Ep 59 | Marcus Lemonis

Written By Yasmin Nouri
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Overcoming Fear of Embarrassment & Being Comfortable in Your Own Skin

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Today we’re mixing things up in a big way! After a year of interviewing the top women in business and entrepreneurship, we’re officially inviting our first male guest on the Behind Her Empire podcast! If you tune into today's interview, you’ll immediately understand why. 

Marcus Lemonis is known for helping struggling businesses get back on their feet through investing his own money on the hit TV show, The Profit. Despite being a household name and TV personality, Marcus’ influence is far beyond television. He is one of the most successful entrepreneurs in America, serving as chairman and CEO of the multi-billion dollar company Camping World. 

He also is one of the biggest champions out there when it comes to small business entrepreneurs, and specifically women entrepreneurs. He’s created The Lemon-AID Foundation and seeded it with $50 million of his and his wife’s own capital to focus on backing talented founders, especially women and minorities who haven’t had equal access to resources and guidance in their careers.

Marcus is unapologetically vulnerable, open to sharing all parts of himself, and truly generous in wanting to help others succeed. In today’s wide-ranging interview, we talk about how to work through fear of failure & embarrassment, the realities of burnout in entrepreneurship, why Marcus believes women are better business leaders, the importance of embracing your strengths & your flaws to be truly comfortable in your own skin, and so much more. 

Show Notes:

  • How the fear of embarrassment holds us back and what we can do to move past these feelings. [4:00]

  • Acknowledging that privilege plays a role in taking chances. [6:01]

  • It is okay that you feel embarrassed; it is something we all experience. [8:50]

  • How Marcus uses clothes to make himself feel comfortable in his skin. [9:59]

  • The freedom that comes when you lean into what makes you unique. [12:45]

  • It is important not to make money the ultimate benchmark of success. [14:09]

  • The influence that Marcus's mother and grandfather had on him. [16:39]

  • Marcus's ultimate mission with the work that he does. [18:48]

  • Some of the reasons that Marcus thinks women are better businesspeople. [19:26]

  • You do not have to care what other people think; it is the way you think about yourself. [20:59]

  • Why Marcus believes the principles of running a coffee shop or a large corporation are the same. [23:17]

  • How entrepreneurs can develop a consumer point of view. [26:30]

  • Who Marcus believes should not be entrepreneurs. [28:21]

  • Why Marcus prefers the term business owner rather than entrepreneurship. [30:07]

  • Marcus's experience of burnout and why he believes business owners can’t have work-life balance. [31:11]

  • You have to curate your own mental, physical, and emotional health regimen. [33:13]

  • Marcus's advice for those of us who feel like we are not enough. [36:23]

  • What wealth means to Marcus at this stage in his life. [38:47]

  • Hear the two questions that Marcus asks Yasmin. [39:58]

Follow Marcus: 

Yasmin Nouri
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