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Showing posts from November 1, 2020

How to Get Known – Part 1: Get Ready by Pam Perry

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  It's been 45 years since Diana Ross first sang, “Do you know where you’re going to…?” and that question is still essential today, especially for aspiring entrepreneurs like you. If you’re an expert in your field and eager to start a side hustle or retire and begin the next phase of your life – STOP! Before you make the leap, you need to answer the questions that will firm up your “foundation,” or you’ll be bowled over by the media once it turns its attention to you. Your answers will direct every action in your PR and business strategy, so step back and listen up. In this PamPerryPodcast.com episode #5, I’ll tell you what to expect in the first phase of my Ready, Set, Go Speak! process, including the employee mindset vs the entrepreneur mindset, why it’s essential to narrow your focus and choose a niche, who to spend time with and who to avoid, how to position yourself in a new-to-you industry, the questions you MUST ask and answer before you set out to pursue your dream … and m

Getting There From Here Is A Daily Journey by C. Lynn Williams

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I wonder what kind of parent I would have been, had I had as many digital devices and distractions as there are now.  There are so many distractions out there for adults, children, and everyone in between. You can watch self-help videos, participate in online parties and groups, binge watch just about anything. Never a dull moment. My grandmother would call it overstimulation . When my kids were teenagers, I was dating someone and had started using emails to stay connected. It was pretty  addictive , especially since I had only used emails for work projects. Had there been Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Instagram, I probably would’ve been on my phone a lot! Too much! It would have been a lot harder to maintain my focus as a parent.  So how do we maintain focus as parents? The thing that really saved me every time I got even a little distracted as a parent, was thinking back on how consistent my mother was with raising my brother, sister, and me. She and my dad worked as a team when

Mental Health and Entrepreneurship by Aria Craig

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Let’s face it. Stress is a part of life. You get caught by a train on the way to a doctor’s appointment that you’ve been anticipated for months - stress rears its head. Your child gives you the supplies list for a science project the day before its due - stress just barged in. The charge to your laptop dies while you are conducting a scheduled webinar for a hundred paid guests - stress is performing a triple axel in your body. These are moments that make your thoughts race and heart palpitate. Operating your own business is no exception. If you are a start-up solopreneur, then get ready because there will be many long nights ahead. Everything falls on your shoulders as the only person operating your entire business – design, accounting, marketing, social media, branding, products/services (or both), etc. When there’s only one person running the show, it is easy to get lost in translation with the burning desire to get ahead of the curve. But, this is also where the stress impedes our m

Three Things That Are Critical to Reaching Your Goals Before 2020 Ends by Priscilla Q. Williams

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  This year has a year of surprises starting with COVID-19, increased racial tension, and a presidential election that took us for a loop. However, 2020 has also been a year of discovery, holding on to things that are most important and being grateful for everything we have. If there were goals, you set at the beginning of 2020 but did not reach them then I am sure your brain is working hard to see what needs to be done next. I have also had goals this year that did not meet my desired outcome. I have also had some great accomplishments this year that I am extremely grateful for like writing my book and releasing my new podcast. I valued the lessons that I have learned this year both good and bad, and I go into 2021 knowing that I must step my game up to reach even bigger goals. Before you start working on your 2021 goals, I want to share with you three critical elements you must have to reach your goals. I have used these key elements myself and it has taken my life and my business t

BOSS Spotlight Feature: Thereasa Black

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Thereasa Black is a mom, Naval Officer, and the CEO of Amore Congelato. A week before her daughter’s 2nd birthday, Thereasa left for a 13-month deployment. Every day away from her daughter was a struggle. Thereasa knew that she couldn’t deploy again, so she decided to start her own business. What were some obstacles that you faced in the beginning process of starting your business or career?  You could say that I’m still at the beginning process of starting my business. I’m still having the same problem that I was before, getting my product in front of “the right people.” I want to sell my products in grocery stores and despite the fact that the non-dairy ice cream market is booming and there are almost no players in the oat milk game, I can’t get most people to respond to my emails. What inspired you to break into your particular industry?  The truth, I loved ice cream as a kid. Every science fair, I was making some machine that let me eat tubs of strawberry swirl ice cream, by myse

BOSS Spotlight Feature: Kim Roxie

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  Kim Roxie is the Founder & CEO of LAMIK Beauty, a clean beauty brand that caters to multicultural women. In 2019, Kim was honored as one of the Houston Business Journal’s 40 under 40 and was named one of the American Business Journal’s Most Influential Young Executives of 2019. What were some obstacles that you faced in the beginning process of starting your business or career?  The biggest obstacles, in the beginning, were finding funding and finding ways to let our potential customers know that we existed. Interestingly, the solutions overlapped when we were able to obtain crowdfunding through future customers who contributed to our IFundWomen crowdfunding campaign. As a result, we were able to launch LAMIK 2.0 as a technology-enabled e-commerce brand. What inspired you to break into your particular industry?  When I began to look at the ingredients in my makeup, I felt bamboozled. Most of the makeup options available to me were really ugly stuff in pretty packages. I wanted t

BOSS Spotlight Feature: Latricia Wright

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Latricia Wright is a noted educator and foodie at heart constructing and delivering forward-thinking programs, giving attendees ranging from youth to elderly actionable tools for lifestyle changes. She’s great at simplifying complex scientific information so that it is easy to understand and individualizing programs to meet each person’s wellness goal. What were some obstacles that you faced in the beginning process of starting your business or career?  In the beginning, I wore ALL of the hats and didn’t honor my time or manage time effectively. Neither did I understand how to price and strategically market my product and services. What inspired you to break into your particular industry?  My interest in natural health began as a teenager after losing my father and grandmother to food-related diseases. Years later, I began studying nutrition, herbology, and gardening in an effort to save my husband’s life when he experienced the same symptoms that claimed my father’s life.  How do yo

BOSS Spotlight Feature: Arielle Loren

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  Arielle Loren is the founder of 100K Incubator, the first business funding mobile app for women in both Apple and Google’s app stores. She’s helping 100,000 early-stage women entrepreneurs get funding for their businesses and scale to 100K+ in yearly sales. Arielle graduated from Harvard University with a master’s degree in Management. What were some obstacles that you faced in the beginning process of starting your business or career? Entrepreneurship isn't intended to be a smooth road. You’re trailblazing. And especially with 100K Incubator being the first business funding mobile app for women, I didn’t expect it to be easy. When I started my first business, I thought I could scale fast without capital. What’s made it “easier” is that we’ve had a lot of support. With 100K Incubator, being my third business, we had 500 women go through the beta version of our program, which was just a website. That helped us show proof of concept. Once we had that, we were able to get even more

BOSS Spotlight Feature: Karneisha Christian

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  Karneisha Christian-Stewart, born and raised in Compton, CA is a self-described "Daddy's Girl". She has taken her father's lemonade recipe and made it the main ingredient of her family's brand. The newly-wed and mom of 2 teens seek to mass-produce the Pucker Up Lemonade Co. brand and make it a household name. What were some obstacles that you faced in the beginning process of starting your business or career?  Having a vision without the necessary tools and experience can ultimately turn into a nightmare! Fortunately, what we lacked in prerequisites, we made up for in our supportive Network! What inspired you to break into your particular industry?  Pucker Up started as a fundraiser at my kid's school carnival. With my Dad's recipe, our first Lemonade Stand was a huge success! How do you balance your personal and professional life or have you been able to find a balance?  After 9 years in business, I'm just figuring this out! My new mantra is "S

BOSS Spotlight Feature: Andria S. Hudson

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  As an acclaimed speaker and mentor, Andria S. Hudson has risen to national prominence by delivering an empowering message of hope and healing.   She is the founder and CEO of ASH Enterprises Inc., a corporation and lifestyle brand of mentorship and empowerment for business and the arts. ASH Enterprises hosts women’s conferences, business symposiums, teleconferences, and webinars for professional development, branding, and image consulting.   With over 25 years of experience in theater, Andria has produced several theatrical stage productions in the Midwest giving countless opportunities to actors and actresses. Sold out credits include “Twisted Passions”, “Worth the Wait Too”, and “Leading While Bleeding”. What were some obstacles that you faced in the beginning process of starting your business or career? Although entrepreneurship is an exciting journey, it is a journey of many obstacles, and one of the main obstacles that I encountered was the principle of trial and error. Trial a