If you think it got hot in Donald Trump’s board room, you ain’t seen nothing yet. Phil and I had the amazing pleasure to chat with one of the most unique (and hottest) entrepreneurs we’ve ever featured on The SHUT UP Show. Erika Lyremark of The Daily Whip gives us a raw glimpse inside the life of fast cash and long shifts in 6-inch stilettos and shares how she infused the lessons she learned all those years “on the pole” to help entrepreneurs build a thriving business thinking like a stripper.
If you’re looking to build a business, get more clients, or rule your market, you want to check out this episode with Erika:
Share Some SHUT UP Love –> It is about you but it’s not about you. We’re all connected but you’ve got to show up. @dailywhip #shutupshow (click to tweet)
Fun Facts:
- Erika stripped for nearly a decade before moving back home to build a multi-million dollar commercial real estate company with her father
- Erika earned two college degrees, one in Apparel Design and the other in Women’s Studies
- Erika has been featured in Entrepreneur Magazine, Forbes.com, Success Magazine, and Tory Johnson’s Spark & Hustle
- Erika has been a certified business coach for over 8 years and has helped over 500 entrepreneurs land book deals, score national press opportunities, and add multiple figures to their bottom line
Defining SHUT UP Moment:
Erika became a stripper at 21 when she lived in Seattle, Washington. It was far from what she intended for her life. In fact, she took a year of investigative research to make the decision. What started out as a short term solution to pay her way through college, Erika found herself addicted to the lifestyle for nearly a decade. When she wasn’t buried in books or writing papers at the library, she was working the pole at the strip club.
It was scary to leave that life but I so done with it. What starts out as a challenge can be come a comfy stage. As soon as we become comfortable, we get bored. We stop learning and stop growing. And that is part of our job to keep expanding and keep becoming better new versions of ourselves.
After living in Seattle for 11 years, 9 of them spent stripping, Erika became burnt out by the lifestyle and quit her job with no real back up plan. Within 3 weeks, she moved back home to Minnesota to live with her mom and begin working with her dad in commercial real estate. Though she became very successful and helped her father build a multi-million dollar company, Erika became bored and decided to pursue a new venture.
I was watching the season premiere of The Apprentice. It was 2004. I had never watched reality TV before and when I saw how the entrepreneurs were struggling with the challenges and getting along with each other, I thought to myself, “Hey, I worked in a strip club… that’s a cake walk… Donald Trump, the board room, that’s nothing. I can do this! I can help them!” I got my certification in coaching. Then in the fall of 2011, I went full-time with Daily Whip. It’s the most challenging thing I’ve done in my life. I’m so happy that I’ve done it. It’s still so much work every day. What’s next? What am I doing? How am I gonna ship this? I’m bored with that… I need to do the next thing. I’m still having that conversation with myself. I never wanna get comfy because then I get bored. When get bored, I get depressed.
SHUT UP Tips:
We never know what is happening in the background. Life is a big, giant mystery. And if we’re willing to play the game, willing to keep our eyes and ears open, and pay attention to the mystery, it is super fun. – Erika
Hustle is like the space in-between the cracks that people aren’t willing to go. That’s where the good stuff is. Where innovation and creativity is, and all the cool stuff happening on the planet. – Erika
When we set our intentions and we are not attached to how they play out or how things happen, it’s wickedly fun. We all have dreams and goals and if we set those intentions and keep moving forward, the right people are going to show up at the right time. Every single time. – Erika
I’m never looking for the easier way to do things. I love to learn, be challenged and create. That’s not the same for everybody. It really is about finding–creating–your place in the world. That’s an ongoing challenge and an ongoing thing. You can’t learn it in a book and in a classroom. You’ve got to get out there and make it your own. – Erika
If we come from a place of “I deserve it simply because it’s available to me,” it’s not about being greedy or spoiled. As long as you don’t tip on the side of narcissism… where do you feel like you deserve the small piece of pie? Why are you not taking the big piece of pie when it’s offered to you? – Erika
If your why is big enough, your confidence will follow. – Phil
Excitement is often on the other side of fear. – Phil
One thing that has helped me is coming from a place of service. Being present with people. We all have gifts to share with people. When I come from “I’m here to serve you and that’s all I’m here to do,” it really shifts things as well. – Erika
Practice plus purpose equals something greater than yourself. – Phil
You can’t make it about yourself. It’s like the sound of one hand clapping. It is about you but it’s not about you. We’re all connected but you’ve got to show up. – Erika
Erika Recommends:
Barbara Corcoran – Use What You’ve Got
Wayne Dyer – Wishes Fulfilled
Get your free chapter of Erika’s new book, Think Like a Stripper: Business Lessons to Up Your Confidence, Attract More Clients & Rule Your Market (no opt-in required)
Find Erika:
Erika offers online business coaching programs and products for entrepreneurs at DailyWhip.com
Tweet with Erika at @dailywhip
Like Daily Whip on Facebook
Get your copy of Think Like a Stripper