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...

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...

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 ...

Rhea A. Henderson ,  is the Founder and Executive Director of the RH School of Performing Arts LLC. She is a graduate of Chicago State University. Among several other organizations, she is a member of New Life Covenant church and a 27 year member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. TheBOSSNetwork: What were some obstacles that you faced in the beginning process of starting your business or career? Rhea A. Henderson: One of the biggest obstacles I faced was the funding to open my business. I didn't have the best credit and my savings was minimal. I learned that if  you “speak” it you will“receive” it. I had several resources right in my direct circle with the ability to assist me with removing these obstacles. Because I had done my best to be obedient to God's demands of me in the past, these folks did not hesitate to do all they could to help. This was only after I “spoke” and made plain the goal I was trying to accomplish. BN: What inspired...

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 ...

Sylvia Duncan, “The Life Detox Coach,” inspirational speaker, and author of The Journey Back to You, teaches those she who calls Destiny Seekers, how to live life with resilience, happy and whole. Sylvia received coach training with the CaPP Institute and speaker training from the National Speakers Association’s Illinois Speaker Academy. TheBOSSNetwork: What were some obstacles that you faced in the beginning process of starting your business or career? Sylvia Duncan: I ran into several challenges when I started The Duncan Approach.Most of them were normal challenges anyone would face when beginning a startup, for example, whether to be a Sole Proprietor or Corporation. However, since The Duncan Approach is a series of training and coaching programs to help people who I call Destiny Seekers to think differently, the most important yet, fulfilling challenge I faced, was creating programs that would motivate people to change their thinking while at the same time, embrace possibil...

Velma Trayham , Experience in marketing and business development, Houston-based Velma Trayham offers expertise in brand building, strategic public relations and high-profile events. She currently serves as Founder & CEO of ThinkZILLA PR &Consulting Group, with locations in Houston, and Beverly Hills, California. Deemed as one of the leading go-to firms for small business, faith based and corporate branding, Velma’s award-winning firm utilizes her extensive academic credentials and countless successes to create customized and inspired campaigns and high-impact results. Her media placements have landed feature coverage in such print and online publications as Bloomberg Business, Wall Street Journal,Travel Weekly, Jet, CNN.com and WND.com; as well as client appearances on The Yolanda Adams Morning Show, Oprah’s Life You Want Tour and The WORD Network. TheBOSSNetwork: What were some obstacles that you faced in the beginning process of starting your business or career? Ve...

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...

Conchetta Jones , A Personal Development and Lifestyle Coaching. Owner and Founder of She’s All That! Which assists women in finding the obstacles in their lives that are keeping them stuck and preventing them from living their life like its golden. TheBOSSNetwork: What were some obstacles that you faced in the beginning process of starting your business or career?  Conchetta Jones: Fear and not thinking I was good enough. Thinking I needed to get more education. But I got tired of seeing other people doing the things I wanted to do so, I made the decision to step out of my comfort zone and go for it. I decided to “do it afraid” BN: What inspired you to break into your particular industry?  CJ :  For years I had put aside doing the things that I wanted to do. I had all these ideas in my head, but no plan. After I started working with a coach, who helped me get my thoughts together and put some action with it, I knew that I wanted to be able to help other women ...

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...

Ashley Austin , M.S., is a writer, stylist, and media maven with an entrepreneurial spirit. Working in advertising with her passions for food, fashion, DIY, and all things glam. When she’s not on the clock Ashley enjoys traveling, reading and discovering new trends. Catch up with Ashley at   UptownBelle.com .   TheBOSSNetowrk: What were some obstacles that you faced in the beginning process of  starting your business or career? AA : Believing that I had to be a master at everything. I soon realized that this was impossible and started to vet professionals that were a good fit for me and my business. Outsourcing professionals like hiring a lawyer, accountant, and a graphic designer helped me save more time and money in the long run. It also relieved some stress and allowed me to focus on the areas that I was great at writing and styling. BN: What inspired you to break into your particular industry? AA : I love being a resource for women. There seemed to be a...

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...