Lia Garvin: From Google to Author and Entrepreneurship Greatness

Lia Garvin is an organizational effectiveness strategist leveraging my experience across Microsoft, Apple, and Google to equip innovative companies with the tools to cultivate inclusive, motivated, high-performing teams resulting in higher retention, more efficiency, and better business results; and ambitious professionals with the tools to accelerate their careers.

In this episode of From Passion to Profit™️, Lia sits down with us to share the profound insights and personal narratives that fueled her transition from a corporate powerhouse to a full-time entrepreneur. We delve into her remarkable path of crafting an annual vision, advocating for authentic recognition in the workplace, and the art of balancing an intense job with entrepreneurial ambitions. Prepare to be inspired by Lia’s commitment to authenticity, her strategic approach to overcoming self-doubt, and her determined focus on nurturing support systems both personally and professionally.

Who do you serve and why?

I serve leaders, managers, and individual contributors in the workplace who are eager to build great teams and have thriving careers. We spend 1/3 of our lives (at least) at work, with our teams or colleagues, and to me, it’s a tragedy if we’re in an environment where we feel invisible or excluded, or that our work isn’t getting the recognition it deserves. With my work, I seek to change that.

How long have you been in business?

About a year part-time, launched full time this past August 2022 (as of late 2022.)

What were you doing before you started this business?

I was a team operations leader at Google, supporting organizational effectiveness of product teams across the company, and moonlighting as a career coach to colleagues, helping to ensure their work got the visibility and recognition it deserved.

How & why did you start this business?

Organizational psychology and how to build motivated, inclusive, and high performing cultures has long been an interest of mine – I think it is from working at the center of some of the most high pressure environments with the highest bar of entry to be there. Once there, there can be so many things that make hard work harder than it needs to be. I wanted to start my business to support more kinds of teams and organizations at scale.

The most pivotal moment in my business was…

Writing my book Unstuck (and 7 months later becoming a bestselling author). Unstuck is written in my voice, it’s me at its core, and it was my opportunity to share with the world my unfiltered experience, ideas, and tools for how to thrive at work.

And leaving Google to fully step into entrepreneurship. This was scary, hard, and a HUGE decision for someone who continually overthinks decisions, but it set me on the trajectory to be able to make unlimited impact with my work.

If there’s anything you could change in your story, what would it be and why?

I think a lot of us say this, but I would have taken the leap sooner. The last year I was balancing a LOT and made the move when I was on the brink of burnout. Looking back I would have made the move before my book came out so I could focus exclusively on that and getting an opportunity to slow down to go fast. Right now I’m going fast to go fast, which is kind of fun, but exhausting 😉

What has been the most fulfilling part of your entrepreneurial journey?

When I’m hosting a workshop or coaching someone and they say something like “I hadn’t thought about it in that way.” The central theme of all of my work is reframing, or looking at a challenge through a new perspective, so when I can unlock that kind of learning, it makes every hard day worth it.

What has been the most challenging part of your entrepreneurial journey?

Learning the ins and outs of digital marketing and focusing my time and energy in the right places. I’m a solopreneur at the moment and I want to do ALL THE THINGS and want to do them immediately, but there are only a certain number of hours in the day.

If you had to do it all over again, what would you say?

I guess I said I would have started sooner, but I think I would have done it in a similar way. I think my response would be to have more patience with myself 😉

Any final thoughts?

For folks stuck in their careers or interested in coaching but not quite sure where to start, fill out my free quiz at liagarvin.com/coachingquiz and I’ll follow up with a customized plan for coaching you through it. Also, check out my free resource “4 Do’s and Don’ts for talking about your work with impact” at liagarvin.com/tips.

How to find Lia Garvin and support her:

Website: https://www.liagarvin.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lia.garvin/
How to Work with Lia Garvin: https://www.liagarvin.com/social

Tune into the From Passion to Profit™️ Podcast: cheyamedia.com/podcast