Lori Varsames Coaching

08/28/2026

08/26/2026

Meet my assistant, Roscoe. Sure to show up in my sessions, this lovable little guy holds the space like a champ—not just for my clients but especially for me. So grateful for his presence in our lives. Happy 🐶 , Boo!

08/25/2026

Get curious about your customers.

The wine industry's reckoning isn't based on less alcohol consumption. It's a much larger discussion, evidenced by the data from 's 2026 State of the Wine Industry Report. In fact, you don't need to read it to see how the industry has been failing its customers for a long time. What's the biggest leadership takeaway from this moment in wine history? Cultivate emotional intelligence and build it into every aspect of the business. Want to read more? Check out my blog on Table Talk by clicking the link in the bio.

08/18/2026

What an incredible journey coaching has been these last six years! Last week’s ribbon cutting at Schermeister Winery for my rebranding was no exception. Thank you to Laura and Rob Schermeister for hosting, to Sonoma Valley Chamber of Commerce for making it possible, to Tim Zahner and the team at Experience Sonoma Valley for the love and support, and to all the clients, friends and family who gathered to raise a glass. So grateful to the Sonoma community for always making it easy to call this place home. Thank you to Anne-Marie Nordquist, Jeremy Davidson and Susie Allen for the photos and videos and to Spread Kitchen Sonoma for the amazing mezze platter. My heart is full. ❤️🙏🥹

07/21/2026

NEW TABLE TALK POST: "Release yourself from the 'busy' trap." Think that pushing through the stress is easier than creating a sustainable leadership model for your hospitality business. Think again! Read more at https://www.lorivarsames.com/table-talk or tap the link in my bio for direct access.

07/09/2026

Thank you Coursey Graves Estate Winery winery and Sonoma Valley Chamber of Commerce for a lovely Wine Down Wednesday!

01/21/2026

Sharpen the knives in your drawer.

As any chef will tell you, their success is only as sure as the quality of their ingredients and the tools of their trade. A seasoned chef keeps their knives sharp and close at hand; they are mindful of their grip, they only cut on stable surfaces, and they wash them immediately when they’re finished with the task at hand. Knife etiquette is crucial for their success.

While a dull knife can certainly cut, it also requires more effort, and continuing to cut with it invites bigger risks with potentially dangerous outcomes.

Leadership coaching is nothing more than a process of learning how to sharpen the knives in your drawer. It’s a process of creating self-awareness, intentionality and focus with dedicated time to step back from the work itself and restore the edge by clarifying thinking, challenging blind spots, and refining approaches. It's maintenance that seems optional until you experience the difference it makes. And like knife sharpening, it's not a one-time fix but an ongoing practice of keeping yourself at your sharpest.

When we sharpen our leadership skills, we pave the way for more efficiency, greater focus, easier collaborations, better planning, and grounded decision-making—all while building healthy teams, growing the bottom line, and finding balance. This means getting comfortable with the discomfort of feeling uncertain…and occasionally failing. After all, even the best chefs have scars on their hands and arms from their less masterful moments. But they also come to their next shift, ready to do it all over again. And in those moments of coming back after failure, again and again, they eventually perfect their craft.

If you’re ready to start sharpening your leadership skills, let’s talk.

01/09/2026

Disconnect from hustle culture.

On Monday, I was lucky enough to be part of a panel of coaches speaking to 80 women professionals about demystifying hustle culture. In speaking to a room of ambitious people, one needs to be careful about telling them they shouldn’t buy into working hard, caring about their careers, or supporting themselves and their families as best they can. Ambition in and of itself is fine, we all explained, but not when it comes at the price of self-abandonment.

Sadly, so many of the leaders I work with suffer from self-abandonment. In an effort to serve others, they put their own needs aside, thinking that working harder will mean more impact, allowing them to meet work goals, be recognized, or make them feel worthy. By the time many reach me, they are burned out, riddled with anxiety, and never feeling like they are enough.

Such is the myth of hustle culture.

Society would have us all believe that achieving the American Dream means working until you pass out at night, giving until you bleed, and feeling guilty whenever you finally have a chance to rest. It keeps us in a cycle of constant anxiety as we feverishly try to “stay on top” of things, robbing us of presence, calm, and joy.

As the new year begins, here is your invitation to start living a little more softly with a few questions:

* Instead of striving, what would it take to start thriving?
* Instead of working harder, how would it feel to work smarter?
* Instead of reaching for approval, how would it feel to start loving yourself unconditionally?

When we start stepping into our softness, we start getting clear about what matters most. We start embracing our values, we start choosing grace in lieu of perfection, and we start stepping into our joy. And none of this needs to come at the expense of our ambitions and desires. Rather, by embracing our softness, we recognize we are humans, not robots, and we start infusing our lives with more meaning and purpose.

If you’re ready to put a new spin on your relationship with hustle culture, let’s talk. Let 2026 be the year you meet your goals without losing yourself.

01/01/2026

Bring on the new year with new intentions!