Grow Your Local Business

Hosted by Leslie Presnall

Business Marketing

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Episodes

175

Latest episode

Oct 2026

Language

EN-US

About the show

Are you ready to grow your local business? Local marketing expert and life coach Leslie Presnall shares the strategy and the mindset to reach more people in your city and bring in a steady stream of clients.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

October 27, 2026Episode 17740 min

How This Image Consultant Made $20K Over Black Friday Weekend

Most local service providers hear “Black Friday” and tune out because it feels too salesy and too retail. My guest today joined The Localpreneur Academy, skipped straight to the Black Friday bonus training and made $20,000 that weekend. In this episode, I'm talking with Fernanda Vazquez, an image consultant in Brooklyn, about what she offered, how she prepared and why knowing her ideal client made it work. She also shares how she stands out in a city packed with other stylists and image consultants. Tune into this episode to learn: What Fernanda did in the days before Black Friday so selling felt like serving How she stands out in New York City without trying to reach the whole city The one thing she says matters more than any strategy you'll find online Mentioned in this episode: Follow Fernanda on Instagram @vazq_fernanda Work with me inside The Localpreneur Academy Follow me on Instagram @‌lesliepresnall Download my Free Guide: How To Grow Your Local Instagram Following If you’re ready to grow your local business and bring in a steady stream of clients, you need to check out The Localpreneur Academy. Click here to join me inside. Rate, Review & Follow: “I LOVE listening to the episodes, especially since they’re focused on local businesses and it’s not just generic marketing advice.” If you love the show too, please leave a rating and review. This helps me reach more people just like you who want to reach more local people and create a business they love.

October 13, 2026Episode 17615 min

MVP: The Competitor-Based Decisions Keeping You Small

In this Most Valuable Podcast episode, I want to ask you something… Have you ever skipped a networking event, held back a post or passed on an opportunity because of a local competitor? In this episode, I’m walking you through the 4 areas where I see local business owners making competitor-based decisions sometimes without even realizing it. And what those decisions are really costing you. Tune into this episode to learn: The 4 areas where competitor-based decisions keep local business owners small Why holding back your content to protect your ideas costs more than it protects The worst thing that can actually happen when your competitor is in the room Mentioned in this episode: Work with me inside The Localpreneur Academy Follow me on Instagram @‌lesliepresnall Download my Free Guide: How To Grow Your Local Instagram Following If you’re ready to grow your local business and bring in a steady stream of clients, you need to check out The Localpreneur Academy. Click here to join me inside. Rate, Review & Follow: “I LOVE listening to the episodes, especially since they’re focused on local businesses and it’s not just generic marketing advice.” If you love the show too, please leave a rating and review. This helps me reach more people just like you who want to reach more local people and create a business they love.

October 6, 2026Episode 17512 min

You Don’t Need to Be Ready to Start Getting Clients

Are you waiting on the website, the logo, the professional photos or the business cards before you really start marketing your business? When you don’t have those things yet, it’s so easy to feel behind... like everyone else has a “real business” except you. Or like it will be easier to get clients once you have these things. In this episode, I’m talking to the local business owner who hasn’t set up all the things yet. I’m sharing why you’re allowed to start right now and why starting messy might actually help you build a better business faster than waiting ever could. Tune into this episode to learn: The expensive way local business owners “set up” their business without ever actually marketing it What one of my students did when she didn’t have the photos, the branding or even know how to use Canva Why starting messy gives you something the perfect setup never will Mentioned in this episode: Work with me inside The Localpreneur Academy Follow me on Instagram @‌lesliepresnall Download my Free Guide: How To Grow Your Local Instagram Following If you’re ready to grow your local business and bring in a steady stream of clients, you need to check out The Localpreneur Academy. Click here to join me inside. Rate, Review & Follow: “I LOVE listening to the episodes, especially since they’re focused on local businesses and it’s not just generic marketing advice.” If you love the show too, please leave a rating and review. This helps me reach more people just like you who want to reach more local people and create a business they love.

September 22, 2026Episode 17420 min

MVP: Hoping to Get Local Clients vs Expecting To Get Fully Booked

This Most Valuable Podcast episode is a reminder that how you think about getting clients changes everything. If you’ve been waiting for local people to find you, posting inconsistently, or doing a lot of busy behind-the-scenes work without real results… this one’s for you. Leslie breaks down the mindset shift from hoping to expecting —and what that shift looks like in your day-to-day marketing, energy, and actions. In this episode, you’ll learn: The difference between passive marketing energy vs. confident, committed action Three common ways you show up in your business when you're hoping to get clients (and what to do about it) Why your brain resists showing up—and how to override it with belief and strategy Mentioned in this episode: Work with me inside The Localpreneur Academy Follow me on Instagram @‌lesliepresnall Download my Free Guide: How To Grow Your Local Instagram Following If you’re ready to grow your local business and bring in a steady stream of clients, you need to check out The Localpreneur Academy. Click here to join me inside. Rate, Review & Follow: “I LOVE listening to the episodes, especially since they’re focused on local businesses and it’s not just generic marketing advice.” If you love the show too, please leave a rating and review. This helps me reach more people just like you who want to reach more local people and create a business they love.

September 15, 2026Episode 17316 min

MVP: 5 Ways to Boost Local Sales with Better Instagram Captions

In this Most Valuable Podcast episode, you’ll see why social media captions are one of the most powerful tools you have for turning local followers into paying clients and how to make yours work harder for you. Captions aren’t filler or an after thought. They’re how you get discovered, connect with your most ready-to-buy audience and move people to take action now . And yes, people ARE reading them - I have the data to prove it! And when you know how to write them, every post becomes an opportunity to bring in your next client. Tune into this episode to learn: How many people actually read your captions and why those are your most ready-to-buy followers 5 powerful jobs your captions can do to help you get found, build connection and convert followers into clients How to make your captions work for you even if you “don’t know what to say” Mentioned in this episode: Mini Training: The Local Instagram Formula Work with me inside The Localpreneur Academy Follow me on Instagram @‌lesliepresnall Download my Free Guide: How To Grow Your Local Instagram Following If you’re ready to grow your local business and bring in a steady stream of clients, you need to check out The Localpreneur Academy. Click here to join me inside. Rate, Review & Follow: “I LOVE listening to the episodes, especially since they’re focused on local businesses and it’s not just generic marketing advice.” If you love the show too, please leave a rating and review. This helps me reach more people just like you who want to reach more local people and create a business they love.

September 1, 2026Episode 17212 min

Fully Booked and Underearning

Being fully booked doesn’t automatically mean you’re making the money you want. You can have a full calendar, plenty of demand and people ready to hire you… and still feel like you should be making a whole lot more for how busy you are. If that’s where you are in your business right now, there are a couple of things I see causing this over and over again with local service-based business owners. Tune into this episode to learn: The two reasons you can be fully booked and still under-earning Why the things filling your calendar matter just as much as how full it is What has to change when you’re ready to make more without simply trying to squeeze more clients onto your calendar Mentioned in this episode: Work with me inside The Localpreneur Academy Follow me on Instagram @‌lesliepresnall Download my Free Guide: How To Grow Your Local Instagram Following If you’re ready to grow your local business and bring in a steady stream of clients, you need to check out The Localpreneur Academy. Click here to join me inside. Rate, Review & Follow: “I LOVE listening to the episodes, especially since they’re focused on local businesses and it’s not just generic marketing advice.” If you love the show too, please leave a rating and review. This helps me reach more people just like you who want to reach more local people and create a business they love.

August 25, 2026Episode 17116 min

You Are The Standard

How many decisions in your business are you making based on what everyone else in your industry is doing? There are a lot of things local business owners treat like rules simply because “that’s how everyone does it.” Pricing. Offers. Policies. Marketing. Even what they believe is possible in their city. In this episode, I’m challenging you to question all of it. Tune into this episode to learn: Why the “industry standard” may be one of the biggest things keeping you from becoming the local go-to The problem with using what other businesses post, charge, sell, or achieve as evidence for what you should do The question I want you asking instead of, “What does everyone else in my industry do?” Mentioned in this episode: Work with me inside The Localpreneur Academy Follow me on Instagram @‌lesliepresnall Download my Free Guide: How To Grow Your Local Instagram Following If you’re ready to grow your local business and bring in a steady stream of clients, you need to check out The Localpreneur Academy. Click here to join me inside. Rate, Review & Follow: “I LOVE listening to the episodes, especially since they’re focused on local businesses and it’s not just generic marketing advice.” If you love the show too, please leave a rating and review. This helps me reach more people just like you who want to reach more local people and create a business they love.

August 18, 2026Episode 17017 min

Stop Asking Your Local Customers What They Want

Most business advice will tell you that before you create a new offer, service or product, you need to do some market research and ask your customers what they want. I disagree. Because the people telling you what they’d “totally buy” aren’t always the people who actually buy and listening to every request can quickly turn a simple business into a confusing mess. In this episode, I’m sharing why I think there’s a better way to decide what you sell... and what it requires you to believe about yourself first. Tune into this episode to learn: The problem with letting your customers tell you what you should sell Why the thing your clients think they need may not be the thing that actually gets them the result The question I want you asking instead the next time you’re tempted to poll your audience Mentioned in this episode: Work with me inside The Localpreneur Academy Follow me on Instagram @‌lesliepresnall Download my Free Guide: How To Grow Your Local Instagram Following If you’re ready to grow your local business and bring in a steady stream of clients, you need to check out The Localpreneur Academy. Click here to join me inside. Rate, Review & Follow: “I LOVE listening to the episodes, especially since they’re focused on local businesses and it’s not just generic marketing advice.” If you love the show too, please leave a rating and review. This helps me reach more people just like you who want to reach more local people and create a business they love.

August 11, 2026Episode 16917 min

Are You Using Your Business Expenses Against Yourself

Have you ever looked at how much money your business is bringing in… and immediately discounted it because of how much you’ve spent? Somehow the website, software, marketing, coaching, equipment and support become evidence that you’re not actually doing as well as you thought. But what if you’re looking at those expenses all wrong? In this episode, we’re talking about the difference between money you’ve spent and what that money has helped you BUILD... and why recognizing what you’ve already learned how to create might be one of the most important things you can do as you grow your business. Tune into this episode to learn: The subtle ways business expenses can make you feel unsuccessful even when your business is actually growing Why focusing on what you’ve spent can keep you stuck in a cycle that makes it harder to create MORE A different way to evaluate your business expenses and what they’re actually helping you build Mentioned in this episode: Work with me inside The Localpreneur Academy Follow me on Instagram @‌lesliepresnall Download my Free Guide: How To Grow Your Local Instagram Following If you’re ready to grow your local business and bring in a steady stream of clients, you need to check out The Localpreneur Academy. Click here to join me inside. Rate, Review & Follow: “I LOVE listening to the episodes, especially since they’re focused on local businesses and it’s not just generic marketing advice.” If you love the show too, please leave a rating and review. This helps me reach more people just like you who want to reach more local people and create a business they love.

August 4, 2026Episode 16820 min

The Life You’re Building the Business For

What if you didn’t have to wait until your business reached some imaginary finish line before you started living the life you’re building it for? In this episode, we’re talking about how to define your version of success, stop postponing the experiences you want and become the person who can hold both a growing business and a fulfilling life. How to identify the life you actually want your business to support—not the version of success you think you’re supposed to want Why the life you’re waiting for may be more available to you right now than you realize How to identify and solve for the beliefs, skills and systems you’ll need to build the life and business you want at the same time Mentioned in this episode: Work with me inside The Localpreneur Academy Follow me on Instagram @‌lesliepresnall Download my Free Guide: How To Grow Your Local Instagram Following If you’re ready to grow your local business and bring in a steady stream of clients, you need to check out The Localpreneur Academy. Click here to join me inside. Rate, Review & Follow: “I LOVE listening to the episodes, especially since they’re focused on local businesses and it’s not just generic marketing advice.” If you love the show too, please leave a rating and review. This helps me reach more people just like you who want to reach more local people and create a business they love.