Lisa Elliot is an author, producer, and strategic consultant with decades of experience in the fashion and branding industry. After founding a successful showroom representing international designers for over 20 years, she transitioned into consulting, helping brands across various industries—from fashion to food to art—define their mission, clarify their values, and grow with purpose. Lisa now focuses on guiding entrepreneurs and businesses through brand development, team-building, and mindset coaching to create authentic and sustainable enterprises.
What sparked your journey as a coach/entrepreneur? Was there a moment, challenge, or person that pushed you to take this path?
What sparked my journey to become an entrepreneur was my father. He was someone that thought outside the box and created his own path. From a young age, I knew I wanted to begin my own company. After starting my showroom representing designers for 20 years, I wanted to expand this knowledge and expertise that I had to others. I began coaching and consulting for other companies and brands in 2019.
Tell us a bit about what you do! What’s the purpose behind your business, and how does it make a difference in people’s lives?
I consult to help a brand launch or rebrand in several categories from fashion, comic, accessories, health, food, beauty, and art. After working with so many designers through the years, I reflected on what I loved—and it was getting to know the designers and their stories and why they’re doing what they’re doing. What I realized is that not all brands had a clear purpose, meaning, and values that aligned with their mission. Some had some doubt in the future of their company. This prompted me to start consulting with brands on mindset and aligned values—what lights them up—to help them create an authentic brand or rebrand their company. This has made a tremendous difference in the companies I have consulted with by creating a foundation that has purpose, meaning, and a sustainable future.
Thinking back to the start of your career, what were some of the biggest challenges you faced in establishing yourself as a coach/entrepreneur? How did you work through them?
We launched our showroom over 20 years ago in productions. My biggest challenge was finding the right people. It takes an A team, which stands for ability and attitude. I realized I can’t do everything and needed to hire people that are experts in their fields, such as sales, marketing, press, operations, and finance. Once I got the right managers and team, I could then focus on my strength, which is building the brands and merchandising. I didn’t know all the aspects of the business, but I wanted to focus on this to really grow my brands. Now I help brands create A teams.
Is there a milestone or achievement you’re really proud of that you’d like to share?
For my showroom, my largest milestone was signing lines from Paris, which were Zadig & Voltaire and Iro, plus some US commercial lines. Once I had key name lines in the showroom, this created further trust with my buyers so that when I would sign newer lines, the trust was built in and buyers were open to see what we had to offer. It also brought recognition and demand for other strong lines to want to sign with me. I was considered one of the top 10 showrooms in the United States. As I moved into consulting, the key milestone was working with a showroom in New York that had been in business 10 years and was wanting to rebrand. We worked on getting a stronger team so the owner had more space and time to focus on the business. I also helped train her sales agents. I have seen a growth in mindset and business, and how my consulting impacted this.
Women are making big moves in workplaces around the world, leading alongside their male counterparts. What are your thoughts on women in leadership today?
I work with mainly women now and see a huge connection with women being leaders in their fields. Women are rising up to lead companies and teams. There is a lot of connecting, sharing, listening, and openness that women share. This creates a trust and work ethic and people wanting to work with women that care, acknowledge, and see the individual’s importance on being on the team.
What advice would you give to future women leaders and aspiring entrepreneurs?
My advice to future women leaders and aspiring entrepreneurs is to begin with the foundations of mindset, attitude: commitment, resilience, and persistence. Also, to not react in the moment. Never give up. Your core values should align with your mission.
Please insert website or social media links (if any):
www.litupbrand.com
