Women Thriving in Business

When was the last time you took a moment to reflect and say, "Let me put my own health and happiness first?" Self-care can seem like an impossible task for most entrepreneurs nowadays when there are so many responsibilities and to-dos on an ever-growing list. We always want to push things forward and manage all the details, and when you’re extremely busy, self-care may be the last thing that comes to mind.

It’s important to focus on taking care of yourself, as it has a big impact on your mental, emotional and physical health. We cannot run and grow a successful business if we feel stressed, anxious, or depressed, as it can only lead to burnout and fatigue. Self-care is not a luxury, but it mainly focuses on the introspective work of being able to understand what you are feeling, allowing yourself to experience it, and being aware of what your mind, heart, body, and spirit really need.

Making self-care a priority will help you feel better and support you in creating success in business and life!

The Thriver joining us this week is Jan Hice-Smith, Founder, and CEO of Heart’s Joy Consulting, LLC, a boutique firm specializing in joy and well-being. She is also the author of the book Soul Work: Excerpts from My Journey. Jan connects deeply with employee groups and leads with empathy and compassion. She works with a variety of clients from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies.

Jan shares with us the significance of engaging in self-care practices, being aware of whether or not we are in an unhealthy environment, listening to ourselves, and paying attention to the aspects of ourselves that demand our full attention. She also discusses how to recognize when professional help is necessary to improve our well-being.

Be inspired. Be empowered. Listen to Episode 706 to learn more!

Thriving Points:

• This is a place of our own care where it's not that others are doing this for us,  but we have to fill our own cup. -Jan Hice-Smith
• Self-care is needed because we are human beings. So it's that we don't just need self-care when we're in a burnout situation or we're in a crisis. We don't just need self-care because we're in a pandemic or we've gone through a transition. It is the fact that we're humans. -Jan Hice-Smith
• My stance always with anyone is, you know yourself best. So, you know when you feel certain things and you know the symptoms and if you are finding yourself depressed, that is a reason to seek help. -Jan Hice-Smith
• You really are your best advocate because you have to know yourself and what's going on with you. -Jan Hice-Smith
• I know that it takes effort to find a therapist. Nobody wants to do it. Yes, it takes effort. But we have to remember that we're worth that effort. -Jan Hice-Smith

About the Show:

     Women Thriving in Business features candid unscripted conversations with entrepreneurs, business experts, authors, and academics aimed at contributing to business success. This weekly show provides interviews with business leaders who have built, grown, and are thriving in business. Nikki A. Rogers, host of the show, also discusses achievements, lessons learned, and advice for aspiring business owners to develop the mindset, strategies, and connections necessary to thrive in business. Whether you are just starting or you have been in business for decades, WTiB offers inspiration, strategies, and resources to help you THRIVE in business.

Connect with Nikki:

• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Youtube

A Team Dklutr Production

When you are striving to develop your corporate career, it is easy to be so focused on work that self-care gets overlooked.  In addition, it can lead us to neglect important people around us, and we can find ourselves successful, yet disconnected from those we love and care for.   Living a “work first” attitude can put a halt to our personal and even professional growth. It can also hamper our financial stability and affect the relationships we have in our lives.

In this episode, guest Stephanie Taylor shares how she realized that the important moments in life were passing her by and that she was capable of much more in all aspects of life, whether financial success personal relationships or self-care.  She was able to achieve her dreams by transitioning from corporate employee to owning her own real estate business.

Listen in to learn how you can take hold of your life and pursue a more fruitful path to success.

Thriving Points:

• Your relationship with a person is your thoughts about them. It's not what that person does. - Stephanie Taylor
• I know there are so many things that we can complain about, but we also have so much privilege and so much opportunity, that it is really an incredible blessing. - Stephanie Taylor
• We can't appreciate what we don't know about. - Stephanie Taylor
• Your life increases in satisfaction the more you are able to make those tough decisions. - Stephanie Taylor

Get to Know the Guest:

Stephanie Taylor is a UK-based real estate investor, co-founder of award-winning real estate management and development company, HMO Heaven, and co-founder of Rent 2 Rent Success, which has inspired thousands of non-traditional investors to get started in real estate. Along with sister and business partner Nicky, they grew their real estate management business, secured contracts worth over £2m in under three years, and bought their own multi-million-pound portfolio of multifamily blocks and commercial property.

Connect with Stephanie:

• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Facebook

Other Resources Mentioned:

• HMO Heaven
• Rent 2 Rent Success
• Blow Up Your Life

About the Show:

     Women Thriving in Business features candid unscripted conversations with entrepreneurs, business experts, authors, and academics aimed at contributing to business success. This weekly show provides interviews with business leaders who have built, grown, and are thriving in business. Nikki A. Rogers, host of the show, also discusses achievements, lessons learned, and advice for aspiring business owners to develop the mindset, strategies, and connections necessary to thrive in business. Whether you are just starting or you have been in business for decades, WTiB offers inspiration, strategies, and resources to help you THRIVE in business.

Connect with Nikki:

• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Youtube

A Team Dklutr Production

Your life including your responsibilities and daily routine changes the moment you become a parent. It's not an easy task to take care of a child, as it comes with sleepless nights and requires a significant amount of energy, emotional commitment, and a great deal of patience. The adjustment to parenthood can be challenging, especially during the first year.  During that time, many parents need support from their family, friends, and most importantly, their employers. 

The transition to being a working parent is challenging to navigate, and it is so important to have support from your company or organization. Despite the well-known benefits associated with parental leave for both employees and employers, many organizations have not yet adopted parental leave policies. Parental leave contributes to the healthy development of children,  improves the health of mothers, and increases the economic security of families. . This benefit allows parents to return to their organization with their most productive selves, which in turn increases overall participation in the workforce.

In this episode, we are joined by Amy Beacom and Sue Campbell from the Center for Parental Leave Leadership (CPLL), the first consultancy in the United States that primarily focuses on parental leave. Dr. Amy Beacom is the Founder and CEO of the Center and is the United States' premier expert on the personal and professional interplay around parental leave for employers and employees. Sue Campbell is the Communications Director for the Center and is a writer, author, and coach. Her work is often focused on issues important to parents.

Dr. Amy Beacom and Sue Campbell authored a book called The Parental Leave Playbook: Ten Touchpoints to Transition Smoothly, Strengthen your Family, and Continue Growing your Career that aims to “help parents take control of their leave and make the most of what’s considered a career time-out, but is actually a vital “time-in” for your life."

Listen to our conversation as Amy and Sue share with us their practical tips and advice about creating the best possible parental leave experience within a broken system. Their guidance is based on Amy’s doctoral research and their collective work with Fortune 100 companies to improve parental leave policies and programs.

Listen to Episode 704 to learn more!

Thriving Points:

• The mission is to really make sure that everyone in this country, regardless of their role or their level of job has a paid and supported parental leave process. - Amy Beacom
• If we can nurture and support parents through this process, they just become these rock stars on the other side of it.  If we can sell them on that message, train the managers on how to support the parents. This is just going to go so far into improving parental leave culture and the country as a whole. - Sue Campbell

About the Show:

     Women Thriving in Business features candid unscripted conversations with entrepreneurs, business experts, authors, and academics aimed at contributing to business success. This weekly show provides interviews with business leaders who have built, grown, and are thriving in business. Nikki A. Rogers, host of the show, also discusses achievements, lessons learned, and advice for aspiring business owners to develop the mindset, strategies, and connections necessary to thrive in business. Whether you are just starting or you have been in business for decades, WTiB offers inspiration, strategies, and resources to help you THRIVE in business.

Connect with Nikki:

• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Youtube

Entrepreneurs embark on every business venture with the intention of eventually growing a healthy and sustainable business. But the million-dollar question is, how do you get there?

Managing your finances is one of the most important aspects of a business. Many business owners avoid their finances and don't try to understand and manage the numbers. The management decisions you make regarding your business will determine its success or failure. Depending on those decisions, your business finances could either propel you forward or cause your business to collapse.

When you are financially savvy, you will have more control over your business. When you understand the meanings of various financial statements, including balance sheets and profit-and-loss statements, this will provide a crystal clear picture of the health of your finances, and give you the ability to make smarter decisions on growing your business. Having the right person to assist you with finances can help you overcome the challenges that you will inevitably face on your journey and realize the goals that you have set for the future of your business.

In this episode, we are joined by Kathy Svetina, Founder, and CEO of NewCastle Finance. She has 14 years of experience working in the finance industry. She was encouraged to start her own business after observing how small businesses handled their financial matters and how difficult it was for women-owned businesses to find the right financial advisor. Kathy helps women grow sustainable and profitable businesses by providing them with the same powerful financial insight that Fortune 500 companies use to their advantage.

Kathy shares with us the significance of establishing internal controls over our finances and how to know when to hire a fractional CFO. She also discusses advice for small business owners on how to generate a million dollars in revenue, as well as some lessons from Fortune 500 companies that female business owners can use in their own businesses.

Listen to Episode 703 to learn more!

Thriving Points:

• If you have a lot of growth that you want to go and have in your business,  you have to plan for that and you have to plan for it appropriately. Otherwise, the business can really suffer. - Kathy Svetina
• When you own your business, it's not just the things that you're good at. You also have to now start doing things that you're not good at. - Kathy Svetina
• As I'm working with clients, I'm starting to understand more about the things that I love to do and things that I don't want to do.  - Kathy Svetina
• What other people are doing in the business might not be appropriate for your specific business. - Kathy Svetina
• You cannot have a fractional CFO, a good fractional CFO, in place if you do not have a bookkeeper and an accountant. - Kathy Svetina

About the Show:

     Women Thriving in Business features candid unscripted conversations with entrepreneurs, business experts, authors, and academics aimed at contributing to business success. This weekly show provides interviews with business leaders who have built, grown, and are thriving in business. Nikki A. Rogers, host of the show, also discusses achievements, lessons learned, and advice for aspiring business owners to develop the mindset, strategies, and connections necessary to thrive in business. Whether you are just starting or you have been in business for decades, WTiB offers inspiration, strategies, and resources to help you THRIVE in business.

Connect with Nikki:

• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Youtube

Are you tired of working for an organization whose purpose, mission, and vision don’t align with yours? Do you envision running a business that is different and guided by your core values and goals? If that is your dream,  then creating your own business and being your own boss might be the thing for you.

However, entrepreneurship isn’t always easy and fun. It does have its challenges along the way and you have to ask yourself, are you willing to navigate through those bumps on the road to have the dream lifestyle you’ve always wanted?

Self-employment is a huge undertaking and a lot of uncertainty surrounds it. For example; How do you consistently pay yourself?  How do you find opportunities that align with your skills? How do you market your product or service to an ever-changing marketplace?

In this episode, we are joined by, Maggie Karshner, a self-employment coach for small business owners. The driving force for Maggie to start her self-employment journey was a desire to help small business owners solve problems and to coach others on starting their entrepreneurial journey.

Maggie shares how she went from employed to self-employed and how she navigated through the ups and downs of her chosen career path. She also provides advice on how to start your own self-employment journey and practical tips for those already in business.

Listen to Episode 702 to learn more!

Other Resources Mentioned:

• Drive by Daniel Pink

Thriving Points:

• I do the stuff that my heart's really involved in and it gets you interacting with different people, you start seeing connections, you build these relationships. A relationship is not transactional. -Maggie Karshner
• Test the advice against your own knowledge and experience, because what works for one person might not work for another. -Maggie Karshner
• One size doesn't fit all. Because I think one of the things, if you have to, you do have to change, right? In some ways, you do have to try different things and, Be outside of your comfort zone and some air in some instances. But if it's something that's just so out of character, it's not going to work because you're not going to be able to sustain it. - Nikki Rogers
• That's a great reminder. So if you think about a plow horse, he's plowing a field and at the end of the day, now you have this freshly plowed fill and, there's that sense of accomplishment. And if you're not doing that, then you don't have the ground to sow your seeds. -Nikki Rogers

About the Show:

     Women Thriving in Business features candid unscripted conversations with entrepreneurs, business experts, authors, and academics aimed at contributing to business success. This weekly show provides interviews with business leaders who have built, grown, and are thriving in business. Nikki A. Rogers, host of the show, also discusses achievements, lessons learned, and advice for aspiring business owners to develop the mindset, strategies, and connections necessary to thrive in business. Whether you are just starting or you have been in business for decades, WTiB offers inspiration, strategies, and resources to help you THRIVE in business.

Connect with Nikki:

• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Youtube

A Team Dklutr Production

Did you know that humans now have a shorter attention span than goldfish? Unbelievable, right?  But according to research, our attention span has markedly decreased since the turn of the century. In 2000, it was 12 seconds. By 2015, it had shrunk to a mere 8.25 seconds.

The question now is: How does that information affect your approach to business strategy?

When you are a company decision-maker who needs to use consumer data and insights, you're not going to read a 200-plus page report.

Listen to my conversation with Camille Nicita, CEO of Gongos Inc., who shares how to take all that consumer knowledge and create customer-focused strategies that will give you a market advantage. 

Listen to Episode 701 to learn more!

Other Resources Mentioned:

• Gongos.com

Thriving Points:

• If you don't like change, you'll like irrelevance a whole lot less. - Camille Nicita
• The market is always changing. Change is constant and will always be there and being perfect in a market that's always changing is impossible. So focus on the small wins that you're achieving each and every day. - Camille Nicita
• Progress over perfection. And that requires that nurturing a spirit of knowing what you do well and what you want to keep investing in and also knowing what you don't do too well.  - Camille Nicita

Get to Know the Guest:

Camille is the former sole owner of Gongos, Inc., a WBENC company that was named a Forbes “Small Giant” in 2020. Camille is on the board of the Insights Association, a contributing member of the Forbes Agency Council and is an official judge of the North American Customer Centricity awards. She has served as Chairperson of the Advisory Board of Michigan State University’s Master of Science in Marketing Research Program and has contributed to the University of Michigan’s Institute for Survey Research. She earned a BBA at the University of Michigan and an MBA at Wayne State University.

Connect with Camille:

• Website
• LinkedIn

About the Show:

     Women Thriving in Business features candid unscripted conversations with entrepreneurs, business experts, authors, and academics aimed at contributing to business success. This weekly show provides interviews with business leaders who have built, grown, and are thriving in business. Nikki A. Rogers, host of the show, also discusses achievements, lessons learned, and advice for aspiring business owners to develop the mindset, strategies, and connections necessary to thrive in business. Whether you are just starting or you have been in business for decades, WTiB offers inspiration, strategies, and resources to help you THRIVE in business.

Connect with Nikki:

• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Youtube

A Team Dklutr Production

Ever held back from doing something you really wanted to accomplish because of fear? No matter where we are going or what we are doing, fear is always going to be a part of our lives. Fear is powerful, so we should face it and use it as a teacher instead of letting it control our lives. Fear should not prevent us from moving forward toward our dreams.

There is a great deal of fear involved when it comes to starting a business, growing it, and moving it to the next level. And even if you already conquered fear the first time you do something new, that same sense of fear may return a second or third, or fourth time; you still have to DO IT. Whether it is establishing a new business relationship, submitting a proposal, negotiating a contract, hiring team members, or having difficult conversations with staff or clients. 

Your support system, which consists of family, friends, and team members,  plays a vital role in and has a significant impact on your success. Having someone on your journey who believes in your abilities is so much better than having to deal with it alone, especially during difficult times. You can take bold and courageous action when you are committed to your goals. Sometimes you need cheerleaders, a push, or just internal resolve to do the hard and fabulous things you need to do. Determine what you need and ask for it.

Focus on the journey, not the destination, as the joy is in what you learn and experience along the way. There are things to learn along the way, sights to see, and points of view that you would not have access to in any other circumstance. Fear can be a propellant or a prison. I chose to use it as a propellant - what will you choose?

About the Show:

     Women Thriving in Business features candid unscripted conversations with entrepreneurs, business experts, authors, and academics aimed at contributing to business success. This weekly show provides interviews with business leaders who have built, grown, and are thriving in business. Nikki A. Rogers, host of the show, also discusses achievements, lessons learned, and advice for aspiring business owners to develop the mindset, strategies, and connections necessary to thrive in business. Whether you are just starting or you have been in business for decades, WTiB offers inspiration, strategies, and resources to help you THRIVE in business.

Connect with Nikki:

• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Youtube

A Team Dklutr Production

The pandemic's impact on business has highlighted the need for today's workforce (and employers) to be flexible and resilient in the face of adversity. Working from home has become the new normal for many businesses in order to sustain operations in the face of the pandemic.

Now that most COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted, many businesses are altering the work-from-home setup by adopting remote or hybrid work. In a setting like hybrid work, it is important that the lines of communication and the expectations of the team are clear. 

The question now is, How can you maintain engagement among your virtual workforce?

It is far more challenging to keep a virtual workforce engaged and collaborative than it is in a regular office environment. it requires intentionality to foster a positive work culture where employees are empowered and encouraged to think creatively, their feedback and suggestions are valued, and most importantly, they have a strong working relationship with their team. Giving them time to build relationships within their team is important to maintaining engagement and fostering collaboration.

In this episode, we are joined by Denise Cagan, Founder, and CEO of DCA Virtual Business Support. She has been successful in navigating the business world, and now she uses her strong operational and management style, along with her excellent business advisor skills to aid small business owners in achieving their goals. She does this with the assistance of her tech-savvy team of project managers and virtual assistants.

Listen to our conversation where Denise shares with us how she was able to sell her previous business of ten years, the value of creating a syllabus for new hire orientation and screening for a virtual workforce, determining where to invest in technology for your business operations needs, and so much more! 

Listen to Episode 609 to learn more!

Thriving Points:

• When you have a really small business, the problems of your clients or the problems of your team sometimes inherently become your problems without you even trying to. -Denise Cagan
• I am very creative when it comes to finding out how to pull things together and make them work a little bit better. -Denise Cagan
• If you want people to feel engaged in working as a team and collaboratively,  you do need to give them that time to do that. -Denise Cagan
• Sometimes, people with very good intentions will give you misinformation. -Denise Cagan

Other Resources Mentioned:

• DCA Virtual Business Support Website
• The E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber

About the Show:

     Women Thriving in Business features candid unscripted conversations with entrepreneurs, business experts, authors, and academics aimed at contributing to business success. This weekly show provides interviews with business leaders who have built, grown, and are thriving in business. Nikki A. Rogers, host of the show, also discusses achievements, lessons learned, and advice for aspiring business owners to develop the mindset, strategies, and connections necessary to thrive in business. Whether you are just starting or you have been in business for decades, WTiB offers inspiration, strategies, and resources to help you THRIVE in business.

Connect with Nikki:

• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Youtube

The pressure we put on ourselves to be successful manifests in how easily we are willing to deprioritize or sacrifice our health and wellness.  We have been raised in a society that has taught us that we have to give up something in order to accomplish our goals. We often feel we have to choose between our personal and professional lives. 

In reality,  we do have the benefit of choice, and that gives us the ability to steer our lives in a variety of directions. If we choose to be the pilot of our own lives, we are accountable for ensuring that our lives unfold in the manner in which we envision them.

Our health is frequently the aspect of our lives that we fail to fully prioritize and take care of. Your body and health are entirely your responsibility. Nobody knows your body better than you do. Don't rely solely on other people to take care of your health; rather, you should be knowledgeable and vigilant about your own health. 

For many of us, it is in our nature to put the needs of others ahead of our own. But how can you help others if you don't prioritize yourself first? Your health is your most prized possession. If you don't take care of your body, you won't be able to do the things you love and live long enough to spend quality time with the people you care about.

The Thriver joining us this week is Dr. Jerrica Dodd, Founder and CEO of Your Pharmacy Advocate. She has been a pharmacist for 24 years, providing the highest level of pharmaceutical and wellness expertise to providers and patients.

She shares with us the value of prioritizing our health and stepping outside of our comfort zone. She also discusses the right of patients to be involved in decision-making processes pertaining to their own medical treatment, as well as the significance of having a comprehensive awareness of one's insurance policy.

Be inspired. Be empowered. Listen to Episode 608 to learn more!

Thriving Points:

•  The thing that I'm most proud of is that I started shaping and having my hands on other people's businesses. So my impact was further than my own impact that I could have with patients,  but my impact was on the lives and the families, and the businesses of other women in pharmacy. -Dr. Jerrica Dodd
• As I was coaching the women,  I decided that I needed to help them tell their stories because I had learned how to tell my story.  And that was what was people coming to me and finding me because I was telling my story. -Dr. Jerrica Dodd

Other Resources Mentioned:

• PharmaSis Magazine
• Atomic Habits by James Clear

About the Show:

     Women Thriving in Business features candid unscripted conversations with entrepreneurs, business experts, authors, and academics aimed at contributing to business success. This weekly show provides interviews with business leaders who have built, grown, and are thriving in business. Nikki A. Rogers, host of the show, also discusses achievements, lessons learned, and advice for aspiring business owners to develop the mindset, strategies, and connections necessary to thrive in business. Whether you are just starting or you have been in business for decades, WTiB offers inspiration, strategies, and resources to help you THRIVE in business.

Connect with Nikki:

• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Youtube

As a woman thriving in business, do you still subscribe to the saying, “It’s a man’s world”?

If you do, don’t judge yourself. It’s hard to outgrow decades - if not hundreds - of years of cultural, societal, and media perspectives deeply ingrained in our psyches and entrepreneurial systems. As women, we have been socialized to put everyone’s needs ahead of ourselves.

Thankfully, there are more and more women who are helping countless others step outside of imposed boundaries and think beyond the four walls of their homes and cubicles, such as this week’s Thriver, Sara Roach-Lewis. Sara not only embodies a strong, independent woman; she actually wrote guidelines that will help educate and inspire fellow women to take action in their own businesses. 

Listen as Sara shares the six She Rules and how she was able to overcome challenges in her own life and achieve so much in her career and business.

Thriving Points:

• The more women can hit that six-figure and seven-figure mark, the better off we all are. - Nikki Rogers
• The bible of business strategy is “The Art of  War”, which is a book about military strategy. And it is supported by a woman at home doing everything. So when we think about that, it's no wonder that it doesn't always feel comfortable for women - because it wasn't created for us. - Sara Roach-Lewis
• There's so much of that hustle culture and you just having to do all the things. You have to do it hard, and you have to do it fast, And that doesn't work for women. - Sara Roach-Lewis
• To ignore (everything else a woman does) in a plan for your business is just not fair. - Sara Roach-Lewis

Other Resources Mentioned:

• She Rules: What You Didn't Know Is Holding You Back in Business by Sara Roach-Lewis

Get to Know the Guest:

Sara Roach-Lewis is a coach and advisor to ambitious businesswomen. She teaches the strategies they need to claim their confidence, scale their businesses, and double their revenues. Her first book, She Rules: What you didn’t know is holding you back in business is available for purchase on Amazon.

Connect with Sara:

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Instagram 

About the Show:

     Women Thriving in Business features candid unscripted conversations with entrepreneurs, business experts, authors, and academics aimed at contributing to business success. This weekly show provides interviews with business leaders who have built, grown, and are thriving in business. Nikki A. Rogers, host of the show, also discusses achievements, lessons learned, and advice for aspiring business owners to develop the mindset, strategies, and connections necessary to thrive in business. Whether you are just starting or you have been in business for decades, WTiB offers inspiration, strategies, and resources to help you THRIVE in business.

Connect with Nikki:

• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Youtube

A Team Dklutr Production

In business, it’s all fun and glamorous when we talk about marketing and making sales. But what happens AFTER the sale? There’s more to it than meets the eye - and most of the time, the post-sales, post-delivery activity is what most entrepreneurs and small business owners find to be painstaking.

We’re talking about collecting payment. How do you collect the revenue you have earned? 

Making the sale is a “prize”, but collecting the payment afterward? Invoicing for your services and collecting the cash can be a burden or even feel distasteful. This might be especially true if you are used to people-pleasing or you are worried about maintaining the relationship. 

But take it from this week’s Thriver, Dee Bowden. For Dee, sales are great, but cash is still king! We can run away from this business activity, dodge it a couple of times, or hope that we don’t ever have to confront this situation. But the truth is if you don’t have adequate systems in place, or you can’t communicate with your clients and collect payment for services or products provided, then you need help in collecting the cash.

Listen to this episode to know how you can set up an effective payment collection system that will help move your business forward.

Thriving Points:

• The sale is not complete until the money's in the bank, but you must collect the first.  If you were competent to ask for the business, in terms of asking for the sale,  you have to be just as competent and asking for your payments. - Dee Bowden
• I make it fun because this is very serious. And it's also one of those things that a lot of people in business shy away from. They don't like selling. They don’t want to have to ask for the business. They don't want to have to deal with all that. - Dee Bowden
• Relationships are everything in business. Especially around money. A lot of people don't like having that conversation. But if you set it up upfront correctly in the beginning, it doesn't have to go left. - Nikki Rogers
• Setting up a collection system is no different than running your own home. Dee Bowden
• We make things complicated. But what we really just need is to track who it is we're supposed to be billing. Nikki Rogers
• In deciding on your collection system, you have to make a decision based on what's best for you in terms of (1) your business, (2) the relationships, and (3) your cash flow. - Dee Bowden

Other Resources Mentioned:

• Collect The Cash by Dee Bowden
• The 52-Week Challenge for Savings

About the Show:

     Women Thriving in Business features candid unscripted conversations with entrepreneurs, business experts, authors, and academics aimed at contributing to business success. This weekly show provides interviews with business leaders who have built, grown, and are thriving in business. Nikki A. Rogers, host of the show, also discusses achievements, lessons learned, and advice for aspiring business owners to develop the mindset, strategies, and connections necessary to thrive in business. Whether you are just starting or you have been in business for decades, WTiB offers inspiration, strategies, and resources to help you THRIVE in business.

Connect with Nikki:

• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Youtube

A Team Dklutr Production

Yes, you can be both a great mom and a successful entrepreneur.  You do NOT have to choose one over the other. 

I believe that both endeavors require superpowers and that the two roles can complement each other if you are committed to making them both work for the life you want to create. Being a mother is both an empowering and incredibly humbling experience. The same can be said of entrepreneurship. The universe has so much potential for us to discover and enjoy. We can take care of our families, run our businesses, and practice self-care, all because of our superpowers and by asking for help when needed., 

You will be astonished by how quickly things manifest once you decide to pursue something and actually start doing it. You have to trust yourself and believe that you are capable of doing whatever it is you have set your mind to. 

In this episode, we are joined by Angela Henderson, a business consultant, author, entrepreneur, blogger, mental health clinician, and, most importantly, a mother. She provides assistance and direction to women so that they can successfully manage their businesses while also maintaining their personal lives.

Be inspired. Be empowered. Listen to Episode 605 now!

We also touched on the following:

• Why does mindset matter?
• The impact of workplace bullying on your mental health
• Why hypnotherapy is  recommended for  your healing journey
• Focusing on our internal perspective

Other Resources Mentioned:

• The Go-Giver by John David Mann & Bob Burg
• The Business and Life Conversations Podcast
• Angela Henderson Consulting

Thriving Points:

• I can be an amazing mother, but I can equally be an amazing woman in business.  You can have both. You don't have to choose. - Angela Henderson
• The universe is working for you, not against you. - Angela Henderson
• Be the hero for yourself. - Nikki Rogers
• My life is my responsibility and every day I make choices, ultimately it's up to me how I handle these situations. - Angela Henderson

Get to Know the Guest:

Angela Henderson is an international award-winning business coach for women, international keynote speaker, and podcaster who helps women in business get all the pieces in place to have consistent 5-figure months and then onto 6/7 figure years without burning out in the process.

Connect with Angela:

• Website

About the Show:

     Women Thriving in Business features candid unscripted conversations with entrepreneurs, business experts, authors, and academics aimed at contributing to business success. This weekly show provides interviews with business leaders who have built, grown, and are thriving in business. Nikki A. Rogers, host of the show, also discusses achievements, lessons learned, and advice for aspiring business owners to develop the mindset, strategies, and connections necessary to thrive in business. Whether you are just starting or you have been in business for decades, WTiB offers inspiration, strategies, and resources to help you THRIVE in business.

Connect with Nikki:

• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Youtube

Being an entrepreneur involves a significant amount of perseverance and effort. Business ownership requires creativity, a growth mindset, and a commitment to continue offering the most advantageous solutions to your clients or customers. Thriving in business involves more than just running a company; it's a way of life.

Achieving success in business also requires motivation, commitment, and a solid support system that will encourage and support you in working hard toward your goals. Most successful entrepreneurs can point to someone who inspired them to follow their dream or passion. 

In this episode, we are joined by Ethleen Sawyerr, founder of Speak Write Play. She has been teaching editing, reading, speaking, and writing skills to individuals and groups from all over the world for more than 10 years.

We discuss what inspired her to choose entrepreneurship, the importance of identifying your target market from the very beginning, and why you shouldn't be afraid to raise your rates. Ethleen also shares some of the biggest lessons she learned throughout her journey, as well as the things you should avoid when growing your business.

Entrepreneurs create their businesses in order to earn a living, but being able to help others and give something meaningful back to the community is what will really propel your business forward.

Listen to Episode 604 to learn more!

Other Resources Mentioned:

• Creating a World Without Poverty by Muhammad Yunus 
• Speak Write Play Website

Thriving Points:

• It's important that you really do have your target client or customer in mind because then that really takes out a lot of wasted energy from trying to sell to everybody. -Ethleen Sawyerr
• I had to really remind myself like, Yes, I enjoy doing this. I love teaching. I love helping people progress in life.  But it's a business. -Ethleen Sawyerr
• My desire will always be to work with people who find themselves in countries that are not their homes. -Ethleen Sawyerr
• Entrepreneurship is sexy. It sounds great, but a lot of people don't understand how much hard work goes into it. -Nikki Rogers

About the Show:

     Women Thriving in Business features candid unscripted conversations with entrepreneurs, business experts, authors, and academics aimed at contributing to business success. This weekly show provides interviews with business leaders who have built, grown, and are thriving in business. Nikki A. Rogers, host of the show, also discusses achievements, lessons learned, and advice for aspiring business owners to develop the mindset, strategies, and connections necessary to thrive in business. Whether you are just starting or you have been in business for decades, WTiB offers inspiration, strategies, and resources to help you THRIVE in business.

Connect with Nikki:

• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Youtube

A Team Dklutr Production

The power of the mind can be one of your greatest untapped strengths. Your mindset will either help expand your imagination or it can limit your ability to achieve the success you desire. It has the potential to bring about either positive or negative outcomes. 

Beliefs and thoughts are the building blocks of mental strength, and when combined with strategic action, you have the potential to change your reality. Your behaviors, habits, and relationships are shaped by the thoughts that occupy your mind.. The power of your thoughts can be used to create your own world. Energy-filled ideas have the potential to transform your life in remarkable ways.

In this episode, I am joined by Victoria Gallagher, a worldwide leader in Hypnotherapy and the best-selling author of the book Practical Law of Attraction. She is also an international speaker and a life success coach. With more than 20 years of experience, she has been acknowledged as an expert in personal growth and teaching the Law of Attraction. 

Victoria shares tips for practicing the law of attraction to manifest your desires by thinking about your desired outcomes over and over again. Your subconscious mind will interpret your positive affirmations as real experiences, causing positive shifts and opening opportunities for you. This is not something that happens instantly. It takes time, and it all depends on how determined and focused you are on achieving your goals.

Victoria's experience with the law of attraction provides a blueprint for how to make lasting changes in your outlook and behavior to bring about the changes you seek. 

Listen to Episode 603 to learn more!

Thriving Points:

• The first thing that we need to get right with ourselves is, to get into integrity by practicing what we preach. -Victoria Gallagher
•  Sometimes things take a little longer than you anticipate them to, and one of the things that make it take longer is we get in our own way. -Victoria Gallagher
• Hypnotherapy is the quickest way to make a permanent change in your mindset to cause you to take action on those things in a new way. -Victoria Gallagher
• Law of Attraction is really a special way of like, whatever you focus on, you are eventually going to attract that into your life. -Victoria Gallagher

About the Show:

     Women Thriving in Business features candid unscripted conversations with entrepreneurs, business experts, authors, and academics aimed at contributing to business success. This weekly show provides interviews with business leaders who have built, grown, and are thriving in business. Nikki A. Rogers, host of the show, also discusses achievements, lessons learned, and advice for aspiring business owners to develop the mindset, strategies, and connections necessary to thrive in business. Whether you are just starting or you have been in business for decades, WTiB offers inspiration, strategies, and resources to help you THRIVE in business.

Connect with Nikki:

• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Youtube

A Team Dklutr Production

Competition is a reality of the business world. Thriving in business and standing out from any competition requires a clear strategy to build a successful and innovative business.  Establishing a strong foundation for your business will enable it to withstand any uncertainties or unforeseen circumstances.

One of the biggest mistakes that many business owners make is not having a strategy to sell their business. Therefore, when they are ready to retire or transition for other reasons, their business will either sell for less than it’s worth or close down. When owners wait until they are ready to sell to begin building a sellable business, it is often too late to capitalize on their investment of time and resources.  

In this episode, I am joined by Michelle Seiler-Tucker, founder, and CEO of  Seiler Tucker Incorporated. She is the best-selling author of Sell Your Business for more than It’s Worth and her latest book is Exit Rich: The 6 P Method to Sell Your Business for Huge Profit, a Wall Street Journal, and USA Today best seller. She has more than 20 years of expertise in business mergers, acquisitions, and sales, making her an expert on the topic of Selling Your Business.

Michelle shares with us how to make the most of your exit by planning it from the beginning, using her GPS Exit Model. Along with the largest profit mistakes that business owners make, she also talks about the 6 Ps that will help entrepreneurs develop a sustainable, scalable, and sellable business.

Nothing lasts forever, therefore planning for your retirement or business exit is something you should keep in mind from the very beginning. One of the foundations of your business should be a plan to sell it because doing so will enable you to grow and scale it, and, whenever you decide to exit, sell it for the maximum value. Listen in to this episode to learn how you too can “exit rich".

Thriving Points:

• It's really important to build a business, not a job. -Michelle Tucker
• You don't build a business. You build people who build your business. -Michelle Tucker
•  If you're going to be in a business and you're an entrepreneur, you always gotta keep thinking, How do I innovate? How do I stay ahead of the game? You gotta be preemptive.  Ask yourself, What's coming next? -Michelle Tucker
• You can't ever stop. You're either growing or dying. There's no in-between. And when you stop,  then that's when everything will stop. -Michelle Tucker
• When your business is doing great is when you should sell it. -Michelle Tucker

About the Show:

     Women Thriving in Business features candid unscripted conversations with entrepreneurs, business experts, authors, and academics aimed at contributing to business success. This weekly show provides interviews with business leaders who have built, grown, and are thriving in business. Nikki A. Rogers, host of the show, also discusses achievements, lessons learned, and advice for aspiring business owners to develop the mindset, strategies, and connections necessary to thrive in business. Whether you are just starting or you have been in business for decades, WTiB offers inspiration, strategies, and resources to help you THRIVE in business.

Connect with Nikki:

• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Youtube

We usually equate taking time off as a non-productive approach to business. We’re so used to working and grinding, thinking, producing, creating, and consuming, that we don’t even take the time to stop, have a meaningful break, and reflect on how we’re running our businesses or even living our lives. This is especially the case for small business owners and entrepreneurs. We know that our success and the well-being of our business are in our hands, so there’s always that constant nagging fear that if we don’t hustle, we won’t achieve the pinnacle of success we are seeking.

This may be counterintuitive, but it’s okay to take a break from your business. In fact, it’s necessary.

We kick off Season 6 of the Women Thriving in Business Podcast with a crucial activity: deep thinking. Every entrepreneur should consider setting aside time for deep reflection to step back from their businesses to see the big picture and understand things from a different perspective. If we’re always so close to our businesses, we may miss out on a lot of intangibles or lessons that can only be learned by stepping back or being from the outside looking in.

In this episode, I share three important insights that can come out of my own deep thinking time: it’s important to 1) examine and recalibrate your why, 2) leverage your curiosity and courage to experiment and take risks, and 3) take care of your mental and physical health.\

Thriving Points:

• If you’re an entrepreneur or are thinking about entrepreneurship, you need to sit down and schedule regular time to do some deep thinking about what is going on within your business. 
• Deep thinking helped me get clarity on my mission, my vision, and some key next steps for my business.
• Deep thinking allowed me the opportunity to engage with a new community of like-minded entrepreneurs. 
• As you think and talk about your business, the more clarity you have, the more clarity others have as well so that they know how to refer people to you.

About the Show:

     Women Thriving in Business features candid unscripted conversations with entrepreneurs, business experts, authors, and academics aimed at contributing to business success. This weekly show provides interviews with business leaders who have built, grown, and are thriving in business. Nikki A. Rogers, host of the show, also discusses achievements, lessons learned, and advice for aspiring business owners to develop the mindset, strategies, and connections necessary to thrive in business. Whether you are just starting or you have been in business for decades, WTiB offers inspiration, strategies, and resources to help you THRIVE in business.

Connect with Nikki:

• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Youtube

A Team Dklutr Production

What does it mean to tell your story?

Your audience or brand will be greatly influenced by the story you tell. Your story is a way to connect with and impact those who hear it. It is a privilege to share your story with others and it's essential to understand and think about what story (or stories) you want to tell the world and how you want it told.

Telling a story can be challenging at times, especially when you don't feel like you have the perfect words to express yourself. So ask yourself, "Is what I'm trying to tell a story or just an experience I'm still going through?" Remember that there are people listening to you, so knowing the purpose of your story and what lessons you have learned are fundamental to authentic storytelling. Your story has the power to change people's lives, so you should consider your intentions in sharing.  

Thrivers, season 5 has been full of discovery, insights, and phenomenal guests that provided great examples you can emulate as you work to thrive in business. Pick your favorite episode and if you missed one, be sure to catch up during the break!

We'd love to hear from you! Take the WTiB listener survey here.

Episode Sponsor: The doors are now open to enroll in the Move Your Business Forward coaching program! This eight-week experience is for seasoned entrepreneurs to move from being anxious and overwhelmed about running your business to feeling informed, energize, and in control of your future. 

The program helps you cultivate a CEO mindset and establish or re-establish a vision and strategy for your company and then move towards developing the systems and connections you need in order to create a thriving and sustainable business. Click here to learn more about the Move Your Business Forward Group Coaching Program.

Thriving Points:

• The stories that I share are helping me realize that there are lessons that come from what I have experienced, that I can now turn into stories. - Nikki Rogers
• Stories to me, have power and can take on a life of their own. -Nikki Rogers
• A story is when you're on the other side of an experience, and now you have perspective or insight that can guide future thinking. -Nikki Rogers

About the Show:

     Women Thriving in Business features candid unscripted conversations with entrepreneurs, business experts, authors, and academics aimed at contributing to business success. This weekly show provides interviews with business leaders who have built, grown, and are thriving in business. Nikki A. Rogers, host of the show, also discusses achievements, lessons learned, and advice for aspiring business owners to develop the mindset, strategies, and connections necessary to thrive in business. Whether you are just starting or you have been in business for decades, WTiB offers inspiration, strategies, and resources to help you THRIVE in business.

Connect with Nikki:

• LinkedIn
• Instagram

A Team Dklutr Production

"Resilience is about taking a situation that could possibly break you and actually thriving as a result of the lessons that you can learn by going through that experience." - Nikki Rogers

As I was preparing for a presentation on the topic of resilience, I  reflect on the difficult situations I had to overcome in my life in order to be where I am now. I couldn't help but think back to a point in my life when I was faced with a difficult situation and thought I wouldn't be able to get through it, but I did. Those experiences that I thought of as a loss or a setback provided a great lesson in my life and showed how I have been able to leverage resilience to move forward in life.

Don’t miss out on this episode as I share a story 20 years in the telling, the definition of resilience in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the three key factors that can impact your level of resilience and ability to recover from challenging situations and move forward.

Other Resources Mentioned:

• https://bit.ly/WTiBSurvey

Thriving Points:

• Resilience is about taking a situation that could possibly break you and actually thriving as a result of the lessons that you can learn by going through that experience. - Nikki Rogers
• Resilience is about the ability to go through and survive an experience that may challenge or squeeze you, or even rocks your world. And being able to go through that experience and take the lesson from it and actually grow from it. And use that experience as fuel to come out better on the other side. - Nikki Rogers
• I can be changed by what happens to me but I refuse to be reduced by it. - Maya Angelou
• Resilience is not all or nothing. It comes in amounts. You can be a little resilient, a lot resilient, resilient in some situations but not others. And, no matter how resilient you are today, you can become more resilient tomorrow. - Karen Reivich, Ph.D. (University of Pennsylvania Positive Psychology Center)

About the Show:

     Women Thriving in Business features candid unscripted conversations with entrepreneurs, business experts, authors, and academics aimed at contributing to business success. This weekly show provides interviews with business leaders who have built, grown, and are thriving in business. Nikki A. Rogers, host of the show, also discusses achievements, lessons learned, and advice for aspiring business owners to develop the mindset, strategies, and connections necessary to thrive in business. Whether you are just starting or you have been in business for decades, WTiB offers inspiration, strategies, and resources to help you THRIVE in business.

Connect with Nikki:

• LinkedIn
• Instagram

A Team Dklutr Production

For many of us, one of the first things you do in the morning is decide what to wear for the day.  Some may think this is a simple task, while for others,  it takes a lot of time and effort, and you find yourself wearing the same thing over and over again. As an entrepreneur, what you wear takes on greater importance - you are the face of your brand and the power of your first impression can set you up for business success. People will remember how you look when you first meet, so choose an outfit that makes you feel powerful and look great!

In this episode, I am joined by Monica Barnett, award-winning wardrobe stylist and founder t of Blueprint for Style, which aims to help professional men and women discover the difference real "fashion" can make in their everyday lives, as well as inspire and influence them to be more intentional about their personal style. 

Listen to our conversation, where Monica shares how her business transitioned from a side hustle to a full-time business and how she helped many clients discover their unique style, enjoy their wardrobe, and feel good about themselves. 

We also touch on the following: 

• The Psychology of Fashion
• Tips on how to be intentional and show up on a virtual work-from-home life
• What Pocket Personal Stylist is all about
• Life-changing lessons from the book Never Eat Alone By Keith Ferrazzi

Other Resources Mentioned:

• Blueprint for Style
• Pocket Personal Stylist
• Without Saying A Word: The Silent Power of Style By Monica Barnett
• The Creatives' Closet: for Female Side Hustlers, Influencers, Entrepreneurs & Empire Builders By Monica Barnett 
• Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time By Keith Ferrazzi and Tahl Raz

Thriving Points:

• Necessity breeds invention. As an entrepreneur, you have to be flexible and you have to be continuously listening to your audience and listening to what's out there. - Monica Barnett
• It is so important as an entrepreneur to put your best foot forward. - Monica Barnett

Get to Know the Guest:

Monica Barnett has over 13 years of styling and branding experience and has been featured on many stages around the world but the focus is always on the importance and power of the first impression. Across Ms. Barnett’s distinguished career as a wardrobe stylist, she has had the privilege to partner with major corporations to fine-tune their employees’ styles and brands; and the opportunity to work with corporate executives, politicos, and world-class athletes. The goal is always to develop a more intentional approach to curating one’s outward appearance to align with one’s lifestyle and aspirations.

Connect with Monica:

• Website
• Pocket Personal Stylist (Subscription-Based, On-Demand Personal Stylist)

A Team Dklutr Production

The past two years have had a significant impact on the business landscape. 

As the world recovers, businesses are likewise adjusting to the 'new normal.' Because of the pandemic, you may be hesitant to restart your business, but you can take this opportunity to start anew with a stronger, strategy and plan that will help your business thrive under any circumstance.

In this episode, I am joined by Jennifer Kok, founder of Next Wave Business Coaching. Jennifer shares about helping small businesses establish visionary solutions and develop a clear roadmap to gain consumers, increase revenue, and profits so that their businesses can thrive for years to come.

Jennifer shares her entrepreneurial journey, why she decided to start a coaching/consulting firm after selling her successful business, and how her experiences have shaped her into the mother, wife, entrepreneur, and woman she is today.

It's painful to see your business, where you put all of your efforts and ideas, struggle. But the most difficult challenges and experiences in your life will help you grow and become stronger, and one day you'll look back and say, This is the best thing that ever happened to me.

We also touch on the following:

• The  business owner mindset that helps you build a great team Small ways to foster your desired  business culture
• Creating a saleable business

Other Resources Mentioned:

• The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It By Michael E. Gerber
• Next Wave Business Coaching
• Help Wanted to Fully Staffed

Thriving Points:

• I can honestly say that that decision and having to pivot and being forced into getting uncomfortable and being forced into doing something a little different saved my business and actually was the best thing that ever happened.  - Jennifer Kok
• If you focus on the fundamental part of getting better every day,  then growth will follow. - Nikki Rogers

Get to Know the Guest:

Jennifer Kok spent 22 years running her own successful brick-and-mortar business, event business, and online business before selling at a profit in 2018. Today, she uses her extensive expertise to help brick-and-mortar business owners learn how to create more clients and customers, increase their revenue, and improve profits for long-term success. She is passionate about helping business owners create a strong and stable brick-and-mortar business that can handle any unplanned circumstances such as  (economic downturns, employee shortages, global pandemic, or even rapid growth) and provide profitable opportunities for years to come. In her own business, she mastered the art of developing products, creating and improving systems, growing a team, becoming a pillar in her community, maximizing opportunities for profits, and pivoting her business long before pivoting was a trendy buzzword. Her success made it possible to run her business while also living an active, faith-filled lifestyle and enjoying time with family, friends, golden retrievers, and plenty of good books and wine.

Connect with Jennifer:

• Linkedin
• Facebook
• Instagram

A Team Dklutr Production