Business Over Cocktails - Behind the Business - Real Talk with Female Entrepreneurs

Lauren Najar, Business Coach
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Welcome to Business Over Cocktails — the podcast where female entrepreneurs, founder stories, and soulful business growth take center stage.  Hosted by business strategist and community builder Lauren Najar, this show dives into the “why” behind the business, the real stories behind entrepreneurship, and the pivotal moments that shape women-led brands. Expect candid interviews with creative entrepreneurs, behind-the-scenes reflections on small business growth, and bite-sized solo episodes inside The Business Chaser — where we explore authentic visibility, organic marketing, and building a business that actually feels good. Whether you're scaling a service-based business, navigating a pivot, or craving real talk for entrepreneurs, this is your spot. Pull up a seat. Pour your favorite drink. Let’s talk business.

  1. 1d ago

    She Swore She’d Never Be an Entrepreneur: How She Built a Marketing Agency for Small Businesses w/Crystal Oakes

    What happens when someone who swore she’d never become an entrepreneur ends up building an award-winning marketing agency? In this episode of Business Over Cocktails, Lauren Najar sits down with Crystal Oakes, owner and creative director of Oakes Creative House, a full-service marketing agency for small businesses, microbusinesses, and solopreneurs. Crystal grew up in a family of serial entrepreneurs, from her grandpa’s custom cabinetry business to her mom’s bakery. She wanted the opposite: a job where she could clock out at 5:00. After years as a global branding director at a fast-paced startup, burnout and a tearful moment working on Christmas Eve pushed her to build a business on her own terms. In her first year as a freelancer, she doubled her corporate salary. Lauren and Crystal talk about: Why so many small business owners end up on their fifth website in two yearsHow clear contracts, revision timelines, and simple check-in emails keep projects movingWhy marketing is not a series of random acts, and the danger of chasing trendsWhy running ads before your foundation is ready wastes moneyHow a marketing roadmap shows entrepreneurs the right order for their marketingThe loneliness of outgrowing your circle, and the client wins that make it all worth itSetting boundaries as an entrepreneur and mom, and planning a maternity leaveIf you’re a small business owner tired of scattered marketing tactics that don’t turn into sales, this conversation is for you. Crystal is back on Friday for a Business Chaser episode, so make sure you’re subscribed. Connect with Crystal at oakescreativehouse.com, where you’ll find her free marketing masterclass, downloadable resources, and blog. You can also find Oakes Creative House on social media, and Krystal is most active on her personal Facebook page. Marketing Roadmap: https://oakescreativehouse.com/marketing-roadmap/ Upcoming Events: Growth & Connect Events - https://laurennajar.myflodesk.com/hb2a0mwbqw Save 25% with Flodesk - https://flodesk.com/c/OR8VKL Let’s Stay Connected: → Follow Lauren on Instagram: www.instagram.com/laurennajar → Learn more or work with me: www.laurennajar.com → Follow Business Over Cocktails on IG: www.instagram.com/businessovercocktails → Attend Growth & Connect retreats & events: www.instagram.com/growthandconnect 🎧 Subscribe & Review: Love the episode? Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share with a friend who needs a business boost and a good chat over a cocktail.

    She Swore She’d Never Be an Entrepreneur: How She Built a Marketing Agency for Small Businesses w/Crystal Oakes

  2. 5d ago

    How to Build an Offer Ecosystem: 4 Offers That Increase Client Retention & Create Predictable Income w/Nadine Selina

    What’s the difference between an offer suite and an offer ecosystem, and why does it matter for your income? In this Business Chaser episode, business and marketing coach Nadine Selina returns to explain how to build an offer ecosystem, a set of offers designed as one client journey. Each offer leads naturally to the next, which increases client retention, compounds results, and builds a predictable income floor. If your clients finish working with you and then invest in someone else for their “next level,” or if you leave sales calls thinking “you could be a fit for any of my offers,” this episode is for you. You’ll learn: A quick audit to tell if you have an offer ecosystem or just a collection of independent offersWhy customizing an offer to every client’s budget is a red flag for your businessThe 4 types of offers every ecosystem needs: the runway offer, core signature offer, retention offer, and leadership offerHow qualifying markers help you sell with conviction and lead clients to the right offerWhy your group program shouldn’t just be a cheaper version of your 1:1Whether you’re a coach, consultant, or online service provider, this bite-sized episode will help you stop starting from zero every month and build a business made for longevity. Missed Monday’s full conversation with Nadine? Go back and listen to hear her story of burnout, boundaries, and building a freedom-based business. Connect with Nadine on Instagram @nadineselinacoaching, where you’ll also find her website, TikTok, and email list. Upcoming Events: Growth & Connect Events - https://laurennajar.myflodesk.com/hb2a0mwbqw Save 25% with Flodesk - https://flodesk.com/c/OR8VKL Let’s Stay Connected: → Follow Lauren on Instagram: www.instagram.com/laurennajar → Learn more or work with me: www.laurennajar.com → Follow Business Over Cocktails on IG: www.instagram.com/businessovercocktails → Attend Growth & Connect retreats & events: www.instagram.com/growthandconnect 🎧 Subscribe & Review: Love the episode? Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share with a friend who needs a business boost and a good chat over a cocktail.

    How to Build an Offer Ecosystem: 4 Offers That Increase Client Retention & Create Predictable Income w/Nadine Selina

  3. Oct 26

    Client Boundaries for Coaches: How to Stop Burnout, Raise Your Standards & Build a Profitable Freedom Business w/Nadine Selina

    What happens when your business is successful on paper, but you’re burned out and hate every minute of it? In this episode of Business Over Cocktails, Lauren Najar sits down with Nadine Selina, a business and marketing coach who helps online service providers and coaches build freedom-based, profitable businesses. Nadine shares how she left a career she loved in psychology-based services, how she went from €47 strategy calls to her first big sale, and the moment she hit 5K months, walked away from it all, and rebuilt with only €600 left in her account. She and Lauren talk about why being transparent about what you can’t do builds more trust and premium positioning, and how bending your boundaries quietly teaches clients to do the same. You’ll learn: How to evolve your messaging and offers without overhauling your businessWhy conviction in your specialty sells better than being a jack of all tradesHow standard procedures take the personal anxiety out of client follow-ups and paymentsThe difference between choosing maintenance and falling into itHow to tell if you’ve outgrown your offers, positioning, or clientsIf you’re a coach or service provider feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or unsure of your next chapter, this conversation is for you. Nadine is back on Friday for a Business Chaser episode, so make sure you’re subscribed. Connect with Nadine on Instagram @nadineselinacoaching, where you’ll also find her website, TikTok, and email list. Listen to Lauren & Nadine on Nadine's Podcast "Beyond the CEO Norm" -  https://open.spotify.com/episode/3YmdHPalnXzoU3O12FZh0F?si=JECs6vZHQFW7FV8ASiXLsw Upcoming Events: Growth & Connect Events - https://laurennajar.myflodesk.com/hb2a0mwbqw Save 25% with Flodesk - https://flodesk.com/c/OR8VKL Let’s Stay Connected: → Follow Lauren on Instagram: www.instagram.com/laurennajar → Learn more or work with me: www.laurennajar.com → Follow Business Over Cocktails on IG: www.instagram.com/businessovercocktails → Attend Growth & Connect retreats & events: www.instagram.com/growthandconnect 🎧 Subscribe & Review: Love the episode? Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share with a friend who needs a business boost and a good chat over a cocktail.

    Client Boundaries for Coaches: How to Stop Burnout, Raise Your Standards & Build a Profitable Freedom Business w/Nadine Selina

  4. Oct 23

    B2B Lead Generation for Small Businesses: How to Position Your Service as Premium & Win Commercial Clients w/Lauren Najar

    How do you get commercial clients for a local service business when ads bring in leads but no sales? In this Business Chaser coaching session, Lauren Najar sits down with Frances, co-founder of Simply Laundry NWI, a pickup and delivery laundry service in Northwest Indiana that started from a weekend argument over who would do the laundry. Frances already gets residential clients through referrals, community events, and Facebook. Now she wants to land more B2B clients like med spas, salons, fitness and Pilates studios, chiropractors, and banquet halls. Lauren walks through how to position a small business as the premium choice against big corporate competitors, going beyond the price sheet to the emotional reasons business owners buy. You’ll learn: How to position your service as premium and cost-effective long termA daily social media engagement strategy for relationship-based lead generationHow to use a free trial offer to bridge the gap from stranger to clientWhy hosting your own event can beat attending networking eventsHow to find where your ideal clients actually hang outContent ideas that build authority and show valueIf you run a local service business and want more commercial clients without relying on paid ads, this episode is for you. Connect with Frances: website: SimplyLaundryNWI.com Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61581645779737 instagram: @simplylaundrynwi linkedin:  www.linkedin.com/in/frances-jurishi Upcoming Events: Growth & Connect Events - https://laurennajar.myflodesk.com/hb2a0mwbqw Save 25% with Flodesk - https://flodesk.com/c/OR8VKL Let’s Stay Connected: → Follow Lauren on Instagram: www.instagram.com/laurennajar → Learn more or work with me: www.laurennajar.com → Follow Business Over Cocktails on IG: www.instagram.com/businessovercocktails → Attend Growth & Connect retreats & events: www.instagram.com/growthandconnect 🎧 Subscribe & Review: Love the episode? Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share with a friend who needs a business boost and a good chat over a cocktail.

    B2B Lead Generation for Small Businesses: How to Position Your Service as Premium & Win Commercial Clients w/Lauren Najar

  5. Oct 19

    Liz Chapman Interviews Lauren Najar: Building Business Relationships Without Selling, Hosting Retreats & Launching a Mastermind

    On this special episode of Business Over Cocktails, the tables are turned. Podcast strategist Liz Chapman, who helped launch this show, interviews host Lauren Najar with questions she didn’t see ahead of time. After eight years in business, Lauren shares what she’s learned about building real business relationships without ulterior motives. She explains why she releases the outcome in sales conversations and has even told clients not to renew with her. Liz and Lauren also talk about what goes into curating in-person retreats and dinners where strangers become genuine connections, and why her 2021 mastermind felt like checking a box while her current Growth & Connect Mastermind was built for the exact people in it. Lauren also opens up about the harder side of relationships in business: managing former coworkers after a promotion, partnerships where the weight wasn’t shared, and her darkest day in business, when a more successful peer used her DM scripts and left her feeling invisible. If you’re an entrepreneur, coach, or community builder who wants to grow through authentic connection instead of pushy sales tactics, this conversation is for you. Connect with Liz: Instagram - www.instagram.com/liz_chapman_podcastmanager Website - lizchapmanco.com Upcoming Events: Growth & Connect Events - https://laurennajar.myflodesk.com/hb2a0mwbqw Save 25% with Flodesk - https://flodesk.com/c/OR8VKL Let’s Stay Connected: → Follow Lauren on Instagram: www.instagram.com/laurennajar → Learn more or work with me: www.laurennajar.com → Follow Business Over Cocktails on IG: www.instagram.com/businessovercocktails → Attend Growth & Connect retreats & events: www.instagram.com/growthandconnect 🎧 Subscribe & Review: Love the episode? Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share with a friend who needs a business boost and a good chat over a cocktail.

    Liz Chapman Interviews Lauren Najar: Building Business Relationships Without Selling, Hosting Retreats & Launching a Mastermind

  6. Oct 16

    Content Marketing Strategy Made Simple: A 7-Step Framework for What to Post & Where w/Mariah McInnes

    Struggling to figure out what to post, where to post it, and what actually works? You don’t have a posting problem — you need a content marketing strategy. In this Business Chaser, Mariah McInnes of Content Queen breaks down her 7-step CONTENT framework to help small business owners and entrepreneurs stop guessing and start posting with purpose. Mariah clears up the biggest myth first — why “posting from the heart” isn’t a strategy, it’s a posting plan — then walks through her full framework: connecting with your audience and vision, optimizing the right channels for your funnel, nailing down what you want to be known for, telling stories that make your content stick, repurposing across platforms, building a repeatable process, and testing what works. If questions like “what do I post?”, “which platform should I be on?”, or “should I really be on Threads?” have ever stalled you, this episode gives you the structure to answer them yourself. In this episode: Why a content strategy isn’t the same as a posting planThe 7-step CONTENT framework, start to finishHow to deeply understand your audience (beyond demographics)Choosing the right channels for each stage of your funnelWhy storytelling makes your content 22x more memorableRepurposing, process, and testing so content actually gets done Connect With Mariah: Instagram (Mariah): https://www.instagram.com/mariah_contentqueen  Audio Guide (content strategy podcast): https://sales.contentqueenmariah.com/content-guide  Our Signature Content Bootcamp Program:https://www.contentqueenmariah.com/content-marketing Upcoming Events: Growth & Connect Events - https://laurennajar.myflodesk.com/hb2a0mwbqw Save 25% with Flodesk - https://flodesk.com/c/OR8VKL Let’s Stay Connected: → Follow Lauren on Instagram: www.instagram.com/laurennajar → Learn more or work with me: www.laurennajar.com → Follow Business Over Cocktails on IG: www.instagram.com/businessovercocktails → Attend Growth & Connect retreats & events: www.instagram.com/growthandconnect 🎧 Subscribe & Review: Love the episode? Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share with a friend who needs a business boost and a good chat over a cocktail.

    Content Marketing Strategy Made Simple: A 7-Step Framework for What to Post & Where w/Mariah McInnes

  7. Oct 12

    Building a Business Through Cancer: Resilience, Identity & Running a Company From a Bus w/Mariah McInnes

    What happens to your business — and your sense of self — when life completely changes course? In this episode, host Lauren Najar sits down with Mariah McInnes, founder of Content Queen, who built her business while surviving cancer and now runs it full-time from a bus traveling Australia. It’s an honest conversation about resilience, reinvention, and designing a business and life on your own terms. Mariah shares her journey from a corporate PR job and a party-girl lifestyle in Melbourne to freelancing her way to location freedom — and how a cancer diagnosis in her twenties reshaped her priorities, her relationships, and her identity. She and Lauren, both cancer survivors, open up about the parts no one prepares you for: feeling lost, losing people who don’t understand, and finding meaning on the other side. They also dig into why the hard days of entrepreneurship still beat a toxic 9-to-5, how Mariah built a business around deep client trust instead of endless scaling, and why choosing a life that fits you matters more than chasing someone else’s version of success. Whether you’re navigating a hard season, dreaming of more freedom, or rethinking what success means, this one will stay with you. In this episode: Building and running a business while navigating a health crisisFrom corporate to location freedom — the digital nomad pathHow a life-altering experience reshapes identity and prioritiesWhy the hard days of entrepreneurship beat a toxic day jobBuilding a business on client trust instead of constant scalingRedefining success on your own termsThis episode includes personal conversation about cancer and loss. Pour a drink, pull up a seat — this one goes deep. Connect with Mariah: Instagram (Mariah): https://www.instagram.com/mariah_contentqueen  Audio Guide (content strategy podcast): https://sales.contentqueenmariah.com/content-guide  Our Signature Content Bootcamp Program:https://www.contentqueenmariah.com/content-marketing Upcoming Events: Growth & Connect Events - https://laurennajar.myflodesk.com/hb2a0mwbqw Save 25% with Flodesk - https://flodesk.com/c/OR8VKL Let’s Stay Connected: → Follow Lauren on Instagram: www.instagram.com/laurennajar → Learn more or work with me: www.laurennajar.com → Follow Business Over Cocktails on IG: www.instagram.com/businessovercocktails → Attend Growth & Connect retreats & events: www.instagram.com/growthandconnect 🎧 Subscribe & Review: Love the episode? Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share with a friend who needs a business boost and a good chat over a cocktail.

    Building a Business Through Cancer: Resilience, Identity & Running a Company From a Bus w/Mariah McInnes

  8. Oct 9

    Lead Generation: Why You Don't Need More Leads (You Need to Find the Leak) w/Lauren Najar

    Think you need more leads? You probably don't — you need to find the leak. In this action-packed Business Chaser, host Lauren Najar breaks down why "I just need more leads" is almost never the real lead generation problem, using real hangups submitted by people inside her current Lead Generation Challenge. Lauren walks through three real scenarios — the newer business owner who needs clarity, not leads; the service provider having great conversations that never convert; and the one worried her repeat clients want something new every year — and diagnoses what's actually broken in each. She covers why listening is 75% of selling, how to make an invite feel like the obvious next step instead of pushy, what "qualified lead" really means (hint: you decide), and why confidence usually isn't the gap — clarity is. Plus a client case study of going from scattered and exhausted to booked out for a year and a first 20K month. If lead generation feels like a grind, this episode will help you find the one thing to fix first. In this episode: Why "more leads" is rarely the real problemThree lead generation scenarios — and the real gap in eachWhy listening is most of selling, and how to invite without being pushyWhat "qualified lead" actually meansWhy clarity, not confidence, is usually the missing pieceA client's path from scattered to booked out and a 20K monthYour homework: write down your last five leads and mark where each one stalled — then DM Lauren @laurennajar or @businessovercocktails and she'll help you reignite it. This episode mentions the Lead Generation Sprint, Lauren's 4-month 1:1 coaching program — now open for enrollment (link in show notes). 1:1 Lead Generation Sprint Program - https://www.honeybook.com/widget/lauren_najar_coaching_llc_175029/cf_id/680ee0e9eaeec3002de2acc0 Upcoming Events: Growth & Connect Events - https://laurennajar.myflodesk.com/hb2a0mwbqw Save 25% with Flodesk - https://flodesk.com/c/OR8VKL Let’s Stay Connected: → Follow Lauren on Instagram: www.instagram.com/laurennajar → Learn more or work with me: www.laurennajar.com → Follow Business Over Cocktails on IG: www.instagram.com/businessovercocktails → Attend Growth & Connect retreats & events: www.instagram.com/growthandconnect 🎧 Subscribe & Review: Love the episode? Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share with a friend who needs a business boost and a good chat over a cocktail.

    Lead Generation: Why You Don't Need More Leads (You Need to Find the Leak) w/Lauren Najar
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Welcome to Business Over Cocktails — the podcast where female entrepreneurs, founder stories, and soulful business growth take center stage.  Hosted by business strategist and community builder Lauren Najar, this show dives into the “why” behind the business, the real stories behind entrepreneurship, and the pivotal moments that shape women-led brands. Expect candid interviews with creative entrepreneurs, behind-the-scenes reflections on small business growth, and bite-sized solo episodes inside The Business Chaser — where we explore authentic visibility, organic marketing, and building a business that actually feels good. Whether you're scaling a service-based business, navigating a pivot, or craving real talk for entrepreneurs, this is your spot. Pull up a seat. Pour your favorite drink. Let’s talk business.

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