Welcome to Episode 65 of The Incredible Machines podcast! In this thought-provoking conversation, Jon Oliff and Luke Holden sit down with Liza Clifford, the founder of Liza Clifford Professional Bra Fitting Studio, mother of two, and an advocate for women’s confidence, body acceptance and entrepreneurship.
Her journey stretches from a free-spirited childhood on a farm to building a business around something many people overlook: the impact that proper support can have on a woman’s confidence, comfort and ability to move through the world.
The conversation explores gender and education, motherhood, perfectionism, social media, entrepreneurship and the pressure women face to meet impossible beauty standards. Liza also shares the story behind Bra Squad, a campaign that began to create authentic South African content and became something far more meaningful. Through unretouched images of real women, the campaign challenged assumptions around what women’s bodies are supposed to look like. At the heart of Liza’s philosophy is a simple idea: Put on Courage.
This episode is a conversation about accepting yourself, challenging the boxes people put you in, building something before you feel completely ready and having the courage to show up anyway.
⏱ Timestamped Overview
01:04 – Introduction to Liza Clifford
04:00 – Growing up on a farm in an Italian immigrant family
09:19 – Family expectations, education and finding independence
14:07 – Single sex schools, gender and raising confident children
25:19 – Body image, beauty standards and the beginning of Bra Squad
28:24 – The emotional moment that transformed the Bra Squad photoshoot
37:24 – What Liza would tell her younger self about confidence and perfection
40:00 – Why young people have more time than they realise
49:46 – How showing up on social media became one of Liza’s biggest revenue drivers
52:08 – Mom guilt, entrepreneurship and the expectations placed on women
59:24 – Why audiences are increasingly looking for authenticity
01:02:31 – Failure, shame and why fear prevents people from trying
01:14:25 – How Liza uses AI in operations without letting it replace her thinking
01:28:13 – Why young South Africans should consider building businesses
01:33:37 – The personal experience that showed Liza why professional bra fitting matters
01:37:50 – The story behind Put on Courage
01:49:39 – Changing the conversation around women’s bodies
02:00:05 – Scaling the business to reach more women
02:06:55 – Why Liza accepts that the brand will not be for everyone
02:10:08 – Why old content can continue creating value years later
💬 Quote of the Episode
“A goal without a plan is a dream.” – Brian Tracy
“The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena.”– Theodore Rosevelt
🧠 Related Campaign Example
Always #LikeAGirl Campaign:
Liza chose the Always #LikeAGirl campaign because it represents the kind of marketing she values most: marketing that goes beyond selling a product and changes a conversation.
The campaign took the phrase “like a girl”, which had become associated with weakness, and challenged people to think about what that message was teaching girls. In the advert, adults and older children act out running, throwing and fighting “like a girl” as weak or silly, while younger girls simply do those things as strongly as they can.
For Liza, the insight was powerful because it showed that girls eventually learn to associate being a girl with being less capable.
She also admired that Always did not make the product the hero. The brand identified a cultural tension and made that conversation the campaign. The #LikeAGirl hashtag then allowed people to participate in, share and reinterpret the idea themselves. For Liza, the lesson is simple: great marketing does not always need to sell the product directly. Sometimes it changes the conversation around the problem the brand exists to solve.
Always #LikeAGirl Campaign: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olUAKw66y2k
👣 Relevant Links & Mentions
Lisa Clifford LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lizaclifford/
Liza Clifford Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lcprofessionalbrafittingstudio
Liza Clifford Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lizaclifford/
Liza Clifford Twitter: https://x.com/Liza_Clifford
Liza Clifford Professional Bra Fitting Studio Website: https://lizaclifford.com/
Liza Clifford Professional Bra Fitting Studio Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LizaCliffordBraFitting
Liza Clifford Professional Bra Fitting Studio Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lizacliffordbrafittingstudio/
Liza Clifford Professional Bra Fitting Studio YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJCpWERVN80LjQNGM3Jd1Dg
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