In this episode, I dive into the importance of creating and maintaining a thriving business culture. My guest, Frank Smith, shares his 30+ years of experience in business and discusses how fostering a positive company culture leads to happier, more engaged employees, which ultimately contributes to greater business success. We explore how culture impacts employee engagement, company profitability, and team dynamics—especially in today’s world where remote work is a big part of the equation. If you’re an online coach or business owner scaling your business, this episode will help you create a culture that supports that growth.

Frank Smith is a business culture expert with over 30 years of experience in industries like manufacturing, retail distribution, and professional services. He’s not only run multiple businesses but has also been coaching for over a decade, receiving his coaching certification from UC Berkeley. Frank is known for his ability to shape and elevate company work environments, creating cultures where employees feel seen, heard, and valued. He combines his passion for business culture with his background in car racing, making his approach to coaching unique and effective. His methods are ideal for transformational coaching and scaling your business by cultivating an environment where your employees thrive.

• Business Culture Requires Intentionality: Without a clear, defined approach, company culture will form on its own—and it may not align with the values you want for your business. This is especially critical when scaling your business.
• Balance Between Leadership and Employee Needs: Leaders must define the core aspects of the culture but also allow flexibility in areas that matter to employees. Listening to employees is important, but not every aspect of the culture can be up for debate.
• Remote Work Requires More Effort: Remote work presents challenges for maintaining company culture. Leaders must put in extra effort through regular check-ins and intentional communication to ensure employees feel connected and valued.
• Communication is Key: Whether remote or in the office, consistent and intentional communication is essential to maintaining a strong, healthy culture.
• Employees Should Feel Seen and Heard: Regular check-ins are essential, especially in remote settings. When employees feel valued, they are more likely to contribute positively to the business and its growth.

• The Stopwatch Analogy: Culture may feel “good” to leadership, but the true measure is how employees experience it. It’s important to survey employees at all levels to ensure the culture is truly effective and aligned with the business growth.
• Flexibility and Vision: Leaders must balance their vision for the company with flexibility in areas like dress code to meet employee needs. While the company’s mission should guide the culture, small details can be adjusted to accommodate employees.
• The 16 Components of Culture: Culture is shaped by key components including purpose, vision, mission, pace, relational levels, communication style, and team interactions. These elements must be intentionally defined and nurtured as you scale your business.

• Remote Work Hurdles: Maintaining culture remotely requires more effort than in an office setting. Leaders must schedule regular check-ins to maintain connection and culture consistency.
• The Importance of Consistency: Just as you’d check in with family members if you were away, leaders need to check in with their teams regularly to foster connection

In today’s episode, we dive into team connection, leadership, and actionable strategies to foster meaningful workplace relationships with Steven Van Cohen. Steven is a Wall Street Journal bestselling author, leadership consultant, and expert on creating connected cultures in businesses. He’s worked with top companies like Home Depot, Salesforce, Bank of America, and Zoom to improve team well-being and boost employee engagement. He’s been featured in major publications such as CNBC, Forbes, and Fast Company, and today, he’s here to share strategies to strengthen workplace connections and overcome common obstacles that hinder engagement, ultimately helping you create a thriving online business.

Steven Van Cohen is a leadership consultant, executive coach, and the co-author of Connectable: How Leaders Can Move Teams from Isolated to All In. With over a decade of experience, Steven has helped organizations like Home Depot, Salesforce, and Zoom create connected cultures, especially in remote or hybrid work environments. His focus is on reducing loneliness, improving employee engagement, and fostering deep, authentic relationships within teams. He’s been featured in prominent outlets like CNBC, Forbes, and Fast Company and is a leading expert on workplace dynamics and leadership, skills that can be applied to any coaching or business leadership environment.

• Loneliness is about the absence of connection, not people: Loneliness arises when the quality of our relationships doesn't meet our needs. It’s not about the number of people around us, but the depth of connection.
• The importance of connection in the workplace: Disconnected employees are more likely to disengage, underperform, and quit. Loneliness at work impacts productivity, engagement, and retention.
• Leaders play a key role in creating connection: As a business leader, it’s not about matchmaking but about creating environments where meaningful relationships can thrive. Leaders should set the tone and create opportunities for connection.
• Small actions lead to big results: Small, intentional efforts, like team-building exercises or 10-minute check-ins, can have a significant impact on team connection and overall performance. These strategies also work for online coaching teams and businesses looking to scale.

• Loneliness affects more than just the individual: It impacts performance, engagement, and overall team dynamics. Disconnected employees are 7 times more likely to disengage and 5 times more likely to miss work due to stress.
• Statistics on loneliness: 72% of employees feel socially disconnected monthly, and 55% feel it weekly. Disconnected teams perform 56% worse than connected ones.

• Creating opportunities for connection: As a business leader, your role isn’t to create friendships, but to create environments where trust and connection can thrive.
• Small efforts matter: Simple, regular activities like icebreakers or “crush” exercises can significantly improve team morale and connection. These small steps can help build a community for your clients or business team.
• Complacency is the enemy: Leaders must go beyond the basics and invest time, money, and effort into long-term connection-building strategies to scale their business and team dynamics effectively.

• Weekly "Crush" Exercise:
• A short, weekly activity where team members recognize and appreciate each other’s contributions.
• Builds a culture of...

In today’s episode of The Lindsey Anderson Show, I’m joined by Dylan Jahraus, an e-commerce expert and successful Etsy entrepreneur. Dylan shares her journey from working in corporate roles to scaling her own e-commerce ventures. She talks about how she built a profitable Etsy business, launched a course, and grew a thriving YouTube community. If you're an entrepreneur looking to refine your marketing and sales strategies, this episode is packed with actionable insights that will help you scale your coaching business and create a lasting impact.

Dylan Jahraus is a 10-year e-commerce expert specializing in Etsy, Amazon, and Shopify. She launched a profitable Etsy business that exceeded $1 million in sales and transitioned into launching her own course, The Ultimate Etsy Course, which has attracted over 3,000 students. Dylan’s course generated $28 million in student revenue, and she has built a community of 91,000 people on YouTube. She also hosts the Etsy Seller Success podcast and recently launched Etsy SEO, a SaaS tool for Etsy optimization. Dylan’s business journey is fueled by her personal experiences and her deep commitment to her family.

• Endurance and Work Ethic: Dylan credits her success to resilience and the willingness to push through challenges and never quit.
• Learning from Tragedy: Personal hardships, including growing up with adversity, shaped her mindset and drive for success.
• Customer-First Approach: Dylan emphasizes the importance of focusing on the who—your customers—before deciding on a product. She built her business by addressing consistent needs like weddings, births, and deaths.
• Success on Etsy: Dylan’s Etsy shop took two months to make its first sale, but after applying corporate e-commerce principles, she scaled to $50,000/month.
• Building a High-Touch Course: Dylan’s Ultimate Etsy Course started as a high-ticket course with coaching and evolved into a robust model with a team of 37 people.

• Consistency Over Perfection: Dylan stresses that success in business is about endurance. It’s not about immediate results but about keeping at it, adapting, and pushing through the hard days.
• The Power of Systems: Dylan emphasizes the importance of systems to maintain consistent effort and scale effectively, something that has been key to managing her growing business.
• Building Relationships with Your Community: Dylan used platforms like YouTube to give away valuable content, which helped spark curiosity and grow her community.

• Dylan started by posting every day for 21 days to build momentum, but now she posts twice a week to maintain consistency.
• Secret to Consistency: Outsourcing tasks like video editing has helped Dylan maintain a regular posting schedule. She also receives video prompts from her editor, which helps her stay productive.
• Engagement Through Value: Dylan’s approach to YouTube has always been to offer real value to her audience, which in turn fostered a loyal and engaged community.

• The Importance of Mentorship: Dylan credits much of her success to the mentorship she received from industry leaders like Cole Gordon and Alex and Layla Hermosi. Surrounding yourself with people who have already achieved what you want is crucial for growth.
• Learning from Other Industries: Dylan also emphasizes the value of learning from people in different industries. By sharing best...