Lisa Hyde is the CEO of The Confidence Crown®, a lifestyle brand, and podcast dedicated to providing women with authentic, inspirational, and engaging content. Connect with Lisa on LinkedIn to know how she can help you grow your brand, products, and services via TikTok.
Hi Lisa, we’re pleased to have you here today. Please tell us how you embarked on your entrepreneurial journey?
Lisa Hyde: I believe I was born to be an entrepreneur. I was just five years old when I began scribbling the logo of the agency I aspired to work for and eventually did. I began working in retail at the age of 13 to achieve financial independence and rushed through college to be able to start my dream career as soon as possible.
Fresh from graduation, I cut my teeth in the infamous William Morris mailroom agent training program. For the next 12 years, I remained a talent agent and manager in Hollywood, and for at least half of that time, I ran my own management company as I always preferred to work for myself. I was never a good employee but a great leader, and I love how this mindset played out throughout my life and helped me get to where I am now.
All because you were born to be an entrepreneur. How inspiring! So, how did things go with your business?
Lisa Hyde: As I previously stated, I started my first business in the entertainment industry and ran it successfully for around six years. However, I hit a crossroads, my mother grew unwell, and I had to shut it down to take care of her. I spent the next five years managing high-end retail stores to pay the bills, but my heart wasn’t in it as I had lost my passion. After she passed, my enthusiasm waned, and I felt stuck because I was no longer my own boss.
I spent my next four years bouncing around in retail and even dabbling with a career in healthcare, but one day — I’m not sure if it was my fate or a divine message that intervened — an unknown LinkedIn user shared a business opportunity that I could do from home. At first, I thought she was crazy. But after some deliberation, I realized that this would allow me to be a business owner again with minimal overhead, no inventory, low startup cost, and a high ROI. The benefits encouraged me to return to the entrepreneurial side of my life.
About six years in, I started to get bored with the redundancy and began searching for ways to expand my business while continuing to serve others. So, I took a deep dive into personal development that included working with high-performance mentors and joining masterminds. I pushed myself outside my comfort zone, rebranded my business, and began coaching others in my industry, which then led to starting the podcast, and ultimately, The Confidence Crown was born. Six months later, I also published my first book that serves as a complete roadmap to building confidence, taking one on a journey of self-discovery to find their worth.
My strong urge to have a positive impact on the world opened more doors, leading me to pursue an additional part of my brand as a motivational speaker. Ultimately, at the age of 50, I got hired as a public speaker for Tony Robbins and Dean Graziosi. My life had flipped 180 degrees, from crippling stage fright to being paid to speak in front of global audiences. My perseverance, grit, and tenacity allowed me to put creativity at the forefront of my business as I honed my skills in creating multiple streams of residual income.
I admire you for never giving up hope. What was your biggest motivation that kept you going?
Lisa Hyde: I believe honoring the memories of my mother and grandmother are at the core of my superpowers, as both confidence and resiliency have served me well over the years. I love learning and taking on new challenges. I look at them as a means of propelling myself ahead, not something that holds me back and stifles my progress. So, for me, motivation is self-inflicted.
I am also a tad competitive and thrive when being gently pushed by others. My perspective is that you should never be the smartest or wealthiest person in the room. Having an open mind and a receptive soul allows you to be the best version of yourself.
As my interests grow, so does my brand, allowing for continued financial independence by diversifying my sources of income while always having my own schedule. This, I believe, is the best part of my life as I do what I want, and I get compensated for it.
Another key element, you must also have an excellent self-care routine; this is a priority. You must take care of yourself, which includes eating healthily, exercising, drinking enough water, and maintaining a consistent morning and evening routine. Meditation, hypnosis, and other activities that nourish your body and mind are critical for you to be a good leader or a successful company owner.
As the saying goes, to be valued by others, one must learn to value oneself. You’re spot on, Lisa! Anyways, if you could go back in time, would you have done anything differently?
Lisa Hyde: Thirty years ago, while I was in college and looking for something other than entertainment to excite me, entrepreneurial aspirations began bubbling up. I freelanced as a makeup artist for friends, weddings, music videos, and other such events. I always wanted to do something more with it, but at the time, it wasn’t considered quote-unquote a respectable career for a nice Jewish girl.
I was raised to attend college, earn a degree, have a W-2 life, work hard to succeed, and have 2.2 children with a white picket fence. It’s funny, I know, as I fought it the whole time. Working in the entertainment industry provided me with a great deal of flexibility, and once I had my own management company, it truly made me realize how far I could go.
So, looking back, I would not have rejected offers to work in the television department at the talent agency (I was headstrong on sticking with film only), nor would I have been so contemptuous of personal growth and stifling any creative endeavors. My big transformations didn’t truly set in for me until I was in my forties. I am in awe of this younger generation, especially those in their twenties, who are actively involved in personal development work at such a young age. I wish I’d hadn’t fought so hard against it since that’s truly the secret sauce on how you get your leg up.
What are some of your proudest achievements?
Lisa Hyde: I’m not saying that anyone’s life is easy, but I certainly had my share of loss and trauma growing up. My being here today, in spite of all my hardships, is a miracle in some respects. I was destined to become an alcoholic or a substance abuser as that was my father’s route, but I took the complete opposite path.
I also have been able to financially secure my life, which is something my mother was never able to accomplish. I have turned the most difficult parts of my parents’ life into my success. My mother always wanted a house with a pool and yard, like we did when I was a child. Recently, during the COVID-19 pandemic, I purchased what she would have considered her “dream home,” and I’m sure that she’d be incredibly proud. I’ve even recently begun monetizing the house by curating a portion of it as an exclusive creator space for commercials, video shoots, and small events.
I’ve spent a lifetime helping others fulfill their dreams, and now it’s come full circle. From the dread of public speaking, as I mentioned before, to evolving as a micro-influencer, I never aspired to be in the spotlight or in front of the camera, yet here I am. Thanks to social media and the way our society has changed in the last decade, this is now my new normal. I monetize short-form videos, which my 20-year-old self would never believe. I’m proud of the fact that I overcame so many obstacles to get to where I am today and that I’ve been able to help many others along the way.
