This transcript is auto-generated and may contain spelling and grammatical errors.
Tyler Jorgenson (00:01.288)
Welcome out to Biz Ninja Entrepreneur Radio. I am your host, Tyler Jorgensen. And today I have the pleasure of introducing you to somebody who I’ve met through the dental industry, but been wildly amazed by as just a powerful force in entrepreneurship. She’s a speaker, coach, and consultant, primarily helping women in business. Welcome out to the show, Alison LeCoucière.
Allison Lacoursiere (00:26.364)
Thanks so much for having me, Tyler. I’m so excited to be here.
a
Tyler Jorgenson (00:28.91)
Did I say your name right?
Allison Lacoursiere (00:31.193)
You did. did. I would give you like a 9.9.9.9.
Tyler Jorgenson (00:32.622)
that was like close. That was like, was close. I’ll take it. I will take 9.5 out of 10 any day. It is so good to have you on the show. We’ve known each other for a few years. We met through, you know, dental industry type stuff, but instantly I knew that you, you’re somebody who just saw the world and saw business in a bigger way. When, if you were like Zoom back, because you didn’t take a normal kind of the traditional route into entrepreneurship.
When was that first moment that you realized you saw the world a little bit differently and you were an entrepreneur?
Allison Lacoursiere (01:08.605)
Oof, I would say I was pretty young and I didn’t really understand that I was an entrepreneur, but I knew that I wasn’t fitting into the normal models of business and life. And I knew that I wanted more. And I later found out that more meant owning my own company and defining the world by my own rules. But very young, I knew that I wanted more for my life and that I wasn’t fitting in quite to what business and traditional nine to five work looked like.
Tyler Jorgenson (01:38.594)
Yeah, and so walk us through a little bit of that path. I know you also were a pretty competitive athlete at one point, right? So how did you, you know, what was your first steps into business and like finding reaching for that more?
Allison Lacoursiere (01:54.396)
Absolutely. So I moved to the island of Bermuda when I was 19 years old and I just had this desire to get out of my tiny town. I lived in a small town in southern Alberta. had 1,400 people and I knew I wanted to see the world, to travel. And my parents, didn’t grow up with a lot of money so we weren’t going on like big family vacations. And so my priority coming out of school was to get a job that I could travel the world with. And so I became a dental assistant and got a job on the island of Bermuda.
moved there and the first week I lived there, I got picked up for the national volleyball team. So inside of that experience, it was just amazing to be playing for a national team. And the company that I was working at had a lot of foreign momentum potential, meaning there was a lot of disorganization. And so I took every opportunity I could to grow, to learn, to implement systems. And I found myself at age 24 running a multimillion dollar dental office. I was the manager.
And inside of that business, I learned how to teach and coach teams. learned how to build systems. I learned how the money worked. I learned how to make more money. And I realized that I wasn’t satisfied running someone else’s company. I really wanted to run my own. I wanted to create my own vision. I wanted to have my own team. And eventually I grew out of that business and started my coaching company. And the reason why I started a coaching company was inside of this dental practice, the hardest part.
was managing the people. And that’s, think, what many, business owners say is like, I need to manage my team or I’m having a hard time managing my team. And so I really wanted to get excellent at that and help people that worked with me, not just help me forward my own vision, but also change and transform inside of it. So I became a certified professional coach, took a lot of training and education around like the neuroscience of change, the neuroscience of our mindsets, like how do we adopt the highest level mindset to achieve the things that we want in our life?
and launched my company in the middle of pandemic in 2020.
Tyler Jorgenson (03:54.951)
Great time to start. I love that. so you play, I love how many things you just dropped in that little summary there, but 19 year old, you’re moved to Bermuda. You end up playing on their national volleyball team while also starting to really grow in this job that you have. a playing at the high, some of the highest levels in a team sport, how did lessons from
Allison Lacoursiere (03:56.603)
Yeah.
Tyler Jorgenson (04:21.974)
You know, being on a team sport parlay into business.
Allison Lacoursiere (04:26.749)
my gosh, there’s so many. The biggest one I would say that I probably talk about and utilize every single day in my company is that our skill set accounts for less than 10 % of what we do really. Like if you are the best athlete, if you’re the best business owner and you have the best skills, if your mindset isn’t right, you’re not going to perform. so mindset, I really believe like, of course as an athlete you need to have natural ability, but
I played with some of the best physical athletes and their mindset was not right and they really weren’t great team players. They didn’t go far. And so I see that so much in business with business owners. You could be the best at what you do, but if you don’t have a powerful mindset, if you’re not having a resilient mindset, if you don’t know how to manage yourself, you’re not going to go far. And so really for me, at some of the highest levels of pressure and stress playing for the country, in front of the entire country,
beach volleyball, you’re in a tiny bikini, you you have to have a really powerful mindset to get on the sand, to feel confident in yourself, to not be, you know, when you have shaking hands, how do you play? And there’s so many moments in business where it’s like, you’re about to get on stage, you’re about to close the biggest deal of your life. When you have those shaking hands, how do you keep moving forward and be the person that you want to be? And so I would say the biggest lesson from sport.
that translates into businesses, like your mindset is everything.
Tyler Jorgenson (05:56.408)
Yeah, I’ve never thought about the vulnerability of being, you know, in a tiny bikini, playing a sport at a high level and how that, that is similar to like showing up in business means you have to be vulnerable, but still find confidence. there’s, you know, I’m sure there’s a keynote in there, right? Like how to wear your bikini in business or something, but
Allison Lacoursiere (06:17.594)
Yeah, probably. mean, something that I always say, I mean, this is a little bit like graphic, but I always say like, this is, it really doesn’t just strips you naked. Like you can’t hide any of your fears. You can’t hide any of your flaws. If you have something in your mind that you’re afraid of, it comes out like business. If beach volleyball is one thing, but starting a business, you’re basically very naked, like ready to go.
Tyler Jorgenson (06:42.284)
yeah. Yeah. All of your, all of your talents, are on display. That’s for sure. Good or bad, right? You’ll find your deficiencies quickly. and so, you know, you, you grow through that business and you, you said something really that I enjoyed, which is there was a lot of opportunity for, for up, like advancement or upward mobility, which really was just saying the company was needing a lot of work, right?
Allison Lacoursiere (06:47.19)
Mm-hmm. Yup. Yes.
Tyler Jorgenson (07:07.546)
And I think that that’s really the entrepreneurial mindset is the ability to see something and see its greater potential, but then also be able to take the steps needed to make it real. When you launched your business in the middle of the pandemic, right? What were some of the first biggest challenges that you faced and how’d you overcome them?
Allison Lacoursiere (07:14.125)
Thank you.
Allison Lacoursiere (07:27.321)
It was really managing my own, like it really was managing my own self because I think I had a lot of anxiety when I first started. Like I’m leaving a really comfortable position, comfortable job in the middle of a pandemic where we have no idea what’s happening in the world. And that caused a lot of anxiety, it caused a lot of fear and that fear and anxiety caused me to overwork and almost like obsess about.
my business and it took me away from everything else in my life. My relationships, my fun, my hobbies and I would just head down, get things done and I believe that’s part of it. Like we all have to hustle and restart but I have a really hard time detaching myself when people say work-life balance. Like that was not a thing for me at all. I was obsessed.
Tyler Jorgenson (08:15.158)
Yeah. And you know, I feel like the work-life balance thing is a myth. I feel like that is a thing that might exist in a traditional nine to five. I’ve always found for most entrepreneurs, it’s more about work-life blend. It’s like, how do you blend the two to where it stays healthy for you? Because what’s healthy for you in that blend might be totally different than someone who isn’t an entrepreneur or a different, just a different entrepreneur, right? We all have to find that blend for ourselves.
Allison Lacoursiere (08:29.558)
The V.
Allison Lacoursiere (08:32.984)
Thank
Allison Lacoursiere (08:39.992)
The end.
Tyler Jorgenson (08:42.882)
For me, find it when business and life work together the best is when I find the most momentum. What was one of the first big wins that you had that made you realize you were on the right path?
Allison Lacoursiere (08:56.089)
So as much as starting a company during the middle of the pandemic could seem like a really scary thing, for me in my industry, I was in specifically dentistry at the time when I first started. It was the perfect time because dentists and their teams and everyone in the whole world had shut their practices and were paying attention to media. And I was just good at social media. I was good at putting myself out there live.
And so I started doing lives. started hosting free webinars and I got asked by some of the most prestigious dental companies to speak for their virtual summits and to sign some really big coaching agreements right from my social media. So that in a different time of the world, I probably wouldn’t have been so noticeable, but because it was the pandemic and I was doing something a little bit different.
you know, it allowed me to get these really, really cool opportunities that I don’t know if otherwise I would have as quickly.
Tyler Jorgenson (09:57.954)
Yeah. And you and I have talked before about how, you know, the challenge of seeing the paradox of being able to see things that can become better, but then having to choose which ones get your energy. so I know you’ve done a few, you’ve had a few other businesses and things as you’ve been building up your coaching and your brand. how do you know when it’s time to sit, to shut something down or to move?
Allison Lacoursiere (10:25.172)
It’s so funny, like in retrospect, I always knew that these paths weren’t perfectly aligned for me. I just didn’t have the courage and the confidence at the time to go fully into what I knew was going to be kind of ultimately what I wanted to do. And what I’ve also learned is that is okay, because the skill set and the connections and the experience that I received along the way really has allowed me to be in this place right now where I’m more aligned with my business than I
I couldn’t have done that without the experiences of starting a marketing agency, of being specifically in the dental consulting world. Speaking a lot in dentistry, all of those experiences have led me to the place I am today to be able to help other entrepreneurs build their own companies and their own businesses in a really powerful and aligned way. So knowing when for me that I was about needing to take a change was I stopped being excited about.
Because I think many entrepreneurs are, we have passions that I don’t know, I might get in trouble for saying this, but I don’t know if you haven’t started a company or if you haven’t done something yourself. I don’t know if you have that same passion in your nine to five. And that passion so often fuels us in a really beautiful way. The passion for impact, the passion for helping people, the passion for making money that really serves our future. And when I was making the money that
Tyler Jorgenson (11:25.155)
Hmm.
Allison Lacoursiere (11:54.325)
I would have dreamt of five years prior to that, but I wasn’t connected to the mission. I’m like, this is not why I started a business. I started a business to have it all. And I believe you can have it all when it comes to starting your own company and being an entrepreneur. And so in those moments where I recognize like, wow, I’m fully uninspired by my own company and what I’ve built doesn’t feel like freedom to me. It actually feels like a prison. It’s time to go. And I think Steve…
Tyler Jorgenson (12:18.83)
Yeah, that’s good.
Allison Lacoursiere (12:23.733)
Barlet said this in Dire of CEO, he said that one of his greatest skills was leaving things that he knew weren’t meant for him fast. And that was a mindset shift for me because I used to think that strength was dedication, strength was sticking to it until your fingers are bleeding and just keep going. Strength was really going all in forever until it succeeded. But I realized that success actually means recognizing when you’re not in the right room.
Tyler Jorgenson (12:33.23)
Yeah.
Allison Lacoursiere (12:52.254)
or not in the right position and moving to the right one. And that was a huge permission for me to say like, it’s okay to iterate.
Tyler Jorgenson (13:00.076)
Yeah. It, heard it said once that the moment that you realize something isn’t right is the easiest it will ever be to make a decision around that. Then, then it will ever be. like every time you delay, like, you know, let’s say I know I’m on the wrong path, but you wait, well, maybe next year it’ll be better. Maybe next quarter will be better. It’s only going to get harder from then on, right? You’re adding challenges and instead of removing them. And so I, that’s been a hard mindset shift for me as well of the ability to say,
Allison Lacoursiere (13:21.686)
and
Allison Lacoursiere (13:28.75)
huh.
Tyler Jorgenson (13:30.082)
when you know something’s not right to make a change quickly because same thing, right? feel like commitment, there is value in commitment. And that doesn’t mean anytime something isn’t going perfectly, bail, right? It’s saying, I know myself enough to know when I’m in alignment or not in alignment, or if this isn’t serving me. You coach women in business as kind of your main, that’s the main people that you serve. What are some unique challenges? As a male, I may not see that perspective.
Allison Lacoursiere (13:46.677)
Yeah.
Tyler Jorgenson (13:58.914)
What are some unique challenges that women are facing in business and how are you helping them to get through that?
Allison Lacoursiere (14:05.012)
Yeah, would say some of the biggest challenges that I see is a lot of women have a very, very hard time believing in themselves. Like there’s, there is something that women talk about once we open up this conversation is the imposter syndrome. And I don’t, I don’t like that word. I don’t use that word, but it’s something that I think people resonate with when they’re kind of going down the journey of their next expansion. So let’s say you’re in your
position that you’ve been in for a while and you decided you want to move into something different or bigger or expand past your current capacity or role, often women will say to themselves, I’m not 100 % qualified, so I’m not ready for that. Instead of saying, I have qualifications or I have the opportunity to grow into this, I’m going to go for it. And so I see a lot of women holding themselves back through their own mindset, through their own fear, through their own lack of belief about themselves.
And I know men do that too. I definitely know that men do that too. But women have a unique way of doing it and really just underqualifying themselves when they are perfectly qualified to start.
Tyler Jorgenson (15:15.31)
Yeah, it’s I like the way that you worded that because that I’ve always struggled with the concept of imposter syndrome because frankly, I see a lot of people that say they have imposter syndrome or just novices. They might have an expertise in an industry, but they haven’t done it as an entrepreneur yet. Well, that’s that’s the gap of inexperience. And so the only way you get it is by doing it. So I like that you said because I’m not 100 percent qualified because. If you’re 80 percent.
Allison Lacoursiere (15:27.763)
Yes.
Allison Lacoursiere (15:35.603)
Yes.
Tyler Jorgenson (15:43.766)
or 90 % qualified, that’s enough to start, right? And then the gap is bridged through the experience. No one ever truly gets to 100 % because your path is always gonna be different than the next person you’re coaching. There’s always going to be a gap of experience because life hasn’t fully happened yet. And I think it’s just like lowering the standard of where you have to be to be good enough to take action. At the same time, don’t, you know, there’s this weird thing where I like,
Allison Lacoursiere (15:48.446)
totally.
Tyler Jorgenson (16:12.334)
I, you know, I want some balance, right? I don’t want people who are 1 % qualified charging, like they’re a hundred percent qualified. So there’s a, there’s a tiny gap there, but, um, I think the concept that you’re saying of, people needing to have belief that it’s okay to get started. so how do you coach them through that?
Allison Lacoursiere (16:14.717)
I’m
Allison Lacoursiere (16:27.698)
It’s It’s me.
Allison Lacoursiere (16:32.221)
It’s exactly kind of as you said, it’s first recognizing that you might just be a beginner at your next level. So you’ve reached your level of where you’re at right now. And the next step is not that you are not ready for it or you can’t do it or you’re not qualified for it. You’re just a beginner at that new thing, but all of your qualifications get to apply towards that. And so what I really think imposter syndrome is is that…
We haven’t caught up with who we are today. Human beings are always expanding, we’re always growing, we’re always evolving. And so you just have to take a second, take a moment to acknowledge where you are today, who you are today, and the skills that you can bring to a situation rather than focusing on the ones that you’re not, or you’re not perfect at, or someone might be better than you. And it really is a mindset shift, but then it’s also a mindset practice to allow yourself to take a risk of moving into spaces that you’re not 100 % comfortable in.
Tyler Jorgenson (17:30.06)
Yeah. And you know, we tend to always be measuring ourselves off of our past experiences and not off of, off of our potential or our few, our next wins. and I think we often discount our success and sometimes overweigh our challenges and our failures. and that’s where, you know, we got to fight through that, the mindset and focus on it. I I’m a big, when it comes to sports, there was a quote that I really liked by a pitcher for the Dodgers, oral Hershizers, and he talked about being future perfect.
Allison Lacoursiere (17:45.267)
Totally.
Tyler Jorgenson (17:59.726)
He’s like, if I make a, if I, you know, if they get a hit, it’s their last hit. If they, you know, if I, uh, if I throw a walk, it’s the last walk I deal with. And he talks about dealing with the being future perfect. Like the past is the past. The future is perfect. And I just, I love that mindset of trying to remember that whatever has happened, it’s already done. You can only focus on the next step now.
Allison Lacoursiere (18:04.731)
Okay.
Allison Lacoursiere (18:17.937)
Adventure.
Allison Lacoursiere (18:22.696)
Yes. And there’s something really powerful about embodying the person that you’re becoming. So if you create a vision for, let’s say, future Tyler or future Alison of the next version of ourselves, because again, we’re always evolving, we’re always growing, we’re always expanding, we do it faster with intention, and we do it faster knowing where we’re going and what the vision is. So we create that vision for ourselves, and then we embody that person.
what would the Alison of the next level do? What would the Tyler of the future do right now to get you there? And that’s how you must act as if it’s already been done. And that’s how you get the skills. That’s how you get the mindset to be that person. And then eventually you step into it. And that’s how we grow. That’s how we achieve the things that we want to. What most people do though, is they think about the version of Tyler three years ago, the version of Alison three years ago, who once made the mistake, who didn’t look as good as I could have on stage. And that’s not helpful.
Tyler Jorgenson (18:57.678)
.
Allison Lacoursiere (19:17.329)
It’s not helpful at all and it’s frankly not even relevant anymore. And so we have to just see ourselves in a different way. Stop saying we have imposter syndrome. You’re not an imposter. You’re just growing. You’re just evolving. And maybe you’re not familiar with the person that you’re becoming yet, but you will be when you think from who that person is, think about what they would be doing, how they’d be acting and act as if it’s already done.
Tyler Jorgenson (19:40.758)
Yeah, I think it’s fascinating when I run into somebody that I haven’t seen in a while, I don’t expect them to be the same person that they were when I met them last, but yet sometimes I hold myself to that and I hold myself back, not allowing my future self to be fully like come into fruition. So I really like that idea of having that clear vision and really embodying that person. It’s something you have to be very proactive about.
Allison Lacoursiere (20:06.099)
truly you do and it pays off in tremendous ways when you are.
Tyler Jorgenson (20:10.616)
So what, as you’re making this shift from, you know, old Allison to the next version, what are some big things that you’re pushing for and creating? What are some parts of your vision that you’re most excited about?
Allison Lacoursiere (20:25.116)
For me, a lot of it is about alignment and authenticity. So it’s giving myself permission to be more Alison, to bring more of Alison to everything that I’m doing and to look at my calendar and look at my business and look at my life and not dread anything, not be not fully excited for everything. And it’s been a really cool year in that way where with that intention, it’s become real for me where things have been.
leaving my energy, leaving my schedule, leaving my life to make space for the things I’m really excited for. And that commitment to authenticity, I think, is going to pay off for me in big ways because when we are aligned, and this is something I know would be so true about life, about business, about relationships, the more aligned we are, the easier it gets. And something that I’ve been focusing on a lot within business coaching for women and for myself is balancing that feminine and masculine approach.
Tyler Jorgenson (21:19.586)
and
Allison Lacoursiere (21:19.826)
to business and life. I always like to give this kind of preface, like masculine doesn’t mean man, feminine doesn’t mean woman. It’s just masculine is the structure. It’s kind of the rigidity of the systems, the goal orientation, feminine is the flow, the intuition, the creativity, the empathy. Both of those things exist and all of us, just a natural energy. But I was all the way in my masculine for years. I think the last time I saw you in real life, I was all the in my masculine and I was burnt out and I was…
uninspired and I was not excited and I was not bringing my full self to my life and business. And by balancing that and understanding what does it mean to show up in my business in a feminine way? What does it mean to rest? What does it mean to lean into my intuitive nature? Those are all skillsets that we have, but we often in the business world have kind of like been like, that’s a soft skill or like doesn’t matter. But when it’s imbalanced, that’s how we really do get off track. So for me, a big version of
the new Alison or the Alison of the future is fully leaning into my authenticity, balancing both the masculine and feminine energy that I bring to the world and serving more people by doing that.
Tyler Jorgenson (22:30.156)
Hmm. You know, it’s interesting because as somebody who knew you during that stage, I didn’t see you as, I never felt you to be somebody that was inauthentic. and I think sometimes that can mean people think by being inauthentic, maybe you’re wearing a mask or not showing up, but I think sometimes it just means you’re saying yes to things you don’t really truly want to say yes to, right? Or you’re, or you’re staying in, pursuing opportunities that you know are lower level opportunities than what you’re really capable of. so.
I think I can see that you’re really pushing to level up and pushing for new and great things. And I’m really excited for what you’re working on. What are some of the things you’re most excited about over the next year or so?
Allison Lacoursiere (23:12.421)
I have a book coming out. So I am really excited. I’ve wanted to write a book for years, like since I think I was like 20 years old, I wanted to write a book. finally this year, I’m going to be bringing out a book on really how to heal, how to align so that your next business adventure, your next life adventure comes from a super aligned place. So I’m very, very excited about that. There might be a move coming up, which will be a…
to be determined, which is really exciting, finding the place in the world that I feel, again, most aligned, most connected, most excited, and really growing my team and growing my impact in the way that I’m really excited to bring it to the world. So a lot more retreats that I’m hosting this year, some keynotes that are coming up. So really excited to just take on that next version of myself and see how it feels and…
Tyler Jorgenson (23:40.142)
Sure.
Allison Lacoursiere (24:08.122)
and have fun doing it. This last year, I think I shared this with you over social media, but I’ve done more of the things that make me me than I have in a long time. And it’s crazy to see, like, I thought, okay, I’m going to take more time for myself. I’m going to take more time to hike and to surf and to swim and do all these things that are very innately Allison. And it’s done incredible things to my business. I didn’t lose revenue. I didn’t lose clients. It actually has exploded and expanded me in really big ways. And so I’m really excited to explore and continue that as well.
Tyler Jorgenson (24:38.454)
I love that. That’s really cool. you know, know vision is a big part of what you for you. You believe in having a really clear vision of the future. So when you look forward to future Allison, what are some stages you see yourself speaking on or what are some platforms you see yourself being featured on?
Allison Lacoursiere (24:56.624)
I’m really excited to speak more to women’s groups outside of dentistry. Like inside of dentistry, I’ve actually sent out some feelers for some bank keynotes. outside of dentistry, I’m really excited to support women in healthcare, support women in tech, support women in entrepreneurship. And so I’ve already just even putting again, you put that intention out and these opportunities come. I already have some opportunities that are coming to me on.
being on those stages and supporting those women. So nothing like in my mind specific, like there’s not like a company or like a specific place that I’m thinking of. It’s just really getting in front of more women who need this kind of support and who are ready to take themselves to that next level. And that’s where I really want to be.
Tyler Jorgenson (25:45.986)
love that. You’ve already addressed a lot of this, but I believe firmly that business should not replace your life, right? It should help fuel the life of your dreams. And you already talked about a lot of things that are innately, Alison, that you’re doing, but what’s one item on your personal bucket list that you’re going to do or see or be or have in the next 12 months?
Allison Lacoursiere (26:09.295)
That’s a really good question. Honestly, this is going to be, this is going to sound like kind of boring, but you’ll understand what I mean when I say it. Over the last five years, I’ve been on an airplane speaking at another event. Almost every weekend, I did close to 32 events last year and hosted five of my own. And so that lifestyle obviously has me in airports and has me in airplanes a lot. And this year, I’m really excited to have
a little bit more routine. Like I’m excited to wake up in the same place more often to spend more time outside and really have a little bit more of like a structured day to day routine. And I know that’s not like super exciting, glamorous, but for me in a way it really is because when you spend, when I very first started speaking, I’m like, wow, it’s so exciting to be on this airplane in all these different cities all the time. I’m so grateful for that experience. And yet now you really just
appreciate the comforts of being in your own space, having your own routine, being close to your friends and family, and not being on an airplane every weekend.
Tyler Jorgenson (27:16.032)
Yeah, absolutely. I love that. If people want to learn more about you, where do they go?
Allison Lacoursiere (27:23.064)
they can go to Alison Foussier on Instagram or AlisonFoussier.com.
Tyler Jorgenson (27:28.414)
and you know, however she said it, but we’ll have it linked in everywhere. if you’re watching this on YouTube, the comment or check down below wherever you’re watching, tuning or listening in, you’ll find links for Alison and for all of the amazing things that she is doing. To all my business ninjas, it’s your turn to go out and do something.
