3 The Most Expensive Mistakes Women Entrepreneurs Make

Laura, welcome to the Limitless Women Podcast. Our

mission is to help women business owners like you grow

profitable businesses and actualize your opportunities to

serve and give to yourself and others. Here's your host, the

founder of Limitless Women, Laura Gisborne.

Here's the deal. The first thing is that I was at

a Medical Mission conference a couple of weeks ago. I'm not a

physician, but Scott and I are looking always at the places we

can increase our philanthropy, and we love the work of medical

missionaries. So, we were there, and there was a woman on stage

who was this gorgeous woman from Malawi, from the village of

Malawi. She's an obstetrician, right? She's an OB-GYN. She

lives in Houston right now, trying to connect with her to

see if I can get her on our stage, at least a podcast

interview. But she was on stage, and she was talking about the

imposter syndrome, and I'm thinking here is a woman who

overcame really like poverty that we could not imagine being

born in the Western world with access to water and resources

and free education, none of that. Not only did she educate

herself and figure out how to do that, but then she went on to

get graduate education, and now she's a physician, and she goes

back and does medical missions in Malawi. Here's what this

woman was saying: she's in rooms, she's an African American

woman, she's in rooms, and she feels like an imposter. And I

thought, isn't that fascinating? I think this is what I hear

again and again when I'm on the phone with a prospect, when I'm

talking to you guys often, as my girlfriends, this whole idea

that someday when I get there I'm going to get there is

redonkulous. Right, first of all, there's nobody in this

community or in the world who's actually an imposter. You can't

be. You are a divine child of God, you are one of a kind. And

as we grow and as we learn right through our lives, it used to be

for those of you been around for a little while, like I have,

that you know we knew that everybody had one fingerprint,

right? My good friend Beth Davis is a hand analysis, right? So

this whole idea that you only have one fingerprint, that

that's one way they could get you right, that just know that

was just you. Then we learned about things like DNA, and if

you remember when they were like crafting and breaking and

mapping the genetic code, right? Like, you guys remember all that

stuff. How it was going to be such an innovation. I remember

kind of where I was when I wrote that. The whole idea that maybe

every person has something very unique in their DNA. The third

one for me is every time I walk through the airport and I go up

to the clear thing and I'm like looking in the deal, they're

looking at my iris. I have one iris that's just me, just like

you have one thing this way. I have two eyes. Thank you, Lord.

But I'm saying that here's the idea, so when you are saying I'm

not credible enough, I need one more degree, I'm too black, I'm

too white, my hair is too red. I dyed my roots last night because

I wanted to get on camera today with you guys without white

roots, right? And it was like, oh, it's too dark, right? It's

literally that too much stuff is exactly the opposite side of the

coin of not enough. Here's what I want to say to you. Stop it.

Just stop it. The world needs you. You're not working in a

nine to five career under somebody else's paradigm. You

have a calling in your life that's called you to actually be

living your divine destiny. Anytime you're waiting for that,

you're doing the my friend Jesse used to call it wait. Who am I

to, right? You're waiting. Who am I to? Every time we do that,

there's somebody in the world who really could use our service

and use our love, and we're holding ourselves back. It's

unkind. Okay, I would encourage you to understand it's important

for you to be generous with your gifts. The world needs them

because there's only one of you. So, the mindset shift of instead

of when I get ready I will be able to give, I want you to

start shifting that to who may I serve today. You know, in my

morning prayer is, Lord, show me how would you use me today?

How can I be a great instrument of the blessings and the

stewardship you've given me? You know, every day that we get to

wake up, we are alive and breathing. That's pretty cool.

That beats the alternative, from what I understand. You know, any

of you have lost loved ones or lost two loved ones in the last

probably 90 days. It's tough when it's over. It's over. So,

waiting for when you're ready is not helping you, and it's not

helping anyone else. So, I think this is this is massively

expensive, because what it's costing you more than anything

is your time and. Your purpose, so every day I want you to be

thinking about what can I do today, and even though it seems

like it may not be perfect, it may not be ready. Listen, we

just sent out an email to our list, just several 1000 people,

about 40 minutes ago. It's like, oh, well, actually, maybe an

hour ago now. It was like, okay, we can do it now. This is what

we can do now. I want you to be thinking, what can I do now?

What's that baby step? And know that the beautiful part of our

work, the beautiful part of legacy work, is that we get to

give every time we give our identity becomes shifted. We now

expand. So think about when you're like stretching and

you're like doing something you think you're not really capable

of, and then you achieve something new. You now have a

new way of being. I'm thinking about this because Jake's in

medical school right now, multiple years for studying,

plus all the years he did an undergraduate, and then he'll go

into residency. I said the reason I think the reason it

takes so long is not that you need to learn and memorize all

those things, but I think the identity for you to shift into

being a healer and being a physician takes a little time.

Your cells need time to catch up. It's really the same thing

for each of you in your own destiny. You're here to serve.

You have a calling on your life to heal others, you wouldn't be

doing this work otherwise, and it shows up in lots of different

forms and passions. So, how can you be out of your own way?

Thank you, Jennifer Huff. And actually take the step you can

take today, because every step you take stretches your

capacity. Alright, I want you to think about this. Penny B is

asking about product-based business. I actually have owned

multiple product-based businesses, Penny, and I'm happy

to talk with you about that. But this is about your identity as a

leader, and this is a room for women who want to scale their

businesses and want to scale their impact and reach more

people in the world. If that's something you want to do through

a product-based business, I say, go for it, girlfriend. If that's

something you meant to do through your service, go for

that too. Okay, so the piece around stretching and getting

rid of the imposter syndrome. I want you to every day wake up

with the gratitude that you are made very uniquely different.

You know, listen, growing up as a redheaded stepchild in a

community where all my friends were brown or black, and I'm

going to the beach, and I'm like Casper the ghost, feeling so

ugly, so unattractive, using that as just one more excuse to

hold myself back. I want to tell you, I today am so grateful that

I had that experience, because now when I go to Africa, I feel

right at home, right? I'm in South America. I'm with my

people. It's easy peasy. God has put you where you're meant to be

for a reason. Please keep remembering that, instead of

taking yourself out, that somehow you're not enough,

right? That's the first thing I think. It's very expensive. It's

costing you money because it's costing you time, and those two

things are really integrated, and that's really the second

mistake that I see happening with women business owners.

I love when I meet, like, some - you guys have met this, like,

some young buck that's got it going on, and he's got an idea,

and he's got his business - he's so loud and proud, and he has no

problem getting out there and asking people for money, asking

people to get to support him, asking him to, you know, asking

for sales. I love that. I love that courage. Here's what

happens with women and money. What happens is we decide we

can't afford something because we're not willing to invest in

ourselves, and instead we will spend 197 over here, or $97 over

there, or $2,000 over here, nickel and diming ourselves. I

promise you, this is costing you so much money, it's costing you

a fortune. You don't even realize it, because you have to

track it. So, if you start tracking, you start paying

attention to what you're spending on all these little

things, dues and subscriptions, and the next, next, that you

don't really need. I want you to get really clear about that. If

you need help with that, have some one on one conversation

with me. But I'm going to tell you, your money, you actually

have cash flow. Sometimes it feels like a trickle, right,

Janet? We love that from Lynn Twist's book about money being

like water. Sometimes it's flowing, we're in the river, and

then other times it's trickling. What we want to remember is

there's no lack of cash. Our cash flow is directly related to

the number of people that we are serving. So, when you have a

prospect that comes in and says, I can't afford that, or I'm not

ready, then I want you to ask yourself, Janet, how are you

with your own flow? How much gratitude you have for all the

flow that has come through for you. And when we get into this

place of who am I to do this, or comparing ourselves to other

people, please remember to compare backwards. It's one of

the most powerful tools you can ever have. Shannon, you brought

it up in the. Hall, when we were doing shares, it's absolutely

vital that you recognize the places where God was with you.

You are not alone. You are divinely guided, you are

divinely supported, and you are divinely protected. If it's not

your time to go, it's your time to be here. How can you be here

full out? What that means is, tap into your resourcefulness.

Think about resourced. Think about how we call God source,

right? You are resourced. If you don't feel like you can afford

something, pray to be shown how it can be manifested. Pray to be

shown how you may serve more, so that you tap into more abundance

and have more of it come through for you to follow your desires.

I believe that God does not put something in our heart or in our

vision if it's not possible. I don't think that happens, just

my own personal belief system, you know, don't shoot the

messenger, decide how it works for your world. Every time I've

been given a vision or a desire or something that I see out

there, I know I have my timing, and I know that God has God's

timing, and my timing is usually off, because I'm a mere mortal,

doing the best I can, just like you. But when I walk in faith,

and I take the next step, and I pray to be shown, and I breathe,

and I pause, and I pray to be shown. And then the next thing

shows up, but here's the difference for you and me right

now in this conversation. When you're struggling financially,

if you don't pause and you don't do the practices to take care of

yourself, you don't do the practices to rest your body and

the practices to keep yourself grounded and centered. The world

is moving way too fast, and you get distracted by everybody

else's bologna. Right? When I see someone who's been hugely

successful in life, what I can tell you is that they're often a

little boring. Their mission is so strong it pulls them forward,

and that's what we get attracted to, right? We get attracted to

the charisma, to the belief.

I remember Jesse Corin, I was at an event with Jesse and Shirley

years ago, and him saying to this audience it was so precious

of women that wanted to grow, and they were many of them were

like massage therapists, and they, you know, they really

were, they know what they knew, they didn't anything about

business, necessarily, at that time, or not much. He said,

"Borrow my courage, and it was so like made me cry, that you're

like, "Borrow my courage. Each of you, as leaders, have

something that you've come through that's put you in this

place to be on the other side to look back and say, hey, it

doesn't have to be so hard when you're not taking care of

yourself, when you're not grounded, when you're running in

the I can't afford it, I'm not enough, you're really doing the

planet a disservice, but you're doing this body that you have a

disservice. Here's what we know. We know we're on the clock for

when it's over. Every day we're alive, we're a little bit closer

to the end. I'm almost 60 years old. I get to live to be 100 or

40 less than I've already lived, right? If I get there, but I'll

get wherever I'm meant to be, just like you will. So, how is

each day precious? Please do not let money be in the way of you

having what you want. I say this to those of you that have been

hanging out with me for a while. You hear me saying a lot. We are

really committed that money is not going to be the reason

you're not successful. Your lack of action will have you not be

successful. Your mindset will get in the way and have you not

be successful. Who you hang around will have you not be

successful. Those are the things that are going to, for sure,

take you down, but it's not going to be money, guarantee

you, because I'm here for you. How much does this class cost

today? What's it worth? It's only worth what you decide to do

with it, if you just take this as one more motivation and

inspiration, and you don't take action, guess what, it'll be

worth pressure, Pete. Okay, so meet me, meet me in the work. I

can tell you what's coming up right now, and I'm going to get

you to my third most expensive mistake here in a second,

because it really does tie together what's happening right

now is that we have a community of, you know, even when I was

quiet, even we didn't bring new people in, we still kept

percolating, right, and we've got between our LinkedIn and

what's happening on Twitter, what's happening on Facebook,

what's happening with our email list, 1000s of women, it's a

beautiful, beautiful gift, and it's worthy. These women all

have either the ability to mentor or to a desire to be

mentored, and you are those women. I am those women. When

giving can't happen without receiving, receiving can't

happen. Without giving, so what we're looking at right now, and

what's happening for those of you that coming to the April

event, is the opportunity for the first time we will be having

the next generation of leaders coming in. Most of us on this

call are the current generation, few of you're a little younger,

right, the current generation of leaders who have achieved a

certain level of success emotionally, spiritually, and

personal development. There's a whole legion of younger women

coming right now that are a bit like you and I were when we were

that age. How many people on this call when you were in your

20s? People said, like, how, who, where's your father,

where's your husband, whose business is this? Anybody ever

hear this when you're 20s or 30s, people were like, okay,

well, it's not possible that you're actually doing those

things. Anybody besides me or that, raise your hand if you

did. Okay, yeah, okay, cool. So there, those women are now

coming and saying, hey, I need mentorship, I need help, I want

to grow.

Those women will grow into the next generation when they hit

their 50s and their 60s and their 70s of legacy leaders of

the women are committed to legacy and giving back because

they have a calling on their lives, that's why they're

outside the norm, they're already outside the norm, doing

the things that other people say can't be done. Now, for some of

you, like in some of me, that's a badge of honor. As soon as

somebody says something can't be done, I'm like, it's like a

magnet to me. I'm like, oh, how can we do it? Right, I'm so

excited. Right, that's why we're limitless. We really know with

God, all things are possible. So I want you to understand what's

happening in the power of mentorship. Some of you are

looking for places to give what you already have, you want to

give from your abundance. Some of you are still seeking to be

mentored, but the only way it's going to happen is if you raise

your hand and you show up. And here's what happens: 1000s of

people will reach with this message. I know, because I know

how many people open up the email, right? 1000s of people,

and then there's probably like nine of us here. That's what

happens, my loves, when you lead leaders. It's a small sliver of

us, but that doesn't mean that there aren't massive numbers of

followers that really need what you have, right? So, I'm all

down, Stephanie Laura, as for you having a good program. I

feel like there's everything that you can do, and giving, in

your marketing, and growing, that's so important, but

remember these three things that keep taking you out of the game.

You've got to remember you are one of a kind. Please let go of

any idea that the word imposter relates to you, because it does

not. You are here to do what you're here to do, and have it

be such a blessing on your life that it pulls you forward, and

you can't not do it. Remember that the best way I know to

remember great mindset. You know, Janet, you and I have

talked about this many times, is the power of gratitude, and I

don't mean like just our morning practice, I mean the granular

gratitude that happens each and every day with the opportunities

that show up. It may be that you know you found a parking place,

it may be that you walked into the kitchen and, like, your

favorite thing you forgot you had bought is still in the, in

the fridge, right? You're nourished, it's every day in

every way. How are you being supported? And I encourage you

to strengthen that divine dance. The young woman who was here

this morning, doing makeup, she'll be at the event. She's

really an incredible young leader. She said, "My business

is growing, it's exploding, and I need help. And I'm like, "Oh,

I was like, okay, well, I'm listening, you know. How can I

help, etc. And you'll start to see that in your own life. The

same conversations will start to show up. I believe that God

speaks to us in these synchronicities. And I wrote,

you know, "Stop the Spinning. It was published in 2012 It's not a

new concept 12 years ago, but I'll tell you this thing. How

good are we at listening? How good are we at appreciating? I

heard Lynn Twist say this. I'm gonna give her credit. That

which we appreciate appreciates. Where are we doing that on a

daily basis? I want you to be thinking about that every minute

of every day, what can you be grateful for? When you live in

that space, my love, you don't have time to think about whether

you're good enough, right? You just start to resonate in the

humility of what's possible. The money is not the issue. Stop it.

Stop giving your power away. Money is not the issue. It is

expensive for you to use money as an excuse. You are

resourceful. Get your business model clean, get your messaging

tight, get your marketing plans in action, and get support

right. And if you don't really know how to do it, rather than

nickel and diming, and trying to be too cool for school.

Get into a program that supports you, because I can tell you that

accountability works, structure works. I was in a program that I

took that I signed up and paid to be in, and they gave us a

timeline, and it cut off, and there, and you know, Facebook,

the Facebook group was blowing up with everybody's like, wait,

I. Have time, and my dog died, and my father got sick, and

everybody has life. Life is lifey. You'll get what you're

committed to. I encourage you to commit to the blessing of your

calling. There's a lot there, alright. And if you need help,

ask for help. We offer free programs here. We've got a great

program in this, I think, one of our 1000 women in our community,

just in the Facebook group. If you've got a program, if you've

got a question, ask to share that. We have a little filter on

there, so people can't - random humans can't just post things,

because sometimes we'll get a woman - it doesn't happen often,

but occasionally we'll get something in the group, and all

she does is post and post and post about her stuff. It becomes

a little bit too much about that one human instead of the

collective, so you know you'll be asked, you know, to be

approved. All of you that are legacy leaders, you get approved

automatically. If you've been through business school, we know

you, we want to support you. That's literally what we're here

to do. Okay, but tell us about what you have coming up, and ask

for help. If you're trying to test out a new marketing

language, do a little poll, ask for help. I'm here for you. I'm

offering this year, so it'll tell you I'm offering this year

something a little different than I've done in the past. VIP

strategic planning retreats with me are still available. I can do

a couple of them every month here in Texas. If you want to

come to be with me, right? If you want to move into a program

with us. I'll be my plan is for this year, for 2024 to offer

quarterly small group ones, like the one I'm doing right now in

Scottsdale. I used to do these, and I stopped doing. We charge

$5,000 to spend the day together, and I put together a

group of like five or six women. And what happens in that space

when you actually disconnect from day-to-day operations and

really reconnect to your purpose, and why you're here is

a game changer for your life and your business. You haven't done

it before, you might want to give it a try. We will be

launching business school. Here's the deal, you guys have

been through business school, you have lifetime access to

business school, you can audit business school and come to

classes. I would encourage you not to do that. I think this

year we're probably going to charge like a $500 reinitiation

fee to set you up with all a curriculum, because I'm creating

new curriculum this year. Every year we come out, we have a new

version, there's more, right? So, if you haven't done business

school for a while, you might want to come. The reason why I'm

going to charge you $500 to show up is I'm going to pay Leanne,

I'm going to pay Angela, we're going to pay the setup fees, and

when people get it for free, sometimes what I noticed in the

fall, when we did that, they didn't come to their classes.

Now, hopefully, they got what they needed, right? But here's

the deal. This is our relationship with money. When we

invest in ourselves, we put some skin in the game, we show up.

It's just the way it is. Use money as a resource to work for

you when you have a vision. Great to be shown. I'm going to

tell you a quick story, and then bounce off here in a little bit,

but I'll tell you this piece. Like, back in the day, when I

was a single mom, they moved into a house in Sedona, Arizona,

and I didn't know how I was going to pay for all this kind

of remodeling stuff I was doing.

I went to work, and I was like, okay, all I need, and I was

selling, I was a salesperson, I was doing real estate at the

time, I said, all they need to do is make $11,000 to pay for my

windows, people in my office were like, what, so strange, I

was like, I knew exactly what needed to happen, we had a house

without windows, I knew exactly how much money needed to be

coming in, and then I said, okay, show me, let me show up

and do what I can do, which is serve, serve, serve, serve. The

money flies in right. Get clear about your numbers. If you need

some help with this, come to the flow retreat. If I can help you,

get on my calendar, schedule my call dot today. Let me know what

you need and where you're stuck with this, because I can tell

you often it's a simple thing you can't see, and it's like

Tracy Trottenberg saying, you can't see your own eyebrows. I

can see mine because I'm on camera right now, but if you

look up, you really can't see your own eyebrows. So, how can

you allow yourself to be supported? You need mentors who

have gone before you to make the journey easier, because time is

precious when you spend time nickel and diming and not

allowing yourself to be supported, you actually slow

down your impact, and if you're like me and you're really here

to leave and lead a legacy business that is here to change

the world, you need to be in a hurry. Okay, now is the time.

We're up to 8 billion people, and people need your help more

than they ever have. Right? Did anybody find this helpful today?

Good, good, good. I've got to bounce. I love you all. It's

been my pleasure to be with you. Remember that these are the

three things I want you to stop doing. I want you to stop

letting your mindset get in the way. I want you to stop using

money as an excuse. Ask yourself, how can I figure this

out? What have I done in the past? Compare backwards, not

forwards. There's been a time when you didn't think you could

afford something, and all of a sudden you figured it out. Okay,

and God came through, and you were there. The third one is,

get yourself some mentorship. It doesn't have to be with me, but

make sure whoever I have videos on YouTube, on the YouTube

channel, if you want to look at them around mentorship. But I'll

tell you, make sure that you vet and partner with someone who is

somebody you can trust and someone that has proof of

concept, and they've done what you want to do. Don't hire

someone for something and make them wrong because you didn't do

your homework.