When Your Career No Longer Fits Your Life w/ Lyndsey Akers

At some point, you realize the life you built doesn’t actually fit you anymore. 

For Lyndsey Akers, success once meant climbing the corporate ladder, chasing titles, and building a career in high-profile spaces from Capitol Hill to national organizations. But everything shifted when she became a mom and realized she wanted something different. Not just a new career path, but a different way of living and working. 

In this episode of Business Over Cocktails, Lyndsey shares how she unexpectedly stepped into entrepreneurship, how her career experiences shaped the business she runs today, and what it really looks like to build a reputation rooted in trust and relationships. This conversation goes beyond business strategy. It challenges the idea that success is something you climb toward, instead of something you redefine as your life evolves. 

Connect with Lyndsey:

Instagram: @lyndseyakers

LinkedIn: @lyndseyakers

Chapters:

00:40 How Lyndsey became an accidental entrepreneur

02:40 Career shifts after becoming a mom

04:40 Redefining success and priorities

08:40 Networking, relationships, and human design

10:40 How she got into PR and communications

13:40 From journalism dreams to Capitol Hill

16:40 Lessons from high-level leadership environments

19:40 Bridging PR for small business owners

22:40 Building trust and reputation in business

25:40 The reality of word-of-mouth growth

28:40 Why trust is built over time

31:40 What holds women back from visibility

34:40 Awards, credibility, and being seen

37:40 Owning your voice and impact

40:40 Where to connect with Lyndsey 

Let’s Stay Connected:
→ Follow Lauren on Instagram: www.instagram.com/laurennajar
→ Learn more or work with me: www.laurennajar.com
→ Follow Business Over Cocktails on IG: www.instagram.com/businessovercocktails
→ Attend Growth & Connect retreats & events: www.instagram.com/growthandconnect

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:05

Hey there, and welcome to Business Over Cocktails. I'm Laura Najar, your host and hype woman, bringing you real talk about entrepreneurship. This is the podcast where we dive into the bold whys, the messy middles, and the game-changing aha moments that lead to success. You'll hear unfiltered stories from entrepreneurs plus bite-sized solo episodes inside the Business Chaser series, where we cut through the noise and get straight to what actually drives sales, visibility, and growth. So whether you're here to get fired up or finally feel seen in your business journey, pull up a seat, pour your favorite drink, and let's have a real conversation. Hello everyone. Welcome back to Business Over Cocktails. I am so, so, so excited to get to know this person a little bit more. She has a very impressive resume. And so today I have Lindsay Akers. Uh-huh. I probably say Lindsay Akers. I was totally, I really thought to ask you before I hit record, and I'm glad I said it correctly. She is a PR consultant, visibility coach, and the host of the present and powerful podcast. I'm so excited to have you on, and I'm excited for this conversation. Thank you for being here.

SPEAKER_01 1:25

Lauren Same, so pumped to be here. You know, we were talking before we started about how we're kind of both refreshing ourselves and getting back into our podcast recording. So we're gonna ride through this wave together.

SPEAKER_00 1:35

Yes, we are. I mentioned, you know, just a little bit ago, you have a very impressive resume right in your website about you section. Your career spans from Capitol Hill to professional sports teams. The sports girly in me wants to know what teams for sure and what sports. Yeah. But before we get into that, how did you get into what you do?

SPEAKER_01 2:01

Yeah, I am for sure an accidental entrepreneur. If you had met me before I became a mom six years ago, Lindsay was climbing the ladder. She wanted to go up to the C-suite to the top. Let's go. Career and title and salary were super important. They were the metrics of success. And then I became a mom. And the other part of this coin is that I'm also a military spouse and this lifestyle is a little transient. We do not always have the most control over our schedule, geography, where our spouse is located, whether short term or long term. And I guess I was not so okay with not having the control and autonomy over my career. And so whenever I became a mom, my priorities shifted. My identity was thrown for a loop. What mattered to me professionally was no longer the title or where my office was, or if I had a cubicle or an office. It really became so much more about okay, do I have the agency to determine where I am for my kids and how I prioritize what I value and how my value shifted. So I've done a lot of things in my career and I'm very thankful for all of those things. But I am in the position that I'm in because I simply wanted to have the deciding factor on how I spent my time, who I supported through my expertise in my gifts, and whether or not I can be the person that is relied upon to do doctor's appointments, pick up my husband may deploy or be TDY, or, you know, he might get called in. And I just simply was not, I was not comfortable with me not being able to be that person for them and for my kids. And so we make it work. We figure out a path. We jump headfirst into entrepreneurship, like so many people did right around COVID or just before COVID. But congrats, Lauren, we've made it to the other side. We're still here, we're still growing and thriving. And I'm just, I'm honestly really thankful for all the chapters that I've had in my career because they've all informed what I do so uniquely that I'm better for it. My clients are better for it. So that's kind of a summary. I'm happy to dive into all of those very unique chapters and how we got here.

SPEAKER_00 4:14

Mm-hmm. And I love that you said like, congrats, we're both here, right? Because I think right now we're seeing this shift of people that are going back to corporate because of the boom of 2020 and a lot of people diving headfirst into entrepreneurship and maybe not thinking that it was easy, but a lot of people were laid off. And so I think that something else that I resonate with. So I was in the finance industry, I was in banking, I had a career there for 10 years. And throughout that career, though, so I my parents passed away when I was like in my early 20s and I was still in college. And then I actually then was diagnosed with cancer. And so I resonate a lot with what you said. With I wanted like I was going for finance, wanted to go to trading floor, wanted to climb the corporate ladder, wanted to make a lot of money, wanted to be really stressed out in my job because I equated that to a lot of money, right? And then like I, you know, dreamt of living in Chicago, living in a super fancy condo, having a boat on Lake Michigan. And that was like what I was chasing. And then like all of the like life happens, right? Like, regardless of what your story is, life happens, and like that no longer was what I wanted. And then I went on this journey too of like, what do I want to do? And then I found, you know, what I do now, and I've been doing that now for seven years. Seven years this month, actually. That's huge. Thank you. Thank you. Yes. So I I resonate a lot with that because it's okay to pivot. And I think a lot, I know, a lot of these conversations I've been having with these stories and on this podcast is like pivoting, but like not in a bad way. It's just like you're more aligned with like not just what you want to do in business or for a career, but it fits your family. It fits like the freedom you want or the lifestyle and that kind of thing. The one question I want to ask, just to get more insight on you, is how would your closest friends outside of the business world explain or describe you?

SPEAKER_01 6:19

Oh my gosh. You know, it's so funny to ask that. And that's honestly the biggest, it's kind of comical, right? Because you have these categories of friends, whether they know you from college or high school, or, you know, maybe this is your group of friends socially from the gym or from your church. And I'm so fortunate to have a wide variety of people, and especially from, you know, being in, I've lived in DC for nine years, I lived in Charleston for six years, I'm in Florida now. Like, I have pockets of people who've seen me at different points in my life. And I think they would all say something a little different about the version of myself that I was during each of those seasons. But I think the theme is if they were to look through the lens of like how I value my time, they would want to know that everything that I do is with purpose and intention. And, you know, some of my, some of my friends from the gym, they're just like, wow, you look really different on camera than you do at the gym. So the, the, the levels and layers of how we show up physically probably varies quite a bit. But, you know, I think meaningful relationships and connections are my greatest strength. And that is probably what my people would say about me. Like, I'm just a people person. I love meeting new people. I love walking into a networking opportunity and meeting new people. I will find those people and try to make them feel more at home in that environment because I just I want people to feel included. And I also am very interested in what other people do. And that's kind of the nature of my work, right? Like I am a master connector of opportunities. You may not see it and they may not see it, but I get to like plug into those. So I think at the heart of it is just relationships and being one of those crazy people that just love people and connecting with others.

SPEAKER_00 8:06

It's so funny that you said crazy people because it that is a little uncommon, right? We we don't hear, we don't hear that a lot. We really don't like, oh, I just love people. Like, I think people are almost ashamed to say it, like, or people will shrink. And I love that you're just kind of like, yeah, like I love going and talking to people and getting in front of people. Cause a lot for me, I love connecting people too. Building relationships is a huge, huge, huge platform for me. But I do think I also, if you're into human design or anything, I I am. Oh, you are okay. So I'm a generator. And so one of the things is like it's wait to respond. And so once I get talking about something that like I absolutely love, I can talk and talk and talk and talk and talk. If I know that I can help someone, I'm the most extroverted, outgoing person. But if I can't read that person yet, then I'm like very quiet and introverted. I am definitely not the person. It takes a lot of energy for me to go up to someone and just be like, hi, I'm Lauren. Like, this is what I do. I literally have to like psych myself up when I go to a networking event because I give myself a goal of like, I want to do that to one person. I want to meet one new person. And I will feel complete if I do that with one person. Now I host my own events, and that's different because like I feel they're coming for me. So like I will talk to everybody, but if it's someone else's event, I'm like, who do I know and who should I go up to?

SPEAKER_01 9:38

I will tell you. And my introverted husband would also probably echo like, he doesn't really want to go to events with me because he would rather be off in the corner. But I certainly understand that. And from the human design perspective, so I'm a projector, a mental projector. And I'm supposed to wait for the invitation. And I've been watching how this shows up differently in my life. But when I'm invited to something or when someone includes me and extends that hand, I show up differently. I do feel like it is something that is within alignment, that is where I'm supposed to be. And trying to wait on those opportunities is one, very, very difficult, but I'm trying to see how I show up in those moments and how it might be different than me pursuing opportunities, which is interesting because one of the primary components of what I do is pitching people and seeking out opportunities. So it's a nice little delicate balance.

SPEAKER_00 10:31

So, how did you get into PR and communications?

SPEAKER_01 10:35

I think being the extrovert that I am and really loving people and stories, it has all culminated in a variety of different ways. I tell this story often, but it it kind of paints a picture. Did you ever have one of those like job-shadowing like career days where you could go find out an opportunity and see what it was like? Yes. What did you do, Lauren?

SPEAKER_00 10:57

Not anything cool, not anything banking or anything like that. It was like, I don't know, it's just some admin work at the steel mill, like because we have a bunch of steel mills here. So I went to a school here locally. Well, it was an extension of like Purdue. So Purdue is in Indiana, right? And then we have one here locally, like a branch. The steel mills are huge in northwest Indiana. So we were able to like go shadow and like go see what they do. And it wasn't like anything exciting, right? It's just like pushing papers and like this is what we do. So yes, I have experience.

SPEAKER_01 11:31

Yeah. Well, I grew up in a really, really small town. Like the town that I grew up in had a caution light, just a caution light. So I had to drive 20 minutes to this opportunity, but I did it with our local newspaper and I shadowed a journalist. And I'm really fascinated by like the subject of a story or a main character and how their story is conveyed or disseminated or shared. And I just love learning about people. I love hearing their stories and where they're going and kind of, you know, what started it all and how they're using that in their business or their brand moving forward. So I shadowed a journalist. And my entire life, I was like, I want to be a publicist for a pro sports team. Like I want to be Bryce Harper's publicist or Cam Newton's publicist. Like, this is where I want to be. I was an athlete my entire life. And it was just a nice little marriage between those two things. But I married someone in the Air Force and I was immediately convinced that he was going to take me to Minot, North Dakota, and there would be no professional opportunities. And I also graduated during the time of like the 2008, like the job, the economy, those markets were not in my favor. And I got a job working in radio, doing like national advertising sales. And then I met my husband. We got married. Lo and behold, we went to Washington, D.C. And we were there for 10 years. Did I join the Washington Nationals? I tried. It's really, really hard. But I actually ended up on Capitol Hill working in the House of Representatives and in the U.S. Senate over a course of like three years. And I was never someone who like aspired for Capitol Hill. I wasn't a poli sci major. I didn't grow up being involved in campaigns or like anything related to political science. So it was just one of those things that you get to DC and it's like everybody wants Capitol Hill experience. Like if you want to go work for an employer, they want Capitol Hill experience. So by the literal luck of the draw, got that opportunity. It was really cool to have like a front row seat to government and politics and policy. And I loved it. And I probably had an abundance of opportunity there more during the time that I was there. But I really wanted to be in communications. And at that point in time, I was just in the front office of some of the senators and congressmen. And I wanted to like cut my teeth in comms and press and media relations. And being an Air Force spouse, I then saw a job for a communications manager at the Air Force Association. And so then I went to AFA. I've done nonprofit comms, I've done corporate comms, and then I became a mom. And I was like, oh, I can take all of this and bring the power of PR and media to people like me, to small business owners, to experts, entrepreneurs, but also my values are really important when it comes to what I do. And leading with integrity is the peak of it. Like I want to work with good people doing good things. And I'm not a spin doctor. Like we're telling great stories and building your business, but I am not going to like do any shady stuff. It's just I want to lead with integrity and work with good people. And I've been able to do that over the past five years and it's been amazing.

SPEAKER_00 14:50

That's so cool. I and I can't imagine the things that you see in Capitol Hill first, like front row seat, how fast that moves, just having access to all of those things that are happening, regardless of where you stand or not in politics. Like it, I know that I would be one to also just like take it all in and just see like behind the scenes, behind the curtains and things like that. So funny that you, I thought you were going to say that you were Bryce Harper's PR agent. And I just like I actually do not like him. It would be very new. It would be so cool though. It would be so cool. I obviously he's a huge again, sports girly. I played sports my whole life too. I'm a huge Chicago Cubs fan, Chicago sports teams. I just feel he just like I just can't stand him, man. I just can't stand him. So sorry for all of the Bryce Harper lovers out there. He's I know he's on the Phillies now. But yeah, I was like, oh, wait, that is really cool. And I would like to root for you and be like, that's so cool to say. But like I also just as a sports fan cannot stand him.

SPEAKER_01 15:58

Which is why maybe he might need a little bit more PR.

SPEAKER_00 16:00

Yeah. Oh, wow. Especially, you know what? Now he's kind of quiet because he's older and like has kids and stuff. But especially in those early days, you would have probably reeled him in a little bit more.

SPEAKER_01 16:12

I will say that like I grew up in the age of like the Atlanta Braves, Chipper Jones, oh, what was the other Jones, Andrew Jones, like the good old Braves team. So that's probably where it all started and where the like sports component came in. Bryce was just the shiny new athlete that came in 10, 15 years ago. And I was like, oh, how cool. And now I'm just like, there's no way, like, even as a mom, there's no way that I could be at a stadium five nights a week from noon until midnight. There's no way. And so that's also another reason why sports would probably not be so ideal for me. But there might come a time in my later years where the kids have flown the nest and I'm like, sports PR, let's try.

SPEAKER_00 16:52

Yeah. Oh, I forget what jobs. I think it might have just been like customer service or customer relations where you cater to say like the season ticket holders. I was really trying to work at anything for the Chicago Cubs because I thought that would be so cool. But I agree. Now, like being a mom, like that is such a like maybe not so much in the off seasons, but in like the summer, like you literally would have to live there, which again, maybe 10 years ago when I was applying for these jobs, that would have been amazing. Yeah. But yeah, that is a lot. And it's fast pace and you have to be on like your A game like every single day.

SPEAKER_01 17:30

Well, and sports does not pay well until you get to a certain level. I interned in college and then saw what like minor league sports teams paid. And it was barely to cover rent. And that's when rent was somewhat affordable. But it you have to get to a certain level in those organizations before your hourly rate at all compares to the number of hours that you're spending there. But you get the opportunity to work an insanely cool job.

SPEAKER_00 17:59

Yeah, it would have been really cool, I'm sure. So cool. So you have worked in high profile, high stakes environments. How do you think that that has influenced your leadership and then now into your business?

SPEAKER_01 18:14

In a variety of ways. I think I've been really fortunate to see how leaders carry themselves and see kind of the inner workings of how they even structure their day, their teams, you know, what it's like to be efficient and effective in support of people like that. So people have a variety of teams, whether they are a government leader, a CEO, or a wildly successful entrepreneur, they are not doing these things alone. They're delegating and they value their time so differently than other people do. And the caliber of expectations that come with serving those individuals, the margin of error is so very small. It's so small. And so, with several examples, you want to make sure that their schedule is by the minute, by the second. Their prep documents, like you see these CEOs walking around with binders, or if you're about to do a presser, the binders are there and they've been prepped over the last eight hours and all the details are there. It's just at a completely different level of operating, and no one can do that alone. But I think it also sets a standard as a leader as to how you, and I'll use this term loosely, like train people to treat you. And that's kind of how I'm trying to reinforce in my agency and in my life like, how can I set the tone for efficiencies? And how can I set the tone for, you know, the caliber of work that we do and how we present ourselves and how we present our clients. So we're doing a little bit of a shift there just to elevate our game, to play bigger. And I think that's something that we can all take away that time is finite. And if we prioritize our time ROI, it's going to completely shape our profitability, how much time we spend in our chair at our desk, the people that we associate with, the investments we make in our business. How can we value our time so highly that it shapes the minute or the hour or the day?

SPEAKER_00 20:14

Yeah. I had a question as you were talking with like the businesses you work with or the small business owners, right? It's a completely maybe not, but it's I feel like it could be a completely different ballgame versus like what you just mentioned about binders full of prep documents for CEOs. And I think, you know, in in at least the industry as a whole, like in with small business owners and now understanding like how valuable PR and visibility is, right? And I think to a point, people wait until they are at a certain level in business or achieve a certain level of success. I think where the question I want to have is how do you kind of bridge that gap for them that like, yes, PR is important. Yes, we might not have CEO level binders of like you are going into this thing and whatever. But how do you get people to start thinking in those terms of like, no, no, no, like you have to start thinking big and getting visible in this way?

SPEAKER_01 21:17

I think, especially in the online space, we're talking about credibility and authority a lot and visibility. And everyone can implement certain strategies into their business in order to create a bridge to those things. And at the end of the day, I think that question is best answered individually for people when asked, who is your target audience? Who is your clientele? Who are the stakeholders and decision makers or industry influencers that shape what it is that you do? So do you have credibility with your consumers? And is it off of Instagram? Does your industry recognize you? Does your community recognize you? And that can go from a local, regional, state, or national scale. And I think it depends on the scope of your business. Are you hyperlocal? Do you have a national component? But we all have local chambers. We all have, generally speaking, like industry organizations or membership communities or associations that can offer collaborative opportunities and business connections that also might have an awards program where they're featuring the 30 under 30 or, you know, new business of the year or something to that degree. And they have storytelling opportunities. So you can highlight your business and your story with those organizations by reaching people that matter to your business. And so PR is very vague and mysterious. But at the end of the day, how are you perceived and what are people saying about you in a room that you're not in is kind of a question that I lead with. What is your reputation and how can you enhance that? What credibility markers do you need in order to enhance your respect and your reputation in order to be known for what it is that you want to be known for? And it's different for all of us, right? At different levels. But if you keep the end goal in mind of where you want to be now and in five years and who that's going to matter to, that will guide you as you can continue building out where you're going to spend and invest your time and money.

SPEAKER_00 23:18

You mentioned authority and credibility. Those are huge words. I completely agree. And the word that comes up for me is also trust. And so something that you mentioned, I think it was on your website of like how you've built your agency was through like relationships and trust and word of mouth. Take us through like how did you build that reputation? Because I actually just had this conversation with somebody else where we were talking about personal brand. And we were, and a lot of that also comes down to building trust with people. And I know that I have clients kind of in those transitional phases of like, well, how do I build my personal brand or how do I get people to trust me? It's hard sometimes to have those tangible, like you don't have a checklist that you can just say, well, I need to do this, this, this, and this. It's just like you need to embody almost a personal brand or whoever you want to represent. So take us through how maybe you've done that and how you've built your agency, where you know, you mentioned a lot of your clients come from word of mouth or then the trust building.

SPEAKER_01 24:18

Yeah, I am not ever proud to admit for the first four years of my agency, I did not have a website. I did not have public-facing social media. It was the thing that I was just like candidly sucked at doing. And I didn't want, I was just like, that will happen at some point, and I'll do it and it'll be great. And, you know, the fact that you went and went my website, I'm like, oh God, that one's still like, I hate that one. We're in the process of rebranding. I square spaced the heck out of that one. We're leveling up people, but ultimately, you know, whenever I was dabbling with the idea of leaving corporate, I had connected with someone in the business community who was doing something that I really admired. She was creating a marketplace that's kind of like the Etsy, but for the military community, where if you're a military spouse veteran or first responder and you have a side hustle or a product or a service, you can market that on this platform. And so military spouse unemployment is at 24% because our lifestyle is so transient. That's five times the national average. And so anyone who has a side hustle or a business, they can market it on that platform and people who want to support that community can find them. So I offered my friend, which is now my friend, I said, Hey, I know that you're looking for a marketer and you need to grow your brand. I'm thinking about leaving my corporate job, but I don't want to do that on a whim. Like, I got to make sure this is gonna work. And that it's something that is in my best interest. And so I helped her. And in the process of helping her, I created a walking testimonial because I it was aligned. I did great work. She was well connected. It was not really my intent for her to like go around and spout my name as being someone who's like changed her business for the better. But I'm proud of that. Like I'm proud of how I helped her and how I helped catapult her brand. And she told our very tight-knit community of military spouse entrepreneurs, like, she would shout my name from the rooftops and still does. And so people just continued to come to me. I've never had to really market myself. My pipeline was always full. I was able to work with people who were doing great work. And the testimonials that people have by working with you, whether you ask them to share their mark or not, that is your best case study because people want to share good news about the people that have helped them in positive ways and leading with integrity and showing up and living out the values that you believe. And so leading with integrity, doing good work, fostering community, being inclusive, those are all things that I value. And they show up in my life and my business in different ways. But the trust economy, so low. Everything is so low. And I think one of the things that I would encourage more people to do, and that you're doing this so well and offering a hub and a place for women to do this, in-person connection, in-person networking, being surrounded by people who want you to win and who are invested in your success and can be that megaphone for you, is building trust and it's expanding your trust. So I think having people who genuinely want to support you through your peaks and your valleys are essential to enhancing your trust beyond your current sphere. I have a lot to say about the trust economy.

SPEAKER_00 27:37

But no, that's such a good point because that's so true. Of course, getting in person enhances that trust tenfold and a lot quicker than if you were to join or build the relationship with someone online. And as someone who has built their business online for seven years, like now being immersed more locally over the last year and just traveling, going to events, things like that. I know that that relationship builds a lot faster, obviously, when we are in person. But I do want to say it also happens really quickly if you do go in person to meet someone and then you immediately see that what they're spouting online is not who they say they are. And that goes back to like your integrity, that goes back to the values that you were talking about earlier. And I think a lot, and sometimes that's disheartening. And maybe, and I've had people tell me that they have shunned away from events because of entering rooms like that, right? Where they have gone to events of someone that they love or wanted to get to know. And then all of a sudden it's just like, well, I don't want to go to this if this is what this is gonna be. And they have now set foot again coming to my event or something else and meeting people, finally giving themselves a second chance to open up. But I think, like, if someone is like if you are thinking about actually then hosting your own event, right? Because that could help you with trust, building relationships in your audience, having that credibility, that impact that you want to provide needs to come through, that messaging, how you deliver, how you stand on your values. Like, I think that needs to be apparent. And that's when it wins, right? That's when you have kind of like what you were just saying about your first client and then the military community. I don't have experience with that. I do have a client who is in the military spouse community and she's an entrepreneur as well. And I know that it is a very close-knit community. So you provided such a good experience for this person that if it went the other way, then who knows where you would have been right now, right?

SPEAKER_01 29:43

Mm-hmm. Yeah. And I think the important summary to all of that is that trust is built over time. I've heard a quote, and I think it's from Warren Buffett or one of the kind of big titans, but it takes five years to really enhance and build your reputation and one minute to burn it to the ground, which is not super like reassuring. But I think that's the important part here is that you're not going to build your brand overnight. You're not going to reach this insane overnight success just like that. And that is especially true right now when it comes to trust. Everyone has a platform, everyone has a voice. So many things are noisy right now, but building that over time and living out those values and being who you say you are in person and online, pretty a critical component to that. That would send off some spidey senses for me too.

SPEAKER_00 30:35

Mm-hmm. We mentioned the word impact a few times. And I think I saw somewhere that you like working with impact-driven organizations. So can you tell me what that looks like or who do you like to partner with the most?

SPEAKER_01 30:48

Yeah. Yeah. And it it varies, right? Impact can be, you know, this really big thing or a really small thing. It can be impact to your family, your community, your household. But a lot of my clients have been solving tough problems. Many of them are tackling military spouse unemployment. They're tackling, you know, the transition experience for military service members who are going to become civilians after 20 years of service. They are creating new opportunities that solve a problem or something that's really exciting and has a do good component to it. And I just like people who are, oh, I love to hear it. I love to hear it minor in school. You go, girl. But I think it's just finding people who are doing good with their work and their gifts. And that means a variety of different things. But I think it's just their values being lived out in how they lead and the businesses that they're building and doing it for the right reasons.

SPEAKER_00 31:48

So with that, and I think a lot of times if you are working with women who want to do or have like impact as one of their values, right? They're building their businesses not just for X, Y, Z. It is to create an impact, create a movement. And so a lot of these women are then high performing. What do you see being like, I guess with high performing women, what prevents them from wanting to become more visible? Or why do they hesitate for putting themselves out there a little bit more and developing that personal brand?

SPEAKER_01 32:25

Oh, that is such a good question, Lauren. It's such a good question. And there, you know, there's some common themes and common reasons. None of them more important or like higher than the other, but sometimes we just don't feel like anyone wants to hear our story. And that's the saddest thing to me because every story and perspective, personal or business or otherwise, I think we all just have so many unique perspectives that we should all welcome in terms of dialogue and conversation that allow us to stand apart in our businesses as community stewards, as you know, people just in our communities or business communities. So I think a lot of women are their biggest deterrent for not pursuing speaking opportunities or podcast interviews or pursuing awards. The reality is that people are getting awards because they're nominating themselves or they're asking people to nominate them. Like a lot of times, I think the impression is that opportunities just gravitate to us. They come to us, they're looking for the next great thing, which is true in some cases. But more often than not, we have to pursue what it is that we're aspiring for. It is not a passive exercise, but doing that with a community of women who are saying, heck, I'll nominate you for the women of influence for my local business journal. I want to nominate you for this national award from entrepreneista or or some other like aligned community. And so I just hope that we don't inhibit ourselves from pursuing those opportunities because we don't feel like we're good enough. No one wants to hear our story. You don't step up or compare to the other people that you're seeing in your space or or at a higher level than you. We have to give ourselves the chance and be vulnerable. And again, have people who will champion those efforts alongside us. What are you seeing holds people back? Because I'm sure it's a variety of things.

SPEAKER_00 34:18

You know, it's a lot of what you said. I know from even just like my own personal experience, right? I think when I started my business and I started getting into, you know, maybe my business was like kind of like churning along and I'm two or three years in. And now I start seeing people that are writing for Forbes or writing for these places or named top 10 coach on Yahoo.com. And very quickly did I realize that all of that was paid, you know, submitted on their own behalf. And then that kind of demystified a lot of things for me. And I think like that piece, though, I felt instantly more confident because not that I wanted to go after that and do pay PR. I know that there's a time and place for that. But I felt that, oh, like I understand now how this world works a little bit more. And it's so funny that you mentioned about awards. So I I actually am a nominated for an award here locally in Northwest Indiana. And I didn't nominate myself. Someone else nominated me for that award. But then for me, it really didn't have this like, oh, I need to win this award, or like I'm not campaigning for it or anything. Like, you know, there's a board that votes on all these people and whoever's gonna win. There's an award ceremony, which I can't go to. But I think there's like that, there's been that shift of I understand what my mission is, and my mission isn't awards. But to your point, is I have to embrace and be grateful and thankful of like it's okay to be recognized. Because I think also, too, with high-performing women and not just myself, but what I see is that we're just so focused on maybe not the end goal, but just making our goals for ourselves. And we are just so laser focused and building our businesses and doing whatever impact is a huge thing, right? Making that impact, helping people that we're not doing it for awards or we're not doing it for the recognition. However, there has to be that little bit of sliver of like, it's okay to be recognized. It's okay to be known.

SPEAKER_01 36:32

I will say hard relate. That was one of the reasons why, like, having a social media presence or a public website or pursuing awards for myself or being on podcast interviews and telling my story. Like, I am fulfilled by doing that for women and leaders and men that I care about and the efforts that they're doing. I don't care about it for myself. I have turned the tides on that a little bit as I'm leaning into this new era of business. But it is a credibility marker that supports the broader awareness and like that trust factor for your business. But here's what I find, and what I love about every single one of these opportunities, especially when it comes to women who have not previously put themselves out there. The moment that you can share with your community, you got this award, you were featured in Forbes 30 under 30. 30 under 30 is real, by the way. The top 10 lists of coaches on Yahoo. So we can have a tangent about that one day. But the moment that people in your community see that you've been recognized for the gifts and the values and the impact that you make in your business, nine times out of 10, they are going to be so proud of you. They want to cheer you on. They want to share that news broadly. And it allows your community to feel good about it as well because they believe this about you the whole time. It's just other people are recognizing it.

SPEAKER_00 37:53

I love that. And I want to go back to it, it was actually before we hit record, right? We were talking about our own podcast. Like, oh, wait, people actually want to hear what we have to say, right? That goes with this too, right? Because we have an idea and we have an idea of the impact we want to create with whatever medium we're creating, podcast, our social media presence, what we're doing, even speaking on stages, hosting events or going to events. We again, as high performing women, don't realize that, oh, wait, people actually want to hear me. Like we have to stop and smell the roses type of thing of like, oh, I see it now. Like, I see the numbers, I see the number of downloads, I see the feedback. And like it takes those moments to be like, oh, people do want to hear me. And it again, it's embracing because I think again, high performing, we want impact, we're selfless, heart-centered, we want to help others. And then if we instantly think that we're in it for ourselves just for one second, that's gonna be like, oh, nope, I can't do that. I'm not in line with that. But if we switch, you know, flip the script on that of, well, actually, I'm being a disservice to people who actually want to hear about me or hear from me or me to coach or whatever, I'm doing them a disservice and therefore I'm not impacting them the way that I want to impact them. So again, I think like we're both coming around. We're both coming around on that.

SPEAKER_01 39:21

We are. And I will share the exact same sentiment that has guided me and being more visible myself. Again, I really much am kind of the girl with the headset behind the curtains with the clipboard and like on her phone while my clients are doing the big thing. But what I deeply care about, and I imagine this is very true for you, is that I want working moms, ambitious moms, professional women, even before their moms, to not feel like they have to choose between their work life and their home life and whatever's in the best interest of themselves and their families to be able to be in pursuit of that. And so my hope is that women like us can thrive professionally and not be deterred by choosing one or the other. And if I can be a representation of that through my business and my brand and bring other women alongside me with that, I feel much better about it. So it is not about me. It is about we, it is about the community and being able to be that representation for other people. Then perhaps I did not see when I was, you know, in a pencil skirt and heels in a corporate office for four years.

SPEAKER_00 40:26

I love that. I and I feel like I can go on a tangent about that too. But we'll stop there. I think that's such an important message, though, of you know, being a mom doesn't define you. And, you know, even before you don't have to choose between whatever it is that you want to do or the things that you want to pursue in life. So that is a beautiful sentiment, but I will stop it there because I can probably talk about that for like 30 more minutes.

SPEAKER_01 40:50

Lauren, I feel like there's gonna be another component to your podcast that has like a like it's called the sidebar or the tangent. Like there could be another component to your podcast series here.

SPEAKER_00 41:00

Truly, yes. Truly, yes. But I, you know, I've actually thought about that. So if there's ever like follow-ups or anything, I've thought about going live with people too when they're podcasters. Like, we need to have more of a conversation. Or you can just come back. We'll have a longer conversation, we'll have another recording. I think also, too, these are important conversations and topics to cover too. So, but tell us how we can connect with you and all of your all of the things happening in your world.

SPEAKER_01 41:29

Would it be hilarious if it's if I said don't go to my website?

SPEAKER_00 41:32

Yeah, don't go to your website. Apparently, it's not great. It's not a data vamping.

SPEAKER_01 41:40

Yes, we're improving. We're on a progressive path these days. But you guys, you can find me on LinkedIn, on Instagram, Lindsay Acres. You know, again, this is the horrible part where I'm just like, I want to talk about you. But no, you guys can find me on social media. Instagram is great, LinkedIn is wonderful, and I have the podcast that I'm gonna be revamping in the next couple of weeks as well. But I'm just really honored to be in conversation and community with you, Lauren. I love what you're doing. I think these are really important conversations to have, and we'll keep fighting the good fight together. Oh, for sure.

SPEAKER_00 42:10

I love that. Thank you so much for coming on. I love this conversation. Thanks for tuning in to another episode of Business Over Cocktails, where real stories and bold business moves come to life. If this episode lit something up in you, share it with a friend, tag me at Laura Najar or the podcast page at business over cocktails. Make sure to leave a quick review as well. It helps more than you know. Until next time, keep chasing what matters and building the business that feels like you. Cheers.