Joining us this week on Leadership In Action is a marketing maven with over 20 years of strategy experience. She has been an EO member for 10 years, and is the outgoing president of EO Boston. Welcome to the show, President of SimplyDirect, Lisa Vitale! Lisa sits down with host Mark Stiles to share her experiences as chapter president and the ways EO has helped her. Lisa dives into the importance of setting business boundaries, the nuances of running a business with your spouse, and the misconceptions of business ownership. 

Takeaways:

• As an entrepreneur, it’s important to talk to others about the problems you are facing. However, if you’re only talking to your spouse, it can become very insular. Groups like EO provide entrepreneurs with a chance to learn from the experience of others. 
• When your spouse is also a business partner, it’s crucial to establish business boundaries. You need to allow creativity and collaboration while at the same time preventing yourselves from stepping on each other's toes. 
• As the president of EO, you gain some additional experiences and skills. For Lisa, it meant growing as a leader, learning how to run a non profit organization, and discovering how to coach other presidents and leaders. 
• EO provides a network of information, and creates a space where it is ok to ask tough questions. Forums, meetings, and presentations offer excellent opportunities to talk about the concerns you are facing in your business. 
• From the outside, running a business looks easy, as if all the pieces will automatically fall into place. In reality, as a business owner, you are responsible for figuring out all of the operations aspects of the business. 
• Networks like EO offer a valuable resource for referrals. If for example you need accounting services, you can ask for referrals from other EO members in your industry. This provides you with quality help that understands the nuances of your industry.

Links: 

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/SimplyDIRECT_Co 
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-vitale-a820b53/ 
• Website: https://simplydirect.com/ 
• Email: lvb@simplydirect.com

Quote of the Show

• “I needed to talk to other entrepreneurs because being an entrepreneur can be pretty lonely.” - Lisa Vitale

Shout Outs:

• Jeff Plakans: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffplakans/ 

Ways to Tune In:

• Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-in-action/id1585042233
• Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/2t4Ksk4TwmZ6MSfAHXGkJI
• Stitcher - https://www.stitcher.com/show/leadership-in-action
• Google Play - https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubGVhZGVyc2hpcGluYWN0aW9uLmxpdmUvZmVlZC54bWw
• Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/4263fd02-8c9b-495e-bd31-2e5aef21ff6b/leadership-in-action