Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauren Cohen.
A graduate of York University and Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, Canada, global entrepreneur and #1 bestselling author Lauren A. Cohen is an attorney licensed in both the U.S. and Canada. Lauren is an expert concierge global legal and business advisor boasting a stellar track record of success. Lauren has first-hand knowledge of the visa process, having herself immigrated from Canada in 2001, and later becoming an American citizen in 2012.
In 2008, Lauren started e-Council Inc., an internationally-acclaimed company focused on providing concierge strategic full-service solutions for businesses seeking capital and foreign entrepreneurs seeking access to the U.S. market with a special focus on professional business plans and the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program as well as a wide range of other investment business immigration matters.
Continuing in the tradition of sound strategic solutions, ScaleUP Enterprises, LLC was established in 2018 and ScaleUPCheckUP is Lauren’s newest initiative – an online growth assessment checkup tool that serves as the gateway to a ScaleUPCheckUP Success Plan. ScaleUPCheckUP’s Signature Success System includes 3 steps: (1) Assess; (2) Diagnose; and (3) Deliver, all oriented to helping growing businesses in ScaleUP mode to handle the wide range of foundational challenges that are often overwhelming. ScaleUPCheckUP’s overriding mission is to anticipate challenges before they happen by identifying and redressing gaps in a business owner’s armor and access vetted professional service providers so they can ScaleUP painlessly and ultimately exit lucratively and successfully.. Designed in response to the challenges faced by so many entrepreneurs that simply do not understand the critical importance of proper professional guidance, and/or are afraid that the costs of protection are too high, ScaleUPCheckUP is poised to revolutionize the professional services industry and the way in which collaborative professional services are delivered.
Lauren also recently established Find My Silver Lining, a non-profit whose goal is to inspire others to persevere through challenging times and focus on the bright side as they strive to lead fulfilling lives.
Lauren has received numerous awards and recognitions including a 2018 award through the Florida Association of Women Lawyers as a “Leader in the Law.” A regular writer and contributor to magazines, books and other media globally for several years, Finding Your Silver Lining in the Business Immigration Process is Lauren’s first book, which became a #1 bestseller during its first month! The proceeds of Lauren’s book are being used to fund “Find My Silver Lining.” Lauren’s second book, which is focused on the franchise industry, is entitled “A Burning Desire to Succeed: Striking the Perfect Franchise Match” and is currently available as an e-book.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Being an entrepreneur or small business owner has always commanded a willingness to adapt and change, but never has this been truer than it is today. Society generally – and business specifically – are all about instant gratification. If businesses are to survive – much less thrive – we must not only adapt but must also anticipate the need to adapt ahead of the curve.
At the beginning of 2017, I was a relatively successful entrepreneur. My company, e-Council Inc., served as expert concierge immigration and business legal advisor to domestic and foreign companies. Things were great – or so it seemed.
My a-ha moment came not once, but several times during 2017 – it was more like a series of punches and kicks that kept on striking until it was impossible for me to ignore them any longer. Business as I know it had dried up, my regular repeat clients were being forced to move in new directions due to industry and regulatory changes and the space in which I had built my business and which had fueled my revenues since 2010 was on the brink of destruction.
As a single mompreneur on a mission to help clients achieve their version of the American Dream, there was no time for “poor me.” I had to find a new dream to pursue, one which would enable me to rebuild my wholly depleted cash flow. However, one of the most significant challenges that I faced was how to rebuild and move in a new direction with ZERO CASHFLOW? The answers: Credit cards, lines of credit, coaches, prayer, faith, and persistence – failure aka giving up was not an option!
What is the new direction I decided to pursue? It’s called ScaleUPCheckUP, and it’s poised to revolutionize the professional services industry and the way in which businesses work with professional service providers. The eventual goal is to build Angie’s List/Home Advisor model for business owners and entrepreneurs – to access vetted, certified service providers through a collaborative professional network. After completing the ScaleUPCheckUP assessment, the ScaleUPCheckUP team designs a customized ScaleUPCheckUP Success Plan TM. We hold our clients’ hands and determine appropriate strategies to properly guide them through otherwise overwhelming yet critical legal and business matters, helping them to overcomes these obstacles.
Don’t misconstrue what I am saying – I am not out of the woods yet. However, I know with every ounce of my being and intuition that I am on the brink of huge breakthroughs… breakthroughs that will not only benefit my business, but so many other entrepreneurs and business owners that struggle to find the right team of professionals who truly serve as their advocates and work together as a team. I’m the quarterback, but the key to ScaleupCheckup’s success will be in executing the playbook by working together as a team. In a nutshell, therein lies the ultimate game plan for ScaleupCheckup’s success.
The keys to success are persistence, staying true to your beliefs and dreams, being committed to yourself and working with a coach! Just keep swimming!
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into SCALEUPCHECKUP & E-COUNCIL INC. story. Tell us more about the business.
I love helping others achieve their dreams. I was able to do this on a global scale for business owners seeking capital and foreign investors seeking access to the U.S. to rebuild their lives with e-council inc., a concierge business immigration, and legal advisory firm. I have now taken that focus of helping business owners build their dreams to those seeking to scale their businesses and ensure they rest on a solid foundation using our proprietary scored ScaleUPCheckUP assessment tool, scaleupcheckup.com/product/assessment and the free quiz scaleupcheckupquiz.online.
The key is that business owners don’t know what they don’t know what they don’t know can – and too often does – get them in trouble or lead to disaster but by working with and through our collaborative network of vetted professionals they can sleep at night – ScaleUPCheckUP guides business owners in building strong exit strategies, improving valuation, securing funding & igniting rapid growth.
What do you feel are the biggest barriers today to female leadership, in your industry or generally?
Women still don’t get a seat at the “big tables.” It is still a man’s world. Having built a business in the space of domestic businesses raising capital from foreign investors, the number of women in Sr. positions or those in the capital markets and/or venture capital/angel world was very limited at best. Additionally, although women are called upon to provide professional services such as legal and accounting, they are not the central figures in the fundraising world.
This is also true for women entrepreneurs who are too often sadly stereotyped into building “touchy/feely” businesses in holistic or healthcare fields, which can and often do lead to much more broad-based businesses capable to scale and huge impact. Sadly, women are still – even in 2019 – not treated equally to men in the business world. It’s sad but it’s true and it’s up to us to change that – one woman and one business at a time!
Pricing:
- ScaleUP Professional Resource SUCCESS Plan TM – $997
- SCALEUPCHECKUP ASSESSMENT TM – $47
- SCALEUPCHECKUP ASSESSMENT TM + STRATEGY SESSION – $197
Contact Info:
- Address: 7050 West Palmetto Park Rd Suite 15-322 Boca Raton, FL 33433
- Website: www.scaleupcheckup.com & www.ecouncilinc.com
- Phone: 8667240085
- Email: lauren@scaleupcheckuplcom
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/scaleupcheckup/
- Twitter: scaleupcheckup
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ecouncilinc/
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