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The "nevers" became my opportunities once I chose to consider them. Why do we say "never" first? Youth and inexperience Lack of confidence Easy is easier No guidance Fear is paralyzing My "nevers" included: Never - going to use my accounting degree Never - going to be a CPA Never - going to be the employer, content with being an employee Never - going to merge My "never" became "Maybe, OK, Probably" and finally "Yes" due to influencers and facing my challenges. What are your challenges? Do you value who you are - no one will ever value you as much as YOU Are you leveraging your uniqueness? Are you paralyzed by fear? When and how you do say NO - that is not a never! "Nevers" just may be your opportunities.  Be more aware of the people in your life. Ask more questions versus acceptance.  No one will value you more than you. Paralyzed by fear, you will miss your moment.  Leverage your uniqueness, it is your journey. This is THE podcast that advances women toward economic, social, and political achievement. Hosted by Betty Collins, CPA, and Director at Brady Ware and Company. Betty also serves as the Committee Chair for Empowering Women, and Director of the Brady Ware Women’s Initiative. Each episode is presented by Brady Ware and Company, committed to empowering women to go their distance in the workplace and at home. For more information, go to the Resources page at Brady Ware and Company. Remember to follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.  And forward our podcast along to other Inspiring Women in your life.

Balancing your professional and personal life can be challenging, but it's essential. Often, work takes precedence over everything else in our lives. Our desire to succeed professionally can push us to set aside our own well-being. Creating a harmonious work-life balance or work-life integration is critical, though, to improve not only our physical, emotional, and mental well-being, but it’s also important for our career. My guest is Dianne Grote Adams. She is president of Safex, a health and safety consulting business, who started her company in 1992. As a working mom with a young family, she wanted to create a company that would respect the abilities of people in a technical career while also offering them some flexibility. From its beginning, Safex has offered flexible scheduling and benefits—vacation, insurance, and paid holidays—for anyone who works more than 25 hours. Did you find that you attracted the right team around you because of that philosophy? A lot of people, I think, have this myth that part-time workers aren't committed.  And they say, well, they're not really committed to their careers. And I found the opposite. They have time to do personal things. And guess what? They don't make doctor's appointments during work hours. They don't make personal calls during work hours because they have other days to take care of that. So I find actually they are probably more committed because they knew they have a special opportunity that others might not have. But there are people who maybe can't handle flex time and flexibility. They need more structure. Do you find that sometimes that's a challenge? I think there are certain people who maybe need more guidance or more coaching to help them learn how to manage flex time. Many of us didn't grow up with that as an option, right? Can everyone be successful? I don't know. But you've got to be able to manage responsibility and accountability. What would you tell employers who are starting businesses to get into this mindset today? How do you get started? It has been a focus on what does that person. What is that person supposed to contribute, what are they supposed to do? And if you can put a good definition around that and they meet that, then why should you care what the exact hour is or whether they rode their bike for an hour at lunch or they left early to catch a concert? So in your journey, what comes easy for you in the work-life balance? For me, it's really easy to tell someone else to go take the time off. I struggle still with that work ethic that I grew up with, that I need to be first in, last out, and yes, I need to on Sunday night to prepare for the upcoming week. I just don't give myself that same grace. Hosted by Betty Collins, CPA, and Director at Brady Ware and Company. Betty also serves as the Committee Chair for Empowering Women, and Director of the Brady Ware Women Initiative. Each episode is presented by Brady Ware and Company, committed to empowering women to go their distance in the workplace and at home. For more information, go to the Resources page at Brady Ware and Company. Remember to follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.  And forward our podcast along to other Inspiring Women in your life.

My guest, Lindsay Karas Stencel, is a law firm partner, venture capitalist, podcaster, wellness advocate, fitnesser, adjunct law professor, and self-proclaimed dog mom. One of the reasons that I have such a respect for her is that she thrives in a male-dominated venture capitalist environment. Women represent just 2% of the workforce in venture capitalism. So how does she navigate in that world? You always want to be in a position where you can make the decisions that are best for you and whether that's for your career, for your family, for your mental health, whatever. And when venture capital work is dominated by men, how does she work in that atmosphere? I never even noticed it because I was just doing my job. Like, shame on me. I should have been better about that. In retrospect, I, I should have. But I was just doing my job. And then I realized like, holy smokes, I have a responsibility. Because if I'm one of the few people who was able to get a role that's like this and start to pave a pathway for other females and diverse individuals to come, I better like do it right so that their path is a little bit easier. Because mine wasn't easy. Lindsey talks about what she would tell women today who are moving up in the corporate ranks. You can never let that (intimidation) show, that it's shaking you. If it's shaking you, don't let them see it. Because the second that they do, I think a lot of people smell blood in the water and they say like, oh, I can dig in here. The fight isn't over. We've got a long way to go. And so people need to continue to push on. And how do women do this? You have to be prepared for that. And you have to be prepared to be better than everybody else that's around you. And you've got to put in the time to do it. Women can be really tough on women. I think when people behave in that way, male or female, but females have a tendency to do it to other females for whatever reason. It's usually a reflection of them. It's not a reflection of us, right? It's a reflection because they don't feel good about themselves. They don't feel enough. All of those things. Unfortunately, that's not my problem. Right? That is a them problem and not a me problem. Find out more about her here. Hosted by Betty Collins, CPA, and Director at Brady Ware and Company. Betty also serves as the Committee Chair for Empowering Women, and Director of the Brady Ware Women Initiative. Each episode is presented by Brady Ware and Company, committed to empowering women to go their distance in the workplace and at home. For more information, go to the Resources page at Brady Ware and Company. Remember to follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.  And forward our podcast along to other Inspiring Women in your life.

My guest is Rachel Winder, Executive Director at the Ohio Women's Coalition. What is the Ohio Women’s Coalition? "The Ohio Women’s Coalition is a diverse, non-partisan alliance of women in business, women leaders, women business owners, and men that support the mission across Ohio who are coming together to improve the economic position for all women in our state. The OWC was created to amplify the voice of women in Ohio and to help draw attention to the unique challenges that women encounter, especially underserved women of color and women who live in underserved areas of the state, to gain access to economic opportunities in order to achieve financial stability and prosperity." In a very short time, the OWC continues to increase the awareness of women small business owners, and help them find funding and support that is usually elusive to them. Rachel goes in-depth about the exciting initiatives the OWC has accomplished, and what is on the horizon. Here's an overview of what we talk about... Accomplishments on behalf of Women-Owned Businesses in Ohio • Created a statutory definition of “microbusiness” in the Ohio Revised Code (2016) • Created a Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE) program in the State of Ohio (2020) • Successfully advocated for $10 million in state-backed women-owned business loans at 3% interest rate (2021) • Successfully advocated for $10 million in state-backed women and minority-owned business microloans at 0% interest rate (2021) Results • As of May 2022, $2,297,012 in Women’s Business Enterprise Loans have been approved for 11 companies, and $1,490,511 Ohio Micro-Loans have been approved for 39 companies. Nearly $3 million remains available in both loan programs with an additional $5 million available next fiscal year for each program. • There are nearly as many WBE’s certified in Ohio as MBE’s, which is a program that was established more than 40 years ago. The OWC is committed to equality and lifting everybody up! • The State of Ohio is literally making room for Ohio women-owned businesses. Recently, members of the Minority Development Financing Advisory Board voluntarily stepped away in recognition of the lack of women-owned businesses represented. Because of our advocacy, the work of this Board has been mostly focused on women-owned business loans, and they recognized women-owned businesses were not represented equally on the Board. • For the first time in Ohio history, in 2022, each state agency is being asked to predict how many contracts will be going to women-owned businesses during the next fiscal year. Also, don't miss your chance to attend this year's Women's Leadership Conference. WHEN: June 24, 2022, 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. WHERE: Renaissance Columbus Downtown Hotel Gain insights and connections with your Columbus professionals during this full-day event featuring: Networking opportunities to make friends, business contacts, and build relationships to grow your career and business! More than 300 professionals in attendance Customize your day with choices from 15 breakout speakers A powerful breakfast speaker A luncheon keynote More than 30 exhibitors Hosted by Betty Collins, CPA, and Director at Brady Ware and Company. Betty also serves as the Committee Chair for Empowering Women, and Director of the Brady Ware Women Initiative. Each episode is presented by Brady Ware and Company, committed to empowering women to go their distance in the workplace and at home. For more information, go to the Resources page at Brady Ware and Company. Remember to follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.  And forward our podcast along to other Inspiring Women in your life.

My guest, Aree Bly, is all about alignment. What do I mean by "alignment?" As she puts it on her LinkedIn profile, "Alignment is about recognizing where you lead at your best, identifying your next learning and growth opportunities, and exploring how to support those around you. It allows you to find success, be an effective leader, and show up authentically as you evolve through your career." Here's what her take is on how the pandemic reawakened our alignment... Maybe this comes back to like a Leonard Cohen quote of "the cracks are where the light comes in." The pandemic forcing people to break those routines. Raise the awareness of, "oh my gosh, I did not realize that my 50 hour, 60 hour workweeks were violating my desire to connect with people." Or "I didn't realize how much conflict I was feeling until I stepped away and went, OK, this is not working and this is why." And we can start to see and become more aware of what is and isn't working. So how often does she think someone can reinvent themselves? I think you could do it daily, honestly, depending on how big a change. The reinvention can and should be coming regularly, and it should be something that we're looking at deliberately as we're kind of saying, "Okay, where do I want to be going and what steps do I take to move in that direction?" And then it also means looking up occasionally and going, "Okay, I was headed on this path. Is it still right?" Not only is alignment for you personally, but it can be an alignment change for your team. How does she approach this? Let's rearrange things to make sure that we're setting ourselves up for success by recognizing how people operate. And that helped to clarify some of the decisions because some people were saying, "Well, You just like them better. So you're moving them to this role" and you're like, "Well, no, there's a reason to it." And once you put it all on paper and let everyone see, you know, and talk about it, it's like, "Oh, you know, I'm really good at this, but I'm really tired of doing that because I've been doing it for years. I'd like to learn something new." What is the first step that people can do to make a change? The first step is awareness, and it's so hard to see the truth. And then from there it's activating it. Here she is from a recent Tedx Talk. Her website to find out more. This is THE podcast that advances women toward economic, social, and political achievement. Hosted by Betty Collins, CPA, and Director at Brady Ware and Company. Betty also serves as the Committee Chair for Empowering Women, and Director of the Brady Ware Women Initiative. Each episode is presented by Brady Ware and Company, committed to empowering women to go their distance in the workplace and at home. For more information, go to the Resources page at Brady Ware and Company. Remember to follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.  And forward our podcast along to other Inspiring Women in your life.

In our previous episode, Merry Korn and Sheryl Marrero talked about their journey as a mentor and a mentee. Merry is the owner of Pearl Interactive Network, Inc., and Sheryl is the President of SavKon Construction. Sheryl, as the mentee, was in really, really bad shape as a business owner and reached out and said, I need a mentor. And she met Merry Korn, who's a very successful businesswoman. She has used common sense practices, good advisors, all that kind of stuff. But Merry was not in Sheryl's industry. Merry was a little intimidated by it, but she became a great mentor because business is business. The key thing about their relationship that made it successful from the beginning, there was a connection. They had a great connection to the point that Sheryl, who didn't know Merry, could be transparent, be open, and then she could actually listen and as she says, "be obedient" to and accountable to what Merry was telling her. Those were key elements of a good mentor relationship. They also didn't put a timetable on the relationship. They are still going strong. It's not just about getting together. It's not just getting coffee together. It's just not talking. It's about developing success. And in the case of Sheryl and Merry, Sheryl really became a completely different person as a business owner and a person. And Merry really loved the mentor role and was energized by being there with her. And there will probably be, I would say, business friends and lifetime friends. This is why Sheryl thinks the mentoring was so impactful. It was impactful because it actually pushed me to believe in myself. It was like it unleashed my potential that I didn't even recognize. We find out what Sheryl was hoping in the beginning that the mentoring would accomplish. In the beginning, I was just hoping to break even because I was in a different mindset at the time. So initially I was thinking, if I can just break even, I'll walk away and be done with business. But after being in the program, that changed it. I mean, it just changed everything and it just ended up being so much more. And what did Merry want the mentoring relationship to accomplish? One of the things I always said to Sheryl is, Sheryl, whatever happens between us, I know you're going to be successful. And my big ask is to pay it forward. Her success as a minority woman business owner is she's literally one in a million. It's that rare. So my big ask of Sheryl is to pass it forward. This is THE podcast that advances women toward economic, social, and political achievement. Hosted by Betty Collins, CPA, and Director at Brady Ware and Company. Betty also serves as the Committee Chair for Empowering Women, and Director of the Brady Ware Women Initiative. Each episode is presented by Brady Ware and Company, committed to empowering women to go their distance in the workplace and at home. For more information, go to the Resources page at Brady Ware and Company. Remember to follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.  And forward our podcast along to other Inspiring Women in your life.

I have two women who completely inspired me at an event that I attended for the Women's Small Business Accelerator. The WSBA has a gala every fall, and Brady Ware & Company is a big supporter of that organization. Merry Korn and Sheryl Marrero told their story of how they came together. They started out together as mentor-mentee through a six-month program with the WSBA. As women business owners, we need to be inspired by other women business owners. So I really want them to tell a little bit about their journey together. And then we're going to talk about mentoring, being a mentor or a mentee. Merry is the owner of Pearl Interactive Network, Inc., and Sheryl is the President of SavKon Construction. We cover a lot of ground in this episode, including how and why Sheryl needed the mentor relationship that Merry had to offer to help her with her business debt. I was in a large deficit and so I was referred to the Mentor Match program through the WSBA. I ended up at the table with Merry. And although her business was totally different from mine, I instantly felt trust in her. And that was one of the things I had hoped for and prayed for, for a mentor who I could trust. Find out what made the difference in turning her business around, and more detail about Merry's Wellness Checkup Plan. This is THE podcast that advances women toward economic, social, and political achievement. Hosted by Betty Collins, CPA, and Director at Brady Ware and Company. Betty also serves as the Committee Chair for Empowering Women, and Director of the Brady Ware Women Initiative. Each episode is presented by Brady Ware and Company, committed to empowering women to go their distance in the workplace and at home. For more information, go to the Resources page at Brady Ware and Company. Remember to follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.  And forward our podcast along to other Inspiring Women in your life.

Modern Southern Table owner, Sadaya “Daisy” Lewis, started her restaurant and catering business seven years ago, combining her experience cooking southern-style cuisine and an MBA in marketing and finance from Capital University, Lewis has built an incredible southern comfort food concept offering fried chicken, gumbo, macaroni and cheese, and other southern classics. I like to call her the "comeback kid." First off, Daisy talks about working with restauranteur Cameron Mitchell... Cameron has been just like the Big Brother (to me), being there to support. Always there to have advice (on pricing and branding) if needed. Catering took a bit hit in 2020. And her business was no exception. So when the governor DeWine said no events and he shut down the city of Columbus, you know, we thought it was going to be two weeks, three weeks. We thought it was going to be a little bit. But when he said no large gatherings, no weddings, my calendar cleared almost instantly. People started immediately calling, asking for refunds, asking to reschedule, asking to cancel. But all business owners hit a point where they go, what the heck just happened? Daisy talks about the comeback. I left Corporate America a few years earlier, so I really didn't want to go back to that. And so I knew like I can't cater, but there has to be something else you can do that will allow you to bring income in because you have a family to feed. And I started paying attention to what was happening around me on social media. Everybody had fallen into this situational depression. And one thing that was making us feel better was to eat or get some sweets. And I hate to say I took advantage of that horrible stress eating. But I did notice it with my peers and other businesses that the dessert industry had all of a sudden skyrocketed due to people were eating through their depression.​ So she relaunched. So the hardest part for me with Little Daisy Cakes was starting a business all over again and trying to find new clientele and basically just start all over again. This was a whole new business. People weren't familiar with my desserts. And so the hardest role was just relaunching and starting an all new venture, starting from zero. Modern Southern Table This is THE podcast that advances women toward economic, social, and political achievement. Hosted by Betty Collins, CPA, and Director at Brady Ware and Company. Betty also serves as the Committee Chair for Empowering Women, and Director of the Brady Ware Women Initiative. Each episode is presented by Brady Ware and Company, committed to empowering women to go their distance in the workplace and at home. For more information, go to the Resources page at Brady Ware and Company. Remember to follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.  And forward our podcast along to other Inspiring Women in your life.

We've been starting this year with optimism. My guest in my last episode was Randy Gerber from Gerber Clarity and we discussed first-generation wealth and wealth transfer. In this episode, I speak with Cliff Bishop of Brady Ware Capital. Cliff is a good friend and colleague of mine. We talk about how he and Brady Ware Capital help business owners and entrepreneurs understand, increase, and unlock the value of their businesses. Cliff talks about how we can help you buy a business, sell a business, raise capital, understand the value of your business, and more. Is this a good time to sell your business? 2021 was an exceptional year. We see all the fundamentals being really strong for 2022. There's just a lot of capital in the market looking for good companies. So the answer is yes! What are the most important factors that drive the valuation of a business? There are a lot of things that are going to drive the ultimate valuation, but a couple of things jump out. One is growth, and the second thing, no matter what the industry, is predictability and recurring or consistent revenue. What is the toughest part of the selling process that you've experienced with business owners? I think without a doubt, it's the due diligence process. Just because it's a very good time to be selling right now and there's a lot of money out there, it's not easy money. What options does an owner have when they're considering the sale and transaction of their business? I think most business owners, there are a lot of business owners that envision that when they sell the business, they're going to call her biggest competitor and they're going to take over. And that the owner is going to clear out their desk and ride into the sunset. And that rarely happens. Cliff goes on to talk about what a business owner is not supposed to do when selling their business. They make mistakes. What are those things that they fall into that can be avoided? And finally, what does a business owner need to do to prepare? And what's the timeline? This is THE podcast that advances women toward economic, social, and political achievement. Hosted by Betty Collins, CPA, and Director at Brady Ware and Company. Betty also serves as the Committee Chair for Empowering Women, and Director of the Brady Ware Women Initiative. Each episode is presented by Brady Ware and Company, committed to empowering women to go their distance in the workplace and at home. For more information, go to the Resources page at Brady Ware and Company. Remember to follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.  And forward our podcast along to other Inspiring Women in your life.

This episode is going to be about a topic that I love. The importance of the marketplace in our country and small businesses. Small business is so important. It's so important to our economy that it needs to work and work well. Owning and running a successful small business is knowing what you do, finding your purpose, living out your "why." I can't think of a better person to talk to than Randy Gerber, and his company, Gerber Clarity, catch his optimism about the marketplace and what he sees about this coming year. Randy and his team work primarily with first-generation entrepreneurs. Part of the reason why is first-generation entrepreneurs are optimistic, cup half full, people to begin with. They help them understand how to grow their business with purpose. We talk a bit about his book, The Integrated Entrepreneur: Achieving Happiness in Relationships, Business & Life. The book came about from his realization of how difficult it is to be "the new guy" in any given market. He recognized that if he was going to really work with these first-generation entrepreneurs, he had to help them with things other than traditional financial planning because they have unique needs and unique perspectives. This realization and experience helped him write the book. I ask Randy what's the biggest misconception that business owners have about growing their business? In my experience, it's they think they need to grow too quickly, and particularly if the question is rephrased, is what are the biggest misconceptions for small businesses or emerging businesses? I am just convinced that businesses grow too quickly. How should business owners grow with purpose? If you could sit down and really understand how you want to live your life. What do you want to do? How do you want to do it? What do you want to do? Who do you want to do it with? Want-based questions versus need-based questions. That will give you a clear map. What are the top three things that women should be considering or putting in place with their business today? Realignment (not resignation), double-down, and become outcome-oriented. Randy talks about what he has learned about being a leader during times of uncertainty with his business, and what he wants business leaders to know? I think that you really have to be super as a leader, be super cognizant of your culture during times of duress. And one of the things that I've preached to our clients all the time, whether you are male, female, doesn't matter, if you're a first generation entrepreneur, you're a unique breed, to begin with. You're willing to accept variability risk volatility. Entrepreneurs' Organization is the world’s only peer-to-peer network exclusively for entrepreneurs. EO helps transform the lives of those who transform the world. Randy talks about his work and time with EO. This is THE podcast that advances women toward economic, social, and political achievement. Hosted by Betty Collins, CPA, and Director at Brady Ware and Company. Betty also serves as the Committee Chair for Empowering Women, and Director of the Brady Ware Women Initiative. Each episode is presented by Brady Ware and Company, committed to empowering women to go their distance in the workplace and at home. For more information, go to the Resources page at Brady Ware and Company. Remember to follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.  And forward our podcast along to other Inspiring Women in your life.

We're in a new year again, and we just need it to be easier, right? Many business owners have felt that they can't move forward because they're paralyzed. When you're paralyzed, it means you can't move. But if you're a business owner or in business, you aren't meant to be still, you aren't meant to be not able to move. So you live in that fear. But we can't do that. We have to get to what's driving the fear. I've put it into a few categories in this episode. I'm sure that there are other things that you could add to it, but you really need to address these things. This is THE podcast that advances women toward economic, social, and political achievement. Hosted by Betty Collins, CPA, and Director at Brady Ware and Company. Betty also serves as the Committee Chair for Empowering Women, and Director of the Brady Ware Women Initiative. Each episode is presented by Brady Ware and Company, committed to empowering women to go their distance in the workplace and at home. For more information, go to the Resources page at Brady Ware and Company. Remember to follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.  And forward our podcast along to other Inspiring Women in your life.

This is my last podcast of 2021.   It is hard to believe that another year is behind us, 2022 is really upon us.  So today I want to celebrate this last year.    How do you celebrate in today’s world?   Today’s world is consuming and overwhelming and really more negative than positive.   So, how do you celebrate?  First, you make the choice to celebrate and second it take times and daily effort.  What you will find in celebrating, you will see that “today's world” is not all negative.   Be consumed in the positive.   Take time to think and ponder on it.   It takes effort.  Be overwhelmed or grateful for the good. Celebrating this past year, end it with a bang.   Enjoy the Christmas season.  Don’t fill it up with “stuff” but enjoy, sometimes it is just the simple stuff.   Just don’t miss out.   Live it up, eat, drink and be merry as well as reflect, renew, and restore your soul.  Ring out New Years by being with the people you love, throw a party.   Sit back and look over the past year and be grateful for the good, the bad and the ugly. A recap of 2021. Business was good, relationships are strong, family is going well, health is awesome.  We have learned to navigate through the continual pandemic.  Covid is not over but we are fighting it and seeing better numbers. Schools are back in session.  Businesses continue at home or in the office.  Recreation and fun was done at capacity over the summer.  Government is still working – LOL  We survived an election and saw people really engaged – my own district had so many people running and town hall meetings were full.  Love seeing the debate and passion.   A challenge for you. Celebrate 2021 by choosing to be consumed and overwhelmed in the good and end it with New Year's on your terms. Bring back what you are missing and make sure it is part of 2022. Thanks for listening and being part of my podcast and my life. This is THE podcast that advances women toward economic, social and political achievement. Hosted by Betty Collins, CPA, and Director at Brady Ware and Company. Betty also serves as the Committee Chair for Empowering Women, and Director of the Brady Ware Women Initiative. Each episode is presented by Brady Ware and Company, committed to empowering women to go their distance in the workplace and at home. For more information, go to the Resources page at Brady Ware and Company. Remember to follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.  And forward our podcast along to other Inspiring Women in your life.

I have an amazing guest who is a top female investor. She offers a way to get started in angel investing, and diversify your portfolio. This is a smart way you can also help women. Startups and entrepreneurs struggle. Because they lack capital a lot of the times. They may have a lack of sense of how to run a business. But they have this passionate idea that they really want to get out there. And so capital is a huge issue. An angel investor is someone who provides funding for small startups or entrepreneurs. The funding can be any amount, really, and sometimes the angels will get an ownership stake in the company for their investment, while other times there will be an agreement drawn up for getting your money back — plus profits — once the company gets off the ground. You may sometimes hear angel investors referred to as “private investors,” “seed investors,” or “angel funders,” but one thing is clear — no matter what you call them, angels can make a huge difference in the life of an entrepreneur, and they can also make some serious money in the process. With me on this episode is Brianna McDonald. She is the President of the Northwest Region of the Keiretsu Forum angel investment community, the largest and most active venture investor globally, comprising over 50 chapters with over 3,000 active members investing over $450 million annually into over 600 companies. She’s an active leader and angel investor with Keiretsu Forum and has been a part of the organization since it launched in Seattle in 2005 and supporting its growth to become the largest and most active group globally. She’s proven over time to be adept at screening companies for angel investment, coaching companies on presentation and investor relations, sales strategy execution, relationship management, and leading due diligence teams. Listen in as Brianna McDonald gives us all a crash course in what angel investing really is, and breaks down how angel investing differs from crowdfunding and venture capital. Brianna talks about how angel investors can find successful rates of return, and why now is a great time for women to consider becoming angel investors. Brianna also walks us through how she got started investing, how to find angel investing groups around the country and the importance of doing your research. She offers up 7 tips. Is this something you want to do? Find female support Sit in on meetings (a great question to ask – rather than “how are things going?”, ask “what challenges are they going through?”) Pick the brains of the experts Find something that is interesting to you Stay active with the investment Reach your financial goals This is THE podcast that advances women toward economic, social and political achievement. Hosted by Betty Collins, CPA, and Director at Brady Ware and Company. Betty also serves as the Committee Chair for Empowering Women, and Director of the Brady Ware Women Initiative. Each episode is presented by Brady Ware and Company, committed to empowering women to go their distance in the workplace and at home. For more information, go to the Resources page at Brady Ware and Company. Remember to follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.  And forward our podcast along to other Inspiring Women in your life.

Angel investors can make a huge difference in the life of an entrepreneur, and they can also make some serious money in the process. This is THE podcast that advances women toward economic, social and political achievement. Hosted by Betty Collins, CPA, and Director at Brady Ware and Company. Betty also serves as the Committee Chair for Empowering Women, and Director of the Brady Ware Women Initiative. Each episode is presented by Brady Ware and Company, committed to empowering women to go their distance in the workplace and at home. For more information, go to the Resources page at Brady Ware and Company. Remember to follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.  And forward our podcast along to other Inspiring Women in your life.

When I think of emotions, I think of passion and drivers. It’s that ‘why’ of something. So, in this episode, I want to talk about when we keep emotions out of something, especially a difficult conversation. Why do we want to do that? With me is Jen Grant. She is the CEO at Appify. She has spent the last 15 years building companies from the ground-up and taking multiple companies to over a billion dollar valuation. Recently, Jen was recognized as one of the Top 100 Princeton Technology leaders in 2021 as well as a Woman of Influence in Silicon Valley from the SVBJ. When someone says something, you disagree with, ask them to “tell me more” and look for the gold — the thing they say that you CAN agree with. More often than not, you realize that you do actually agree with some of what they are saying and finding that point of connection is all you need to collaborate and move forward together. Why is this more of a topic for women?  Jen goes deep into that. Bottom line. In a difficult situation, keep asking questions to get to the crux of the matter at hand.  Keep being curious, and this will help you stop judging. Jen highly recommends this for you to read – Leaders Eat Last By Simon Sinek. This is THE podcast that advances women toward economic, social and political achievement. Hosted by Betty Collins, CPA, and Director at Brady Ware and Company. Betty also serves as the Committee Chair for Empowering Women, and Director of the Brady Ware Women Initiative. Each episode is presented by Brady Ware and Company, committed to empowering women to go their distance in the workplace and at home. For more information, go to the Resources page at Brady Ware and Company. Remember to follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.  And forward our podcast along to other Inspiring Women in your life.

In a difficult situation, keep asking questions to get to the crux of the matter at hand.  Keep being curious, and this will help you stop judging. This is THE podcast that advances women toward economic, social and political achievement. Hosted by Betty Collins, CPA, and Director at Brady Ware and Company. Betty also serves as the Committee Chair for Empowering Women, and Director of the Brady Ware Women Initiative. Each episode is presented by Brady Ware and Company, committed to empowering women to go their distance in the workplace and at home. For more information, go to the Resources page at Brady Ware and Company. Remember to follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.  And forward our podcast along to other Inspiring Women in your life.

For me, an inspiring woman is simply a woman who can fill somebody with the desire or urge to do something worthwhile. It’s someone who lives their life every day, based on the core of what she believes. And it influences me to be open, and maybe even change. So, it’s someone who creates a better world. They have to live their lives on their terms. There’s something very motivating about that. We’re all inspired differently, so take some time to think about it. How can you inspire? I need to have others around me, who are better, and have different insights, so I can be better. I challenge you to dig deep and realize that you have a role to play in that. You need to figure it out, and then do it. Become that inspiring woman leader.  I assure you that someone needs to see it and be influenced by you. And by the way, you might already be influencing other women and you don’t even know it. With me on this episode is Lori Kaiser. She is a chief executive, corporate leader, visionary, and business strategist with a proven track record in assessing risk and creating solutions for Fortune 500 Company C-Level Executives and Boards. As CEO of Kaiser Consulting, Lori provides clients’ value-based services that allow organizations to navigate transitions and successfully execute critical projects. Women need to take more risk and be braver in career decisions. Lori gives us insight on that. Her passion about this subject shines throughout the episode. Her advice to women on how to become an inspired leader. Ask yourself what is YOUR version of success.  Be bold, take risks.  Be a lifelong learner.  And last, but not least, connect with interesting people. Mentioned in the podcast was Shonda Rhymes and her book Year of Yes. How Women Rise by Sally Helgesen and Marshall Goldsmith. And the podcast How I Built This. This is THE podcast that advances women toward economic, social and political achievement. Hosted by Betty Collins, CPA, and Director at Brady Ware and Company. Betty also serves as the Committee Chair for Empowering Women, and Director of the Brady Ware Women Initiative. Each episode is presented by Brady Ware and Company, committed to empowering women to go their distance in the workplace and at home. For more information, go to the Resources page at Brady Ware and Company. Remember to follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.  And forward our podcast along to other Inspiring Women in your life.

We’re all inspired differently, so take some time to think about it. How can you inspire? This is THE podcast that advances women toward economic, social and political achievement. Hosted by Betty Collins, CPA, and Director at Brady Ware and Company. Betty also serves as the Committee Chair for Empowering Women, and Director of the Brady Ware Women Initiative. Each episode is presented by Brady Ware and Company, committed to empowering women to go their distance in the workplace and at home. For more information, go to the Resources page at Brady Ware and Company. Remember to follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.  And forward our podcast along to other Inspiring Women in your life.

No matter what age you are, or at any point you are in your professional career, it's really key to have powerful partnerships and networks.

No matter what age you are, or at any point you are in your professional career, it's really key to have powerful partnerships and networks. This is THE podcast that advances women toward economic, social and political achievement. Hosted by Betty Collins, CPA, and Director at Brady Ware and Company. Betty also serves as the Committee Chair for Empowering Women, and Director of the Brady Ware Women Initiative. Each episode is presented by Brady Ware and Company, committed to empowering women to go their distance in the workplace and at home. For more information, go to the Resources page at Brady Ware and Company. Remember to follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.  And forward our podcast along to other Inspiring Women in your life.