What happens when you lose your six-figure corporate job at 50 and decide to build a business from scratch instead of updating your resume?

In this student spotlight, I'm sitting down with LaShall Dodson, who launched Dedicated Virtual Professional Services in March 2024 after a merger acquisition eliminated her Fortune 500 position. In her first year, she made $34,000. By the end of year two? $226,000.

LaShall breaks a LOT of the Brandi rules (she doesn't niche down, she runs a full agency with a team of six, and she manages her clients with manila folders), but she's proof that there's more than one way to build a wildly successful service business.

In this episode, we're talking about:

• Going from corporate director to service provider and the mindset shifts that come with it
• Why her first year was slow and the mistake that held her back from landing clients sooner
• Hitting a $23K month, then dropping back down, and what she did about it
• How joining Strategist Society helped her close out the year at $226K
• The real talk on taxes, retirement, and getting your financial house in order as you scale
• Why she manages 17+ retainer clients with physical folders (and why that's actually okay for now)
• The simple daily habits that moved the needle more than any fancy strategy
• Why women sharing their numbers matters more than you think

Whether you're transitioning from corporate, in your first year of business, or trying to break through to consistent $20K+ months, LaShall's story is going to fire you up.

Resources & Links:

• DM me "STRATEGIST" on Instagram: https://instagram.com/brandimowles
• Ready to scale past $10K months? Learn about Strategist Society: https://thestrategistsociety.com
• Just getting started as a service provider? https://conversionsforclients.com

Follow the Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/serve-scale-soar/id1477998650

Follow Brandi on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandimowles

Follow Brandi on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Brandiandcompany

You know what no one tells you about scaling to multiple six figures? I did it with 400 Instagram followers and a hundred people on my email list. When I hit $1.2 million in one year, I had 4,000 followers on Instagram. Not 40,000. Not 400,000. Just 4,000. My email list was about 8,000 at the time, and we didn't even have a website.

If you've been spinning your wheels trying to grow your Instagram following because you think that's what's gonna get you clients, this is about to set you free from the content hamster wheel. Here's the truth that the online business world doesn't want you to hear: You don't need a huge audience to build a thriving business. You need the right relationships with the right people.

1. Why a Small Audience Is Not a Revenue Problem: Breaking the myth that you need thousands of followers to build a multiple six-figure service business.
2. Authority vs. Influence for Service Providers: Understanding why results, positioning, and frameworks matter more than audience size.
3. Why Referral-Based Marketing Outperforms Cold Outreach: Exploring how warm introductions and trust transfer convert significantly higher than cold traffic.
4. The Strategic Visibility Framework (One Platform, One Strategy, One Long-Form Channel): Focusing on depth and relationship-building instead of chasing every algorithm.
5. Becoming Known for One Specific Transformation: Positioning yourself as the go-to expert for one clear outcome to become memorable, referable, and premium.

Find the full post at: https://brandimowles.com/274

Want More Like This? ⬇️

🎧The Messaging Shift That Attracts Premium Clients (And stops the tire kickers)

🎧The Four Futures Of Freelancing: Will You Be Irreplaceable or Obsolete in 2026

Additional Resources:

Want help making the shift?

• From Chasing to Chosen is a hands-on workshop that shows you how to position yourself as the go-to expert premium clients seek out — without cold DMs or posting nonstop.
  Grab your spot at brandimowles.com/chasing (live or on-demand, depending on when you’re reading).
• If you're just starting out and need help building the foundation of your service business, head over to conversionsforclients.com for resources designed for early-stage service providers.

Follow the Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/serve-scale-soar/id1477998650

Follow Brandi on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandimowles

Follow Brandi on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Brandiandcompany

Here's something no one tells you about scaling a service-based business: imposter syndrome doesn't go away when you get better clients. It actually gets worse.

When you're just starting out, you're wondering if you're good enough at your skill. But when you start going after premium clients? Now you're wondering who the heck you are to work with someone more successful than you.

That little mean girl voice in your head will tell you every possible stinking reason why you're not qualified, why you should lower your price, why you should stay in your lane, why you're not prepared or ready enough to take on that client.

Today I'm gonna show you how to take that mean girl voice and tell her to get the heck outta Dodge. Because you are more ready than you think, and the only way you're gonna be able to move into working with better clients is if we fix how we think about ourselves.

1. Why Imposter Syndrome Gets Worse as You Scale (Especially With Premium Clients): The shift from “am I good enough?” to “who am I to work with someone more successful than me?” and why this version hits differently.
2. The Lie Behind Premium Client Imposter Syndrome: Debunking the belief that you need to be at the same income or business level as your clients to serve them well.
3. Imposter Syndrome as a Signal of Growth, Not a Red Flag: Reframing imposter syndrome as proof you’re stretching into your next level, not evidence that you’re unqualified.
4. 6 Practical Strategies to Work Through Imposter Syndrome (Without Waiting to Feel Ready): Including collecting evidence, studying dream clients, acting “as if,” separating skill from story, and positioning for where you’re going.
5. How to Show Up Confidently on Sales Calls With Bigger Clients: Shifting from proving your worth to focusing on solving problems, and reframing the sales call as you interviewing them.

Find the full post at: https://brandimowles.com/273

Want More Like This? ⬇️

🎧Why You’re Procrastinating (and How to Break the Cycle Today

🎧If You Bet On Yourself, You Can't Lose: Crystal's Journey To Dream Clients

Additional Resources:

Want help making the shift?

• From Chasing to Chosen is a hands-on workshop that shows you how to position yourself as the go-to expert premium clients seek out — without cold DMs or posting nonstop.
  Grab your spot at brandimowles.com/chasing (live or on-demand, depending on when you’re reading).

Want more strategies for scaling your service-based business without the hustle? DM me on Instagram @brandimowles with the word "PREMIUM" and let's chat about your next steps.

Follow the Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/serve-scale-soar/id1477998650

Follow Brandi on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandimowles

Follow Brandi on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Brandiandcompany