I'm kicking off my four-part series on the four CEO types, and we're starting with the one I know very well: the Decisive CEO.

If you're the kind of leader who makes high-stakes decisions fast, holds your standards without flinching, and doesn't waste time dragging dead offers into the ground… you're in the right place.

I'm breaking down why your speed, intensity, and directness are not problems to "fix"—they're competitive advantages.

But I'm also sharing the one place where decisiveness can backfire: when your momentum outruns trust.

We'll talk about how to build trust infrastructure (without becoming "softer" or handholding people one-by-one) so your leadership lands, your clients feel supported, and your business grows faster without draining you.

[00:00] - I introduce the four-part CEO types series and why most business advice only works for two "popular" operator styles

[02:38] - The Decisive CEO profile: fast decisions, strong pricing energy, and bold leadership—plus the "you're too much" conditioning

[04:22] - Core wiring: task-oriented + fast-paced (and why that's an asset, not a liability)

[08:23] - Why decisive leaders win: quick decisions, no dead-offer loyalty, strong boundaries, and results-driven thinking

[13:31] - How Decisive CEOs naturally make more money: aligned pricing, strong qualification, boundaries, quick pivots, and clear messaging

[22:47] - The biggest blind spot: hype-first marketing (and how decisiveness can accidentally override buyer readiness)

[32:01] - The solution: build trust infrastructure that creates connection automatically—without turning into a "hey girl bestie" brand

[35:21] - Practical trust assets: credibility-driven content, pre-sale sequences, onboarding that creates safety, and clearer expectations

[39:35] - Your game plan: design offers for experience (not just outcomes), demonstrate expertise, automate trust-building, protect your energy, and build for the life you want

• "Your intensity is a huge asset for your business."

• "You do not have to soften yourself… but what you do have to do is build systems."

• "Protect your energy like it's a business asset because it is."

• "You should not be working with people who drain you or make you resent your business."

• "Your decisiveness and your directness is an asset, not a liability."

• CEO Type Quiz: lauraschoenfeld.com/quiz

• DM me on Instagram: @laura.schoenfeld

• Mentioned interview: Lindsey Lusson

If you enjoyed this episode, follow the podcast, leave a quick rating and review, and share it with a friend who's also a fast-moving, high-standards kind of CEO.

And if you're a Decisive CEO, come DM me on Instagram! I'd genuinely love to hear what clicked for you.

In this episode, I sit down with multi–seven-figure CEO and top 1% former network marketer Stefanie Gass, host of the globally ranked business podcast God Led Business.

Stefanie spent years building her business "the world's way" — hustling, striving, and burning out — before hitting what she calls her "bathroom floor moment" and rebuilding everything with God leading the process.

We talk about what it actually looks like to surrender your business to God when your old hustle wiring is still screaming at you, how Stefanie now runs a multi–seven-figure company in roughly 16 hours a week, and why she believes podcasting is still one of the most powerful, sustainable ways to grow a business without relying on social media.

If you've been feeling that holy restlessness that tells you something about the way you're building isn't aligned anymore, this conversation is going to give you both language and practical direction for your next step.

[0:00] – Why this episode is for anyone who believes in a higher power and is tired of carrying their entire business alone.

[2:24] – Stefanie's first 7 years of entrepreneurship: hustle, burnout, identity rooted in money, and the "quicksand" of building the world's way.

[4:43] – The bathroom floor moment: losing her business, borrowing from her kids' savings, struggling with health and alcohol, and finally fully surrendering to God.

[8:29] – Starting over with $150, the gym she "couldn't afford," and learning to fight old wiring while slowly trusting God with her business.

[14:25] – "Discernment alarms," holy restlessness, and how God uses discomfort with kids, work, or even your phone to get your attention.

[19:22] – How Stefanie practically creates balance: her annual CEO retreat, habit tracking, Sunday planning, and building a dream life in 16 hours of work per week.

[28:23] – Why she doubled down on podcasting, how it quickly outperformed social media, and why she believes audio is making a comeback as people detox from short-form content.

1. "Funny enough, when you build with the world's way and not God's way, it's quicksand."

2. "I shifted from just doing more on my own to trusting God more so that I can do less."

3. "I'm literally building the business that God created for the people it's meant to serve."

4. "Whenever God's trying to get our attention, it creates a holy restlessness in you."

5. "Audio consumption is healing. It's something that allows you to be at peace in your day and not overstimulated and chaotic."
   
   

• 🎧 Stefanie's Podcast: God Led Business

• 🎁 Free 5-Day Podcast Clarity Bootcamp

• • Learn how to get clarity on your podcast idea, whether podcasting could work for you, and how it can make money in your business

  • Use code: LAURA at checkout to get it for FREE!

Today's episode is personal, partially because it's my second baby's first birthday (Happy birthday Mabel!)

And since this episode lands on that day, I wanted to share what the last year has actually looked like for me: going from one kid to two, navigating a birth experience that didn't go the way I expected, and rebuilding my business around the reality of motherhood (not the fantasy version).

This isn't a full birth story, but I do open up about what I learned the hard way: self-trust under pressure, boundary-setting when it's wildly uncomfortable, and why protecting my energy is not optional… because it's part of what my clients are paying for.

If you're a mom (or future mom) building a business and want to protect your own peace and power as you grow your profits, this episode will hit hard.

[00:00:00] - Why I'm recording this on Mabel's first birthday and why this episode is more personal than usual

[00:02:19] - The shift I'm making: more privacy, more separation between "me" and "my business"

[00:08:24] - Walking into the hospital expecting a chill birth… and getting blindsided by dangerously high blood pressure

[00:10:18] - Magnesium, restrictions, stalled labor, and the pressure to accept interventions I didn't want

[00:15:03] - The moment everything escalated: conflict with a midwife, boundaries drawn, and firing part of my care team

[00:21:00] - The core lesson: trusting my intuition in extreme circumstances and what that unlocked in me

[00:31:05] - The past year of motherhood + CEO life: protecting my energy, redefining priorities, and refusing to perform online

[00:40:56] - "My business is not my baby." Building a business around my life is non-negotiable

[00:46:50] - The new rule: I don't owe anyone an explanation and I'm done being palatable

1. "My business is not my baby. My babies are my baby."

2. "My birth experience told me I could trust myself and my intuition and my gut instinct, even in very difficult circumstances."

3. "I know that I can piss people off, and it can still be the right thing to do."

4. "Part of what my clients are paying for is access to my powerful energy."

5. "I am no longer available for shrinking myself or for choosing somebody else's comfort at the expense of what I know is right."
   
   

If you enjoyed this behind-the-scenes episode, I'd love it if you'd follow the show, leave a review, and share it with a fellow CEO-mom (or future CEO-mom) who needs the reminder to trust herself and protect what matters most.