The Imperfect Founder

Hosted by Heather Lawson-Bradfield

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Mar 2024

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About the show

Hey humans! Welcome to The Imperfect Founder Podcast! I'm Heather (she/her) the Imperfect Founder of The Clover Collective and I'm here with my co-host Jupiter F. Stone (they/them) to chat to you all about the foundations you need in place as your start your entrepreneurial journey. I'm a corporate escapee on a mission to help new entrepreneurs kickstart their businesses and embrace their imperfections. If you're tired of the polished, perfect facade of the business world, then you're in the right place. I'm all about keeping it real and sharing my own journey as an Imperfect Founder. I bring years of both corporate and entrepreneurial experience; having worked for multiple fortune 5 companies and most recently building my half million dollar agency, The Clover Collective - and I'm joined by Jupiter, a national award-winning media producer who has been creating entertainment-based experiences for the last 17 years on a local, national, and international scale. In that time we've learned a thing or two about what it takes to succeed (and what doesn't). Join me and Jupiter while we share valuable insights, advice, and stories to help you build, grow and scale your own agency.

Listen to episodes

40 recent

March 21, 2024Episode 1224 min

Micromanaging is RUINING your business - Being a Control Freak is STUMPING Your Growth

In this episode of The Imperfect Founder, Heather and Jupiter discuss how micromanaging is ruining your business. Nobody likes a controlling manager or leader, so it's time you take a step back and evaluate how you might be ruining your business by being a micromanager.   Heather and Jupiter talk about: How perfectionism and being a control freak held their clients back from scaling What to do when your team hates you How to lower stress levels EVEN as a Founder

March 14, 2024Episode 1120 min

Tech Titans that FAILED / Enshittification (Airbnb, Blockbuster, Uber, Twitter/X)

In this episode of The Imperfect Founder, Heather and Jupiter discuss enshittification, and how some of the biggest tech companies have failed customers.   Heather and Jupiter talk about: Blockbusters' decline Netflix, and what they did so well that you can learn from Twitter (now X) after Elon Musk bought the company

March 7, 2024Episode 1026 min

Time To Create a Safe Space for Your Team with Psychological Safety

It's time to create a psychologically safe space for you and your team. In this episode of The Imperfect Founder, Heather and Jupiter talk about the importance of creating a safe space for your team with psychological safety so they can thrive.   Watch this episode to find out: What psychological safety is and how it makes your team feel How to navigate and get out of toxic work environment and culture How to develop a psychologically safe work environment as the founder and leader of a team.

February 29, 2024Episode 914 min

Stop Judging Yourself & Change Your Mindset To Change Your Life & Business

In this episode of The Imperfect Founder, Heather and Jupiter talk about the importance of removing judgement so you can stop judging yourself and be OK with feeling shame. It's time you stop judging yourself and change your mindset to change your life and your business.   We cover: Why we judge ourselves as humans How to reprogram your mind How to stop judging yourself (and others) What the Rationalization Trap is   You don't want to miss this episode.

February 22, 2024Episode 817 min

Lack of Processes Will Cost You Money

In this episode of The Imperfect Founder, we discuss the importance having processes play in your business. Lack of processes will cost you money in your business. AND it will also cost you time and your sanity. Listen to this episode to find out why that is and how you can start creating processes in your business today.

February 8, 2024Episode 618 min

Never Use A Person In Place of Automation - The Benefits of Automation! (Slack, ClickUp, Zapier)

In this episode of The Imperfect Founder, we discussed what automation is and how to use it to save you and your team time. If you aren't already using automations in your business, you probably will after watching this episode.   Jupiter shares how they use automation to edit videos, and Heather shares how she uses automation to get two departments in her business to talk to each other and collaborate - just by ticking a box!

February 1, 2024Episode 527 min

Leadership Styles from The White House: Authoritarian vs Stewardship (Trump Vs Obama)

In this episode, we explore the difference between authoritarian and stewardship leadership styles and what that looked like in the White House with Trump and Obama.   We also share snippets of our own experience with authoritarian styles of leadership, the inner work involved in healing from having authoritarian leaders, and stewarding our team as founders.   What's your opinion on authoritarian and stewardship styles? Let us know in the comments.

January 25, 2024Episode 418 min

Learning From People You Don't Like

In this episode of The Imperfect Founder, we talk about the importance of putting your ego aside, and learning from the people you don't like. We share personal stories on how we handle situations when working with people we didn't like and how that changed our perspective on life and business.   The important message here is to realize that just because you don't like someone, does not mean there isn't something of value they have that you can learn from.   Don't forget to subscribe and hit that bell so you don't miss the episode next episode.

January 18, 2024Episode 321 min

Letting Go of Ego - The MORE You Know, The LESS You Know

In this episode of The Imperfect Founder, we talk about the importance of letting go of your ego and being willing to learn or hire people to do the things in your business that you aren't an expert in.   By the end of this episode, you will have an arsenal of questions to ask yourself to help reduce your own blindspots, such as:   - What pieces of your ego were you still holding onto when you first started your business?   - What is your greatest opportunity for growth when it comes to your own hubris?

January 11, 2024Episode 227 min

You Can Do It TOO - From Freelancer to Media Agency Owner in ONE YEAR!

In this episode of the Imperfect Founder, Jupiter shares how they went from being a solopreneur and freelancer, putting out fires constantly in their business, to having processes and systems to SCALE their business in just one year.   Heather & Jupiter answer questions such as: What do you think has had the biggest impact on the growth of your business to date? What is holding me back right now from getting to the next phase in my journey? What is the most common & avoidable way you see agency owners failing in their business? What indicators do you look for as a business owner to tell you it's time to pivot?   Don't forget to subscribe and hit the bell so you don't miss the next episode of The Imperfect Founder.