaches us, right?
(09:40):
You know, things nobody taughtme as I became an entrepreneur.
And one of the things was, youknow, how to delegate really
well and really effectively.
And, you know, I dedicated partof the book and the workbook to
tools for entrepreneurs becauseit just isn't, you know, you
become this micromanager becauseyou're just not letting go.
(10:03):
And you're not letting theteam, you're not setting the
team up for success.
And nor are you letting them besuccessful by the way that
you're approaching this.
And so I think that it reallyis important that you need to
think about like we really needto step up as leaders when we
start letting go of the reins ofcontrol and become account
(10:27):
culture of accountability.
And, you know, we have teamsthat are reaching for their big,
gorgeous goals.
It's not just about, it's notjust about my big gorgeous goal,
it's about how I cascade thatdown through the team and they
all become invested in reachingfor those bigger things.
And you know, Erika and I, whenI in Erika MacKay's episode, we
(10:48):
talked about how, you know,stepping out of the doing zone
can feel risky.
Like, you know, what if, whatif the team drops the ball?
What if they don't do it aswell as I did it?
What if they don't understand?
And it's where, you know, Ifeel like we're handing over
with um checkpoints and withaccountability of for the person
(11:12):
who's taking the task tounderstand that, you know, that
there's a high level ofexpectation, um, but that you
also are setting the rightcheckpoints for check-ins,
conversation, questions,clarifications, all of the
things that happen along the wayto, you know, teaching someone
how to do these jobs.
And, you know, Erika MacKayalso said, you know, she felt
(11:35):
like the only way she couldscale in her mind was she needed
to become the architect and notthe operator of her business.
And so I would say to you, ifyou're overwhelmed, um, you
start asking yourself, you know,what am I doing that somebody
else could do?
What can I hand off?
(11:56):
How can I hand it off?
Where am I needed most in thisbusiness?
What are the things that I amtruly the only person who can do
them?
And that's where you can startto sort of divide.
I mean, I think anotherpotential way of looking at it
is, you know, what are the tasksthat I'm doing right now that I
(12:18):
could pay somebody?
Uh like I'm, you know, you'redoing low-wage tasks.
You need to do the $100 an hourtasks, not the $20 an hour
tasks.
So how do you start sheddingthose and lifting yourself up to
do more valuable work for thebusiness?
Lesson number two.
Reinvention is required evenafter big success.
(12:43):
And it is the theory of, youknow, what got you here won't
get you there.
The skills that you have thatyou've honed are constantly
evolving.
And and and we need to evolveas people in order for us to
keep expanding.
Um, this conversation came upover and over again.
(13:04):
It's certainly part of mystory.
Um, when I left Mabel's Labelsand I got really stuck, you
know, I wasn't really thinkingabout reinventing myself.
And certainly that's what itturned to over the course of
time.
And, you know, here I sit adecade out from selling the
business just about.
(13:24):
Um, in you know, six weeks fromwhen this episode comes out.
It will be 10 years since wesold our business.
And, you know, it took me agood amount of time to figure
out um that reinvention wasrequired for me.
Um, and I sort of didn't knowhow to begin.
I hesitated a lot.
I got really stuck.
And I think it's this idea thatyou need to evolve to keep
(13:48):
expanding and you need to addnew things into your life sort
of strategically.
I mean, I think that, you know,when you exit your business, it
really is um something thatrequires you to think about what
you're going to replace it withand how you're going to want to
(14:10):
work.
Because I think I didn't havethat.
And, you know, I think in theepisode where I interviewed
Mandy Friend Gigliotti, wetalked about how you have to add
before you subtract.
Because selling your businessand walking out the front door
forever, which I did six monthsafter we sold, is a huge
subtract.
(14:31):
You know, you're you're missingpart of your identity.
The people that you worked withevery day for, you know, in my
case, over 13 years were, youknow, busy with their heads
down, still working on thebusiness.
And I was not uh in that spaceanymore.
And so it was a really bigsubtract.
And so when Mandy and I talkedabout that, I thought it was a
(14:53):
really key um ingredient of howdo you add before you subtract?
What is it you're gonna add?
And you need to be intentionalabout it because it, you know,
it's you can't just wait for itto come.
You have to actually beintentional about getting on the
path to making it happen.
When I had my conversation withSara Michelle Boes, you know,
(15:15):
she said she thought exiting herbusiness would be the finish
line, but instead it's the startof a new question, the next
era, a new, a new race that youmight be running.
And so you really do need tothink about it.
Um, and and like me, you know,when the deal closed, I thought
I had landed.
Like I thought it was thebeginning of a new era, but
(15:36):
instead I found myself stuck onthat plateau.
And getting off of it wasreally hard.
I had to ask, you know, who amI now and what do I really want?
And so if you are facingreinvention, I would really
encourage you to, you know,spend that time reflecting, get
out into nature, um, dosomething inspiring, go and
(16:00):
volunteer.
Uh, there's so many places thatneed help in the world that,
you know, we can make ourselvesoccupied while we gain new
perspectives and really thinkabout what we want next.
And so I think this is thisidea of like Anya Alev talking
(16:20):
to me about like she needed toreinvent her identity as the
owner, um, but as a leader.
You know, it's not just enoughto own the business and to be
there and be in charge.
You actually need to lead andyou need to really step into
that.
And so I I feel like the thebig takeaway here is, you know,
(16:41):
you never really arrivesomewhere.
There's not a big arrival.
You just you, you know, you'rerealigning and reinventing and
and rolling forward into newthings.
Um, and I don't know that thatever ends.
Um, I think it's something thatwill take all of us forward
forever.
(17:03):
Lesson number three is beliefshifts precede business shifts.
So if we are stuck in ourbeliefs, um we will struggle to
shift our businesses and makethe transformations that are
necessary.
Because a transformation alwaysstarts on the inside.
(17:26):
It's our belief system, ourconfidence, our identity.
Um, and then, you know, oncethe shift begins within, it
becomes external, and then wecan shift.
And so, you know, I saw overand over again in my interviews
(17:46):
in the podcast over time, youknow, people who had internal
belief shifts or major lifemoments that caused them to have
the reflection that that thenpushed them into business.
You know, people likeAeryon Ashlie, she had a health
transformation that fueled abusiness idea.
(18:08):
And, you know, she alreadyworked in wellness.
And so it really fueled her togo out and start her own
business and get something goingthat was really quite different
than what she had done before.
Um, you know, Lori Rogers talkedabout how she rewired her
mindset through through usingsticky notes and positive
intentions and and what um whata real difference that makes.
(18:33):
And, you know, thinking aboutum Mandy Friend Gigliotti, who I
mentioned earlier, I mean, shesaid, you know, once once you
get out of production and youknow, whatever production looks
like to you in your business, isit selling, is it doing, is it,
you know, all the differentpieces that go in?
(18:54):
And and but once you get out ofyour value being added that
way, then it's all aboutleadership.
And when those skills are allyou've got, you realize if you
haven't built belief, you're notready.
So, how do we build belief inourselves that will allow us to
shift our leadership and make animpact in the businesses that
(19:18):
we have?
Um, and I think the takeawaythere really is that your
business can only grow as far asyour mindset's gonna let it.
And so if we are holding ourbusiness down, uh holding it
back because of the way that weoperate, we are going to
continue to struggle.
So I believe that we all needto reflect on, you know, how am
(19:42):
I holding myself back?
How am I holding my businessback?
And what do I need to considerand shift?
Lesson number four.
Visibility isn't vanity, it's aleadership tool.
I think that, you know, showingup for yourself and talking
(20:04):
about your business, it's notself-promotion.
It is service and it'samplification.
So I think about, you know,we're all in envy of people who
show up uh very smooth andpolished and really promote
their business and and speakwell about it.
But um, that's not really beenmy comfortable place is to show
(20:30):
up and do that sort of thing.
And so I am encouraging youbecause it is service, it is
amplification.
Your business needs you.
It's part of being the leaderyour business needs.
And, you know, when I talkedwith Anna-Vija McClain, we
talked about, she said, youknow, when she shifted into that
(20:52):
CEO role, she realized thatvisibility wasn't about her, it
was about growth.
She needed to be visible andout there in the world in order
for her business to benefit.
And I think that that is areally, really important point.
You know, we need to stepoutside of our comfort zone a
(21:16):
little bit if that's not, ifthat's not where it is.
Um, you're gonna find you youhave to step out of your comfort
zone somewhere.
So whether it's in thevisibility area, whether it's in
finance, whether it's inoperations, you're going to have
to push yourself on some levelsomewhere.
Um, and if this is it, I think,you know, it's realizing, you
(21:36):
know, like Tarra Stubbins, thatyou have a story to tell and
that leaders need to be visiblein order to lead.
You know, they're they talkabout the different kinds of
leadership style.
You know, if you lead from thefront, you lead from the side,
or you lead from the back.
And there are times, you know,you may prefer to lead from the
(21:57):
back, let put your team forward,lift them up, let them be the
stars.
But there are times when youhave to come around to the front
and you have to take charge.
And that's really what we'retalking about here.
It's in that visibility piece.
Leaders need to be visible.
Denise Bedell and I talkedabout how when she stopped
hiding behind her clients andstarted telling her own story,
(22:21):
everything changed for her.
Her business took off.
She had so much more success,and she was leading from that
place of visibility.
In this area, you know, thetakeaway really is be seen.
Your story, it's a tool for youto help grow awareness, gain
(22:43):
more following, and ultimatelygrow a bigger business.
Lesson number five is that, youknow, purpose-driven profit is
the new power.
I have spoken to so many of myguests who felt called to the
business that they started.
Um, impact and profit are notopposites.
(23:07):
We see that women are bringingthem together and and that
purpose, having purpose-drivenbusinesses gives us an edge.
Um, and we should neverdiscount that.
And I think, you know, I'veseen uh from the guests that
I've had, I've seen, you know,Kristy Harold.
She has culture and play as abusiness strategy.
(23:32):
And, you know, she saw it as apath to a stronger community.
It wasn't just about revenue.
Um, you know, and yes, JamSports, they her business does,
you know, runs like evening umsoccer leagues and sports
(23:52):
leagues in communities all overNorth America for people who
want to have camaraderie,community, fitness, sport in
their lives.
And it means, you know, if youcan get people playing, it
builds stronger community.
And so Kristy was very drivenby, you know, her big gorgeous
goal of one million peopleplaying.
(24:14):
And that really has driven herbusiness forward, uh, the
purpose-driven, getting onemillion people playing.
Um, I think it's an amazingexample of how a big gorgeous
goal can come together withpurpose and help a business
drive forward to bigger andbigger successes.
(24:35):
I think also um, you know,Dionne Laslo-Baker, who came on
and talked about makinghealthier snacks for kids and
how she went about that and howshe really pivoted her career as
a scientist to making food thatwas healthy, delicious,
organic.
And, you know, the idea was areally simple one.
(24:58):
The idea is if it's not goodfor kids, why sell it?
And her whole business began onthat foundational premise.
And now, you know, she has areally large business.
She's all over North America.
Her products are delicious.
And, you know, it's it all camefrom that purpose of healthier
snacks for kids that tastedelicious.
(25:21):
Um, I also think about Dr.
Joan Fallon with her ummedication for children with
autism and the bland diet thatthey eat, the beige diet,
because they are missing anenzyme and they can't digest a
lot of things.
And so, you know, verypurpose-driven.
(25:44):
I don't think uh Joan Fallonwould have told you she would
ever be an entrepreneur in herlife.
And yet she felt so called withher discovery in science to
build a business and get on whatis a very long path to approval
of the drug and all of thethings that go with that.
Um, and so I think, you know,when I think about all of this,
(26:06):
you know, purpose leads, profitfollows, the things that these
women have said.
And I think, you know, it'sreally important to think about
how your values lead you forwardand how we start businesses
that align with our values andknowing what our values are,
because they they don't need tohold us back.
(26:27):
They should not hold us back.
We need them to help us leadforward.
So, five lessons.
Um it's so amazing to me.
So, and just to recap, right?
So, our first lesson number oneis you know, leadership is
learned through letting go.
And I think there's some greatexamples of that throughout the
(26:51):
different episodes.
Um, you know, with HilaryParnell, Marla Coffin, Erika
MacKay talking about how theylet go to grow bigger
businesses.
Lesson number two, reinventionis required even after big
success.
I am a living example of that.
And I think Sara Michelle Boesand Anya Aliev are also um, you
(27:15):
know, have some really greatcommentary about it.
Mandy Friend Gigliotti isanother great episode for that
one.
Lesson three, our belief shiftsin belief precede our shifts in
business.
So, so important.
We have to find the beliefwithin ourselves, the conviction
in what we're doing, and thenwe will find the transformation
(27:39):
that we are looking for.
And I think, you know, AeryonAshlie, Lori Rogers, Mandy
Friend Gigliotti, we see greatexamples of that throughout the
episodes.
Lesson number four (27:49):
visibility isn't vanity, it's a leadership
tool.
Tell the story of yourbusiness, get out there, make
sure people know about you.
And, you know, more.
If you want to learn more,listen to the episodes
Anna-Vija McClain, TarraStubbins, or Denise Bedell, uh,
(28:10):
among others.
But, you know, those three beseen.
Your story is a tool for thesuccess of your business.
And lesson five (28:18):
purpose-driven profit is the new power.
Um, you know, those greatladies, Christy Harrell, Dr.
Dionne Laslo-Baker, and Dr.
Joan Fallon are doing amazingthings in this world.
And I know that so many of usare.
And I think that, you know,leaning into our values to help
us move forward and letting themguide where we go in the world
(28:41):
is such a crucial, crucialthing.
So after all of that, here is myinvitation to you.
What lesson do you need tointegrate right now?
What belief do you have that'sready to shift?
And what values are you goingto lean on to guide your next
(29:04):
big move?
If you want a space to explorethose questions, download the
figure eight reflectionworkbook.
It's designed to help youpause, reflect, and recommit to
your own growth.
You can grab it atjulieellis.ca slash bookshop.
(29:25):
Thank you for being a part ofthe first 50 episodes.
I can't wait to walk with youinto what's next.
Until next time.
I hope you enjoyed today'sepisode.
Please remember to hitsubscribe on your favorite
podcast platform so you won'tmiss any episodes when they
drop.
Figure 8 isn't just a podcast,it's a way of seeing the big,
(29:50):
gorgeous goals of womenentrepreneurs coming to life.
If you're interested inlearning more, you can find my
book, Big Gorgeous Goals, on mywebsite.
At www.julieellis.ca slashbookshop.
That is also a place you canfind out more about my growth
and leadership trainingprograms.
(30:11):
And I'd love to hear from you.
I'm thinking about the next eraof Figure 8 and where we can
take this.
I'd love to know what thingsyou want to learn, what you like
the most, and what changes youthink I could make.
I'm so excited to bring you anew season of Figure 8 in 2026.
(30:34):
See you again soon.
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