The BOSS Network Blog

Tammecia Smith is a monument dealer with over 17 years in the death care industry and the owner of Melanated Memorials , a diverse line of headstones and monuments featuring African American angels. She is dedicated to transforming the memorial industry by offering high-quality memorials that honor memories while celebrating diversity. In previous posts, I talked about organizing your affairs and sorting through the material things that won’t accompany you after death. Now, let’s focus on something that will endure: your memory. A fitting memorial stands as a lasting testament to your life, your passions, and your values. Memorials are more than markers — they tell stories. They provide closure. They create a space where future generations can connect with the past. Available in various sizes, colors, and styles, memorials serve as both a permanent gravesite marker and a place of reflection and healing. Always check your cemetery's policies before making a purchase. Types of Memor...

Deborah Gray-Young  is a former advertising agency executive who now serves as a trusted advisor to senior executives and SMB CEOs. Known for distilling complexity, challenging assumptions, and clarifying high-stakes situations, she brings candor, strategic insight, and a grounded perspective that helps leaders see possibilities and lead with intention. We talk a lot about generational differences, especially in the workplace. Sometimes so much so that it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Labels like Boomer, Gen X, Millennial, and Gen Z can help us spot broad trends in values, motivators, and communication styles. But they can also lock us into assumptions and stereotypes that limit real leadership.  Over two editions, Leadership Axis will unpack the generational puzzle, without getting lost in the labels and stereotypes, so you can focus on leading people, not categories. We’ll unpack motivations, communication styles, and decode generational differences, some of the p...

Conchetta Gibson is an Empowerment and Lifestyle Coach for women 40+ who believe aging is not a  limitation but a glow up. Known for her Aging Fiercely movement,  Conchetta helps women reclaim  confidence, wellness, purpose, and joy in midlife and beyond. They say that midlife is when women slow down, disappear into the background, and just accept that  “this is as good as it gets.” But they forgot to tell us the truth. Midlife is not an ending. It’s a  reintroduction. We get to reinvent ourselves. Somewhere between raising our families, our relationships, and taking care of everyone else’s  dreams, many women lose sight of themselves and forget to put themselves on their “to-do” list. We wake  up one day and don’t recognize the woman in the mirror, not because she’s gone, but because she’s  been waiting. Waiting to be chosen. Waiting to be prioritized. Waiting to be free. I know this because I lived it. I didn’t write my first book until my 50’s...

Jada Samuels is the founder and CEO of Jada Juice, a wellness beverage brand she started at 17 years old with a mission to create generational health through cold-pressed juices. Jada Juice continues to grow through online sales via Jadajuice.com and partnerships with local businesses, including Sip and Savor. What were some obstacles that you faced in the beginning process of starting your business or career?  I founded Jada Juice when I was 17 years old. At the time, I was a junior in high school, and the world was experiencing the nationwide COVID-19 pandemic. I had zero prior entrepreneurial experience, so starting a business was new territory for me. In the process of launching Jada Juice, I faced internal pressure and self-doubt. I struggled with navigating where to start and maintaining faith during this time of not knowing what was to come. What inspired you to break into your industry?  Growing up as a basketball athlete, health and wellness have always been a prior...

In my last article , I shared a conversation between my best friend and me. We are two women in our 50s, both solopreneurs, and we’ve become accustomed to carrying the full weight of our businesses and our decisions. The conversation that day reminded us that operating this way for prolonged periods of time can hinder our growth. Since then, I’ve been thinking about something else that tends to hinder the growth of so many women: Perfectionism. Not the neat, organized, color-coded kind. I’m talking about the deeper kind that turns bold ideas into endless planning…the kind where big dreams turn into delayed action. For women who are leaders, professionals, and business owners, perfectionism often disguises itself as responsibility. We want to get it right. We don’t want to let people down. We don’t want to fail publicly. So we wait until we “feel” ready. All of which is rooted in a need for control as well as fear (that’s a whole topic for another day). But here’s the truth: you do not ...

Tammecia Smith  is a monument dealer with over 17 years in the death care industry. She is the owner of Melanated Memorials, a diverse line of headstones and monuments featuring African American angels. She’s dedicated to transforming the memorial industry by offering high-quality memorials that honor memories while celebrating diversity.    As a follow-up to my previous post, I would be remiss not to share some of the most important information I’ve gathered over the years working in death care — specifically when it comes to “finding the money.” This isn’t about greed. This is about the next of kin who has to make funeral and burial arrangements — and discovers they need to come up with $15k by the day of service. Who has disposable income like that lying around in this economy?  How do you find the funds your secretive family member always told you were “in place,” but didn’t say where? Here are my tips for finding the funds — free of charge. 1️⃣ Employment &...