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Stop burning out while building your empire. CEO and entrepreneur Rachel Cook reveals why your success is setting you up for a crash—and the three-layer support system that saved her business during family crisis. Learn the exact reset strategies, email scripts, and relationship-building tactics that let you scale sustainably without sacrificing your sanity. This isn't typical self-care advice—it's strategic business infrastructure. Discover how to spot burnout before it hits, build non-transactional support networks, and create recurring systems that keep you resourced through any challenge. Essential listening for ambitious women who refuse to choose between success and wellbeing.

Connect with Me:

• Instagram: @racheal.cook
• TikTok: @rachealcookmba
• LinkedIn: @rachealcook
• YouTube: @the_ceo_collective
• Website: The CEO Collective

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I'm recording from a completely new space today, and honestly, that feels fitting because everything about my business and personal life has shifted over the past 18 months. What started as managing my parents' care while growing a thriving business has turned into something much more complex.

You might think successful entrepreneurs have it all figured out, but I'm here to tell you that's not how it works. While my business was scaling to a team of 12 and hosting sold-out retreats, I was also getting new medical diagnoses, watching my father relapse into alcoholism for the third time, and spending $16,000 a month on my mother's care. Sometimes life demands that you make hard choices about what you can and can't handle.

This isn't your typical business strategy episode. I'm sharing what it actually looks like when the CEO of your life has to make decisions that nobody prepares you for - from letting go of team members to setting boundaries with family to completely restructuring how you show up in your business. If you're navigating major life changes while trying to keep your business running, you'll want to hear this.

On This Episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:

• Major business pivots under pressure - Why I closed my downtown office, scaled back my team from 12 to 2 core members, and what that taught me about sustainable growth

• Managing chronic illness as an entrepreneur - Getting a lupus diagnosis and finding the right medical support while running a business (and why perimenopause is no joke)

• The real cost of family caregiving - How spending $16K monthly on my mom's nursing care led to difficult decisions about boundaries and what "responsibility" actually means

• Navigating addiction in the family - What it looks like to watch a parent go through rehab three times and why I had to learn that you can't save someone who doesn't want to be saved

• Building business resilience for life's curveballs - The systems and mindset shifts that allowed my business to not just survive but thrive during the most challenging 18 months of my life

Connect with Me:

• Instagram: @racheal.cook
• TikTok: @rachealcookmba
• LinkedIn: @rachealcook
• YouTube: @the_ceo_collective
• Website: The CEO Collective

Subscribe & Review:

If you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts!

🎤 Thanks for listening! I'll see you next week!

Send us a text

I used to get so frustrated when people told me to "work smarter, not harder." My parents were entrepreneurs who embraced the hustle, and I thought success meant being willing to work 80-100 hour weeks, doing anything and everything to grow your business.

But here's what I learned the hard way: there's a ceiling to how much harder you can work. When you hit it, you become the bottleneck in your own business.

I've built a multiple six-figure business working just 25 hours a week—not through some magical productivity hack, but by fundamentally shifting how I think about work itself. In this episode, I'm sharing the six strategies that allowed me to step out of the grind and into true CEO-level thinking.

This isn't about cramming more tasks into your day or finding the perfect time-blocking system. It's about questioning everything you've been taught about what it takes to succeed and discovering that the entrepreneurs who scale sustainably aren't the ones working the hardest—they're the ones working the smartest.

If you've hit that wall where working harder isn't the answer anymore, these six shifts will change how you approach every aspect of your business.

On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:

• Do less with more focus - I'll show you why having a signature offer and focused marketing strategy delivers exponentially higher returns than trying to be everywhere at once

• CEO doesn't mean Chief Everything Officer - I learned this lesson the hard way about letting go of control and building the support systems that freed me from day-to-day busy work

• What got you here won't get you there - I'll walk you through the critical pivot points every business faces and why your current strategies might be holding you back from the next level

• Embrace rinse and repeat - Find out why I had to overcome my creative nature to build reusable assets that prevent me from constantly recreating the wheel

• Create the money to invest back - How I shifted my mindset from "I can't afford this" to "I can create the money for this" and transformed how I view business investments

• Find mentors and masterminds - Why you can't Google your way to success and how having the right people in my corner accelerated my growth exponentially

Connect with Me:

• Instagram: @racheal.cook
• TikTok: @rachealcookmba
• LinkedIn: @rachealcook
• YouTube: @the_ceo_collective
• Website: The CEO Collective

Subscribe & Review:

If you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts!

🎤 Thanks for listening! I'll see you next week!

Send us a text

Just because it's a slow down season in your personal life doesn't mean your sales have to follow suit. Summer especially is known (and sometimes feared) as a dead time for business revenue. Unless your product specifically caters to what people purchase during these months, you're probably bracing for that dreaded dip in sales.

But what if I told you the sales gravy train can keep rolling, even while you're enjoying those precious summer moments with family? After realizing I only have a handful of summers left before my twins prefer friends over family time, I knew I needed a solution that wouldn't sacrifice revenue for relaxation.

The truth is, momentum doesn't require constant hustle. In my 15+ years helping women entrepreneurs scale sustainably, I've identified three high-leverage tactics that keep businesses thriving during personal slowdowns. These strategies don't demand more time—quite the opposite. Once implemented, they work automatically in the background while you're at the beach or enjoying summer evenings with loved ones.

In this episode, I'm sharing exactly how to keep generating the sales and revenue you desire (and deserve) when you step back from your business, so you never have to experience the feast-or-famine cycle that plagues most entrepreneurs during summer months.

• Complete your mid-year review first to identify what's actually creating momentum in your business.
• Remove friction from your buying process to make sales effortless even when you're off the clock.
• Discover how pre-selling future projects keeps service providers booked without sacrificing summer freedom.
• Learn why repurposing content creates more impact with less effort than constant creation.
• Find out which marketing strategy to double down on when everyone else is scaling back.
• Implement these three momentum-maintaining tactics for a relaxed summer without revenue drops.

Connect with Me:

• Instagram: @racheal.cook
• TikTok: @rachealcookmba
• LinkedIn: @rachealcook
• YouTube: @the_ceo_collective
• Website: The CEO Collective

Subscribe & Review:

If you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts!

🎤 Thanks for listening! I'll see you next week!

Send us a text

Feeling overwhelmed by "Maycember" chaos? Discover my proven mid-year business review process to recalibrate your 2025 strategy before summer disruptions hit. Learn the 80% achievement standard successful CEOs follow, identify your true revenue-driving metrics, and map your next six months with intentional focus instead of panicked reaction. With unpredictable market conditions in 2025, this practical framework helps you adapt your business plan without starting over. Download the free workbook and transform uncertainty into strategic opportunity. Stop running your business on default mode and start leading with clarity.

Connect with Me:

• Instagram: @racheal.cook
• TikTok: @rachealcookmba
• LinkedIn: @rachealcook
• YouTube: @the_ceo_collective
• Website: The CEO Collective

Subscribe & Review:

If you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts!

🎤 Thanks for listening! I'll see you next week!

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Struggling with entrepreneur burnout? In this powerful conversation, trauma therapist Shulamit Ber Levtov shares game-changing mental health strategies specifically designed for business owners. Discover why traditional self-care advice falls short, how to implement 30-second regulation techniques during business crises, and why acknowledging difficult emotions actually creates resilience. Learn practical approaches to maintain your wellbeing while navigating the entrepreneurial rollercoaster without succumbing to toxic hustle culture. Perfect for women business owners feeling isolated, overwhelmed, or questioning their capabilities. This episode reframes entrepreneur mental health as an essential business strategy rather than a luxury—empowering you to build both a sustainable business and a fulfilling life.

Connect with Me:

• Instagram: @racheal.cook
• TikTok: @rachealcookmba
• LinkedIn: @rachealcook
• YouTube: @the_ceo_collective
• Website: The CEO Collective

Subscribe & Review:

If you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts!

🎤 Thanks for listening! I'll see you next week!

Send us a text

I'm revealing why your once-reliable business systems may be failing in today's economy. In this episode, I'll guide you through revitalizing your client growth engine by strategically analyzing your attract, engage, nurture, and invite systems. You'll learn to identify where your best clients actually come from, eliminate friction points in your sales process, and build sustainable relationships instead of chasing marketing trends. Take control of your business growth with my proven, relationship-focused strategies that bring consistent results.

Connect with Me:

• Instagram: @racheal.cook
• TikTok: @rachealcookmba
• LinkedIn: @rachealcook
• YouTube: @the_ceo_collective
• Website: The CEO Collective

Subscribe & Review:

If you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts!

🎤 Thanks for listening! I'll see you next week!

Send us a text

Decision-making during uncertain times can make or break your business. When stress levels rise, our natural decision-making abilities become compromised, pushing us into either reactive choices or complete avoidance—both potentially devastating for long-term success.

The entrepreneurs who navigate turbulent periods most effectively aren't those making the quickest decisions, but those making thoughtful, aligned ones. This episode walks you through creating your own decision-making framework based on the 90-Day CEO Operating System, providing a structured approach to evaluate opportunities and challenges without falling prey to panic-driven reactions.

Your decision-making matrix should start with your vision—what's your core business model, who do you serve, and what impact do you want to create? Even when you can't see years ahead, clarity about your 12-month goals provides essential context. From there, every potential decision should be filtered through alignment questions: Does this fit your existing offers? Does it serve your current clients' evolving needs? Does it leverage your established marketing and sales systems rather than forcing you to build entirely new ones?

During economic uncertainty, clients naturally seek safety and security. Smart entrepreneurs anticipate these shifts by creating risk-reversal options—perhaps offering satisfaction guarantees, bite-sized entry offers, or more flexible payment terms. But these adaptations must still align with your core strengths, brand identity, and team capacity.

Perhaps most vital is filtering decisions through your values. If "life before business" matters to you, will a potential change respect that boundary? Will it move you closer to your personal definition of success, not just financial targets? By creating and consistently using a comprehensive decision matrix, you'll navigate even the most challenging times with greater confidence and clarity.

What decision has been weighing on your mind lately? Try applying this framework and share what insights emerge. Your thoughtful decision-making now will position your business for sustainable success regardless of external circumstances.

Connect with Me:

• Instagram: @racheal.cook
• TikTok: @rachealcookmba
• LinkedIn: @rachealcook
• YouTube: @the_ceo_collective
• Website: The CEO Collective

Subscribe & Review:

If you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts!

🎤 Thanks for listening! I'll see you next week!