Linda Diakite Karressy of Insight Financial Group: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became…

Linda Diakite Karressy of Insight Financial Group: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became A Founder

Team: you need people, lawyer, accountant, mentors etc. They will help you fill in the gaps you do not know. It is worth the money to pay upfront instead of when you are in trouble. When I started my business, I did not know another entrepreneur. Once I made up my mind, I wanted to start a business, I started meeting people. Individuals started introducing me to one person then that person would introduce me to another. You have to put yourself out there.

As part of my series about the leadership lessons of accomplished business leaders, I had the pleasure of interviewing Linda Diakite Karressy.

Linda is an Accounting Coach and Outsource CFO. Linda is founder of Insight Academy, an online business school teaching all things accounting. Linda’s motto is keeping accounting simple!

Thank you so much for joining us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

I took my first accounting course in high school. I cannot remember why I chose to take the course. I never heard of accounting before high school. It was the first course I found super easy. I like the process of completing steps to create something. I like the feeling knowing everything equals. Also, several high school teachers such as Mr. Neal, Mrs. White, Mrs. South, and Ms. Ashley encouraged me to pursue accounting.

Can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey?

I struggled with wanting to service everyone. I knew all small businesses and nonprofits need accounting services. However not everyone was a fit. With trying to service everyone I was losing money. I learned you can have clients who can actually prevent you from growing your revenue. I had to invest in marketing and sales courses to identify and attract my target audience.

Where did you get the drive to continue even though things were so hard?

My drive came from not wanting to go back to a full-time job. I worked for an organization that promoted five people who either started after me or I trained to do their job. Another organization would not invest in training or hiring competent individuals. I was tired of caring the weight of the team. I kept pursuing different avenues to get my business off the ground. I attended as many free events and workshops as possible. I had to keep trying different things.

So, how are things going today? How did grit and resilience lead to your eventual success?

Things are much better. Instead of having multiple contracts I pursued one large contract. This has worked out because it allowed me to help our kids with virtual school. Also, I am able to put systems in place to offer additional services. I recently partnered with a CPA who will perform taxes and tax planning. Having a mindset that I can be more and have more has gotten me this far. Some days I am so tired but I ask myself what I want out of life. I watch motivational videos on grit and resilience daily. This habit helps my mind be focus on the end goal.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I hired a social media consultant. At the time I did not even know what social media was. Things were not working out. The job was very sloppy, so I let them go. I started to look at my Twitter feed. The consultant had me following celebrities such as Hulk Hogan. I find this funny because he was my favorite wrestler growing up. Still to this day I am not sure why an accounting firm would follow him. My biggest lesson is when you outsource a service, check on the work performed. Do not assume things are getting done.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

Our jam is we teach! At Insight Financial Group we do not put together the financials to send off by email. We want the client to understand how the business is doing so they can articulate to their staff, investors, and other stakeholders. Accounting tells you how you are using your resources. If you are using them well, you have a net profit and cash in the bank. I am currently working with a client who provides meal prep. They have been in business about two years. We spent just one hour reviewing our data. She did not realize how much she had made in revenue. I showed her a two-year comparison. She now wishes she met me when she first started. Now she can make better businesses decisions because she knows where the business stands. Most importantly she understands what the financials are telling her!

Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?

  1. Take a day off. This year I have decided not to work on Sundays. No exception. Our brain needs a rest.
  2. Know when to shut down. As accountants we wake early and stay up late. As I am getting older, I cannot stay up with the Late-Night Show crew anymore. Learn what works for you.
  3. Learn to say no. As I stated earlier, not every prospect is a fit for you. If you are going to have to spend additional money and time, rethink the offer.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

I have to say two people, my mother and husband. When I started my business, I was working full-time. Both of them step in with the kids. They are both my ambassadors. They let everyone know about my services. During a really bad day at my full-time job, my mother called out the blue. She stated she was reading a Bible scripture. The holy spirit told her to tell me to keep going. Having individuals who want you to succeed pushes you through the hard days.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

I believe we are all here to serve. A friend and I created Sister’s Alliance. It is a support group for Black women entrepreneurs in Indiana. We are announcing our first business grant winners March 16th. Black women are the fastest group starting small businesses. We lack financial backing, but the emotional support is needed. Many of us do not have the relationships or information needed to grow our business. Sister’s Alliance wants to create a space where Black women will be supported emotionally.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me before I started leading my company” and why. Please share a story or example for each.

  1. Train: Develop and invest in your professional and soft skills. I love free webinars and events. However, I realize in order to propel my business I need to invest dollars into courses and workshops with leading experts.
  2. Study your competitors: So, you can do it better and not reinvent the wheel. I follow other accounting firms on social media. I read their newsletters. This allows me to study what they are offering and who they are targeting.
  3. Replenish: Always revisit why you started; it will keep you motivated. I learn from Les Brown the motivational speaker, to write and read your goals daily. Reading my goals sets my day up for success. My tasks have to align with my goals.
  4. Mental Fitness: Control your thoughts by who you surround yourself with and what you listen to. I will be honest when I first started my business, I thought this was crazy. I listened to Les Brown everyday for about two months straight. I had a new outlook on life.
  5. Team: you need people, lawyer, accountant, mentors etc. They will help you fill in the gaps you do not know. It is worth the money to pay upfront instead of when you are in trouble. When I started my business, I did not know another entrepreneur. Once I made up my mind, I wanted to start a business, I started meeting people. Individuals started introducing me to one person then that person would introduce me to another. You have to put yourself out there.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

I want every high school to teach financial literacy. We all need and use money. However, it’s the one concept not taught in schools. Teaching financial literacy would be a game changer for so many students. Why is college debt so high? We have 17- or 18-years old signing documents they do not understand the financial consequences. We could use the Girl Scouts motto to teach how to earn, save, invest, and donate.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

Instagram: www.instagram.com/insightfinancialgrp

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/insightfinancialgrp

Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCagsc9OWR_HN4cI2MhgoUXQ

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

Linda Diakite Karressy of Insight Financial Group: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Jonathan Fishbeck of EstateSpace: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before Became A Founder or CEO

Jonathan Fishbeck of EstateSpace: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before Became A CEO

Find a mentor who can help you personally and professionally. I mentor entrepreneurs who are trying to get started. No one part of a business is harder than the next, it’s all tough, but getting good advice when you first start can be the costliest of lessons.

As part of my series about the leadership lessons of accomplished business leaders, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jonathan Fishbeck,, Founder & CEO of EstateSpace.

Jonathan B Fishbeck is the founder and CEO of EstateSpace, LLC, a technology platform that enables and simplifies how you handle lifestyle management service and operations to maintain real-property assets to help reduce risk and protect wealth succession. EstateSpace is a licensed Managed Security Services Provider (MSSP) in order to support our enterprise clients.

Before devoting his work fulltime to EstateSpace, Jonathan served as the Founder and CEO at a design-build firm whose focus was advising, designing, constructing and operationalizing sizable estate properties for ultra-high net worth families and family offices. It’s this experience and expertise combined with Jonathan’s technology background that was the genesis for EstateSpace.

The firm is family funded and operates as a modern business model (MBM) consisting of three main components. Packaged offerings with a multi-sided subscription model, a marketplace for all sides to interact and AI machine learning to personalize each experience.

In addition to being a technology provider, Jonathan serves a number of philanthropic organizations where his passion for helping veterans, children, and cancer research shines through. These positions and organizations include Co-Chairman, Fisher House Foundation, Board Member, Children’s Voice International and Board Member, There Goes My Hero, respectively.

Thank you so much for joining us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

Out of college, I had a passion for art and science, and found a beautiful marriage of the two in design-build construction. It was during this time where I was able to serve UHNW families, work with private service professionals and family offices, and gain insights into the operational aspects. I also witnessed the good and the bad that came with estate management, from lavish parties to sibling divorce of real-property assets, and knew technology could help people through these situations. This was the inspiration for EstateSpace, the idea that we could help everyone we ever met come together and design family asset management to best serve everyone involved, while creating an everlasting positive impact.

Can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey?

Each time I started up a new venture, all the same challenges came with the journeys. Figuring out where to start this particular venture was by far the hardest challenge. The vision is enormous, the market is endless, and staying focused seemed impossible at first.

Where did you get the drive to continue even though things were so hard?

We exist to help people. Some of these people even included our own family members and personal family asset management. So, after years of research and development we knew that no one before ever got it right, and that no one quite got exactly what we were going to do with estate management and how we were going to do it (even after sharing the vision). Our hardest moments were met with great people who came into our lives. We also got great advice, at the right time, and we listened.

So, how are things going today? How did grit and resilience lead to your eventual success?

Today we’re still in the beginning stages of business for EstateSpace, but things are going very well. Never giving up is easier said than done. It’s actually exhausting. But we stay motivated by loving what we do, having a peerless drive to help the families we service, and working with an amazing group of people. We all believe this company is on a path to be the world’s #1 private platform for luxury business and family offices. Those are the things that make it easy for us to never give up.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Prior to starting my first company, I wanted to present well. I had business cards made and shirts, hats, and other apparel designed. Then I decided the name was wrong, my title was incorrect, and that I didn’t like the logo. So that business became known as a “t-shirt company,” one of two in my career. Yes, I made the same mistake twice.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

We always go back to the “why we exist.” Simon Sinek has been a great inspiration in this aspect of the company, which has led to an amazing culture at EstateSpace. We believe in building relationships and that by leading with the “why” you surround yourself with likeminded people. We believe that within seconds you can know if you like someone, within minutes you can know if you want to keep talking to them and know if you ever want to talk with them again. If you start with your why, you save yourself time. This has served me well.

Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”? This is one of the 5 things I wish I knew before I started…

“Slow Down to Speed Up” is something I learned only a couple of years ago. By slowing down, you can take a breath, be methodical, and really think through the path ahead. Then you can execute a well thought out plan the first time. I believe that everything is 70% preparation and 30% execution. This will do two things for you: 1) it saves time and eliminates a tremendous amount of rework and 2) it allows you to be even more agile. If you’re intimate with every detail in the plan, you can process new information and apply it with a higher degree of confidence. I have a couple of great mentors to thank for this great lesson in business and life.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

Most of my life, my mentor was my father, a successful entrepreneur whom I was able to absorb, observe, and listen to for the past 30+ years. Most recently, Mark Wallace and Barry Libert came into my life at the exact right time. The company was not where I wanted it to or intended it to be. This was one of the hardest times in business I have had in almost 20 years. I lost focus, exaggerated the situation, and lost the vision in the clutter.

As I sat in Barry’s kitchen outside of Boston, he continued to ask me the same question over and over until he heard the right answer. I didn’t fit Barry’s typical client. Knowing this, I asked him why he took me on. He said, “You’re a smart guy, with a great idea and most importantly you’re a good person.” These two men helped me get back to clarity, turn the business around, and find success. It took 20 months to clutter it up and every bit of that time to get back in focus. I’m forever grateful for them. The best part about this story is that professionally things are better but personally my relationships are improved beyond measure and that is what life’s all about.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

Looking back on everything good in my life, more than anything I want to be a better husband, father, son, and friend. I’ve had service in my heart for as long as I can remember. At a young age I got really good advice from my father on philanthropic ventures, “if you have the passion for something and the time to commit to help a cause, then go for it.” From there I joined my first board and have served countless non-profits with time, money, and experience for 18+ years. We’ve helped raise over $35M in that time and have touched so many lives. This is the legacy that I want to outlive any of my professional accomplishments.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me before I started leading my company” and why. Please share a story or example for each.

First, find a mentor who can help you personally and professionally. I mentor entrepreneurs who are trying to get started. No one part of a business is harder than the next, it’s all tough, but getting good advice when you first start can be the costliest of lessons.

Second, take care of yourself first, then take care of your family, then go to work. You’re human and can only do so much. Start with taking care of yourself and your family. The work is hard enough but even harder when you’re sick or preoccupied.

Third, keep a flat model and work with people at all levels. Stay active, work with everyone in the company, set the ethical standard with your effort, and listen to your team. You’re not perfect and you will make mistakes. A good team will tell you what they think, so you better listen and apply feedback. This makes you a better leader and the team feels heard (#thisisabigdeal).

Fourth, be an active founder and leader, stay connected to your business, listen to your clients, and engage with your team. Your clients will become your greatest idea machine. Your partners become thought-partners and your vision will change for the better. Never could we have imagined at EstateSpace some of the things we’ve developed and some of the innovations we’re working on. This is a result of working as a team and listening to good advice. Focus is important and challenging but maintaining your agility is equally tough. The more active you are, the more agility you will have.

Finally, slow down to speed up. Breath be methodical and execute. Stay humble and be excited to continually improve and learn. Be a real member of the amazing team you created and work every day to keep your spot. This will serve you well and allow you to never get complacent. Now for my favorite part… the team will help you carry out a vision that was once “yours” and is now “ours.” And you just may find it to be far more rewarding winning together than alone.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

I’m currently working on a project for Children’s Voice International, a non-profit organization that is working to create a single platform to connect the network of organizations focused on helping disadvantaged children. From foster care to trafficking, to homeless and poverty, we see a way to leverage what we have done as a platform business and apply it to help all these wonderful disparate organizations to unite and accelerate the ability to successfully help those in need. We have a long road ahead but a passionate board of really smart people who believe. Of course, we start with the “why” and the rest will come together with time and determination.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

You can Search EstateSpace on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter or go to estatespace.com and click in the upper left corner to follow the links. We’re very active thought leaders in our space, so please follow our blog under the resource page of our website to gain a fresh perspective on the market and industry we serve.

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

Jonathan Fishbeck of EstateSpace: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before Became A Founder or CEO was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Sara Alter of MOMENT Consulting: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became A Founder

Make sure to remind yourself that the timelines and goals you set for yourself should be based on your availability, your lifestyle, your capabilities, your resources, your funding and your business plan — no one else’s. Entrepreneurs tend to burn out when they are chasing unrealistic deadlines and deliverables. Remember, you are the boss. You make the rules. Set them up so that you don’t burn-out, but rather, set attainable goals that can actually be met.

As part of my series about the leadership lessons of accomplished business leaders, I had the pleasure of interviewing Sara Alter.

Sara Alter is a veteran entrepreneur, business coach, certified life coach, and the founder of MOMENT Consulting. With 20 years of entrepreneurial experience, Sara advises mothers through the early stages of entrepreneurship, empowering women to build thriving businesses that align with motherhood. As MOMENT’s lead consultant, she helps her clients bring their brands to life while balancing her own career with — what else? Motherhood. Sara launched her first business, Pretty Please Nail Polish, a first-to-market personalized nail polish brand, in 2010 and began consulting for female-owned businesses in 2013. She narrowed her niche to work primarily with moms in 2019, when she founded MOMENT.

Thank you so much for joining us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

I started my first business when I was 19 years old and have continued to build off of that experience for the last 20 years. I began with a personalized quilting business in college and went on to found Pretty Please Nail Polish (@prettypleasenailpolish), a first-to-market personalized nail polish brand. While I had started consulting for women owned businesses in 2013, after having kids of my own, I became increasingly aware of the importance, both mentally, and emotionally, of having a career outside of the home. Leveraging two decades of entrepreneurial experience, I officially founded MOMENT Consulting in 2019, providing support to busy moms as they work to build and scale their small businesses, often without prior business experience.

Can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey?

When I started my nail polish business in 2010, I was very isolated as a female entrepreneur. Social media didn’t exist in the way it does today, with so many resources, business tips and women owned businesses to connect with and be inspired by. It also wasn’t commonplace for a woman to leave a career and a good salary to pursue “a dream.” I was told “no” a lot and many men I sought out to work with in the industry didn’t take me seriously, at first. Even when I hopped on the subway down to Wall Street to meet with a free SCORE mentor, I felt slightly dismissed when sharing my business plan. It was an uphill climb to get the respect and support I needed to build a business as a woman.

Where did you get the drive to continue even though things were so hard?

Two ways: The first was support and the second was mindset. I knew I needed support so I pushed myself to go to networking events in NYC until I found like-minded women founders who could commiserate, inspire, and cheer me on. They were and continue to be a huge support to this day. The next thing I did was commit to a positive mindset. Once I got far enough down the road of building a business, there was no way I was turning back. I was going to find a way to build my business and prove to myself and every person that told me “no” that it could and would succeed. And it did!

So, how are things going today? How did grit and resilience lead to your eventual success?

I think going through any kind of struggle, whether its personal or professional, can always serve as a powerful reminder that you can still rise, move forward, and succeed. It’s the perspective that stays with you. It’s the idea that any big win or big loss is temporary and it’s all a part of your bigger story and experience. As I always say, “add it to the resume!” It was a hard year of balance for working mothers, but I’ve seen so many of my clients rise to the occasion and that has been a huge inspiration. This year mothers put on new masks for protection and took off old masks of perfection. You can only cover up so much at once.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

When my nail polish business was starting to make a name for itself, I was invited by a business colleague to set up a booth at a big fundraising event in the Hamptons at the home of a reality TV star. Fancy right? No! We were shoved in the basement pool house with no windows, no air conditioning and no food for the entire day and we weren’t allowed to leave our designated space. I think at one point someone brought us a piece of cheese. My friend and I laugh about that trip to this day, but the takeaway is that I got amazing press with celebrities holding my nail polish in a nationally syndicated magazine. The lesson is two-fold: Building a business isn’t always pretty, but to see results you have to do hard things. And that so much of what you see online and in the media is smoke and mirrors.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

MOMENT is unique in that all of our business services are designed with busy moms in mind. There are plenty of incredible business coaches out there, but to cater to a group of smart, driven, capable women, with limited time to make big impact, you need to understand what both motherhood and entrepreneurship look like, and make those two incredibly important roles work together. I understand my clients in such a deep and personal way. Moms have that in common. Entrepreneurs have that in common. I eliminate the fluff. Moms don’t have time for fluff!

Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?

Make sure to remind yourself that the timelines and goals you set for yourself should be based on your availability, your lifestyle, your capabilities, your resources, your funding and your business plan — no one else’s. Entrepreneurs tend to burn out when they are chasing unrealistic deadlines and deliverables. Remember, you are the boss. You make the rules. Set them up so that you don’t burn-out, but rather, set attainable goals that can actually be met.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

My mom has been my biggest supporter from start to finish. Over the years she has helped me with everything from sales and packaging to distribution, PR, and most of all, cheerleading. To have someone in your corner who believes in you and your ideas, especially from such a young age, shapes the person you become. I hope to be that kind of support for my own kids.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

Between unemployment, layoffs, and an increasing number of women having to step away from their careers to be at home with their school-age kids, the online coaching and consulting space has proven to be a huge support to women looking to make income from home. I offer free advice on my social platforms for women that aren’t able to invest in 1:1 coaching services and I hope to continue to inspire more mothers to devote time to focus on their needs outside of motherhood, should they choose, and to have the resources to build profitable, buzz-worthy brands.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me before I started leading my company” and why. Please share a story or example for each.

  • It takes more than a good idea to build a profitable business
  • You will need smart people to help you grow
  • Networking is the cornerstone to any successful business
  • Get strong business and operations systems in place or you will always feel disorganized
  • To reach your ultimate goals you need to understand your WHY!

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

I would start a movement called “MY HOUR”, where every new mom would know that for one hour, every single day, they would be expected to take one hour alone for themselves. Everyone in the family unit, and all caregivers would respect this time and support this movement, indefinitely. It would preserve sanity, promote self-care, and reduce burn-out. Mothers have the hardest job in the world, and we need to have them feeling strong, supported, and in a good head space, from day one!

How can our readers follow you on social media?

@momentconsulting

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

Sara Alter of MOMENT Consulting: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became A Founder was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Terry Painter of Apartment Loan Store: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became a Founder

Managing with encouragement instead of a big stick is the first one. The second is the importance of admitting to your employees when you have made a mistake. Years ago, I had a loan officer who was very talented and always closed his loans as proposed. But he was shy, and not a great salesman when it came to competing. I decided to give him some constructive criticism, but he felt I belittled him for having the lowest loan production and he quit. From this I learned that it was much better to start out by bringing up a staff member’s talents and achievements first and then setting production goals together. I called the guy and told him I had made a mistake by not bringing up how much I valued his great talent in analyzing deals correctly and that he had saved our company a lot of time, headache and money by doing such high-quality work. He asked me if I would help him be more competitive and he came back.

As part of my series about the leadership lessons of accomplished business leaders, I had the pleasure of interviewing Terry Painter. The author of the recently published The Encyclopedia of Commercial Real Estate Advice, Terry is the founder of Apartment Loan Store and Business Loan Store, two mortgage banking firms specializing in commercial lending in all 50 states since 1997. He has been a top producer for Lasalle Bank and Lehman Brothers and is known for his exceptional investment consultations and stratagems. For 18 years Terry has spoken nationally to commercial real estate investor groups and real estate professionals about commercial real estate investing and lending. For over 20 years, Terry has built strong correspondent relationships representing Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA/HUD, Life Companies, Wall Street conduits, Hedge Funds, Regional, and National Banks. He is a member of the Mortgage Bankers Association and the Oregon Bankers Association.

Thank you so much for joining us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

25 years ago I owned a small fast food chain of French restaurants in shopping malls called “Deli La France”. What I loved the most about this job was designing and building the restaurants, putting the menus together and training the staff. I get bored easily so, about 6 months after opening one, I had no interest in working there anymore. I would start obsessing about opening a new location. This trend started putting a lot of strain on the relationship with my wife and my bank. They both wanted me to slow down and told me “no more restaurants”. I went ahead and built another one financing it from an equity line of credit on our home. Finally, I got it. I needed to find a new career where I could work on putting deals together without risking everything I owned.

Then one day, a banker buddy told me that what he loved about his job was that he got to work on a new deal almost every day with passionate entrepreneurs — and he didn’t have to risk his own money. A lightbulb went off in my head. I thought, “That’s what I want to do”. This was 1996 — I was in my mid-forties, and I knew that if I didn’t make a career change then, I probably never would. I rented a cabin in Bryce Canyon National Park to contemplate this. I opened a copy of Entrepreneur magazine that I had brought with me, and there was an ad that jumped out at me; it said, “Own Your Own Mortgage Company Doing Business and Commercial Loans”. For $10,000, this company that trains loan officers called “The Loan Consultants” trained me to do what I have been doing for the past 24 years. I still use their methods for training new loan officers today. Everyone I knew told me I was crazy, that I had no experience doing loans and I would fail. The only one who believed in me was my mom.

Can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey?

The first thing I did to start my new business, Business Loan Store, was rent an executive office suite and buy 3 suits. Actually, before that, I took out a large yellow page phone book ad. Wow! After that ad came out I thought I had hit the jackpot. Selling money for a living was going to be easy. My phone was ringing off the hook. The problem was that most of these borrowers did not qualify for my loans. They didn’t have enough credit, cash, or experience. It was quite a learning curve to figure out how to screen borrowers correctly for the underwriting guidelines for all the loan programs I was trying to do and often I got them mixed up. So, for the first 9 months, decked out in my suit and tie, I essentially played loan officer. I was living on my savings which were running low. To pay the bills I started packaging SBA loans for a $1000 each for other lenders. What I didn’t know was that I would be getting highly skilled at originating SBA loans for small business owners. This opened so many doors.

Where did you get the drive to continue even though things were so hard?

Because I loved putting deals together and put so much time into it, I got good at it. By 2007, I had 14 incredibly talented employees and we closed $79 million in loans together. Then in early 2008 the great recession hit. Most of the loans we were originating were sold on the secondary market. But the underwriting guidelines for the large institutions that were buying them changed practically every week, getting more stringent. The result was by the time we were ready to close, the guidelines for the loans no longer qualified. I liquidated my retirement so I could keep my employees working. I had no idea that the recession would completely wipe out my business. To survive, we went down to myself and 4 employees in home offices. I never had the thought that I would not make it back. My mom told me when I was a kid that I could do anything I set my mind on. I guess I believed her. I just kept going to work every day hoping a loan would close. Eventually the US Government started buying mortgage-backed security bonds and we had a new source of liquidity to rebuild the business.

So, how are things going today? How did grit and resilience lead to your eventual success?

Today, things are good. I spend most of my time doing what I enjoy the most — assisting my loan officers put challenging deals together and writing. I’m especially proud of my company, Apartment Loan Store. It is one of the most successful online commercial loan platforms in America. Being an author has been the icing on the cake.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you share a story?

I tell this story in my book, The Encyclopedia of Commercial Real Estate Advice. In my second year in the mortgage business, I booked a $2,000,000 loan for a rock quarry business that wanted to build a rock crushing plant. This was the most technical loan I had worked on as it involved appraisals for the land, the new building and a lot of heavy equipment. I met the owner many times at the site and worked over four months on putting the deal together. I got the loan approved for SBA financing and congratulated the borrower and myself. As we were getting ready to close, the attorney for the title company called and told me my borrower did not own the business or the land. Whoops! I believe the guy I was doing the loan for really believed he owned the business. He had bought it on a land sales contract that was not recorded. He had missed 3 payments which put him in default on that contract. The original owner decided to take the land and all the equipment back. I really felt stupid. That’s where I learned how important it is to read a preliminary title report thoroughly on day one.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

First, I am very proud that we have a 97% success rate of closing our loans as proposed — which is not easy to do. This is because we make sure that whomever is going to approve the loan preflights the entire submission package at the beginning. This can be a credit manager or a loan committee. Secondly, we are an advisory firm and we guide our borrowing clients in the direction that not only fits their goals, but also is going to get the job done. Often we have to redesign a deal to make it work. We have a client right now that has a fabulous piece of land that they want to develop. They can literally build 850 apartment units in 4–5 phases. Although they have experience with development, they were not financially strong enough to take on such a large project so we helped them arrange a stronger partner to join them.

Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?

It’s really important to plan ahead to have enough capacity. There is a great need for what we do as commercial mortgage bankers and brokers. You can easily find yourself working 60-hour weeks. I’ve always made sure I have more staff than I have deals so we don’t all burn out.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

Towards the end of my first year when I was still struggling, I met my banker friend Jerry Burns for a beer. He’s the one who inspired me to get into commercial lending. Surprisingly, he asked me if I could help him by taking on some of the business loans his bank could not do. When this happened, his customers would be mad as hell and often take their money out of the bank. My loans were easier to qualify for and my money sources did not take deposits. So, this was a perfect fit. Soon, I had 5 banks referring loans to me with complete underwriting packages, and my business soared.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

I have closed hundreds of commercial real estate loans with experienced commercial real estate investors that are wealthy. But just about every day we get calls from investors who have little money or experience to buy a property. Many of them just have so much excitement that I am hesitant to put that fire out. Instead, I direct them to instructional material on our website and tell them if they find the right property with many upsides, I will help them get started. For years, I taught seminars for new investors on how to identify a good real estate investment, how to evaluate it, how to raise investors and how to finance it.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me before I started leading my company” and why. Please share a story or example for each.

Managing with encouragement instead of a big stick is the first one. The second is the importance of admitting to your employees when you have made a mistake. Years ago, I had a loan officer who was very talented and always closed his loans as proposed. But he was shy, and not a great salesman when it came to competing. I decided to give him some constructive criticism, but he felt I belittled him for having the lowest loan production and he quit. From this I learned that it was much better to start out by bringing up a staff member’s talents and achievements first and then setting production goals together. I called the guy and told him I had made a mistake by not bringing up how much I valued his great talent in analyzing deals correctly and that he had saved our company a lot of time, headache and money by doing such high-quality work. He asked me if I would help him be more competitive and he came back.

Third is failure to time-manage deals. If you ask my staff what my favorite saying is, they will tell you “Time is Not Your Friend on Real Estate Deals”. I learned early on that not time-managing a deal is a big mistake for real estate brokers, lenders, and borrowers. During my second year in this business, I was working on a RV Park loan. It was taking forever to get the financials from the seller and the listing agent. Everyone, including me, was being so nice about it. The bottom line is that no one was willing to take responsibility for time-managing the deal. Months went by and when we finally had what we needed, the sellers got divorced and the deal crashed.

The fourth thing I wish someone had taught me before I started leading my company, which is also illustrated in the previous example, is that as a leader, it is important to get into the face of your colleagues to hold them accountable for their agreements. My problem early on was that I genuinely am a nice guy. I learned that I needed to be firm, yet polite, in getting other people to keep their time commitments and other agreements.

The fifth thing, and likely most important as a leader, is to not micro-manage your staff. This means hiring the best people you can find. Better yet, finding people who can do it better than you can. I have always been really good at crunching the numbers on a deal. At the beginning, I would always check the math of my loan officers. Then I started hiring ones who were even more talented than me in doing that task, and I had much more time to run the business.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

My wife and I spend our winters in the Dominican Republic. Jeffri is a Haitian man that takes care of our home there. One day I asked him what his dreams were for his future. He told me he was very thankful to have a job, but has always wanted to own a store. We made a loan to him to open a sporting goods store and he has been very successful. So, raising funds to help people that are unemployed or in third world countries start their own business and educating them on what it takes to be successful would be my movement.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/apartment.loan

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXUOB1gJYTmcsBAMMhBuPpw

Apartment Loan Store: https://apartmentloanstore.com/

Business Loan Store: https://businessloanstore.com/

Book website: http://theencyclopediaofcommercialrealestateadvice.com/

Terry Painter of Apartment Loan Store: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became a Founder was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Denise Barbato of SoundWaves: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became A CEO

Peace of mind is priceless. Don’t let unreasonable clients weigh you down. Sometimes demanding clients can cause you a lot of stress and turmoil. Your business is very important to you, and when clients aren’t happy with some aspect of it, that perhaps you cannot control, it can be very upsetting. Don’t allow it to affect you to the point where you lose sleep. Know that you are doing the best of your ability, and sleep well. You may be better off without that client.

As part of my series about the leadership lessons of accomplished business leaders, I had the pleasure of interviewing Denise Barbato.

Denise Barbato is founder and CEO of SoundWaves LLC , a Miami-based mobile diagnostic ultrasound services company that provides state-of-the-art in-office services to Obstetricians, Gynecologists and Orthopedic Surgeons. Founded in 2009, SoundWaves serves over twenty private offices throughout South Florida and has tripled in size within its first eleven years of operation.

With over 25 years’ experience, Denise specializes in high risk obstetrical and gynecologic ultrasounds, and has developed long standing professional relationships with many of South Florida’s top doctors.

Prior to forming Soundwaves, Denise worked for Baptist Health Systems performing general ultrasound. In 1999, she trained with Perinatologists and Gynecologists at private offices as well as at the University of Miami, where she specialized in high-risk obstetrical and gynecological ultrasounds.

Capitalizing on the gains of her start-up company and her entrepreneurial spirit, Denise recently expand her enterprise as the first mobile company to provide musculoskeletal (MSK) sonography services in South Florida.

Denise holds an AS from the Medical Campus at Miami Dade and completed her studies at an accredited ultrasound program at Broward College in 1995. She is a member of the American Registry of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers and is registered in Abdominal and OB/GYN Ultrasound.

Denise donates generously to the Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance Foundation. In her free time, Denise loves to windsurf, play tennis, ride horses, and spend time with her family, including her seven year old twins.

Thank you so much for joining us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

My love for science is the main factor that brought me to this specific career path. When I was taking my core classes in college, I took anatomy and physiology classes because I had an interest in that area. I quickly realized after watching most of the class withdraw, and others struggle with the difficulty of the class, while I received As and Bs, that I knew that I had a natural talent in this area. I knew I wanted to be in the medical field. When an acquaintance told me about the details of a career as a sonographer, I immediately knew that was exactly what I wanted to do.

Can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey?

I remember in the beginning stages of deciding to become an entrepreneur, it was very scary because you are creating a path that didn’t exist before. You wonder every day if you are making the right decisions. As an employee, you have people to tell you what to do, it’s easy. As an entrepreneur, every single decision that you make affects how well, or poorly, your company will run, and that is a lot of pressure. I love the saying, “ The best thing about being an entrepreneur is that no one tells you what to do, and the worst thing about being an entrepreneur is that no one tells you what to do”.

Where did you get the drive to continue even though things were so hard?

I think a strong belief in myself and my abilities, and also a feeling that I was on the right path and that I was doing something great for the community. These are the things that gave me drive when things were tough.

So, how are things going today? How did grit and resilience lead to your eventual success?

Things are going very well today. I feel incredibly blessed that Soundwaves has grown year over year and we are able to provide high quality ultrasound to so many doctors throughout South Florida. My grit and resilience benefitted me because giving up wasn’t an option in my mind, therefore it forced me to be creative and to always find a solution to any issue that arose. I then learned that there is a solution to every problem. It’s just a matter of figuring it out. I found that when I would detach, by exercising and being in nature, those were the times when the answers would come to my mind.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

When I finally decided to acquire my first machine, the company that I bought it from told me that the ultrasound machine would be delivered to me on a certain date, which was only a few days before my first day at the office of my first client. I had arranged my start day with the office manager weeks earlier as you have to give the office time to schedule the patients. Well, a day before delivery, the company called to say there would be a delay in the shipping, that it was going to arrive a day after my first day with my new client! I was devastated. I didn’t want to cancel my first day with the office. I reached out to a colleague and asked if I could borrow one of his ultrasound machines. Luckily, he said yes. The machine was an old machine that I was not familiar with. I was struggling all day to use this machine, however, I pulled it off as if everything was fine on my first day at the office. I kept a smile on my face and they never knew how much I was struggling. Lesson learned was, always schedule yourself with plenty of flexibility to take into account for delays.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

My knowledge of Ob/Gyn ultrasound, from working in the field for 15 years before I started my company, combined with my dedication to high quality are the factors that make my company stand out. Operating at a high level takes mastering the small details that make all of the difference. A founder of one of my competitors, was in sales for many years before starting her business. She did not have any knowledge of how to perform an ultrasound. I had many clients who decided to use our ultrasound service after experiencing hers, because they preferred our attention to detail. Her experience in sales helped her acquire many clients, however, she had difficulty maintaining them due to a lack of deep knowledge of ultrasound.

Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?

First, I would say that you must love the field that you are in so that it does not feel like work. Second, I would say that you cannot do it all and you must find people to help you do the things that you can delegate.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

Dr. Ed Phillips and Dr. Nathan Hirsch are two very well respected Ob/Gyns in the community. I was working for Dr. Hirsch for 11 years when I decided to start my company. I sat down with him one day and explained that I was starting Soundwaves and would be leaving his practice. I wasn’t sure whether he would be upset with me. He was quiet for a moment, then he told me that I was the best tech his office had ever worked with and they were going to miss me, then he said, I love your idea and I’m going to help you. The next day he put me in touch with his colleague, Dr. Phillips, who was one of my first few clients. After working with Dr. Phillips for some time, he also introduced me to his colleagues and Soundwaves continued to grow. Both of them were great friends, trusted advisors and they went above and beyond to help me grow Soundwaves. They also helped Soundwaves become a preferred vendor for Femwell, a very large conglomerate of doctors. I am honored and grateful to have the confidence and respect from these two doctors.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

Every Christmas, instead of giving the doctors that I work with a present, I donate money in their name to the Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance Fund. It’s my way of showing my appreciation for the blessings I receive, by giving back to the world. I feel blessed to be in a field that I love, working with great doctors and giving back to a great cause.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me before I started leading my company” and why. Please share a story or example for each.

There is a solution to every problem, you just need to be creative. Don’t get upset and stressed, get thinking!

Take your time and be diligent when hiring people. No matter how much you need to hire someone to fill a position, follow your gut, don’t rush to hire, and hold out for the right person. I have hired a few people because I was in a bind and needed someone right away, even though my gut told me they weren’t exactly the right person for the position. I ended up letting those people go and it cost me more time and money in the long run.

Relationships/Connections and having a good reputation in your field are your most valuable assets. My best friend who lives in Maryland where I grew up, saw the success that I was having here and she suggested that we try to duplicate it there. We spent several years working hard to get business and have it run smoothly. Not only hiring people was difficult, it was also difficult to get new clients. Of the three we had, I had to sue one of them to pay us money that was owed. Not having long standing relationships in Maryland, as I do in Miami, was detrimental to our success.

Peace of mind is priceless. Don’t let unreasonable clients weigh you down. Sometimes demanding clients can cause you a lot of stress and turmoil. Your business is very important to you, and when clients aren’t happy with some aspect of it, that perhaps you cannot control, it can be very upsetting. Don’t allow it to affect you to the point where you lose sleep. Know that you are doing the best of your ability, and sleep well. You may be better off without that client.

Figure out what your values are concerning lifestyle and plan from there. Sales and marketing are not my forte. My method has been to grow slowly, and most of my clients were acquired through word of mouth. There were times when I felt anxious because I knew my competitors had an entire sales and marketing team and I was afraid that I was missing out on getting clients. After thinking it through, I realized that my style of growing slowly fits me well. I like the flexibility of a smaller clientele, a size that allows me to be more hands on with my clients, and also allows me to be present for my family. I am not looking to create Ultrasounds R Us, I am looking for something more boutique and high quality.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

I would love to create a large scale, virtual support system for women going through ovarian cancer treatment. Going through cancer treatment is lonely and as isolating as it is, and this has been compounded by Covid. It would be great to have people in the mental health industry volunteer to take calls from women undergoing treatment, or even set up weekly support groups.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/soundwavesimage/

Twitter https://twitter.com/Soundwaves_LLC

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/soundwavesllc/

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/denise-barbato-r-d-m-s-475a6a39/

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

Denise Barbato of SoundWaves: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became A CEO was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Mia Love of ‘Real Freedom With Love’: 5 Lifestyle Tweaks That Can Dramatically Improve Your…

Mia Love of ‘Real Freedom With Love’: 5 Lifestyle Tweaks That Can Dramatically Improve Your Wellbeing

In the morning, before I rise out of bed, I do breath work for two minutes. After, I meditate for 20 minutes and then stretch….a gratitude stretch where I’m thanking all of my muscles and all of my limbs. I just appreciate my body! Now, it’s time to get moving. I have a to-do list that I write the night before and on the other side of that list, I have things that I don’t want to do. For example, Bob is going to call me with drama from the job, but guess what, he doesn’t get to talk to me until I’m fortified. That means meditation, breath work, gratitude walk or gratitude stretch, whatever you feel and putting the proper minerals in my body.

As a part of my series about “5 Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Dramatically Improve One’s Wellbeing”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Mia Love.

As an educator, entrepreneur, and financial wellness advisor, Mia Love is the quintessential triple-threat. A widely recognized credit empowerment coach, mentor, and holistic practitioner with almost a decade of experience, Mia specializes in providing holistic financial wellness methods that improve both the financial health and overall well-being of her clients. Utilizing her extensive background in financial literacy and Level 3 reiki, energetic and prana healing certifications, Mia founded Real Freedom With Love (formerly The Good Credit Diva), a comprehensive credit and finance management firm, where she teaches financial stability that encourages financial assertiveness, as well as a personal evolution. Her passion for educating, healing, and teaching others is exemplified in her intensives and workshops she facilitates at various organizations, businesses, and events throughout the globe. Mia brings her warmth and wit to every engagement, as she believes that healing reduces people’s resistance to change. She counts it a privilege to watch others experience a sense of freedom and confidence in their ability to not only make money but make time for what matters most.

Thank you so much for doing this with us, our readers would love to get to know you get to know you a bit better. Can you share with us the story about how you first got involved in fitness and wellness.

I got involved in fitness and wellness at a young age. Growing up in a household with multiple siblings, it was required that you stay active. We had dance classes and sports and all types of activities going on. My father has been an avid runner for as long as I can remember. So all of these were a part of what we did. Wellness and health have always been something that’s been important in my family and going into high school and college, these activities stayed a part of my routine. To be honest, I think my parents and probably my older sister, Kenya, felt that it was an outlet to be able to transfer my energy into various activities.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?

The most interesting story that happened to me since I started my career was really the shift from competing as an athlete to incorporating wellness into my daily life. When you are competing as an athlete you have a coach who tells you what to do. You’re also always working towards a particular goal or competition, whereas being an adult, wellness is truly up to you to ensure that you make it a priority. It’s very easy to sidestep and to get distracted into a routine that does not include wellness. You’ll quickly start seeing the result of that distracted behavior, whether it’s the way that your clothes fit or your energy level, you will know, very quickly when you’ve fallen off. There was a time where I let go of my wellness routine and I saw the results in my productivity, my thought processes and my ability to accomplish multiple tasks. You really have to make the choice between happy hour at the bar or the gym. In our current circumstance, its Zoom workouts or Zoom happy hour but the point remains. I can remember working out at lunchtime so I could make it to happy hour with my friends.

Can you share the story with us about the most humorous mistake you made when you were first starting? What lesson or takeaway did you learn from that?

The most humorous story was not gauging the impact of a particular workout. Again, as an athlete, you generally feel like your body doesn’t have limits. However, as an adult incorporating wellness, if you don’t properly gauge your limits, you can definitely exceed them. There is a hike outside of an area where I used to live. I had done this hike in high school and as an adult (with my parents), without incident. I thought it was a good idea to take this very steep hike on a day that I had evening activities planned. It takes roughly two hours to get up this mountain and up to three hours down. Following the climb, I was slated to go to a Beyonce concert that night. My outfit was already selected including a set of three inch heels. The fatigue in my legs was REAL! But, I needed to wear that outfit. Let me tell you…I paid dearly for not planning that day properly.

Can you share with our readers, a bit about why you are an authority in the fitness and wellness field? In your opinion on what is your unique contribution to the world of fitness?

I am an authority on fitness and wellness because I have the unique ability to recognize the intersection between fitness and wellness. Fitness is how you treat your physical body, whereas wellness is how you treat your mind, body and spirit. Being able to incorporate physical activity along with breath work, Reiki and energetic healing is the ability to get to a point of total body wellness.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped you get to where you are. Can you share the story about that?

I would have to say that it’s a group of people. My family pushed me to make sure that I am always exceeding my limits. The grounding that I received growing up made it clear that fitness is paramount. The reality that wellness (as described above) has been hugely helpful. My influences gave me the confidence to go after my Reiki certifications and step into the next levels of spiritual healing and embrace the gifts that I already had. Being able to marry the two of them together into the realm of entrepreneurship has been amazing.

Okay, thank you for all that. Now let’s move to the main focus of the interview. We all know that it’s important to eat more vegetables. Eat less sugar, exercise more and get better sleep, etc. But while we know intellectually it’s often difficult to put into practice and make it a part of our daily habit. In your opinion, what are the three main blockages that prevent us from taking the information that we all know and integrating it into our lives?

Procrastination or not being motivated and a general lack of energy. Those are the three main players. Understanding how to ground yourself is key. Grounding yourself is a form of meditating. Once we get into a meditative state we can begin to block or discharge negative energy. This should be done before we start our day. Do this first thing in the morning, therefore we fortify ourselves and we’re able to move throughout the day.

Can you please share your five non intuitive lifestyle tweaks that will dramatically improve one’s well being. Please share a story or example for each and feel free to share ideas for mental, emotional, and physical health.

In the morning, before I rise out of bed, I do breath work for two minutes. After, I meditate for 20 minutes and then stretch….a gratitude stretch where I’m thanking all of my muscles and all of my limbs. I just appreciate my body! Now, it’s time to get moving. I have a to-do list that I write the night before and on the other side of that list, I have things that I don’t want to do. For example, Bob is going to call me with drama from the job, but guess what, he doesn’t get to talk to me until I’m fortified. That means meditation, breath work, gratitude walk or gratitude stretch, whatever you feel and putting the proper minerals in my body.

As an expert, this might be obvious to you, but I think it would be instructive to articulate this for the public. Aside from weight loss, what are three benefits of daily exercise?

Mental clarity, high vibrations/energy and feeling really sexy in your clothes because everything is energetic. When you’re feeling confident, you show it. Through your walk, your speech and your smile, which has become paramount in this virtual environment.

For someone who is looking to add exercise to their daily routine, which three exercises would you recommend that are absolutely critical. Is there a particular book that made a significant impact on you. Can you share a story?

The three exercises that have been impactful in my life are:

1) Meditation — People don’t think that’s an exercise, but it’s a brain exercise.

2) Cycling — Love to do this in the morning.

3) Sauna — Sweat!

Bonus…Reading books! — One of the favorites is called Your Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk, M.D. This book deals with trauma, and the lessons help us identify and release that trauma. That’s where the energy work comes in. pulling these together makes me authority in this field.

Mia Love of ‘Real Freedom With Love’: 5 Lifestyle Tweaks That Can Dramatically Improve Your… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Chloe Millard of Rose & Jade CBD: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a CBD…

Chloe Millard of Rose & Jade CBD: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a CBD Business

Don’t be afraid to change direction. We actually ended up shifting gears early on because we weren’t getting results from the first marketing firm we hired and have had much more success with PR instead. We recently signed with Samantha Crafton PR and it’s been great — we just love her and her team!

As part of my series about “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business” I had the pleasure of interviewing Chloe Millard.

As a Chicagoland Business Owner and Mother of two, Chloe Millard is a woman that values an active and healthy lifestyle and is always on the go. After being diagnosed with Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD) resulting from complications with her 2nd pregnancy in 2019, Chloe’s whole world changed. She suddenly felt weak and struggled to physically get through even the simplest days without pain. She was determined to find a safe and all-natural solution for long lasting relief to combat her debilitating pain and chronic stress. She promised herself if she ever found a solution that worked for her, she would make it her mission to share it with all women and so Rose & Jade CBD was born.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you share with us the story about what brought you to this specific career path?

Launching Rose & Jade CBD has been such a rewarding passion project of mine because of how my life has been so deeply and positively affected by these products. I hadn’t necessarily always dreamed of being the founder to a CBD product line (mainly because I hadn’t discovered CBD until recently in my life!) but I’ve always had a passion for helping others and finding solutions to complex problems. Prior to founding Rose & Jade, I spent nearly a decade working in the corporate world in the medical sales industry and started dabbling in entrepreneurship early on in my career as a hobby. When I started having children I began facing pregnancy and gender discrimination in a pretty blatant way and knew that I wanted better for myself and to set a good example for my girls. I won multiple lawsuits from those cases and decided to symbolically invest those earnings into my first businesses a few years ago and have been an entrepreneur ever since!

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I’ve had the privilege of collaborating with countless inspiring women and mothers from all over the country to gather data and insight as we continue on this journey at Rose & Jade. It’s been fascinating to me at how much we as women will suffer in silence and simply continue to always move forward no matter how hard it is. The resiliency of women and the power of being part of a community has been one of the biggest rewards for me. While the inspiration and target for our product line is mainly focused on women, I was surprised to learn that our first sale actually came from a man purchasing for himself and that we’ve had quite a few male customers since! We have a new product line in beta testing now targeting a male demographic simply due to the demand but it taught me that no matter how much you try to narrow down your target market and put yourself in a box it’s also advantageous to keep opportunities open to cater to other attracted buyers.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Absolutely, I’m not sure I will ever let myself live this one down! It’s certainly funny now that it has been resolved but I would encourage all entrepreneurs out there to become VERY educated on your particular tax code and sales tax responsibilities. R+J isn’t the first business I’ve started and at the businesses I owned shortly before launching Rose & Jade, I discovered I was making a massive tax reporting error that went uncaught for months. I had mistakenly included nontaxable receipts (i.e. service based revenue) as part of total revenues on a monthly sales tax basis. Long story short, when I caught my mistake months later I discovered I had mistakenly overpaid our sales tax by approximately $30,000. It took nearly 6 months and a lawyer to get our funds back. Needless to say I learned my lesson and my husband still teases me about it!

Are you working on any exciting projects now? How do you think that will help people?

We are! We have a couple of new and exciting products in our pipeline as well as a virtual community we’re hoping to launch by Q3/Q4 of 2021. We’re very passionate about our mission #WomenSupportingWomen and we donate a portion of all of our sales to various female focused charities. There is also such a demand and need for bettering mental health and the rise of alcohol abuse is such a serious problem that our entire company feels a responsibility to address it. Our goal is that through education and encouraging new healthy habits to combat the effects of anxiety and depression, we can have a positive impact on our communities and help women everywhere take back control of their lives.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

I’m very fortunate to have had the support of a mentor and a close inner circle over the years that has certainly lifted me up throughout my life and career. To narrow down to one particular person, as cheesy as it may sound, it would hands down be my husband and high school sweetheart, Ryan. We’ve been together since I was 16 and we have survived challenging life events together, entered into multiple business ventures as partners and we are also raising two beautiful little girls (ages 2 and 1) with plans to grow our family more in the future. While I would consider myself as someone who is fiercely independent, I’ve never once taken for granted how lucky I am to experience a once in a lifetime love and partnership with someone that has never given up on me even when I’ve wanted to give up on myself. Entrepreneurship is insanely difficult and will routinely push you to your limits. Having the unconditional support of a partner and champion that believes in you and picks you up when you doubt yourself is by far the most invaluable asset any entrepreneur can have.

This industry is young dynamic and creative. Do you use any clever and innovative marketing strategies that you think large legacy companies should consider adopting?

I think there is so much that is still to be explored within this exciting space because really, CBD and Cannabis is still taking off with tons of room for growth. Prior to Covid and as our company was still being developed, we had plans of opening ‘CBD Bars’ that would allow for consumers to hang out and try different flavors and shop similar to a coffee bar. With ongoing Covid restrictions this obviously looks a lot different and we’re still tweaking our model. With that said we do have upcoming CBD monthly memberships in the works are always looking for Rose & Jade Brand Ambassadors and Influencers as our #1 marketing initiative! Feel free to email us at [email protected] if you’re interested in becoming a Brand Ambassador or Influencer!

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Cannabis industry? Can you share 3 things that most concern you?

There are so many things we are looking forward to in this booming industry. To name a few: 1. Experts project rapid growth and within the CBD market alone the industry is expected to grow to over $22 billion by 2022 / 2. With wider legalization and approval of cannabis comes more acceptance and innovation / 3. Increased awareness and education.

Despite all of the positives we have to look forward to as our category grows, with growth we do expect a few hurdles. Some concerns our company has on the horizon: 1. More competition from less credible sources / 2. Industry regulations / 3. Outgrowing our current production & factory location to continue to meet increasing consumer demand.

Can you share your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business”? Please share a story or example for each.

  1. I truly wish I would have discovered the world of CBD and Cannabis sooner. It feels like there used to be such a stigma surrounding the use of cannabis and it was almost a taboo topic. I’m a bit embarrassed to say that’s how I used to feel and had never educated myself on its benefits or even tried it. Now, as a mother of two and having my own doctor recommend I look into it for my chronic pain and stress, I really wish I would have let go of personal judgement and misconceptions earlier and not have suffered as long as I did.
  2. Starting a CBD business is NOT as easy as it may look! After trying several CBD brands before deciding to formulate and design my own, I remember getting so excited thinking it would be fairly easy. I’ve run and built companies before and knew what it took to start from scratch. I remember coming up with the idea for Rose & Jade over a weekend and I had an entire business plan and product line sketched out in my notebook in an afternoon. There is obviously SO much more that goes into a business than an idea but even with my past experiences and realism, I was still unprepared for how strict advertising would be and how cluttered the marketplace was. It really took a lot of trial and error to get off the ground and it’s still a work in progress!
  3. Plan ahead and then plan for delays. It goes without saying that having an outline and plan for your business targets is imperative. However, in this space I would recommend on baking in an additional 1–3 months for any timed objective you may have. You’ll encounter setbacks early on no matter how prepared and driven you are and that’s okay. Just like with any startup, don’t count on this being your sole income to pay the bills in the beginning. You need to give yourself some runway and some hiccups we ran into that delayed our launch included selecting a payment processor and tweaking product formulations.
  4. Don’t be afraid to change direction. We actually ended up shifting gears early on because we weren’t getting results from the first marketing firm we hired and have had much more success with PR instead. We recently signed with Samantha Crafton PR and it’s been great — we just love her and her team!
  5. Let go of stress. Being an entrepreneur, especially in the age of Covid, it seems impossible not to stress out or lose sleep over every nuance and issue during the day. Being an entrepreneur in THIS business can be even more stressful with late nights and production issues and launch delays. I don’t think I’ve ever been busier in my life but I’m teaching myself to become more centered and less distracted by stress and it’s made me a better and more effective owner. Stress of the mind is completely self-imposed and something I’ve struggled with most of my life. To be fair, I do have my own stash of Rose & Jade CBD products that I use daily which really does help! But in all honesty, this journey has been such a blessing for me and my family because it has encouraged me to focus on healthy living. Our company has devoted a tremendous amount effort to research and development which includes sourcing our ingredients from the most natural resources and reputable suppliers. It’s allowed me to see the world in a different light and have an appreciation for nature. I also get to spend more time with my kids during the day so we have our daily yoga and mediation that we practice as a little family which helps greatly lower my stress and allows me to be more present.

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?

I’m a big believer in education and always seeking to understand and learn something new. I am constantly reading articles and published pieces on management and how to motivate your people. I’ve learned that all employees genuinely want to be good at what they do and no one aims to underperform or be dissatisfied with their job. Communication is key and I’ve found that many leaders seek to be understood, not to understand leaving those that follow them to feel unheard and unfulfilled. A simple conversation can go a tremendous way to ensuring that you’re building a company that not only gets the best out of its people, but sets everyone up for success long term.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

I am so passionate about Women Supporting Women and what I would love more than anything is to inspire women to demand the best for themselves and the other ladies in their lives. Women are still fighting for equality all over the world and I am an entrepreneur today due to repeated and severe workplace discrimination I faced as a new mother and at multiple companies. But I’ve learned that you can’t demand the best for yourself if you don’t feel good about yourself and the first step is taking care of your health. CBD was the answer for me and it may not be for everyone but I would encourage all women to really look at their habits in their life and decide, how is this serving you? I chose to become sober 4 years ago after I realized alcohol was having such a detrimental effect on my life and marriage. I’ve talked to countless women and have heard this same story repeatedly so if me speaking out about CBD helping me continue to stay sober from alcohol inspires other women to make a healthy change, that would be my greatest accomplishment.

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

Please follow us on Instagram @roseandjadecbd for giveaways and new product launches!

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

Chloe Millard of Rose & Jade CBD: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a CBD… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Lessons from a Thriving Power Couple, With Holly Duckworth & Eric Szymanski of Leadership Solutions

Lessons from a Thriving Power Couple, With Holly Duckworth & Eric Szymanski of Leadership Solutions International

We start with shared vision. Eric and I are both divorced. Our learning marriages were great gifts shaping who we are now. In both cases the individuals grew in different directions. To thrive as a couple, you have to grow to a shared vision, as that vision changes. Even in the short time we have been in partnership our vision has evolved. To thrive we have to be in continuous co-creation with how life evolves.

As a part of our series about lessons from Thriving Power Couples, I had the pleasure of interviewing Holly Duckworth & Eric Szymanski of Leadership Solutions International.

As co-authors of Sell More Stress Less 52 Tips to Be A Mindful Sales Professional this power couple brings together more than 20 years working in one of the most stressful industries — hotels and meetings. Working in 24/7 industries these professionals demonstrate the power of listening and Love as the solution at home and at work.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you two to your respective career paths?

As meetings industry professionals you have to love the work you do, because meetings and events happen on evenings, weekends and holidays. There really is no time away from work. Holly’s career happened by always saying “yes” to new opportunities and challenges while living on the west coast. Eric’s career was a continuous stair step of adding to his experience and success each year while living on the east coast. We became friends thru the industry speaking at various events and conventions.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you two got married?

Doing this interview in 2021 with all the mental, physical and relationship shifts our world has taken, I smile. There is embedded in the question that being a “couple” means you must be “married”. Eric & I are a dedicated couple in domestic partnership with COVID life we are engaged with a wedding plans postponed till we can gather our family safely again. This said, our most interesting thing since we came together is truly the daily journey to live and lead in these pandemic times. Navigating the closeness of working from home, home-ing from home and doing that in a world when one of us would normally be traveling.

These pandemic times have taught us to value the together time and the time we may need to be alone all of it good and very good.

Since we “met in the middle, of the US” Setting goals and visions and working toward them together has been key to our success. Here is an example. We purchased our home December 15, 2019. Moved in on January 15, 2020 and the pandemic locked down Denver March 15, 2020. We never saw a pandemic pulling us of the traveling circuit to pivot our work online so quickly.

As meeting professionals were having a schedule and being on time is crucial it’s funny that we look back now and realize that we may have had a schedule but certainly this life plan is not on our time.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Like many couples some of the funniest stories are not funny at the time. Every person in a relationship brings different strengths and weaknesses. Holly’s background is full of speaking to live audiences from 2 people to 2,000 while Eric also has presentation skills, they tend to be more sales related. As we learned to present together this became funny. Holly would consistently be holding Eric to a strict timeline to be “on stage” and Eric being a salesman could talk and talk and talk and talk.

As a result of consistently coming off stage frustrated, we had to learn that we both have case studies, research and experience that serves audiences. Holly let go of the stopwatch and Eric became more aware of being succinct to the benefit of audiences around the world.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

Our company stands out due to our genuine passion for helping professionals live and lead more mindful lives in industries that are often deemed “most stressful.”

In 2019 we were both contracted to speak for the South Africa Convention and Visitors Bureaus the opportunity came as a result of an article that Eric wrote and distributed years earlier. The congress organizer had read the blog and made the commitment to hire Eric when he had the change. Years later he called and hired Leadership Solutions International to share expertise in creating memorable customer experiences.

An opportunity like this demonstrates the value we both bring. We often laugh if you start us both out at home and throw out a destination point Holly will pull out of the driveway and go left, Eric will walk going right and while we both get there different, we get there in a way that serves the world.

Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?

We have several new initiatives launching in 2021 the one we are most excited about is the Chaos to Calm Challenges. So many of our clients believe they don’t have time to be mindful or take care of themselves. This pandemic has thrown so many onto a totally new life/work career path that it’s a time to reset that belief. The Chaos to Calm Challenge is based on Holly’s book Everyday Mindfulness from Chaos to Calm in a Crazy world.

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?

CEO’s and leaders at all levels need to listen more. In our loud 24/7 world we are not valuing the power of listening as a strategic skill. Leaders need to listen first more to their own inner voice and then listen to their teams more.

How do you define “Leadership”?

Leadership is the ability to move people in a common direction for the good of a family, company or industry. Everyone is a leader in their own unique way.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

As we look back on the path that has brought us to this place there have been many angles along the way that have helped us. It’s hard to name just one. On the personal side we need to acknowledge the quite support of our spiritual friends. These men and women helped shine the light as Eric was completing his career at Disney and moving to Florida.

Now with sometime during a pandemic to grow Leadership Solutions International we have to thank on the business side our clients.

What are the “5 Things You Need To Thrive As A Couple”? Please share a story or example for each.

To thrive as a couple, you need:

Shared Vision

Flexibility

Curiosity & Discovery

Fun & Laughter

Gratitude

To thrive as a couple the first thing you have to do is let go of the programming we are taught as children that being a couple looks kind of like Cinderella. A man, a woman and 2.3 children. (I joke.) To thrive as a couple, you must choose to chart your own course, love one another and forgive.

We start with shared vision. Eric and I are both divorced. Our learning marriages were great gifts shaping who we are now. In both cases the individuals grew in different directions. To thrive as a couple, you have to grow to a shared vision, as that vision changes. Even in the short time we have been in partnership our vision has evolved. To thrive we have to be in continuous co-creation with how life evolves.

Flexibility not a day goes by we don’t have to roll with what shows up. This is key to having a successful life and business.

As teachers of mindfulness, we highlight a little considered leadership tool as one of our keys to success — curiosity and discovery. Knowing that every moment of everyday things are changing we do our best to stay in the childlike wonder. Remember when you were kids’ things just seemed to magically work out. How would your adult life be different if you kept that same sense of awe and wonder? In our home and office, you will often hear the words…” not yet” to mean that the solution may be challenging but still good is coming. Or “Does it have to be that way?” which is code for “This sounds like you are being negative could you find another way to look at this situation.” Childlike wonder has saved us in large and small ways. Plus, it’s fun to see where it will take you.

Being a couple must be fun!! Eric and I make an effort to remember to laugh a lot. Yes, we live in difficult times sometimes the only thing that gets us thru is the ability to laugh. In these time of possibility, we prefer not to call them pandemic our ability to remember this may not matter tomorrow keeps us young, fun and focused on what truly matters.

You are people of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

The vision and mission for Leadership Solutions International is to educate, connect and inspire future global leaders with applied mindfulness practices. Doing this work, creating the community is the movement we want to create. Common+Unity that the brochure of life was wrong and we can change it.

We both witnessed our families doing work they did not love. It is our vision that our work inspires more leaders to do work they love while supporting and showing families it is possible to shift the paradigm.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“In a world full of chaos and uncertainty choose love.” Unknown

When Eric and I connected his theme for the year was Love. Love no matter the circumstances. Love at home. Love at work. Find a way to solve every challenge from the perspective of love. Little did we know then that a pandemic was drawing near. As we watched Love prevail over and over this quote reminds us in big and small ways that when we lean into love good will be the outcome.

We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂

As leader we have all heard the adage you are the aggregate of the five people you most closely associate with. Eric & I are looking to grow our connections with mindful, authentic and unapologetically successful business couples. Knowing how important that is to learn we would love to meet a few of the trailblazing couples in the mindful movement people like — Tara Brach and her husband Jonathan Foust (Insight Meditation Community), Deepak & Rita Chopra (Chopra Center), Marc & Lynne Benioff (SalesForce), Andy Lee (Potential Project)

How can our readers follow your work online?

www.LeadershipSolutionsIntl.com

Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.

Lessons from a Thriving Power Couple, With Holly Duckworth & Eric Szymanski of Leadership Solutions was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women In Wellness: Taylor Dukes on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s…

Women In Wellness: Taylor Dukes on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

Focus on stress relief, and scheduling self-care. There is so much we can’t control and some stressors are bound to occur. It’s about how we manage that stress that really matters. Too much cortisol too often can be damaging to our bodies, it’s important to make rest and self care a priority no matter what that looks like to you specifically.

As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Taylor Dukes.

Taylor Dukes is a board-certified family nurse practitioner, functional medicine provider and private elite health consultant based in Texas. In addition to her private practice which services everyone from entrepreneurs to professional athletes to moms, she also co-owns a state of the art wellness center. She focuses on taking a root cause approach to patients health and uses specialty functional medicine laboratory testing to develop personalized protocols. She juggles her two businesses, patients and clients as well as her 1 year old son.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?

I’m a total adrenaline junkie, as long as I can remember I had dreams of being an emergency flight nurse. After nursing school, I went to work in a Level 1 Intensive Care Unit and while I loved the fast-paced environment, my body didn’t.

I became unexplainably sick with nagging symptoms that wouldn’t go away.

After a year of procedures, medications, and tests, I finally met with a functional medicine provider. I was forever changed and there started my passion for functional medicine and an alternative approach in the healthcare field. Since 2014, I has been immersed in the field of functional medicine as a provider. I had the opportunity to be the nurse for Dr. Amy Myers, a two time, New York Times best-selling author and MD from 2014–2017. Since then, I have helped other world renowned practitioners start and run their own functional medicine practices. My education and experience equipped me with extensive knowledge in health, nutrition, genetics and lifestyle and it is my absolute joy and privilege to partner with patients and encourage them in their health journey.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?

I started a private practice as well as a wellness center in January of 2020. Little did I know that 2 months later a global pandemic would hit. Like all small business owners it felt overwhelming at times, but it forced me to pivot. It encouraged me to get creative with the services I offered and be flexible to new opportunities. A lot of people began to care about their immune system and state of health given what was happening and it allowed my business to thrive since I’m in the business of helping people get well. Very early on it became clear that I wouldn’t just work with people who were very sick, but also seemingly healthy people that want to be proactive about their health and get on personalized protocols became a huge clientele of mine.

Can you share a story about the biggest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I underestimated how much time it would take to run a brick-and-mortar business. I had done telemedicine online with other private practices, but I did not realize the demand that a wellness center would have on my time. Whether that is filling in for staff, making sure the water heater is working, etc. I have to wear many hats. I also learned that the staff you put in place to help your business succeed are everything- and are worth investing in considering they are the face and representation of your business. I wish I had known all of that at the beginning.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

Yes! My mother. She always believed in, supported me and encouraged me. From a young age, she knew I would be a ‘businesswoman’ growing up. I was always trying to trade toys, set up shops as a child and make deals with my sister and cousins. When she knew I wanted to go to nursing school she supported me every step of the way but was a bit confused thinking I would pursue a business career. Well, here I am today- she was always right. Now I am a health care provider and an entrepreneur, the best of all worlds.

Ok perfect. Now let’s jump to our main focus. When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world?

I really believe that when people feel better they do better. If I can be a piece of that equation, I know I am on the right path. I also know that so many people feel left behind by their providers, whether they struggle to find a diagnosis or don’t feel heard, I know how that feels. When I was sick I was desperate for answers and not every provider I worked with was “bad” by any means but they were in a system that tended to use the “pill for an ill” approach or use bandaid solutions because the system wasn’t built to spend the time and energy needed to get to the root cause. In my practice, patients or clients are my number 1 priority, if they tell me something is wrong I’m going to dig until we find answers and can create a plan. I think having someone in your corner who believes you, is rooting for you and is in it for the long-haul is really special and I feel so privileged to partner with people on their health journey.

Can you share your top five “lifestyle tweaks” that you believe will help support people’s journey towards better wellbeing? Please give an example or story for each.

  1. At least 8 hours of sleep. When we don’t sleep so many different things can go wrong in our body. Getting enough sleep and rest is one of the easiest and most beneficial things we can do.
  2. Drink at least 80–100 oz of filtered water per day. Just like sleep, when we aren’t hydrated it’s bad news. For me it just means having a water bottle (and probably 3 other beverages if we’re being honest) on me at all times so Its a constant reminder to drink up.
  3. Switch to non-toxic personal care and body products. We are so lucky that nowadays there are so many amazing options when it comes to non-toxic products, that just didn’t exist In the same mainstream way it does now. And it’s not just a fad, so many of the things we put on our skin or in our homes is packed with harsh chemicals, free radicals, toxins and endocrine disruptors that have big consequences. What we put on or around our body is as important as what we put in it.
  4. Eat a low inflammatory diet consisting of colorful whole foods. The more color the better! I find that having that as the priority makes healthy eating so much easier and fun. Incorporating anti-inflammatory foods like turmeric is a great way to keep your body functioning at its best too.
  5. Focus on stress relief, and scheduling self-care. There is so much we can’t control and some stressors are bound to occur. It’s about how we manage that stress that really matters. Too much cortisol too often can be damaging to our bodies, it’s important to make rest and self care a priority no matter what that looks like to you specifically.

If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?

I think the two most impactful things would be accessibility to functional medicine lab testing and access to nutrient dense foods. It breaks my heart that the idea of “wellness” is out of reach for people whether that’s due to finances, location, knowledge or any other roadblock. I think getting the education out there on the benefits of testing could really change the medical field and so many lives, when we know the exact problem we can actually solve it!

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?

  1. Always prioritize self care and schedule it or it won’t happen
  2. You cant be everything to everyone
  3. Take calculated risks
  4. Invest in a team and mentor if need be
  5. Never stop dreaming

These 5 things are the reason I am where I am. I learned early on that burnout is real, so I prioritized time to go to the infrared sauna, get some vitamin D or take a bath. As a health care provider I want to help everyone but as a business owner I had to learn that there is only one me and I can only be stretched so thin. So much of what I do as a provider is about risk mitigation so as a business owner that was a challenge, whether it was a financial risk or an emotional one they’ve all been worth it. One of the biggest risks I took was investing in a mentor and a team, they helped me so much and were worth every penny and more. And lastly, I think it’s so easy to get caught up in the go go go and loose sight of what you want, I’m glad I have people who continue to remind me to dream bigger and bolder.

Sustainability, veganism, mental health and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?

Environmental changes- are so important- especially when it comes to making our homes our safe place. From the air we breathe, to the water we drink, the products we put on our skin- it all affects our overall health. When our water isn’t pure or our air is polluted that impacts us, every little thing matters. Think of toxic laundry detergent as an example, your towels, bed sheets, clothes are all washed in those chemicals. The simple swap to non-toxic detergent can not only minimize inflammation but also, could help mitigate allergies and eczema. The win win is that products that are better for you are typically better for the planet too!

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

You can follow me on Instagram @taylordukeswellness where I share a ton of information on health and wellness from hormones to sleep from anxiety to gut health and so much more.

Thank you for these fantastic insights!

Women In Wellness: Taylor Dukes on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Dr Ruth Arumala, Feminine Health Advisor: 5 Things You Need To Know To Grow Your Private Practice

Dr. Ruth Arumala, Feminine Health Advisor: 5 Things You Need To Know To Grow Your Private Practice

You are your brand. From my social media presence to a visit to my local grocery store it is imperative that I represent my brand and practice at all times. Many times, people have approached me and said aren’t you a doctor? I answer affirmatively but cautious as I am unsure how they know that. The person either says, I saw your ad on my grocery store cart or I follow you on Instagram. These interactions always reinforce the idea that I am my brand.

As a part of my interview series with prominent medical professionals about “How To Grow Your Private Practice” I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Ruth Arumala, DO, MPH, NCMP, an Obstetrician-Gynecologist, pH-D Feminine Health Advisor and women’s health advocate with a private practice in the greater Dallas area. Dr. Arumala offers comprehensive women’s health services with a focus on the medical and surgical management of fibroids, polycystic ovarian syndrome, infertility, sexual dysfunction and menopause. She is passionate about empowering women to live a healthier more fulfilling life through improving health literacy.

Thank you so much for joining us! Can you tell our readers a bit about your ‘backstory”?

At 19 or 20 years old, I watched my 51 year old mother return to training as a resident physician. Although she completed medical school prior to my birth and had practiced as a physician for many years in Nigeria, she had to return to post graduate training in America if she was ever to practice as a physician again.

I often wondered why a married woman who had a seemingly full life with three children went back to training with individuals 20 years her junior. After careful investigation it seemed that in medicine my mother found her purpose. This resonated with me.

Growing up in Salisbury, MD as a first-generation Nigerian-American, I lived a somewhat isolated life. I looked very different than my white peers and had too strong of an accent for my black peers. In this isolation though, I had the opportunity to explore my passions and purpose at an early age. I am intellectually challenged by the anatomy and physiology of the human body and how it is affected by pathogens, toxins and behavioral insults. Naturally that drew me to pursue a career in medicine.

During my second year of medicine, I suddenly lost my brother and best friend in the hospital while receiving treatment for a sickle cell crisis. The last conversation I had with my brother who was a 2nd year law student at Fordham Law was about legacy building. In retrospect it seems like these were his parting instructions to practice medicine in such a way that I truly impact people’s lives and move medicine into a new frontier.

I spent the next few years struggling to determine what that meant. How do I truly impact lives? What flaws do I see in the medical system that need improvement. How can I be that agent of change? This became clearer as I started my residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology. I became aware of the racial disparities in women’s health. This goes beyond just maternal mortality. This consumes the entire breadth of women’s health from access to care to mortality to breast cancer. It was simple for me. I was created to toil in the interface between women and the healthcare system as both a provider and a changemaker.

What made you want to start your own practice? Can you tell us the story of how you started it?

As a medical student, my personal gynecologist had a novel practice model. She provided evidence-based care in a personalized, pleasing environment. She had a pay for direct patient care model which ensured that the patients she saw had the means to pay her for her services eliminating insurance coverage all together.

This experience inspired me to want to provide high quality, evidence-based, personalized care in a boutique style practice without limiting my patients to a socioeconomic class that could afford this type of premium health care. Consequently, I have built a patient panel with a large range of insurances.

My practice was started in affiliation with Texas Health Medical Associates in order to bring this vision to life in a sustainable fashion.

Managing being a provider and a business owner can often be exhausting. Can you elaborate on how you manage(d) both roles?

Barely! That is the true answer: barely! Running a practice while providing care is a formidable task and often requires very long days especially in Ob-Gyn. The most important factor to a sustainable practice is having the right staff.

The key to an amazing practice is the right people working in the right roles. This is important because I may be the face of my practice however patients don’t speak to me when they call our practice. They do not receive their paperwork from me. They do not actually talk to me when they have billing, scheduling or medical issues. They speak with my clerical or medical assistants first. Consequently, these individuals have to buy into my vision. They have to take ownership of our patients. They truly have to feel appreciated for the work they do. The office has to be a safe space for them to exhibit their talents and skills.

Unfortunately, one may have to go through several personnel before forming a team that works well together. In order to balance both roles, learning to relinquish control and delegate effectively have been skills I have had to learn and am learning on a daily basis.

I also propose that this stage in my life, single without children, is the perfect time to have started a practice. It has allowed me to have fewer tangible commitments. This facilitates my ability to put more effort into building a robust practice.

As a business owner, how do you know when to stop working IN your business (maybe see a full patient load) and shift to working ON your business?

In my practice there are peaks and lulls. I have come to recognize those and spent the peak times caring for patients while the lulls working on my practice. The Coronavirus pandemic paradoxically allowed me to spend some time taking inventory on the growth of the young practice in order to seek ways to improve the practice and refine my voice as a thought leader in women’s health.

In practice, I see patients during clinic hours and work on my business early hours of the morning, late at night and during the weekends. I take every opportunity to rest, however, as this rejuvenates both my mind and body for the inescapable burdens of running a solo practice.

From completing your degree to opening a clinic and becoming a business owner, the path was obviously full of many hurdles. Is there a specific hurdle that sticks out to you?

The biggest hurdle was establishing a reputation that attracts new patients and appeals to colleagues in a new geographical region. I trained in and am from DC/MD. My practice is in a suburb of the twin cities of Dallas-Fort Worth. I did not have a hometown advantage. No one knew who I was. I did not know the culture, layout or nuances of this new environment. Having to learn all of that was the biggest hurdle for me.

How did you build up resilience to rebound from failures?

Watching my parents struggle and emerge victorious as immigrants in their 40s cultivated resilience and perseverance in my brothers and me. Our parents taught us lessons that echoed far beyond the temporary moments of adversity. I know that failures are greater teachers than triumph. I search diligently for the lesson in every moment after moaning, groaning and complaining of course. In order to be a successful practice owner, one must anticipate failure, dwell in the pain, seek lessons and move forward.

What are your “5 Things You Need To Know To Grow Your Private Practice” and why. (Please share a story or example for each.)

You are your brand. From my social media presence to a visit to my local grocery store it is imperative that I represent my brand and practice at all times. Many times, people have approached me and said aren’t you a doctor? I answer affirmatively but cautious as I am unsure how they know that. The person either says, I saw your ad on my grocery store cart or I follow you on Instagram. These interactions always reinforce the idea that I am my brand.

Always find an opportunity to share information about your practice. When my practice first opened, I always went to a different nail salon to get my mani-pedi because it gave me an opportunity to give my cards and marketing materials to new avenues without formally soliciting. In addition, I would leave my cards on every treadmill or stairmaster I used. You would be surprised as to how many patients we got from simple touches like this.

Never give up. Many early weeks, I would get very frustrated as I was seeing only a handful of patients per day. Those days, I found ways to go out and market. The weeks I pounded the pavement directly resulted in increased new patients in one to two weeks. Times of frustration are just opportunities for growth

Seek effective partnerships. I decided to seek and build a referral base that would help my patients. This ranged from physical therapists to high risk obstetricians to gyn oncologists. This allowed me to build a network that benefitted my practice and paradoxically increased the community awareness that I existed. I also have expanded my networking and exposure to other health care providers through my partnership with pH-D Feminine Health. I feel strongly about their quality products and have met many influential people through my attendance at their past events.

Lean into your team for help. You cannot do it all. Even if you could, you are not the best person to do it all. Study your team and recognize their talents and desires. lean into them for appropriate help.

Many healthcare providers struggle with the idea of “monetization”. How did you overcome that mental block?

I haven’t! I deal with this by never negotiating. I always have a member of my team work on the finances. I always oversee it but I am not the interface with a patient or client.

What do you do when you feel unfocused or overwhelmed?

I am so excited and passionate about my work that if I feel unfocused or overwhelmed, it is a sign of burnout and indication I should rest or do something else I enjoy for a while. I listen to these cues to rejuvenate in order to work more effectively and efficiently.

I’m a huge fan of mentorship throughout one’s career — None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Who has been your biggest mentor? What was the most valuable lesson you learned from them?

I have a mentor who has achieved every professional and personal goal I have. I cannot pick one person in particular as I go to different people for advice about gynecology, surgery, business, interpersonal relationships, love, romantic relationships etc. The most valuable lesson I have learned from my mentors as a collective is “there is always a solution to a problem but sometimes that solution is to move on!”

What resources did you use (Blogs, webinars, conferences, coaching, etc.) that helped jumpstart you in the beginning of your business? Can you explain why they were helpful?

I read a lot of information in three categories: real estate, beauty spas and Ob-Gyn. I chose to read about real estate because realtor guides teach you a lot about closing deals. I wanted to know how to convert people to want to choose me as their gynecologist. I read about creating a spa because that was the type of calming atmosphere I wanted my office to have. I wanted my patients to feel appreciated and special from the second they stepped in my office. Lastly I read contemporary Ob Gyn magazine and ACOG resources for new physicians and practice owners. These resources were specific to my specialty and provided the information I needed for billing and equipment. The biggest resource, however, was experience. Things were not perfect especially in the beginning but as you practice, you learn more.

In interviews like this one, people often ask about the best advice that one was given. I’d like to flip the script. What’s the worst piece of advice or recommendation you’ve ever received? Can you share a story about that? Was there a lesson or take away from that story?

The worst advice I was ever given was to close my practice when I was 6 months in and very frustrated. I was seeking help and assistance to move past various extremely frustrating issues. The person looked at me, paused and said “if you are so unhappy, you should just close the practice.” The condensing response actually has created a fuel that is unmatched for me. You have to realize that everyone does not see the potential you see in yourself and your practice. It is your duty to push forward for the success of your practice.

Please recommend one book that’s made the biggest impact on you? Can you explain why that resonated so much with you?

I will actually recommend two books
-The 7 habits of highly effective people by Stephen R Corey
This book shaped how I move professionally. I revisit this book quite often seeking to refine some important principles.

– “How Doctors Think” by Jerome Groopman
I first read this book in 2007 when I was a grad student. I have revisited it several times because I enjoy seeing us from a patient’s point of view. I hope to improve my character to really improve my approach to helping women as they seek to and deserve to be helped.

How can our readers follow you online?

IG: @i.am.dr.arumala, @my.mansfield.obgyn, @prettyinpinkpod
Clubhouse: @i.am.dr.arumala
website: www.drarumala.com, https://www.phdfemininehealth.com/pages/meet-our-advisor, https://www.phdfemininehealth.com/

Thank you for these great insights!

Dr Ruth Arumala, Feminine Health Advisor: 5 Things You Need To Know To Grow Your Private Practice was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.