Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in personal and professional development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Lis Best, Founder of Girls Club Collective, located in Oakland, CA, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

I am an executive coach for women changing the world and founder of the Girls Club Collective, a personal and professional development community for women in sustainability and social impact. I also host the Women Changing the World podcast, which shines a light on the incredible people who are working to make the world a better place. My clients are impact and ESG leaders at organizations like Autodesk, Common Impact, Grove Collaborative, and PwC and entrepreneurs who are birthing the new through businesses that are doing incredible things like bringing climate considerations into user experience (Dayani) and creating delicious vegan ice cream that encourages joy as a form of rebellion (Uproar Ice Cream).

Tell us about yourself

I'll start with a fun fact: In a way, I've been a "coach" since elementary school. I was first published at the age of 8 when Girls Life Magazine ran my original quiz, "Is he hot for you or cool as a freezie pop?" In true Scorpio fashion, my relationship advice (which I was completely unqualified to give) continued in college with my Sex, Lies, and Radio show on WRGW, "The Backseat."

I started my business because, after more than a decade in the sustainability and social impact space at organizations like Qualcomm and BSR, I watched one amazing woman after another land her dream job... and then completely burn herself out. (It happened to me, too.) Often, the reason organizations are - or aren't - doing the right thing comes down to the effectiveness of the people (often women) at the helm of their impact programs. I wanted to help women in these roles not only become more effective at their jobs but do so in a way that's personally sustainable.

Since officially opening the doors in January 2020, I have been blown away by not only the amazing work that my clients do but also the many ways that they lift other incredible women along the way. It's a completely different leadership style than anything I learned in school. I started the Girls Club Collective, a personal and professional development community for women in sustainability and social impact, because I believe that this leadership is what we need to create a future that works for all of us.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

That's a hard question to answer! I am most proud of the community we are building through the Girls Club Mastermind and the Women Changing the World podcast. Since we officially started the mastermind in 2021, we've had 21 incredible impact leaders from organizations like Berkeley Haas Center for Responsible Business, Joro, Mission Edge, and Robert Half participate in the magic. We started the podcast around the same time and have released almost 50 episodes to date with leaders like bestselling author Jamie Varon, Dispatch Goods co-founder Maia Tekle, and Expedia Group Vice President of Social Impact and Sustainability Aditi Mohapatra (to name only a few!).

What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?

Being a business owner is a total emotional roller coaster - one minute, you can be on top of the world, and the next, you can find yourself wondering if it's all going to go away tomorrow. It's a personal development boot camp on steroids and can be incredibly lonely. In the past three years of doing this, I have found it to be so important to invest in the community and surround myself with people who believe in me, people who are working on similar things, and people who are a few steps ahead of me to keep me feeling connected and inspired.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Identify your dream clients in as much detail as possible. Get on the phone with real, actual humans who you think might be ideal clients for you, and ask them questions about what they want and what their experiences with businesses like yours have been. People will tell you almost anything if you ask. Also, if you put these dream clients at the center of everything you do in your business, they will feel it. It will keep you motivated on the hard days, too.
  2. When faced with an investment decision, ask yourself, "What would I do if I knew this was going to be wildly successful?" It is so HUMAN to be nervous about investing money in your business, especially when you're first getting started. But it can actually cost you time and money in the long run to cobble important things together or go the cheaper route. (I have learned this the hard way multiple times.) Someone told me recently that how you spend money in your business is how you spend money in your life. One of the greatest investments I made in myself while I was starting my business was investing in money mindset work. You Are A Badass at Making Money by Jen Sincero, We Should All Be Millionaires by Rachel Rogers, and Rich as F*** by Amanda Frances are all great books to start exploring your relationship with money.
  3. Remember that you get information through action (not endless strategizing). You learn so much more by doing things and seeing what works (and what doesn't) than by coming up with the perfect [fill in the blank] alone at your laptop. All you need to start a business is one person or organization who is willing to pay you to create or do something for them. That's it! The perfect offer suite, pitch deck, website, etc., can all come later, and whatever you start with will almost certainly evolve (which is a good thing). Don't let perfection be the enemy of getting started.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://girlsclubcollective.co/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lis.best/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elisabethbest/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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