484. 10 Business Lessons I Learned the Hard Way

Most of us think if we're dreaming big and doing nothing about it, we just need more discipline. I believed that for years, until I realized it's completely backwards. I built and sold a company while raising two babies, so I know how to do hard things, and yet something kept stopping me, and I never saw it. So if you keep starting and stopping and calling yourself lazy, this one's for you. In this episode, you'll learn: Why you're not lazy, and never were Why willpower always runs out, even after something like 75 Hard The real reason you freeze before you even begin Why part of you has decided you're not allowed to have it ✅ DM me the letters "CC" on Instagram and I'll send you the Confidence Code, my free 30-day plan to build real conviction from the inside out. Where to find me: Come hang out with me on Instagram: @renee_warren Watch the full episodes on YouTube: Renée Warren 🎟️ Be first in line for the Pink Skirt Project Summit 2027, join the waitlist now.

For our 11th anniversary, Dan and I sat down over dinner and asked each other one question: what are the 11 most important things we've taught each other in 11 years of marriage? The answers spanned everything, love, parenting, business, and the moments that nearly broke us. So if you want the kind of relationship that keeps getting deeper, this one's for you. In this episode, you'll learn: The 11 lessons we taught each other across marriage, parenting, and business Why giving up too soon is the most common mistake couples make Why changing yourself matters more than changing your partner What Dan learned from me about what love actually looks like ✅ Want our free Couple's Playbook? Grab them here. Where to find us: Come hang out with me on Instagram: @renee_warren Connect with Dan: @danmartell Watch the full episodes on YouTube: Renée Warren Be first in line for the Pink Skirt Project Summit 2027, join the waitlist now.

Somewhere along the way, most of us learned to measure our worth by what we do, our wins, our title, our last launch, our follower count. So our worth rises and falls with our last result, and if you're a woman, you've been keeping that score since you were young. So if your sense of enough depends on what you did this week, this one's for you. In this episode, you'll learn: Why your worth keeps rising and falling with your results What to base your worth on instead of your achievements The difference between confidence and conviction The 30-second test that reveals the gap instantly ✅ DM me the letters "CC" on Instagram and I'll send you the Confidence Code, my free 30-day plan to build real conviction from the inside. Where to find me: Come hang out with me on Instagram: @renee_warren Watch the full episodes on YouTube: Renée Warren Be first in line for the Pink Skirt Project Summit 2027, join the waitlist now.

Some of the most expensive lessons from 25 years in business didn't cost me money, they cost me friendships, my health, and years I can't get back. Like realizing not everyone clapping for me was rooting for me, and that every time I ignored my gut, it cost me. So if you're tired of learning everything the hard way, this one's for you. In this episode, you'll learn: Why some people cheer for you only until you outgrow them How to spot who's actually in your corner Why your gut knows the truth long before your brain admits it Why the decision you keep avoiding is running your business ✅ If sales is your biggest gap right now, DM me the word "SBC" on Instagram and I'll send you our Direct Message Sales Playbook. Where to find me: Come hang out with me on Instagram: @renee_warren Watch the full episodes on YouTube: Renée Warren Be first in line for the Pink Skirt Project Summit 2027, join the waitlist now

My husband always says some of the best, most successful entrepreneurs come out of tough times, and Sheleana Aiyana might be the clearest proof of that I've ever met. Foster care by three, homeless by 14, out of school, and everything crashed and burned. Then in 2018 she started sharing on Instagram, and today she's built a community of millions and a business that's done over $10 million in sales. If you've been quietly convinced that your hardest chapters are a disadvantage, this one's for you. Today on the podcast, Sheleana walks us through how she turned the wreckage into a foundation, and the simple daily practice that changed everything about her healing. In this episode, you'll learn: Why chaos and hardship can become your biggest advantage How Sheleana built a multi-million dollar business from nothing The simple, science-backed practice at the centre of her healing How to stop waiting to be "fixed" before you go after your life What she wishes she'd known in the middle of the hardest years Connect with Sheleana: Follow Sheleana her on Instagram @sheleanaaiyana Where to find me: Come hang out with me on Instagram: @renee_warren Watch the full episodes on YouTube: Renée Warren

People always ask Dan and me what we do on our quarterly couple retreats, and the truth is they're part vacation and part the most honest, sometimes uncomfortable, conversations we have all year. They're the space we take to step out of the day-to-day and actually invest in us. So if your relationship has been running on empty, this one's for you. In this episode, you'll learn: What a couple's retreat actually looks like for us Why stepping away from daily life is where the real work happens How we give and receive feedback that's hard to hear Why protecting time for your relationship changes everything ✅ Want our free Couple's Playbook? Grab it here. Where to find us: Come hang out with me on Instagram: @renee_warren Connect with Dan: @danmartell Watch the full episodes on YouTube: Renée Warren

I defend my calendar like my life depends on it, because the life I'm building actually does. No recordings before 10, no meetings after 3, big rocks in first so no one else can take that time. It sounds rigid, but it's why my days finally feel calm. So if your schedule runs you instead of the other way around, this one's for you. In this episode, you'll learn: Why the richest people aren't more disciplined, they're better supported The three buckets of systems running every calm life How to build boundaries and buffers into your calendar The one simple thing you can put in place this week ✅ DM me the letters "PR" on Instagram and I'll send you our free Media Pitch Handbook. Where to find me: Come hang out with me on Instagram: @renee_warren Watch the full episodes on YouTube: Renée Warren

I'm 44 now, and there are a few things I wish I could tell the woman I was in my 20s and 30s. Not because I failed, but because I waited. I kept thinking I had to become a more confident, more successful version of me before I was allowed to chase what I wanted, and the waiting is what I regret most. So if you keep putting your life on hold until you feel ready, this one's for you. In this episode, you'll learn: The 5 things that get you to the confident version of you fastest Why your backup plans are usually just fear in disguise How real certainty is built (hint: not by thinking) Why setting your money bar too low caps your whole life ✅DM me the letters "PR" on Instagram and I'll send you our free Media Pitch Handbook. Where to find me: Come hang out with me on Instagram: @renee_warren Watch the full episodes on YouTube: Renée Warren

Most of us raise our kids on autopilot, doing what our family always did without ever asking why. But here's what I've come to believe: how you raise your kids isn't about the culture you grew up in, it's about what you actually stand for. So if you want to parent on purpose instead of by default, this one's for you. In this episode, you'll learn: Why what you stand for matters more than what your family has always done Why giving kids money can ruin them How to be the example that teaches your kids to bet on themselves Why real confidence is built with strangers, not friends ✅ Want our free Couple's Playbook? Grab it here. Where to find us: Come hang out with me on Instagram: @renee_warren Connect with Dan: @danmartell Watch the full episodes on YouTube: Renée Warren I'd love to see you at the Pink Skirt Project Summit, July 9-10 in Kelowna, BC!

You know that feeling when something goes sideways and you react before you can stop yourself, and then you replay it all day wishing you'd handled it differently? That moment, the 90 seconds right after something goes wrong, is where everything is actually decided. It feels invisible, but it's the whole reason some people stay calm and grounded while the rest of us spiral. So if you react first and regret it later, this one's for you. In this episode, you'll learn: The one thing to do in the moment that saves you from spiralling Why your pauses are better proof of growth than your wins How to catch the moments you would have reacted before, and didn't Why regulating your emotions is the work behind everything else ✅ If your business has started to feel heavier than it should, DM me the word "CEO" on Instagram and I'll send you my free Scaling Structure Stack worksheet. Where to find me: Come hang out with me on Instagram: @renee_warren Watch the full episodes on YouTube: Renée Warren I'd love to see you at the Pink Skirt Project Summit, July 9-10 in Kelowna, BC!