Lisa Larter
CEO, lisalarter.com
Lisa Larter is a global expert on social media marketing strategy for growth and high impact.
She helps businesses integrate modern marketing with dramatically effective strategy, resulting in accelerated sales and profits through highly targeted positioning, cutting edge internet techniques, and social platforms.
Her achievements include working with Deepak Chopra on social media strategies for a book launch, advising the founders of Barefoot Wines on their first book, and being inducted into the Million Dollar Consulting® Hall of Fame by Alan Weiss, who has written more books on consulting than anyone, ever. Her crowning achievement to date was a meeting with Oprah Winfrey after successfully planning an event for 400 people in less than 30 days when Winfrey visited the capital of Canada for the first time.
Lisa Larter has been self employed since 2006, has built and sold two businesses, and has seen year-over-year growth since starting her coaching and consulting business in 2009.
Lisa has been a featured speaker at several events hosted by eWomenNetwork, including the main stage of their International Conference and Business Expo, Arielle Ford’s 21st Century Book Marketing, Social Media Camp (Canada’s largest social media conference), and the Million Dollar Consulting Convention. She has also hosted her own annual event called Money, Mindset and Marketing in Ottawa, Ontario for 350 business professionals since 2015.
In 2015, Lisa published her first book, Pilot to Profit: Navigating Modern Entrepreneurship to Build Your Business Using Online Marketing, Social Media, Content Marketing and Sales through Morgan James. The book has sold more than 2,000 copies to date.
Her experience from the very beginning has been in retail, technology, entrepreneurship, coaching, and consulting. From 1998 to 2006, she was responsible for leading and growing TELUS’s retail distribution channel in Canada. She led a national team, exceeding sales goals of $100M annually, and ensured that in-store operations and systems yielded an unparalleled client experience.
In 2006, she opened her first retail store, Parlez Wireless, an Authorized TELUS dealership where she was quickly sought out to consult and advise others because of her business, technology, and social media expertise. In 2009, she formally started her coaching and consulting business, which focused on helping business owners navigate the confusing world of social media. She sold her retail store in 2012 following the rapid growth of her consulting practice and her realization that social media strategies were the key to growth for all types of organizations.
Since then, Lisa has worked with coaches, consultants, authors, speakers, celebrities, fortune 50 companies, shopping centres, and even internationally syndicated television programs to help them gain increased visibility and results in their businesses. Lisa has served clients globally, including Canada and the U.S. as well as England, Spain, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, Switzerland, Costa Rica, and South Africa. Lisa splits her time between Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia and Naples, Florida with her husband and two Dachshunds, Sunshine and Eddy.
What are you most proud of professionally? And who or why?
I'm most proud of the life my husband and I have created for ourselves. We both came from humble beginnings, we've built successful businesses and we get to divide our time between Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, and Naples, Florida.
What was your greatest stage of growth? What made it a shift for you?
My greatest season of growth has been in my 40s. I've finally arrived at a place in my life where I do things I am passionate about, I'm able to contribute, inspire and make a difference in the lives of others, and I've lost my attachment to what other people think. If you're living your life or building your business based on the opinions of others, you're not really free.
What's your favourite or most read book or podcast? Now or at each of your greatest stages of growth?
I run a for-profit business book club called Thought Readers. I read an average of a book a week and I love reading. As a high school drop out, my education has come from my deep love of reading. There are three books that impacted my life profoundly. The Success Principles by Jack Canfield, Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki, and The Millionaire Maker by Loral Langemeier. A couple of years ago, the 10th anniversary of The Success Principles came out and I had the pleasure of speaking at an event with Jack Canfield. When I came back from that event and pulled out my original copy of his book, I found the goal sheet I filled out ten years earlier. To my amazement, I had completed every goal on the page with the exception of one.
What's your deepest learning from this past year? How did/will you apply it?
My dog, Gretchen, died suddenly and unexpectedly last year. It ripped my heart in two and filled me with more grief than I've ever known. I was heartbroken and devastated. The entire experience taught me two things that I carry forward with me every day: 1) Empathy, to be more compassionate towards others who are hurting because I know what that pain feels like too. 2) Presence, to be fully present in the moment and appreciate the time we have with our pets and people every single day. I have a new puppy, her name is Sunshine and she is very affectionate and demanding of attention. I never push her away, I always indulge in the moment with her when she wants attention and feel the deep gratitude and appreciation I have for her presence in our lives.
Who's inspired you, directly or indirectly? How have they inspired you?
I gain inspiration from people all the time because one of my core beliefs is if someone else can do it, so can I. My biggest inspiration in life however, is my Mom. My mom inspired me growing up because she was a single mom, we were poor and everything she did made me feel completely loved and capable of doing anything. Being a single parent is a really tough job and my mom did this job exceptionally well. I've never met a more selfless person in my life, she put my needs ahead of her own my entire life. I didn't realize the depth of the sacrifices she made for me until I was much older, but when I look back and I think about her strength, it's easy to see where I get mine.
What would you have done differently?
Quit my job to start a business sooner. I quit my job in 2006, but I had the opportunity to do it six years earlier. My self-confidence wasn't strong enough to believe I had what it took to build a successful business, I wish I had known then how capable I really am. It was only six years of my life but in so many ways, I wish I had timed that decision earlier.
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Entrepreneur, Marketing Strategist, Dachshund Lover
