MISTAKE: Stop Chasing Every Trend, It Won't Grow Your Business
The Experienced Entrepreneur
If you've been feeling like you're treading water, maintaining the status quo, and wondering why growth still feels so hard, this episode is going to reframe everything. Marissa makes the case for why trend-chasing is the mistake that's actually keeping you from growing, and why the entrepreneurs who are growing right now aren't the ones chasing the next platform or strategy. They're the ones going inward, doubling down on what's working, and cutting the fluff. She introduces the beaker analogy for the four levers (lead acquisition, lead nurture, sales and conversions, lifestyle) and...
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Hidden Skills you Build During the Growth Stage of Business
The Experienced Entrepreneur
What if the work you're doing right now in growth stage is building the competencies you'll need for the next twenty years of business? In this episode, Marissa breaks down the hidden skills you're developing in growth stage that are quieter and harder to measure than the visible skills you built in the early years. She explains why build stage teaches you what to sell while growth stage teaches you how to lead, why you're learning to see patterns in your data instead of just numbers, and why the resilience you're building now is about identity, not just bouncing back from failure. You'll...
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Settling In Is Not the Same as Settling: Why Growth Stage Entrepreneurs Become Magnetic
The Experienced Entrepreneur
Episode Summary What if the most powerful thing you could do to grow your business right now isn't chasing more, but settling into what you've already built? In this episode, Marissa makes the case for why settling in is not the same as settling, and why growth stage entrepreneurs who commit to refining what they've built become magnetic. She breaks down the difference between chasing (scattered, reactive energy) and attracting (grounded, intentional energy), and why your ideal clients can feel the difference. You'll hear why the industry doesn't celebrate growth stage (there's no money in...
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From Guessing to Hypothesizing: You're the Scientist Now
The Experienced Entrepreneur
You know what you sell, who buys it, and how to deliver it. But there's a gap between where your business is and how you're showing up to lead it. In this episode, Marissa introduces the petri dish analogy that changes everything: in build stage, you're inside the petri dish as one of the variables in the experiment. In growth stage, you become the scientist running the experiment. She breaks down why taking responsibility for your business doesn't mean you can't acknowledge external factors, it means you stop using them as excuses. You'll hear about the three barriers that keep entrepreneurs...
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From Fluke to Framework: the Kay to Repeatable Results in your Business
The Experienced Entrepreneur
What if the success you've been calling luck is actually a system you built without realizing it? In this episode, Marissa tackles the "fluke mindset" that keeps experienced entrepreneurs stuck in build stage thinking even when they're years into business. She breaks down why dismissing your wins as accidents keeps you from investigating the patterns that actually drive your results, and why shifting from "fluke thinking" to "framework thinking" is the first step in becoming a growth stage entrepreneur. You'll hear about the CEO shift that happens when you stop attributing success to timing...
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You're Not Ready to "Scale" Your Business, Here's What to do Instead
The Experienced Entrepreneur
If you're making money online, you probably think the next step in your business is to scale. Well, this episode is going to shift your entire perspective. Marissa breaks down the three stages of business (build, grow, scale) and explains why most entrepreneurs skip the growth stage entirely, jumping straight from build to scale and breaking everything in the process. She introduces the industry lie that once you're making money, it's time to scale, and explains why growth stage (the unsexy, unglamorous stage of analyzing and optimizing) is the foundation that makes sustainable scaling...
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Cash Runway, Gross Profit & Financial Strategy with Kristen Hillman
The Experienced Entrepreneur
Cash reserves, gross profit, and knowing whether you're building an enterprise or an owner-driven business might sound like advanced financial concepts, but according to Kristen Hillman of Veticula Financial, they're the foundational metrics every growth-stage entrepreneur needs to understand. In this episode of The Experienced Entrepreneur, Marissa Lawton sits down with Kristen to unpack the "golden triangle" of financial advisors (CPA, wealth planner, and fractional CFO), why your cash runway should include your own pay (not just operating costs), and how to navigate the current "trust...
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A Peek Inside the My Favorite Metric Summit
The Experienced Entrepreneur
This week on The Experienced Entrepreneur, we're doing something a little different. The My Favorite Metric summit kicked off this week, and if you've been curious about what it's all about, this episode gives you a full look inside. Marissa walks you through the structure of the five-day event, who it's designed for (spoiler: growth-stage entrepreneurs, not newbies), and why she built it without the typical summit pressure tactics like disappearing content or forced upsells. You'll hear about the four themed days covering lead acquisition, engagement, sales and profit, and lifestyle metrics,...
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The Metrics Myth Keeping Entrepreneurs in the Dark
The Experienced Entrepreneur
If you've ever said "I'm just not a numbers person" — this episode is going to gently, but firmly, challenge that. For experienced entrepreneurs, the belief that metrics are complicated, cold, or designed for someone else is one of the most costly myths in business. Not because tracking is hard, but because the story we tell ourselves about it keeps us from accessing the clearest signal our business has to offer. In this episode of The Experienced Entrepreneur, Marissa Lawton breaks down where the "I'm not a metrics person" identity actually comes from, what it's quietly costing you in...
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Human-Centered Sales in a Post-Algorithm Market - with Megan Smyth
The Experienced Entrepreneur
In this episode of The Experienced Entrepreneur, Marissa Lawton sits down with Megan Smyth to unpack what’s actually working in sales right now — and why many experienced business owners are quietly moving away from social media–dependent strategies. Megan shares the story of losing every copywriting client in a single week and how that moment forced her to confront a hard truth: relying on referrals without a system is not a strategy. Instead of doubling down on platforms she hated, Megan rebuilt her sales process around what felt sustainable, human, and repeatable — and went on to...
info_outlineBeing in business long enough, you’ve faced this question:
“Do I stay the course… or am I self-sabotaging?”
In this week’s solo episode of The Experienced Entrepreneur, we unravel one of the most complex challenges seasoned business owners face — knowing when something in your business still has staying power, and when your desire to quit is actually coming from fear, fatigue, or avoidance.
This is not a beginner conversation.
This is a maturity conversation — one that honors both your intuition and your data.
For years, the online business world taught us that ease equals alignment, that discomfort signals misalignment, and that the moment something feels hard we should pivot. But the truth is far more nuanced for entrepreneurs who have been in business 5, 8, 10+ years.
In this episode, we explore:
How to distinguish intuitive guidance from self-sabotage
Not all discomfort is misalignment — some of it is growth.
Not all fear is a sign to stop — sometimes it’s a sign you’re on the edge of something important.
The difference between “bad vibes” and genuine misalignment
Most experienced entrepreneurs are either intuition-led or data-led — but neither alone is enough in your second decade of business.
How intuition + data work together to reveal the truth
We talk through the real interplay between gut instinct, metrics, and emotional maturity… and how blending these two creates the clearest decision-making you’ve ever had.
Why self-sabotage often appears right before a breakthrough
We break down the subtle forms self-sabotage can take — from calling fear “intuition” to reinventing instead of refining.
What staying power feels like inside your body and inside your business
This is the wisdom piece no one teaches: how the work that is still yours will continue to pull you forward even when it’s challenging.
How to avoid burning down something that still belongs to you
You’ll learn the signals of a wobble vs a warning — and how to see your business clearly again.
This episode is for you if:
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You’re an established entrepreneur craving clarity in your next chapter
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You’ve questioned whether you’re meant to stay or pivot
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You’ve felt discomfort and weren’t sure if it meant misalignment or growth
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You want to make decisions from wisdom, not fear or exhaustion
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You’re ready to rebuild a steadier, more grounded relationship with your business
And if this episode illuminated something for you — if it helped you see where you’ve been wobbling, or where you’ve been tempted to burn down something that still has staying power — I would love for you to join me for the focus group for my brand new offer The Monday Meeting.
It’s live.
It’s intimate.
It’s waitlist-only.
And it’s designed specifically for long-term entrepreneurs who lived through the unpredictability of 2025 and are craving a steadier, clearer, more grounded way to run their business in 2026.
We’ll talk honestly about what’s been missing from your business, what’s working, what’s not, and what kind of support actually feels nourishing in this season of your journey. You’ll also get a first look at how The Monday Meeting is being built for entrepreneurs who aren’t newbies anymore — the ones who are ready for less chaos and more clarity.
Get on the waitlist at marissalawton.com/waitlist.