47: On a Mother Level: Authenticity, Compassion, and What It Really Takes to Lead When Life Is Full With Korina Maestas

47: On a Mother Level: Authenticity, Compassion, and What It Really Takes to Lead When Life Is Full With Korina Maestas

Nobody hands you a manual for what happens after you bring the baby home, and nobody warns you that building a business while building a family is going to stretch you in ways you were never prepared for. In this episode, Natalie sits down with Korina Maestas, board certified behavior analyst, special education advocate, founder of Kaibab Behavioral Services and Rising Mountain Academy, and author of the mini book and journal "On a Mother Level," for one of the most honest and wide-ranging conversations this show has ever held. Korina shares what it was like to start her first business while pregnant, navigate postpartum anxiety without knowing that is what she was experiencing, parent a neurodivergent child while being neurodivergent herself, and slowly rebuild her sense of self across her first four decades of life. This is a conversation about the fourth trimester nobody talks about, the generational patterns that surface the moment you become a parent, and what it actually means to lead with compassion when you are the one who is still healing. If you are a female founder who has ever felt like a dried-out rubber band being pulled in every direction at once, this episode is going to make you feel deeply seen. And if you have ever wondered whether the version of yourself that is building a business and raising kids and trying to show up fully for the people who need her is enough, Korina's answer is going to stay with you for a long time. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN ▸ Why the transition from your first to your second child is one of the most underestimated emotional seasons of motherhood, and what Korina wishes more people talked about before it happens ▸ How becoming a parent became the most powerful mirror for the personal growth work Korina needed to do, and why she believes parenting is only difficult for good parents ▸ What compassion as a leadership tool actually looks like inside a growing organization, and how Korina built a team culture where people stay because they feel heard ▸ Why authenticity on social media is not just a feel-good idea but the actual strategy that creates real connection, and how Korina learned to show up as herself instead of the version she thought people wanted to see WEEKLY CHALLENGE This week, write down one thing you have been carrying alone that you have not let anyone help you with. Then reach out to one person in your life and ask for that specific help. Korina is right that there is almost no season of life where you need support more than the ones that feel most overwhelming, and asking for it is not weakness. It is the most powerful thing you can do for yourself and for everyone who depends on you. GUEST INFO ▸ Instagram → @onamotherlevel713 [https://www.instagram.com/onamotherlevel713]  ▸ Book → On a Mother Level by Korina Maestas, available on Amazon  [https://amzn.to/4utzJwd] ▸ Services → Kaibab Behavioral Services [https://kaibabaz.com/] (ABA therapy, parent and teacher training, law enforcement training on autism) and Rising Mountain Academy (micro school for kiddos with disabilities in Arizona)  ▸ Donate → Rising Mountain Academy [https://risingmountainacademy.org/] is a nonprofit; donations support scholarships and a robust educational experience for students CONNECT WITH ME 🥂 Instagram → @nataliebernacchi [https://www.instagram.com/nataliebernacchi] and @lightheruppodcast [https://www.instagram.com/lightheruppodcast] 🥂 Website → https://nataliebernacchi.com [https://nataliebernacchi.com/]  🥂 Get on The Lit List → https://nataliebernacchi.com/newsletter [https://nataliebernacchi.com/newsletter]

46: The Sale That Actually Builds Your Business Happens After the First Invoice

If you have been pouring your energy into finding the next new client while your existing relationships fade into your archive folder, this episode is going to reframe everything. Most founders never realize that the biggest sale they will ever make to a great client almost never happens on the first invoice. It happens on the second engagement, the renewal, the referral, the next phase of a relationship that was already built on trust, results, and real work done together. In this episode, Natalie Bernacchi breaks down exactly how to build recurring revenue from the clients you already have, why your first sale is the doorway rather than the destination, and what a real customer success framework looks like when it is built with intention. This episode connects directly to the Ascension and Expansion Pathways pillar of Post-Sale Revenue, and it is for every founder who wants to understand how to improve client experience so deeply that the next step always feels obvious to the client before she ever has to ask. If you are a solopreneur or six-figure founder who is exhausted by the constant pressure of launching, and you want a revenue model that compounds instead of disappears, this conversation was made for the season you are in right now. The money is already in your business and this episode will show you exactly where to find it. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN ▸ How to build client loyalty that turns a single transaction into a long-term client relationship, starting with how you design the first sale as a deliberate entry point into something bigger ▸ Why the offboarding language most founders are using right now is unintentionally signaling to clients that the relationship is over, and exactly what to say instead to keep the door open to continued revenue ▸ How to improve client experience so that renewal, expansion, and referrals feel like the natural next chapter rather than something you have to pitch or convince a client into ▸ What a real Ascension and Expansion pathway looks like inside a service-based business, so your clients always know exactly what their next step is and you are never losing revenue simply because you forgot to name it WEEKLY CHALLENGE Pull up the list of every client you have worked with in the last 12 months and mark the ones whose engagement ended without a clear next offer. Then pick three clients from that list, the ones whose results you are still proud of, and write each of them a short, personal message that celebrates one specific win they had with you and offers one clear next step that fits where they are now. Send those three messages this week, because one of them is going to turn into your next sale, and that sale is going to compound into your retention rate, your lifetime value, and your monthly recurring revenue in a way that a cold launch never could. RESOURCES ▸ Take the Revenue Leak Finder | A free 2-minute diagnostic to identify exactly where revenue is slipping through your business and what to fix first. Find it here → nataliebernacchi.com/revenue-leak-finder [http://nataliebernacchi.com/revenue-leak-finder] ▸ Book a Quick Call | If you have ever had a strong revenue month and still felt anxious because you were not sure it would repeat, that is a sign your retention systems need attention. Book a 45-minute call with me and we will walk through your customer journey together to identify where support would make the biggest difference for your revenue. Book a call here → https://nataliebernacchi.com/book-a-call [https://nataliebernacchi.com/book-a-call] CONNECT WITH ME 🥂 Instagram → @nataliebernacchi [https://www.instagram.com/nataliebernacchi] and @lightheruppodcast [https://www.instagram.com/lightheruppodcast] 🥂 Website → https://nataliebernacchi.com [https://nataliebernacchi.com/]  🥂 Get on The Lit List → https://nataliebernacchi.com/newsletter [https://nataliebernacchi.com/newsletter]

45: From Performing to Embodying: Redefining Visibility, Leadership, and Success as a Mother and Entrepreneur w/ Krystal Jugarap

What if the reason you feel tired, unseen, or disconnected in your business has nothing to do with your work ethic and everything to do with how you’ve been taught to perform success? In this episode, I sat down with Krystal Jugarap, founder of Herrolo, for a deeply honest conversation about what it actually looks like to step off the hamster wheel and start building a life and business that feels aligned, spacious, and true. Krystal shared her journey from being the “good girl” who checked all the boxes to becoming a mother and entrepreneur who leads with intention, boundaries, and community at the center. We talked about leaving corporate life, navigating motherhood while building a business, redefining visibility beyond social media pressure, and why community is not just a nice-to-have but the foundation for sustainable success. This episode is for the woman who knows she is meant for more but is ready to stop performing for it and start embodying it in a way that actually supports her real life. WHAT YOU’LL LEARN ✨ Why performing success leads to burnout and how embodiment creates sustainability ✨ How motherhood can become the catalyst for redefining success on your own terms ✨ What visibility looks like when it is rooted in relationships and community, not constant posting ✨ How to build a business that honors boundaries, energy, and long-term legacy WEEKLY CHALLENGE This week, take ten quiet minutes to ask yourself where you are performing instead of embodying. Choose one small boundary you can honor that feels supportive rather than restrictive. Let that boundary be an act of self trust, not self discipline. RESOURCES ✨Join Krystal's Online Community ✨ Join The CEO Besties Virtual Community [https://theceobesties.com/membership]  A virtual membership designed for women in the early stages of building a business who want clarity, structure, and support before acceleration. Life-first. Foundation-focused. Community-driven. ✨Have you ever had a “great month of revenue” and still felt anxious because you don’t know if it will repeat? Book a call with me and let’s talk through your business and your customer journey. We’ll explore what working together could look like and where support could make the biggest difference. Book a call here  →  https://calendly.com/nataliebernacchi/claritycall [https://calendly.com/nataliebernacchi/45-minute-call] GUEST INFO ✨ Instagram → @joinherrolo ✨ Website → https://www.herrolo.com/ ✨ Instagram (Personal) → @iamkrystalj CONNECT WITH ME ✨ Instagram → @nataliebernacchi [https://www.instagram.com/nataliebernacchi] & @lightheruppodcast [https://www.instagram.com/lightheruppodcast] ✨ Website → https://nataliebernacchi.com/ [https://nataliebernacchi.com/] ✨ Get on The Lit List → https://nataliebernacchi.com/newsletter [https://nataliebernacchi.com/newsletter]

44: Why More New Sales Won’t Fix a Business with Leaky Revenue

What if the reason your revenue feels unstable has nothing to do with how well you sell? So many founders assume that when revenue dips, the answer is simple. More leads. More content. Another launch. More visibility. But what if the real problem is not how many people are coming into your business, but how many are quietly leaving? In this episode of the Light Her Up Podcast, Natalie Bernacchi dives into one of the most overlooked drivers of business growth: retention. Drawing on more than 15 years of experience building customer success systems inside tech startups, Natalie shares the moment she realized her own business did not have a sales problem. It had a retention problem. This conversation explores the silent revenue killer called churn, why launches plateau when retention is weak, and how founders can shift from constant selling to building stable, recurring revenue. If you have ever felt like you are always hustling for the next client while wondering why income still feels unpredictable, this episode will feel like someone finally turned the lights on. WHAT YOU’LL LEARN ✨ Why strong launches can still lead to unstable revenue if clients are leaving faster than they arrive ✨ What churn actually means in a service based business and why it quietly drains growth ✨ How shifting from acquisition thinking to retention thinking changes the way you run your company ✨ Practical ways to strengthen onboarding, client success, and renewal pathways so revenue compounds over time WEEKLY CHALLENGE This week, shift your focus from where clients enter your business to where they leave. Take a look at your last five to ten clients and map their journey. When did they exit? Was it after onboarding, after the first month, or at the point of renewal? Then ask yourself one powerful question: Are clients seeing value fast enough? Even a small insight from this exercise can reveal where your revenue is leaking and where you can create a stronger experience that keeps clients engaged and supported for longer. RESOURCES ✨ Free Customer Journey Audit Natalie is offering listeners a free audit to help identify where clients may be dropping off and how to strengthen the client journey. DM the word AUDIT to @nataliebernacchi on Instagram to get started. ✨ Join The CEO Besties Community A virtual membership designed for women in the early stages of building a business who want clarity, structure, and support before acceleration. Life-first. Foundation-focused. Community-driven. Join Here → https://theceobesties.com/launchpad-society ✨Have you ever had a “great month of revenue” and still felt anxious because you don’t know if it will repeat the next month? Book a Clarity Call with me and we’ll talk through your business, your customer journey, and the role retention can play in creating more predictable revenue. As a Revenue and Retention Strategist with over 15 years of experience building and leading Customer Success and post-sale growth inside high-growth startups, I bring that same revenue infrastructure thinking into founder-led businesses. We’ll also explore what working together could look like and whether deeper support would be a fit. Book a call here → https://calendly.com/nataliebernacchi/45-minute-call CONNECT WITH ME ✨ Instagram → @nataliebernacchi [https://www.instagram.com/nataliebernacchi] & @lightheruppodcast [https://www.instagram.com/lightheruppodcast] ✨ Website → https://nataliebernacchi.com/ [https://nataliebernacchi.com/] ✨ Get on The Lit List → https://nataliebernacchi.com/newsletter [https://nataliebernacchi.com/newsletter]

43: How to Reclaim Your Life Without Burning It Down with Michelle Hooey

Ever hit that moment where you think, whose life is this, and how did I get here? In this episode, Natalie sits down with returning guest Michelle Hooey for a conversation that feels like a deep exhale and a wake-up call at the same time. Michelle is stepping into a brand new chapter as an author, with her book The Goldie Effect launching March 6, and she shares what this season is really like behind the scenes, including the fear, the certainty, and the identity shift that comes when you stop playing small and start telling the truth. Michelle opens up about her family’s journey, including five pregnancy losses, Goldie’s early birth, six months in the NICU, and what it has meant to mother a medically complex child with no clear diagnosis. What makes this episode powerful is how Michelle turns that lived experience into something practical and usable. She shares the exact framework that helped her survive the hardest seasons and still build a meaningful life, the 15-Minute Rewrite: regulate, reflect, reclaim. If you are in a season of burnout, uncertainty, reinvention, or you simply feel like you have been living on autopilot, this episode is here to remind you that your life is not broken. You do not need to burn it down to change it. You can rewrite it, one small decision at a time, and this conversation was created for the woman who is ready to choose herself again. WHAT YOU’LL LEARN ✨ Why identity shifts often start in the most unexpected, painful seasons and how they can lead you back to who you really are ✨ The 15-Minute Rewrite framework and how regulating your body first changes what you are able to handle next ✨ How to stop trying to “fix” your life and start reclaiming it through small, consistent choices that actually stick ✨ What it looks like to build a life-first business model, including Michelle’s decision to run her business in 10 hours a week WEEKLY CHALLENGE Pick one day this week and schedule your 15 minutes like it matters, because it does. Set a timer and do this: 1. 5 minutes to REGULATE: breathe, stretch, shake it out, take a short walk, anything that brings you back into your body 2. 5 minutes to REFLECT: ask yourself, what feels heavy right now, and what do I actually need 3. 5 minutes to RECLAIM: take one small action that supports your life, your health, or your next step Then DM Michelle or Natalie and share what shifted for you after you did it.  JOURNAL PROMPT ✨ Journal Prompt: Where am I saying yes out of obligation, and what would change if I trusted my no ✨ Journal Prompt: If I had 10 hours a week for my goals, what would I stop doing and what would I focus on RESOURCES ✨ Get your copy of The Goldie Effect by Michelle Hooey! Buy it HERE [https://amzn.to/4bkcTQl]. ✨ Join The CEO Besties Community A virtual membership designed for women in the early stages of building a business who want clarity, structure, and support before acceleration. Life-first. Foundation-focused. Community-driven. ✨Have you ever had a “great month of revenue” and still felt anxious because you don’t know if it will repeat the next month? Book a Clarity Call with me and we’ll talk through your business, your customer journey, and the role retention can play in creating more predictable revenue. As a Revenue and Retention Strategist with over 15 years of experience building and leading Customer Success and post-sale growth inside high-growth startups, I bring that same revenue infrastructure thinking into founder-led businesses. We’ll also explore what working together could look like and whether deeper support would be a fit. Book a call here → https://calendly.com/nataliebernacchi/45-minute-call GUEST INFO ✨ Instagram → http://instagram.com/michelle_hooey [http://instagram.com/michelle_hooey]  ✨ Website → http://anchorlesscoaching.com/ [http://anchorlesscoaching.com/]  CONNECT WITH ME ✨ Instagram → @nataliebernacchi [https://www.instagram.com/nataliebernacchi] & @lightheruppodcast [https://www.instagram.com/lightheruppodcast] ✨ Website → https://nataliebernacchi.com/ [https://nataliebernacchi.com/] ✨ Get on The Lit List → https://nataliebernacchi.com/newsletter [https://nataliebernacchi.com/newsletter]