From Corporate Titles to Entrepreneurial Freedom with Lisa Tong

What happens when the title you've worked decades to earn no longer feels like the destination? In the premiere episode of Season 7, Michelle sits down with entrepreneur, educator, and founder Lisa Tong to explore the emotional and practical realities of moving from corporate life into entrepreneurship. Together, they unpack identity shifts, imposter syndrome, financial fears, intuition, and the challenge of defining success on your own terms. Lisa shares her journey from corporate leadership into building multiple businesses, including her work as The Chinese Soup Lady, while pursuing a doctorate in Traditional Chinese Medicine. This conversation is a refreshing reminder that entrepreneurship is often less about having a perfect plan and more about having the courage to keep becoming. If you've ever wondered who you are beyond your job title, this episode is for you. ## Key Moments **00:00 | Meet Lisa Tong** Lisa shares her journey from corporate leadership to entrepreneurship and explains how a passion for traditional Chinese medicine inspired her newest business venture. **02:00 | What Corporate Life Still Teaches Us** Why corporate experience remains valuable and how entrepreneurship allows women to bring their whole selves forward instead of starting over. **03:00 | Letting Go of Titles and Financial Security** Lisa discusses the two hardest things she had to release after leaving corporate life: identity tied to title and the comfort of predictable income. **04:45 | When Do You Finally Call Yourself a Founder?** A candid conversation about imposter syndrome, entrepreneurship, and why many women struggle to fully own the founder label. **06:00 | The Multi-Hyphenate Challenge** Why women don't have to fit into a single professional box and how entrepreneurship creates room for multiple passions and identities. **08:00 | The "Crabs in a Bucket" Effect** Lisa shares a powerful analogy about societal expectations and why family and friends sometimes struggle to understand entrepreneurial decisions. **11:00 | Planning Versus Trusting Yourself** A discussion about balancing business strategy with intuition and learning to move forward without having every answer figured out. **13:00 | The Fear That Comes With Entrepreneurship** Lisa explains how she works with fear instead of fighting it and why acknowledging different parts of ourselves can be more productive than suppressing them. **16:00 | What Entrepreneurship Doesn't Prepare You For** The reality of mistakes, financial decisions, and accountability when there is no larger organization to absorb the impact. **18:00 | The Freedom Side of the Equation** Why Lisa would never trade the flexibility, autonomy, and creativity she has found through entrepreneurship. **20:00 | Becoming Through Action** Michelle and Lisa explore how entrepreneurship creates opportunities for growth, self-discovery, and building confidence through experience. **23:00 | Reframing the Stories We Tell Ourselves** A powerful discussion about mindset, self-awareness, and recognizing when we are operating from scarcity instead of possibility. **25:00 | What's Next for Lisa** Lisa shares her vision for completing her Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine and continuing to bridge traditional wisdom with modern education. ## Final Thoughts Entrepreneurship is often presented as a business journey. This conversation reminds us that it is also an identity journey. Lisa's story challenges us to rethink success, embrace the many parts of ourselves, and trust that we do not need a title to validate who we are becoming. ### Connect with Lisa Tong LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-tong/ Website: https://thechinesesouplady.com/ ### Connect with Empowered by AI If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a woman who is building what's next. Because the future of entrepreneurship isn't about fitting into a box. It's about having the courage to create your own.