Pia Beck is the CEO of Curate Well Co., which provides “coaching and community” to entrepreneurs who want to make an impact in their industry. If you’re an entrepreneur who wants to scale your business without neglecting the integrity of your work, and losing your connection to your community, you’ll be a good match for Pia and Curate Well.
For Pia Beck, Curate Well puts “process behind [your purpose].” She understands that businesses need the ability to share their stories and their message with people; it’s her company’s job to put the “right intuitive systems in place” to amplify those messages to reach more people. With their help, you “can become an unstoppable leader in the world and change thousands of lives.”
Entrepreneurs who could use Pia Beck’s coaching are “deep carers who value people over profit;” “smart decision makers who want to grow without sacrificing the details;” “revolutionaries who want to tell a different narrative;” “big visionaries who want to put process behind their purpose;” and “real women who want to change the world without wearing makeup.”
At Curate Well, Pia Beck makes sure you won’t find recycled strategies. Instead, you’ll get systems that truly cares about the human aspect of your business. You’ll also get to hear a “data-backed” approach that amplifies your impact.
Check out more purpose-driven business leaders here.
Jerome Knyszewski: Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?
Pia Beck: Growing up, I never said “I want to be an entrepreneur!” But thinking back, I’ve been an entrepreneur from day one — I always had a new idea for a business, and I was dead-set on doing things my way.
For most of my life, I’ve found myself in leadership roles — almost by default. So, it was no surprise when I quickly climbed the ladder in the tech and startup world.
I found myself at the pinnacle of my great-on-paper career. I’d checked all the boxes — sensible degrees, good job, promotion, good job, promotion. I’d reached the “destination” I’d been taught for my entire life to strive for…at the age of 23 — and then my world was rocked by “What now? Is this what I do for the next 40 years?”
That was a full body ‘no’ for me. I just had this knowing that sitting in a windowless office, working for someone else’s dream 12 hours a day for the rest of my career would kill me.
While I was “successful” by most definitions — I was miserable. I felt like my job was draining me of everything that made me, me.
I knew that there were people who needed (and could hugely benefit from) exactly what comes effortlessly to me. I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had so much more to offer — I was so much more than what I was doing in my career. That I could leave a real, tangible, lasting impression on this world by being exactly who I am — and be paid generously in the process.
…but I just couldn’t see a path to that working for someone else.
So I quit my job with no financial runway, no leads, and frankly — no idea what my business was actually going to be. And I set out to be wildly successful doing what I had always been great at.
Today, I’m the CEO of Curate Well Co. — coaching and community for impact-driven entrepreneurs who want to scale intentionally. Curate Well Co. has grown, in just about a year and a half, to a multiple six-figure business, in-house team of three, and community of +20k female leaders.
Jerome Knyszewski: Can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey? Did you ever consider giving up? Where did you get the drive to continue even though things were so hard?
Pia Beck: I hosted so many events that hardly anyone attended — I led workshops for two, then five, then 15 people. Now, our workshops are attended by 50–100 people. At the beginning it was really tough to pour so much into serving people and have the attendance be so low. I questioned whether I could actually pull this thing off. I questioned if I was really credible enough to be the kind of leader I wanted to be. I questioned whether my dreams were even possible. We see people growing so quickly on social media, and it’s easy to compare ourselves to that. But what people don’t see on social media is what it takes to show up for your ideas before others can hold the vision with you.
The drive to continue pushing through comes from our community. Our clients and community are such an inspiration to me! A friend recently told me that my face lights up and she can hear it in my voice when I’m on to something that’s going to change someone’s life. When I get to flex my creativity and execute on my vision as a way of giving back and supporting people, I feel alive. When I have a new vision and can see a course of action to carry out that vision — real goals, actionable objectives, and a plan to successfully achieve them, I get fired up. I’m out to create a world of badass female leaders who are wildly successful and impact the lives of everyone around them. And any capacity that I can do this is a privilege.
What really helped me shift my mindset in those early days was remembering that I had the ability to cause something really significant for the people who did show up. It was about remembering that there are humans on the other side of our goals, our offers, and our thriving businesses — if we can make it about people, we’ll persevere.
Jerome Knyszewski: Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘takeaways’ you learned from that?
Pia Beck: Honestly, every mistake I made (most of them because I just didn’t know any better or hadn’t done X before) taught me something. As a business-owner, you have to be willing to look at feedback or failure as an opportunity. I think the ability to not take things personally is the best lesson I’ve learned from all of my mistakes. The ability to separate your identity from things that go wrong, or others’ perceptions of what you’re doing — and see it purely as information you can choose to use to your advantage — has been a huge takeaway for me.
Jerome Knyszewski: Ok thank you for all that. Now let’s shift to the main focus of this interview. The title of this series is “How to take your company from good to great”. Let’s start with defining our terms. How would you define a “good” company, what does that look like? How would you define a “great” company, what does that look like?
Pia Beck: I love this question. I’ve actually been thinking a lot about this lately because if there’s anything I’ve learned this year, it’s that good gets in the way of great.
A good company sets objectives and meets them. In my opinion, a good company runs on complacency…or even mediocrity. A good company takes things at face value. Good companies often survive a long time — but they tend to lack soul.
A great company is backed by a community that actively contributes to the conversation and makes it better — there’s responsibility rather than anonymity — which creates a container and culture in which people can expand. A great company is always identifying what could be better and is willing to identify and face what’s not working, and to see these things as immensely valuable. A great company balances instinct and strategy — and can integrate data and logistics with human experience and customer care.Snd, I think a great company is led by someone who is willing to create their own definition of “great.”
Jerome Knyszewski: Based on your experience and success, what are the five most important things one should know in order to lead a company from Good to Great? Please share a story or an example for each.
Pia Beck: Vision + values:
Having a clear vision of your business is key — in my opinion, you have to know what it’s going to look like 1, 5, and 10 years from now. Your values are how you make that happen — they become the common language you use with your team to move your initiatives forward and innovate meaningfully.
Community + relationship building:
Knowing how to build authentic relationships is key to leading a business to greatness. Your audience, customers, ideal client need to feel a sense of belonging to your brand and with others in your space. They need to feel like they are heard and valued and can benefit from your offering or services. A benefit of building that community and truly nurturing everyone you come in contact with is loyalty. People will be more apt to share your content and recommend your services if they feel heard and acknowledged.
ICA:
ICA stands for Ideal Client Avatar. It’s a detailed profile that describes the client you want to work with — the most perfect fit for your unique expertise, values, and vision. Everything you do in your business (if done successfully) relies on this profile. Your products or services, your messaging, and your growth direction should all be determined by the person you serve. Doing market research and keeping a pulse on this person’s own evolution is key to having your business continue to grow.
Brand experience:
Everything you touch should represent your brand’s mission, values, and long-term vision. No matter where or how someone comes in contact with your brand, you want their experience to be consistent and in integrity with what you stand for. Branding is much more than aesthetics or word-choice — it’s how people feel when they interact with your company, anyone who works there, or anyone who has been a customer in the past.
Data:
Taking a data-driven approach business growth is incredibly important. We honor the human elements of business, and of course not all meaningful information and insight is quantitative. However, knowing your numbers is going to allow you to examine context more closely and make strategic decisions.
Jerome Knyszewski: Extensive research suggests that “purpose driven businesses” are more successful in many areas. Can you help articulate for our readers a few reasons why a business should consider becoming a purpose driven business, or consider having a social impact angle?
Pia Beck: I think this comes down to leadership. As business owners, we’re leaders in our communities — we have an opportunity to not only be committed to certain things that we get to choose for ourselves because of the path we’ve chosen to take, but we’re also in a position to be able effectively enroll others in powerful initiatives. You’re not only using your position to do good in the world, but you’re also giving everyone else in your community an opportunity to live into their values.
Jerome Knyszewski: As you know, “conversion” means to convert a visit into a sale. In your experience what are the best strategies a business should use to increase conversion rates?
Pia Beck: There’s a few things that go into high conversion rates, and the first happens way before the “visit” even takes place — if the right people are visiting, there’s a much better chance they’re going to convert. So, I think the first strategy is to understand who you serve and how you serve them — you not only need to be clear on this for yourself, but you also need to be clear about it in all the content you create so that you can attract the right people.
Then, I’d say it’s about logistics. One of my mentors taught me the concept: transformation is 95% logistics, and I’ve integrated that fully into our business. It’s similar to the hierarchy of needs — if basic logistics aren’t taken care of, your buyer can’t focus on things higher up in the hierarchy, like making a purchasing decision. So, make sure your visit to conversion experience is logistically sound — be clear in your calls to action so they know exactly what to do to take the next step, how to do it, and what’s going to happen when they do.
Last, I’d say listen and ask questions. Let’s assume you’re “converting” on a sales call — it’s not at all about convincing people, it’s about listening generously and asking strategic questions so you can understand if and how you can add value.
Jerome Knyszewski: Of course, the main way to increase conversion rates is to create a trusted and beloved brand. Can you share a few ways that a business can earn a reputation as a trusted and beloved brand?
Pia Beck: Trust, in my experience, is earned through being in Integrity. Doing what you say you’re going to do. Saying what you mean and meaning what you say.
At Curate Well Co. we have an operating principle of “full-assing” things — we do things to 100% completion.One of the best pieces of advice I got very early in my career was “under promise and over deliver”. We strive to do that every day.
When you can become someone (or a company) who can be counted on, you’ll build loyalty with people who will go on to champion your brand. These champions will drive more customers to your business, and the effect continues to appreciate and build that “beloved” sensation.
Jerome Knyszewski: How can our readers further follow you online?
Pia Beck: You can follow us on Instagram at @curatewellco.
And mid-December we’re launching a brand new website at www.curatewell.co.
Jerome Knyszewski: This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent with this!
