Today we’d like to introduce you to Liz Simpson.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
When I turned 30, a girlfriend of mine called to congratulate me on my birthday and accomplishments. She reminded me of conversations we’d had years prior where I shared my dreams of marriage, stability, and six-figures by 30 – all of which I’d achieved. What should have been a celebratory moment of having “checked the boxes” of my goals- instead, felt somber and empty for me.
At 21, I had become a young single mother battling domestic violence. I lived in a domestic violence shelter for nine months with my infant daughter for my safety. At that point in my life, many of those I looked up to-stopped believing in me and wrote me off as a failure. After that call on my 30th birthday, I realized that I had spent the next 10 years trying to prove myself to the naysayers and chasing a definition of success that wasn’t aligned with my true desires in life.
Soon after, I abruptly left corporate America and my 10+ year career in sales. I studied under various peak performance mentors, traveled to spiritual retreats, wrote a book and just checked out from “society” to spend some time to learn how to love “me.” It sounds cliche but it was the most radical and rewarding decision I’ve ever made in my life.
I created a global domestic violence awareness platform pouring into hundreds of female trauma survivors. After coaching these incredibly courageous women to “self-discovery” and “self-love”, it seemed like over and over their next desire or interest became business and entrepreneurship. I was passionate about helping them so I began sharing sales tips and business tips. I soon began feeling like I needed to give more to pour into these women.
I transitioned from my domestic violence awareness platform to leading a digital & sales agency that was founded by one of my idols. That experience opened my eyes to the fact that “survival is selfish” because we give from our overflow. If we’re barely getting by, it’s really hard to even think about being a blessing to others. As a woman, I needed to hear that message. I needed to learn that I didn’t have to play small or shrink – that I could and should own my power and my gifts because, in that service, I’m able to positively impact others.
While in that role, I heard a quote from Amy Walker. She said, “if good people knew how to do good business, the world would be a better place.” When I heard that – it struck me to my core. Great business leaders create job opportunities and healthy cultures for their employees. Great businesses pour into their communities. Great businesses create financial empowerment and stability – not just for their stakeholders -but for causes they rally behind and for society as a whole.
At that moment, I knew that I wanted to serve the growth of businesses and support the vision of compelling, business leaders. I just wasn’t quite sure what that meant yet. At this point, I had such a myriad of skill sets from sales to marketing to digital technology to speaking to authoring a book, that I wasn’t sure how all the pieces fit together.
And then, I became pregnant with my third and final child. Prior to my pregnancy, I was working around the clock and constantly away from home. However, I just knew that I didn’t want to live that life anymore. I wanted a remote lifestyle that would allow me increased freedom & flexibility. In life, when one door shuts another door opens.
A mentor of mine brought me into her training & consulting firm. She had ambitious growth goals & I wanted to help her attain them. When I looked at the roles in her business, it became evident that she didn’t have someone continually prospecting and building her pipeline for consistent growth. I had years of prospecting experience so I offered to fill that gap. 18 months later, I’d closed $2.3M in new business and grown the business by 46% year over year.
It cracks me up to even tell this story because when I left corporate America, I thought I was running as far away from sales as humanly possible. I was studying neurolinguistic programming, psychology, peak performance, spirituality, self-discovery- all of these touchy-feely soft skills. I wanted a life filled with authenticity and compassion and I just didn’t think sales would fit anymore. But what I’ve learned is that all of these things are actually what sales are and should be. The #1 trait of top-performing salespeople is self-awareness. I thought I was running away when really I was running towards a higher frequency of communication mastery & influence. Sales is not about manipulation- we can all smell b.s. miles away. Today’s B2B sale is consultative. It’s about listening, understanding problems, applying business acumen to co-create strategies, and then moving forward on mutually-agreeable terms where both parties win.
I went on to co-found a B2B sales & web development agency, Stimulyst, to help ambitious business leaders consistently win high-value clients so they can actualize their visions for business growth.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
On this journey, the greatest business challenge has been clarity. My personality assessments and DISC profile would show you that I’m a high D, I’m a driver. Once you give me the plan, I’m the person you bring in to massively execute and get things done.
However, I’m also a visionary. And I’ll be the first to admit that my vision was so big that it terrified me. It still terrifies me because the vision demands that I rise and play bigger in life. Because of that fear, I felt “imposter syndrome.” I tried playing it safe. I tried pleasing others and looking for acceptance. I was looking for validation and examples of other people who had created the business model that I envisioned. And while market research can be healthy to some extent, I would sometimes lose the vision trying to chase other people’s examples and proven models.
I knew I had clarity when I found the “why” that gave me chills and I found a service-offering with the greatest value proposition and contribution to my clients.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Stimulyst – what should we know?
Stimulyst was founded by myself and my brilliant business partner, Kamilah Beltran. We serve B2B service-based firms and specialize in helping our clients consistently attract & convert high-value business clients.
We provide B2B sales strategies, training and digital outsourcing solutions including web development.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Self-discovery. I learned the hard way that success is not one-size fits all. The key to my success is understanding who I am, what excites me, what’s my genius, and then being real about who I need on my team to fill the gaps in my weaknesses. Most importantly, it’s creating a life that’s custom tailored to my idea of happiness and fulfillment.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.stimulyst.com
- Email: liz@stimulyst.com
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lizjsimpson/
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