The BOSS Network Blog

Anneka M. Jenkins ,   Member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and Alumni NFL Cheerleader, Anneka Jenkins received her B.A. in Communications with an emphasis in Radio Broadcasting. Currently lending her skills to Cox Media Group Atlanta, Anneka is also the Co-Founder of Show Me Shoes Foundation. The mission: rebuilding confidence..starting at the "sole". TheBOSSNetwork: What were some obstacles that you faced in the beginning process of starting your business or career?  Anneka M. Jenkins :  At the beginning of my philanthropic journey, my biggest obstacle was the fear of getting started and not having everything together. When Show Me Shoes started in 2009, our idea was simply to collect shoes for women in need. That mission grew to become something bigger than the initial seed that was planted resulting in missions that serve not just women who new new soles.. but new souls. We overcame these obstacles by keeping the momentum going and living personally through...

C. Lynn Williams , MBA graduate, Author and Educator. But Ms. Williams’ passion is helping parents seeking better relationships with each other, as well as their tweens, teens and adult children. To help working moms have better work-life balance, she created Finding Superwoman™. Her motto: Providing parenting solutions. Building solid foundations. Securing promising futures. TheBOSSNetwork: What were some obstacles that you faced in the beginning process of starting your business or career?  C. Lynn Williams : I was unrealistic about what it took to be successful. I wrote my first book and thought I would be an instant success and my book would be a bestseller. It took me a while to understand that I was offering medicine to ease pain, and that wasn’t like buying a beautiful purse or a pair of shoes when you want to uplift your spirits. Talking to people about what it takes to have a great relationship with the people in your family starts with helping people, as a way of in...

Sandra Brown, A child of God who is motivated to birth out her dreams and purposes in life. Born and currently residing in Chicago, Illinois, she is the blessed mother of two sons – Shannon and Sterling Brown who play professional and college basketball. She is also a proud grandmother. Founder of a non-profit “Stand-Up, Inc.” Mrs. Brown focuses on community development, empowerment and mentoring. She has a Bachelors of Business Administration Management with an Entrepreneurship Minor. She has a passion for sharing her faith, inspiring and encouraging others through this journey in life, which led her to become a Certified Professional Life Coach as well. She loves spending quality time with those she loves. Above all things Sandra enjoys laughter and fun with her family and friends TheBOSSNetwork: What were some obstacles that you faced in the beginning process of starting your business or career? Sandra Brown : Self doubt and laziness. I had to (and still do) challenge my own ...

Nicole Thomas, MSN, RN, CCM, has 11 years of experience in leadership, healthcare management, clinical knowledge, and business acumen. Her mission is to help female healthcare professionals to awaken their God-given purpose as a healthcare professional through education and action-oriented empowerment. Nicole is currently working on her Doctor of Nursing Practice.She is also the author of “In Health, On Purpose: Awakening  to Your True Calling in The Healthcare Profession” What were some obstacles that you faced in the beginning process of starting your business or career?  Nicole Thomas:  In the very beginning of my career as a nurse, I was faced with dealing with a not so nice divorce, which in the mist left me dead broke financially and broken personally. When I decided to step out into the world of entrepreneurship, I made every mistake imaginable, from not getting proper legal agreements, not checking references on people who claimed to be experts in certain f...

Pat E. Perkins CPCC,  A Leadership & Life Strategist focused on empowering women of color to advance in their careers purposefully, powerfully and profitably.Pat holds an ICF Coaching Certification and a Masters from Roosevelt University. She's a native of Chicago who enjoys being a loving Aunt to a tribe of nieces and nephews.Her personal motto is“To whom much is given, much is required.”  TheBOSSNetwork: What were some obstacles that you faced in the beginning process of starting your business or career? PP: My biggest obstacle in the beginning when I launched my business was my mindset about marketing. If you build it, they will not come. Magnetic marketing is key to attracting ideal clients and sharing how your services will make a difference in their life.Often new entrepreneurs hold back and it’s not their fault. We were taught that it’s rude to brag on yourself. Well if you don’t believe in yourself, no one else will. Self-promotion is key and is linke...

Jameka S. Whitten, Owner of JSW Media Group, a boutique public relations and brand management firm. Prior to working at JSW Media full time, Jameka served as the Co-Founder and Executive Creative Director for SOTAC (State of the Arts & Culture) Magazine and worked in digital media and events at ESPN.   TheBOSSNetwork: What were some obstacles that you faced in the beginning process of starting your business or career? Jameka S. Whitten : Fortunately, I grew up in an entrepreneurial household. My mother worked for herself most of her life, so I was exposed to the life early. My father was also an entrepreneur, so I got the business bug early. Because this is all I’ve known, I was able to side-step many of the pitfalls most small business owners encounter early on in their endeavors. But, of course, I had challenges raising capital and attracting clients with large enough budgets to afford my services in the beginning. Patience and hard work helped me overcome. BN: What ...

Charlene Rhinehart, After making history as the first CPA to win the title of Ms.Corporate America, Charlene created the Career Goddess Academy – a site dedicated to helping women accelerate their career ambitions. She is also the Managing Director of CEO Unlimited LLC where she provides professional branding and commercial writing services. TheBOSSNetwork: What were some obstacles that you faced in the beginning process of starting your business or career? Charlene Rhinehart : A new business owner, I spent the majority of my time developing a social media strategy, creating content in well-established online publications such as the Huffington Post, and developing free downloadable resources for my target audience so that they could get a sample of my work. Since my background is in Accounting & Finance, this new path came with a steep learning curve and limited time for me to perform my offerings in the marketplace. I also had to quickly expand my network to go beyond ...

Saloan Rochelle, Owner of Queen Agenda and Shot By SR (Photography). Graduating from North Carolina A&T State University with a Bachelors in Public Relations, Saloan decided to use her education and experiences from her journey to help women recognize the power in themselves and the power in never giving up. Her goal is to show women that no matter their past, their profession or path they're currently traveling, they are still Queens and should always should be respected and addressed as such.  TheBOSSNetwork: What were some obstacles that you faced in the beginning process of starting your business or career? Saloan Rochelle : There were a few obstacles I faced in the beginning, but the biggest one was self-doubt. I use to have the tendency to come up with ideas and not execute. I guess it was due to fear of failing. I kept thinking that I wasn't going to have enough support to actually sustain when the reality was, I actually had a ton of support w...

Donna Beasley , President of KaZoom Kids Books, an interactive multicultural children’s book company. Their book apps have read-along narration, interactive action and animation. She manages business operations insuring the company’s products provide readers with high quality content. She is committed to creating greater diversity in children’s literature. BN: What were some obstacles that you faced in the beginning process of starting your business or career? Donna Beasley:  Our biggest challenge is that interactive books are a new category in children’s publishing. The  technology for creating the back end for our library of books was difficult to find. We didn’t have the  money to build it from scratch so we had to find a provider to license us the technology we needed. Our second challenge was finding multicultural writers to actually write these books. We reached out to the community, because if we don’t write them they won’t exist. So we are a “By the Communi...

Dymeata Burum , A Gary, Indiana native, who has served in ministry for nearly 24 years. After  high school, she continued her education at Indiana University Northwest studying  Business Administration. Discovering her entrepreneurial gifts, Dymeata who has  become a social media mogul in the online community- is the Founder and Owner of  Bold Publications, bBold in the City, bBold Cosmetics, and Dress 2 Slay Boutique.  Dymeata is the published author of “Winning Confessions of a DIVA”. She understands  that Entrepreneurs are those who don’t just talk about what they want in life, but they GET  UP and DO IT! Dymeata plans to create a way for other women to be able to embrace  the idea that “anything” is possible, and also showing them how to profit from the things  that they love to do. TheBOSSNetwork: What were some obstacles that you faced in the beginning process of starting your business or career?  Dymeata Burum:...

Kyra Kyles, The Editor-in- Chief and Senior Vice President of Digital Editorial for EBONY Media  Operations, LLC. One of WVON and Ariel Capital’s “Top 40 Under 40 Game Changers” and  Chicago Defender’s “40 Under 40 to Watch,” this Chicago native is a sought-after speaker on issues  of race, gender, class and media diversity. Outside of EMO, Kyra is co-founder of a content  production company, Myth Lab Entertainment.   TheBOSSNetwork: What were some obstacles that you faced in the beginning process of starting your business or career?  Kyra Kyles:  One of the obstacles I faced in my career was making sure not to be literally Black listed. Essentially, as an African American journalist, you are sometimes asked to cover areas specifically because of your skin color. My goal is to always ensure that we have balanced and equitable coverage of People of Color, but occasionally, I would have to fight back if I saw that I was being pushed toward certain...

Deborah L. Tillman , President of the Parenting Movement, Speaker, Author, CEO of Happy Home Child Learning Center, “America’s Supernanny” on Lifetime TV. Labeled “A Force for Good” by The Washington Post, Tillman became frustrated with he poor quality childcare her son received; quit her job and started her own school. TheBOSSNetwork:   What were some obstacles that you faced in the beginning process of starting your business or career? DeborahTillman : One of my major challenges was finding a team of teachers that were connected to my vision who would have the commitment, character and courage to step out on faith and go through the process with me. Another challenge was learning how to delegate tasks so that people were placed in positions where their gifts and talents could be most effectively utilized. BN: What inspired you to break into your particular industry?  DT : My PAIN inspired my Purpose:DESPERATION comes to mind. Having gone through se...