Ep 34 : “Stay in Your Zone of Genius” Is Not an Excuse to Ignore Your Numbers with Marissa Lawton

Jan 15

“Operate from your zone of genius, but that doesn’t necessarily mean ignore the sides of the business that aren’t your zone of genius.”

Marissa Lawton

If you’ve ever wanted to throw up when you look at your bank account, this episode is for you.

I’m talking with Marissa Lawton (host of The Experienced Entrepreneur), and we went straight into the stuff that actually matters in 2026, profit margins, expense audits, and learning how to be present with your business instead of operating on vibes and denial.

We started with cozy winter energy (fires, snow, December chaos), and then immediately slid into the real reason so many service providers feel stressed even when things are “fine.” You’re making money, the bills are paid, but you don’t actually know what the numbers mean, or what they’re telling you, or what’s leaking out of your business every month because you’re afraid to look.

Same.

This conversation is about intentionality, maturity, and right-sizing. Not building a business because it looks impressive online, but building one that supports your actual life, your capacity, your relationship, your stress levels, and yes, your profit.

What You’ll Hear in This Episode

Why December is the month of slow replies and zero guilt (my out-of-office is apparently art)
How Marissa is cutting expenses and tracking profit margin as her KPI for 2026
My favorite software rule: pay monthly until it earns annual
The anxious-avoidant relationship so many of us have with money (and why it gets worse when you ignore it)
How having a business partner (or spouse) handle the money can quietly screw you over long-term
The “spreadsheet date” that changed my marriage and my nervous system (yes, really)
The difference between surrender vs giving up, intuition vs fear, and woo vs delusion
Why “real CEO” culture convinced an entire generation of business owners to stop knowing their own business
Why more leads are not the solution for most done-for-you service providers (and what is)
Marissa’s upcoming free summit, My Favorite Metric, and why I’m speaking on LTV (lifetime value)

Winter, Out-of-Office Culture, and the Profit Margin Era

This episode was recorded on December 3rd, which means school is already canceled, delayed, or chaotic depending on where you live. I told Marissa that I basically turned on a “December out-of-office” and decided I’m just leaving it on until January 8th because I don’t know if I need to bake cookies or get hit with another surprise snow day.

Then we got into the real adulting: software audits.

Marissa said the KPI she’s paying the most attention to in 2026 is profit margin, and I almost stood up and clapped. I’m in the same season. I want ridiculously high profits, and I’m not interested in bleeding money every month just because some tool is “nice to have.”

My current rule is simple: I pay monthly until the software proves it’s worth annual. Yes, it costs more short-term, but it has saved me from that annual renewal gut punch when I haven’t touched the tool in 11 months.

(And yes, Loom, I’m looking at you.)

My Money Trauma, My Avoidance, and Why It Cost Me

I told Marissa something I don’t love admitting, but it’s true.

In my previous business (when I had a business partner), I fully opted out of money conversations for years. They handled the numbers, the bookkeeper handled the numbers, the accountant handled the numbers, and I stayed in my “zone of genius” making money and pretending I didn’t need to understand what was happening with it.

It screwed me over. Not because anyone did anything to me, but because I chose to be uninformed. I chose to be checked out.

Then I went out on my own and did it again for the first 18 months. Same avoidance, same defensiveness, same crying when my husband brought up spending.

It’s only been in the last six months that I finally feel more regulated and capable of having those conversations without spiraling.

Marissa called it what it is, anxious avoidant. You know the bills are paid, you know there’s money in the bank, but you don’t know the dollars and cents, and you don’t want to look because then you have to face the choices.

The Spreadsheet Date That Changed Everything

This is the part that surprised me the most.

I reverse engineer revenue goals in business like it’s my job (because it is). But I realized we weren’t doing that in life. Not really.

So starting January 2025, my husband and I made a spreadsheet (of course we did), and we aligned:

career goals
financial goals
parenting goals
marriage goals
self-improvement goals

Then we committed to reviewing it the first Tuesday of every month over coffee or a beer.

That one habit changed everything. It gave us a consistent space to talk about hard things, silly things, and the day-to-day friction that builds resentment when it’s never addressed.

And yes, one of mine was “watch my tone when I’m stressed,” because I can get spicy when I’m overstimulated and it kills the vibe immediately.

Accountability, but make it relational.

Business Maturity and Right-Sizing (aka, Stop Building for Image)

Marissa said something that hit me right in the forehead:

A lot of us built businesses with image in mind. What looks impressive online. What makes other entrepreneurs respect us. What makes us feel legitimate.

And now? Many of us are right-sizing. We’re maturing. We’re building based on what we need and want, not what some guru says a “real business owner” does.

We also talked about how the old messaging messed people up:

“If you’re still checking your inbox, you’re not scaling.”
“If you don’t have an integrator, you’re not a CEO.”
“If you’re still in the weeds, you’re doing it wrong.”

Meanwhile, half the people who preached that are now quietly running a team of one and calling it “intentional.”

My take is, do what’s right for you, but don’t outsource yourself out of knowing your own business. If you don’t even know your passwords, we’ve gone too far.

The Woo Layer, The Data Layer, and The Unhealed Bullshit Layer

Marissa broke it down in a way I loved:

There’s:

intuition and vibes
metrics and data
unhealed fear, scarcity, and emotional chaos

The goal isn’t to live in one lane. It’s to be able to tell the difference between intuition and fear, between surrender and giving up.

(Also, if you’re praying to win the lottery, buy a ticket.)

I shared that I’m in a season where things feel really good. Doors opening, opportunities everywhere, and yes, it sometimes feels like I’m printing money. But I’m also being careful not to attach my identity to the high. I don’t want my self-worth tied to the low, and I don’t want it tied to the high either.

Cycles are real. Business is cyclical. The goal is to be regulated enough to ride the waves without making every season mean something about who you are.

Marissa’s Summit: My Favorite Metric (and Why You Need It)

Marissa is hosting a free summit called My Favorite Metric, and I’m speaking on my favorite metric, LTV (lifetime value).

Because I need y’all to understand something: most service providers do not have a leads problem. You have a conversion problem. You have an average client spend problem. You have hidden revenue sitting in your network and past clients problem.

More leads into a leaky funnel just means more leaks.

At the summit, Marissa is breaking metrics into four categories:

lead acquisition
lead nurture
sales and revenue conversions
lifestyle metrics (capacity, energy, stress)

Because if you hit your goals but you’re miserable, it’s not worth it.

Marissa also said something I respect deeply, the summit is free, there’s no weird “buy the all-access pass or the videos disappear” manipulation. The content will stay up for a long time, so you can actually learn and implement.

Chapters

00:01 Cozy winter energy, fires, snow days, and December chaos
01:03 My “December out-of-office” philosophy
02:03 Profit margin as the KPI for 2026, cutting expenses
02:53 Monthly vs annual subscriptions and avoiding renewal regret
05:10 Software audits and intentional spending
07:28 Why money conversations make me want to throw up
07:53 Anxious avoidant money habits and avoidance patterns
08:25 How avoiding money conversations screwed me over
10:24 Body doubling to pay bills, and building systems in relationships
11:13 Visioning with your partner and shared goals
13:05 Reverse engineering goals in business vs life
29:35 The monthly spreadsheet date that changed everything
31:45 Looping your family into your business so they understand your work
40:05 Zone of genius vs knowing your business
41:04 Right-sizing, maturity, and ownership
44:10 Cycles in business and regulation through growth phases
46:24 Surrender vs giving up, intuition vs fear
49:11 Data, woo, and the unhealed bullshit layer
51:44 “Real CEO” culture and the return of personal brand
56:38 Integrity in business trends and why I hate the whiplash
01:00:26 Building with intention vs image
01:02:18 Marissa’s summit breakdown and why lifestyle metrics matter
01:03:47 My summit talk on LTV and hidden revenue
01:07:34 Summit details and how to get your free ticket
01:10:56 Where to find Marissa and her Decision Dashboard

Resources & Mentions

Decision Dashboard (Marissa’s resource)

About the Guest

Marissa Lawton is the host of The Experienced Entrepreneur, a podcast for business owners who are past the newbie stage but still need real support and real conversations. Her work focuses on metrics, decision-making, and building a business that supports your life (not just your ego).

Connect with Marissa Lawton

Interested in Being on the Show or Working with Emylee?

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Emylee Williams