Laurie: I am prepared to ignite.

John: Laurie is named LA’s best personal stylist by CBS in 2013. She believes to live an inspired and desired life; all you need is a great belt and an open mind. She brings 12 years of experience in the fashion industry to your closet, home, and heart by presenting styling techniques as a catalyst for personal growth and achievement. Laurie, I've given Fire Nation just a little insight so share more about you personally, and expound upon the biz.

Laurie: Sure. Well, you know, my company, LaurieBstyle, is all about servicing men and women to build their confidence through the art of style. Because I truly believe that style and wardrobe and how you dress has nothing to do with the actual clothes that you're wearing, but it’s really about how you feel about yourself on the inside; how you carry those clothes to the outside. So when I work with my clients, it’s really about discovering who you are, your most authentic self, and dressing you as you so when you walk out the door, you are your most “I'm going to take over this world” self.

And I think as entrepreneurs, it is so important to have that because we are businesses and our visual business card I like to call our wardrobe is what people see us as. So how does that represent you and your business? So I work with individuals to help them identify what that is. So not only are they feeling like who they are, but they’re also speaking their message through their wardrobe.

John: I love all this, Laurie –

Laurie: Thanks.

John: – and need to be honest with you. You might not approve of the belt that I'm currently wearing. I don't know if I'd call it great. It’s really, really good but by the ends, I think I'll have the right mindsets to get out there with some great belts and everything. And Laurie, you have a great story. We had a great little pre interview chat and you're just full of energy and excitement. I can’t wait to unleash that upon Fire Nation. And they way that I want to start that is with five questions that I call insights into your mind. And this is going to be about one minute-ish each, for these five insights. And number one, Laurie, ideally what are the first 60 minutes of your day look like?

Laurie: Well, ideally – and I've achieved it; I've done it – if you asked me a month ago, I would have said it would be to get up and do yoga every day. January 1st I started yoga. I've been doing it three to four times a week and I think I've changed my life with it. It’s like really been an incredible experience and every morning I get up, I put on my clothes, I go to yoga, I come back and I'm like ready to go for work. It’s this incredible experience I've had, and just in the last month and a half that I made this change.

Laurie: So specifically, what about yoga do you feel like gets you off to that right start?

Laurie: I think that it gives me a moment to pause before I jump into work. Because prior to this, I would get up, I would make coffee, I would sit at my computer and I'm immediately on social media. I'm immediately looking at my emails and I'm jumping right in without giving me a moment to just prepare for the day. So here’s time for me. It’s like me time. I get to stretch, I get to get out that energy, and then I feel grounded when I'm done.

John: The phrase that I love is you're immediately on someone else’s agenda when you jump into social media, when you jump into email. Fire Nation, start off with your own agenda. Get those fist 60 minutes and just own them. So Laurie, you don’t have many weaknesses. I'm gonna go ahead and say it. I get that vibe. But if you had to share your biggest weakness as an entrepreneur, what would it be?

Laurie: I would say it’s my heart. I care too much. I care so much. It’s my best quality and my worst quality because it really pushes me to my limits of trying to please people and trying to be everything to everybody. And it definitely gets me into some trouble that way. And then also I really care about how other people see me so I'm very overly attune to that. So I would say that definitely becomes a weakness for me.

John: Being a people pleaser as an entrepreneur is not a great thing, Fire Nation, because you need to own your schedule. You need to own your time. And when you're a people pleaser, you're saying yes to everything. And just like you shared a great New Year’s thing that you really wanted to get going, Laurie, I said: you know what? If it’s not a heck yes, it’s a no. That’s a great Derek Sivers quote and I just love it on so many levels. What do you think about that?

Laurie: I love that so much. Everything should truly be a heck yes. And how many times as entrepreneurs when you're building your business do you just say “okay,” and you do something even though your gut is telling you it’s not worth your time, or you know that it’s not the right thing to do but you still do it. But acknowledging that as entrepreneurs we deserve our best lives and to be our best selves and to do what makes us the most happiest should always be a heck yes, every single time.

John: Always.

Laurie: Always.

John: So Laurie, what’s your biggest strength?

Laurie: My heart. I care so much! I care about people so much. It is my biggest joy and pride that I get to work with empowering people, and I take so much heart to their story and who they are and really caring to the person. I have a philosophy which is a company philosophy. It’s people first, style second. Because I truly believe it’s about the person. It’s about you, it’s about getting to the bottom of you because the style comes from within, and I care so deeply about that that everything and every move that I do is about caring for others.

John: Fire Nation, something you can’t fake is caring, is being genuine to your listeners, to your readers, to whoever that might be. Now, this is not contradictory to what we just talked about. Being true and caring and genuine doesn’t mean you say yes to every single request that comes your way. What it means is you really do care and you really do empathize with those people who you're working with, who you're dealing with, your peers, your friends, your followers, whoever that might be; be genuine. You're guarding your time, you're guarding what you need to be doing, but be genuine throughout.

Now, Laurie, you have a lot of great habits. You're crushing yoga three or four days a week, you're doing this, you're doing that. But what’s a habit you wish you had?

Laurie: I wish I was a little bit better at delegating.

John: I thought we were just gonna kick into the “I wish I was a little bit taller, I wish I was a baller…”

Laurie: I wish I was – actually, I think that kid went to my high school.

John: Shut the front door.

Laurie: Yeah. I think he went to my high school. I was a little bit younger than him but that was kind of like a thing when we were like – you know, I went to Palisades High School in Los Angeles and so –

John: I can still picture that video right now on MTV. So funny.

Laurie: It’s awesome. It’s amazing. And by the way, I could be totally wrong and it’s not that guy at all.

John: We’re just gonna go with yes.

Laurie: Yes. Heck, yes! So I just totally forgot what you just asked me.

John: A habit that you wished you had.

Laurie: Yes, delegating. I wish I was a better delegator.

John: Let’s just stop right now.

Laurie: Yes. End scene. I think running my business, I started it by myself, I run everything – I have been running everything for the most part by myself. And delegating my work and my passion, my thought process to someone else tends to be very scary for me as an entrepreneur. So really when I'm building and I'm growing, I know I need to delegate more and I'm actually so much more effective when I delegate more to my assistant, but there’s always that inner fear that like – well, you know, my business is me. I am my business. So to delegate me, how does that work?

So I struggle with that. I wish I was a lot better at managing that within my business. And it’s something I've been working on, where this year I'm actually currently training my assistant to take on clients, as well, so it’s going to be scalable. She’s going to be a Laurie B stylist.

John: There you go with being scalable, being leveragable, even down the road you can be licensed to go out there. There are so many opportunities when you're willing, Fire Nation, to say you know what? What can I replicate? What can I duplicate to open up more free time, energy and bandwidth for me. Laurie, with all that that’s going on, what’s the one thing that has you most fired up right now?

Laurie: Right now and literally two days ago I got the most amazing email from a client of mine who I work with over Skype. So I can work in closets personally here, but I also Skype across the country. And she just sent me the most amazing email that is like telling me everything about how she just had this incredible breakthrough and it all stemmed from our work together, helping her understand who she is, getting her more comfortable trying new clothes, trying new ideas. And now she just feels like a completely different person, like she’s this flower that has blossomed. She feels sexy, she feels confident, and never in her life – and she’s in her late 20s – never in her life has she ever had that feeling for herself.

Before, she had really like just completely became a wallflower in her own personal life. She didn’t even speak until a couple years ago. And now she is this bright, bold, powerful woman and she sent me this long email with this whole story about something that had happened recently that I just – to hear that, it warms my heart so much. This is exactly why I do what I do. The fact that when you really help someone with their style and understanding who they are, it really trickles into all areas of their life.

And it’s not just her wardrobe that feels better for her; it’s that life feels better. That she’s tackling her day differently, that she’s going in to work with a different energy and moving up and meeting people and creating the law of attraction. And it’s working with her so well that it’s just – I'm fired up about that. That’s just the best feeling.

John: And it’s just something great to be fired up about because it brings me to that Zig Ziglar quote: “If you help enough other people achieve their dreams in life, you’ll achieve your dreams.” That’s just so powerful, Fire Nation, to realize. That is the path to your success. And Laurie, let’s be honest. It’s not all rainbows and unicorns being an entrepreneur. You’ve had quite the journey; the ups, the downs. And I want to talk about one of those downs, now.

Laurie: Sure.

John: In fact, I want to talk about the worst entrepreneurial moment that you can fathom up right now that you’ve experienced. Take us to that moment. Tell us that story.

Laurie: For sure. There have been many, but I'll start with the very first one because it was probably one of the most life changing experiences. I had started my business in my bedroom I grew up in. I used to live in New York City. I was a fashion designer for seven years and I went back to school. I got a degree at the Fashion Institute of Technology in image consulting. And I came to LA, and I'm gonna take over the world and I'm gonna change the world with style. And I'm in my parents’ bedroom and I have like no idea what I'm doing.

And I'm like, “Okay, I'm here now what?” What ended up happening is I started building a community in Los Angeles. I had met a woman who was a marketing and digital marketing expert. And as we sat down and talking, she made a very strong case for why it’s so important to hire consultants in your life to help you build the brand, build the name, get on track. And being that I was so young and naïve, I said, “Of course, that sounds amazing.” That was exactly what I needed. So I go into a six-month contract with this woman because everything she said to me made sense. It was gold to me.

I'm like, “Okay, absolutely, I need to market this way. I need to be doing this partnership. I need to be doing this talk. I need to be on this panel.” And she promised me the world. She promised me everything that I wanted. So as time started going by, I started noticing that we’re not necessarily meeting our marks or our goals that we had spoke about. I had spent, over time, thousands of dollars on her – money that I barely had because I was just starting. And even thousand dollars to revamp my website to create a message that she was helping me – she was driving the wheel for me.

And that’s not something I think I would have known at the time, but in hindsight, you know you get caught up with someone guiding you and you trust them. We became so close through the process. I trusted her. And only to find out over time that I was being led down a path that wasn’t who I am. In the end, what she was actually doing is she was taking contacts and people that I connected with and using them for her own personal advances. She had – I had introduced her to someone who is a friend of mine but also would be considered possibly a competitor. We did the same thing; we just had different markets.

But this woman had a lot more money than I had at the time. She took her on as a client and then ended up giving her everything that she promised me to this other client that I introduced her to. Then, halfway through she says to me, “Laurie, I found the most amazing brand partnership for you. This is gonna be perfect, and here’s what I'm gonna do for you. I made it into my contract with them, your fee for me so you don’t have to pay me anymore.”

And I was like, “That’s amazing, that’s great, thank you so much. You are looking out for me. You’ve got my best interest at heart because you're still gonna get my brand out there. You know that this is definitely something stretching my bank account but you’ve got me covered.” So I stopped paying her. Great. This is great. Now, as things are not happening more and more, and I'm starting to get a little frustrated, I'm kind of glad I'm not paying her at this point.

But about two months later, I get an email saying, “Hey, I'm really confused. I'm not really sure what’s happening, or have I not been performing for you? But you haven’t paid me in two months.” I mean like it was so confusing. My jaw’s on the floor. I'm like: what is she talking about? I'm like: She said to me I don’t have to pay her, multiple times. So of course I start going through emails trying to find written conversations, which we didn’t have. They were verbal. Those are all like big mistakes when you're just starting and you're kind of learning as you go.

My biggest mistake was that I trusted someone that I should have known to research ahead of time. I felt betrayed. Over time I started realizing that she wasn’t performing for me, that it wasn’t for me, it wasn’t aligned with me. It was aligned for her. And almost like a climber because when she found someone that was bigger and better than me at that time, that became her new person that she was focused on. And so it was so hurtful. I felt betrayed in the end, and broke.

John: And let’s be honest: broke.

Laurie: And broke.

John: Laurie, let’s kind of identify a couple things right here for Fire Nation, our listeners. Because as entrepreneurs, as wantreprenuers, cyperneuers, small business owners, you know maybe people that are in companies right now that are called intrapreneurs, that are working on their thing maybe for the company or for themselves, trying to make that break. What do you want to say to them in just one sentence? Break it down. What do you want our listeners to really get from that really difficult period that you went through which really brought you to your worst entrepreneurial moment.

Laurie: Trust your gut. When something's off, something is absolutely off and there’s nothing worse than not speaking up. If people don’t hear you, they just don’t know. So I've learned to speak my mind, be vocal, and let people know how I'm feeling exactly as I needed to be because that is my most authentic self; that is out for me. And also do your research. Do your research on people. Get references. Make sure you trust them and make sure that their vision is aligned with your vision and that you guys can work together towards a common goal together that is for you if you're hiring them to consult.

There’s just so many good lessons. And I even still made mistakes after that, too, but I think that was really – at that moment, I was like: no, no more. Because the truth is, you can’t just do it alone. Like you need the help. So it’s really about enlisting the right people in your life to get you there.

John: Fire Nation, there’s a reason why you can hear my voice right now. It’s called survival of the fittest. And the human being species has survived, 1) because we’re really good at having an intuition that guides us the right way. Now, unfortunately in this day and age, we haven’t gotten very good at listening to that intuition. But you can and you need to. That intuition is there for you. That gut instinct is guiding you. Listen, listen, listen. And Laurie, we’re gonna shift. I want you to tell us another story.

This story is gonna be focused on an epiphany, on an “aha” moment, on a light bulb that you had at some point in your journey. You’ve had a lot of these, Laurie, but take us to one that you think is gonna be a good story and share that story with us right now.

Laurie: Absolutely. This is probably – this is definitely one of the pinnacles of my building my business that has really launched me into the proud woman that I am today. So as I had mentioned, I started – I used to be a fashion designer. And when I moved to LA, it was in 2009. And I started my business out of my parents’ bedroom before I found my – my baby bedroom at my parents’ house. You know, there is still a twin bed in there. And I didn’t know what I was doing, really.

I knew how to do what I did, I knew I needed to do X, Y and Z but I really just built it based on my gut. Like I didn’t – I just trusted that okay, I know I want to help people clean out closets. I'm gonna go and I'm gonna call all my friends and all my family and ask them if I can come and clean out their closets or take them shopping. And I started building my craft that way. I started building my basic conversation, getting more comfortable at how I wanted to speak, what I wanted to say.

But as I kept building, I started working with musicians. I would show up to music venues and watch a band, and then they’d get off stage and I'd be like, “You guys are amazing but we gotta fix this style situation.” And I actually booked my first clients doing that. So I started putting myself out there, meeting entrepreneurs, I started styling businesswomen and men and watching them evolve. But all the while, I had been doing everything alone. I felt alone as an entrepreneur. I didn’t have any other – especially in the style industry, you would think it was very competitive.

I didn’t have anyone to go to to ask questions about if I was doing it right or what I should be doing in the first place, or how I should be managing it. I did it based on what I thought I was supposed to be doing; trial and error and just going with the flow. So about two years into it, it was about 2011. There was an opportunity to meet my idol, Stacy London from TLC’s What Not to Wear, which actually just ended – she just started a new show with TLC this season but they had a ten year run. She is the ultimate makeover on TV queen and she’s unbelievable. It’s always been my dream to be the next Stacy.

So I have an opportunity to go meet her. She’s training image consultants and stylists in New York City. So I save up $1,000 for her program and I go to New York City to take a two day course with her. Now, it was this moment that everything changed. Because it wasn’t that I learned so much new information or that I learned anything I didn’t really know. It was that I discovered that I was actually doing everything right. I had no idea up until that point. At that point, it was all doubt: am I doing this right? I don't know and I'm insecure and I guess this is what I'm supposed to do.

And I just was filled with doubt about who I was and how I was doing it. And I walked out of these two days realizing that I had been doing it right from the very beginning. The way that I treat my clients, the way that I handle my appointments, the way that I speak to people, the way that I care for people. This was something that Stacy was encouraging other stylists to do, and it was something I was already doing.

And at that moment I realized I was my full, empowered being. That I did do it right. I'm doing it. And that really empowered the future. I was actually, within that group, handpicked by Stacy to represent Stacy as a part of a team of stylists that she had, an army, called Style for Hire. And I was representing her for a couple years within that company. And I’ve got a style for her, I got to work with her, I filmed with her; it was like dream come true. Dream come true. There is a sizzle somewhere where we’re having a conversation over some lady’s dog shirt and it’s hilarious. I've never seen the footage but it was pretty amazing.

We went on a tour together. It was very powerful to be involved, having her become that mentor and that guiding light. Because now I knew this is exactly what I was supposed to be doing. I was doing it right, and let’s just take over the world with it.

John: Laurie, I want to pull something out that I really love that you said. I discovered I was doing everything right and it dashed your doubts. So you were having these doubts. You were having these fears. You were scared that this feels right to me, I mean my clients seem to be happy and everything seems to be good, but is this like the way you’re supposed to be doing it or am I doing this all backwards? Like what am I'm missing? Like this was all terrifying. But then you went and you invested in yourself, and the best of the best said: “Wow, I'm going to hand select you because I am validating that you are on the right path. That everything you're doing, everything you stand for is correct.”

And it just like paved the way for you. It just like opened up this roadblock that you as self had placed and you shattered through it. And that’s awesome. And Laurie, I'm not gonna let you go quite yet because we have a lot to get to. Because we’re about to enter the Lightning Round. But before we do, let’s take a minute to thank our sponsors.

Laurie, welcome to the Lightning Round, where you get to share incredible resources and mind-blowing answers. Sound like a plan?

Laurie: Yes, I am ready.

John: What was holding you back from becoming an entrepreneur?

Laurie: Oh, this is easy: me! M-E. Two letters. This lady right here. I was stopping myself. Based on the story from earlier, I was so scared. I'm so scared of being worthy, of being good enough, of being – it’s totally ironic because it’s everything I teach with my style, with my clients, to be empowered with who you are and go for it and take those risks and take those chances. And here I am myself being like, “Oh, did I do that right? Am I good enough? Is everyone gonna really like me?” And that does stop me. And it’s – but you know, it’s been – I think that over time, honestly I would say I'm in my sixth year of business.

I would say this past fifth year was truly the year that I think I broke through that more so than I ever had. Like you know, you get these winds along the way but still, like that voice creeps back in sometimes. This past year has been I feel like the most empowered, confident. I am so on my mission. I'm so proud of what I do. There’s nothing that can stop me. So I feel like I broke through it recently, so that’s pretty exciting.

John: You go, girl.

Laurie: Yeah. It’s the yoga, I swear!

John: Laurie, what is the best advice you’ve ever received?

Laurie: This is something that my mom actually – my parents give me the most amazing advice. They’re the best guiding lights in my life. But my mom said to me, “Laurie, people love you because you're you.” And it was something that was really simple but it sticks out to me because for all that insecurity of like, “Am I good enough?” she really empowered me with that I am different, I am me. And what makes me me is that I'm different. And what makes me different is that I'm me. And that is a beautiful thing. That is an incredible thing and that’s something that I stand out for because I do care so much. I am so passionate about what I do.

And the fact that I am me, that makes me great. And so she really empowered me with that.

John: God, love your energy.

Laurie: Thanks.

John: What is a personal habit that you do have that you believe contributes to your success above and beyond yoga?

Laurie: I'm a great networker. I love people and I think that’s really contributed to my success so much. When I'm with people – I'll walk into a room and not know anybody and I'll walk out with like six best friends.

John: We’re already best friends and we’ve only been talking for 29 minutes.

Laurie: I know. You know, it’s something that I think because I really – I'm really interested in other people's stories. I love learning from people. I walk in wanting to know more about other people and that really kind of ignites that fire within connection and the law of attraction. Because I'll walk in, I'm happy, I'm energetic and you meet great people that way. That has really fueled my business where I tell – I infuse people with my passion about what I do and I think that really makes a mark for them. And then that spreads in their world. So it’s really about setting little sparks with my connections and letting the universe take its course.

John: Spark, fire, ignite, I mean Laurie, you were born for Entrepreneur on Fire.

Laurie: Thank you.

John: Do you have an internet resources like Evernote that you can share with our listeners?

Laurie: Yeah. Skype.

John: Yeah.

Laurie: Honestly, if you haven’t started using it, it’s probably – it’s actually what took my business from just being in Los Angeles to helping people all over the country. So I get to Skype with my clients. We do it on video. I get to see what’s happening in their closets. I get to see them up close and personal. Because the styling is a very intimate experience. It’s very personal. The decisions we make about our clothes, the insecurities that come with what we’ve purchased. Those are things that when we can be face to face and really connect, we can break through that together and Skype gives me that opportunity to reach more people.

And truthfully, any platform that can help me reach more people to make everyone else have a better life, to feel better about themselves, to break through their insecurities is a gift to me. So Skype has been really helpful for my business and also just makes my business more well rounded so I can service more people.

John: Well, Laurie, you are preaching to the choir. The 906 interviews that I have done for Entrepreneur on Fire have all been done Skype to Skype. So it’s an incredible tool. Thank you, Microsoft, for doing something right. And Laurie, if you could recommend one book for our listeners, what would it be and why?

Laurie: So I would recommend The Art of Extreme Self Care, by Cheryl Richardson. It is a book that definitely helped me in a time of when, as an entrepreneur, you take on – you say yes to everything. You take on too much, you have too much on your plate and you forget to take time for you. And what I've really discovered, especially with this past year being this major breakthrough year for me, is that the more time I take for me, even with the yoga being a part of that, the more time I take to take care of myself, do the things that I love in life, the more fuel and passion I actually have behind my business, and also the more productive I'm being when I'm working on my business.

Because I'm feeling fulfilled in all other areas of my life. Because it’s so easy to kind of teeter where you're like: oh, I'm all work and no play. And to balance yourself with giving yourself opportunity to have life and enjoy life and treat yourself the way you deserve to be treated, and also work on your business – have that balance – it’s a game changer.

John: Well, Fire Nation, I know that you love audio so I teamed up with Audible. And if you haven’t already, you can get an amazing audio book for free at EOFirebook.com. And Laurie, this next question is the last of the lightning round but it’s a doozie. Imagine you woke up tomorrow morning in a brand new world. Identical to Earth, but you knew no one. You still have all the experience and knowledge you currently have. Your food and shelter, taken care of. But all you have is a laptop and $500.00. What would you do in the next seven days?

Laurie: Oh, I love this. Okay, I would first go to the computer, open it up, and I would quickly build a single page website to make my LaurieBstyle.com back to at least I have a single page so that it’s there and present and accounted for online because I think that’s so important. So LaurieBstyle is going to be set day one. Day two, I put the computer down and I go head out into the world. Because for me it’s about people. It’s about making connections, it’s about making community, it’s about making a network. So I would go to events, restaurants, stores.

I would meet people, I would talk to people. I would tell them about who I am, tell them what I do, let them see the passion behind who I am and what I do. And then they’re like: who is this girl? And then they go online and see, website is up, there’s a little signup to get on my newsletter and I've got them in.

John: They’re in!

Laurie: And they’re in! And then I can start all over again. And I probably could do that in any city at any time. It’d be great.

John: Love it. Well, Laurie, I want to end today the same way we started, on fire. With you sharing one parting piece of guidance: the best way we can connect with you, then we’ll say goodbye.

Laurie: Okay. My piece of guidance, this is something that got me through the first year of building my business. It’s the four Ps: passion, patience, persistence, and perseverance. Those are my four Ps. Those are the four things that got me through everything because you have to have passion behind what you're doing. You have to be patient because it takes time. You have to be persistent. You should never give up, and you will persevere. So those are my four Ps. And you can find everything about me at LaurieBstyle.com. I actually have a gift for you guys so LaurieBstyle.com backslash buyer. It’s all yours. I'm offering a free 30 minute Skype consult with me as well as discounted packages for you guys.

John: Whoa, I hope you're limiting that. Fire Nation comes out in droves for consultation sessions.

Laurie: You know what? Honestly, the more people I can help and feel more confident and empowered, the better my life is.

John: And let’s spell that out, actually. So that’s – go ahead.

Laurie: Yeah, so it’s Laurie, L-A-U-R-I-E B style, S-T-Y-L-E. LaurieBstyle.

John: Dot com slash fire.

Laurie: Yeah.

John: So Fire Nation, you know this. You're the average of the five people you spend the most time with and you’ve been hanging out with LaurieBstyle and John Lee Dumas all day today so keep up the heat and head over to EOFire.com, just type Laurie in the search bar. Her show notes page will pop right up with the resources, book recommendations, everything we’ve talked about today. And of course, LaurieBstyle.com slash fire, set up your free 30 minute consultation. If you're a guy out there, you know you need it. You know you're like me.

You have a wrong belt on right now. Don’t keep that going. Head over to LaurieBstyle.com slash fire and Laurie, thank you for sharing your journey with Fire Nation today. For that, we salute you and we’ll catch you on the flipside.

Laurie: Thank you so much.