Business on Top with Kaeli Lindholm

Kaeli Lindholm
  • 5.0 (134)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Weekly

Business on Top is the podcast for visionary women founders leading without a playbook—rewriting outdated business rules and building powerful, life-first companies in a world that has not yet caught up to how women lead today. Each episode explores the real work of leadership: identity expansion, decision-making under pressure, structural growth, and the messy realities behind building companies that create both profit and freedom.

  1. Episode 8: Your Addiction to Being Needed Is Slowing You Down: Part 2

    5d ago ·  Video

    Episode 8: Your Addiction to Being Needed Is Slowing You Down: Part 2

    One of the biggest leadership lessons I've learned is that business growth doesn't require me to become more essential, it requires me to become less essential. For years, being the person everyone relied on felt like a badge of honor. I answered every question, solved every problem, and made sure nothing fell through the cracks. That mindset helped me build my business, but eventually it became the very thing slowing it down. In this episode of Business on Top, I'm sharing why I believe one of the most common blind spots for high-achieving founders is the addiction to being needed. While it feels good to be the person everyone depends on, true leadership requires us to let go of control, trust our teams, and create businesses that can thrive without us at the center of everything. I'll walk you through the three stages of leadership growth, the Hero, the Bottleneck, and the Builder, and explain why the transition from founder to CEO requires a complete shift in how we define our value. You'll also hear part two of a powerful live panel discussion from the ALT Experience featuring Shannon Morrow, Jill Canes, and Jill Goodman. Together, we discuss the realities of team development, navigating turnover, having difficult conversations, building trust, and learning how to step out of the role of being everyone's answer. If you've ever felt like your business can't function without you, this episode is for you. Because the goal of leadership isn't to become more important. It's to build something that succeeds even when you're not in the room. Resources → Watch this episode on YouTube → Learn more and register for The Owner + Practice Manager Leadership Intensive → Subscribe to our weekly newsletter, The Blueprint → Learn more & book a call with our team to learn if the POP Leadership Academy is right for you! → Follow Kaeli on Instagram: @kaeli.lindholm

    32 min
  2. Episode 7: Don't Just Learn, Activate: Part 1

    Jun 15 ·  Video

    Episode 7: Don't Just Learn, Activate: Part 1

    Most founders are not lacking information. They're lacking activation. In this episode, you'll hear Part 1 of our Provider to CEO Panel from ALT,  featuring POP Leadership Academy members Jill Canes, Shannon Morrow, and Dr. Jill Goodman. Despite leading different businesses in different markets and stages of growth, they share a common thread: a commitment to investing in their leadership development and becoming the CEOs their businesses required them to be. We explore one of the biggest growth barriers business owners face: confusing knowledge with transformation. From conferences and podcasts to books, trainings, and endless saved content, many leaders spend years learning without ever fully implementing what they already know. We'll talk about the difference between consuming information and activating it. Because real business growth doesn't happen when you learn something new. it happens when you operationalize it, embody it, and consistently execute it. Together, we discuss what it really takes to transition from provider to CEO, the mindset shifts that accelerate growth, and how leadership activation creates lasting operational change. If you've been asking yourself, "What else do I need to learn?" This episode may challenge you to ask a more powerful question: "What do I need to fully activate?" Tune in for Leadership Lesson #7: Don't Just Learn, Activate. Resources → Watch this episode on YouTube → Learn more and register for The Owner + Practice Manager Leadership Intensive → Subscribe to The Blueprint → Learn more & book a call with our team to learn if the Pop Leadership Academy is right for you! → Follow Kaeli on Instagram: @kaeli.lindholm

    35 min
  3. Episode 6: Bombing Season

    Jun 8 ·  Video

    Episode 6: Bombing Season

    In this episode of Business on Top, I'm talking about something I believe every founder eventually encounters whether they realize it or not: bombing season. This conversation is all about the seasons of business growth and why some of the most powerful leadership decisions are not about adding more… but about refining, simplifying, eliminating, and protecting what actually creates momentum. I share a recent conversation with one of my longtime clients, a multi seven-figure founder, who found herself in a season of strategic subtraction. Closing locations, ending partnerships, restructuring roles, eliminating distractions, and letting go of things that were no longer aligned with the future vision of the company. And while many founders associate growth with constant expansion, what we unpack in this episode is that sustainable scale often requires discernment, focus, and the willingness to stop carrying things the business has quietly outgrown. We talk about the Pareto Principle, entrepreneurial overwhelm, operational complexity, emotional attachment inside leadership, and why so many founders stay trapped protecting what is familiar instead of strengthening what is exceptional. This episode is really about learning how to identify your true twenty percent, the people, offers, systems, and strategies creating the majority of your momentum, and having the courage to stop overinvesting in the eighty percent that's draining your energy, focus, and profitability. If your business has been feeling heavier than it should, if you've been sensing misalignment, operational chaos, or the need for refinement, this episode will likely hit home in a very deep way. Because sometimes the next level of growth doesn't come from expansion. Sometimes it comes from having a really good bombing season. Resources → Watch this episode on YouTube → Subscribe to The Blueprint → Learn more & book a call with our team to learn if the Pop Leadership Academy is right for you! → Learn more and register for SPARK for Owners + Practice Managers → Follow Kaeli on Instagram: @kaeli.lindholm

    16 min
  4. Episode 5: Never Outsource Your Financial Intelligence

    Jun 1 ·  Video

    Episode 5: Never Outsource Your Financial Intelligence

    In this episode, I'm diving into a conversation that I believe more female founders need to be having: financial intelligence, financial leadership, and why you should never outsource your awareness around money. As more women become primary breadwinners, scale businesses, and generate significant wealth, I think it's incredibly important that we learn not just how to make money, but how to understand it, steward it, protect it, grow it, and direct it intentionally. In this episode, I share some of my own financial mistakes as a founder, the mindset shifts that changed my relationship with money, and the lessons I learned about relying too heavily on experts without staying connected to the financial realities of my own business. We talk about the difference between earning money and building wealth, the roles of bookkeepers, accountants, CFOs, and wealth advisors, and why financial confidence often starts with simply being willing to ask questions, even when you feel like you "should" already know the answers. I also share why operational leadership and financial leadership are deeply connected, and how founders unknowingly create expensive business models when everything depends on them operationally. If you've ever felt intimidated by money conversations, disconnected from your numbers, or ready to become a more empowered CEO and steward of your business, this episode is for you. Resources → Watch this episode on YouTube → Subscribe to The Blueprint → Learn more & book a call with our team to learn if the Pop Leadership Academy is right for you! → Download our Operationally Excellent Practice Manager Audit → Follow Kaeli on Instagram: @kaeli.lindholm

    17 min
  5. Episode 4: Part 2: The Hidden Variable in Your Growth: Your Life Partner

    May 25 ·  Video

    Episode 4: Part 2: The Hidden Variable in Your Growth: Your Life Partner

    In this episode of Business on Top, I'm sharing Leadership Lesson #4: Your Partner Cannot Support a Vision They Don't Understand, a conversation about communication, advocacy, and what it really looks like to build alignment inside a relationship while pursuing ambitious goals. This episode is also Part 2 of the ALT husbands panel we shared last week, where we continue the conversation with an honest look into what support, trust, and partnership actually look like behind the scenes of building big businesses and ambitious lives together. I open up about the early days of building KLC, including the emotional weight of investing our personal savings into a brand-new business, navigating uncertainty inside my marriage, and the conversation that shifted my husband from skepticism to support. From leaving a lucrative corporate career to investing in mentorship before the results existed, this episode explores what it looks like to ask someone to believe in a vision they cannot fully see yet. This conversation feels especially important for women stepping into new levels of leadership, income, and influence inside their households,  often without a roadmap for how partnership evolves alongside ambition. In the second half of the episode, we continue the ALT husbands panel and go deeper into: What support actually looks like during seasons of growth How couples navigate financial and emotional uncertainty together Building trust while one person is actively scaling a vision Why communication creates alignment far more effectively than justification If you are building something meaningful, pursuing a bigger vision, or navigating growth inside your relationships, this episode is a reminder that people trust your vision more deeply when they can feel that you trust it first. Resources → Watch this episode on YouTube → Subscribe to The Blueprint → Learn more & book a call with our team to learn if the Pop Leadership Academy is right for you! → Learn more about our Owner + Practice Manager Business Intensive at The Gwen in Chicago → Follow Kaeli on Instagram: @kaeli.lindholm

    39 min
  6. Episode 3: Part 1: The Hidden Variable in Your Growth: Your Life Partner

    May 18 ·  Video

    Episode 3: Part 1: The Hidden Variable in Your Growth: Your Life Partner

    In this episode of Business on Top, I'm diving into something that impacts nearly every woman building at a high level, but rarely gets talked about openly: the evolution of partnership as your business grows. You'll hear a powerful panel conversation we hosted at ALT, where we intentionally brought husbands into the dialogue, not as outsiders to the business journey, but as a meaningful part of the ecosystem that supports it. This conversation is part one of a two-part discussion exploring what happens inside relationships as women step more fully into leadership, create wealth, expand their influence, and take on greater responsibility. Because as your business evolves, your relationship is often being asked to evolve too, and many of us are navigating territory that doesn't come with a clear roadmap. Together, we unpack the tension, opportunity, and complexity that can emerge when one person is growing rapidly while the relationship itself is trying to catch up to that growth. We talk about the communication gaps that happen when support is expected but never fully defined, and how misalignment often comes less from lack of love or desire, and more from lack of clarity and understanding. Because your business does not exist in a vacuum. And the quality of your partnership will either expand your capacity or quietly limit it. This episode is honest, nuanced, and deeply relevant for any woman trying to build not just a successful company, but a life that can truly sustain it. Leadership Lesson #3: When the Business Grows, Your Relationship Has to Evolve. Resources → Watch this episode on YouTube → Subscribe to The Blueprint → Learn more & book a call with our team to learn if the Pop Leadership Academy is right for you! → Learn more about our Owner + Practice Manager Business Intensive at The Gwen in Chicago → Follow Kaeli on Instagram: @kaeli.lindholm

    39 min
  7. Episode 2: Leadership is Messy

    May 11

    Episode 2: Leadership is Messy

    In this episode of Business on Top, I'm dismantling the polished, picture-perfect version of leadership, and replacing it with something far more honest. Leadership is messy. And the sooner you accept that, the more powerfully you can lead. In this conversation, I walk through the gap between what I thought leadership would feel like and the reality of building something in real time. If you've ever questioned whether you're doing it "right," felt the weight of responsibility while still figuring things out behind the scenes, or wondered why leadership feels harder than it looks, this episode will meet you there. I share personal stories and hard-earned lessons from building my own company, the truth about early hiring mistakes, the pressure to get it right, and the humbling realization that alignment matters more than credentials. You'll hear what it really takes to build a team in the messy middle, why hiring for your current stage is critical, and how chasing the "perfect" structure can actually hold you back. I also pull back the curtain on the real-life leadership challenges women are navigating today, moments you can't prepare for, situations that test your character, and decisions that don't come with a playbook. Because the truth is: the version of leadership many of us were taught was never designed for the reality we're living in. The leader you're becoming isn't the one who has it all together, she's the one willing to move forward without certainty, build without a blueprint, and lead while still evolving. If you've been judging yourself for the messiness of your journey, I want this episode to help you see it differently: It's not a flaw.  It's proof that you're leading. Resources → Subscribe to The Blueprint → Learn more & book a call with our team to learn if the Pop Leadership Academy is right for you! → Learn more about our Owner + Practice Manager Business Intensive: June 12–13 at The Gwen, Chicago → Follow Kaeli on Instagram: @kaeli.lindholm Additional Ways to Connect: Book a Discovery Call: Ready to scale with intention? Let's map out your next strategic move.

    13 min
  8. Episode 1: A New Chapter Begins

    May 4 ·  Video

    Episode 1: A New Chapter Begins

    Welcome to the very first episode of Business on Top, a podcast created for women who are building, leading, and navigating the complexities of growth in a world that hasn't fully caught up to their reality. In this opening conversation, I share the deeper truth behind what so many of us as women are experiencing, but haven't always had the language to articulate. As we step into greater financial leadership, build companies, and expand our influence, the traditional ideas of "work-life balance" and "doing it all" start to fall short. What I've found instead is a much more nuanced tension: how to build something meaningful without losing connection to what matters most. I introduce the Life First Business Model, a framework I use to measure success beyond revenue, through health, wealth, impact, and freedom. I also bring you into real stories from my own journey and from the women I've worked with, moments that highlight what leadership actually looks like behind the scenes. This episode is the foundation for the conversations we're going to have here. Conversations that challenge outdated models, normalize the complexity of modern leadership, and create space for us to build businesses that truly support our lives. If you've ever felt like you're navigating something that hasn't been clearly defined yet… you're not alone. And you're exactly where you're meant to be. Resources → Subscribe to The Blueprint → Learn more & book a call with our team to learn if the Practice Manager Academy is right for you! → Learn more about our Owner + Practice Manager Business Intensive: June 12–13 at The Gwen, Chicago → Follow Kaeli on Instagram: @kaeli.lindholm Additional Ways to Connect: Book a Discovery Call: Ready to scale with intention? Let's map out your next strategic move.

    21 min
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5
out of 5
134 Ratings

About

Business on Top is the podcast for visionary women founders leading without a playbook—rewriting outdated business rules and building powerful, life-first companies in a world that has not yet caught up to how women lead today. Each episode explores the real work of leadership: identity expansion, decision-making under pressure, structural growth, and the messy realities behind building companies that create both profit and freedom.

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