She Breaks The Mold

Business planning for 2020 is a hot topic this month! So there's no better time than now for some mindset tips to help you think about your plans with a future focus. We get into trouble when we allow the part of our brain that likes safety, assurances and security to work with us on our plans ;) Today's episode is going to start you on a path to using your planning brain - your future focused mind - to move you in the direction of success. One of Stephen Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective People is Starting with the end in mind – or creating now what you want to have in the future. Doing your business now the way you want to be doing it in the future. Starting your business now with a clear idea of how you want it to look in the future. It’s based on the idea that we create everything twice: once in our minds, and again in reality, once we know the direction we want to head in, and a potential path to get there. If you know you want your business to hold specific values or exist within a particular model, why would you start out any other way? Find me here: Twitter: twitter.com/_JanetWhalen_ Instagram: instagram.com/_JanetWhalen_ Facebook: facebook.com/beambitiousforher

Most of us have grown up without a key skill - the ability to ask  questions that empower either ourselves or the listener to take responsibility to solve a problem or find an answer.  We think it's all about the Who, Where, Why, How and What of every situation, but there's more to this skill. So much more. If it was all about getting the facts, we'd be close. Still not perfect, given our penchant as humans to confuse our thoughts with facts, but that's a topic for another day. There's more to this because depending on how we ask, the words we choose to include and exclude from our questions and our intention overall, we end up with either a very empowered team, co-worker (or even ourself), or we create space and discomfort and even distrust between ourselves and everyone around us.   Follow on instagram Follow on twitter Follow on facebook  

Shana Recker is an entrepreneur, a coach and a passionate advisor to people (especially women) who have an idea for a business, but don't know the right steps to get them moving down the startup path. Shana's business started with an idea while on a vacation in a Chicago hotel room, but ended up on a shelf at home once the vacation ended. Like most of us, she worried she didn't have what she needed to pull it off, wondered "who was she" to try to do it, and that she had to be someone other than who she really was to pull it off. What to hear what she wants you to know now? "This is YOUR LIFE and you only get ONE. If you've been stuffing down a dream because of thoughts of "who am I to do that... or I'm not qualified to do that" I'm here to say YOU ARE the right person, you were giving the dream, the idea because you are the EXACT PERSON to pull it off." More on: Twitter Instagram

I'm welcoming my friend Lisa Pezik to the podcast this week to talk about what happened when she decided to make a 180 degree pivot in her business and completely switch her business model, her target audience and her offering all at once. Lisa has made two huge pivots in her career so far and we talk about both today: the first from ICU nurse to online health & fitness coach, and more recently, to business and content strategist for online marketers. Her story is a fantastic example of how your past is never a predictor of your future path. As Lisa says, who would have ever thought this is what she would be doing, looking back at her early life in Pennsylvania being told what to take in college by her mom, who had her ideal life already planned out for her.    Book a FREE 30-minute business coaching session with me and let's see if we're a fit: beambitiousforher.com/calendar Follow on: Twitter Instagram

Today's episode of the She Breaks The Mold podcast will help you figure out where to start, and give you a few tips and tricks so you can be well on your way to your first consumer insights project!  You've probably heard advice about creating your ideal customer avatar, or buyer persona. But do you really know what that means? Or how to use this "character" you've created to help with your business? Or have you heard about interviews you should be conducting with your ideal customers to figure out what problems they're having, what's missing in their toolkit of current solutions, or even what they're satisfied (or unsatisfied) about with your current offering? All of this CAN be helpful for you as a small business, as long as you keep your expectations clear about what your customer's answers are really telling you. Britta Schell joins me today to talk about how entrepreneurs with small budgets can get started learning consumer insights about their brand and their offering, all without a big corporate budget. Britta has been a consumer insights expert for many years, and a solopreneur for seven. Prior to becoming an independent consultant, she served as Director, Digital Strategic Insights at MTV. She started her career in innovative brand strategy and advertising agencies which grounded her in the power of insights in supercharging growth and loyalty for brands - and in the idea that research must be actionable and engaging to be useful. She gives us insight not only into her insights work, but also into what it's been like for her as an entrepreneur including a few of the mistakes she made along the way.  Follow: Instagram Twitter

What do you think - is it better to give or receive? We present this topic to children early to help them understand the virtues of generosity and kindness without really considering the delicate balance between these two actions. Sometimes, we go so far as to suggest to kids that it's selfish to say you'd rather receive. I've only arrived at this mindset recently, but I think we do our kids a disservice by suggesting this. In fact, I think it can sometimes be exactly the opposite of selfish. I hope this podcast, Episode #36 - The Art of Receiving, sheds a little light on the importance of both. Particularly for girls and women, who are taught to nurture and not be selfish, receiving can be a loaded word. It has become almost a stereotype that women can be terrible at receiving compliments - on our appearance, our cooking, our parenting and our businesses. And when we offhandedly reject a compliment (thinking we're being humble), or an offer of help (even when we could really use it) we offend the person offering and make it less likely they'll want to offer it again. The interesting thing is how this behaviour extends to receiving money in our businesses. When we don't believe our work is worthy, when we say we love our work so much we'd do it for free, when we offer discounts to potential clients (before they even object to our price!) because we don't want them to think we're greedy, we effectively shun money from our businesses. I believe receiving is one of the most important skills an entrepreneur can have and I tell you why in this episode. To download the Free Money Tracking Worksheet mentioned in this episode: https://beambitiousforher.com/moneytracking Follow: Instagram Twitter

To quote Marie Kondo of the KonMari method fame, “what sparks joy” for you when you think about your business? Lots of you will answer this with perfectly wonderful thoughts like, “Serving my customers”, or “Doing what I love every day”, or “Following my passion and setting my own schedule”.  But what about the financial results and impact of your business? If that part doesn’t spark joy for you, you should be asking yourself why not? And how it’s supposed to unless you give it a little love in return? If you love what you do, love serving your customers and love being your own boss, you want to protect your ability to do that and focus on how to make enough revenue to stay in business. This is really hard to do for a lot of women. We’ve been conditioned to think about anything (and everything!) but money in our business. We don’t want to be referred to as a “rich bitch” or as someone who values money over people. As if those things are mutually exclusive. This episode is all about the work — the deep dive, the looking inside — that’s important before you can release the beliefs you hold about money that prevent you from moving forward and instead, keep you stuck in an unhelpful, unprofitable place. Visit beambitiousforher.com/35 for a free worksheet with SIX exercises you can do to get started on decluttering your money mindset, and stay tuned for more details about my group, online course starting October 1! Follow: Instagram Twitter

Elenna Mosoff and Danika Zoe created Deep Dive Dinners as “an opportunity to disconnect from the echo chamber of the online world and have a lively, multi-faceted conversation with people you may not ever meet. We seek not to solve or come to consensus around our topics, but rather to give them space, breath, and perspective that you might not otherwise get in your day to day existence, or in your immediate circles.” What we discuss: Our personal fears about money, as women and business owners A little behind the scenes on what it’s really like to build a coaching business How we conflate self-worth with net-worth in typical money conversations and why that’s not helpful How the first years of business building can be a bit of a crap-shoot and the work each of us has done on our money mindsets to make it a little less crappy Why these conversations about important topics are essential for social connectedness What’s next for Deep Dive Dinners What Elenna and Danika want you to do next with this conversation! Links to Deep Dive Dinners and Elenna and Danika's sites here: https://beambitiousforher.com/deep-dive-dinners Follow: Instagram Twitter

Mai-kee is a Launch Strategist and Conversion Copywriter for purpose driven online businesses. She helps them build their authority in business, and discover their Brand DNA so that they can thrive when they launch their signature courses. We talk a lot about what that means and how she can help you in this episode, but first we dig into the name of her podcast - The Quiet Rebel - and how it came to be. It's a story of growth, acknowledgement of purpose and authenticity that will inspire you if you're in the same place, looking to find just the right wording or feeling to describe yourself and how you serve your clients. But Mai-kee brings more than just the touchy-feely to this episode! She give us a mini-masterclass in several areas: Her Brand DNA™ framework - a key process she uses to help clients identify and integrate their brand voice, their pillars of influence and persuasion, their values and the story behind their brand How to Convert With Courage - identifying the five levels of courage in entrepreneurship and where you fall in the pyramid so you know exactly where to step up next A primer on her mentor, Ry Schwartz' process called "Conversion Copywriting" or "Coaching the Conversion" and how it's completely different from most sales based copywriting you've seen. It's all about abundance and serving vs. fear or scarcity. In short, it's based on the art of pull marketing vs. the traditional "push" we're used to seeing and that feels a little icky to most of us. To top it off, Mai-kee is offering you her "Ultimate Guide to Writing Your Own Website Copy" - a FREE actionable guide to writing the Home, About and Services pages for your website. Follow: Instagram Twitter

When you know what's most important to you, even the toughest decisions are easier to make. Not easy, but easier. For my guest this week, operating a business steeped in her values was fundamental to her definition of success.  Amanda Munday is the Founder & CEO of The Workaround which is a co-working space in east Toronto offering something many other workspaces don't - quality childcare. This offering isn't just an add-on, though. It's an intentional part of Amanda's business design and one she doesn't compromise on. In this episode we talk about: How Amanda holds her values close, even in the midst of tough financial decisions; How she is shifting her mindset to see money as a tool that helps her help more families to succeed, rather than a negative force that comes with all sorts of emotional baggage attached; How she handles shiny object-itis as an entrepreneur and instead focuses on the compound growth effect of seemingly doing the same things repetitively; Her view of the "long-suffering-workaholic-entrepreneur" archetype and why we need to find another way; and Why she wrote her important book: "Day Nine: A Post-Partum Depression Memoir" and how her experience with severe post-partum depression informs the "Why" of her business and how she serves her customers now Follow Be Ambitious For Her on: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook

After a few business failures (we all have them!) and a run-in with burn-out, Natalie Colalillo realized something had to change in the way she ran her business, and her life. After getting what she calls "pretty cozy at rock bottom", she said to herself, "I need to surround myself with healthy, happy women!" And that was the beginning of what is now Happy Healthy Women - a collective of 19,000 women in 27 branches across Canada, and growing. Natalie has dedicated her life to being happy, healthy, and to inspiring others to do the same WHILE achieving success. She helps people take their life, DESIGN it and LIVE it. Through the Happy Healthy Women Collective, she promotes healthy harmony as a way of life, rather than the “All work, no play” mentality that so many women are stuck with. Hear more about how Natalie does this, her global vision for happier, healthier women and how you, too, can get involved in this episode. Follow me on Twitter Follow on Instagram  

  How I learned to stop worrying and love money - is all about why women need to get comfortable with the idea of being in business to make money. It doesn't make you a bad person to say that out loud, or to have that goal. It makes you a good business person. And how can you expect money to love you if you don't love it back, anyway? I believe financially empowered women will change the world. Full stop. There is abundant evidence to prove this is true, and that we already have more financial power than we realize or act on. This is truly my business "WHY". I love helping women recognize the power of their financial independence - how it helps them, their families and their communities. It's the most important work I do. To hear more about how you can align your money beliefs with a new, stronger money story, along with a primer on my Sacred Money Archetypes® program, click play and listen! For access to the Archetypes assessment I mention in this episode, email me at janet @ beambitiousforher.com and I'll send you a link. OR... DM me @_JanetWhalen_ on instagram and I'll provide a link for you there!

If you're a working woman, there's a pretty good chance your career was disrupted by something outside your control once or twice along the way. There's an even better chance one of those disruptions led you to start a business or seek self-employment. This week's episode of the She Breaks The Mold podcast dives deeply into this issue as my brilliant friend Karen Schulman Dupuis - speaker, writer, designer, teacher, student, mentor, and "shift disturber" - joins me on the show.  Karen and I talk about research she's putting into the field this week to learn more about the still invisible trend of gendered agism in the workforce. Sign up at beambitiousforher.com/subscribe to never miss an episode! Follow: Twitter Instagram    

If you're an entrepreneur or self-employed woman who was once employed by someone else, this episode is for you! You might not even realize it, but you might be bringing old employee habits and mindsets to your work and they could be holding you back from achieving everything you dream of in your business. Think about the last time you said out loud, "I'm really good at (insert skill or ability here)" or "I really wish I was better at (skill you think you suck at)". Whose voice is saying those words? I'll bet you anything it a hangover voice - the voice of an old boss or coworker - that convinced you of your value a long time ago. The great news is, those voices are probably wrong about you in  your new job, your new reality. And you can learn to silence those voices and listen to new ones - your own or those of your satisfied customers! They are the only ones that matter in your new role as CEO/President/Boss of your business. In this episode you'll learn FIVE ways to recognize old employee mindsets that are clanking around in your mind, and what to replace them with. And, I have a FREE worksheet for you so you can start this work right away. Click below to get started once you've listened to this episode: https://www.beambitiousforher.com/SWOT Please note: This is an episode for adult listeners, and there may be some adult language here and there. Please be aware before listening in an open space. To get future episodes straight to your inbox: https://beambitiousforher.com/subscribe Follow on Instagram: https://instagram.com/_JanetWhalen_ Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/_JanetWhalen_    

In today’s episode, I’m talking about self-sabotage – or some of the ways you might be holding yourself back in your business. We self-sabotage in all kinds of ways from hiding, to thinking too small, to waiting for permission or approval from someone else to proceed. But today I’m going to cover three of the ways I’m seeing a lot lately – or even that I’m experiencing myself. My hope is, by the end of this episode, you’ll find a little bit more courage or bravery to take a look at the ways you might be holding yourself back in YOUR business. So if deep down you know this, or you know you’re capable of more but you’re telling yourself stories about why you can’t (or worse, shouldn’t) actually do it, this episode is for you. For new episodes by email: beambitiousforher.com/subscribe Follow on Twitter Follow on Instagram Like on Facebook  

Welcome to my first solo episode! That's right - no guest today. I'll still be hosting interviews because I love meeting the amazing women I get the chance to meet - and love introducing them to you. But they'll be fewer this year as I try to align my podcast with my work, which is coaching women like you to find your CEO voice, build businesses that light you up, and giving you the support you need to be wildly successful! Today I'm talking about why women should stop striving to be "nice" at work or in business. I think we're all aware of what happens when we're not - words like "bitch, aggressive, standoff-ish, too good for everyone else, too ambitious" get tossed around. But the same doesn't happen to men. They're not expected to be "sugar and spice and everything nice," are they? But this quest to be nice is damaging us, our ability to stand up for our value, and our ability to show up as our whole selves at work. And I think we have to kick this goal to the curb in favour of a different one. Listen to hear why. Like on Facebook Follow on Instagram Follow on Twitter

You may already know Devon as a Co-Founder of Blo Blow Dry Bars - a franchise model business that transformed the salon industry by making beautiful blow outs accessible to women all over North America. Devon founded the company when she was just 20 years old with her mother, Judy Brooks. What you might not know is that she's working on reimagining another industry as the Founder and CEO of Sphere - an app that makes the experience of personal coaching customized, convenient and totally approachable so you can focus on growing and transforming your life, career or business. We talk about why everyone needs a coach (and earlier in our careers than you might think!), why continuing to grow is imperative for all of us, fear, courage and entrepreneurship. Don't miss this one! Follow me: Episode Show Notes Instagram Twitter Facebook

This is a fascinating story about how a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Marines, Kate Germano, set out to improve the performance scores of the female recruits under her command. Using historical data, and implementing the advice and training improvement suggestions of her peers and even supervisors, she managed to bring the results of her recruits up to par with that of the men they would serve with - in under 9 short months. This, after 40+ years of women never coming close to qualifying equally with men. Women who were previously shooting at the lowest qualifying rank (some failing to qualify at all) were suddenly shooting at the expert level - the highest qualifying level. Unit morale had improved, and her recruits were suffering fewer injuries. Her female recruits, for once in the Marines' history, were equally prepared to serve alongside their male counterparts. Interesting enough as it's own story line, right? Well what happened next was fodder for the international media for weeks afterwards - the Marines relieved her of her duty. Yes, Kate Germano was fired for doing too good a job. For being, "too tough" on her recruits. Too tough for the Marines?  What Kate had uncovered was systematic gender bias supported by years of segregated training and lowered expectations around results for the female recruits.  Listen to hear more! And please come back in January, 2019 for the start of Season 2. Follow: Instagram Twitter

Julie Kratz is the founder of Pivot Point, a career and leadership coaching company that focuses on developing leaders using a gender equality lens. Julie is a highly-acclaimed leadership trainer and coach who, after experiencing a few of her own career “pivot points,” developed a process for women leaders to build winning career game plans. She focuses her work on mid-career women because, in her words,  This is the time where we tend to get held up in our careers. It's still the toughest life stage for many women as we may have young children, and are still responsible for much of the family, child care and household responsibilities. Julie's approach to presenting workshops and content for employees is an interesting one. Her focus is definitely on supporting women in attaining leadership positions, but she does this by also engaging male employees and showing them how to recognize the unconscious bias they might have against women in leadership positions, but also offering to women that we have some responsibility in the relationship. In helping men to see the effective role they can play as allies to women, rather than bystanders to their unequal treatment, we can create more collaborative teams that benefit from both male and female energy and the strengths both genders bring to the table.   

One day, while running her career coaching and consulting business, Angela Lussier realized she was tired of constantly filling her new client funnel and trading her hours for dollars. Deciding there had to be a better way to bring her valuable insights to more people, and make money while she slept, Angela took out her journal and asked herself three important questions. The answers to that self-inquiry helped her realize that public speaking was what she loved, what people asked her about most, and where she had been most successful. And she knew she had to build a business around helping women use their voices and develop their public speaking skills. Her first step, an online course called "The Speaking School for Women", was a 6-week online program on building your brand as a speaker, building a signature talk, pricing, expectations and marketing. And when enthusiastic students completed the course, they started asking where they should practice their talks. Her suggestion to try Toastmasters was met with less than enthusiastic response and that's when she hit on another need - women wanted a safe space where they could practice with other women who knew their challenges speaking up as women, and so she held her first event to help women speak up and use their voices. And that's where Speaker Sisterhood was born.