Business Over Cocktails - Behind the Business - Real Talk with Female Entrepreneurs

What if the breakthrough you're waiting for doesn't require a bigger strategy, but a smaller daily commitment? Big business goals are exciting, but they often leave entrepreneurs chasing results instead of building the habits that actually create them. In this solo episode, I share why I committed to running 39 miles during my birthday month and how that personal challenge became a great...

What happens when you reach the age that changed your parent's life forever? As I reflect on my 39th birthday, I found myself thinking about a number that carries deep meaning. Thirty-nine was the age my mom was diagnosed with colon cancer, and reaching that same milestone brought up unexpected emotions about grief, family, identity, and the passage of time. In this deeply personal episode, I...

Ever wonder why some brands instantly feel trustworthy, luxurious, and worth paying more for? Most business owners think luxury branding comes from expensive logos, fancy design elements, or following the latest trends. In reality, it's about something much deeper. It's about how your brand makes people feel. In this Business Chaser episode, Erika Maram breaks down the psychology behind...

What if the business you worked so hard to build became the very thing stealing your freedom?  In this episode, Lauren sits down with brand and web designer Erika Maram to explore the journey behind her business, from learning to code as a kid and bartending for seven years to building a thriving design studio that eventually grew into a full-service marketing agency. What started as a dream of cr...

You've tried the diets, workouts, supplements, and wellness trends, so why don't you feel any better?  In this episode, Jasmine Jafferali shares what she learned after more than 30 years in the health, fitness, and wellness industry. She opens up about chasing external solutions for healing while ignoring the wisdom of her own body. Jasmine shares why women are constantly searching outsi...

Most women are doing everything right on paper, and still not feeling well. Jasmine Jafferali has been in the health and wellness space her entire career, starting as a fitness instructor at 20 and eventually building her work around functional nutrition, corporate wellness, and perinatal health. With a master's degree in public health focused on maternal infant health education, she brings b...

If selling feels forced, uncomfortable, or just plain yucky, the problem probably is not your pitch. In this episode, Lauren breaks down why so many entrepreneurs feel gross when they try to sell and what to do instead. She shares why the pressure to convert every conversation into a sale is not only unrealistic but actually working against you, and how shifting your focus to genuine relationship...

You're probably working way harder at relationship building than you need to. In this episode, Lauren breaks down why so many entrepreneurs are getting relationships completely wrong online. From immediately viewing every new follower as a potential client, to sending cold DMs with the pressure to close before any real connection has been made, Lauren explains how tying a specific outcome to...

You’re doing everything you’ve been told to do to manifest, so why isn’t it working? In this episode, Jen breaks down the part of manifestation most people completely miss. She shares her experience of doing all the “right” things for years with little to show for it, until one shift changed everything. Instead of focusing on more tools or routines, this conversation gets into what’s actually driv...

You can build a life that looks perfect on paper and still feel completely miserable. In this episode, Jen Gutfriend shares the moment everything changed for her, from working 50 to 60 hour weeks and pushing through burnout to a wake up call that forced her to walk away after her body completely shut down. What came next was realizing how much of her life had been driven by beliefs she didn’t even...

You can build a business that looks good online and still feel completely disconnected from the life you’re actually living behind it. In this episode, Jacquelynn Pilcher shares what it has looked like to rebuild her life and identity in real time. From growing up in survival mode to navigating divorce, motherhood, entrepreneurship, and major life changes all at once, she opens up about the versio...

You can build a brand that looks polished online and still feel completely disconnected from yourself behind the scenes. In this episode, Jacquelynn Pilcher opens up about the years she spent trying to fit into the online business world, constantly reinventing herself, chasing success, and struggling to figure out who she actually was underneath it all. From growing up in survival mode to navigati...

You can spend thousands of dollars attending events and still walk away wondering if any of it actually helped your business. In this episode, Lauren breaks down how to actually get ROI from events, whether that’s networking dinners, workshops, conferences, or retreats. She shares how constantly saying yes to events started impacting her time, energy, work schedule, and family life, forcing her to...

Most networking events leave you with a stack of business cards and very little real connection. After years of attending networking groups that felt surface level, transactional, or completely misaligned, I realized the kind of space I was looking for didn’t actually exist. In this episode, I’m sharing the real story behind why I created Growth & Connect dinners and retreats after walking awa...

You don’t need another strategy. You need to pay attention to what actually holds up over time. After building multiple businesses and constantly looking for what connects them, Nicole realized the same patterns kept showing up. Not trends. Not tactics. Real, foundational lessons that impact how your business grows and how it feels to run it. In this episode, she breaks down eight lessons that hav...

She didn’t set out to build a media company. She just kept saying yes to the right opportunities. Nichole Demario started in journalism during a time when jobs were scarce and stability wasn’t guaranteed. What began as freelancing and pitching herself to publications turned into something much bigger. Over time, she stepped into a growing role inside a local magazine, helped expand it into a secon...

You’re showing up, creating content, doing the work, so why do you still feel invisible in your industry? In this Business Chaser episode, Lyndsey Akers breaks down what actually gets people featured, booked, and seen. It’s not the most qualified people winning these opportunities. It’s the ones who are positioned clearly, tell better stories, and understand how credibility is built through earned...

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 liv...

Selling feels icky when you’re trying to rush to the pitch instead of actually getting to know someone. If you’ve ever found yourself overthinking when to pitch, how to transition a conversation, or why selling feels unnatural, this episode breaks down what’s actually going on. I’m sharing why that “icky” feeling shows up and how it usually comes from trying to sell before you’ve taken the time to...

You don’t start a business because you have it all figured out. Most of the time, you’re just trying to solve a problem right in front of you. Today, I’m sharing the real story behind how my business started. I didn’t start this with some big purpose or long-term vision. I started it because I needed to make more money and take some pressure off at home. That was it. But it didn’t stay that simple...

You’re showing up to everything but getting very little out of it. It’s easy to say yes, stay busy, and feel like you’re doing what you’re supposed to be doing. But without intention, you end up scattered, drained, and wondering why nothing is actually moving forward. In this episode, Alyssa breaks down what it really means to be intentional in your work, your relationships, and how you spend your...

You didn’t plan to become the person others lean on. It usually starts with a moment that changes everything. In this episode, I sit down with Alyssa Gawlinski to talk about how personal loss and experiences with cancer shaped the path she’s on today. What started as unexpected moments led her into deep involvement with organizations like Fighting Pretty, Girls on the Run, and the Boys and Girls C...

You’re sending messages, starting conversations, trying to sell and still not seeing results. In this episode, I break down what actually turns people off in the DMs and why so many common sales tactics feel forced, exhausting, and ineffective. I walk through what I don’t do in the DMs, from cold pitching to over-messaging, and what actually gets people to buy instead.  I also share how I’ve built...

Four years ago, I made the decision to leave my 9 to 5 and build my business full time. And while that decision changed everything, it didn’t happen the way I thought it would. In this episode, I’m reflecting on what it actually took to get there and what these last four years have really looked like. From starting with side hustles and trying to find a way out, to building a business while workin...

You’re not stuck because nothing is working, you're stuck because you’re trying not to fail. If you’ve been overthinking your next move, holding back from launching, or constantly questioning your decisions, today’s guest, Summer Borkowski, founder of Summer Gold, a beauty and wellness club, breaks down what’s actually happening when you fail. Avoiding failure might feel like a smart move, bu...