From Data to Dollars: Profit Strategy for Entrepreneurs | Leslie Taylor - Part 2

Listen to Part 1!

Welcome to Spark & Ignite Your Marketing, the podcast where real conversations meet real strategies. I'm your host, Beverly Cornell, founder and fairy godmother of brand clarity at Wickedly Branded. With over 25 years of experience, I’ve helped hundreds of entrepreneurs awaken their brand magic, attract the right people, and build businesses that light them up.

In Part 2 of this powerful conversation, Leslie Taylor shares the behind-the-scenes truth of navigating entrepreneurship while managing motherhood, caregiving, breast cancer recovery, and her desire to build something meaningful. She and Beverly explore what it really looks like to redefine success, niche with purpose, and show up with quiet courage, even when things are messy. From faith and imposter syndrome to marketing burnout and the power of aligned decisions, this episode is a masterclass in building a business that fits your life, not the other way around.

Three Key  Marketing Topics Discussed:

1. Building Confidence to Show Up on LinkedIn: Leslie shares how she overcame fear and imposter syndrome to fully show up on LinkedIn and embrace marketing as a business owner, not just a numbers person.
2. Niching for Messaging and Marketing Power: She discusses how narrowing her niche to serve real estate investors and potentially engineering/construction firms is a strategic marketing move for better connection and clarity.
3. Marketing Systems and Social Media Tools: From her use of Loomly to her struggles with social media content creation, Leslie opens up about the importance of systems and tools in managing marketing without burnout. Check out these Five Essential Marketing Tools!

Follow Leslie:
Leslie Taylor | LinkedIn
Leslie Taylor | Instagram
Leslie Taylor | Website

Transcript

0:09

Hello. Before we dive into part two of this episode, I gotta ask, did you catch part one? If not, hit pause real quick. You'll wanna start from the beginning to get the full effect. The link to part one is right down in the description below. Go ahead, catch up, and we'll be right here waiting for you. Ready to dive into part two when you're all set. It's worth it, I promise.

Beverly: 0:33

Doing what you can, when you can, how you can. It is like survival mode of just what can I do to make sure everybody's still happy. That's the messy middle.

Leslie: 0:41

I love that term, because when I started my business, I don't know that I fully understood the messy middle. I'll go back to a lot of folks that have gained success. I'm 54. A lot of those folks are younger. So I think it looks different. Had I started this journey in my twenties, my business would've gone quickly because I had the time. The messiness was not there. The messiness wouldn't come until later.

Beverly: 1:06

Agreed. As you get older, there is more complications. And even my son that I adopted from foster. He requires a lot more care than the average child. And if I had a nine to five job, there's no way I could take him to his therapy appointments. There's no way I could do the things I need to do to advocate for him as a mom, to make sure he has the best life. So this career this job I created for myself that has become a full on fledged business. Yeah. Is a gift. It's an incredible gift. And it's redefining what it means to be a mom and also have work that matters.

Leslie: 1:39

Exactly. That second part. That actually what you just said right there. I wanna be successful, I wanna take care of my family, and I wanna do work that matters. Actually, that was one of the things that I prayed. I wanna do something of significance. Yeah. I wanna do something, Lord, help me do something that is significant.

Beverly: 1:58

Make an impact in the world. And I know I'm smart. I have something to give. I have a lot to give.

Leslie: 2:03

Yeah.

Beverly: 2:03

So, what's the biggest way I can do that? It's not gonna cause me to sacrifice the other parts of my world, that are just as important aspects of who I am as a woman.

Leslie: 2:12

Yeah.

Beverly: 2:12

And so many women that I've talked to don't realize that you can create the exact business that works for you. Society has all these pressures they put on us to you should do this. I call the should suitcase. Give you all these shoulds and it weighs you down to what you think you should be doing without doing the thing that actually feels the right to you.

Leslie: 2:29

And that's another thing that you said there too, is just defining success for yourself and not letting anybody else define it for you. Yes. In terms of your business, but also in terms of your life. It's easy to get caught up in what other people have or what other people are doing. But is that really what you wanna do?

Beverly: 2:48

Along the same lines, the season's topic is all about confidence. And it's all about like, what does confidence look like as an entrepreneur? Because when you're confident in what you're doing and what you believe and all things, you're not defining yourself by others. What does confidence look like for an entrepreneur? And when was there a moment?

Leslie: 3:04

That's a good question. I'm gonna answer this in two ways. I discovered a few years ago that I didn't have confidence. And the reason is I went to a conference it was a conference of other, like bookkeepers and accountants. And through that process I realized that I was holding myself back and my concern, was we had talked about the fact that I'm a chemical engineer worked as a chemical engineer, master's in food science. And I was afraid of what people would think if they thought she's a bookkeeper now. And I was concerned, I was afraid to go on LinkedIn because most of my contacts are from the corporate world, people that I've met corporate. Because most of my career has been in corporate. Yeah. And so that was keeping me from doing certain things. But once I went to that conference there was like a switch that flipped for me and my mindset became different. It was like, okay, if I'm really gonna do this, I need to do it all out. I'm on LinkedIn, I'm doing the things. Like, I have to be out there. I can't be afraid of what people think, because most of my life, I marched to the beat of my own drum. And it disturbed me that I was allowing this to hold me back in my business. I was allowing it to hold back certain things that I knew I needed to do to move the business forward. So once I realized that, it really changed a lot of things for me in terms of where I showed up and how I showed up. And, even in my own mind, reframing number one. I don't care if people think I'm a bookkeeper. Like I had to come to grips with that. Yeah, I need to stop caring about that. But number two, it's not about me being a bookkeeper for the next 20 years. That's not the goal. The goal is was to build a bookkeeping business. I don't care what they think, this is what I'm doing. And I know what I'm doing and it doesn't matter if they know or don't know. Then that really shifted things for me. In terms of just confidence in how I showed up.

Beverly: 5:00

And I would imagine the chemical engineer and the masters and the cooking science it still informs your background and how you approach things as a bookkeeper. Like that information is so powerful for you.

Leslie: 5:11

It does. And that was another reason why I wanted to go this route, because I felt like there is an approach to this that is different from your traditional accountant, bookkeeper, CPA, or ea. That actually bring me to the other reason why I took this route. In my second to last job in corporate I was involved in a number of executive leadership meetings and there was a gentleman, his name was Mike, he was the CFO of the company. And whenever Mike spoke, there were always these rich gems that just flowed out of his mouth. And the reason is Mike didn't just understand his area, his silo, finance, accounting, the numbers part, he understood manufacturing. He understood the key players in manufacturing and how they functioned. And he understood RD qc, he understood all the functions and how they interacted and what they did. So when he spoke, it wasn't just the numbers and the financial stuff, it was with a holistic approach. And so when I saw that in those meetings, I was like, oh, I love that. I wanna be that person. That's really cool. So when I looked at approaching this business, I see myself as approaching it that way. Because I've worked in manufacturing, I've been on the manufacturing floor, I've worked with sales and marketing, I've been on sales calls. I've done the r and d, I've worked with Q like I've done all the functions. So I don't just come from the perspective of someone who sat in a particular department their whole career. I've worked cross-functionally and I've done the things in the different functions, and so that's another part of. What I like to bring to support my clients.

Beverly: 6:53

That's really good. So let's talk about marketing for a second. Yeah. Tell me about what's been the hardest thing for marketing for you?

Leslie: 6:59

Oh, the hardest thing. I think it's changed over the years. Sometimes networking. For me being in communities has been helpful. I am an introvert, so it can be very energy draining certain activities especially networking. So being involved in organizations for me creates that like consistency because I'm there in the organization and I'm involved. Follow up. Definitely. That's been a challenge. Networking, follow up. I don't enjoy the follow up, but I know it's so important. And then at one point, definitely the social media, like when I was first getting into this, it was all like, what is all this stuff? Over the years I've learned, I'm by no means an expert, I understand the different platforms to a certain degree and have taken some courses and training and different things like that. But I would still say, I definitely respect what you do because having done it myself. Yeah. It's doable. Just like the bookkeeping. Yeah. It's doable. If I learn it, I can do it, but oh my gosh, it took so much out of me. It almost killed me because it takes so much time. You think, oh, I'm just gonna work on this one post for 30 minutes, and then three hours later you're still working on one post. I don't have time for that

Beverly: 8:09

Let me just say this. I'm just gonna throw it out there. We've helped a lot of people who feel the same exact way to understand, to have a system.'cause once you have a system and a process, it doesn't take as much time. And you have some right and left limits again, like you're really clear on what you should do. I if you feel like it's overwhelming, if you're doing all of the things, set up a clarity call with me. I can help you get maybe a process or system in place. Just go to wickedly branded.com/call and I'll be happy to uncover what's working, what's not, and maybe give you something that feels more aligned going forward. Because we don't have time to spend three hours on a social post. I don't have time to spend and I do marketing. I don't have time to spend three hours on a social post. I know. But that's how I felt about accounting. Exactly. Like you, Leslie, Yeah. I know. It probably takes you 10 minutes to do something that would take me three hours. Because I just don't have that skillset or that knowledge or the muscle memory.

Leslie: 8:54

Once you've done it and I've got systems in place that help streamline it on our side.

Beverly: 8:59

Exactly. So I saw in your application that you use loom ly. How has that been a game changer for you? What do you love about it? Tell me about it talk about it.

Leslie: 9:07

Yeah, I started using Loomly. So I've had like off and on relationships with different social media managers, but, you try something and, when you talk about certain things that didn't work, I've had some experiences, investing in social media services and then I don't see like a return. So it becomes impossible to justify a continuing thing if I didn't see a return. So a lot of my networking now is more from. In-person face-to-face or referral partners. That's the other part that works really well with me. Is tax accountant, referral partners, people that just focus on taxes, they don't wanna do the books. Oh, they're great partners. I work with them. They don't wanna do what I do. I don't wanna do what they do. So that's where I discovered Loomly. I started working with someone and they used Loomly. And then at some point we stopped the engagement actually, I think they decided to take another, start, another business. But I liked Loomly. I thought it was so easy to use. And it was across multiple platforms. So for me that was a game changer. Oh, I can post on three platforms from here. Because at one point I was like using, there was another thing I was using, but it didn't work with LinkedIn, so I had to log into that thing to do LinkedIn and log into something else to do Facebook and Instagram. So it was great doing it from one place and it was just easy to use.

Beverly: 10:24

We recommend Metricool. Which is very similar to Loomly. Okay. A lot of our clients use it. We still will always say you should probably, especially for LinkedIn, post natively, LinkedIn likes it when you post natively. I learned that there were some things that showed up differently or didn't show up in the way that I want. Yeah. And some things too, if you come from metricool into LinkedIn, it doesn't show up as a carousel, like it should, there's just some integrations with the algorithm or with the API that just don't always connect well. When we work with our entrepreneurs, we always say focus on one. You can have a presence on others, but really focus on your one that you can just kill it on. And go and like really just go all in because most of our clients who are professional service providers like yourself or personal brands, really only on really one platform. And I imagine for you it's LinkedIn all day.

Leslie: 11:07

Yeah. I started focusing more on LinkedIn and then occasionally I would do a little on Instagram, but the focus became LinkedIn, at least last year.

Beverly: 11:16

I have my magic hat round, where I have lots of questions in my magic hat, a couple and see where we go. These are more rapid fire. Let's see here. What's been your most humbling lesson as an entrepreneur?

Leslie: 11:27

There's been so many lessons. I think sometimes that I'm the bottleneck and it's okay to slow down. I could grow faster, but if I can't provide great service, then it's not worth it. So it's okay to bite off a little bit at a time.

Beverly: 11:44

What's the worst advice you've ever received related to your business?

Leslie: 11:47

This was before the pandemic, that I should not start a virtual financial services business because that would never work. But my mind was already set on doing what I was gonna do, but it was like a business coach or something that was like, no, that's never gonna work. You're gonna need to have, a brick and mortar, you're gonna need to be able to look over people. I didn't say anything to the person, but I was just like, yeah, I'm not gonna listen to that.

Beverly: 12:07

This is a fun one. If your brand had a theme song, what would it be and why?

Leslie: 12:11

The first song that comes to mind is, ain't No Stopping Us Now.

Beverly: 12:14

I like that song. Great song. I love that. If you could wave a magic wand and solve one current challenge in your business, what would it be?

Leslie: 12:23

Something I've been mulling around in my head around further niching in my business. I've given myself the summer to mull it around, but I started last year working with real estate investment clients. And I'm considering going even further into engineering firms, construction firms, architectural firms.

Beverly: 12:44

Oh, niche and niche hard. Own your one little square inch and go deep. As a marketer, you're speaking my language. Because when you go deep like that, when you niche hard, your messaging can speak exactly to them. It'll hit so much harder and it will resonate and connect in a different way than it's right now. That is amazing. Go in and go all in.

Leslie: 13:04

And that's what I've seen in folks that have done that in my industry. And that's advice that I've received from probably the first day I started my business.

Beverly: 13:12

Do it. Do it, please. Okay, so that is the end of the magic head round. I'll say this niche is hard because you think it's limiting, but it's actually liberating. don't be afraid to niche and it doesn't mean other people won't come to you. My brand is very girly and feminine, and I mostly work with women business owners, and I'm all about magic and unicorns and sparkle and shine. And all the things that are very girly. I have pink hair, like it's all about my brand. I have an NFL pro football player as a client it doesn't mean you can't get other clients, it just means the right people will resonate with your messaging. I wanna work with bold brands, so clearly that matters to somebody like that. I also have a tech company who I work with that is fairly manly, that likes the fact that we go in that way. We're all about finding this the uniqueness, the sparkle, they want more of that in their brand. Your message will still speak to the right people, so don't be

Leslie: 14:04

afraid. I like the way you phrase it that way because that's something that I've realized later is just because I'm niche doesn't mean that I can't take on other clients it might then sound like we specialize in Yes. But then I can decide any other clients that I wanna take on. Like it's my business. I can decide that.

Beverly: 14:22

You can just choose. And that allows you to really sit in your zone of genius and have a system and process that really works for those clients. I do have a magic wand, Leslie. This is part of my brand. I am the fairy godmother of brand clarity, but in this particular instance, I'm going to wave the wand to go into the past and I want us to talk to 18-year-old, just outta high school before she became a chemical engineer, and give her one piece of advice that you wish you had been told then that would've served you better in your life, had you known.

Leslie: 14:52

I think something changed for me as I got really comfortable in corporate. So it would be something like don't be afraid to jump. Don't be afraid to take the leap and put the things in place to start a business a little sooner. I think I stayed in corporate a little longer. I think God works all things, the way, but I think, getting comfortable and being afraid at some point. That happened. In my twenties I was telling people that on job interviews I'll do this job, I'll do it for a while, but I plan to own my own business one day. And at some point, that left and it took a while for me to come back around to it. So I think that would be the thing don't get distracted.

Beverly: 15:30

If she could see you now? What would she say to you?

Leslie: 15:34

I think she would say, I'm proud of you. We did it like you did it. This was something that. We were supposed to do and now you've actually done it.

Beverly: 15:42

She'd be proud. Okay. I'm gonna wave my wine and we're gonna go decades and decades into the future, like super far. Okay. And we are at the end of your life, and someone's saying your eulogy and they're talking about your most significant legacy and impact in the world. What does that look like?

Leslie: 15:58

There's a phraseology that I've heard our pastor use and he talks about, what breaks your heart. And so for me, the theme throughout my life has been causes around women, children, those that can't really help themselves, the elderly. And I would just say, that I cared and supported those groups from a philanthropic standpoint, from a volunteering standpoint of my time. And also hopefully that my business really impacted and helped a lot of other small businesses because small businesses are the backbone of the economy still. It's a lot of hard work. And if, I can help small business owners realize their dreams and hire people and, be able to take their family to Disney World or whatever the thing is that they wanna do. Then to me that's significant and that's impactful.

Beverly: 16:51

Yeah. Oh, that's the same thing that I want too. I love that so much. It's such an honor to be on the path with them and to see them grow and to see them reach these different milestones and be able to do the things that are on their vision board or things that really matter to them. To see them step into their magic. It's so incredibly rewarding. And, we, women need each other. We need more people to support us and to be there and cheer us on. Seeing women really step into their magic has been like, the highlight of my life in so many ways. So it's just an honor. Just to walk beside them and help them and cheer them on. I love that. Our last question, I'm gonna wave us back into the present. For the listeners today. What is one piece of advice that you would have to help them, or one strategy that you've used to help them help you be more confident? What is one thing that you would impart with them to help them assuage some fears or doubt, imposter syndrome,

Leslie: 17:45

for me, there's two things. So I've shared that I'm a Christian, a believer I pray I talk to God a lot about, everything. One other piece to that, or just a realization. Years ago I read the book lean In by Cheryl Sandberg, I believe. And there's a piece in there where she talks about, even at the height of her, career success what she called imposter syndrome. And there was something that I guess you could say another switch that flipped. And that is that so many people have these same thoughts. So to me it was if at her level she's still questioning, then this is normal. It's okay for you to feel this way, but so don't let it get in your way of what it is you're trying to do.'cause that's just a normal thought. Like whatever you're thinking, don't let it overtake you and paralyze you. Just realize that sometimes folks are gonna have doubts. Even people who are at like the pinnacle of what we would, identify or think of as success. That's normal. So keep moving forward. In that book she talks about just faking it to make it, but I think it's just, put on a strong face and just make a decision to, show up and still do the thing. Show up, just still show up and do the thing. Don't let it like stop you. So I think that would be probably the biggest thing.

Beverly: 18:58

If you wanted to show up more, or if you know another entrepreneur who needs to hear this message of showing up and taking that next best step, doing the thing despite the fear or has a little bit of imposter syndrome. I would love for you to share this episode with them. All of us are on this journey. All of us are figuring it out. And I swear you're not alone. Like this is all part of it. And the more you can do this work, the more you can listen to people like Leslie talk about how we've all overcome these particular things. I still have moments, like even after 30 years in the industry almost. I still have moments like, how can I not belong here? I've been doing this for 30 years, but I still have moments of ooh, there's somebody so much smarter. I get a little bit distracted by the competition trap. I just have to make sure I lean more into my expertise where I know what to do, or I need to just take that class or whatever it is to make myself feel like I am more confident in that area. But. If this is stirred something in you, please share it and leave us a review and let us know what hit home, because we do this because of you, we're doing this for the listeners so you don't feel alone. Sometimes, as entrepreneurs and solopreneurs, we feel like we're doing this all by ourselves. And there are people that are existing right next to you that you don't know that have the same thoughts, the same fears, the same successes, the same dreams. And sometimes it's just nice for us to know that you're feeling it, you hear it, it's connecting with you. So Leslie, this has been a such a great conversation. Let our listeners know where they can learn more about you more about your business-

Leslie: 20:22

So I focus mainly on LinkedIn. Leslie Taylor on LinkedIn. And then on Instagram I am the Leslie T and then my website is l taylor associates.com. Wonderful. And that's where you can find out about me.

Beverly: 20:37

Thank you so much for sharing your story, your wisdom, your journey, and your magic with us. I know our listeners are on a walkaway feeling hopefully a little bit inspired today and maybe ready to take some action with their finances. So I am so grateful for your time and the impact you're making on the world. It does matter every single time we can raise up somebody for success. It's a amazing thing that you're doing. So thank you.

Leslie: 20:58

Thank you.

Beverly: 20:59

This is an incredible conversation. Listeners, I hope this episode is a little bit of a fire in you, gave you some new ideas and most of all inspired, you take some bit of action, one step to improve one area of your business. Hopefully it's finances today. Because here's the thing, your business, your message, that all matters. Your work matters in this world, and God has given you a gift. Leslie's talked about it. It's your job to bring it to life. So the world needs more of you and what you have to say. And marketing isn't just about visibility. It's about your impact. It's about connecting with the right people in a way that feels true to you. Keep sharing your brilliance and keep making magic in the world. And hey, if you ever feel stuck, know that you don't have to do this alone. We're here to help you turn your spark into a wildfire. So until next time, keep sparking and igniting