Navigating Entrepreneurship as a Woman: Lessons from Expat Planet

Most Valuable Lesson or Insight:

The most valuable lesson from this conversation is that success in entrepreneurship is not about reaching a fixed end goal but about embracing the journey, learning from failures, and staying consistent. Laura, the founder of Expert Planet, highlights that starting a business is both challenging and exciting, especially when venturing into uncharted territory. Success is redefined as believing in yourself, persevering through obstacles, and continuously evolving. For women in business, building a supportive community and staying adaptable are key to overcoming the unique challenges they face.

Top 5 "Between the Lines" Lessons:

1. Success is a moving target: There’s no fixed endpoint in entrepreneurship. Goals evolve as you grow, and the journey itself is the reward.

2. Failure is part of the process: Mistakes and setbacks are inevitable, but they are stepping stones to growth and improvement.

3. Community and support matter: Building a network of like-minded individuals, especially other women in business, can provide invaluable guidance and encouragement.

4. Consistency is crucial: Even when progress feels slow, consistently showing up and promoting your business is essential for long-term success.

5. Adaptability is key: Entrepreneurship requires flexibility. Be prepared to pivot, revisit earlier steps, and adjust your strategies as you learn.

5 Actionable Steps:

1. Define success on your own terms: Reflect on what success means to you—whether it’s financial stability, time freedom, or personal growth—and let that guide your business decisions.

2. Embrace failure as a learning tool: When things don’t go as planned, analyze what went wrong, learn from it, and use those lessons to improve.

3. Build a supportive network: Connect with other entrepreneurs, especially women, to share experiences, advice, and encouragement.

4. Stay consistent with marketing and outreach: Even when progress feels slow, continue promoting your business through content creation, networking, and community engagement.

5. Be adaptable and open to change: Regularly reassess your business strategies and be willing to pivot or revisit earlier steps to align with your evolving goals.

Transcript:

Host:
Everyone, welcome to Business Chats! This week, we're going to be talking with Laura from Expert Planet. She started this company a while ago, and it's an amazing entrepreneurial option for people who have an English-speaking business in non-English-speaking countries. Hi, Laura! I see you there. Let's see if you can join. Please, Instagram gods, for the first time, allow me to make this happen. It just... this is always the case. I accept your request a million times, and then we have to wait.

I'm so excited about talking to you about being a woman in business. I feel like you've worked with a lot of people in this area and have very interesting insights on it. So, let's see if the Instagram gods will allow us.

Laura:
Says Expert Planet cannot join.

Host:
Why is that? The struggle is real, my friends. Oh, there you are! Yay! But my earphones just disconnected. I don't know why. I think Mercury might be retrograding right now, and all the tech stuff is just malfunctioning. This is not good because then I can't hear you properly. Can you hear me at all?

Laura:
Yeah, a little bit.

Host:
That's fine. It's alive. Okay, yeah. Well, I don't know why. Yeah, it happens sometimes. Can you hear me properly? Because my earphones are not working.

Laura:
Yeah, I can hear you perfectly. I can see you for the first time because last time I couldn't see the other person.

Host:
I can't see you. I can only see myself, and I don't like this. But you're perfect. You're perfectly on frame, and I can see you, and it's going to record. Wow, okay. At least that's what happened last time. I could only see myself, and I couldn't see the other person. It really sucks.

Laura:
I know. It sucks.

Host:
We need to move to TikTok. I keep telling you people, and you don't listen. We need to move to TikTok. TikTok is the right platform. No, I'm kidding. Instagram, please just make this better. Thank you. We love you.

So, welcome to Business Chats! How are you?

Laura:
Good. A little bit stressed, but good.

Host:
I'm not stressed. I just would like my earphones to be working. So, I'm trying, but it seems that I can't do anything. The Bluetooth thing sometimes gets disconnected, and suddenly when I join, they just disconnect. So, whatever.

Laura:
Yeah, it happens. That's why I'm using the corded ones just to avoid that because that used to happen to me a lot.

Host:
Okay, but hi. It's fine. How are you?

Laura:
All good. I'm good. Yeah, what about you?

Host:
Happy Monday! Yeah, it's an exciting day. We're finishing the month of October. We are gonna be... if it's okay with you, we can talk about the struggles of being a woman in business and how scary it is since we are in Halloween, basically a couple of days away from Halloween, and the scary things that it brings to us. I think being a woman in business is one of the scariest things that you can ever do. Do you agree?

Laura:
Well, I'm still new. I started only one year and a half ago, and you know, everything that is new is scary. So, it's... I'm completely new in this area, and I didn't have any relationship with social media or building projects. So, yes, it's scary, but on the other side, it's also very exciting.

Host:
100%. I couldn't agree more. It's quite a journey, and I think in the beginning, you sort of realize... you think that you have an end goal, and then at some point, you realize it's a road that you need to go through. And once you get to something that you think is what you wanted, you'll realize that that end goal has moved a little bit, and now you want something different or need something different to be able to feel like you made it.

Laura:
Isn't that the same with everything in life? You know, growth, happiness, everything is the same stuff. You just have to be consistent, and you can't stop. You can't wait for the goal and then everything will be perfect. Life doesn't work like that.

Host:
That's sort of the lie that the corporate world tells you because it's like, "Okay, once I'm a manager, then this will happen. I will have this raise, and I will have this perfect life." But then there's layoffs or something else can happen and just ruin that stability that's only in your imagination because it can change any minute now. So, I honestly just rather have that sort of unstable thing going on, but I rely only on myself rather than the decision of someone higher up above. Like, that makes no sense to me now. It used to make sense, but now it doesn't.

What do you think? I mean, to you, because I feel like everyone has a different meaning for it. What do you think being successful means? We were talking about it the other day because, on the little form that I have for people to sign up to do the Business Chats with me, it says, "If you're a successful businesswoman, please sign up," blah blah blah. And then Laura was like, "Well, I don't think I'm successful yet. I just started."

Laura:
I wanted to say that, you know, there is this general definition of success that you have to reach some level of income, visibility, connections, and business growth. And for me, at this moment where I am now, I feel I'm successful because I didn't give up, and I still believe that I can do it even though I don't have a strong background in these things. I really believe in myself, in my abilities, and in the idea of Expert Planet. And I consider myself to be successful because of this.

Host:
And I do consider that you are successful because of that exactly. Because honestly, also, the concept of being successful changes a lot from women to men. Men in business usually think about success as, "Once I hit 100K, for example, in one month, then I'll be successful." And then women, we have different goals. We might want some time freedom to be able to deal with our family and still have a steady income coming in, or just know that we have stuck with it through thick and thin and still are making it work and growing little by little, but still growing.

I think that's super interesting because Expert Planet... I moved to Valencia last year in March, and as soon as I started networking, I found you, and I was like, "This platform is genius. This is exactly what I needed when I was living in Poland." So, do you mind telling everyone what Expert Planet is exactly?

Laura:
Yeah, Expert Planet is my baby. The idea is to create a directory of English-speaking services of any kind in countries where English is not commonly used. So, when I came to Spain six years ago, I didn't speak any Spanish, and I wanted to have a hairdresser, a gynecologist, a dentist, an accountant who could speak English because, of course, you need to communicate. And it was quite a hustle.

That's why, based on my experience, this idea arose to create this platform. As I said, I started only one year and a half ago, so it's still in the beginnings, but I really believe that it's going to be big and successful in terms of being needed and used. People will go there to find the services they need.

Host:
I was just going to say, this platform is going to be life-changing for a lot of people. Like, you might have done it just because you needed it, and that's how most successful businesses start, right? You see a need for yourself, and you create this product to satisfy that need, and then people start using it because they usually have the same needs.

When I found that it existed, I was like, "Oh my God, how did I not know this?"

Laura:
When you found it, you were one of the first ones, so it was almost...

Host:
Really? Oh, that's so cool. Everyone needs to sign up right now, by the way. It's super simple. You fill out a form about your business, what it is that you do, where you're located, and they verify that you are actually a real business. And then they add you to the directory, and that's pretty much it. And then someone else can just try to find some business in your services or industry, and then you show up.

Laura:
Yeah, it's like there are two goals that are interconnected. It's about helping the small businesses attract new clients and also making the relocation process of experts more relaxed so they can find services they need. But it's also about the business growth on the other side for the businesses.

Host:
Yeah, and it's super important. And I do believe that you should talk about it even more and go on every single podcast and every single interview and share it from... like, screaming from the rooftops because I needed the service when I was living in Poland, and I couldn't find a doctor that would speak fluent English. Most of them were having broken English, and we could understand each other, but you know, it's your health, and it's an important issue.

I once even had to call 911 there, and the paramedics didn't know any English, and so it was a whole thing trying to explain in my broken Polish and their broken English what's happening. It can be life-changing, life-saving even.

And then for small businesses, I know... I went to a conference a couple of months ago in Barcelona, and I met this girl who was from Ukraine. She's an expert because she's living in Spain because she cannot live in her country right now, unfortunately. And she is a lash tech, you know, and she's starting this business to do eyelashes on women, make them feel beautiful. It's a lovely business. I love that so much.

And she was worried that she couldn't start her business in Spain because she didn't speak Spanish. And I was like, "You can. There's a huge community of experts here that speak English, even Russian and Ukrainian, and you can definitely just focus on them." And I actually remember I told her about Expert Planet, and I was like, "You need to sign up to this platform because I'm sure you'll get clients from it."

I'll have to ask her if she did. I don't know, but you need to keep sharing it from the rooftops because honestly, it's really important that this exists.

Laura:
I now post for a while because I needed to create some more content and visibility for this idea and for myself. But in the near future, I am going back to reaching out to businesses and talking about it more. So, yeah, it's on the list.

Host:
Definitely. So, for next year, what are your business goals for Expert Planet? What do you expect to achieve?

Laura:
I didn't expect this question. For the next year, I have... I know about my goals for the next few months ahead. You know, this journey is quite challenging and difficult from the point of view that, as I mentioned, I didn't have any prior experience. So, I am learning on the way, and I didn't meet the right people who could give me the right advice.

So, I think now I met those people, and I don't have long-term... no, I have long-term goals, but I really don't know where I'll be in one year. But if I can dream now and just invent it like this, I would like to have the directory filled really nicely with a nice number of businesses inside and, of course, to have that visibility among the users and the movement on the page. So, yeah, that would be very nice.

Host:
That would be great. I'm sure you'll get it. I mean, as soon as people learn about it, everyone just jumps in. Everyone I've told about it, they're always like, "Oh my God, really? I need to sign up to this platform."

Laura:
You are right, but there is also something like... they say, "I love the idea. I am willing to join. I'll do it." And then, I don't know, 80% of them don't do it. So, there's a hook. There's something. So, I have to think about this too.

Host:
Everyone loves this. That's true. But the beginning is a little bit... it's not that smooth. You know, it's not that... of course, like with everything, it's... yeah, like the onboarding process. Maybe for them, it's like, "Well, and then they just forget about it."

Laura:
Yeah, maybe an emailing list could work to help them remind themselves of adding the information that's missing and sharing it because also, the businesses need to share it with the people that they follow and that follow them so everyone understands that they can actually go into this platform and find new services.

Host:
Right. Community effort.

Laura:
I'm thinking also about offering some packages where I would add the business so they don't have to do it by themselves. These... I don't know... middle-sized businesses because I don't think that big businesses would be interested.

Host:
Yeah, how many businesses do you have now?

Laura:
118.

Host:
Oh, wow. That's a lot.

Laura:
Yeah.

Host:
Everyone in Valencia or around Spain?

Laura:
No, no, no. I have from Almeria, Madrid, Barcelona, but only a few. Mostly, I have from Valencia. And as I said, I stopped reaching out to businesses a few months ago, so when I don't do the work, they don't join, of course. So, now the process is a little bit paused, but I will continue soon.

Host:
Yeah, that's a big lesson for all of us starting a new business. I mean, it feels like in the beginning, you're super excited, and you want to make it work, and you have all of this energy, and then things don't move as fast as you would want, or just life happens, and you have other things to focus on, and then you stop promoting your business, and then it just slows down. But it's logical, right? If you're not talking about it, how are people going to find it out?

Laura:
I realized that I started at point A, creating the webpage, so I had the webpage, but then I jumped into point D, reaching out to businesses, and I skipped points B and C, which are content and visibility. So, I had to go back for a while and fill these two points, and after that, I will again go back to point D.

I didn't know this. I didn't know that I had to have content on my webpage. You know, I started the YouTube channel, as you know, and I'm writing blog posts about expert life, expert business, Spanish businesses, how they could start reaching out to or selling to the English-speaking community in Spain. So, yeah, now I'm more organized. Now I have a better vision because I met the right person who helps me with the ideas and a little bit navigating me because I was in the fog, and I really didn't know where the nose was.

Host:
Yeah, I mean, you start a new business, and you really have no idea what it is that you're doing, especially when an idea is so new like yours because I've never found a business like this before. It's really a groundbreaking idea, so you have to figure it out along the way, and that's okay. You have to go back and revisit step one and be like, "Okay, so actually, I thought this was step two, but that was actually step five. Let's revisit this a little bit."

It takes a whole process of looking into it over and over and over again.

Laura:
It's so much fun.

Host:
Yeah, but also...

Laura:
A lot of stress.

Host:
It's a lot of excitement. It's a lot of... it's a lot of everything. And I don't think anyone's ready to really take it without prior experience. I think everyone is in the same situation.

Laura:
And of course, if you have a lot of money and you can pay all those experts who help you, then perfect. Then it's much easier.

Host:
Definitely makes your life easier, although not necessarily. I know stories about people spending a lot of money on experts that maybe they were not the right experts for that project, and they lost that money because it was not the right direction. So, it's... you know, you live, you learn, make mistakes. That's the only thing that I think is guaranteed when you start a new business. Failure. You're gonna fail so many times. You're going to make mistakes.

But as long as you see those mistakes as the stepping stone for the next stage of the process and how bigger and better it's going to be, you see it as an excitement and a really fun game that you're playing to get this to work.

Laura:
The other day, I heard, "The obstacles are the journey. They are the way." So, you know, you have to overcome each obstacle, and then you grow, and then you learn, and then you know what to do, what steps to choose. So, that's the way. You can't do it without that.

Host:
Exactly. It takes a while to also accept that that is the case and not everything is going to come easy. It's not like you're going to talk to your boss and ask for a promotion. It's a whole different story here. You have to talk to your clients, and you have to have a lot of things in the moving process all the time. But it's totally worth it.

I love this, and I feel like as a woman in business, having a community to support you and having other women that are sort of in the same stages as you are to be able to ask, "What do you think about this? Is this a good idea? Should we team up and do an event?" Which, by the way, we still have one event pending to do here in Valencia. We talked about it and set a date. So, hopefully, in November, we'll have a new event to work with the community of experts that are living in Valencia.

But I think that community sense is very, very important to have that support because usually, family doesn't know what it is to have your own business, and it can feel very lonely.

Laura:
Right.

Host:
Yeah, and it's just... every business is different. So, someone can have a business of, I don't know, software business, but it has nothing to do with my business. So, it's... you can relate, but it's also difficult.

Laura:
Yeah, find someone who really understands how it is.

Host:
Yeah, I think it's important that you don't close off to talking to new people and networking, and you'll find the right people for you.

Laura:
Yeah, but it's also not that easy that you go to a networking event and find the right people. It's... you know, networking is work, and content creation is work, and having your own business is work, and it's like wearing a lot of hats at the same time. But it's worth it.

Host:
And I'm so glad that you started this process because I know from now until... I cannot wait until December 2025. I know this thing is just going to explode throughout Europe, and it's just going to be amazing. I'm just so excited for you.

Thank you so much for joining me. Do you want to tell everyone where they can sign up to Expert Planet?

Laura:
Yeah, you can visit expertplanet.net, and then just add your business. The process takes, I think, five or six minutes. It's very easy, and that's it. And then... it's still free for now.

Host:
Yeah, so hurry up and sign up before it's too late.

Laura:
Yeah, of course, because I have plans.

Host:
You should actually search for it right now. But I'm just... yeah, it's fine. People, go sign up right now and take advantage of it while it's free.

Laura:
Yeah, at the end, everyone will have some benefits out of it.

Host:
Absolutely. Thank you so much for joining me. Let's jump on WhatsApp and talk about that event that we need to plan. And, well, have a great rest of your week.

Laura:
Thank you for having me, and have a great week too. Bye-bye!