Dreaming Big and Winning with Entrepreneur Liz Elting

 

Episode Description:  The co-founder TransPerfect shares her sometimes-controversial strategies for career success from her time building a billion-dollar company- including what the next generation needs to tell their parents. Plus her family song that still helps motivate her today.


Video Highlight:

Liz Elting’s Bio:Liz Elting, Founder and CEO of the Elizabeth Elting Foundation, is an entrepreneur, business leader, linguaphile, philanthropist, feminist, and mother. After living, studying, and working in five countries across the globe, Liz founded TransPerfect out of an NYU dorm room in 1992 and served as Co-CEO until 2018. TransPerfect is the world's largest language solutions company, with over $1.1 billion in revenue and offices in more than 100 cities worldwide. Liz received the 2019 Charles Waldo Haskins Award for business and public service from NYU’s Stern School of Business, the American Heart Association’s 2020 Health Equity Leadership Award, the Alliance of Women Entrepreneurs’ 2021 Vertex Award for changing the face and direction of women’s high-growth entrepreneurship, the American Heart Association’s 2022 Woman Changing the World Award, and Trinity College’s 2022 Kathleen O’Connor Boelhouwer ’85 Alumni Initiative Award. Liz has been recognized as a NOW Woman of Power & Influence, American Express' and Entrepreneur magazine's Woman of the Year, and one of Forbes’ Richest Self-Made Women every year since the list’s inception. Elting is the author of the upcoming book, Dream Big and Win: Translating Passion into Purpose and Creating a Billion-Dollar Business.

 
 

Links to resources mentioned in the episode!

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Full Transcript:

Bobbi Rebell Being a financial grownup is hard- That’s why we need to be focusing on financial wellness. According to PwC, the majority of employees said that financial worries had a negative impact on their overall health and wellbeing. Money stress is expensive for companies- workers are less productive, and more likely to leave a job. They also have higher healthcare costs when they are worried about finances. As if health care costs weren’t already sky high. Financial Wellness Strategies is here to help by providing engaging and yes, delightful workshops and educational programs for employees to better control their finances. Anyone can lecture and run numbers. We talk about real life money stuff.

Topics include 

-setting up the best grownup everyday money habits

-managing those social media temptations to splurge.

-strategies to shop for the best deals

-demystifying and really understanding financial lingo

-strategies to steer friends and family away from bad money decisions. 

-and how to know when you should ignore the math that says you “should’ do one thing with your money, and focus on your goals, even when it isn’t the best “financial decision”. 

 

It's time for your company to invest in peace of mind with Financial Wellness Strategies. Get in touch at FinancialWellnessStrategies.com.

Welcome my friends to the Wellness for Financial Grownups podcast. I’m your host, certified financial planner Bobbi Rebell. I am on a mission to take our money-related stress levels down- I do this not only hopefully   with this podcast but also with my company Financial Wellness Strategies which brings financial wellness programs and workshops to companies. 

 

We start every episode off with a quote and this one comes from this week’s guest: Liz Elting. Co-founder of the billion dollar company Transperfect. Her new book Dream Big and Win Translating Passion into Purpose and Creating a billion dollar business has just been released. It features quotes from lots of luminaries but my favorite luminary is Liz herself who says quote: 

“Work today like no one else will So you can live and give tomorrow like no one else can”

And when you not only listen to our interview but also read her book you will see the drive and total devotion that she put into her work for years and years to make her company a billion dollar company. 

 

A little background because this is an unusual interview. Liz and I have been friends for about 6 years and full disclosure I have felt very close to the evolution of this book. Even the idea to write a book was something we were talking about years ago. And so when it finally arrived for me to read a preview copy a few weeks ago I was surprised that I was surprised at so much of it. She had a lot of nuances she had to manage- including a very public fallout with her ex partner and ex fiance that played out in the gossip columns. They were brutal to her. And knowing stuff she still can’t disclose publicly- all I can say is I would hope that as a journalist, I would have hoped journalists would be better about fact checking. And yes- I am proudly biased on this matter. 

 

But I also was surprised at how much I personally learned that I am already putting to use as an entrepreneur- and someone who worries about how the things I do impact my family. 

 

Make sure to listen to the end- Liz says she can’t sing but well.. You’ll see. 

 

Here is my friend, Liz Elting, author of Dream Big and Win.

 

Liz Elting, you are a financial grownup. Welcome to the podcast.

 

Liz Elting

Thank you so much, Bobbi. It's so great to be here.

 

Bobbi Rebell

Congratulations on your book, Dream Big and Win. It's probably already a bestseller by the time this interview comes out. And I got an early sneak peek and thank you so much for writing this book for all of us that can benefit from your advice. And thank you also for thanking me, by the way, in the acknowledgments at the end. For everyone that doesn't know, we are friends, quote, in real life. And I've been hearing about the book for a long time

but tell our audience more about how this book came about and what your message is to the people that read it.

 

Liz Elting (00:58.542)

Sure, it's the book I wish I had when I was starting off in my 20s or even in my 30s, 40s, 50s, when I was an entrepreneur or just when I was in business. So I wished I had it. I couldn't find anything like it. And it's really to serve as a roadmap, a guide, a mentor for other women like me or people like me. And it's a-

 

I think it's a pretty fast read. I really open up and talk about all the things I learned along the way, what I did right, and the many things I did wrong. And I'm really trying to send the message, if I can do it, you can too, and share a lot of hopefully valuable lessons in the process.

 

Bobbi Rebell (01:47.172)

you are very vulnerable in the book. I mean, not only did you take us back to those days where you were in the dorm room with your ex-boyfriend now, he was your boyfriend at the time, you couldn't even, you literally arranged, you've somehow finagled, this is truly creative, to not pay the rent till the end of the year and you were making 300 plus calls a day, no social life except for I guess each other. So you're very vulnerable about that. You're also very open about the fact

and the then boyfriend, Phil, who is named in the book, obviously, did not end on good terms and certainly in terms of the business. It was a very public dispute. And what I love about this is you talk about your family as a support. Can you talk a little bit about how your family was there as a working wife and mother, how they were there for you? Because I think a lot of people wonder, is it okay to work so hard as an entrepreneur when you do have family responsibilities?

 

Liz Elting (02:45.546)

Yes, absolutely. And you're right, just my business partner. Full disclosure, he was my fiancee. We broke up, but we continued with the business for 20 more years after we broke up. So that was quite crazy. But anyway, back to your question. Yes, and I think we all go through this. It is so hard to be a working mom. It's challenging for all of us. Arianna Huffington has a great quote that I include in the book, which is, being a working mom is like feeling guilt on steroids. You know, it's challenging, it's challenging, but it's incredibly rewarding. And I think it's a case of just having a lot of having a lot of balls in the air, making sure none of the glass ones drop. And that's kind of another way I heard it put. And I think we all can relate to it if we work and we're moms, but the great thing is,even though it was so challenging along the way, and there were times when I was at home and I felt like I should be at work, and times when I was at work and I felt like I should be at home. I learned over the years, and this is one of the lessons, to compartmentalize. And when I was at work, I was all in and intense, and all about results, and then walked out the door at the end of the day at six, 6.30, and then all in as far as being at home and really...getting off the devices and not going back on until the end of the night. But related to my family, I'm so sorry. Back to that question, they've been amazing. My husband has been so incredibly supportive. My boys, I have two boys. They've been great. And one of them said to me when I used to walk him to school every day, and he'd say, mom, you know.me to school and I love that you do that and then we get there and I see all these moms in their workout clothes or going to breakfast after but I see you in your suit and your heels and I am so proud of you and I want to marry someone like you who has a career so that meant so incredibly much to me and I'm sure you know other moms can relate to that.

 

Bobbi Rebell (05:03.668)

At one point in the book, as I said, you're very vulnerable and honest and you talk about the fact that you had not signed a partnership agreement and there was litigation in recent years which led to the sale of the company to your ex-fiance and it was quite public. There was a lot of not nice things written about you in the gossip columns here in New York and it left you in tears and you came home one day crying. Tell me more about what happened that day because it's really such a heartwarming story when you talk about family support for a working mom and an entrepreneur and the toll that it takes on you and the support that's required.

 

Liz Elting (05:42.402)

Thank you. Yes, that was another really meaningful moment for me. that was an incredibly meaningful moment for me. I came home from work, and this was in the beginning of my litigation. I had over four years of litigation with my ex-business partner. And it was a scorched earth situation. It was very bad, very public litigation, as you said. I came home in tears. And my son was there, and he said to me, mom, what's wrong? What's going on? And I just said, oh, just a horrible day at work. you know, bad things are going on. And he said, oh, okay. And then he left her and he said, I'll be back soon. And then he said, he came back in about maybe 10, 15 minutes. He said, mom, check your emails. And it turned out he had written me this beautiful email saying, Mom, I am so sorry for what you're going through. I know how incredibly tough it is, but when this happens, you know, just remember, you know, when you have a bad day, you know, call your...a member of your family, call a friend, take a deep breath, listen to music you like. And he had this list of suggestions, sorry, the title of the email was Suggestions, and these were all the different suggestions. And then he kind of closed it with, and above all, know that your family is there for you, and we support you every step of the way, especially me. And it was just the sweetest thing, and it just made me feel like.I'll get through this because I have this amazing family and they understand

 

Bobbi Rebell (07:30.072)

One thing, and by the way, I've met them, they're wonderful. Family support is so important, and it's important to strike the right balance. I'm gonna pivot a little bit here. In the book, you also talk about this trend towards what I would call helicopter, well, many people call helicopter parenting. I have definitely been guilty of it myself. You and I have talked about this on our walks in Central Park. As a leader, an entrepreneur, and businesswoman, you have seen the other side of helicopter parenting. Tell me more about your experiences because in the later years at TransPerfect, you did have some experiences where parents got in the way and you wanted to hire somebody and it kind of backfired because of this.

 

Liz Elting (08:10.99)

That's right. And I think we all have a tendency to do it. We want the best for our kids and we think we need to show them the way. But there comes a time, and I've tried to make that time when my kids go off to college, that I will step back. There are times when we brought people in for interviews and we had some interesting situations. One person came in and literally in the lobby with them was their mother. Because I saw the employee, and then I saw this older adult with that employee. And I asked someone who's that, and I think it was our receptionist, that's her mother. not good. She basically sat there through the course of the interview and then left. But that kind of sent the wrong message initially in that interview. And then another time after.

I had interviewed someone and decided he was not the right fit for the job. His dad called up and complained and said, why did my son not get the job? And so yeah, we had some memorable situations. And obviously by the time your kids are in full-on career mode, we need to stay away, right? We all need to stay away as much as hard as it is for us.

 

Bobbi Rebell (09:27.923)

Yes. So my friends, this is not the way to launch a fine. These are launching financial grown-up don'ts, right? So exactly. And I want to go through one of the do’s then. So one of the do’s that you say in terms of quiet quitting we hear about a lot is to kind of you give people sort of a pep talk in your book and you say one of the quotes in the book that it really meant a lot to me is, You say “circumstances are temporary, but your attitude is permanent. Quiet quitting sets an early precedent within yourself. Don't succumb to it.” I love that advice for young people. I mean, you might not feel great about a job now, but it's also a reflection on you. The job that you do and the reputation that you have is gonna carry on.

 

Liz Elting (10:12.622)

You're right. As long as you're in that job and at that company, you should be giving it your all. Because yes, it's a reflection on you. What you put in is a reflection on you. Now, of course, if it's not going well, if you don't like what you're doing, if you have issues with your boss, you should definitely approach the appropriate person at the company and try to change it. Whether it's your boss, whether it's HR, because it's about your boss or whatever it is. If you have issues with either your know, as I said, your position, your boss, try to change it or how much you're being paid. Yes, bring it to them. But then, and then if you can't change the situation, move on. But as long as you're there, give it your all because it's so important for you, your reputation, and it's just the right thing to do.

 

Bobbi Rebell (11:02.312)

I love that. I mean, it's really like passive aggressive. Like if you're gonna be there, be there. If you're not gonna be there, then just leave. If it's really that bad. But also remember your responsibilities to yourself and your family. You may need the income. So sometimes you have to kind of deal with a situation that's not optimal. That's called being a grownup. All right, Liz, before I let you leave, we talked so much about, you talk a lot about family support and how important it is. We talked about your kids and your husband. I wanna go back to your family that you grew up with, your sister, your father, your mother. I love your family song so I'm going to put you on the spot. Your father had a family song. I want to hear the family song and all the things that go with it because there was also, I think there was like a bedtime thing. We don't have that much time but give me the Elton family song.

 

Liz Elting

Well, but Bobbi, I know you read the book, so I can just tell people, give a very short anecdote here, and this is the thing with me and singing. And that's why I think it's very interesting that Bobbi just asked me to do this, because when I was in sixth grade, I loved singing. It was one of my passions. There I was in a music class, and it was a double music class. There were about 60 of us, and we were singing one of my favorite songs. It was called...Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and I was loving it. We were all there, and the music teacher started coming around and standing in front of each of us and listening one by one, one by one, one by one. I remember, I remember exactly where I was standing. She got to me, and she said, ah, this is it. And I thought, oh my goodness. That's what I'm thinking. I'm going to get to do a solo. And she said, this is the problem. You are the problem. And she said, I'm sorry, but you're off key. You're off pitch. You're going to have to stay down in the classroom downstairs, every music class, till the end of the year, because you're kind of messing up this choir. So that was humiliating. That was the worst. So anyway, I think it's very funny that you just asked me to sing this song, Bobbi, but I will say the lyrics at least because you do not want to hear me sing. Nobody wants to hear me sing.

 

Bobbi Rebell

You can melodically say the lyrics.

 

Liz Elting

Okay, so a song and we had a few pets. So we started with one version and as we had more pets, we added, we changed the words, but We are the Eltings, the Jolly Eltings, and we sing in the morning and the night. Oh, there's Mommy and Daddy, Lynn, Liz and Lolly, and the gerbils and the fish all right.  Sleep tight, my darling Liz, good, sleep, sorry. Can I do this one again? Okay. One other song that was sung to me when I went to bed is, good night, little Liz, good night. Sleep tight, my darling Liz, sleep tight. May you slumber all night through and may your dreams spring magic too. Good night, little Liz, good night. So that was fun.

 

Bobbi Rebell (14:28.476)

Yes, of course.

 

Bobbi Rebell (14:50.536)

Family support is everything and you received it as a child and you give it as a wife and mother and I'm so proud to be your friend. Thank you so much for this interview, Liz.

 

Liz Elting

Oh, I'm so proud to have you as a friend. Thank you so much for everything, Bobbi, and I've loved this interview.

 

Bobbi Rebell

We know your book, Dream Big and Win, is everywhere, so people should pick it up immediately, because we need to make sure Liz is at the top of the bestseller list, everyone. Where can people be in touch and learn more about you? What are your social media handles?

 

Liz Elting

Sure. So @Liz Elting is basically the handle and I'm on all the platforms. And yes, that would be wonderful if people would buy Dream Big and Win. I would be so appreciative.

 

Bobbi Rebell

Well, we appreciate you. Thank you so much.

 

Liz Elting

Okay, thank you so much.

 

Bobbi Rebell

We all want to live our best financial grownup lives and one way to do that is to know that the people we care about are also in a good place when it comes to their money. That might mean our kids, our grandkids and yes- even our friends. But how. Its’ awkward. You see them struggling- pretending to know more than they do- or making bad money decisions but don’t know what to say- and even if you say something supportive- then what? That’s why I wrote Launching Financial Grownups. In Launching Financial Grownups I share the tools and strategies so you know what to say to take the pressure off and give those you love the confidence they need. It's about giving those we care about the right amount of help, at the right time- so they can not only learn what they need to know about being financial grownups- but also be confident they can do it- and that you will be there to cheer them on. Pick up a copy of Launching Financial Grownups - I promise you will be so happy you did. 

 

Did your family have a family song? Shockingly mine did not. But you probably had some kind of ritual that your parents did with you.. So for our extra credit assignment this week let’s re-connect with family and remember those growing up rituals that we did when we were young and maybe come up with or just appreciate the ones we are doing with our family now that bond us together. 

 

DM me on instagram and share your family rituals. And if you are not already please join me on substack and bobbirebell.substack.com. It is free and I am sharing some of my best money tips so we can all live our best financial grownup lives. 

 

It was so special to have my friend Liz on this episode. Make sure to pick up your copy of Dream Big and Win- the value add to your life will be priceless. I promise. 

 

I have some news to share on our next episode so please be sure to tune in. 

 

In the meantime thank you to Liz Elting for helping us all be financial grownups and invest in peace of mind. 

 

Wellness for Financial Grownups is a production of BRK Media. Editing and production by Steve Stewart, guest coordination, social media support, and show notes by Alliee Borbon. Artwork by Chelsea Perez. You can find the podcast show notes, which include links to resources mentioned in the show, as well as show transcripts by going to my website, bobbirebell.com. 

To get even more out of this podcast, make sure you are also on our newsletter list to get more free content to live your best financial lives. There is a link in the show notes

 
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