Behind the Spotlight

In this episode of Behind the Spotlight, it's a dual interview with the creative and talented, Margo Tantau. Margo has spent basically her whole life immersed in some sort of creative project or another. She loves putting art out into the world, especially the work of other artists. Although she does create her own, she's always preferred to focus on standing for the potential of others and her favorite pursuit is helping other creatives grow their careers by focusing on what they do best.

Margo and Beth discuss:

• How they know each other
• Margo's tales of business in China
• Bringing out the best in others and how they each do that in their own ways
• Being unafraid of the messy
• The importance of being truly authentic
• Margo's (organic) creative process
• Why home is Margo's most important place of being
• What brings Beth joy when it comes to PR and business
• The importance of connection and community
• And so much more

Margo has decades of experience in design, manufacturing, wholesaling, retailing, and all around management of artful products and creative people. Margo can be found creating with Studio M, hosting her own podcast, Windowsill Chats, and helping unique standout artists wanting to push their boundaries.

Resources Mentioned:

https://www.chelseawessman.com/

Connect with Margo:

www.tantaustudio.com

www.windowsillchats.com

https://www.instagram.com/tantaustudio/

https://www.instagram.com/mtantau/

Beth goes behind the spotlight (and to several countries) with the sister of a famous fashion designer you may have heard of before - Tommy Hilfiger. Ginny Hilfiger, youngest of 9 Hilfiger children, is a fashion designer herself and spent a lot of time at Tommy's first store, People's Place, which opened at the age of 18 in his hometown of Elmira, New York. After quickly deciding she didn't want to follow in her mothers footsteps of becoming a nurse, Ginny attended Fashion Institute of Technology before working as a head designer for companies like Tommy Hilfiger and FILA and launching her own brand, Ginny H.

Ginny discusses:

• What it was like growing up with 8 siblings in small town New York
• What her parents did when she told them she had no interest in going into the medical field
• Launching brand campaigns with celebrities such as Beyonce, Kate Hudson, Aaliyah, and Gigi Hadid
• Her experience working with family (not just Tommy!)
• Sourcing inspiration for new designs
• Mistakes made and lessons learned as a designer
• Her newest endeavor, The Messi Store
• And so much more!

Today, she is busy working as the Creative Director for premium lifestyle brand, The Messi Store and bringing new visions to life with the soccer mogul, Lionel Messi!

https://www.instagram.com/ginnyhilfiger/

https://www.themessistore.com/

On this episode, Beth hosts a strategy session with Rebecca Ryan. Rebecca is the founder of Serving Up Social, and is also a former health coach, personal chef, and food blogger. She loves working with wellness professionals and culinary entrepreneurs who want to spice up their marketing with images that will make customers hungry for more!

Beth coaches Rebecca on:

• Getting crystal clear on her ideal client
• How Rebecca helps clients stand out in a saturated market
• Bringing strategy to professional photos in order to connect with your audience
• Coming up with five marketing and publicity ideas
• Creating marketing resources through social media and email
• Creating a visual strategy
• Getting visible to her audience
• And more

Rebecca understands the passion and determination it takes to run a business. She works with her clients to ease the stress and overwhelm of planning a brand photoshoot and is on a mission for her clients to feel confident about their photos and their business.

Connect with Rebecca Ryan:

http://www.servingupsocial.com/

https://www.instagram.com/servingupsocial/

Beth chats with LeAnna Weller Smith, Owner and Executive Creative Director at Weller Smith Design, an award-winning Boutique Design Agency. LeAnna has over 20 years of experience in the design industry and over 17 years of experience in the publishing industry.

Beth & Leanna talk about

• Leanna's start in design
• What hiring coaches and mentors has done for Leanna
• A surprise MS diagnosis
• What trends she's seeing in the design industry since COVID-19
• Her newest service that helps business owners turn their content into branded products, Productologie by Weller Smith Design®
• And so much more!

Leanna is also the host of Creatively Speaking, a videocast on YouTube, owner of her own publishing imprint, Lowercase Ink, and recently received the 2020 Top Graphic Designer of the Year Award from The International Association of Top Professionals.

Beth is going Behind the Spotlight with Michael Robison to find out what it's like when you mix entrepreneurship and breaking the rules on traditional family values. Michael Robison is a former Senior Pastor and Faith Leader, a veteran strategic consultant and brand development innovator with a diverse background in finance, sales, development, marketing, communications and staffing. He was recently named one the Top Leaders of 2020 by Yahoo! Finance.

After spending nearly 20 years married to his wife Allison, and creating a beautiful life built on adoption and adventure, Michael was compelled to finally share his truth. What Truth? That he is Gay. Michael has made the transition from a traditional family to a beautiful modern family and faces the reality of the conversations of race, sexuality, faith, family and more.

Beth and Michael discuss:

• How Michael grappled with coming out
• Reactions from his wife, kids, parents, and grandparents (all apart of a very faith based background)
• His journey of entrepreneurship (the highs and the lows)
• The importance of self-acceptance
• And so much more

In Michael's journey he has nearly 20 years in senior leadership and growth focused organizations. He has served as a CEO, Tech Startup Founder. Senior Pastor and Non-Profit Executive Director. All of these years of leadership, life and learning have become a resource of beauty and understanding.

Connect with Michael:

https://www.michaelrobison.cc/

https://www.michaelrobison.cc/podcast

Beth chats self-love and acceptance and becoming unstoppable with Kara Richardson Whitely. Kara is a plus-size author, public speaker and adventurer and after spending years in journalism and telling stories that belonged to others, she was ready to share her own. After deciding she was sick of living in a place where she was not enough to do the things she wanted to do, she lost 120 pounds and committed herself to becoming an active hiker before taking on Mount Kilimanjaro three times. Since then she has written several books including Gorge and Weight of Being and it's now her mission to share her journey and inspire others take bold steps and move mountains in their lives.

Kara shares:

• How she got her start in journalism and storytelling
• What led her away from journalism and motivated her to share her own story
• The definition of binge-eating and her experience with it
• Learning how to manage life without turning to food
• Her book that is being adapted into a film and the This is Us icon that will play the role of her!
• The beauty of self-love and acceptance
• Why we should expand our circles of influence and how we can easily do so
• And so much more

Kara has been featured in The New York Times and on Good Morning America, The Today Show, CBS' The Talk and countless other media outlets. She serves as an Eating Recovery Center national recovery advocate amongst many other roles.

Connect with Kara:

https://www.kararichardsonwhitely.com/

Gorge by Kara Richardson Whitely

Weight of Being by Kara Richardson Whitely

https://www.instagram.com/kararichardsonwhitely/

Behind the Spotlight's guest of the day is Josh Koerpel. Josh is the CEO and Co-Founder of Firebuilders.io, a year-old tech startup noted for its simplicity and effectiveness in improving the participation and success rates of virtual coaching programs. He's an adventure junkie, and his life experiential stories often sound like things you would only see in a movie. From working on a tall ship, creating sets and stages for celebrity clients, moving to Chile when he was 16 years old not speaking a lick of spanish, to conceptualizing and building 3 mobile apps in two years it's safe to say, Josh has learned a few things along the way.

Josh and Beth talk about:

• Josh's first experience of living in a foreign country and what it taught him
• Near death experiences working on a tall ship (Think dynamics of Below Deck meets Survivor)
• Learning perseverance and resourcefulness
• How he's been able to apply lessons learned from work on a ship to business and entrepreneurship
• Holding the titles of Captain, Engineer, and Entrepreneur
• Why we should all be failing forward
• And so much more!

Josh currently lives aboard his 1972 sailboat Albatross, and is exploring the country on a vintage BMW motorcycle. This one is wildly fascinating and motivating - you don't want to miss it!

Connect with Josh:

https://www.instagram.com/saltwaterceo/

http://firebuilders.io/

https://hello.funnelmappy.com/welcome

Producer. Reporter. Emmy Award-winning Anchor. Oh my! Beth speaks with Kerry Barrett and goes behind the spotlight of what it was like to spend two decades in front of the camera as a broadcast news anchor, reporter and producer for a number of reputable outlets, including NBC, ABC and Fox, to name a few.

Kerry once had a crippling fear of public speaking that would have her paralyzed by anxiety and insecurity but her love of good stories - a passion born from a childhood spent overseas - influenced her career path in communications as well as her innate ability to recognize interesting stories in others. This led her to pursue a bachelor's degree in Speech and Communication Studies in Journalism from Clemson University, where she had no choice but to face her public-speaking phobia, head-on.

Kerry shares:

• How she turned a fear of public speaking into one of her greatest assets and core strengths
• How a stories impact our community and what drove her to become a TV reporter
• Pros and cons of the News & Media Industry
• Her transition from being in front of the camera to helping others
• Kerry's personal stories of loss (TW: Miscarriage)
• Her new video initiatives (Know Your Worth & That Sucks, Get Back Up) and how they came about
• The value in sharing our stories for us and for others
• And so much more that you don't want to miss

After earning several notable accolades, Kerry decided to take her passion in a new direction and founded Kerry Barrett Consulting, a full-service public speaking and media training boutique created to help others bring their stories to life with confidence and personality.

Connect with Kerry:

https://kerrybarrettconsulting.com/

https://www.facebook.com/kbarrettconsult/

https://www.instagram.com/kerbarrett/

https://twitter.com/TheReelKerryB

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm_KHdtG1iu7vbTa275r2UA

https://www.linkedin.com/company/kerry-barrett-consulting/

On this episode of Behind the Spotlight, Beth sits down with Jennifer Tuma-Young. Jen is the founder of Inspired Girl Enterprises and is a writer, researcher, teacher, and best-selling author. She helps people remember who they were born to be, and overcome the fear and self-doubt in order to use their gifts, realize their infinite purpose, and live a joyful life of meaning and connection.

Jennifer has extensive training in goal setting, overcoming obstacles, business development, the impact of our environment on our behaviors and more and she is truly oh so special.

Beth and Jen discuss:

• The brain-body connection
• Assessing core values
• Spirituality and religion
• The importance of being connected to the present moment
• Creating awareness in one's life
• Jen's personal technique to connect with the present moment (three lightbulbs)
• And more!

For almost two decades, Jen has worked with thousands of people, both individually and in groups. From assisting with their personal goals to transforming living spaces to working with C-level executives on business growth by transforming the workplace culture, she has developed methods that get to the heart of people, by focusing not solely on outward success but rather inward peace, core values, and time choice over time management.

Connect with Jennifer:

http://www.inspiredgirl.net/

Balance is Bunk: 14 Simple Soulful Techniques to Redefine the Elusive B-Word and Embrace this Crazy, Beautiful Life.

Today, on behind the spotlight, Beth talks with Renee Dominguez. Renee is a Business Strategist, Leadership Consultant, Workshop Facilitator, Speaker, Mentor, and Motivated Professional who believes in sharing her enthusiastic work ethics and life experiences with other like-minded people. She has spent most of her career in leadership roles working on empowering women in the workplace.

Renee didn't always live an orthadox lifestyle and it certainly wasn't always easy but she's managed to turn her heartache, headaches, aches and pains into something positive so others can learn from it.

Beth and Renee get personal and chat:

• Hitting the glass ceiling after landing her dream job
• The importance and necessity of having healthy boundaries
• The competitiveness in climbing the corporate ladder
• Imposter syndrome implications
• Expressing vulnerabilities in order to connect
• How quitting her job with no plan led to entrepreneurship
• And so much more

Renee believes each of us has a unique story to share. It is her passion to create a safe space for others to exchange their stories of shared experiences, and to create a tribe they can feel connected to for encouragement and support. She has now devoted herself to helping others discover their strengths, move beyond their fears, and finally discover what it truly takes to flourish with confidence so they can be heard, seen, and respected.

Resources -

https://www.empoweredleadhership.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/empoweredcoach/

https://www.instagram.com/empoweredcoach/