17 Sep Business coach Lisa Bean brings DARETOGROW LIVE events back to Leeds
DARETOGROW LIVE has officially returned, with entrepreneurs and business owners coming together in Leeds for the first networking event in the relaunched series.
Hosted by business coach, speaker and DARETOGROW founder Lisa Bean, DARETOGROW LIVE combines practical business coaching, strategy, mindset and networking for entrepreneurs in a highly interactive, in-person format.
The first event took place at Horizon in Leeds, bringing together entrepreneurs to think bigger, challenge their current business growth strategy and decide what they need to do next to win more clients and grow.
Business coaching, strategy and networking for entrepreneurs
The central theme of the first DARETOGROW LIVE event was the relationship between how we think and what we do – exploring why ambitious goals require both the mindset to believe something different is possible and the practical strategy and action needed to make it happen.
Attendees were challenged to look ahead to September 2027 and identify what they would love to be able to say they had achieved over the coming year, before working backwards to consider the strategy, projects and personal changes required to get there.
“I think entrepreneurs are often caught between two extremes,” said Lisa. “We can spend an enormous amount of time working, posting, networking and keeping ourselves busy – but that doesn’t necessarily mean we’re taking the right action.
“On the other side, we can do all of the mindset work in the world, have the vision, trust ourselves and believe something is possible – but eventually you still have to do the thing.
“That was really the conversation of the day: what do you actually want, what is the strategy most likely to get you there, and what needs to change in you and your life for you to follow through on it?”
Unlike traditional networking events, DARETOGROW LIVE combines the opportunity to meet other entrepreneurs with practical business coaching, teaching and live problem-solving.
Throughout the morning, Lisa coached attendees on real challenges within their businesses, covering marketing, sales funnels, creating offers, building teams, visibility, money, self-belief, business growth and deciding where to focus next.
Are you working hard – or working on the right things?
One of the morning’s recurring analogies was the difference between digging a field with a shovel and using a tractor.
Rather than encouraging entrepreneurs simply to work longer hours, Lisa challenged attendees to identify the strategy, systems and leverage that could produce a greater result from their effort.
“Working incredibly hard isn’t necessarily the badge of honour we sometimes think it is,” Lisa said.
“You can spend all day digging a field with a shovel while somebody else gets into a tractor and covers the whole field in an hour.
“So when I say I think we can all do more, I don’t necessarily mean more hours. I mean: can we be more strategic? Can we invest time ‘building’ the tractor (the machine)? What is the activity that actually moves the business forward?”
That theme continued into conversations about marketing.
Instead of simply telling entrepreneurs to post more frequently, attend more networking events or create more content, the group explored how to identify a clear offer, understand the customer journey, measure what is already working and then deliberately increase the activity producing results.
During one conversation, an attendee revealed that around 14% of visitors to her online workshop page were registering and that one of those attendees had subsequently become a £3,500 customer.
The question quickly became much simpler: if the funnel is already producing customers, how do you get more of the right people onto that page?
Lisa said: “That’s where I think we can make business unnecessarily complicated.
“We’re told we need to be on TikTok, launch a podcast, make more Reels, post every day, go networking and constantly create something new.
“But what is your actual strategy for growth? What are you selling? Who is it for? How are people finding it? What percentage are taking the next step? And how can you get more of the right people into something that is already working?
“That’s the tractor; the machine.”
Turning a business strategy into action
Another major focus of the event was closing the gap between having a business strategy and implementing that strategy.
Lisa shared her own experience of setting a deadline before a recent trip to Toulouse, deciding that she would complete two significant projects within a specific period.
Once the decision had been made, she noticed that the priority immediately began appearing differently in her diary – from time in the studio recording an audio series to writing and building the supporting marketing funnel.
“When you decide what the project should be and you’re clear on the strategy, it should show up in your life,” Lisa said.
“That is one of the questions I want entrepreneurs to ask themselves: if I looked at your diary, would I be able to tell what your business strategy is?
“You can say something is your priority. You can write it in a beautiful workbook. You can have the vision board. But if your time, actions and decisions aren’t changing, you’re not actually doing it yet.”
Honest conversations about what growth really requires
A defining feature of DARETOGROW LIVE is the opportunity for attendees to bring their real business challenges into the room.
Rather than following a rigid presentation, the morning moved between structured teaching and live discussion, allowing the content to respond to the entrepreneurs attending.
One attendee described feeling almost “frozen” by the sheer number of opportunities available to her.
That prompted a wider conversation about overwhelm, avoidance and whether continually creating new opportunities can sometimes prevent an entrepreneur from committing fully to the bigger move they already know they want to make.
Other discussions explored hiring and leading a team, developing new offers, building an audience, marketing events, increasing website traffic, creating sales funnels and becoming more comfortable with bigger financial goals.
“That is what I love about being in a room together,” Lisa said.
“Someone asks a question about their business and suddenly ten other people are scribbling notes because they realise they’re doing exactly the same thing.
“The answer isn’t always another tactic. Sometimes we need to look at what we’re avoiding, what we really want and whether our current behaviour actually matches the business and life we say we want to create.”
Why in-person networking still matters for entrepreneurs
The return of DARETOGROW LIVE also reflects Lisa’s belief in the importance of bringing entrepreneurs together in person.
At the beginning of the event, attendees spoke openly about why they had come.
Some wanted renewed energy and motivation. Others were at a significant point of growth in their businesses. One attendee said she wanted to be in rooms with people who would “pull me up and inspire me to do bigger”.
Lisa said: “There is something you simply cannot recreate online.
“You hear somebody articulate the thing you’ve been privately worrying about. You meet somebody doing something bigger than you thought was possible. You say your own ambition out loud and suddenly it becomes real.
“Entrepreneurship can be incredibly isolating because what feels completely normal to you can sound completely mad to the people around you.
“Sometimes you need to get yourself into a different room. You need to be around people who expand what you believe is possible, challenge you when you’re playing small and then ask you the most important question: what are you actually going to do about it?”
That idea became particularly significant throughout the morning, with conversations repeatedly returning to the effect an entrepreneur’s environment can have on what they believe is normal or possible.
At the close of the event, Lisa encouraged attendees to “upgrade your environment” and deliberately spend time around people whose ambitions challenge their existing frame of reference.
“You never fail to weave a path that’s FOR the room”
Feedback following the Leeds business event highlighted its interactive nature and the atmosphere created by the group.
Attendee Sarah described DARETOGROW LIVE as a “thought provoking, entertaining event”, adding: “I type this whilst listening to the 20th video of your mindset training in the last 4 days. Would love to come to another event.”
Janie commented: “Today was, as always, utterly brilliant. You never fail to weave a path that’s FOR the room… however uncomfortable it can be. You truly are remarkable at what you do and I’m so excited to see where I can take my business with you at my side.”
For Lisa, that response captures an important part of the DARETOGROW LIVE format.
“I don’t want people to come and sit silently while I talk at them for hours,” she said.
“I want to know what’s actually happening in their businesses. I want people asking questions. I want somebody on the other side of the room to hear an answer and think, ‘Oh God, I’m doing that too.’
“The room changes the event. That’s the point.”
A new half-day format for DARETOGROW LIVE
The Leeds event also debuted a new half-day format for DARETOGROW LIVE.
Previous events ran for most of the day and included lunch. The relaunched events have been deliberately condensed to help keep tickets affordable while reducing the amount of time entrepreneurs need to take away from their businesses and families.
The first event also provided valuable feedback about timings, with Lisa openly asking attendees what worked for them and what they would change as the new series evolves.
“I’ve always believed that you don’t build something brilliant by sitting at home trying to make it perfect,” Lisa said.
“You put it into the world. You see what happens. You listen. You learn. You change it. Then you go again.
“That’s exactly what I’m asking entrepreneurs to do in their businesses, so DARETOGROW has to work in the same way.”
Lisa admitted that despite having previously run successful live events, she still felt nervous before bringing the format back.
“I actually messaged my wife Lucy that morning and said, ‘I’m here, everything’s fine.’ I’d had all of those normal nerves and doubts beforehand – and then I got into the room and thought, I feel great. This is what I’m meant to be doing.
“And I think that’s the lesson. Sometimes clarity doesn’t come before the action. Sometimes you have to put yourself in the way of the thing, do it, and let the experience give you the information you need.”
DARETOGROW LIVE: networking events for entrepreneurs
DARETOGROW LIVE brings entrepreneurs and business owners together in person for practical business coaching, strategy, honest conversations and meaningful networking.
Founded and hosted by UK business coach Lisa Bean, the events are designed for entrepreneurs who want to grow their businesses, meet other ambitious business owners and leave with greater clarity about what to do next.
Following the return of DARETOGROW LIVE in Leeds, further live events are planned as the series continues.
Lisa added: “I hope people leave these events thinking differently about what is possible for them – but, more importantly, doing something differently as a result.
“Come into the room. Decide what matters. And then go and do the thing.”