The C-Suite Mentor - Business Growth for Small Business Leaders with Theresa Cantley

Theresa Cantley
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Theresa Cantley, a business and brand strategist reveals her strategies to help you "break out of of the traditional mold" of small business by learning new ways to build profitability into your business and freedom into your life. Create a brand and market your business while also learning how to assemble a high performing team. Discover how to create a marketing strategy that builds your visibility offline and online, how to infuse your brand into every part of your business creating a unique experience for your customers, how to create offers and products your customers will love and how to hire and create a high performing, highly motivated team. Theresa will share with you her experience over the past 20 years to show you creative ways to gain the clarity you need on the vision you have for your business and creative ways to get there while always staying one step ahead of your competition. Leadership development, systems and processes, organizational leadership, branding, marketing strategy, digital marketing, business planning, team building, building your authority, search engine optimization, goal setting, project management and learning how to make your vision a reality by becoming a visionary leader in your industry.

  1. Aug 17

    You Can Be Powerful and Unfinished

    There are seasons in life when everything you thought was secure suddenly starts falling apart.   That's part of what I wanted to explore when I invited my dear friend Denise Soler Cox back to the show. Denise and I met back in 2017, and I've had a front-row seat to so much of her journey. She's a storyteller, filmmaker, speaker, coach, and now the author of What Will They Say?   While writing the book, Denise was also living through one of the most financially difficult seasons of her life. More than $200,000 in business disappeared, her family had to leave the home they had lived in for years, and they moved into an 800-square-foot basement apartment.   And yet, in the middle of all of it, Denise had a realization that became one of the most powerful ideas in her book:   "I can be powerful and unfinished."   We talk about what it means to hold both truths at once. You can be struggling, angry, grieving, or uncertain and still be powerful. You can be a work in progress without being broken.   We also go much deeper, talking about the shields we build to protect ourselves, the ways we can unknowingly tie our worth to other people's happiness, and what happens when we finally stop protecting ourselves and allow ourselves to be seen.   Denise shares the deeply personal story behind the hardest chapter of her book and what she learned about forgiveness, motherhood, healing, and the legacy she wants to leave for her daughters.   Because maybe our legacy isn't about how much we accomplish or how much we can endure.   Maybe it's about how deeply we're willing to live while we're still becoming.   Key Takeaways: • You can be powerful and unfinished at the same time. • Difficult seasons don't mean you're broken. • We often don't realize the shields we've built around ourselves. • Your worth isn't determined by how much you can endure. • You can accept your past without allowing it to define your future. • Authenticity requires letting yourself be seen. • Sometimes you have to create more than you ultimately use. • Your legacy is about who you are and who you help others become.   Timestamps / Chapter Markers: 00:00 – Meet Denise Soler Cox 05:31 – Why Denise Had to Write This Book 13:40 – You Can Be Powerful and Unfinished 16:16 – When Everything You Built Falls Apart 20:54 – Being a Mess Doesn't Mean You're Broken 24:05 – The Hardest Chapter to Write 31:01 – What Inheritance Do You Want to Leave? 35:24 – What Writing the Book Really Required 44:57 – The Shields We Don't Realize We're Wearing 46:44 – Stop Protecting Yourself 50:53 – What Will Your Legacy Be?   If something in this conversation hit you, don't brush it off.   Maybe it's the idea that you can be powerful and unfinished. Maybe it's realizing you've been protecting yourself without even knowing it. Or maybe you're beginning to think differently about your own worth and legacy.   Whatever it is, sit with it.   And if this episode gave you something you needed to hear, share it with someone who needs the reminder, subscribe to the show, and leave us a review.   Bookshop link to purchase Denise's book: https://bookshop.org/p/books/what-will-they-say-confront-cultural-taboos-and-discover-your-inner-power-denise-soler-cox/f7dbe8a1939b4a20?ean=9781668082966&affiliate=1688   🔗 Connect with Denise: Website: https://denisesolercox.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/denisesolercox/ Threads: https://www.threads.com/@denisesolercox LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/denisesolercox/   Denise Soler Cox is a cultural excavator: an award-winning filmmaker, keynote speaker and author who goes inside the cultures that shape how we lead, belong, and who we become. Her debut book, What Will They Say? (Simon & Schuster, August 2026), uncovers the ten inherited cultural rules keeping Latina leaders shrinking and sidelined and shows them, finally, how to stop.   A sought-after voice on culture, identity, and belonging, Denise has spoken on 400+ stages including two TEDx talks and SXSW 2026. She has partnered with Ralph Lauren, Amazon, Microsoft, and L'Oréal, among others. In 2020, Apple Podcasts North America recognized her podcast The Self-ish Latina as both a Featured Podcast and Featured Host, with listeners in 32 countries. She has appeared as a culture expert on NBC Nightly News, and her work has been featured in Forbes, CNN and PBS.   READY TO UNCOVER THE BLIND SPOT HURTING YOUR SMALL BUSINESS? 📋Take this quiz to uncover what's holding your business back from success: https://theresacantley.com/quiz     📌 If you're ready to pinpoint where your business is stalling and map out a winning 60-90-day strategy, book a C-Suite Snapshot: https://theresacantley.com/business-audit   🔗 Connect with Theresa: Website: https://theresacantley.com/   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theresacantley   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theresaccantley   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theresacantley   ▶️ SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@theresacantley

  2. Aug 10

    The Mindset Shift That Changes How You Lead Your Business

    I was frustrated. I had already meditated and journaled, but somehow, I still ended up doom scrolling through social media, comparing myself to everyone else and feeling like everything was harder than it needed to be.   Then I read something about abundance that made me look at it differently.   What if abundance isn't about how much money, customers, or success we can get? What if it's a lens we use to see what's possible?   In this episode, I'm talking about the difference between looking at your business through a judgment lens and looking at it through an abundance lens. We'll talk about comparison, fear, creating instead of consuming, and why Main Street businesses have a unique opportunity to do things differently.   Because sometimes you don't need another strategy. You just need to ask, "What's another way?"   Key Takeaways: • Abundance is a lens, not a destination. It's less about what you have and more about what you see. • Comparison creates a lens of lack. Constantly looking at what everyone else is doing can make you believe you're already behind. • Fear can turn opinions into perceived facts. When you repeatedly hear that businesses can't be profitable, your brain can begin treating that belief as reality. • Small businesses have an incredible advantage. They can often move faster, experiment more freely, and create deeper personal connections. • You don't have to follow your industry's norm. Just because other businesses operate a certain way doesn't mean you have to. • Create more than you consume. More software, advice, articles, and trends don't necessarily create better results. Action does. • Look for your next best step. You don't have to solve everything today. Find one meaningful thing you can create or change. • Celebrate the micro wins. Small victories are evidence that things can move when you take action. • Place your attention on what's possible. What you consistently focus on influences the decisions and actions you take. • There's always another way to look at the situation. Shifting the lens can change how you lead, how you respond, and what you create.   Timestamps / Chapter Markers: 00:00 – The Doom Scroll That Started This Conversation 02:19 – Why the Word "Abundance" Hit Differently This Time 04:00 – Why Main Street Businesses Are More Powerful Than We Think 06:00 – Abundance Isn't About Getting More 07:00 – The Judgment Lens We Use Every Day 09:00 – Where You Place Your Attention Shapes What You Create 11:30 – What If There's Another Way? 13:45 – Stop Letting Fear Become Your Reality 16:00 – Your Business Doesn't Have to Follow the Industry 18:30 – Create More Than You Consume 21:00 – The Power of Micro Wins 23:20 – Put Your Attention on What's Possible   If this episode challenged your thinking, share it with another business owner or leader who needs the reminder that success starts with perspective.   Follow the podcast so you never miss an episode, and leave a review to help more leaders discover practical strategies for building businesses—and lives—that last.   READY TO UNCOVER THE BLIND SPOT HURTING YOUR SMALL BUSINESS? 📋Take this quiz to uncover what's holding your business back from success: https://theresacantley.com/quiz     📌 If you're ready to pinpoint where your business is stalling and map out a winning 60-90-day strategy, book a C-Suite Snapshot: https://theresacantley.com/business-audit   🔗 Connect with Theresa: Website: https://theresacantley.com/   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theresacantley   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theresaccantley   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theresacantley   ▶️ SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@theresacantley

  3. Jul 27

    When Plans Fall Apart: A Better Way to Lead Through Uncertainty

    We all love a good plan.   The calendar is full, the flights are booked, the strategy is mapped out, and everything feels like it's finally coming together. Then life reminds us of one unavoidable truth: the unexpected happens.   In this episode, I share a personal story about having to cancel an important business event after weeks of preparation because life and business demanded my attention somewhere else. It wasn't the decision I wanted to make, but it became a powerful reminder that leadership isn't about controlling every outcome. It's about responding well when circumstances change.   Over the years, I've helped business owners navigate some of the hardest moments they'll ever face, from the uncertainty of COVID to devastating fires, financial downturns, unexpected loss, and personal crises. One thing has become incredibly clear: businesses don't survive because leaders can predict every challenge. They survive because leaders build enough margin to respond when those challenges arrive.   In this episode, I'm sharing the five-step framework I use with my clients whenever the unexpected happens. It's a practical way to move from panic to purposeful action, make better decisions under pressure, and keep leading with confidence even when you don't have every answer.   Because change is inevitable. Your response is what defines your leadership.   Key Takeaways: • Change Is Not the Enemy - No amount of planning can eliminate uncertainty. Great leaders accept that change is part of building a business and learn how to adapt instead of resist it.   • Margin Creates Resilience - Financial reserves, extra time, strong systems, trusted relationships, and emotional capacity all create the flexibility leaders need when plans suddenly change.   • Your Team Takes Their Cue from You - You don't have to pretend everything is perfect. But your team needs to know someone is calmly leading through the uncertainty.   • Clarity Comes Through Action - Waiting until you have every answer often keeps you stuck. Forward movement creates clarity, confidence, and momentum.   Timestamps / Chapter Markers: 00:00  When the Best-Laid Plans Fall Apart 00:58  The Business Event I Had to Walk Away From 02:23  When Life Forces You to Change Course 04:44  Unexpected Doesn't Mean You Failed 06:10  Why Every Business Needs Margin 09:22  What Crisis Has Taught Me as an Advisor 10:13  Leading Clients Through COVID and Uncertainty 13:08  Lessons from a Business Owner's Worst Day 15:38  The Mindset That Comes Before Every Solution 18:34  Step 1: Pause and Assess the Situation 19:40  Step 2: Evaluate Your Options 20:31  Step 3: Identify the Resources Around You 21:29  Step 4: Create Your Next Steps 22:43  Step 5: Take Action and Build Momentum 24:03  Why Every Leader Needs Trusted Advisors 25:28  One Question Every Business Owner Should Answer 26:20  Building a Business That Can Weather Any Storm   If today's conversation resonated with you, don't wait until the next crisis to prepare your business.   Ask yourself:   Where does my business need more margin?   Is it financial? Operational? Leadership? Time? Systems? Or simply having someone in your corner who can help you think clearly when things don't go according to plan?   Building resilience before you need it is one of the greatest investments you can make as a leader.   👉 VIP Day: https://theresacantley.com/vip-day   Learn more about Theresa's executive advisory services, leadership coaching, and strategic planning experiences designed to help founder-led businesses grow with clarity and confidence.   READY TO UNCOVER THE BLIND SPOT HURTING YOUR SMALL BUSINESS? 📋Take this quiz to uncover what's holding your business back from success: https://theresacantley.com/quiz     📌 If you're ready to pinpoint where your business is stalling and map out a winning 60-90-day strategy, book a C-Suite Snapshot: https://theresacantley.com/business-audit   🔗 Connect with Theresa: Website: https://theresacantley.com/   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theresacantley   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theresaccantley   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theresacantley   ▶️ SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@theresacantley

  4. Jul 20

    The Hidden Patterns That Keep Leaders Stuck

    Why do successful leaders keep running into the same challenges, even when they're doing everything "right"?   In this episode of The C-Suite Mentor, Theresa Cantley sits down with relationship coach Jess Hendrick to explore how subconscious beliefs influence every area of leadership, business, and life.   From recurring business struggles to burnout, difficult relationships, and limiting beliefs, Theresa and Jess unpack why personal growth is the foundation for sustainable business growth.   They discuss how the unconscious mind shapes our decisions, why entrepreneurs often experience repeated patterns, the importance of nervous system regulation, and how true leadership begins with the relationship we have with ourselves.   Whether you're building a business, leading a team, or navigating a season of change, this conversation will challenge you to look beneath the surface and discover what's really keeping you from reaching your next level.   In This Episode: - Why your subconscious mind drives more than 95% of your daily decisions - How childhood experiences create the "blueprints" we unknowingly follow - Why entrepreneurs face some of the deepest personal development work - The five relationship patterns that quietly keep leaders stuck - How limiting beliefs affect business growth and leadership performance - The role nervous system regulation plays in success - What surrender actually means in leadership and life - Why working with an experienced coach can dramatically shorten your learning curve - How healing yourself changes every relationship in your life   Key Takeaways:   Leadership Starts Within Every leadership challenge eventually becomes a personal growth challenge. The beliefs, fears, and stories we carry shape how we lead our businesses, teams, and ourselves.   Your Patterns Are Not Your Identity Repeated struggles are often signals rather than failures. Recognizing unconscious patterns is the first step toward creating lasting change.   Business Is the Ultimate Personal Development Journey Entrepreneurship exposes every limiting belief we have. Growth in business requires growth in mindset, emotional resilience, and self-awareness.   Discomfort Often Signals Growth Periods of uncertainty, setbacks, and even "dark nights of the soul" aren't necessarily signs you're on the wrong path. They can be evidence that you're being developed for what's next.   Support Accelerates Transformation The right mentor or coach doesn't simply give advice. They help you see what you can't see yourself and shorten the path to meaningful growth.   Connect with Jess:   Website: https://jesshendrick.com   Instagram: @jesshendrickcoaching   Take Jess's Relationship Pattern Quiz: https://www.jesshendrick.com/quiz   About Jess Hendrick: Jess Hendrick is a Conscious Relationship Coach and licensed Occupational Therapist with 15+ years of experience. She works with people who keep ending up in the same painful relationship, over and over, different face, same story. Maybe it's the anxious spiral before a text comes back, the situationship that never becomes real, or a breakup they can't get out of their head. Jess helps them see what's actually driving it and gives them real tools to change it, not just more insight to sit with. She helps self-aware people finally break the patterns that therapy couldn't touch, so their relationships, and their whole life, actually change.   READY TO UNCOVER THE BLIND SPOT HURTING YOUR SMALL BUSINESS? 📋Take this quiz to uncover what's holding your business back from success: https://theresacantley.com/quiz     📌 If you're ready to pinpoint where your business is stalling and map out a winning 60-90-day strategy, book a C-Suite Snapshot: https://theresacantley.com/business-audit   🔗 Connect with Theresa: Website: https://theresacantley.com/   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theresacantley   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theresaccantley   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theresacantley   ▶️ SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@theresacantley

  5. Jul 13

    The Three Leadership Gaps Holding Your Business Back

    I walked into my regular weekly meeting with a client and watched his face before he said a single word. Frustrated. Defeated. Done.   "I just feel like people don't care," he told me. Deadlines slipping. A brand-new initiative stalling. A management team that seemed completely checked out. And then the sentence I hear from founders everywhere: "Maybe I just keep hiring the wrong people."   So I asked him: "You think this is another hiring problem?"   It's not.   In this episode, I break down the three Cs — clarity, connection, and capability — the three breakdowns hiding underneath almost every "checkout" you're seeing in your team. Because when you hand people responsibility without authority, when the focus changes three times in a year, when someone gets promoted into management with nothing but an offer letter and a job description — the team isn't broken. The structure is.   I also share why right now — with AI changing everything — there's a renaissance in creativity and strategic thinking waiting for your people. And why they can't step into it while you're standing in the middle of every decision.   You don't have a team that doesn't care. You have a team that doesn't know. This episode shows you how to fix that.   Key Takeaways: • When managers stop caring, it almost always traces back to the three Cs: clarity, connection, and capability (not to who you hired). • Responsibility without authority guarantees a breakdown. If your managers own a project but you veto their decisions, the project was never really theirs. • It's not a hiring problem. It's a structure problem — the structure of delegation, decision-making, and the dissemination of information. • Every time the focus changes the vision dilutes. And a diluted vision reads as "nobody cares." • Disengagement is a connection problem. People can't care about a mission they can't see their own work inside of — down to the dishwasher and the crusted plate. • Most new managers were handed an offer letter, not training. Building their capability is your job as the leader or your job to find someone who can. • If you're in the middle of everything, you're not delegating. You're drifting and the whole business drifts with you.   Timestamps / Chapter Markers: 0:00   "You don't have a hiring problem" (and why that sentence exists) 1:26   Missing deadlines, checked-out managers — digging underneath "nobody cares" 1:43   "You think this is another hiring problem?" "Well, it's not." 2:56   Goals that changed ten times — the symptoms hiding in your calendar 4:30   Responsibility without authority — the breakdown you built yourself 5:01   The team isn't broken, the structure of decisions is 5:41   C #1: Clarity — roles, focus, and the bar manager you keep overriding 8:54   The focus that changed three times — how a vision gets diluted 9:38   Diluted focus, diluted responsibility — why the project fell apart 10:00   C #2: Connection — disengagement almost always traces to the vision 10:39   The missing link — individual effort tied to the bigger mission 11:40   Clocking in on autopilot — the dishwasher, the crusted plate, and why detail is vision 14:28   C #3: Capability — promoted into management, never taught to manage 14:32   No help, no training — develop the strengths or find them a mentor 16:44   The bottleneck — thinking you're delegating when you're actually drifting 18:07   The reframe — "a team that doesn't care" vs. "a team that doesn't know" 18:23   The repair — step out of the middle, restore clarity, rebuild connection, grow capability 19:11   The VIP Day + business audit — a full day with your leadership team 21:04   Three spots only — TheresaCantley.com/VIP-day   If this episode named something you've been feeling — the missed deadlines, the checked-out faces, the quiet suspicion that maybe you hired wrong, then hit subscribe so you never miss an episode.   Then send it to one founder who's blaming their team for a structure they built. And if you have thirty seconds, leave a review — it's how more Main Street founders find their way here.   READY TO UNCOVER THE BLIND SPOT HURTING YOUR SMALL BUSINESS? 📋Take this quiz to uncover what's holding your business back from success: https://theresacantley.com/quiz     📌 If you're ready to pinpoint where your business is stalling and map out a winning 60-90-day strategy, book a C-Suite Snapshot: https://theresacantley.com/business-audit   🔗 Connect with Theresa: Website: https://theresacantley.com/   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theresacantley   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theresaccantley   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theresacantley   ▶️ SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@theresacantley

  6. Jun 29

    Why Teams Lose Trust and Momentum

    I was sitting in a leadership meeting with a client's managers, going through the numbers. Labor costs were climbing. Revenue wasn't keeping up. So I asked the obvious question — what's happening here? Why are we bringing people on when the revenue isn't there to match it?   One of the managers looked at me and said, "We just come in, we get a list of goals — or a list of new ideas — and we figure out how to make it happen. That's all we do."   You could see it. The empowerment draining right out of the room.   These aren't bad managers. They're talented people trying to pick up pieces of rice — absorbing every new idea, dropping the thing they were building to chase the next one. And every founder I know does this for the same reason: they're passionate about growth. Nobody moves the goalpost maliciously. They do it because they love moving something forward.   But here's the hidden tax. Every time you shift the gears — add the new initiative, change your mind, change it back — you add cost, you add confusion, and you erode trust both ways. The rising labor was the price of chasing ideas that never aligned with the goals you set in January.   When you sit in the middle of every decision, what it actually tells your team is: I don't trust you to make the call. And what your team hears is: I don't know what the vision is anymore, because it keeps changing.   So we put it all on the table. Calendars, to-do lists, six months of initiatives. Three columns: non-negotiable, aligned, non-essential. Then we trimmed. It's no different than a rose bush — prune the dead branches and the thing starts growing again.   Because if people aren't clear on what you're trying to accomplish, they can't stand behind it. Not every opportunity is yours to chase. Just because every other business is doing it doesn't mean you need to.   So ask yourself honestly: is your team running your business — or are you running interference for your own ideas? Keep the goalposts in the ground. Let them kick the field goal.   Key Takeaways: • Growth isn't more. More inventory, more products, more menu items, more initiatives — that's the reflex, not the strategy. Look at what's actually working first. • Empowerment is not delegation. Handing your team a list of tasks while you sit in the middle of every decision isn't trust — it's a bottleneck. • Moving the goalpost adds an invisible tax. Those rising labor costs were the price of chasing initiatives that never aligned with the original goals. • Trust erodes both ways. The owner stops trusting the team to move things forward; the team stops believing in a vision that changes every two days. • People can't stand behind a vision they can't see. If your focus keeps shifting, your team can't keep the main thing the main thing. • Prune like a rose bush. Cut the dead branches — the non-essential, non-aligned ideas — and what's left finally starts to grow. • Not every opportunity is one you need to tackle. Evaluate it against your mission before you execute on it. • Get into a rhythm with your team. Meet regularly — what's working, what's not, where are we stuck — and adjust, instead of just piling on more.   Timestamps / Chapter Markers: 00:00   Is your team running your business or are you running interference for your own ideas? 00:35   The goalposts keep moving — you add, you remove, you change your mind, then change it again 01:10   The team picking up pieces of rice — absorbing every shift, juggling it all 01:45   They don't just want to execute. They want to know their work matters 02:09   The client whose goalpost never stops moving 03:20   In the room for the financial meeting — labor up, revenue flat 04:00   The manager's line: "We just get a list and figure out how to make it happen" 04:26   What that statement says about trust between owners and their teams 05:10   Empowerment isn't delegation — and the owner sitting in the middle of everything 05:50   "I don't trust you to decide." "I don't know what your vision is." 06:37   The invisible tax — why those labor costs were really rising 07:20   Trust erodes both ways: the owner's frustration, the team's deflation 08:10   Given a leader's title — and just checking boxes and completing tasks 08:57   When things get hard, the easy move is to add something new 09:40   "Let me see your calendars, your to-do list, your initiative list" 10:55   Pruning the rose bush: cut the dead branches and it grows again 11:26   Initiatives that don't fit the brand — chickens with their heads cut off 12:10   Momentum drained: gaining energy, then forced to stop and shift gears 12:50   Not every opportunity is yours to chase 13:30   Want to rebuild trust? Stop moving the goalpost and empower your team 14:20   Keep the goalposts in the ground so your team can kick the field goal   If this one felt like I was sitting across the table talking straight at you — hit subscribe, share it with the founder in your life who keeps moving the goalposts, and leave a review so more Main Street owners can find it.   And if you're sitting there thinking, "My gosh, Theresa, you're speaking to me" — drop me a DM. We'll hop on a call, talk through how many goalposts you've moved, and build a plan to keep them in the ground so your team can finally get those projects across the finish line.   READY TO UNCOVER THE BLIND SPOT HURTING YOUR SMALL BUSINESS? 📋Take this quiz to uncover what's holding your business back from success: https://theresacantley.com/quiz     📌 If you're ready to pinpoint where your business is stalling and map out a winning 60-90-day strategy, book a C-Suite Snapshot: https://theresacantley.com/business-audit   🔗 Connect with Theresa: Website: https://theresacantley.com/   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theresacantley   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theresaccantley   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theresacantley   ▶️ SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@theresacantley

  7. Jun 22

    The Leadership Skill That Matters More Than IQ

    It was 2020. The world had just flipped upside down, and Andrea Mancuso's older brother was in the ICU with COVID. Andrea had a master's in therapeutic intervention. Fourteen years as a school psychologist in the New York City public schools. A whole career built on clinical skills and helping people through hard things.   And in those few days, she lost access to every bit of it. She was just afraid, wondering what was going to happen.   After three days, she sat up and told herself: you're either going to navigate this pandemic like this — which is no good for you or anybody else — or you're going to do something different. That was the day Intentional Healing and Wellness was born.   In this episode of Amuse Bouche Leadership Bites, Theresa sits down with Andrea — licensed mental health counselor, leadership coach, and the person who's helped Theresa through plenty of her own challenges — to talk about the part of leadership nobody hands you a handbook for.   They get into why entrepreneurship is personal development on steroids, why leading other people is the easy part and leading yourself is the work, and Andrea's premise that time does not heal all wounds — intention does. She shares the 82-year-old client who hired her at 80 because he was tired of feeling like he wasn't good enough.   Andrea breaks down emotional intelligence as the EQ advantage — the leading predictor of leadership success that almost nobody can actually name the skills of — and makes the case for radical responsibility: stop waiting for your employer to develop you and invest in yourself, because success leaves clues.   And there's the car. Are you in the driver's seat with the windows down and your music on — or in the back seat, waiting to see who gets in, how fast they drive, and whether they even show up?   Here's the real question this one leaves you with: what's the thing that already popped into your mind — the one that needs your attention? Because the moment you give it attention, you set yourself free.   Key Takeaways: • Leadership isn't really about your relationship with other people — entrepreneurship taught Andrea it's about how you lead yourself. • It's harder NOT to do the inner work. Convincing yourself it's too hard to look keeps you stuck at a ceiling you don't belong at. • Time does not heal all wounds — intention does. The wound that's already on your mind is the one asking for attention. • Emotional intelligence is the leading predictor of leadership success, yet it's made up of 15 skills almost no one can name. That gap is the EQ advantage. • Flexibility is one of those EQ skills — and we're rarely the best judge of our own. We see ourselves one way; the people around us see something else. • Radical responsibility: don't outsource your growth to your employer's training budget. Invest in yourself — coaching, therapy, even just the book — because success leaves clues. • Hard skills get you hired; human skills make you a leader. Andrea saw it as a school psychologist — high EQ predicted who'd be fine far better than IQ ever did. • You're not just the writer of your story — you're the director, the producer, and the lead. Living as if life happens to you is riding in the back seat. • When you promote someone, clarity and training aren't optional. You can't hand someone a 'handbook of excellence' and expect them to know how to lead.   Timestamps / Chapter Markers: 00:01   Meet Andrea Mancuso 01:20   Who Andrea is: Intentional Healing and Wellness, leadership + midlife coaching 01:55   14 years as a school psychologist — the one part of life she thought she had figured out 03:20   The golden handcuffs — the NYC package she felt committed to 04:00   2020: her brother in the ICU, and losing access to every skill she had 04:32   After three days Intentional Healing and Wellness is born 05:01   September 2021: pulling the plug and jumping fully into entrepreneurship 05:35   The program that started it all: Momentum Education, July 2016 06:55   Forget Tony Robbins — just become an entrepreneur (personal development on steroids) 08:10   The reframe: leadership is about how you lead yourself 08:16   Why entrepreneurs hide instead of being themselves 12:23   The lie that keeps you at your ceiling 13:31   "I can't believe I was afraid of this. I wish I did it sooner." 15:26   Two layers of stuff: the original wound plus everything we used to avoid it 15:55   The 82-year-old client and the premise: time doesn't heal all wounds, intention does 17:57   The car ride: driver's seat vs. back seat, and the double whammy of self-abandonment 23:14   "I didn't know what brought me joy" — Brooklyn grit and rediscovering joy in midlife 25:22   The corporate pivot: layoffs, AI, and managers handed an old playbook 27:44   Emotional intelligence: the leading predictor no one can name (15 skills, no hands up) 30:34   Radical responsibility: stop waiting for your employer to develop you 37:37   IQ vs. EQ: the students whose soft skills told her they'd be just fine 40:38   Lightning round questions for Andrea 45:13   What she's most grateful for 47:06   Where to find Andrea   If Andrea named the thing that's been sitting on your mind — hit subscribe, share it with someone who's been running from their own work, and leave a review so more leaders find their way here.   And if something came up while you listened, send her a message — she'd love to hear from you.   📕 Pre-Order Andrea's new book The Space Between: Navigating the Journey from Dream to Success   👉 Connect with Andrea: Website: https://www.iamandreamancuso.com/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamandreamancuso/    READY TO UNCOVER THE BLIND SPOT HURTING YOUR SMALL BUSINESS? 📋Take this quiz to uncover what's holding your business back from success: https://theresacantley.com/quiz     📌 If you're ready to pinpoint where your business is stalling and map out a winning 60-90-day strategy, book a C-Suite Snapshot: https://theresacantley.com/business-audit   🔗 Connect with Theresa: Website: https://theresacantley.com/   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theresacantley   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theresaccantley   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theresacantley   ▶️ SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@theresacantley

  8. Jun 15

    How Strong Leaders Handle Business Chaos

    It's Black Friday. The busiest shopping and dining day of the year, in a town known for being the Christmas city, packed with people in from out of town. Theresa had just hosted Thanksgiving — a houseful of family and friends — and all she wanted that afternoon was to finish cleaning up and sit down with a glass of wine. Not think about anything. Five minutes after she said it out loud, the phone rang.   "Theresa, it's raining in the basement. We don't know what to do. It's brown water."   She lived an hour away. So she drove. The whole way up wondering what she was about to walk into. A restaurant packed. A retail store packed. A city packed. And in the basement, water pouring out from under a door — brown — heading straight for the inventory.   By the time she got down there, one of the restaurant managers was already on the stairs. In a garbage bag. Kitchen gloves on. Holding a spatula. "T, we can do this. We got this. I Googled how to fix a pipe." It was a sewage pipe. And Theresa is a germaphobe.   Here's what most people would have done: run. Theresa did the opposite. She leaned in. She started assessing — first, second, third. Call the plumber. Call the remediation company on a holiday weekend. Save the inventory. Call the owner, who was in Mexico. And make sure nobody upstairs ever found out.   They didn't fix the pipe themselves, by the way. She threw her sneakers out and drove home barefoot in the snow. But the business never skipped a beat on the busiest day of the year — because the right things were already in place.   That flooded basement became one of the stories that taught Theresa what it actually takes to run a business in a crisis. It comes down to four things: presence, people, processes, and perseverance. The only thing we ever really control is the effort we put in and how we choose to face the moment when it breaks.   So here's the real question. It was never whether a crisis like this would happen — because it will. It's whether you have the presence, the people, the processes, and the perseverance to walk through it and come out the other side completely intact.   Key Takeaways: • Crisis isn't the question — it's coming no matter what. The real question is whether you have the leadership and systems in place to walk through it and get to the other side completely intact. • The only thing you truly control is the effort you put in and how you face the moment. You can run from the crisis, or you can lean into it. • Presence is leadership when it's hard. It's being the person they call because they know you'll figure it out — not the leader who panics and waits for someone else to handle it. • People matter most in the breakdown. The right team thinks critically and creatively under pressure, brings diversity of thinking, and keeps the business from bottlenecking on you. • Processes are the skeleton that holds everything upright. Real operational structure is what let the restaurant and store keep running on Black Friday while the basement flooded — business continuity in action. • Perseverance is radical resilience — the 6th gear. Cry for a moment, get frustrated for a moment, then shift into the strategic, critical, creative-solution brain and keep moving. • Good leaders bring calm into the chaos, not more chaos into the chaos. Intention beats running around like a chicken with its head cut off. • Every business owner has a version of this story — a pipe, a fridge going down, people quitting, COVID. What separates them is what they put in place before it hit.   Timestamps / Chapter Markers: 00:00   The one question — what crisis taught you how to run your business? 01:30   Why this story is in the upcoming book 02:21   Picture this: Black Friday, the Christmas city, the busiest weekend of the year 03:40   "It's raining in the basement. It's brown water." The hour-long drive up 04:45   Walking in: store packed, restaurant packed, water pouring under the door 05:30   The water heads for the inventory — she starts grabbing product 06:50   Calling the owner in Mexico — laying out the plan from inside the panic 08:30   Why they called her — most people would have run from it 09:18   What's at stake: the inventory, the people, the day itself 10:10   Every business owner has a version of this story 11:00   99.99% of the time it won't go the way you planned — effort is the control 11:43   The real question: do you have the right leadership and systems in place? 12:30   Number one — Presence: how you show up when it starts to fall apart 14:07   Number two — People: the right team that thinks under pressure 16:34   Diversity of thinking: his idea, her idea, a faster fix together 17:20   Calm into the chaos, not more chaos into the chaos 17:40   Number three — Processes: the structure that kept Black Friday running 18:59   Business continuity — COVID, fires, floods, roofs blowing off 20:30   Number four — Perseverance: radical resilience and the 6th gear 21:24   What you're really protecting: the people, the product, the vision 22:30   The leaders who crumble, blame, and throw their hands up 23:46   Recap of the four: presence, people, processes, perseverance 26:05   Closing question + the 90-second quiz at TheresaCantley.com/quiz   If this one hit — if you've got your own brown-water-on-Black-Friday story — hit subscribe, share it with the business owner who needs it, and leave a review so more founders find their way here.   READY TO UNCOVER THE BLIND SPOT HURTING YOUR SMALL BUSINESS? 📋Take this quiz to uncover what's holding your business back from success: https://theresacantley.com/quiz     📌 If you're ready to pinpoint where your business is stalling and map out a winning 60-90-day strategy, book a C-Suite Snapshot: https://theresacantley.com/business-audit   🔗 Connect with Theresa: Website: https://theresacantley.com/   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theresacantley   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theresaccantley   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theresacantley   ▶️ SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@theresacantley

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About

Theresa Cantley, a business and brand strategist reveals her strategies to help you "break out of of the traditional mold" of small business by learning new ways to build profitability into your business and freedom into your life. Create a brand and market your business while also learning how to assemble a high performing team. Discover how to create a marketing strategy that builds your visibility offline and online, how to infuse your brand into every part of your business creating a unique experience for your customers, how to create offers and products your customers will love and how to hire and create a high performing, highly motivated team. Theresa will share with you her experience over the past 20 years to show you creative ways to gain the clarity you need on the vision you have for your business and creative ways to get there while always staying one step ahead of your competition. Leadership development, systems and processes, organizational leadership, branding, marketing strategy, digital marketing, business planning, team building, building your authority, search engine optimization, goal setting, project management and learning how to make your vision a reality by becoming a visionary leader in your industry.

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