857: Steven Izen – Achieving Balance in the Highs and Lows

Everyone experiences highs and lows in life.  Owning your own business might make those highs and lows a bit more significant, and probably more frequent. I often find myself saying, “Phew! That was a rough hour!” But the next hour might be great. That’s how significantly quick the swings can be when you’re running your own business.  So what do we do with these highs and lows?  Can we learn to manage them a bit? To explore this question, I spoke with Steven Izen, the founder and CEO of Lokai and Elements of Balance. Steven turned a low point in his life into a successful business that has donated millions to charity. In our conversation, he shares how he achieves balance across all areas of his life. As self-employed business owners, we can all benefit from Steven's reminder to stay humble during good times and hopeful during bad ones.   Steven Izen is the Founder & CEO of Lokai, the iconic bracelet brand that inspires its community to find balance in life and has donated $10 million dollars to charity. He is also the Founder & CEO of Elements of Balance, a functional beverage brand that uses clinically-effective levels of adaptogens to support energy, focus, calm and sleep. Steven currently serves as the youngest member on the national board of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 List for Retail and Ecommerce in 2017, and was the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards Finalist in 2016. Steven graduated Cum Laude from Cornell in 2013. When not working Steven finds his own balance spending time with his family & friends, running, and cycling.   And be sure to subscribe to The Self-Employed Life in Apple Podcasts or follow us on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts so you don’t miss an episode.   Everything you need can all be found at jeffreyshaw.com.   Steven Izen, thank you so much for being here! Remember, you might be in business FOR yourself but you are not in business BY yourself. Be your best self. Be proud and keep changing the world. Guest Contact – Lokai.com Steven Izen on LinkedIn (in/steven-izen-5620323b/) Steven Izen on Instagram (@stevenizen) Steven Izen on Twitter (@stevenizen) Live Lokai on Instagram (@livelokai) Contact Jeffrey – SelfEmployedNewsletter.com Website Books Watch my TEDx LincolnSquare video and please share!     Valuable complimentary resources to help you –   The Self-Employed Business Institute- You know you're really good at what you do. You're talented, you have a skill set. The problem is you're probably in a field where there is no business education. This is common amongst self-employed people! And, there's no business education out there for us! You also know that being self-employed is unique and you need better strategies, coaching, support, and accountability. The Self-Employed Business Institute, a five-month online education is exactly what you need. Check it ou Take The Self-Employed Assessment! Ever feel like you're all over the place? Or frustrated it seems like you have everything you need for your business success but it's somehow not coming together? Take this short quiz to discover the biggest hidden gap that’s keeping you from having a thriving Self-Employed Ecosystem. You’ll find out what part of your business needs attention and you'll also get a few laser-focused insights to help you start closing that gap. Have Your Website Brand Message Reviewed! Is your website speaking the right LINGO of your ideal customers? Having reviewed hundreds of websites, I can tell you 98% of websites are not. Fill out the simple LINGO Review application and I'll take a look at your website. I'll email you a few suggestions to improve your brand message to attract more of your ideal customers. Fill out the application today and let's get your business speaking the right LINGO! Host Jeffrey Shaw is a Small Business Consultant, Brand Management Consultant, Business Coach for Entrepreneurs, Keynote Speaker, TEDx Speaker and author of LINGO and The Self Employed Life (May 2021). Supporting self-employed business owners with business and personal development strategies they need to create sustainable success.