July 15, 2026 · 43 min · Episode 757
Julie Ellis on Leading Bold Teams Through Uncertainty
About this episode
Anika sits down with Julie Ellis to explore the inflection point every founder dreads—the moment you've built the business, achieved the goal, and suddenly realize you have no idea who you are without it. Discover why selling an eight-figure business can feel like grief disguised as success, how delegation is the real bottleneck between scaling and plateauing, and the counterintuitive truth that derails most women entrepreneurs: it's never about having a bigger vision. It's about believing you're worthy of one—and whether you have the systems and people around you to make it real.
In This Episode
- From dance to finance to founder: How an unexpected career path led Julie to solve a problem every parent knew existed
- The basement to eight figures: Building Mabel's Labels from a 300 sq ft basement in Hamilton, Ontario to an internationally recognized brand—with zero industry experience
- Grassroots growth and celebrity endorsements: How a tiny magazine feature led to Daily Candy recognition and a life-changing mention from Elizabeth Hasselbeck on The View
- The art of delegation and scaling: Why most founders plateau and what separates those who scale to eight figures from those stuck at product-market fit
- The post-exit identity crisis: Navigating grief, imposter syndrome, and gratitude after selling to Avery Products—and why the 90-day rest period changed everything
- Big Gorgeous Goals: Why "gorgeous" matters as much as "big"—and how to chase ambitious goals while actually enjoying the journey
- The confidence gap and funding inequity: Why only 2.9% of venture capital goes to women entrepreneurs, and what Julie is doing to change that
- Pocket Coach: The asynchronous coaching model that keeps entrepreneurial momentum alive between sessions
- Building community for women founders: The Big Gorgeous Goals podcast and investing in women-led businesses
- Leading through uncertainty: Why the biggest breakthroughs happen in times of change
Timestamps
- 00:00 Introduction: The woman who solved every parent's labeling problem
- 02:01 An unexpected founder: Dance degree, 15 years in finance, and the moment everything changed
- 04:00 The basement days: One year of research, zero industry experience, and a team of misfits
- 06:28 From tiny magazine feature to Elizabeth Hasselbeck's endorsement on The View
- 11:06 The biggest gap between founders who plateau and those who scale: Delegation and decision-making
- 12:49 The acquisition: Selling Mabel's Labels after nearly 13 years—and why it was the right time
- 17:29 The post-sale emotions: Grief, imposter syndrome, and the gratitude sandwich
- 19:07 The 90-day rest and the identity crisis: Why "I'm not qualified" became the biggest lie
- 22:22 The coaching pivot: Why certification gave her the "add" she was looking for
- 23:18 Writing during the pandemic: How a daily writing group turned a book idea into Big Gorgeous Goals
- 25:37 Why "gorgeous" matters: Dancing toward your goals instead of grinding toward them
- 28:01 Creating white space: Why unstructured time is where the best ideas live
- 31:33 The confidence gap and funding inequity: 2.9% of VC goes to women; only 2% of women-founded businesses reach $1M
- 33:45 Pocket Coach: Asynchronous coaching for keeping momentum alive between sessions
- 35:52 The Big Gorgeous Goals podcast: Storytelling for women entrepreneurs
- 39:02 Her ideal coaching clients: Low seven-figure founders scaling to $5-10M
- 40:01 What's next: New keynotes and workshops on leading bold teams through uncertainty
- 41:38 Her guiding quote: Rabindranath Tagore's "Reach high for stars lie hidden in you"
Key Insights & Takeaways
Insight 1: Unmet Market Needs Beat Industry Expertise
Julie and her co-founders had no background in supply chain, marketing, or distribution—just a teacher, a financial planner, a lawyer, and a printing expert. What they had was a real problem to solve and a growth mindset. Expertise can be learned; identifying genuine customer pain points cannot.
Insight 2: Delegation and Decision-Making Are the Scaling Bottleneck
The biggest gap between founders who plateau and those who scale to eight figures isn't product or market—it's the ability to delegate and make decisions. Most founders get caught in the "I should have just done it myself" trap, which prevents them from reaching the next level.
Insight 3: Post-Exit Grief Is Real—And Worth Processing
Selling your business is an achievement, but it's also a loss. Julie experienced imposter syndrome, grief, and identity confusion after the sale. Her 90-day rest period—where she did nothing—was transformative. The emotional work matters as much as the financial outcome.
Insight 4: White Space Is Where Creativity Lives
The best ideas don't come at your desk—they come in the shower, on a walk, flying on a plane. Creating intentional unstructured time requires saying no to things and protecting space fiercely, even though it feels counterintuitive.
Insight 5: Women Entrepreneurs Face Systemic Funding and Confidence Gaps
Only 2.9% of venture capital goes to women, yet women-led businesses outperform on efficiency and team management. The solution isn't just funding—it's mentoring, networks, and other women believing in women.
Insight 6: Asynchronous Coaching Keeps Momentum Alive
Traditional coaching sessions every two weeks create gaps where momentum dies. Pocket Coach's voicemail-based model lets entrepreneurs push through decisions in real time, maintaining the energy they need to scale.
About Julie Ellis
Julie Ellis is a leadership coach, author, investor, and podcast host specializing in helping women entrepreneurs scale from seven to eight figures and beyond. She co-founded Mabel's Labels in a 300 sq ft basement in Hamilton, Ontario in 2003, growing it into an internationally recognized eight-figure brand before selling to Avery Products in 2016.
After a 90-day rest and a brief stint managing 135 people in corporate retail, Julie pursued coaching certification and discovered her true calling: helping other entrepreneurs navigate the inflection points she'd experienced. She is the author of Big Gorgeous Goals: Bold Women Achieve Great Things, which features interviews with 16 women entrepreneurs who've scaled beyond the comfort zone.
Today, Julie invests in women-led businesses, hosts the Big Gorgeous Goals podcast, offers one-on-one and asynchronous coaching through Pocket Coach, and delivers keynotes and workshops on leading bold teams through uncertainty.
Resources & Links Mentioned
Julie Ellis's Ecosystem
- Big Gorgeous Goals (Book) — Hybrid published with Page Two, distributed through Macmillan
- Big Gorgeous Goals Workbook — Self-published companion guide
- Big Gorgeous Goals Podcast — Stories from seven and eight-figure female founders
- Pocket Coach — Asynchronous voicemail-based coaching for entrepreneurs
Connect with Julie Ellis
- Open to: Keynotes, workshops on leading bold teams through uncertainty, coaching, and investing in women-led businesses
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-ellis/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thejulieellis
- Website: www.julieellis.ca
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Article
Julie Ellis on Scaling Mabel's Labels, Delegation and Life After Selling a Business
Julie Ellis co-founded Mabel's Labels in a Hamilton, Ontario basement in 2003, grew it to eight figures, sold it to Avery Products in 2016 and now coaches founders and wrote Big Gorgeous Goals: Bold Women Achieve Great Things. On Your Brand Amplified, she talks with Anika Jackson about delegation, the grief that can follow an exit and the confidence gap facing women entrepreneurs. Her point: scaling depends less on the product than on a founder's willingness to delegate and decide under uncertainty.
How did Julie Ellis grow Mabel's Labels to eight figures?
By solving a problem she and her co-founders had themselves. In 2003, Julie Ellis and her co-founders started Mabel's Labels in a 300-square-foot basement in Hamilton, Ontario. The team, a teacher, a financial planner, a lawyer and a printing expert, had no background in supply chain, marketing or distribution. What they had was a problem their own families faced: daycares wanted labels that survived the dishwasher, not masking tape and markers that faded after a few washes.
They spent a year testing, learning and upgrading equipment. A small magazine feature led to Daily Candy recognition, then a mention from Elizabeth Hasselbeck on The View, and the business took off. Expertise can be learned. A genuine customer pain point has to be found.
Why is delegation the bottleneck to scaling?
Because founders who cannot let go plateau. Julie Ellis says scaling is less about product or positioning than about delegation and decision-making. Many founders get caught in the "I should have just done it myself" trap. The ones who reach eight figures are not necessarily smarter. They build systems, trust people and make hard decisions even when uncertainty tempts them to freeze.
The founders she coaches are often at the low seven-figure mark, hitting the limits of what got them there. Reaching five or ten million, she says, takes growth on two fronts: becoming a different kind of leader and building operational excellence so the business runs consistently.
What happens to founders after they sell their company?
For Julie Ellis, it was grief. In 2016, she and her co-founders sold Mabel's Labels to Avery Products. By every measure it was a win, and no one prepared her for what came next: imposter syndrome, wondering whether her success was luck, and feeling caught between gratitude and mourning. Because grieving something you are supposed to celebrate can seem ungrateful, this side of an exit rarely gets discussed.
She gave herself 90 days to rest and do nothing: time at the lake, road trips and room to sit with not knowing who she was outside the business. After 18 months managing 135 people in corporate retail, she realized she wanted to help founders through the terrain she had just crossed, and pursued coaching certification. She also stresses white space, since the best ideas tend to arrive in the shower, on a walk or on a plane, not at a desk.
How does Julie Ellis support women founders?
During the pandemic, Julie Ellis wrote Big Gorgeous Goals: Bold Women Achieve Great Things, based on interviews with 16 women entrepreneurs who scaled beyond their comfort zones. "Gorgeous" matters as much as "big": she believes in dancing toward ambitious goals rather than grinding, and in believing you deserve what you are chasing.
The gaps are real. Only 2.9% of venture capital goes to women, even though women-led businesses outperform on efficiency and team management. Julie sees the issue as confidence and support, not competence. Her response includes:
- Investing in women-led businesses.
- Hosting the Big Gorgeous Goals podcast, featuring seven- and eight-figure female founders, because "if you can see it, you can be it."
- Offering Pocket Coach, an asynchronous voicemail-based model that keeps momentum going between traditional sessions.
Looking back, she notices that her biggest breakthroughs came not from clarity but from deep uncertainty that forced her to act. Bold teams, she believes, are built by leaders who have done their own inner work and make room for people to show up as their whole selves.
Key takeaways
- Mabel's Labels grew from a 300-square-foot basement because it solved a problem the founders lived with.
- Delegation and decision-making, not product, are usually what limit scaling.
- Selling a company can bring grief and identity loss; Julie Ellis took 90 days to rest.
- Only 2.9% of venture capital goes to women; she sees the gap as confidence and support, not competence.
- Breakthroughs often come from acting decisively in uncertainty.
Listen to Anika Jackson's full conversation with Julie Ellis on Your Brand Amplified.
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