May 6, 2025 • 29 mins
What do laid-off marketers, disgruntled Gen Xers, and rule-breaking entrepreneurs have in common? They all need to hear this episode. Laura Zavelson joins us to talk about why niching down is your secret weapon, how to sell without sounding salesy, and the real reason you’re probably undercharging (hint: it’s not because you need another certification).
Whether you're plotting your escape from corporate or building your solo biz one belief-shifting post at a time, Laura has insights for you.
Hit play and find out why following the rules might just be costing you the fun and the clients.
Being a solopreneur is awesome but it’s not easy. It's hard to get noticed. Most business advice is for bigger companies, and you're all alone...until now. LifeStarr's SoloSuite Intro gives you free education, community, and tools to build a thriving one-person business. So, if you are lacking direction, having a hard time generating leads, or are having trouble keeping up with everything you have to do, or even just lonely running a company of one, be sure to check out LifeStarr Intro!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Carly Ries (00:00):
Feeling burnt out, laid off, or just done with the
(00:03):
corporate grind? You are notalone, and you're definitely not
out of options. In this episodeof the Aspiring Solopreneur, we
sit down with Laura Zavelson,who has not only walked the
walk, but is now teaching Gen Xwomen how to turn frustration
into freedom. From being theforgotten generation to finding
your niche and actually chargingwhat you're worth, Laura shares
(00:23):
why solopreneurs need to thinklike product developers, not
hourly workers. We're talkingbelief shifting content,
charging like a pro, vibing withyour clients, and how to turn
your career experience into athriving coaching or consulting
business.
And if you're worried thatniching down means leaving money
on the table, Laura's about toflip that idea on its head. So
whether you're building yourbusiness or still secretly
(00:43):
plotting your exit, this episodewill give you permission and
strategy. Tune in. You'relistening to The Aspiring
Solopreneur, the podcast forthose just taking the bold step
or even just thinking abouttaking that step into the world
solo entrepreneurship. My nameis Carly Ries, and my cohost Joe
Rando and I are your guides tonavigating this crazy but
(01:06):
awesome journey as a company ofone.
We take pride in being part ofLifeStarr, a digital hub
dedicated to all aspects ofsolopreneurship that has
empowered and educated countlesssolopreneurs looking to build a
business that resonates withtheir life's ambitions. We help
people work to live, not live towork. And if you're looking for
a get rich quick scheme, this isnot the show for you. So if
(01:28):
you're eager to gain valuableinsights from industry experts
on running a business the rightway the first time around or
want to learn from the misstepsof solopreneurs who paved the
way before you, then stickaround. We've got your back
because flying solo in businessdoesn't mean you're alone.
I really wanna make light ofwhat you do right now before we
get into the questions because Ithink it's so important for
(01:51):
solopreneurs to niche down. Andyou have done that, and you've
done that very well. And youhelp Gen X women who've been
laid off, frustrated, burnedout, whatever, and you help them
build coaching and consultingbusinesses so they have better
work life balance and morefinancial opportunity. And the
works that all of us women arekinda go up against sometimes,
(02:11):
but you do focus on Gen Xspecifically. So I wanna know
when you were starting yourbusiness, why did you start
there?
What was it about this group?What called you to this
audience?
Laura Zavelson (02:22):
That is a great, great question. So first of all,
I'm one of them. So, you know, Ifind that generation very
relatable. we are a smallgeneration. And we're generally,
you know, disgruntled and in abad mood because we feel like
nobody ever pays attention tous.
So it's definitely a generationI could relate to. But no, why I
(02:43):
really did it was during thepandemic. I was between gigs
myself. I had just gotten out ofa venture backed startup that
had sold, I was trying to figureout what I wanted to do next and
the pandemic hit. And, honestly,it really really slowed me down.
you know, I had kids come homefrom college. One, was home in
(03:06):
high school, but at home. And Ijust didn't know what I wanted
to do next, but I knew I didn'twanna go back to another another
startup. I was tired of raisingmoney. I was tired of that.
It's a grind. And it has prosand cons, but I wanted to break.
And so I joined a women's kindof entrepreneurial community
(03:29):
here and online obviously. Andwas listening to a lot of women
who were impacted by ageism,frankly. And also there were a
lot of layoffs during that timeof the pandemic.
And these women were sotalented, just incredible
backgrounds and lots ofcorporate experience and they
(03:52):
were just being sidelined. Andso they were trying to start
their own businesses. And, youknow, the skills that make you a
great coach or consultant thatyou can bring to the table are
not the same skills that makeyou a great business person. It
is actually a different skillset. And that's when I put the
two things together.
I said, well, I have that skillset. And I'm also a former
(04:12):
professor of entrepreneurship soI love to teach. And I said,
wow, I wonder if there's abusiness here where I could
share my knowledge and helpthese women sort of keep their
talents and their expertise incirculation for longer and makes
money while they're doing it.
Joe Rando (04:28):
You know what I love? you we talked about the niching
down, but you've niched out on aparticular gender, on a
particular problem, I'm sorry, aparticular phase of life, older,
you're saying older gen, or GenX women.
Laura Zavelson (04:45):
Yeah, 45 to 60.
Joe Rando (04:46):
You've got it. Gen X. Yeah. So, and then you've niched
down on a pain point. So you'vereally got the trifecta, which,
you know, is not as common as itprobably should be.
That's just awesome.
Laura Zavelson (04:59):
Well, you know, I was mentioning it before. It's
one of those things that I thinkyou've got to get heard,
especially when your business isyoung, and mine is young. And it
is really hard to cut throughthe noise unless you can, the
metaphor that's coming to mindright now, it's like a dog
(05:19):
whistle. Right? Like, if you'regonna put a message out there,
you've gotta get somebody toturn around and say, oh, that's
me.
And in order to do that whenthere's all this incoming, you
gotta be pretty specific aboutwho you're talking to. And so
that's kind of the rationalebehind that. And I think, you
know, when people ask me, well,I'm leaving money on the table.
(05:40):
I'm gonna miss out onopportunities. You know, all of
the concerns people have whenyou talk about niching down, you
say, look, get in and and getknown in a small area.
And then once you're known, oncepeople hear you in that area,
you can expand. You can sell newthings to the same audience. You
can sell the same thing to adifferent audience. There's
(06:01):
plenty of time to grow and getbig. But when you're starting,
that specificity is really yourfriend.
It's on your side.
Carly Ries (06:09):
You know what's so funny? Is you're talking about
like the forgotten generation.And Joe's a boomer, and I'm a
millennial. And I feel like wetake over all the messaging all
the time. Everybody justreferences ours to age group for
whatever reason.
Joe Rando (06:25):
I think boomers have a branding problem at this
point, at least with themillennials.
Carly Ries (06:30):
Well, I think millennials also now have a
branding problem.
Laura Zavelson (06:33):
Well, come on. I'm Gen Xer, which is like the
Karens of the world. So we havea branding problem too.
Carly Ries (06:40):
This is a major branding problem.
Joe Rando (06:42):
Oh my.
Carly Ries (06:43):
Well, when you were talking to all these women and
now with your clients, what werethe mistakes you were seeing
them making when they weretrying to reinvent themselves?
Laura Zavelson (06:53):
So not niching is one of them. Like you know,
I'm for everyone. let's say,this person is coming out of a
corporate marketing background,and they wanna be a marketing
consultant. And they're like,well, I'm a marketing consultant
for everyone, and I doeverything in marketing. Well,
you know, that not only makesyou hard to hire, it makes you
(07:15):
really hard to refer.
So usually, again, when you'revery first starting, your first
customers aren't coming fromsocial media. They're coming
from referrals. Right? They'recoming from people in your
network that you already know.And so if you're gonna go out to
people and say, hey, do you knowanybody that might wanna hire
me?
You have to be really specificabout who you want them to refer
(07:35):
you to because, think about it,your own inbox. Right? Somebody,
comes to you and you sit theysay, hey, I'm starting a
consulting company. You're like,that's awesome. And this is who
I'd like to meet.
If they're like, do you knowanybody that needs marketing?
I'm like,
I don't know. And then I starthe email and it gets lost in my
inbox. In that moment, I need toknow, I want a marketing
(08:00):
research job with a tech companythat is two fifty people or
larger. Right now I can helpyou. Now I can say, who do I
know in my network that worksfor that kind of a company that
might need some marketingresearch?
So niching is a big part of it.That's something that I think
you don't know. That is nonobvious. So when you're starting
(08:23):
your own company, you don'trealize the impact of that. I
think the second thing isthey're very unclear about what
they sell.
And people don't buy what theydon't understand. Right? And so
if you're not saying and I'm abig advocate of, like,
productizing your IP to theextent you can. I think it's so
much easier to sell a productthan sell your time. So even if
(08:44):
you wanna do one on one kind ofstuff, package it as something
you do over six weeks and andcall it a program.
Right? So much easier to sell athing than to sell time, to sell
a transformation, actually, touse
Joe Rando (08:59):
And don't you think you can get more money for it
when you do it that way thanjust say, oh, you know, it's a
hundred dollars an hour. It'slike, people go, oh, well,
that's too much or that's okayor but, you know, nobody's
sitting there going, wow. I'llgive you more.
Laura Zavelson (09:12):
100 %. And, people wanna know what they're
getting for that. Like, it'stherapy is different. Okay? But
I'm like, you need to have anoutcome that you create for your
clients.
And so I don't wanna just comeand hang out with you, you know,
every two weeks for an undefinedperiod of time. What am I
getting out of that? So that'ssomething else that I work with
(09:36):
my clients on is how do youdefine what you're selling and
how do you create a product or aprogram or a project around
that? Because this works forconsultants too, I mean, if you
just copy what the big firms aredoing, right?
They productize their IP. That'sall you're doing. And everybody
can do that. Everybody has aunique approach. You just may
not have figured out what yoursis yet.
And so that's something else Ihelp with is kind of teasing
(09:56):
that out. And then the thirdthing that I find that was just
chronic with women entrepreneursespecially is they're all
undercharging. And so I try tocome in and say, look, this is
what you are making at your job.You have this experience.
They're all like, oh, I needanother certification or I need
another degree or I'm notenough.
(10:17):
And I'm like, bullshit. Can Isay that?
Carly Ries (10:20):
Yeah. Do your thing.
Laura Zavelson (10:23):
I'm like, no. You know, you have value. You
have experience. That is worthsomething. You are, at the
upswing, the curve for yourcareer is going up right now.
So don't undervalue yourself andundercharge. But there's a lot
of emotional money baggagethere. So that is something else
I try to help with as well.
Carly Ries (10:43):
It's funny. I actually had coffee yesterday
with a gal who just turned 60,so she's right in your
demographic. And she runs herown marketing firm or her own
marketing. She's a solopreneur.And she was like, yeah, I
pitched this big company.
And she was like, and somebodytold me to throw out 80 k for
this project. And she was like,I thought they were nuts and I
(11:04):
threw it out and they told methey underbid. And she was like,
yeah. I mean, 80 k for asolopreneur, like that does
sound ridiculous and again, Idon't know the ins and outs of
what the project entailed. Butlike shoot for the stars, I feel
like, and if you miss, it's alearning and it'll help you
(11:25):
better adjust as you go.
Would you agree?
Laura Zavelson (11:27):
100 %. And I think, you know, in those
situations, a lot of times and Icoach people to do this all the
time. You know, if you've got,again, if it's a referral that
got you in there and you've gota friend who's in there, see if
you can find out what theirbudget is. I mean, sometimes we
can get the information we needto be able to charge
appropriately.
(11:48):
You have to throw it out thereand I always say work backwards.
Right? How much do you wannamake? Let's see how much do you
wanna make? And how many clientscan you generally take on in a
year?
And this math is easier usuallyif you're a consultant because
it's a longer term project oryou're working on retainer. But,
you know, you figure that out.it's just that now it's a math
problem. Right? How much do Iwanna make?
(12:11):
How many clients can Irealistically have? Divide. And
that's how much you need to becharging.
Carly Ries (12:17):
Yeah. It's funny because when you say it, it's
like, duh. Then when you'reactually doing it.
Laura Zavelson (12:23):
But nobody thinks about it that way. And
you know, I'll tell you why Ithink this. And again, I've had
a lot of time to sort of moldthis. But the reason I think
this, I think everybody mostpeople have kind of a gut
feeling about how much moneythey wanna make. Like, what
would make being a solopreneurworth it to you?
What would make this awesome?What would it take you to feel
(12:45):
like, yeah, this was totallyworth it. I made the right
decision. Right? And balancethat certainly with like the
impact you wanna have and theflexibility you wanna have.
But I think people are prettyrealistic. Most of my clients
are pretty realistic about whatthey wanna make. They don't
close that gap between theirpricing and that enough number,
that gut enough number. Youknow, and for some people it's
(13:08):
like, I wanna just contribute tomy kids college education while
they're in school and that's whyI'm doing this. Some people are
like, I just wanna be able tofly business class. some people
you know, they need to makemoney. They need to put food on
the table. It's different foreverybody. But generally, most
people know about what thatenough number is for them, but
they just don't connect it totheir pricing.
Joe Rando (13:28):
But that should be like a base, a bottom, floor for
the number that's the lowest youwould charge.
Laura Zavelson (13:35):
100 percent. Yeah. But again, I'm working
with people who are sort ofundercharging and there's the
big gap between the two. But Iagree with you. I think, you
don't wanna leave money on thetable, especially as a
solopreneur because it does tendto be feast or famine, and you
are impacted by so many externalthings, especially in what's
(13:56):
going on in the general economicenvironment as we can see right
now.
Joe Rando (13:59):
I'm curious because, obviously, it's too soon to
tell. Right? But with everythingthat's happening now and all the
people being laid off, I'mwondering if this isn't gonna be
you know, kind of a renaissanceperiod for solopreneurs because
there's gonna be work that needsto get done. They're not gonna
have the staff. A lot of thesepeople are gonna know what to
do, have been laid off, andmaybe can get consulting work.
I don't know. I'm justwondering. It's not clear yet.
Laura Zavelson (14:21):
Really hard to tell. You know, consulting is
funny because when the companiesturn the spigot off, right, I
mean, I've been inside thecompany and outside the company
at those times. You know, theyturn the money spigot off and
nobody can do anything. Right?They they stop all the travel
and all their hiring freezes andwhatever.
(14:44):
And so there's usually thisperiod of fear where nothing
happens. And then the workstarts to pile up, right,
because of the layoffs andwhatever. So there's a cycle
there. And then they'll bring inconsultants before they'll make
a full time hire because they'repsychologically cheaper. So, you
(15:04):
know, I think you're right.
But it's really hard to tellwhen it's gonna happen. And it
may happen at different timeswith different companies. It's
just we're in such a weird cycleright now.
Joe Rando (15:16):
Yeah. It's very, very strange. This is April 2025 or,
the first half of 2025. And,yeah, the future is very
unclear. But I remember yearsago, my father-in-law, he worked
for Polaroid as an engineer, andthey were getting into trouble,
you know, with the whole thing.
And they laid him off. They gavehim early retirement basically
(15:37):
and immediately hired him backas a consultant because they
could not do without. But, justlike you say, there may be a
period of time for that work tobuild up, but it's still
possible that this could be areal opportunity in some ways
for people that are prepared.
Laura Zavelson (15:53):
I think so. I think so. And I do think I was
talking to somebody about thisyesterday. If you are at a
corporate job right now and yousee the writing on the wall,
start exploring yourentrepreneurial options now.
Like, don't wait until, you'relaid off and you're looking at
the severance check and you'rewatching that number drop.
You know, start looking now.Like, I'm sure you've got
(16:16):
business experiences, businessideas. I'm sure you've got
business ideas like something.And so, poke around in there
now.
Joe Rando (16:25):
Yeah. Join LifeStarr
Carly Ries (16:28):
join LifeStarr
Joe Rando (16:29):
and come in and brainstorm with us. It's free.
Carly Ries (16:35):
Well, so let's say they're like, yeah, I have my
business experience and that'sgiving me my new business ideas.
And if I'm on the choppingblock, let's do this, I'm ready.
So many people are in thatsituation and they have the best
ideas, but then they come to thescary phase of entrepreneurship
which is selling. And so manypeople are it's such a scary
(16:56):
word for people, myselfincluded. I do not like sales.
And I know that it's not ABCanymore and close the deal and
cold call, and it's changed. Ithink people still think car
salesman when you think ofsales.
Joe Rando (17:11):
Alec Baldwin in Glengarry Glen Ross, that's what
they're thinking.
Carly Ries (17:16):
Exactly. And it doesn't have to be like that. So
how do you recommend to thewomen that you coach that they
approach sales in a non sleazyand more authentic way?
Laura Zavelson (17:29):
Yeah. Because, the thing is, I think
everybody's had that oneexperience with a salesperson
that made them uncomfortable orthat they just really didn't
like being in that situation.And so I think they don't wanna
put anybody else in thatsituation. Certainly not someone
that they'd like to have as aclient.
And so they go the other way.Right? And these conversations
just get really awkward. So whatI talk about is that if you can
(17:55):
do some pre work and establishyourself as an expert and not a
world leading expert, like whereyou don't have to go out and win
an award or anything. But youhave to establish yourself as an
expert in the field that you'rein.
Because that way when you getsomebody on the phone, it's not
like you're trying to convincethem of anything. They're
already on the phone becausethey wanna hire you. Like, they
(18:16):
already know enough about youthat they wanna go, yeah, I
wanna work with you. I use thisstory. So a couple of months
ago, we were at a barbecue at afriend's house, maybe like forty
minutes away from our house.
And my son was home for thesummer from college and, you
know, living in our downstairsbedroom. And I get a call on the
(18:38):
phone from my son. Now if youall have children who are in
their twenties or you know them,you know they don't call. Right?
They text me, they discord you,they'll like get in touch with
me any other way, but like theydon't pick up the phone and
call.
My son calls. So I know this isnot gonna be a good thing. I
pick up the phone and he's like,mom, there's water pulling
(19:01):
pouring through the light in theceiling in the bathroom.
I'm like, oh my god.
So I say, alright. Go turn offthe water. He goes and turns off
the water. I'm like, okay. We'regonna come home. So this our
friends, you know, other couplesthere. And I said, does anybody
know a plumber that'll pick upthe phone on the weekends? And
(19:21):
somebody said, yeah, I know aguy. And so I took the person's
number.
And on the way home, I call him.And let me tell you what I
didn't do on that call. I didnot ask him, how his program
worked. I didn't ask him howmany years he had been a
plumber. I didn't actually evenask him how much he charged.
I was like, can you be at myhouse today? And he's like, yes.
(19:41):
I can be there at 03:00. I'mlike, great. You're hired.
So what we all do is a littlebit different, and you are
usually not solving quite aproblem that urgent. If you can
find a problem that urgent, it'sa great way to stay employed.
But, it's that idea that if youcan establish yourself as an
expert in your field, then itbecomes a path then you getting
(20:04):
hired. And the way I think thebest way to establish yourself
as an expert of your field is touse thought leadership content.
Carly Ries (20:13):
Yeah. So okay. You talk about there's a way to
develop kind of a contentgenerating machine for yourself
and here's the big kicker,doesn't include ChatGPT. And I'm
like, that's false. All of ourcontent ideas come from ChatGPT
now.
So what is the tool that you useor the methodology that you use?
Laura Zavelson (20:36):
Well, honestly, it's belief shifting content. So
you can still use ChatGPT if youwant to, but that download I
have has all these prompts init. Not for ChatGPT. for you,
but if you wanna involve ChatGPTin that situation, go right
ahead. You can certainly use itwith it. But you've got to walk
people through your process andthrough the belief shifts it
(21:01):
takes to become a buyer. Andbuyer psychology is well
documented. Now you know, Ididn't come up with this
yesterday. Right? We know thatpeople have to kind of come
along before they decide to makea purchase from you.
So if we had sort of the firststage of that, it would be
awareness. They need tounderstand they have a problem
(21:23):
and they need to understand thatyou understand their problem.
Right? And then the second thingthat we kinda have to convince
them of is there's a solutionand there are options.
And so that gives them somehope. Oh, wait a minute. Maybe
there is a way that I can fixthis problem. Then the third
thing is trust.
We need them to believe that wecan help them. And that's where
(21:44):
your testimonials and your casestudies come in. That's where
you can talk about yourexperience or your education and
those kinds of things. They haveto understand how your thing
works. People don't buy whatthey don't understand. So they
need to understand what processor what's gonna happen to them
if they work with you. And theyalso need to believe that they
(22:04):
can succeed using whatever yoursolution is. Right? And then the
final piece is what I callselfie content, but I don't mean
like taking pictures ofyourself.
I mean, it's that personalitychemistry fit belief. They need
to vibe with you. And so that'swhere you really need to share
(22:26):
like your mission or your valuesor your hobbies. I mean, you
don't necessarily tell themeverything you've ever done, but
you know what I mean?
You can let them in to someextent. Because I don't know who
said this, but you know, peopledon't buy coaching, they buy
coaches. Right? People don't buyconsulting, they buy
consultants. You really gottalike somebody that you're
working with.
And that all comes down to theit's the Bob Berg quote, right?
(22:49):
The know, like, trust. Right? Soall of this, all of this belief
shifting, all of this proofcontent, all of this letting
them know a little bit moreabout you personally, each piece
of that builds on that know,like, trust. And it's a really
authentic way that you canmarket yourself and sell
(23:09):
yourself without feeling likeyou're always asking somebody,
do you wanna buy this?
Do you wanna buy this? Do youwanna buy this?
Carly Ries (23:16):
I'm so glad that you brought that up because some
people when you talk aboutcontent or establishing your
business and separating it fromthe masses, a lot of people are
taking the same advice. Sothey're creating the content,
they're getting thetestimonials, blah blah blah.
And they're kinda like, okay,but so is the marketing
consultant next to me and themarketing consultant over there
(23:36):
is doing the same thing. Andgosh, like, how do I
differentiate myself? And that'sit.
It's the connection. It's the doyou vibe? And because it's so
true, and I mean, we throughoutour careers, we've worked with
different contractors and youknow pretty quickly if you vibe
with them or not. Like, I feellike that's the biggest telling
(23:56):
factor, at least for me,compared to their credentials
and everything else, theirexperience. And I do think
that's something that peoplemiss out on.
Laura Zavelson (24:05):
And I think it has to be the whole package.
Right? And I think in additionto vibe, do think that people
need to believe that you knowwhat you're talking about. And I
do think an additional way todifferentiate yourself from the
marketing consultant sittingnext to you is to have your own
approach. And we were talking alittle bit this earlier in terms
(24:27):
of like, productizing your IP.
Right? everybody should havetheir own approach to doing
stuff, through your experienceand through the I don't know
what you know works, right?Otherwise, you really shouldn't
be a coach or consultant. And soyour approach is actually an
(24:47):
excellent differentiator thatthe person next to you should
not have. And you can break thatdown into into tons of content.
You can say, I use theseassessments or I use these
checklists or this is myframework or I know this works
because step one does this andstep two does that and step
three does that. And so you walkthem through your steps which
(25:10):
should not be the same asanybody else's steps. And I do
think that's a great way todifferentiate and help people
remember you.
Carly Ries (25:18):
Yeah. Absolutely. Laura, this is all so helpful.
And I think also like you guyswere just saying, there is so
much uncertainty right now.
And I feel like the way thatyou're describing all of this
kinda gives people hope, andespecially women, Gen X women,
that it's like, it's okay. Theother funny thing is, I feel
like people should be thinkingabout this on the side anyway,
(25:39):
regardless of the time thatwe're in, salaries are kind of a
false safety net too. You couldget fired at any minute. For
sure. Always thinking about whatyour unique selling point is,
experience, your values.
I think it's just a goodreminder to walk yourself
through this, whether you'vejumped ship from corporate or
(25:59):
not. And we get people listeningto the podcast who are both
ends. we have people that are inthe solopreneur world now and
people that are like, I wannaget there. I just need to figure
out how to do that. And I justthink everything you've said
today is so reassuring forpeople and kinda gives them the
confidence to take that leap.
So I just wanna say thank you.
Laura Zavelson (26:19):
Oh, well, you know, I hope it does do that.
Carly Ries (26:22):
Yeah. Well, okay. So you help people, you help women
specifically, Gen x'ers findsuccess with whatever their new
adventure is. So we have to ask,we ask all of our guests this
question, what is your favoritequote about success?
Laura Zavelson (26:37):
If you follow all the rules, you'll miss all
the fun. Catherine Hepburn saidthat.
Carly Ries (26:44):
Then I am missing a lot of fun. I am your
traditional rule follower.
Laura Zavelson (26:48):
I am so not a rule follower. Oh my gosh.
Carly Ries (26:53):
I had a friend ask me the other day, she goes,
let's bring our dogs to thiscoffee shop. And I was like, was
it dog friendly? And she goes,well, I don't know. I would just
assume so. Let's just bring thedogs.
And in my mind, I was like,unless there's a written sign or
a note, like, the manageragrees, I'm not going. And she
was just like, well, let's justbring the dogs.
Laura Zavelson (27:16):
I'm always oh, those rules are for other
people. That cross at the lightthing, that's for other people.
I'm just gonna cross over here.
Carly Ries (27:22):
Well, that's what makes you a good solopreneur.
So, Laura, where can people findyou if they want to learn more
about you?
Laura Zavelson (27:29):
The best place is to go to my website. It's at
laurazavelson.com,
I am the only Laura Zavelson. Soif you Google that, everything
that comes up will be related tome.
And, I actually have a YouTubechannel. so if you want more,
(27:49):
thoughts about how to start orgrow your coaching and
consulting business, you canfind me on YouTube.
Carly Ries (27:55):
Easy enough. Well, Laura, thank you so so much for
coming on the show. Andlisteners, thank you so much for
tuning in. But you know what? Welove putting out this content
for you.
It's one of our favorite partsof our week. But in return, we
would love that five starreview. It's how we get found in
search more easily. It's how wegrow that show, and we want to
continue putting this on foryou. So be sure to leave that
(28:15):
five star review.
Subscribe on your favorite podpodcast platform as well as
YouTube, and we will see younext time on The Aspiring
Solopreneur. You may be goingsolo in business, but that
doesn't mean you're alone. Infact, millions of people are in
your shoes, running a one personbusiness and figuring it out as
they go. So why not connect withthem and learn from each other's
(28:36):
successes and failures? AtLifeStarr, we're creating a one
person business community whereyou can go to meet and get
advice from other solopreneurs.
Be sure to join in on theconversations at
community.lifestarr.com.
Feeling burnt out, laid off, or just done with the
(00:03):
corporate grind? You are notalone, and you're definitely not
out of options. In this episodeof the Aspiring Solopreneur, we
sit down with Laura Zavelson,who has not only walked the
walk, but is now teaching Gen Xwomen how to turn frustration
into freedom. From being theforgotten generation to finding
your niche and actually chargingwhat you're worth, Laura shares
(00:23):
why solopreneurs need to thinklike product developers, not
hourly workers. We're talkingbelief shifting content,
charging like a pro, vibing withyour clients, and how to turn
your career experience into athriving coaching or consulting
business.
And if you're worried thatniching down means leaving money
on the table, Laura's about toflip that idea on its head. So
whether you're building yourbusiness or still secretly
(00:43):
plotting your exit, this episodewill give you permission and
strategy. Tune in. You'relistening to The Aspiring
Solopreneur, the podcast forthose just taking the bold step
or even just thinking abouttaking that step into the world
solo entrepreneurship. My nameis Carly Ries, and my cohost Joe
Rando and I are your guides tonavigating this crazy but
(01:06):
awesome journey as a company ofone.
We take pride in being part ofLifeStarr, a digital hub
dedicated to all aspects ofsolopreneurship that has
empowered and educated countlesssolopreneurs looking to build a
business that resonates withtheir life's ambitions. We help
people work to live, not live towork. And if you're looking for
a get rich quick scheme, this isnot the show for you. So if
(01:28):
you're eager to gain valuableinsights from industry experts
on running a business the rightway the first time around or
want to learn from the misstepsof solopreneurs who paved the
way before you, then stickaround. We've got your back
because flying solo in businessdoesn't mean you're alone.
I really wanna make light ofwhat you do right now before we
get into the questions because Ithink it's so important for
(01:51):
solopreneurs to niche down. Andyou have done that, and you've
done that very well. And youhelp Gen X women who've been
laid off, frustrated, burnedout, whatever, and you help them
build coaching and consultingbusinesses so they have better
work life balance and morefinancial opportunity. And the
works that all of us women arekinda go up against sometimes,
(02:11):
but you do focus on Gen Xspecifically. So I wanna know
when you were starting yourbusiness, why did you start
there?
What was it about this group?What called you to this
audience?
Laura Zavelson (02:22):
That is a great, great question. So first of all,
I'm one of them. So, you know, Ifind that generation very
relatable. we are a smallgeneration. And we're generally,
you know, disgruntled and in abad mood because we feel like
nobody ever pays attention tous.
So it's definitely a generationI could relate to. But no, why I
(02:43):
really did it was during thepandemic. I was between gigs
myself. I had just gotten out ofa venture backed startup that
had sold, I was trying to figureout what I wanted to do next and
the pandemic hit. And, honestly,it really really slowed me down.
you know, I had kids come homefrom college. One, was home in
(03:06):
high school, but at home. And Ijust didn't know what I wanted
to do next, but I knew I didn'twanna go back to another another
startup. I was tired of raisingmoney. I was tired of that.
It's a grind. And it has prosand cons, but I wanted to break.
And so I joined a women's kindof entrepreneurial community
(03:29):
here and online obviously. Andwas listening to a lot of women
who were impacted by ageism,frankly. And also there were a
lot of layoffs during that timeof the pandemic.
And these women were sotalented, just incredible
backgrounds and lots ofcorporate experience and they
(03:52):
were just being sidelined. Andso they were trying to start
their own businesses. And, youknow, the skills that make you a
great coach or consultant thatyou can bring to the table are
not the same skills that makeyou a great business person. It
is actually a different skillset. And that's when I put the
two things together.
I said, well, I have that skillset. And I'm also a former
(04:12):
professor of entrepreneurship soI love to teach. And I said,
wow, I wonder if there's abusiness here where I could
share my knowledge and helpthese women sort of keep their
talents and their expertise incirculation for longer and makes
money while they're doing it.
Joe Rando (04:28):
You know what I love? you we talked about the niching
down, but you've niched out on aparticular gender, on a
particular problem, I'm sorry, aparticular phase of life, older,
you're saying older gen, or GenX women.
Laura Zavelson (04:45):
Yeah, 45 to 60.
Joe Rando (04:46):
You've got it. Gen X. Yeah. So, and then you've niched
down on a pain point. So you'vereally got the trifecta, which,
you know, is not as common as itprobably should be.
That's just awesome.
Laura Zavelson (04:59):
Well, you know, I was mentioning it before. It's
one of those things that I thinkyou've got to get heard,
especially when your business isyoung, and mine is young. And it
is really hard to cut throughthe noise unless you can, the
metaphor that's coming to mindright now, it's like a dog
(05:19):
whistle. Right? Like, if you'regonna put a message out there,
you've gotta get somebody toturn around and say, oh, that's
me.
And in order to do that whenthere's all this incoming, you
gotta be pretty specific aboutwho you're talking to. And so
that's kind of the rationalebehind that. And I think, you
know, when people ask me, well,I'm leaving money on the table.
(05:40):
I'm gonna miss out onopportunities. You know, all of
the concerns people have whenyou talk about niching down, you
say, look, get in and and getknown in a small area.
And then once you're known, oncepeople hear you in that area,
you can expand. You can sell newthings to the same audience. You
can sell the same thing to adifferent audience. There's
(06:01):
plenty of time to grow and getbig. But when you're starting,
that specificity is really yourfriend.
It's on your side.
Carly Ries (06:09):
You know what's so funny? Is you're talking about
like the forgotten generation.And Joe's a boomer, and I'm a
millennial. And I feel like wetake over all the messaging all
the time. Everybody justreferences ours to age group for
whatever reason.
Joe Rando (06:25):
I think boomers have a branding problem at this
point, at least with themillennials.
Carly Ries (06:30):
Well, I think millennials also now have a
branding problem.
Laura Zavelson (06:33):
Well, come on. I'm Gen Xer, which is like the
Karens of the world. So we havea branding problem too.
Carly Ries (06:40):
This is a major branding problem.
Joe Rando (06:42):
Oh my.
Carly Ries (06:43):
Well, when you were talking to all these women and
now with your clients, what werethe mistakes you were seeing
them making when they weretrying to reinvent themselves?
Laura Zavelson (06:53):
So not niching is one of them. Like you know,
I'm for everyone. let's say,this person is coming out of a
corporate marketing background,and they wanna be a marketing
consultant. And they're like,well, I'm a marketing consultant
for everyone, and I doeverything in marketing. Well,
you know, that not only makesyou hard to hire, it makes you
(07:15):
really hard to refer.
So usually, again, when you'revery first starting, your first
customers aren't coming fromsocial media. They're coming
from referrals. Right? They'recoming from people in your
network that you already know.And so if you're gonna go out to
people and say, hey, do you knowanybody that might wanna hire
me?
You have to be really specificabout who you want them to refer
(07:35):
you to because, think about it,your own inbox. Right? Somebody,
comes to you and you sit theysay, hey, I'm starting a
consulting company. You're like,that's awesome. And this is who
I'd like to meet.
If they're like, do you knowanybody that needs marketing?
I'm like,
I don't know. And then I starthe email and it gets lost in my
inbox. In that moment, I need toknow, I want a marketing
(08:00):
research job with a tech companythat is two fifty people or
larger. Right now I can helpyou. Now I can say, who do I
know in my network that worksfor that kind of a company that
might need some marketingresearch?
So niching is a big part of it.That's something that I think
you don't know. That is nonobvious. So when you're starting
(08:23):
your own company, you don'trealize the impact of that. I
think the second thing isthey're very unclear about what
they sell.
And people don't buy what theydon't understand. Right? And so
if you're not saying and I'm abig advocate of, like,
productizing your IP to theextent you can. I think it's so
much easier to sell a productthan sell your time. So even if
(08:44):
you wanna do one on one kind ofstuff, package it as something
you do over six weeks and andcall it a program.
Right? So much easier to sell athing than to sell time, to sell
a transformation, actually, touse
Joe Rando (08:59):
And don't you think you can get more money for it
when you do it that way thanjust say, oh, you know, it's a
hundred dollars an hour. It'slike, people go, oh, well,
that's too much or that's okayor but, you know, nobody's
sitting there going, wow. I'llgive you more.
Laura Zavelson (09:12):
100 %. And, people wanna know what they're
getting for that. Like, it'stherapy is different. Okay? But
I'm like, you need to have anoutcome that you create for your
clients.
And so I don't wanna just comeand hang out with you, you know,
every two weeks for an undefinedperiod of time. What am I
getting out of that? So that'ssomething else that I work with
(09:36):
my clients on is how do youdefine what you're selling and
how do you create a product or aprogram or a project around
that? Because this works forconsultants too, I mean, if you
just copy what the big firms aredoing, right?
They productize their IP. That'sall you're doing. And everybody
can do that. Everybody has aunique approach. You just may
not have figured out what yoursis yet.
And so that's something else Ihelp with is kind of teasing
(09:56):
that out. And then the thirdthing that I find that was just
chronic with women entrepreneursespecially is they're all
undercharging. And so I try tocome in and say, look, this is
what you are making at your job.You have this experience.
They're all like, oh, I needanother certification or I need
another degree or I'm notenough.
(10:17):
And I'm like, bullshit. Can Isay that?
Carly Ries (10:20):
Yeah. Do your thing.
Laura Zavelson (10:23):
I'm like, no. You know, you have value. You
have experience. That is worthsomething. You are, at the
upswing, the curve for yourcareer is going up right now.
So don't undervalue yourself andundercharge. But there's a lot
of emotional money baggagethere. So that is something else
I try to help with as well.
Carly Ries (10:43):
It's funny. I actually had coffee yesterday
with a gal who just turned 60,so she's right in your
demographic. And she runs herown marketing firm or her own
marketing. She's a solopreneur.And she was like, yeah, I
pitched this big company.
And she was like, and somebodytold me to throw out 80 k for
this project. And she was like,I thought they were nuts and I
(11:04):
threw it out and they told methey underbid. And she was like,
yeah. I mean, 80 k for asolopreneur, like that does
sound ridiculous and again, Idon't know the ins and outs of
what the project entailed. Butlike shoot for the stars, I feel
like, and if you miss, it's alearning and it'll help you
(11:25):
better adjust as you go.
Would you agree?
Laura Zavelson (11:27):
100 %. And I think, you know, in those
situations, a lot of times and Icoach people to do this all the
time. You know, if you've got,again, if it's a referral that
got you in there and you've gota friend who's in there, see if
you can find out what theirbudget is. I mean, sometimes we
can get the information we needto be able to charge
appropriately.
(11:48):
You have to throw it out thereand I always say work backwards.
Right? How much do you wannamake? Let's see how much do you
wanna make? And how many clientscan you generally take on in a
year?
And this math is easier usuallyif you're a consultant because
it's a longer term project oryou're working on retainer. But,
you know, you figure that out.it's just that now it's a math
problem. Right? How much do Iwanna make?
(12:11):
How many clients can Irealistically have? Divide. And
that's how much you need to becharging.
Carly Ries (12:17):
Yeah. It's funny because when you say it, it's
like, duh. Then when you'reactually doing it.
Laura Zavelson (12:23):
But nobody thinks about it that way. And
you know, I'll tell you why Ithink this. And again, I've had
a lot of time to sort of moldthis. But the reason I think
this, I think everybody mostpeople have kind of a gut
feeling about how much moneythey wanna make. Like, what
would make being a solopreneurworth it to you?
What would make this awesome?What would it take you to feel
(12:45):
like, yeah, this was totallyworth it. I made the right
decision. Right? And balancethat certainly with like the
impact you wanna have and theflexibility you wanna have.
But I think people are prettyrealistic. Most of my clients
are pretty realistic about whatthey wanna make. They don't
close that gap between theirpricing and that enough number,
that gut enough number. Youknow, and for some people it's
(13:08):
like, I wanna just contribute tomy kids college education while
they're in school and that's whyI'm doing this. Some people are
like, I just wanna be able tofly business class. some people
you know, they need to makemoney. They need to put food on
the table. It's different foreverybody. But generally, most
people know about what thatenough number is for them, but
they just don't connect it totheir pricing.
Joe Rando (13:28):
But that should be like a base, a bottom, floor for
the number that's the lowest youwould charge.
Laura Zavelson (13:35):
100 percent. Yeah. But again, I'm working
with people who are sort ofundercharging and there's the
big gap between the two. But Iagree with you. I think, you
don't wanna leave money on thetable, especially as a
solopreneur because it does tendto be feast or famine, and you
are impacted by so many externalthings, especially in what's
(13:56):
going on in the general economicenvironment as we can see right
now.
Joe Rando (13:59):
I'm curious because, obviously, it's too soon to
tell. Right? But with everythingthat's happening now and all the
people being laid off, I'mwondering if this isn't gonna be
you know, kind of a renaissanceperiod for solopreneurs because
there's gonna be work that needsto get done. They're not gonna
have the staff. A lot of thesepeople are gonna know what to
do, have been laid off, andmaybe can get consulting work.
I don't know. I'm justwondering. It's not clear yet.
Laura Zavelson (14:21):
Really hard to tell. You know, consulting is
funny because when the companiesturn the spigot off, right, I
mean, I've been inside thecompany and outside the company
at those times. You know, theyturn the money spigot off and
nobody can do anything. Right?They they stop all the travel
and all their hiring freezes andwhatever.
(14:44):
And so there's usually thisperiod of fear where nothing
happens. And then the workstarts to pile up, right,
because of the layoffs andwhatever. So there's a cycle
there. And then they'll bring inconsultants before they'll make
a full time hire because they'repsychologically cheaper. So, you
(15:04):
know, I think you're right.
But it's really hard to tellwhen it's gonna happen. And it
may happen at different timeswith different companies. It's
just we're in such a weird cycleright now.
Joe Rando (15:16):
Yeah. It's very, very strange. This is April 2025 or,
the first half of 2025. And,yeah, the future is very
unclear. But I remember yearsago, my father-in-law, he worked
for Polaroid as an engineer, andthey were getting into trouble,
you know, with the whole thing.
And they laid him off. They gavehim early retirement basically
(15:37):
and immediately hired him backas a consultant because they
could not do without. But, justlike you say, there may be a
period of time for that work tobuild up, but it's still
possible that this could be areal opportunity in some ways
for people that are prepared.
Laura Zavelson (15:53):
I think so. I think so. And I do think I was
talking to somebody about thisyesterday. If you are at a
corporate job right now and yousee the writing on the wall,
start exploring yourentrepreneurial options now.
Like, don't wait until, you'relaid off and you're looking at
the severance check and you'rewatching that number drop.
You know, start looking now.Like, I'm sure you've got
(16:16):
business experiences, businessideas. I'm sure you've got
business ideas like something.And so, poke around in there
now.
Joe Rando (16:25):
Yeah. Join LifeStarr
Carly Ries (16:28):
join LifeStarr
Joe Rando (16:29):
and come in and brainstorm with us. It's free.
Carly Ries (16:35):
Well, so let's say they're like, yeah, I have my
business experience and that'sgiving me my new business ideas.
And if I'm on the choppingblock, let's do this, I'm ready.
So many people are in thatsituation and they have the best
ideas, but then they come to thescary phase of entrepreneurship
which is selling. And so manypeople are it's such a scary
(16:56):
word for people, myselfincluded. I do not like sales.
And I know that it's not ABCanymore and close the deal and
cold call, and it's changed. Ithink people still think car
salesman when you think ofsales.
Joe Rando (17:11):
Alec Baldwin in Glengarry Glen Ross, that's what
they're thinking.
Carly Ries (17:16):
Exactly. And it doesn't have to be like that. So
how do you recommend to thewomen that you coach that they
approach sales in a non sleazyand more authentic way?
Laura Zavelson (17:29):
Yeah. Because, the thing is, I think
everybody's had that oneexperience with a salesperson
that made them uncomfortable orthat they just really didn't
like being in that situation.And so I think they don't wanna
put anybody else in thatsituation. Certainly not someone
that they'd like to have as aclient.
And so they go the other way.Right? And these conversations
just get really awkward. So whatI talk about is that if you can
(17:55):
do some pre work and establishyourself as an expert and not a
world leading expert, like whereyou don't have to go out and win
an award or anything. But youhave to establish yourself as an
expert in the field that you'rein.
Because that way when you getsomebody on the phone, it's not
like you're trying to convincethem of anything. They're
already on the phone becausethey wanna hire you. Like, they
(18:16):
already know enough about youthat they wanna go, yeah, I
wanna work with you. I use thisstory. So a couple of months
ago, we were at a barbecue at afriend's house, maybe like forty
minutes away from our house.
And my son was home for thesummer from college and, you
know, living in our downstairsbedroom. And I get a call on the
(18:38):
phone from my son. Now if youall have children who are in
their twenties or you know them,you know they don't call. Right?
They text me, they discord you,they'll like get in touch with
me any other way, but like theydon't pick up the phone and
call.
My son calls. So I know this isnot gonna be a good thing. I
pick up the phone and he's like,mom, there's water pulling
(19:01):
pouring through the light in theceiling in the bathroom.
I'm like, oh my god.
So I say, alright. Go turn offthe water. He goes and turns off
the water. I'm like, okay. We'regonna come home. So this our
friends, you know, other couplesthere. And I said, does anybody
know a plumber that'll pick upthe phone on the weekends? And
(19:21):
somebody said, yeah, I know aguy. And so I took the person's
number.
And on the way home, I call him.And let me tell you what I
didn't do on that call. I didnot ask him, how his program
worked. I didn't ask him howmany years he had been a
plumber. I didn't actually evenask him how much he charged.
I was like, can you be at myhouse today? And he's like, yes.
(19:41):
I can be there at 03:00. I'mlike, great. You're hired.
So what we all do is a littlebit different, and you are
usually not solving quite aproblem that urgent. If you can
find a problem that urgent, it'sa great way to stay employed.
But, it's that idea that if youcan establish yourself as an
expert in your field, then itbecomes a path then you getting
(20:04):
hired. And the way I think thebest way to establish yourself
as an expert of your field is touse thought leadership content.
Carly Ries (20:13):
Yeah. So okay. You talk about there's a way to
develop kind of a contentgenerating machine for yourself
and here's the big kicker,doesn't include ChatGPT. And I'm
like, that's false. All of ourcontent ideas come from ChatGPT
now.
So what is the tool that you useor the methodology that you use?
Laura Zavelson (20:36):
Well, honestly, it's belief shifting content. So
you can still use ChatGPT if youwant to, but that download I
have has all these prompts init. Not for ChatGPT. for you,
but if you wanna involve ChatGPTin that situation, go right
ahead. You can certainly use itwith it. But you've got to walk
people through your process andthrough the belief shifts it
(21:01):
takes to become a buyer. Andbuyer psychology is well
documented. Now you know, Ididn't come up with this
yesterday. Right? We know thatpeople have to kind of come
along before they decide to makea purchase from you.
So if we had sort of the firststage of that, it would be
awareness. They need tounderstand they have a problem
(21:23):
and they need to understand thatyou understand their problem.
Right? And then the second thingthat we kinda have to convince
them of is there's a solutionand there are options.
And so that gives them somehope. Oh, wait a minute. Maybe
there is a way that I can fixthis problem. Then the third
thing is trust.
We need them to believe that wecan help them. And that's where
(21:44):
your testimonials and your casestudies come in. That's where
you can talk about yourexperience or your education and
those kinds of things. They haveto understand how your thing
works. People don't buy whatthey don't understand. So they
need to understand what processor what's gonna happen to them
if they work with you. And theyalso need to believe that they
(22:04):
can succeed using whatever yoursolution is. Right? And then the
final piece is what I callselfie content, but I don't mean
like taking pictures ofyourself.
I mean, it's that personalitychemistry fit belief. They need
to vibe with you. And so that'swhere you really need to share
(22:26):
like your mission or your valuesor your hobbies. I mean, you
don't necessarily tell themeverything you've ever done, but
you know what I mean?
You can let them in to someextent. Because I don't know who
said this, but you know, peopledon't buy coaching, they buy
coaches. Right? People don't buyconsulting, they buy
consultants. You really gottalike somebody that you're
working with.
And that all comes down to theit's the Bob Berg quote, right?
(22:49):
The know, like, trust. Right? Soall of this, all of this belief
shifting, all of this proofcontent, all of this letting
them know a little bit moreabout you personally, each piece
of that builds on that know,like, trust. And it's a really
authentic way that you canmarket yourself and sell
(23:09):
yourself without feeling likeyou're always asking somebody,
do you wanna buy this?
Do you wanna buy this? Do youwanna buy this?
Carly Ries (23:16):
I'm so glad that you brought that up because some
people when you talk aboutcontent or establishing your
business and separating it fromthe masses, a lot of people are
taking the same advice. Sothey're creating the content,
they're getting thetestimonials, blah blah blah.
And they're kinda like, okay,but so is the marketing
consultant next to me and themarketing consultant over there
(23:36):
is doing the same thing. Andgosh, like, how do I
differentiate myself? And that'sit.
It's the connection. It's the doyou vibe? And because it's so
true, and I mean, we throughoutour careers, we've worked with
different contractors and youknow pretty quickly if you vibe
with them or not. Like, I feellike that's the biggest telling
(23:56):
factor, at least for me,compared to their credentials
and everything else, theirexperience. And I do think
that's something that peoplemiss out on.
Laura Zavelson (24:05):
And I think it has to be the whole package.
Right? And I think in additionto vibe, do think that people
need to believe that you knowwhat you're talking about. And I
do think an additional way todifferentiate yourself from the
marketing consultant sittingnext to you is to have your own
approach. And we were talking alittle bit this earlier in terms
(24:27):
of like, productizing your IP.
Right? everybody should havetheir own approach to doing
stuff, through your experienceand through the I don't know
what you know works, right?Otherwise, you really shouldn't
be a coach or consultant. And soyour approach is actually an
(24:47):
excellent differentiator thatthe person next to you should
not have. And you can break thatdown into into tons of content.
You can say, I use theseassessments or I use these
checklists or this is myframework or I know this works
because step one does this andstep two does that and step
three does that. And so you walkthem through your steps which
(25:10):
should not be the same asanybody else's steps. And I do
think that's a great way todifferentiate and help people
remember you.
Carly Ries (25:18):
Yeah. Absolutely. Laura, this is all so helpful.
And I think also like you guyswere just saying, there is so
much uncertainty right now.
And I feel like the way thatyou're describing all of this
kinda gives people hope, andespecially women, Gen X women,
that it's like, it's okay. Theother funny thing is, I feel
like people should be thinkingabout this on the side anyway,
(25:39):
regardless of the time thatwe're in, salaries are kind of a
false safety net too. You couldget fired at any minute. For
sure. Always thinking about whatyour unique selling point is,
experience, your values.
I think it's just a goodreminder to walk yourself
through this, whether you'vejumped ship from corporate or
(25:59):
not. And we get people listeningto the podcast who are both
ends. we have people that are inthe solopreneur world now and
people that are like, I wannaget there. I just need to figure
out how to do that. And I justthink everything you've said
today is so reassuring forpeople and kinda gives them the
confidence to take that leap.
So I just wanna say thank you.
Laura Zavelson (26:19):
Oh, well, you know, I hope it does do that.
Carly Ries (26:22):
Yeah. Well, okay. So you help people, you help women
specifically, Gen x'ers findsuccess with whatever their new
adventure is. So we have to ask,we ask all of our guests this
question, what is your favoritequote about success?
Laura Zavelson (26:37):
If you follow all the rules, you'll miss all
the fun. Catherine Hepburn saidthat.
Carly Ries (26:44):
Then I am missing a lot of fun. I am your
traditional rule follower.
Laura Zavelson (26:48):
I am so not a rule follower. Oh my gosh.
Carly Ries (26:53):
I had a friend ask me the other day, she goes,
let's bring our dogs to thiscoffee shop. And I was like, was
it dog friendly? And she goes,well, I don't know. I would just
assume so. Let's just bring thedogs.
And in my mind, I was like,unless there's a written sign or
a note, like, the manageragrees, I'm not going. And she
was just like, well, let's justbring the dogs.
Laura Zavelson (27:16):
I'm always oh, those rules are for other
people. That cross at the lightthing, that's for other people.
I'm just gonna cross over here.
Carly Ries (27:22):
Well, that's what makes you a good solopreneur.
So, Laura, where can people findyou if they want to learn more
about you?
Laura Zavelson (27:29):
The best place is to go to my website. It's at
laurazavelson.com,
I am the only Laura Zavelson. Soif you Google that, everything
that comes up will be related tome.
And, I actually have a YouTubechannel. so if you want more,
(27:49):
thoughts about how to start orgrow your coaching and
consulting business, you canfind me on YouTube.
Carly Ries (27:55):
Easy enough. Well, Laura, thank you so so much for
coming on the show. Andlisteners, thank you so much for
tuning in. But you know what? Welove putting out this content
for you.
It's one of our favorite partsof our week. But in return, we
would love that five starreview. It's how we get found in
search more easily. It's how wegrow that show, and we want to
continue putting this on foryou. So be sure to leave that
(28:15):
five star review.
Subscribe on your favorite podpodcast platform as well as
YouTube, and we will see younext time on The Aspiring
Solopreneur. You may be goingsolo in business, but that
doesn't mean you're alone. Infact, millions of people are in
your shoes, running a one personbusiness and figuring it out as
they go. So why not connect withthem and learn from each other's
(28:36):
successes and failures? AtLifeStarr, we're creating a one
person business community whereyou can go to meet and get
advice from other solopreneurs.
Be sure to join in on theconversations at
community.lifestarr.com.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
Ridiculous History
History is beautiful, brutal and, often, ridiculous. Join Ben Bowlin and Noel Brown as they dive into some of the weirdest stories from across the span of human civilization in Ridiculous History, a podcast by iHeartRadio.