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Unveiling Your Hidden Expertise: The Key to Overcoming Self-Doubt With Lisa Simone Richards · Expertise Made Real

• 0:00
  What if you already have all the proof you need that you're an expert and you've just never stopped to count it?
• 0:08
  Pearlspark Pages founder Lisa Simone Richards talks in this episode about why expertise feels invisible until you track it.
• 0:16
  The old stories that convince smart people they're not good at the very thing they're quietly excellent at.
• 0:22
  And why more than 75% of women leaders have talked themselves out of expertise they've already earned.
• 0:33
  You're listening to Expertise Made Real.
• 0:36
  I'm Kristen N.
• 0:37
  Spencer and this is where your experience finally gets called what it is.
• 0:42
  Expertise.
• 0:44
  Lisa Simone Richards is the award winning co founder and CEO of Pearl Spark Pages, a self belief fueled stationery brand that gives women entrepreneurs a daily dose of self confidence so they can push past imposter syndrome.
• 0:59
  After two decades as a publicist helping women led startups gain visibility, Lisa realized she was facing the very challenge she had coached so many founders through, which is so relatable.
• 1:11
  Imposter syndrome.
• 1:12
  Even with years of experience, she saw how our inner dialogue shapes the way we show up in business and in life.
• 1:21
  Determined to change that narrative, Lisa created the Female Founders Journal to help women entrepreneurs turn self doubt and into bold self belief through beautifully designed paper products.
• 1:33
  Lisa's mission is to help women see themselves the way the world already does, capable and confident.
• 1:41
  Lisa, thank you so much for being here today.
• 1:45
  Yay.
• 1:45
  It's such a joy.
• 1:46
  I'm excited to speak with you.
• 1:48
  Me too.
• 1:49
  I always, our conversations are always great and so when you agreed to come on the podcast, I was like, yes, the listeners are absolutely going to love this.
• 1:57
  So let's go ahead and dive in.
• 1:59
  You know, this show is all about making expertise real, taking the thing that you're already excellent at and turning it into something visible and teachable.
• 2:08
  So let's start.
• 2:09
  What is your number one piece of advice for someone who's looking to turn their self doubt into confidence?
• 2:15
  Who is a professional boss lady?
• 2:19
  I would say.
• 2:20
  So I'm glad that the answer came to me pretty easily.
• 2:22
  Look for evidence.
• 2:24
  You can't argue with evidence.
• 2:27
  So one of the things that I like to do inside the Female Founders Journal and I made this a practice every day, every Monday through Friday page ends with today I'm proud of myself for.
• 2:38
  So every single day you're documenting what you're proud of and that's a really good muscle to flex.
• 2:43
  And then every Saturday, the end of the week prompt are what are your top three wins of the week.
• 2:49
  So when you're reflecting on things that frequently and Then you go back through the pages and see evidence of something.
• 2:55
  Then your story has to change.
• 2:57
  And there are also questions like what past limiting beliefs can you let go of?
• 3:02
  So I'll share an example of one for me turning self doubt into self belief.
• 3:06
  When I was in.
• 3:08
  Let's go back a little further.
• 3:10
  My mom is incredibly smart at math and science and my dad worked in aerospace engineering.
• 3:16
  So like, my parents are very tactically scientifically inclined.
• 3:20
  I took a page from Cheryl Horowitz's book in Clueless and I negotiated passing chem and bio because I absolutely was going to fail those two.
• 3:28
  But I had a little chat with my teacher and like, we made it happen.
• 3:34
  Another moment that happened was in grade 11 going on with a, like, not good at science and math the way my parents were.
• 3:41
  I was in math class and I remember a specific moment in grade 11 when I was told, maybe you should consider dropping math and taking gym instead.
• 3:50
  It's at the same time slot.
• 3:51
  Like, you want to have a good average for undergrad.
• 3:53
  Like, maybe this class isn't for you.
• 3:55
  Like, we hadn't gotten into like trigonometry and like algebra and all those different types of math and calculus that people do.
• 4:02
  I didn't even get that far.
• 4:04
  So that has.
• 4:06
  I did drop math.
• 4:07
  I did take gym.
• 4:08
  I ended up being a personal trainer and a fitness instructor for a few years.
• 4:11
  So, like, it worked out.
• 4:12
  I work out every day as an settled now.
• 4:14
  So, like, that really did work out.
• 4:15
  Dropping math.
• 4:16
  I own a calculator.
• 4:17
  It's fine.
• 4:18
  But I also had the story that I'm terrible with math and I'm bad with numbers, so I always outsource them fully being transparent.
• 4:27
  Thank God my husband takes care of all that stuff.
• 4:29
  But like, I get to swipe that story and be capable of doing it myself.
• 4:33
  So I say that to say, as I was building this Ecom brand and I was learning things about having an online store, average order value or AOV lifetime value of a customer, the cost to acquisition, cost to acquire
• 4:46
  a customer.
• 4:47
  And I was learning all these different, like, mathematical numbers and percentages.
• 4:51
  Like, I learned I can spit those numbers off the top of my head pretty easily.
• 4:55
  Like, I can look at my stats at the back end and do some math and figure it out.
• 4:58
  And one day I was like, I need to kill that story on like, not being good with math because I've told myself that for like literally 25 years.
• 5:07
  But here I am looking at these numbers and I can manipulate them and I'll do them in my head, and then my husband will run him through a calculator, and I'm only off by a little bit.
• 5:14
  So because I had the evidence to look back at, it was like, oh, like, I could keep telling myself that story.
• 5:22
  I could keep doubting myself.
• 5:23
  But, like, if I look at this, like, I can't argue with the fact that I did it.
• 5:28
  So I would definitely say tracking and having that confidence, like, you can't argue with the proof.
• 5:35
  I love that so much.
• 5:36
  That's actually.
• 5:37
  There's a whole chapter in my new book about this.
• 5:40
  Like, show the receipts.
• 5:41
  Make a list of all the things that you tried.
• 5:44
  Not even the things that you succeeded in, but the things that you were brave enough to try even when you failed, because that still counts.
• 5:52
  So I actually have a math learning disability.
• 5:54
  And I was told, hey, like, you need to stop trying to be in business economics as a major.
• 6:01
  My professor noticed, like, I flipped all the equations, and he's like, you're going to fail this class unless you figure out how to not do this.
• 6:10
  But please don't do this as your major.
• 6:12
  I'm telling you, you can do it, but it's gonna be hard.
• 6:15
  And I love that that's part of your story, too, and how you're using that superpower you picked up of, like, let me adjust the story I've been telling myself based on recent events so that you can cross off
• 6:31
  that, you know, it's not even something that you were noticing.
• 6:36
  People were putting that story on you.
• 6:39
  Yeah.
• 6:39
  And also, I'll even say for myself, like, I don't need to do useless math.
• 6:44
  What do I care about the angle of a triangle?
• 6:46
  Like, when it comes to business and dollar signs, yes, I'm paying attention, but, like, I don't think the Pythagorean theorem served anybody unless you become a mathematician.
• 6:53
  So I'm going to save my brain cells for something a little more important.
• 6:57
  Absolutely.
• 6:58
  So let's say someone's listening to this episode right now, and they're trying to figure out, because imposter syndrome is so huge and so common.
• 7:06
  Like, even right before recording this, I was like, okay, you can.
• 7:10
  You can do this.
• 7:11
  You've done.
• 7:11
  This is your third podcast.
• 7:13
  You need to stop panicking.
• 7:14
  So what would you say, you know, like, to this very common relatable experience, even if you're scared to tell yourself the stories, like, what is us?
• 7:27
  Even smaller step that someone can take.
• 7:29
  I think just realizing that you're in good company can feel really comforting.
• 7:34
  Like, it's not like I want bad things for other people.
• 7:36
  But sometimes when I realize that I'm not alone, suffering in silence, that helps me feel like, okay Lisa, you're not broken.
• 7:42
  This is something you can move through and other people are moving through it too.
• 7:45
  So when I was making my transition out of PR and figuring out what to do next, one of the things that inspired me was coming across a few statistics.
• 7:56
  One of them is more recent and it's been after since creating the journal.
• 7:59
  But I saw the trend now more and we're recording this in 2026 more than 40% of businesses in North America are being started by women.
• 8:09
  So there's a huge number of women who are taking a chance on themselves and starting either a side hustle or a full time business.
• 8:16
  The second part of that that I learned much earlier is that according to a KPMG study from 2020, more than 75% of women leaders report experiencing imposter syndrome at some point in their career.
• 8:30
  So when you're in a group of four people know that three out of four people have had the same feelings that you had and maybe them is a liar.
• 8:37
  If she's not, that's awesome.
• 8:39
  I love that confidence for her.
• 8:42
  But you're not alone.
• 8:43
  It's something that so many women struggle with.
• 8:46
  So to know that you're not alone, you're not broken.
• 8:49
  This is something super common.
• 8:51
  And then to arm yourself with the tools that allow you to shift that self doubt is so important.
• 8:57
  I've been doing so much, you know I'm a very type a high achieving person.
• 9:01
  So give me the strategies, give me the tactics I will execute, I will do the things.
• 9:06
  But I'm also woo like I like my crystals, I like learning about mindset and I think something that's really I think this is a Bob Proctor thing that comes with the whole be, do, act or have principle.
• 9:19
  Like everything starts with a belief.
• 9:21
  If you don't believe you're capable of something, you are not going to do the actions to get you to that thing.
• 9:27
  I don't have any belief.
• 9:28
  Well I don't have a care to build a plane but I also don't think I probably could.
• 9:33
  I don't have a belief that I'm going to win the gold medal in the Olympics.
• 9:36
  So like those aren't things I bother trying but the things that I do have that spark of an idea for.
• 9:40
  I'm like you could probably do that.
• 9:42
  So you have to shape that belief and actually sell yourself on.
• 9:45
  I believe I am capable of this or else you will never take the actions in alignment of that.
• 9:50
  So you can read the books, but like, if you don't get that core little micro moment of when you want to say no and shifting it into a yes, all the other stuff doesn't matter.
• 9:59
  So I wanted to create something that would really help people lean into that micro moment where they would otherwise not bet on themselves and turn it into an opportunity to believe in themselves and take that moment.
• 10:10
  Something.
• 10:10
  I'm not sure that how many people know this, but even the idea for the journal itself, I was.
• 10:16
  It was September 2024.
• 10:18
  I knew I didn't want to keep doing PR anymore.
• 10:20
  It had been 20 years.
• 10:21
  My husband and I were in our local bookstore.
• 10:24
  So in the States you have Barnes and Noble is your massive book change.
• 10:27
  And we have Indig.
• 10:29
  So I was in Indigo and I was looking for a guided journal that would help me figure out what my next steps in career would be.
• 10:36
  One of the journals I found that was on business was way more tactical than I was looking for.
• 10:40
  It's like, what are your KPIs, your analytics?
• 10:42
  And I was like, I don't need that.
• 10:44
  I need something different.
• 10:45
  And then I picked up the most guide, the most popular guided journal on the market, which I use every day.
• 10:51
  So nobody's like, like, like hitting, like saying mean things about or not being negative on it.
• 10:55
  I use it daily and they walk so I could run.
• 10:58
  But when my husband picked up that journal and saw it was the same prompt every single day, a repeated page.
• 11:03
  And then he saw the price of it, he's like, people pay what for this?
• 11:07
  And I had a fleeting moment of like, what if we did something differently?
• 11:11
  And I could have let that go and continued shopping and getting on with the day, but because I leaned into that moment and I believed it and I was like, no, seriously though, what if now, a year and
• 11:21
  change later, my book is on that shelf in that store and I've done like three or four in person author events.
• 11:28
  So like, it's having those moments and recognizing them and shifting them that genuinely turn into the massive leaps in your life.
• 11:36
  I love that so much.
• 11:38
  Yeah.
• 11:39
  In my new book, one of the chapters is on if you can't sell yourself on you, you can't sell anything else.
• 11:46
  And it sounds like you let curiosity be your guide.
• 11:50
  What if there was another journal that would actually serve me better?
• 11:55
  And because there wasn't, you went out and made that, which I love so much.
• 11:59
  And we're going to definitely talk more about that in another episode, but we're out of time for this episode.
• 12:05
  So if people are listening to this and they're like, I really want to know more about Lisa, I also want to get my hands on the currently sold out journal.
• 12:14
  Where do they find you?
• 12:15
  How can they get in touch with you?
• 12:17
  Yeah.
• 12:17
  So come to our website.
• 12:18
  Our company is pearlsparkpages.com and you can sign up for the wait list.
• 12:23
  We are opening up pre sales at the early access pricing for our next range of journals and we have something new that we're going to be sharing too.
• 12:30
  So you have to come to pearlsparkpages.com to find out what that is.
• 12:34
  Amazing.
• 12:34
  Well, thank you so much Lisa and I can't wait to hop on with you to talk in our next episode where we are going to talk about the D Word delegation.
• 12:46
  And now if you liked the episode, I'm going to make an ask because I wouldn't be a sales expert if I didn't.
• 12:53
  Would you please leave a rating and review and hit subscribe.
• 12:57
  In exchange, I'm going to give you my Find your wonder work system.
• 13:02
  It's five prompts, five minutes and names the thing that you're already excellent at but don't know to call a skill.
• 13:09
  This is basically a what do you do on autopilot?
• 13:12
  Except I've created it as a tool.
• 13:14
  So leave your review and then go claim your reward at Bit ly expertisemr.
• 13:23
  That's bitly expertisemr.
• 13:29
  And I hope to hear you or my guest, I guess, in the next episode.
• 13:34
  Thanks.