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In September 2020, today’s guest launched Noirlux Candle Co. By February 2021, Colina Bruce’s company was featured by Oprah Magazine as one of the 25 Best Candles Companies. There is definitely a great story here about how Colina left her role as an adjunct professor and director at a university to open a candle bar in Seattle Washington. In this episode, Colina shares how she started candle making as a hobby and decided to turn it into a business that now makes more than 3 times what she earned as a professor. Listen on Apple Podcasts Watch on YouTube You’ll learn about: Trial and error of creating candles Buying equipment and inventory Joining an accelerator as a new business What it takes to open a brick-and-mortar retail space Mentioned in this episode: Website: www.noirluxcandleco.com Instagram: @noirluxcandleco https://youtu.be/K0y7SLMl9iY

After 2 of the corporate retail businesses she worked for went out of business, today’s guest, Jance Chartae, decided she was no longer going to work for anyone else. She took her 12 years of retail experience and decided to start her e-commerce business, Brazen boutique. 5 years later, she now runs a 7-figure business and has taught over 5,000 other women how to launch and grow their own e-commerce boutiques. In this episode, Jance shares how she went from being unsure what to even stock in her boutique to now having 10 and 20k sales DAYS. She shares common mistakes, where to find inventory, the best tools to use, marketing strategies that actually work today and so much more! Listen on Apple Podcasts Watch on YouTube You’ll learn: Where to buy your inventory finding your ideal customer Best marketing strategies (text, email, ADs etc.) Inventory management Lead magnets that grow your email list Mentioned in this episode: Website: https://www.liinks.co/jancechartae Instagram: @shopbrazenboutique and @theboutiqueacademy SEO episode with Charlene: Episode 065 https://youtu.be/n9Tw2SRLWrI

Today’s guest Sarah Gaines took an unconventional path into entrepreneurship. Her transition from a traditional nursing career into travel nursing allowed her to retire at the age of 29. She now spends her time traveling and building businesses she’s passionate about. While you may not be a trained nurse, Sarah’s journey is a prime example of how transitioning into a flexible career can give you the breathing room you need to build a business, generate wealth and create your ideal lifestyle. For those of you who are interested in pursuing travel nursing, Sarah shares all the advice she gives the fellow nurses she’s helped transition into the travel nursing field. Listen on Apple Podcasts Watch on YouTube You’ll learn: What is travel nursing? How did Sarah get started with travel nursing? The difference between traditional and travel nursing Finding recruiters and landing contracts The best nursing specialties Managing relationships and family as a travel nurse Mentioned in this episode: Website: www.sixfiguretravelnurse.com Instagram: @sarah_gaines https://youtu.be/0Z3qwxqeF14

Here's how Delina Medhin went from working at the cosmetics counter at the mall to working with celebrity clients as a makeup artist.

Talia Boone started DIY flower arranging as a form of stress relief and self-care. When her local farmer’s market was shut down during the pandemic, she went looking for ways to order those same loose flowers online but flower wholesalers wouldn’t lower their order minimums for her. Four months later, she launched the beta version of her business, Postal Petals by partnering with 20 flower farmers. Almost 3 years later, she has grown Postal Petals into a thriving business selling farm direct fresh bloom boxes online. As you can imagine, it took incredible timing and hard work to launch a business in an industry that historically was only accessible to a select few. In this episode, Talia is sharing her whole journey with us from making the right industry contacts to her fulfillment process, their growth plans, and everything in between. Listen on Apple Podcasts Watch on YouTube You’ll learn: How to make insider industry connections The logistics of running an online floral business Diversifying revenue streams Pivots Talia has made to sustain the business Landing press coverage Mentioned in this episode: Website: www.postalpetals.com Instagram: @postalpetals

Today’s guest, Asia Abston, is what I like to call a pandemic phoenix. In 2020, she was a bartender earning $5 an hour. This was her career for over a decade when the pandemic shut down the restaurant industry. With no college degree, corporate experience, or savings to fall back on, she decided to double down on a drop shipping business. Within 12 months, she generated over $100,000 in revenue. 3 years later, not only has her business grown but she has also taught over 2,000 students how to start their own drop shipping businesses. In this episode, Asia not only gives us a step-by-step blueprint we can use to start a drop shipping business, but she also shares the early mistakes she made, the tools she uses, and insight into the future of the drop shipping world. Listen on Apple Podcasts Watch on YouTube You’ll learn: The best items to sell as a drop shipper Where to find manufacturers and how to vet them What tools and plugins to use How to market with social media and/or paid ADs Mentioned in this episode: Website: absolutelyabston.com Instagram: @getrichorgetdrunktrying Asia's Free training: https://www.freedropshippingtraining.com/ https://youtu.be/ZGsf0j9yAbU

Serwaa Adjei-Pelle has spent the last 10 years helping thousands of business owners create their own unique blueprints for success. In the She's Off Script podcast, Serwaa shares the stories and lessons learned by women who have built thriving businesses. Starting February 16th, Serwaa is back with new episodes every Thursday! Listen on Apple Podcast Watch on YouTube https://youtu.be/X6EEsC3ojqw

After attending conferences where they felt like they didn’t make any meaningful connections, today’s guest and her mother decided to launch Mixtroz. Their app collects meaningful data at either live or virtual events and the algorithm helps you identify who you should connect with.

Before today’s guest and her co-founder launched their business, they petitioned Webster’s and other dictionaries to add the word “fourth trimester” to the dictionary. The problem their business is trying to solve is so important they created a campaign to introduce it into our everyday language.

In this episode, I’m sharing 7 business ideas that will be more relevant and profitable going forward.

Building a business takes time and effort. Along the way, we are all bound to make a few mistakes. In over 10 years of coaching, consulting with, and interviewing business owners, I've helped them avoid quite a few mistakes.

Today’s guest Kimba Williams and her co-founder Board Certified OB/GYN, Dr. Barb met on a cruise. They got to talking and discovered that even though they could find nontoxic alternatives for everything from shampoo to body lotion, they struggled to find natural options for feminine health and hygiene products.

If you’ve ever had a bad reaction to costume jewelry, you’ll understand why today’s guest, Maya Portorreal, launched Kitten Co Jewelry. After not being able to find affordable jewelry that didn’t irritate her skin, she created a custom line of .925 Sterling Silver Jewelry

Creativity is not just for "artsy people." After interviewing over 50 people from different industries, today's guest has distilled the art and science of creativity into frameworks we can all use.

New business owners are either hesitant to promote their businesses or feel unsure about where to advertise or what to say. Instead of shouting for the rooftops about the amazing thing they've built, they choose to wait and see if customers will come their way.

Once you’ve decided on a business idea and have gotten clear on who it’s for…it’s time to figure out whether or not this is a viable business. We want to know if people will actually pay for the solution we’re offering.

Not everyone is your customer and the sooner you learn that, the better for your business and your sanity as a business owner. When I ask excited new business owners who they hope will purchase their products and services, they often say "everyone!" Unfortunately, that response is the equivalent of trying to chase multiple rabbits in different directions.

When most people think about starting a business, they probably pull out their notebook and start listing out all the businesses they think would be cool to run. What you may not realize is that

Have you ever been at a nail salon and wondered what it takes to run it? All the products lining the walls; the line of people waiting; the phone ringing off the hook…What does it really take to launch and run a successful nail luxury salon?

As a business owner, it’s vital that you learn to pitch your business. Oftentimes you only have 30 seconds to convince a potential customer that you have the solution they need.