We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Natalie Lehman. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Natalie below.

Natalie , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What sort of legacy are you hoping to build. What do you think people will say about you after you are gone, what do you hope to be remembered for?

My legacy and personal sense of purpose are deeply intertwined. I live my purpose daily through my work with clients and in my activism. My vision is to create a community of empowered women who lead fearlessly, unlock their potential, and achieve remarkable success by truly understanding themselves, their teams, and their organizations. I believe that leadership is both a privilege and a responsibility because leaders hold immense power to shape the way we live and work. By helping female leaders to first work on themselves to understand their strengths, vision, and mission, they become great leaders who build sustainable teams and create lasting organizational impact.

I hope to be remembered as someone who contributed to the growth of a vast network of extraordinary women leaders who have changed the world. My legacy isn’t just about the leaders I work with directly; it’s about breaking barriers for new and emerging leaders, creating policies and workplaces that support women, and fostering environments where they can lead, work, and thrive.

Natalie , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m Natalie Lehman, the owner of She Means Business. I am a Leadership Coach and Business Consultant, and I’m passionate about helping women entrepreneurs and leaders transform their businesses and lives. My journey into this field was driven by a passion for understanding what makes leaders and organizations thrive. With a Master’s in Organizational Leadership and Learning from Pepperdine University and as an entrepreneur and as high-impact consultant across industries, I have developed a deep understanding of how vision, purpose, values, and strategy intersect to create impactful leadership and organizational success.

At She Means Business, I support leaders at all levels and businesses as a whole. What sets me apart is my unique combination of coaching and expert consulting, enabling both personal transformation and strategic insights that drive businesses forward. Many of my clients come to me because they’re struggling to find their footing in a new role or unsure how to leverage their strengths to excel in high-pressure environments. They need effective strategies to translate their vision into actionable plans that deliver real, measurable results.

I’m passionate about helping my clients understand their values, refine their vision, and identify areas for growth. This process empowers them to lead with clarity and confidence, moving beyond imposter syndrome and insecurity. Once they’ve strengthened their self-awareness and leadership abilities, we focus on clarifying their organizational goals, setting success roadmaps, and developing their team. The result is not just a clear vision but also the capacity to create a business that runs smoothly, drives success, and makes a meaningful impact

I am most proud of the transformation I witness in both the leaders and businesses I work with. My approach is not just about archiving goals or financial success, but about creating environments where individuals and teams can thrive without sacrificing their personal well-being or values. I want potential clients to know that my work is grounded in a deep commitment to purpose and mindfulness, ensuring that success is sustainable and aligned with what truly matters to them.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

A crucial lesson I had to unlearn was the myth that success requires sacrificing pieces of your life, particularly as a woman with big ambitions. I had been operating from the myth that if I hyper-achieved, pleased, and gave everything to my work, I would be able to reach my highest level of success. I believed that once I achieved this success, then I would be able to prioritize my health, enjoy my life fully, and have enough time to engage in the pursuits that lit my purpose and life on fire. I gave myself so fully in my work that I set my health aside and deprioritized the parts of my life that were actually bringing me joy. I lacked the confidence and courage to continue to pursue my work in a place of leadership and purpose while prioritizing my life and health. I would continually get into a pattern of hyper-fixating on work, producing some results, making it to the next level in my career, then burning out so hard that I would leave the organization, partnerships, and opportunities that I had worked so hard for to “prioritize my personal life”. All the while I wasn’t as productive or as impactful as I should have been for the amount of time I spent working.

After a few cycles of this pattern, I finally stopped to take a good long look at myself. I engaged in mindfulness practices, went back to school, made a few more mistakes, and finally realized that it is ok to be dynamic. I am ambitious, purpose-driven, love to work, and I want to enjoy and prioritize my personal life. My education taught me the strategy for the organization side, and people taught me the mindfulness side. I came to understand that true success doesn’t come from sacrificing your health or happiness. Instead, it comes from aligning your work with your values, setting clear boundaries, and understanding that living a full life is not just compatible with, but essential to, creating lasting impact. This realization has not only transformed my approach to leadership but has also become a cornerstone of the work I do with my clients, helping them lead with confidence and authenticity without compromising their well-being.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

One book that has profoundly impacted the way I lead and my entrepreneurial philosophy is Eleanor Roosevelt’s You Learn By Living. This book has been a guiding force in my life, shaping how I approach both my work and my sense of purpose. Eleanor Roosevelt’s legacy, rooted in her work in politics, activism, and humanitarianism, continues to inspire me. While some of her thoughts and ideas were influenced by the social norms of her time, her actions and impact have paved the way for women today. She achieved so much in her life, but what resonates with me most is the way she lived—fully, fearlessly, and with a deep sense of purpose.

In You Learn By Living, Roosevelt talks about the importance of living life to the fullest while also creating real, meaningful change. She wrote, “The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” These words have had a lasting impact on me, challenging my beliefs that pursuing a successful career or impactful purpose requires sacrificing a full and vibrant life. Instead, Roosevelt’s philosophy has taught me that living with deep purpose also means embracing all aspects of life—growth, joy, challenges, and change. She also talks about the value of taking everything as it comes, whether success or failure, and viewing each experience as a lesson to be learned. As an entrepreneur, this perspective has been invaluable to me. It reminds me that both setbacks and successes are important parts of the journey, each offering opportunities for growth and deeper understanding.

This book helped me realize that true leadership and entrepreneurship are not about choosing between personal fulfillment and professional success. Instead, they are about integrating both, leading with purpose, and creating a lasting impact on the world. Roosevelt’s wisdom on self-awareness, courage, and resilience has become a cornerstone of my approach to leadership coaching and business consulting. It has shaped my belief that when leaders understand their personal values and purpose, they have more capacity to inspire and lead others, creating organizations that are not only successful but also deeply aligned with their core mission and values.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.shemeansbusinesscoaching.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shemeansbusinesscoaching/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalie-lehman-shemeansbusiness

Image Credits

Mariah Green