How Joy L. King Built Two Businesses on Intuition + Referrals (While in a Chief Role)

In this episode of Do Small Business Like a Big Boss, host Aisha Jorge Massengill sits down with Joy L. King, founder of Lifestyles by Joy and Sweet Life Business Coaching, to talk about building intuitive, referral-based businesses while balancing a high-level executive role.

This conversation covers the real-life lessons behind starting messy, trusting your instincts, and creating a business rooted in relationships—what worked, what didn’t, and what every aspiring entrepreneur needs to hear.

🎧 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• How to stop chasing money and start building through relationships
• The “repeatable value” concept every founder must define before scaling
• How to protect and maintain your business while stepping into a corporate role
• Why mindset and self-worth are the biggest blockers to growth
• What to focus on in your first 30 days before investing in branding or assets

⏱️ Episode Timestamps:

• 00:00 – Introduction
• 00:46 – Guest introduction: Joy L. King
• 02:05 – Launching during the pandemic
• 06:29 – Turning design into therapy and purpose
• 09:21 – Building through referrals
• 11:42 – “All money ain’t good money”
• 17:34 – When chasing money backfires
• 24:14 – Tools and systems Joy uses
• 27:00 – Negotiating an executive role while keeping her businesses
• 33:31 – The #1 mindset block
• 38:15 – The first 30 days as a founder
• 44:14 – What “Big Boss” means

👤 About the Guest:
Joy L. King is a lifestyle architect, business coach, and executive. She is the founder of Lifestyles by Joy, a referral-based interior design firm, and Sweet Life Business Coaching, where she helps entrepreneurs define repeatable value and scale with intention. She also serves as a Chief at NCAN (National College Attainment Network), leading strategy and operations.

🔗 Connect with Joy:
lifestylesbyjoy.com
sweetlifebusinesscoaching.com
LinkedIn — linkedin.com/in/joyking912

🚀 Ready to Make Your Business Official?
Join Aisha’s FREE weekly webinar, Make Your Business Official, and learn how to build, brand, and bulletproof your business with confidence.

👉 Register here: https://www.igotnext.co/training

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https://www.topemployermistakes.com

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Podcast Mantra:
Build the dream messy, build it scared, just don’t build it small.
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