The Alignment Table

Sharon Preston

Sharon Preston is a British entrepreneur, executive mentor/strategic advisor and keynote speaker. She has over two decades of experience shaping leaders and scaling luxury brands. The Alignment Table is where she explores the real psychology of identity, recalibration, presence, and the next era of your leadership. These are conversations that help you pause, think deeper, lead stronger, and step into the person you are becoming. Website: https://www.sharonpreston.com IG: https://www.instagram.com/_sharonpreston_ LI: https://www.linkedin.com/sharonpreston1

  1. 5 days ago

    Bootstrapped or Backed

    There's a belief that sits under a lot of funding decisions without ever being said out loud, that bootstrapping is the noble path and raising money is for people who couldn't cut it alone. Sharon Preston takes that belief apart, including her own honest story of why she bootstrapped three businesses, and what it taught her about confidence, identity, and the environment that shapes what you even think to attempt. This episode unpacks: What bootstrapping actually buys you, and what it genuinely costsWhat raising outside money actually buys you, and the control it quietly costs in returnThe hidden shame and guilt narratives carried on both sides of this decisionSharon's own honest story of why she bootstrapped, and what she wishes she'd known soonerThree questions to ask before choosing a funding path for your own businessThe middle ground options between fully bootstrapped and fully backedA thirty second practice for making this decision with a clear headFor entrepreneurs and business owners deciding how to fund their next stage of growth, whichever path that turns out to be. Ways to work with Sharon: Join The Alignment Circle™, her community for high achieving leaders ready to stop performing and start aligningExplore her workshops, built for entrepreneurs ready to grow past where they are nowJoin her group coaching programs for structured, ongoing support as you scale Learn more and get involved at sharonpreston.com. Get your copy of The Blind Spot Playbook here

    Bootstrapped or Backed

  2. 6 Aug

    Equity vs Salary

    Every month your business pays you something, and that number is quietly answering a question most business owners never ask outright. Are you paying yourself to run the business or building something the business will eventually owe you for? In this episode, Sharon Preston breaks down the real difference between salary and equity, using two contrasting business scenarios to show how the same choice plays out everywhere from cap tables to shop tills. This episode unpacks:- - The real difference between salary and equity, and why you can have plenty of one and none of the other. - Why a comfortable monthly wage can quietly mask a business that isn't actually building any value. - What equity genuinely requires from you psychologically, not just financially . - The three questions to ask before you set your own pay this year. - A real example of how this exact decision played out in one of Sharon's own businesses. - A 30 second practice for making clearer decisions. For entrepreneurs and business owners, bricks and mortar or online, ready to build something worth more than the wage it currently pays them. Ways to work with Sharon: - Join The Alignment Circle, her community for high achieving leaders ready to stop performing and start aligning. - Explore her workshops, built for entrepreneurs ready to grow past where they are now. - Join her coaching programs for structured, ongoing suppor as you scale. Learn more and get involved at sharonpreston.com

    Equity vs Salary

  3. 30 Jul

    The silent wobble behind every growing business

    Every entrepreneur hits the same moment. You make the right call, hiring your first member of staff, raising your prices, stepping back from the parts of the business only you have ever done, and your stomach still drops. In this episode, Sharon Preston unpacks why that feeling isn't a red flag but proof you're growing, and how to tell the difference between a genuine warning sign and the ordinary wobble that shows up right before every scale point in business. This episode unpacks: Why confidence isn't the absence of doubt, and what to do instead of waiting for itThree ways to tell a growth wobble apart from a genuine warning signHow the same wobble shows up whether you run a salon, a building site, an online consultancy, or a restaurantWhat staying in the old way of waiting for certainty actually costs youA thirty second practice for making bigger decisions with a clear headWhy "imposter syndrome" is the wrong name for what you're actually feeling Real talk for entrepreneurs and business owners, bricks and mortar or online, ready to grow past where they started. Ways to work with Sharon: Join The Alignment Circle™, her community for high achieving leaders ready to stop performing and start aligning. Explore her workshops, built for entrepreneurs ready to grow past where they are nowJoin her group coaching programs for structured, ongoing support as you scaleAttend her international retreats for immersive, in-person work on your business and yourself Learn more and get involved at sharonpreston.com.

    The silent wobble behind every growing business

  4. 23 Jul

    What every leader must sacrifice to grow

    What got you here was never meant to carry you the rest of the way. In this episode of The Alignment Table™, Executive Mentor and Strategic Advisor Sharon Preston explores what every leader must eventually sacrifice to keep growing, - the habits - control - identity built in earlier stages that quietly become the ceiling on what comes next. Whether you lead a team or build entirely alone, this episode names the specific moment growth asks you to let go, and why that release is an act of leadership, not loss. Everything you need to continue this conversation is at sharonpreston.com.

    What every leader must sacrifice to grow

  5. 16 Jul

    You most valuable leadership asset

    The people who challenge you well are not a threat to your leadership. They are evidence it is still working. In this episode of The Alignment Table™, Executive Mentor and Strategic Advisor Sharon Preston names one of the quietest leadership blind spots there is, the moment a business succeeds and the room around its leader grows a little too agreeable. Learn why:- the people who once disagreed with you stop doing it,what it costs a business when they dohow to build genuine challenge back into your leadership before the silence becomes expensive.Take the free Blind Spot Assessment at reports.sharonpreston.com to find out where your own leadership may have stopped being challenged. Everything you need to continue this conversation is at sharonpreston.com.

    You most valuable leadership asset

  6. 9 Jul

    The Warning Signs Every Leader Ignores

    Most leaders don't miss a warning sign because they weren't looking. They miss it because listening would mean admitting the business they built might need to change. In this episode of The Alignment Table™, Executive Mentor and Strategic Advisor Sharon Preston explores:- the quiet leadership blind spots every business owner learns to explain awaythe client who's gone coldthe colleague who's stopped pushing backthe feeling you keep talking yourself out of in the same meeting every week. This isn't about reacting to every flicker of doubt. It's about knowing the difference between noise and a signal your leadership has already half heard. If you've ever wondered whether you're the last person in the business to notice something everyone else already has, this one is for you. Complete the free Blind Spot Assessment at reports.sharonpreston.com Everything you need to continue this conversation is at sharonpreston.com.

    The Warning Signs Every Leader Ignores

  7. 2 Jul

    Why Charging What You Are Worth Is a Leadership Decision

    Most leaders of us who undercharge do not have a pricing problem, they have a leadership problem . In this episode, Sharon Preston makes the case that what you charge is one of the clearest signals available about how you see yourself, what you believe you are worth and whether the identity you are leading from has kept pace with the value you are actually delivering. If you have ever - discounted - hesitated - felt uncomfortable stating your fee out loud Then this episode is for you.

    Why Charging What You Are Worth Is a Leadership Decision

  8. 25 Jun

    The Conversation You Need To Have With Yourself Before July

    You are six days away from the second half of 2026. Before you get there, there is one conversation worth having. Not with your team. Not with your business partner. Not with anyone who needs something from you. With Yourself! In this episode ,Sharon Preston pull together the themes from June and asks the honest questions underneath them all:- - What have you actually decided about what the next chapter of your leadership looks like> Download The Blind Spot Assessment at reports.sharonpreston.com

    The Conversation You Need To Have With Yourself Before July
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About

Sharon Preston is a British entrepreneur, executive mentor/strategic advisor and keynote speaker. She has over two decades of experience shaping leaders and scaling luxury brands. The Alignment Table is where she explores the real psychology of identity, recalibration, presence, and the next era of your leadership. These are conversations that help you pause, think deeper, lead stronger, and step into the person you are becoming. Website: https://www.sharonpreston.com IG: https://www.instagram.com/_sharonpreston_ LI: https://www.linkedin.com/sharonpreston1

Information

  • Creator
    Sharon Preston
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    39
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Sharon Preston
  • Show Website
    The Alignment Table