IAM2346 – Passion Igniter Helps Ambitious Women Create Success and Move Past Fear

Title: Transcript - Sat, 04 Jan 2025 18:23:18 GMT

Date: Sat, 04 Jan 2025 18:23:18 GMT, Duration: [00:13:52.67]

[00:00:00.08] - Laura Gmeinder

So I do a lot of work around the leadership development like the inner leader. So you need a really strong growth mindset for that. So I work a lot of with my clients on stepping up as a leader and building your confidence and really going after, not letting fear get in your way.

[00:00:18.00] - Intro

Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, startups and CEOs without listening to a long, long, long interview, you've come to the right place. Gresham Harkness values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you're in search of. This is the I Am CEO Podcast.

[00:00:43.11] - Gresham Harkless

Hello, hello, hello, this is Gresh from the I Am CEO Podcast and I have a very special guest on the show today. I have Laura Jeminder of laurajeminder.com Laura, it's awesome to have you on the show.

[00:00:52.27] - Laura Gmeinder

Thank you for having me here. I'm so excited.

[00:00:54.47] - Gresham Harkless

Yeah, I'm super excited to have you on and what I wanted to do was just read a little bit more about Laura so you can hear about all the awesome things that she's doing. Laura Jeminder is a passion igniter. She's a highly sought after certified coach and national speaker. Her expertise lies at the intersection of leadership development, mindset and business strategy. She champions women to take themselves and their businesses to the next level. Laura was honored as a Brava Women to Watch and in business 40 under 40 for her business savvy and community engagement accomplishment. She attributes to her favorite quote, do one thing every day that scares you. Laura, are you ready to speak to the IM CEO community?

[00:01:31.48] - Laura Gmeinder

I am and it's my one thing that scares me today.

[00:01:34.68] - Gresham Harkless

There we go. There we go, we go. Making sure I pronounce your name was mine. So I think we both accomplished it very well.

[00:01:40.90] - Laura Gmeinder

I love it.

[00:01:41.81] - Gresham Harkless

I wanted to kick everything off to hear a little bit more about what I call your CEO story and what led you to start your business.

[00:01:47.26] - Laura Gmeinder

I was working in the corporate environment. I fell into a human resources role and the first seven years I was doing all the things that you're supposed to do to feel successful. The raises, the promotions. And I really wasn't yet at the same time I was getting very engaged in community leadership and empowering women through some of the nonprofit network I was working. And so I really was doing some soul searching around some of those pieces to figure that out. Like if I'm so energized and I love what I'm doing as a volunteer, like why can't I feel like that about my job, my work. And so with kind of looking at where my skill sets were, I started doing some career change workshops and thought I might do some coaching and worked with a life coach. And then in kind of thinking about my backgrounds in adult education, I had done a lot of coaching and counseling in the corporate environment. And so looking at kind of what that, what my skill sets were and what my passions were and what the community needed when I was being asked questions about, I decided to start my own business. I did coaching on the side for about four years and then I left corporate to go out in with coaching. And then I did some consulting, business consulting. And in the meantime, I did a strengthsfinder assessment and found out that I was really strong in communication and woo. And I reached out to a local place here in the Madison, Wisconsin area, the Dream bank. And I said, I just have gone through all this. Would your community be interested in my story? Because they bring in people to share their expertise, to build up the community, to help people chase their dreams. So they had me come in and I realized, oh my gosh, I love the speaking piece. So I ended up adding in the speaking, I speak nationally now, and I also do quite a bit of leadership and empowerment training.

[00:03:31.91] - Gresham Harkless

Nice. I absolutely love that. And I love that especially because you can kind of see, or I can see at least the transition and the flow from where you started at and where you're going. And it sounds like you've been really doing a. I guess self inventory would be the right term to understand what you're good at and what you want to incorporate in your business.

[00:03:48.59] - Laura Gmeinder

Yes. And I was joking, my boyfriend the other day, and I was like, and I'm just getting started.

[00:03:54.21] - Gresham Harkless

Exactly, Exactly. Exactly, exactly. I always say it's always 1.0. So we're always in the evolutionary process where we're always adding more things on, finding more about our ourselves and then just kind of building from there.

[00:04:05.59] - Laura Gmeinder

Yes. The self discovery piece. And then I always think about it if I just, you know, best. My best yesterday. Right. Like just a little bit more every day.

[00:04:14.27] - Gresham Harkless

Yeah, That's. That's huge. It's funny you say that because I always, I feel like I'm a really competitive person. And I think I talked with the coach too, and one of the things she mentioned was that you should always, if you try to compete with other people sometimes that could lead to frustration. But always try to be better than yourself and try to level up and be yesterday's Gresham and yesterday's whatever. And then you're always be on the right path.

[00:04:33.52] - Laura Gmeinder

Yup. I'm always like, stay in your lane. Stay Daniel Lane.

[00:04:37.20] - Gresham Harkless

Exactly, exactly. So I know you touched on it a little bit. I wanted to drill a little bit deeper to hear how you're supporting the clients of some of the great things that you're doing.

[00:04:44.38] - Laura Gmeinder

Yeah. So I support my clients in a variety of ways, but a lot of it is with the individual work that I do, the group coaching around women's empowerment, both what that looks like in the corporate cause I ended up Even though like seven years, I had the seven year itch, I ended up staying 14 years. But then also too for me it's been super empowering to start my own business, to start my speaking business and what some of those pieces look like. So I do a lot of work around the leadership development like the inner leader. So you need a really strong growth mindset for that. So I work a lot of with my clients on stepping up as a leader and building your confidence and really going after not letting fear get in your way.

[00:05:23.88] - Gresham Harkless

Yeah, absolutely.

[00:05:25.10] - Laura Gmeinder

Yes, definitely.

[00:05:26.54] - Gresham Harkless

Yeah. And I've always heard, and you know, definitely correct me if I'm wrong, that sometimes our biggest impediment to us getting to that next level that I'm sure you see with your clients is sometimes that self confidence, that fear that kind of creeps up into our minds and a lot and kind of stops us from taking those next steps to be better.

[00:05:41.43] - Laura Gmeinder

Yes, I think so. Definitely.

[00:05:43.76] - Gresham Harkless

Awesome, awesome, awesome. And now I wanted to ask you for what I call your secret sauce. And this is what you feel kind of distinguishes you or sets you apart or makes you or your organization unique.

[00:05:52.11] - Laura Gmeinder

I kind of hinted at it a little bit earlier, but I really think my combination of communication and woo because that lets me really build those that deep trust. A lot of times I'll have coffee with someone and they'll spill their guts. They're like, I can't believe you're a stranger. And I just told you that I really put people at ease. I don't judge, I really attract people to me. But then I think also too, you know, my skill sets, that combination of the adult education, the corporate, the business development. I've helped founded three different businesses now and really kind of putting some of those pieces together. I just did a three day intensive emotional intelligence workshop. So I'm always building and enhancing those skill sets so that I can meet people really where they are so they can move forward faster.

[00:06:35.75] - Gresham Harkless

Yeah. And that probably is a lot of why People want to, you know, spill their guesses because you're meeting them where they are, you're having a conversation with the person. You're not necessarily saying, oh, you need to do X, Y and Z, but you're actually understanding, you know, sounds like what they are hoping to do, what they're trying to do, what their impediments might be, and then kind of going forward from there.

[00:06:51.11] - Laura Gmeinder

Yes.

[00:06:51.75] - Gresham Harkless

Awesome. And I know you touched on it a little bit. I wanted to break down. I heard you say it before. I'm glad you brought it up again. The woo. Can you explain a little bit more about that, exactly what that is?

[00:07:00.13] - Laura Gmeinder

Yes. Thank you. Woo is winning over others. So it's a natural talent for me, which I have developed into a strength with A lot of it was through the community volunteering that I did and really getting out of my shell and helped me search to build my confidence. But it's really just having that, you know, how can you be a connector? How can you add value to the relationship? How can you, you know, build that trust and break down barriers where people want to be vulnerable with you and inviting that piece of it into the relationship?

[00:07:32.13] - Gresham Harkless

Yeah, that makes perfect sense and I love that because if you can definitely identify that in yourself, you can definitely, you know, have a lot of really strong, you know, sounds like relationships and outcomes to your overall life and everything you're working on.

[00:07:44.06] - Laura Gmeinder

Yes, definitely. So I think it's been super helpful whether I'm working with an individual or negotiating contracts with corporate clients, but just really to have that high level of trust and transparency.

[00:07:56.24] - Gresham Harkless

Yeah, yeah, definitely, definitely. That sounds good. And I wanted to switch gears a little bit and ask you for what I call a CEO hack. And this might be an app, a book or habit that you have, but it's something that makes you more effective and efficient.

[00:08:07.45] - Laura Gmeinder

So I've been focused on leveling up my morning routine to really have a great start to my day. And one of the things that I tell anyone who will listen to me is I love doing tapping. It's energy work, but it really helps to calm you. It helps you really to be focused in your day. And I find it particularly a benefit with speaking. And I know I'm a professional speaker, but even if you're in corporate or in your own business and you have to have a talk and you're kind of nervous, you have that extra energy, it really just helps to calm the nervous system and bring about the change and be able to present the way that you want to show up.

[00:08:45.12] - Gresham Harkless

Nice Nice. And I haven't actually heard about tapping. So it's tapping different parts of your body you mentioned?

[00:08:49.85] - Laura Gmeinder

Yes. It starts with the karate chop point, which is on the side of your hand. And you say different things. There's guided meditations that you can find on YouTube. A lot of people are doing it now, but it's based on some Eastern medicine and just really, it relaxes the nervous system. But any. Any concern that you have, whether you're wanting to get over a breakup or tap for more money, you know, the abundance to welcome abundance into your life, anything you can think of, there is a video out there for it. And it's so helped me to move past some of my blocks and limitations, but then also with my regular speaking to just really calm my nervous system.

[00:09:26.02] - Gresham Harkless

Yeah, that's definitely huge. And I'm definitely going to, you know, look more into that. So definitely. I've been, you know, meditating, largely because I believe, like, in order to win the day, you sometimes need to win the morning. So I just focus on trying to win the morning, and then that usually sets my day in the correct motion. So I love that idea of tapping and being able to kind of add a physical part to that as well too.

[00:09:43.61] - Laura Gmeinder

Yes, definitely.

[00:09:45.29] - Gresham Harkless

Awesome, awesome, awesome. And now I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO nugget. And this is a word of wisdom or piece of advice. If you can hop into a time machine, what would you tell your younger business self?

[00:09:54.74] - Laura Gmeinder

I would call out the part, you know, with women especially, we're raised to be good girls. We were raised to be risk adverse. And me in particular, like, I have such a sense of adventure. And I would tell my younger self to take risks, take chances. What's on the other side of my fear is amazing. And often we. Me, I'm. Often we think that the fear that we have, most times it doesn't even come to fruition.

[00:10:21.34] - Gresham Harkless

Yeah, absolutely. It's funny you said that. I think I saw something on Instagram the other day where it says I have 99 problems and 87 of them are made up in my head. So a lot of times, you know, you have these things that are holding you back and they're not actually there. They're kind of things we manufacture in our brain or worry about that are not actually pediments to us getting to where we want to be.

[00:10:39.50] - Laura Gmeinder

Yes. I think one of the biggest life lessons I learned is our brain isn't there to make us happy. It's there to keep us safe. So something new isn't unknown. So it registers as fear. It registers as danger.

[00:10:50.77] - Gresham Harkless

Exactly, exactly. When you're talking about, you know, stepping outside of your comfort zone. So that's why I definitely love your, your mantra and your quote that you started us out with. I appreciate that. And now I wanted to ask you my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. And we're having different quote, unquote CEOs on the show. But I wanted to ask you, Laura, what does being a CEO mean to you?

[00:11:08.83] - Laura Gmeinder

Being a CEO means to me is taking calculated risks. And no matter how many times you fall off that horse, get back on, keep trying. You might have to refine, tune your path, your process. But knowing that you know, coming back to your why, what is your mission and your vision for yourself and for your business and what is the change that you want to see in the world? For me, success is waking up and knowing that I've helped at least one person every day. And that is what's going to be, what is and has been able to grow my business. I think when you kind of come back to what's most important, why did you start your business? What do you see for your business in five or 10 years? And how do you keep focusing on that to when it's, you know, the roller coaster and you're on the down to be able to know that it's going to go back up and you're focused on what you want most personally and professionally?

[00:12:03.94] - Gresham Harkless

Yeah, I think that makes perfect sense. And, you know, I think that's definitely a great reminder because I think all being on that roller coaster ride, especially when the downs come, because they do come and they will come, it's just important to understand that you have a really strong mission and you're focused on helping people because when you start doing those actions over and over again, you start to get back up on that roller coaster. And now you're starting to see a high. Exactly, exactly. Waving down. So definitely appreciate you for taking some time out. What I wanted to do was pass you to Mike just to see if there's anything additional you want to let our readers and our listeners know and then of course, how best they can find you and hear about all the awesome things that you're doing.

[00:12:37.83] - Laura Gmeinder

Yes. Thanks so much. I would just tell people to go for it, to really play big. Life is short. And people, I mean our world, we just need everyone to step up as a leader and live and be in the world. What you're trying to create and know that that is so needed. People can reach out through my website lauranger.com and I have a Goal Getter Guide if you want to step up as a leader in corporate or in your business.

[00:13:05.44] - Gresham Harkless

Awesome, awesome, awesome. And we'll make sure to have those links in the show notes just so that anybody can follow up with you Laura, but I truly appreciate you. I think you're doing some awesome things and I hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.

[00:13:15.95] - Laura Gmeinder

Thank you. You too. I appreciate it.

[00:13:17.97] - Intro

Thank you for listening to The I Am CEO podcast powered by CB Nation and Blue16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at Imceo Co. IM CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community. Check out the latest and greatest apps, books and habits to level up your business as CEOHacks co. This has been the I Am CEO podcast with Gresham Harkless Jr. Thank you for listening.