Courageous Dreamers Win

It's the unique vision that sets any great entrepreneur apart from the crowd. Oftentimes, that vision is born through the individual experiences of that person, and shape them in ways both big and small. For Britnye Shore, founder and CEO of The Bardot, her entrepreneurial vision was molded during her time working in a series of salons and wedding planning companies. Through those first-hand experiences, Britnye discovered her passion for helping support women in creating the most perfect vision for their own big day.

Britnye Shore joins host Nesha Pai on today's episode of Piece of the Pai to talk about her path from working small and uncomfortable salons to launching a beauty and experience based mobile salon. Britnye discusses how she founded The Bardot, and the evolution of the business into its "2.0" phase. She also talks with Nesha about slowing down during the pandemic and spending time on the farm which helped her recalibrate her vision for what's next.

Let's face it: the higher you climb towards your personal and professional goals, the more leadership becomes an essential skill. The ability to create a collective will from separate parts and focus it towards a singular goal is not easy, and it must be earned. Today's guests on Piece of the Pai have decades of experience helping coach leaders and visionaries from some of the world's most successful companies.

Dan Tocchini and Adrian Koehler are co-founders of Take New Ground, an executive leadership consulting and coaching firm based in Los Angeles and Idaho. In their time together, Dan and Adrian have been bringing a no-BS approach to their coaching for executives at Nike, ESPN, Disney and more. They focus on cutting to the core of issues not just with systems, but the leaders themselves. In their words, they take "leadershit to leadership."

Dan and Adrian join host Nesha Pai for a discussion about the philosophy of leadership. The pair also talk about founding Take New Ground after Adrian saw Dan present at a conference, and building a professional relationship that has proven to be a winning formula.

Connect with Take New Ground online at takenewground.com.

Follow Dan Tocchini on LinkedIn and Instagram.

Follow Adrian Kohler on LinkedIn and Instagram.

Listen to Dan and Adrian's podcast, The Naked Leadership Podcast, here.

Sometimes entrepreneurship runs in the family. That's certainly the case with Khaleel Loyd, the co-founder, CEO and big brother to the three Loyd brothers that make up Loyd Visuals. Founded in Charlotte in 2016, Loyd Visuals creates boutique video content for promotion, documentary and commercial clients, working with Fortune 100 companies such as Air BnB and Honeywell.

Like many entrepreneurs, Khaleel Loyd had to find himself and his passion while working a more traditional 9-5 job, data consulting and healthcare in Khaleel's case. It was during this time that Khaleel and his brothers began to hone their creative skills and identify their passions in visual design. It was soon after that the three founded Loyd Visuals and began making a name for themselves.

Khaleel Loyd joins host Nesha Pai for a discussion about his work with Lloyd Visuals, the dynamics of running a business with family, and the power of relationships. Khaleel talks about how the business came together, the unique roles of each of his brothers, and his philosophy of business. Khaleel also gives a poignant and thoughtful answer when asked how he defines success.

It takes years of experience to be able to orchestra a six-course meal at a high level. It takes even longer to be able to do it as a small business owner. Doing it all as a woman in a male-dominated industry requires a special talent. Enter Tillie Kerna of Chef Tillie, a private and boutique chef who travels all over the world to bring her clients the freshest and most innovative meals.

Thanks to an upbringing in the rural Pacific northwest, Chef Tillie began hunting, fishing and foraging her own food when she was very little. With no mainstream restaurants down the street, her and her family flourished by trapping game, picking their own huckleberries and cooking with a wood stove. She quickly learned the importance of food, nurtrition and the importance of locally sourced food way before it was trendy. Today, Chef Tillie is a certified nutritionist, as well as one of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution Ambassadors, in addition to her chef and business owner duties.

Chef Tillie joins host Nesha Pai on today's episode of Piece of the Pai to discuss Chef Tillie's journey from a young woman learning baking from her mom to being a private chef for celebrities around the world. Chef Tillie talks about her youth and what she learned from having such a personal connection to her food. She also discusses some of the challenges she's faced in business, what advice she would give to upcoming chefs, as well as breaking myths about the "celebrity chef."

Find Chef Tillie online at cheftillie.com. Follow her on Instagram at @cheftillie, and on Twitter at @cheftilliek. Find her on Facebook here.

One sign of a great entrepreneur is success across multiple industries. That definitely describes Jayme Valo, co-owner of Valoie skincare along with her husband, Nick. Jayme was a leader in the automotive industry when she was based in Idaho. When she moved to Charlotte a few years ago, she switched industries after she discovered that skincare was a shared passion she had with Nick. Using that inspiration, they self-taught themselves a new marketplace and introduced Valoie skincare products.

Jayme Valo joins host Nesha Pai to talk about her transition from the automotive industry to the skincare industry, devloping a new product and brand in a competitive marketplace, and what makes Valoie unique (hint: it has to do with honey). Jayme also discusses the inherent stress of beauty standards, the compounding effect of social media, and how they influence her approach to business. She also gives her best advice to new entrepreneurs, shares her vision for the future of her business, and also gives her definition of success.

Connect with Valoie online at Valoie.com. Follow them on Instagram at @ValoieSkincare. Follow Jayme personally on Instagram at @JaymeValo.

Operating with a low battery is a space that Desmond Wiggan rarely finds himself in. Desmond knows the power of having a full charge at all times, which is why he founded Battery Xchange, a service that allows you to rent batteries to power your devices on demand and on the go.

An entrepreneur through and through, Desmond's education took him to the next level while studying for his Master's degree in Asia. It was his experience there being exposed to high technology that influenced him to start Battery Xchange.

Desmond Wiggan sits down with host Nesha Pai in today's episode of Piece of the Pai to talk about Battery Xchange and his role as an entrepreneur. Desmond talks about how his time in Asia gave him a new perspective on technology, his entrepreneurial influences, and what he sees as his vision for Battery Xchange. Imagine a world, where there were mobile "take the charger with you" charging stations everywhere!

Connect with Battery Xchange online at batteryxchange.co and on Instagram at @batteryxchange_. Follow Desmond on Instagram at @worldwidewiggs_.

Fashion designer Daniel Gonzalez designs boutique ready-to-wear clothing for the "powerful, chic, artistic woman, a woman who many look to for answers and inspiration." Daniel's timeless and classic designs have found a home in Charlotte, as he opened Daniel Gonzalez Designs in 2019.

Daniel Gonzalez and host Nesha Pai talk in today's episode of Piece of the Pai about how Daniel found fashion design through his first love, ballroom dancing. Daniel speaks about his upbringing in Columbia, South America, and how his mother's fondness of art, fashion and design helped inspire and guide him through his own interest. Daniel also talks about his creative process, the advantages and challenges of starting a business during a pandemic, and what pieces from Daniel Gonzalez Designs you should keep your eye on.

Connect with Daniel Gonzalez Designs online at DanielGonzalezDesigns.com. Follow DGD on Instagram at @danielgonzalezdesigns.

Self-care is almost intrinsic to Rita Garnto. After spending 20 years working in trauma centers around the world, Rita became a licensed massage therapist after moving to Charlotte in 2004. Now she's using her love of care and teaching to help people directly through her business, Simple Self-Care by Rita.

Rita Garnto talks with Nesha Pai about her journey through medicine, including studying in her home country of Canada, through working trauma centers in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. She also describes some of her missteps along the way that include battles with debt.

Rita also discusses her own self-care routine, being a mom, and also gives listeners practical information about how they can manage stress and anxiety on a day-to-day basis.

Connect with Rita online at simpleselfcare.net, on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.

Sign up for Rita's Self Care Weekly text message by texting "CHOCOLATES" to 71441.

Entrepreneurship requires a special kind of person, but that could be anyone from anywhere. That includes a young Gaurav "G" Patel, who immigrated to the US when he was just ten years old and knew no English. Today, at 38 years of age, G Patel is one of Raleigh's hardest-working and most well-known figures in the hospitality industry. G is the founder of the Eschelon Experiences hospitality group, co-founder of Social House Vodka, and commercial real estate expert with CityPlat.

Listen to today's episode of Piece of the Pai to hear G Patel talk to host Nesha Pai about a wide range of topics including how G was able to become an entrepreneur despite the cultural and language barriers of immigrating to the US at a young age. G also talks about what success means to him (hint: it's not measured in awards or recognition), what motivates him each day, and the irreplaceable value of experience.

Connect with G on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram. Visit his website at gpreneur.me.

Visit City Plat at cityplat.com and Eschelon Experiences at eschelongexperiences.com

Being a mother is always hard work, and often very thankless. That can lead to plenty of internal struggles that moms deal with on a daily basis. Fighting these battles can feel like you're trying to slay a dragon!

Slay Like a Mother is the title of the book written by today's guest Katherine Wintsch. In addition to being an author, Katherine is the founder and CEO of The Mom Complex, a consulting company working with some of the world's biggest brands (such as Walmart, J&J and Chobani) to create better products and services for mothers. Katherine's sought after research on women and mothers has been featured by the Today Show, New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Working Mother Magazine.

Katherine Wintsch joins host Nesha Pai to talk about where and when you find your dragon, and how you slay it. Katherine also discusses the many traumas mothers face (both "Capital T" and "Lowercase T"), why they're valid and what to do about them.

Find out more about Katherine:

https://www.facebook.com/SlayLikeaMother/

https://www.slaylikeamother.com

https://momcomplex.com/team/

https://www.instagram.com/slaylikeamother/

https://katherinewintschblog.com