AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT: Andrea Liebross

Andrea Liebross, a certified business and life coach, specializes in empowering female entrepreneurs to infuse thinking with action so they can drop the drama and figure out how to think like a CEO, manage like a CEO and believe in themselves to achieve success in their business and at home. 

Celebrated for her transformative work with unapologetically ambitious women, helping translate their visions into tangible accomplishments, Andrea is the author of the new book, She Thinks Big: The Entrepreneurial Woman’s Guide to Moving Past the Messy Middle and into the Extraordinary, which launched on September 26, 2023.

Andrea is dedicated to implementing systems and strategies that lead to sustainable and meaningful success. She possesses the unique ability to decipher complex situations and shed light on the broader perspective, one that transcends business politics and tedious responsibilities. Her focus is on guiding women toward their highest potential, free from the constraints of traditional norms, to achieve a coveted balance of time, financial prosperity, and boundless energy.

Beyond her coaching, Andrea is a dynamic speaker and the engaging host of the She Thinks Big podcast, where she works to help listeners create a plan to have a profitable and successful business.

Andrea's journey towards becoming a seasoned coach and author was preceded by her graduation from Dartmouth College and marrying the guy who lived down the hall. Together, they make Indianapolis their home, all while raising two kids and two giant Leonbergers. 


What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

What makes my business stand out from other businesses is that I am a business coach, but I take a whole life approach. I always say that life coaching and business coaching are both fair game. Business is just part of your life.

A lot of times people try to fit life in around business, but I like to think we can fit business in around life and be successful. If your whole life (all the parts) was a strainer your business needs to go through the holes in the strainer — it needs to fit into those little spots. It’s not the opposite; our life is not about fitting into the spaces in our business. I think that makes me unique; I think both are equally important, and I am up for coaching in both areas.

I recently had a client who feared being pregnant and was unsure of how she would fit this pregnancy into her business. When I shared with her that the business needed to fit into the pregnancy — that the pregnancy was of utmost importance — a huge weight was lifted on her. She did figure out how both could “work” together. And now she is the happy mom of healthy twins!!

What are the most common mistakes you have seen CEOs & founders make when they start a business? What can be done to avoid those errors?

One of the mistakes I see CEOs and founders making is when they are always looking at their bank accounts and judging themselves by what they see there.

Entrepreneurs need to recognize it may take three years to turn a profit. They will be investing a lot back into their business during that time, and that investment will bring long-term results.

Also, when they’re investing, they need to invest not just in their business, but also in themselves. In fact, that’s where their biggest investments should be — to get knowledge, training, and support they need to grow their business. They tend to think they can’t afford to do those things, or that they should already know all the answers or be able to figure it all out on their own. But that’s simply not true. And if you believe that to be true, will cause you to stumble and not be able to grow your business as fast as you possibly could.

Based on your experience can you tell us what you did to bounce back?

So, I put on a new set of glasses, and found the people that also wanted to grow and evolve– they were people who energized me. And I accepted that some of my past friendships were complete; we were in two different chapters of life. By reframing these friendships in that way, I made space for new ones to evolve.

Another way I bounce back from business lows is by changing how I think about the situation. There have been times when I’ve tried a new program or package, and it hasn’t gotten the traction I wanted it to. That creates a low. So, I treat it as if it were a science experiment; that’s one of my favorite ways of positioning things in my mind to help my brain manage the feelings associated with what I could see as “failure.”

So, I would say, “I had a hypothesis, and we tested it. We proved it incorrect. That’s ok. It was a try. We’ll create new hypotheses and move forward.”

What are your “Five Things You Need To Successfully Ride The Emotional Highs & Lows Of Being An Entrepreneur”?

You can sum up these five things by using the word “TRUST.”

• T = Thought options — you get to choose what to think. You don’t have to think the thoughts you do. You can decide if a thought serves you or is useful. If not, you can change it. For instance, thinking something “will not work” and simply dismissing it doesn’t help me move forward. I have to pause and look at my assumption. Why do I feel it won’t work? When I start breaking that down, I can see where I have more assumptions that I’m accepting as facts.
• R = understand the Real problem when something is holding you back. It’s not external; it’s always internal. When I talk to clients, the real problem, the thing that’s holding them back, is that they don’t want to experience a negative emotion. It’s very common for entrepreneurs, who constantly create and do new things, to avoid feeling a negative feeling associated with the idea of “failure.”
• U = Embrace Uncertainty. Get used to not knowing what’s next. When I wrote my book I had no idea what it would do, how it would affect my business. I could create fear-based thoughts with all of the worst-case scenarios, but those wouldn’t serve me. Instead, I can create thoughts that it will touch many lives and help me grow my business. That’s the best approach for an entrepreneur — to look on uncertainty as something out of which positive things will come.
• S = secure Support — entrepreneurs need useful systems and strong personal support because, after all, they’re usually supporting many others — including both employees and clients. Support systems create some comfort in what is often uncomfortable. They can give you comfort in making decisions. This is why entrepreneurs need their own personal board of directors to guide them in decision-making. That usually comes in the form of a coach or mentor.
• T = Take action — You don’t need to plan for all the actions you’ll need to take. All you need to know is the next best step. Sitting in place won’t get you anywhere. Taking action is crucial. Each day when you wake up, your thoughts should be, “What action am I taking today?”

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Visit Andrea on her website: 
https://andrealiebross.com/
Follow Andrea on Instagram: 
www.instagram.com/andrea.liebross.coaching
Join Andrea on Facebook: 
www.facebook.com/andrealiebrosscoaching/
Subscribe to Andrea's YouTube channel: 
@andrealiebrosscoaching
Connect with Andrea on LinkedIn:
www.linkedin.com/in/andrea-liebross
​​Check out Andrea Liebross’s podcast, She Thinks Big, for inspiring episodes and insights:
Visit the Podcast Page
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Explore Andrea’s book, She Thinks Big: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Guide to Moving Past the Messy Middle and Into the Extraordinary, here:
Buy on Amazon