Today we’d like to introduce you to Karen Laos.

Hi Karen, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.

In July of 2020 I quit my corporate leadership job to focus on my mission: to eradicate self-doubt in 10 million women in 10 years. Too many women are paralyzed with doubt, and my goal is to give them strategies to speak up and ask for what they want.

My dream is to speak on the Chase Center stage in San Francisco by May of 2030 – I can’t imagine anything more exhilarating then thousands of women coming together, empowered and free!

Whether you’re speaking in a boardroom, leading a meeting with your team, or negotiating with a roofer for your home, I want all women to be free of things that hold us back: self-doubt, people pleasing, fear of rocking the boat, perfectionism or fear of judgment. I’m on a mission to replace doubt with confident communication skills, specifically what to say and how to say it.

What’s most exciting for me is to watch someone go from hesitant and unsure to speaking up with clarity and confidence.

For example, one of my executive clients wanted to overcome her fear of public speaking, and she was terrified before we started working together. Within six months, she nailed a presentation in front of 200 people in a huge hotel ballroom – she felt calm and confident!

Another example is a client who had been waiting for 10 years at her company to get promoted, thinking and hoping that she would notice her. We started working together, and within three months, she got promoted, because she made an offer to her company that they could not refuse – she saw a need that she could fill, we worked on her pitch, and she got it.

My mastermind community is called The Power House, and this is a combination of group and 1-1 coaching along with collective group wisdom. What’s powerful about it is the connection of the women and the shared experience of the group – the supportive nature is so helpful for women to feel more confident and connected.

Besides coaching, most of what I do is on a stage – as a speaker on executive presence and messaging, along with negotiating and how to harness our power as women. Ask my clients – I love doing role plays as that gives people massive value, along with recording people speaking and then watching it back so they can celebrate their wins and also see what areas in their body language, voice, or facial expressions they need to work on. Many people come to me for public speaking help, but my heart is for the woman in a meeting who’s holding back from speaking up. I yearn for all women to be free to share their ideas and do it with certainty.

In 2022 I published my book: Trust Your Own Voice: Growing your influence through confident communication. I never expected to start a podcast, but opportunity struck and now my podcast, Ignite Your Confidence is in the top 3% globally of popular podcasts.

What matters to me is making an impact, and I’m deeply vested in my client’s growth. I’m most known for my practical tips that people can immediately apply. My core values are care, flair, and excellence. I make decisions based on these values every day.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?

Lots of ups and downs. I like to say entrepreneurship is the most exhilarating and exhausting thing I’ve ever done. One of the biggest challenges has been managing my business along with my husband’s kidney failure. Rarely do people see what others are going through behind the scenes.

We found out in early 2020 that Chris was going to need dialysis to keep him alive and I had already decided to quit my job that year, too. I like to look at life as an adventure, and this was one of the most challenging times for us. I remember doing a photo and video shoot for social media and in between shots I was carrying 30 pound boxes of IV fluid up the stairs as fast as I could because that’s what he needed and he didn’t have the strength to do it.

We remain positive and hopeful for a kidney transplant soon! In the meantime, we both stay positive and our faith keeps us going, as well as my mission of reaching 10 million women to replace self-doubt with self-confidence.

We’ve been impressed with Karen Laos Consulting LLC, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?

My mission is a big dream and an important one. Many women are missing opportunities because they don’t speak up. I’m on a mission to change that. Women are socially conditioned to second guess themselves because we’re supposed to be perfect. We fear judgment and are afraid of rocking the boat.

I want to put an end to this. For too many years, I didn’t speak up in certain situations where I didn’t feel good enough and it cost me.

My defining moment came when I was tongue-tied at a leadership meeting and I couldn’t get the words out because I had an internal conflict with what I was asked to present.

My boss had to shut down the meeting. She pulled me aside afterward and said, “You didn’t trust your gut. You could’ve postponed this if you didn’t agree with it.” That would have never occurred to me as I didn’t think I had permission to do that. I was taught that you respect your boss and that means doing what she says.

At this moment I realized I would never let that happen again. Once I did the work to get out of my own prison and free myself, I wanted to empower all women with the tools to do it. All we need is a strategy, and I have that now, which I teach to others through speaking at women’s conferences and group coaching.

I’m most proud of my ability to ask for what I want. When I was six years old, my dad gave me a few dollars at a flea market and told me to go have fun, but never pay full price. A whole new world was opened up to me. This gave me tools for confident communication, and much of what I teach I learned through the experience of expecting that I can get what I want if I ask. My dad told me that with enough persistence and determination that I can do anything, and I believed him.

What I’m most excited about is speaking at the Chase Center in San Francisco when I start going on tour. I can think of nothing greater than a stadium-sized crowd of women feeling empowered to take their seat at the table!

What sets me apart is my deep care for people. After interviews with several clients, the resounding feedback was this: “Karen’s great with her practical communication strategies, but what truly sets her apart is how much she cares for me personally.” That was the best compliment I could ever imagine.

On stage, the theme I hear most is how conversational and engaging I am. I love this because I teach professionals how to present and I recommend that every talk be a conversation. People will feel a connection with you that way, and will want to listen longer!

My offering for individuals is called The Power House, as mastermind of high-achieving women who want to become better communicators and skyrocket their careers or businessess.

Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?

I wish I knew how worthy and powerful I was. There were so many times that I questioned myself or looked to others because I thought they knew better or more than me. I wish I hadn’t doubted and second-guessed myself so much.

Nonetheless, you keep getting up, showing up, paying attention, and betting on yourself. I was intentional about pursuing what I wanted, but I didn’t know what that was at first.

I started my career as a temp in HR and quickly realized that what I love most is developing people. That led to me creating a role for myself as a corporate trainer and pitching that to my boss. She said “yes” and my love for training crystallized.

Sometimes you have to act “as if” or fake it til you make it:

My best story was a lesson in the power of talking about your passion even if you don’t have experience yet. When I had only a few hours of training experience from my work at Gap Inc, I interviewed for an HR job and talked with great enthusiasm about how much I loved training. I got the job, and on my second day, the CFO said, “I heard you’ve done a ton of training at Gap! All of my finance managers are flying in for a conference in two weeks. Can you facilitate a training on leadership?” I immediately said “yes” and then thought, “I better get planning – here’s my opportunity!”

Contact Info:

• Website: https://karenlaos.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karenlaosofficial/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KarenLaosConsulting/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenlaos/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@karenlaos