ADHD-ish™

Erin Ollila is an experienced writer and copywriter with an MFA in creative writing and a background in mental health. She is passionate about understanding human nature and using her expertise to help people make informed decisions about their businesses, especially in the words they choose and use to convey who they are, what they do, and the clients they are best suited to work with.  In o...

If you have heard that ADHD is the “entrepreneur’s superpower” you might be more than a little confused.  Let’s face it, ADHD is a diagnosable neurobiological disorder that can create countless struggles in life.  So, which is it: superpower or disability? In this episode, I will unpack some of the myths, misconceptions, and stereotypes regarding ADHD and entrepreneurship, share the thre...

"You need to create an impact with your uniqueness. You create an impact by the way you stand out. There are some elements in there like your personality, what you like to do, what you don't like to do, what you're comfortable with, and what you're not comfortable with. But if you boil it down to pure marketing, I would say that you stand out through your marketing message, which is the answer to...

In this podcast episode, I'm sharing my honest experiences of what I’m calling the current "Crisis of Confidence" among female business owners, grappling with the conflicting marketing messages, false promises, and broken systems that have left them feeling paralyzed and uncertain who they can trust to help them move forward. This crisis is a result of the mass confusion and hysteria caused by the...

Nicole Kalil shares her story of birthing her book, exposing the ironies of achieving success through a masculine lens and the personal journey of overcoming false confidence to ultimately become more trusting of herself. "I can't tell you how much of the confidence builders were required and necessary to write this book and to put it out there, and how much of the confidence derailers came up on...

One of the practices in the coaching industry that I really dislike is the Discovery Call.  It sounds harmless, but most coaches have been trained to use manipulative tactics to "close leads" on these calls because what they don't tell you is that the purpose of the discovery call is for you to discover that you are in trouble and that coach is your solution.  Period.  A free consul...

Today's guest, Kim O'Hara was a Hollywood movie producer and screenwriter before transitioning to book coaching over 8 years ago.  Kim believes that everyone can write a book and that they often discover more about themselves through writing. Writing a book is much different than other forms of communication as it requires a transformation of identity and letting go of preconceived notions ab...

This episode is all about a lesson I learned the hard way in my own business and want to help you learn it quicker: Taking Action vs. Getting Ready.  What I learned is that getting ready doesn't move the needle and that there is no participation trophy in business. I learned to trust my instincts and to have specific benchmarks to know when enough preparation and planning are enough.  We...

The story of how Amber de la Garza came to be a guest on this podcast is not the typical one.  It started over 3 years ago at Podcast Movement 2019.  I was a listener to her popular productivity podcast, Productivity Straight Talk, and recognized her at the conference.  Even though I did not have a podcast at the time, I approached her, introduced myself, and pitched her on the spot...

The beginning of a new year tends to be a time when business owners think about hiring a coach to help them move their business forward. At such times, most people focus on the credentials and credibility of the coach they are thinking about hiring, but in this episode, I share something even more important than that, determining whether you are even coachable.   This episode is about co...

I can hardly believe I’m writing this, but this is the last episode of The Driven Woman Entrepreneur Podcast for 2022, and if you are anything like me, and the rest of the self-employed women I know, you are tired.   You may even be somewhere closer to exhausted or even burned out.  I talk with many, many women business owners, and this seems to be the year that many of us expected would...

Many female solopreneurs start a business with nothing more than a good idea, a lot of passion, and a strong sense of purpose. Then they start collecting free and low-cost information and advice, followed by courses and massive group programs that can get them out of the starting blocks but will leave them stuck, stranded, or spinning their wheels at some point because they don’t actually know wha...

When I first talked with Heidi Taylor about being a guest on the podcast, I initially expected to interview her about her specific niche as a consultant - how to use an intake form or questionnaire to pre-screen potential clients for your group coaching program. Clearly, this is something I am interested in learning before re-launching The Boss Up Breakthrough again, and I know it would be of valu...

With the dramatic growth in the number of female experts starting knowledge-based businesses in the past few years, it is no surprise that there has been an equally dramatic growth in the number of people offering to help them to reach their business goals. There are business coaches, consultants, and strategists marketing their services for every stage of business from launch to legacy, and for e...

Sandra Scaiano is a web designer and brand strategist for female entrepreneurs. After a 20-year corporate career, she created a business that brings her joy and allows her to be present for her family and partner with clients who become raving fans and long-time friends.  While many business strategists try to sell you on their "proven system",  Sandra brings out the brilliance in each o...

It's mid-November and the holidays are right around the corner. As a solopreneur, you can go all-in on a Black Friday Sale, take time off or just hunker down and wait out the rest of the year because "nobody buys coaching or consulting services in Q4." Well, I don't believe that, for the record, and I will still be selling in December, along with enjoying friends and family time. But, there's one...

Tara Newman is an organizational psychologist, certified Profit First consultant, host of the Bold Money Revolution Podcast, and leader of The Bold Profit Academy.  Tara is exactly the kind of woman I want in my inner circle because she knows firsthand that being an expert, serving with purpose, and working your ass off doesn’t add up to a profitable business for most women and she’s on...

Summary  The topic of boundaries has never been more important than it is now because entrepreneurs are burning out, and far too businesses aren't profitable. This straight-shooting solo episode will walk you through each of the five areas where you probably need to beef up your boundaries, how to know if you should, and the first step to take to find out. If you're thinking this is one more...

Women who have the audacity to speak their truth without guilt or apology are absolutely some of my favorite people and today’s guest, Neena Perez and I became instant friends. As soon as I saw the name of her podcast,  “Straight Talk, No Sugar Added”, and the title of her book, “Hit Me With Your Best Shot, How I Overcame a Hard Hitting Life”, I knew I was going to connect with business and p...

Of all the things we need to learn how to master as a coach or consultant is expectation management.  It is more important than your niche, your offers, your marketing, price point, packaging our expertise or what social media platforms to spend our time on.   You can’t fully rely on your potential client to know what they expect from hiring you, either.  You have to get ahead of th...

One of the complaints I hear most often from other female solopreneurs is that they find it close to impossible to write high-quality emails to their list, but not everyone is in a position to hire a copywriter to take that task off their hands.   There are so many different kinds of emails that a business owner may need to send at different times from onboarding sequences to nurturing sequen...

The world of work has experienced some pretty seismic changes in the past couple of years, leading up to three interrelated trends: the great resignation, the rise of solopreneurship, and quiet quitting.  Productivity and employee engagement are down, way down and companies of all sizes can’t fill open positions or get the best out of the employees they have now.  I first heard about qui...

Today’s guest, Scarlett De Bease is a personal wardrobe stylist who shows female entrepreneurs what clothes to wear so they'll make more money and attract better clients. She guides her clients to create their own unique signature style, feel fearless and confident about being seen and heard, and excited to put themselves out to the world in a way that is game-changing. As the founder of Scarlett...

Why am I pulling back the curtain on my own failed launch (while marketing myself as a business strategist, coach, and consultant?)   And, why do it immediately after it happened?  I must admit I had a lot of reservations about both the content and the timing, but one of my core values is integrity and for me, that means telling the whole truth about solopreneurship, the cringe-worthy as...

I recently connected with leadership coach and consultant, Joanne Zuk, and liked her immediately.  We both came to solopreneurship after long and successful careers in another sector.  Joanne was in public service and I worked in nonprofits. In her current role, Joanne is on a mission to help female solopreneurs overcome their fears of negotiation so they can go after and get what they d...