What happens when friends journey through business together? When they are uniquely involved in each other’s businesses, how can you keep the businesses and friendship thriving?
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Today I am joined by a partner in business, my business bestie who has been with me since the very beginning, Esther Littlefield. I thought it would be fun to have an organic conversation about what it has been like to grow this business together and how she is embarking on her own adventure.
Meet Esther
Esther Littlefield is a marketing strategist & business coach for Christian women who are ready to stop feeling scattered and confused about how to grow their business online. She’s the host of the award-winning Christian Woman Leadership Podcast and the Christian Woman Business Podcast. She is passionate about helping clients cut through the confusion, find clarity, and develop confidence in their marketing strategy so that they can focus on what will truly help them create a business (and life) they love.
How we connected…
- Natalie was involved in her first online venture, The More Mom Movement, and Esther was in the first iteration of her business, blogging about motherhood and marriage
- Natalie ended up on Esther’s email list, and Esther sent an email asking who wanted to hop on a call with her…and Natalie responded
- They had a phone conversation and became friends, started networking and collaborating together
- They shifted their businesses around the same time to things that would begin to financially support themselves
- They started as friends, and began to organically rely on each other for specific things
- Natalie shifted into project management and Esther encouraged her in the early days
- Natalie convinced Esther that there were clients who needed her marketing expertise
“We started to see what both of us are teaching people to do today, which is to look inside… and [ask] what is going to be most authentic to you?… and what are [you] going to do to bring income into your family?” – Natalie Gingrich
“We have lots of highs and lows… but to do it with a friend and someone that you deeply trust really set the precedent for how I want to do business moving forward.” – Natalie Gingrich
Challenges we have had while working together
- Esther worked inside Natalies business as a service provider, so she needed to share time with her other clients
- When things were stressful, they felt the need to have very open and honest conversations
- They relied on each others advice during big moments and pivots in their business, knowing that it may affect their working relationship status
- Each of them pushed each other to choose a narrower focus when it came to who and how to serve
“We had to navigate those pivots that both of us went through in our business journey.” – Esther Littlefield
“It made your business so much simpler and so much more successful when you decided to go all in on one niche.” – Esther Littlefield
Some of the things they tried to do in their working relationship that allowed them to thrive
- Had honest conversations, especially when things were stressful
- In tense moments it was comforting knowing that they had a good friendship
- They had permission to be honest and real
- They had mutual respect from the start
- Natalie’s business was a testing ground for Esther’s skills
“I tried not to take things personally if things were tense… and I would try to remember to just be there to listen and support.” – Esther Littlefield
“If you hire for values, you have a friend there because you and them feel deeply aligned in some way.” – Natalie Gingrich
Tips
- If you don’t get a position, consider that it was not a good fit, and you may have spared yourself a nightmare
- When you are applying for a role, you want to be vetting the leader you will be supporting
“You will never have a strategic partnership if there’s not a values alignment.” – Natalie Gingrich
Esther’s Business
- She offers coaching and a mentormind for Christian women
- Has courses and resources for building a online business and podcasting
Weekly Ops Activity
Share a takeaway from this conversation that you can apply in your business.
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