The BOSS Network Blog

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 ...

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...

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...

Dr. Missy Johnson, CEO of Fearless Life for Women LLC. She is a speaker, Break Free Coach and Author of #1 Best Seller No Longer Silent. She is a highly respected inspirational breakthrough strategist and an expert on showing women how to overcome fear so that they and walk confidently in their true purpose.    TheBOSSNetwork: What were some obstacles that you faced in the beginning process of starting your business or career? Dr. MissyJohnson: Working a full-time job and building the business at night is one of the biggest challenges in starting your business. Be bigger scale and they often felt left out of my life. BN: What inspired you to break into your particular industry? MJ: My inspiration to move forward in this business is that I answered the call from a higher power. Everyone has a voice crying out to do something great for mankind but often stay comfortable or within the zip code of life. After seeing people I ad...

Yvetta  Thompson ,  Founder of Youthful Resources, Inc., Youth Resource Coalition, and Thompson Resources, LLC. Being  a wife, mother, grandmother, sister, and confidant.She manages to  balance that time with being a volunteer, life coach, and supervisor. A CEO,  an a lover of life filled with faith and believer in our purpose in life.   TheBOSSSpotlight: What were some obstacles that you faced in the beginning process of  starting your business or career?  Some of the obstacles that presented themselves at the start of  my business were my fear of talking about money and financial  planning, being a full time employee while raising a family, and  not knowing where to go to get the business started and  launched. Self doubt regarding what I could offer to inner city  youth and their parents also plagued me at times. That very  same doubt became my fire and motivation to move forward to  believe that I could...

Dr. Brandi, CEO of You Advise Me, Helps millennial  professionals  increase their performance by teaching and inspiring them to become leaders  whether  they have the title or not. She's witty, high energy, and authentically "real" in her delivery of motivational and  practical strategies to help professionals increase their impact.  TheBOSSNetwork:  What were some obstacles that you faced in the beginning process of starting your business or career? BR : When I first branched out as an entrepreneur I really struggled with the loneliness of working from home. It's important to network and stay as connected as possible to real people. That's how business deals get made-- in person!  BN: What inspired you to break into your particular industry? BR: I was promoted to my first leadership position at 21 years old and was in charge of a 749-bed student housing facility. That's when I got the "bug" for leadership. Now,...

Zakiya Larry ,  CEO of Quest Media Training providing media coaching  and public relations. She has been a speaker in the East Room at the White House,  managed publicity for Jumping the Broom, Heaven is For Real, and coordinated production for Oprah.   Her media features include Ebony, The Washington Post, Tom Joyner’s Black America Web and more.  Zakiya has also held 13 pageant titles including Miss Black Texas USA. She is a member of the Public Relations Society of America, National Association of Black Journalists and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. TheBOSSNetwork: What were some obstacles that you faced in the beginning process of starting your business or career? Zakiya Larry :  Most of my major obstacles were internal. I feared no one would want what I offered. I was afraid that my ideas would always be bigger than my revenue.I thought that my race and gender would hinder my company's growth. As a former journalist, I'm a researche...

Tina Brown , CEO of Tina Brown Productions  (TBP), a dedicated, multi-faceted full service entertainment company That provides event management, concert promotions artist management, and film events. TBP is focused on providing the best possible entertainment  and event experiences.Tina is a mother of four who heavily relies on her faith in God to persevere and move forward in life. TheBOSSNetwork :  What were some obstacles that you faced in the beginning  process of  starting your  business or career? Tina Brown:  Obtaining enough capital to start up a business was very challenging to me. Obtaining a small business loan was not an option because initially, I did not have a track record.I ended funding the business with my personal assets. BN: What inspired you to break into your particular industry? TB: I volunteered to work with  the American Black Film Festival for a couple of years in Miami Florida.  I found that ...

Lauran Smith , is Founder, CEO and Principal Publicist at PRbyELLE77, a PR firm with a social media management focus. She received her BA in English, is a Freelance Writer, created the first Chicago Black Restaurant Week, and also works with some of the world’s most elite professionals and celebrities. TheBOSSNetwork: What were some obstacles that you faced in the beginning process of starting your business or career? Lauran Smith: Obstacles that I faced while starting my business involved still having to work a full time corporate job at the same time. It was not a “walk in the park” to handle the demands of a full time job and also setting the groundwork for my business. BN: What inspired you to break into your particular industry? LS: My inspiration for starting a social media public relations firm was my authentic and organic love for the social media atmosphere. BN: How do you balance your personal and professional life or have you been able to find a balance?...

Jacqueline Miller,  CEO and Founder of Jacqueline DuJour Enterprises, LLC. Jacqueline is a Mom Life Strategist, who is committed to bridging the gap between the woman with dreams & the mom she has become. In addition, she is a bestselling author, a speaker and a blogger. TheBOSSNetwork: What were some obstacles that you faced in the beginning process of starting your business or career?  Jacqueline Miller: The greatest obstacle that I faced in the beginning process was myself.  Once I became clear on what my true passion and purpose was, the rest was easy. I simply needed to get out on my own way.  BN: What inspired you to break into your particular industry? JM: When you love what you do, you seldom view it as work. Without realizing it, I had been doing what I love for years, pro bono. Conversations over lunch with motivational speaker, Lisa Nichols and a woman who eventually became my first coach, Nicole Roberts Jones, opened my eyes to this fact. My...

Jacqueline Miller , CEO and Founder of Jacqueline DuJour Enterprises, LLC. She is a Mom Life Strategist, who is committed to bridging the gap between the woman with dreams & the mom she has become. In addition, she is a bestselling author, a speaker and a blogger. TheBOSSNetwork: What were some obstacles that you faced in the beginning process of starting your business or career? Jacqueline Miller: The greatest obstacle that I faced in the beginning process was myself.  Once I became clear on what my true passion and purpose was, the rest was easy. I simply needed to get out of my own way. BN: What inspired you to break into your particular industry? JM: When you love what you do, you seldom view it as work. Without realizing it, I had been doing what I love for years, pro bono. Conversations over lunch with motivational speaker, Lisa Nichols and a woman who eventually became my first coach, Nicole Roberts Jones, opened my eyes to this fact. My journey b...