Bio:

Donna Ashton is an online course specialist with 11+ years creating and selling courses. She built her freedom lifestyle business using her Work Less Make More formula and has taught hundreds of others how to create & sell profitable programs that allow time for family, travel and that impact the world. 

Her mission is to teach you how you can easily take the process you already have and make money with a course in your business to create a Freedom Lifestyle. 

Whether you’re running a full coaching practice or just slammed with family and life – adding digital courses creates leveraged income, without more work for you.

Why Courses?

• Donna was a busy mom, and she needed a business that was one to many because she didn’t have a lot of time. 
• Her first course was about homeschooling and she sold it for $497.
• With her first course, she made about $7,500 and she was sold. 
• Since then, she’s kept creating courses.

How do you price your courses?

• Donna priced her first course higher than other courses, but it worked out. 
• Look at the value that your course is bringing. Not just during the course, but throughout a lifetime. 
• You might as well charge more because it’s just as hard to sell a $7 course. 

How do you make sure your course is solving a problem people have?

• If your course sells your clients “migrane” problem, it will be successful.
• A “migrane” problem is a problem that your client is desperate to solve. 
• ASK! Ask your ideal clients what their biggest problem is.
• People don’t always know what they need though, so look deeper into their problem to find what the root cause of it is. 

Do you do beta launches?

• Yes! Do it early on. 
• Make sure that they still pay because that’s the final proof of concept. We need to know if they’re willing to pay for the course.
• It’s really nice to do a live version of the course before you record it so that you can see how it flows.

What course platforms should we use?

• It doesn’t really matter!
• There are always new platforms, but really a lot of them are good.
• No matter what platform you choose, you still need to make a good course and market and sell the course. 

How do you market your course?

• You need to say the right things to the right people. 
• Know your clients. Know what their problems are. Work on your messaging.
• Be as specific as possible. Find your niche.

How many people do you recommend having in a beta launch? 

• Make sure it’s manageable. Do like 5-10 people. 
• Make sure that the number is small enough that you can have a call with each person.

Do we need a facebook group for the course?

• If it’s a higher end course, yes. 
• You need a space that they can get support and help in. 
• If you have a way for the people to connect directly with you, they’ll pay 5-10 times more money. 

Links

• Download "Design Your Dream Course Template: https://donnaashton.kartra.com/page/dreamcoursetemplate
• Website: https://www.donnaashton.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profitablecourses/  
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/donnalashton/ 

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Bio:

Hannah Olson is known for her brilliant life hacks, parenting tips, and her culture-challenging message that "Motherhood is a Relationship". She share all of this on her instagram account: @freckledhan

How did this all start?

• Hannah got pregnant at a time that was not ideal for her.
• It was a challenging time for her. 
• Everything about having kids seemed to be negative.
• She asked herself, why do people even have kids?
• Thankfully, once her daughter was born, a lot of those feelings went away. 
• There were still a lot of hard parts of being a mother though. 
• It was tiring and lonely. 
• She started to ask: “what is motherhood?”
• 4 kids later, we were in a pandemic, and she was unable to ask for help. 
• She felt truly overwhelmed and all alone. 
• She came to the realization that Motherhood is a relationship

Motherhood is a relationship

• She decided that she needed to find ways to nurture the relationship between her and her kids.
• Sometimes, as a parent, you destroy the relationship with your kids because you’re simply caretaking. 
• It becomes easy to feel guilty if you ever leave your kids, but it is actually good for your relationship to leave for a bit. 
• Your kids need a break from you just as much as you need a break from them. 
• All of your fulfillment shouldn’t come from your kids just like it doesn’t come from any other relationship. 
• Certain aspects of the relationship can be fulfilling, but it can’t ALL come from the relationship. 
• God never intended motherhood to be our ONLY identity. 
• It is important, but it should be an expansion of who we are, not our only defining identity.
• Boundaries are important. There are times you can do a lot, and times where you can’t. Be in tune with your needs and be willing to set boundaries. 
• You don’t want a break from motherhood (the relationship). You want a break from caretaking. They are different! 
• If you are a stay-at-home mom, think of caretaking as your job.
• The relationship is separate, but the caretaking should be looked at like a job and performed as a job. 
• Throw away gender roles. One parent can be the caretaker, but BOTH are parents. BOTH have a relationship with their children.

Bootcamps

• Hannah does bootcamps with 10 women or less to help reduce and eliminate mom guilt for women. 

Links

• Website: https://freckledhan.com/ 
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freckledhan/ 

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Bio:

Reagan is a mother of three and the Executive Director leading the creation and implementation of the Innovation Outpost in Amarillo, Texas.

Growing up in Amarillo, Reagan saw her peers leave town to chase opportunities that seemed to exist only in big cities, and she herself followed that same narrative to pursue a better life. Movies, books, television series all reinforce the idea that success lies in a big city. Now, Reagan is back in Amarillo to reshape the narrative.

Reagan is leading the ideation and development of the Innovation Outpost, which will help lead Amarillo and regional businesses through the digital transformation needed to compete in the 21st century. During the pandemic, Reagan noticed how technology has decentralized business, allowing for partnerships to be built across time zones and reducing the need to relocate to a big city.

Reagan’s vision for the Innovation Outpost is to boost Amarillo’s business community, assist with reskilling and upskilling companies and turn Amarillo into a regional business hub bustling with high quality jobs and opportunity. She hopes that in ten years, her children will graduate high school and feel proud to chase career opportunities in Amarillo.

What led you to create Innovation Outpost?

• Reagan has had to reinvent herself multiple times as she moved around because of her husband’s job.
• Her experience was all women who stayed home. 
• She moved back to her hometown, and had an incredible opportunity to help her community become more innovative. 



How do you give yourself grace?

• Everyone makes simple mistakes. You need to be willing to let yourself make mistakes. 
• Always try to learn from any mistake you make. 
• It doesn’t make it any less terrifying when you mess up, but it does help you to learn from your mistakes.

What obstacles have you faced being a women leader? 

• When she was working in the finance industry, her boss wouldn’t let her go to face-to-face client meetings because he didn’t want people to see how young she was. 
• She has had a lot of experience at board tables where she is the only woman. 
• She learned to speak up and give her perspective and stand up even to people more senior than her. 
• Find your voice! Be confident. 
• It’s on you to show that you have worth. 
• Play to your strengths as a woman. Women tend to have more emotional intelligence. 

What does the future hold? 

• Opportunities for women are starting to really come. 
• COVID is an opportunity for women because working from home is becoming more and more common. 
• A lot of employers are starting to look at work as a more flexible thing. 

Speaking up

• Very rarely will you be met with pushback. 
• If you do get pushback, the organization will struggle because they aren’t adapting to the future and where things are going. 
• If you have a toxic relationship with a boss or a company, leave. There are other opportunities and other places where you’ll be valued. 
• You can be so powerful in the workplace.

Links

• Website: https://www.innovationoutpost.com/ 
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/innovationoutpost 
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/innovation-outpost/ 
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/innovateoutpost 
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/innovationoutpost/ 

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Bio:

Laura is an Intuitive Eating & LDS Life Coach. She is a mom of 3, fire wife, born and raised in AZ but currently living in Saratoga Springs, UT. Laura helps women ditch diets and find body acceptance through Intuitive Eating, Mindset Overhaul and Christ. She encourages women to stop the war with their body by elevating their Body Image and Come Home to yourself.

Laura’s Story

• Laura is a mom of 3, and after she had her first son she felt like something was off. 
• She struggled with depression. 
• After having her second kid, she started to hit some harder points. 
• She was volunteering a lot of time at her church, and she decided to ask to be released. 
• It was a good time to do that because a lot of hard things happened right after that. 
• She got some help and medication, and she made it through. 
• She thought that she had the whole depression thing figured out, but after having her third kid she had some really hard depression come back.
• When their third baby was 6 months old, Laura got self-inflicted sickness from stress.
• She decided that something needed to change. 
• Things didn’t change overnight.
• She started to believe that her diet was the problem and she became obsessed with clean eating. 
• She went to an eating disorder clinic and she learned about intuitive eating. 

More Than a Body: Your Body Is an Instrument, Not an Ornament

• Look into the book.
• It’s important to understand that your body is an instrument, and not an ornament

What is intuitive eating

• Taking your external and internal wisdom and bringing them in to what they call authentic health. 
• This is what makes you feel happy and healthy. 
• Your body already knows what to do. 
• Eat as kids do.
• Eat what makes you feel satisfied. 
• This is not a fad diet and it’s against diet culture. 
• Diets have external motivation and tell you what to do. 
• Intuitive eating is listening to your internal body and giving it what it wants
• You need to re-learn how to interpret what your body is telling you.

Pillars of Intuitive eating

• In Laura’s coaching sessions she wants to help her clients get from point A to point B. 
• Mindset overhaul
• Take negative thoughts and turn them into true statements.
• Christ

Links

• Click here for the Free Guide - "5 Steps Start Intuitive Eating"
• Click here for a complimentary - Intuitive Eating Breakthrough Session
• https://www.instagram.com/lauracragun/ 
• https://www.facebook.com/lauracragunhealthcoach 
• https://www.instagram.com/beauty_redefined/ 
• https://www.amazon.com/More-Than-Body-Instrument-Ornament/dp/B08NFG5N35/ref=sr_1_1?crid=E4WEM2H9IN47&dchild=1&keywords=more+than+a+body&qid=1626986491&sprefix=more+than%2Caps%2C243&sr=8-1

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Bio

Shari Medini is the co-author of  Parenting while Working from Home and the co-owner of AdoreThemParenting.com. Her parenting articles have been published in dozens of print and online publications. Shari’s past experience includes working as a freelance writer and marketing strategist for companies across the country, mentoring and speaking as a mindset coach, and working with children and families in the mental health field. She understands the demands of working from home and loves sharing tips to help balance it all. When she’s not on her laptop, Shari can be found spending quality time with her husband and two sons exploring their hometown of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

How did you get into this space? 

• About a decade ago, Shari was pregnant with her first son. 
• She was able to make money from home while she stayed home with her son. 
• She really enjoyed freelance work and marketing.
• It got to the point where she was ready to do something for herself instead of working for someone else.
• She met Karissa on a playground, and they really hit it off. They decided to collaborate on AdoreThemParenting.com
• One of their big goals was to someday write a book. 

What recommendations do you have for time management?

• Each situation is unique.
• If you have time flexibility, rethink your day. 
• It can be easy to lose 10 minute chunks in your day, but these 10 minute chunks can be huge! 
• Make a list of things you can do in 10 minutes. That way when you have a couple of minutes you can be purposeful with that time. 
• If you have time restraints, you’ll need to rethink some things. You won’t be able to adjust, so you need to plan before hand.
• BEFORE you work, make sure that your kids' needs are met. Take them potty, play, get them a drink and set them up a space where they can play. 
• You may need to get child care, or your husband may need to watch them. 

It’s okay!

• It’s okay to have childcare.
• It’s okay to let your child watch a screen for a bit. 
• It’s okay if the house isn’t perfectly clean. 
• Give yourself a break, give yourself some slack. 
• The most important thing is that your kids are healthy and happy. When it comes to everything else, just do what’s right for your family.
• Don’t be afraid to challenge your cultural and traditional beliefs.

How do you take time for yourself when you’re always busy with work and caring for your family?

• Take a look at all the things you have on your plate and find some things you can let go of. 
• Outsource or delegate things that you can’t eliminate but you don’t have to do yourself. 
• Prioritize the things that make the most impact.
• Schedule time for yourself and choose to do things that will help you the most. 
• Be creative about ways you can spend time with your kids while still relaxing and rejuvenating.

What do you do if your work AND child need you at the same time?

• Prepare as much as you can beforehand. Look into the future. 
• That said, you’ll never be completely prepared. 
• Call in the reinforcements.
• Have a list of people that can help.
• Go to a McDonalds where your kids can play and you have WiFi. 
• Go to a Gym where they have child care.
• Be creative. 
• If it’s happening a lot, create a gameplan. 

Positivity

• It’s not you (as a parent) versus the world, but instead it’s your family versus the world. 
• Create positivity. 
• View your world through a positive lens.
• Be careful about the content you consume. If you consume negative content, it will encourage negativity.
• Train the algorithms. Unfollow and unsubscribe if a content feed doesn’t match the positivity you need. 
• We have control over our technology. 
• If you can’t unfriend someone, mute them. 
• If something makes you angry or annoyed, eliminate it from your life. 
• You can only control yourself. Focus on the things you can control.
• Live and parent the way that works best for you.
• Support other parents in their journey!

Links

• Website: https://AdoreThemParenting.com 
• Book: https://AdoreThemParenting.com/Book
• Facebook: https://Facebook.com/AdoreThemCommunity 
• Instagram: https://Instagram.com/AdoreThemParenting 

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Have some feed back about the show? Feel free to reach out to me at www.brandingforwomen.com or send me a message on instagram, @brandingforwomen. You can also rate the show in Apple Podcasts or your favorite app to help more people discover The Female Empowerment Podcast!

Lucia Bio

Lucia is the face behind Be Brave Psychotherapy. She specializes in using dance, movement and drama therapy to help women connect their thoughts and beliefs to their physical expressions. As an expert in the mental health challenges of anxiety and depression, Lucia helps her clients to embrace and walk with fear, especially those fears and beliefs that keep women stuck in smaller roles with lower expectations for themselves.

Tell us about how you got started

• Lucia has been in Psychotherapy for 14 years now. 
• When her son was born, she decided to start her own practice so that she could spend more time with her kids. 
• After her daughter was born, she experienced some major mental health issues for herself. 
• She had to admit that she needed some help. This was especially difficult as a Psychotherapist. 
• She also had to admit that she had some OCD tendencies. 
• She went to see an OCD specialist, and things are starting to get better, but it’s a lifelong journey. 
• Fear can block us from trying new things. A common excuse is: “I don’t have time,” but excuses are just masked fear. 

Can you give an example of dance, movement therapy?

• Dance, movement therapy can sound scary, but I usually start slow.
• Self awareness in body feelings and sensations can be very helpful. 
• I’ll have them say verbally what’s happening in their bodies. 
• From there, we work on power poses and posture. 
• Emotional feelings are connected with posture and poses. 
• Next, I’ll ask questions and have them pay attention to their bodies as they have emotional responses. 

How can women’s roles create limiting beliefs? 

• As children, we base our feelings about ourselves on how we perceive our parents and other adults feel about us. 
• As we grow up, this expands to society. 
• We end up being what we’ve been defined as. 
• We are “wrapped” in a bubble wrap of our family’s and societies’ expectations. 
• Sometimes we can lower our standards to meet what we believe is expected of us. 

How to Embrace Fears

• Many of my clients have fears regarding setting boundaries. 
• Don’t go from 0 to 60. Instead, take baby steps. Do something small.
• Visualizations and practice can really help with that. 
• As we expose ourselves to anxiety, it will raise and raise, but then it will start to come down. 
• Most of the time we won’t let ourselves feel anxiety to the point of it coming down. 
• In order to overcome anxieties, we need to practice feeling it. 

How can we raise our standards for ourselves

• This can be scary because we’re changing what others perceive as who we are. 
• Pay attention to how people treat you. Some people will accept changes, and others will push back. 
• Don’t just accept what you’ve been given. Instead, look at your life and design what you want. 

Links

• Lucia’s Webstie: https://bebravewomen.com 

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Tierra Bio

Tierra Terry earned her Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Media Studies and her Master of Arts in Communication with an Emphasis in Education from Grand Canyon University. She is an Arizona native currently pursuing her Doctor of Education in Organizational Leadership with an Emphasis in Organizational Development at Grand Canyon University. She is also a member of the Young Nonprofit Professional Network (YNPN), Conscious Capitalism AZ (CCAZ) and a Girl Scout Social Impact volunteer.

Tierra oversees communications to drive media and public engagement for Better Business Bureau Serving the Pacific Southwest. She leads the coordination in continuing to build a community of trustworthy businesses through events, community relations, and outreach for the largest trade organization in AZ while supporting marketing efforts. Tierra has assisted in the implementation of the BBB Industrious Women's Summit since its inception, which empowers women business owners to succeed in traditionally male-dominated industries.

Tierra’s Journey

• After graduating, tierra saw a job opening for a community concierge at the Better Business Bureau, and since then she’s worked her way up in the company and has loved it there.

What is the BBB? 

• The BBB is a nonprofit agency founded on the principles of creating trust in business. 
• It was founded in 1912, and is run by local states or regions.
• The BBB is a nongovernmental organization. 
• They are unbiased. 
• The BBB runs in the US, Canada, and Mexico. 
• To be an accredited business, you must be approved and vetted by our team. By being accredited, it’s an ethical badge of honor. 
• We hold businesses accountable for their actions and building trust with their customers.

How has your experience been with being a woman in the workplace? 

• Unfortunately, Tierra has had issues with being a black women and mother in the workplace. 
• Thankfully, the BBB has treated her very well in this regard. 
• If a job isn’t supporting you, leave it. Find an organization that will support you.  

Industrious Women’s Summit

• The BBB has had this event for the past 4 years. 
• The Industrious Women’s Summit was created to serve the core types of businesses that are accredited with BBB: tradespeople, and specifical women in these traditionally male-dominated industries.
• Women in this highly specialized sector often don’t have anywhere to turn for like-minded mentorship and conversations. 
• To be that hub of support, BBB created the inaugural event four years ago after receiving a small grant from Arizona State University, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Department. 
• We choose the August date to coincide with women's equality day which is especially meaningful when speaking about women leading in industries that are not “traditionally” meant for them. Breaking barriers and providing support. Celebrate, educate, and connect women. 
• In 2020 we pivoted to a virtual format which allowed more women from all over the US to attend. We are keeping the format virtual this year and moving to a hybrid model in the future.

Conclusion

• There is always room for everyone. There is always enough to go around!

Links

https://www.bbb.org/pacific-southwest/IndustriousWomensSummit/ 

https://www.bbb.org/ 

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About Dawn

With twenty plus years of entrepreneurial experience, coaching and leading individuals and teams to outstanding results, Dawn Bates is one of the world’s best kept secrets, and for good reason.

She is very selective in regard to who she works with, and her strong moral compass guides her to the projects she chooses to take on, and delivers impeccable service to all her clients.

Dawn’s repertoire of work is vast and her inquisitive mind astounding, bringing fresh insights and perspectives from 20 years of international travel and working in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Australasia, with clients spanning 5 continents, multiple ethnicities, cultures and languages.

With a passion for leadership and cultural diversity, Dawn brings a wealth of knowledge and experience like no other. Her expertise lies in making you rethink your business blueprint, your life and the world we live in, harnessing the deepest freedom of all: your own truth.

As well as being an international bestselling author multiple times over, author strategist and publisher, Dawn specialises in developing brand expansion, step change strategies and global visions, underpinned by her profound wisdom, molecule shaking approach, high energy and trademark giggle.

She is an Executive Contributor and Featured Author for both House of PreEminence and the One Tribe Magazines, writes for a multitude of publications, and when not sailing around the world on yachts, she appears on various media channels highlighting and discussing important subjects in today’s society.

She’s an authority on leading others to create exceptional results by igniting the passions and fire deep within, shifting individuals and teams from disconnection, fear, feelings of imposter and self- doubt, to confidence, connection and courage to speak, live and work powerfully together with others.

• Dawn has been in business since she was 21. 
• Over the years she’s worn many hats. 
• In the last 10 years, she’s written 5 books, and she has many more coming out soon. 
• In 2007, she was given 24 hours to live, and that completely changed the way she viewed the world. 
• Her husband of 18 years decided he wanted to get a devorce and she had to navigate the life of being a single mother while running a business. 

Her Arrest

• Dawn was arrested for “neglecting” her children since she left them in the car for about 10 minutes. 
• Her oldest son was 12, and legally old enough to babysit. 
• The police officer put her in handcuffs because she spoke to her children in Arabic. 
• She could have been a victim or allowed the system to get to her, but instead she fought for herself. 
• Her third book is about this story. 
• Bad things don’t happen TO us. They happen FOR us.

Feminism

• Feminism has been hijacked. 
• A lot of women are wounded and they want to fight for something, but they aren’t fighting for the right things. 
• Many women are playing the blame game, and they are being victims. 
• Men haven’t done these things to us. We have allowed it to happen. 
• We’ve allowed ourselves to believe things about women. We’ve borrowed these beliefs from our parents, society, religions, culture and media.
• True feminism is all about how we can be of service. 
• Being a woman is all about caring, nurturing and being of service.
• We used to be fighting for rights, but we have them now! 
• Feminism should be about working together instead of hating on each other.
• You always have a choice. If someone or an organization is mistreating women, you have the power to change your situation. 
• Our own mindset is holding us back. 

How did you become so confident and powerful?

• Dawn watched her mom work 3 jobs just to put food on the table.
• Her mother always told her: “don’t ever let anyone bully you.”
• Dawn has always been stubborn and wouldn’t let anyone bully her. 
• Her mom also told her to “always do her best,” and she has taken it literally.
• It all comes back to mindset. 
• You matter. If you want something, who’s to tell you that you can’t have it. 
• Make your impact on the world. Make it a better place because you were a part of it. 
• Dawn knows what she wants and she’s just going to go and get it. 
• It’s all about the choices we make. Choose to be who you want to be. 
• Think about the people that believe in you. Don’t let them down!

Dawn’s Books

• All of her books are memoir based. 
• They are real human stories. 
• Crossing The Line
• Walaahi

Links

https://dawnbates.com/  

https://www.instagram.com/realdawnbates/  

https://www.facebook.com/RealDawnBates/   

https://twitter.com/realdawnbates 

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Have some feed back about the show? Feel free to reach out to me at www.brandingforwomen.com or send me a message on instagram, @brandingforwomen. You can also rate the show in Apple Podcasts or your favorite app to help more people discover The Female Empowerment Podcast!

About Jenna

Jenna Smith is a business strategist, coach and serial entrepreneur who helps people with BIG ideas tap into their inner genius and create big, profitable businesses. For over 10 years, Jenna cut her teeth in the corporate world as a strategist and change agent. 

It was there that she began helping organizations navigate major organizational change, while reinforcing the need for innovation, strategy and execution. It was also there that she realized that she needed to build her own dream, and corporate ceilings and side-gigs just wouldn’t cut it. 

Now, she’s the owner of two businesses that started as big ideas themselves. DreamLife is an international personal development company helping people to stop tolerating the life they have and start living the life they desire. And ThinkFree is her business consulting firm that helps normal people take big ideas and make them into profitable companies and products. 

Jenna is happily married with a 1-year old son, and is helping people all over the world to build and live their dream life and business. She can truly say she is living her dream. 

How did you get where you are now?

• Who I am today is thanks to my childhood. 
• Both sides of her family were entrepreneurs.
• Both of her parents died by the time she was twelve, and she learned to take her life into her own hands. 
• She now owns two businesses.

After you have an idea, how do you know if it’s a good idea and what are the first steps you should take to make it a reality?

• We were all born as creators. 
• If you’ve had an idea, believe that you are capable of making it happen. 
• Not all ideas are for others. Some ideas are for you. Sometimes you’ll pursue an idea and it may not be successful, but they’ll develop you personally.
• Sometimes your idea can seem so big, but you can do it. You can make an idea that’s bigger than you. 
• You don’t have to have all of the answers, but know that you can do it.
• Done is better than perfect. Take action! 

Who should you share your ideas with?

• Not everyone is on the same wavelength as you. 
• Be intentional and sensitive about who you share your idea with. 
• Share it with inquisitive people that will ask questions. 
• Share your idea with some who can see and understand the potential within you. 
• When looking for a mentor, look at the fruit. Do they have successful businesses? Have they mentored or coached anyone else successfully?
• You need the head, heart, and mind.
• Focus on strategy instead of tactics. 
• As strategy is a direction or approach to your business. 
• Tactics only work after you have a strategy. 

What encouragement or advice would you have to help combat overwhelm?

• There is a growth cycle when you're being stretched. This is a good thing. 
• Again, done is better than perfect.
• Start before you feel ready. 
• Overthinking and overwhelm are optional. You choose how you feel in your situation.
• Find the minimum viable solution.
• Write down the problem, then write down solutions. 
• Creation is a messy process, but it’s all about learning. 
• How much time and money have you wasted worrying about things? 
• Enjoy the process and the journey. Don’t focus so much on the results. 

Tell me more about how you help others in their businesses.

• Jenna is a business strategist. 
• She helps businesses owners create strategies and learn how to do the things we’ve talked about in this interview. 

Links:

Strategy call: 

http://jennasmith.me/ideas-to-income-call

website: jennasmith.me 

dreamlife.global

instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smithjenna_/

linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennasmith1

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I’d love to hear from you!

Have some feed back about the show? Feel free to reach out to me at www.brandingforwomen.com or send me a message on instagram, @brandingforwomen. You can also rate the show in Apple Podcasts or your favorite app to help more people discover The Female Empowerment Podcast!

About Dawn

Dawn is a small business CFO who has a passion for helping small business owners with their accounting & taxes. After years of working for another company Dawn made the jump to start her own business centered around helping entrepreneurs. She absolutely LOVES what she does now! Today she is here and more than happy to share her knowledge with us about the things we need to know when starting a new business!

What should we know when we want to start a new business?

• Each business is different, so start with understanding your business and its needs. 
• Step 1: Figure out the funding and money. Are you funding the business? Are you raising capital? Are you getting a loan? 
• Step 2: Choose a business name. Make sure it’s available and don’t overthink this step. Think about whether or not your business name is keyword searchable. See if your name is trademarked.
• Step 3: Obtain any licenses and permits for your business. Register your business in your state. Check out the secretary of state website for your state and they’ll list all of the permits you need. If you are having a hard time finding the information, call them.

What are the differences between different business structures?

• When it comes to taxes, LLC, DBA, Sole Proprietor, and contractor are all taxed the same way. You report your income on a Schedule C with your personal income. 
• A partnership or S Corp have separate tax returns, and can lead to tax savings. 
• When it comes to the legal side of things, a contractor and sole proprietor are similar. A sole proprietor uses an EIN number and a contractor uses their personal social security number. Dawn recommends that everyone get an EIN number.
• An LLC gives you more legal protection. It separates your business and personal assets and liabilities. If someone sues your business, they won’t be able to touch your personal property.
• Dawn recommends that everyone get at least an LLC.
• That said, an LLC doesn’t save you any money on taxes. If you want the protection of an LLC and tax savings, look into an S Corp.
• In an S Corp, you need to be on payroll.

How can you budget and plan for taxes?

• When you’re a W2 employee (working for someone else) social security and medicare taxes are withheld for you. When you’re self employed though, you are responsible for paying those taxes. 
• When it comes to budgeting for taxes, put aside at least 15% of your net income (profit minus expenses). On top of the 15%, you’ll also need to pay based on your income. Look up the tax brackets to learn more. 
• Whenever you pay yourself, you should withhold your tax money and put it into a tax savings account. Every quarter, you should pay your taxes and keep your receipts so that you don’t have to pay it all at the end.
• https://www.irs.gov
• Paying Your Taxes: https://www.irs.gov/payments 

How do you figure out how much your time is worth?

• Take a look at your net income for a specific period of time and then divide it by the hours you worked during that period. 
• This will give you how much your time is worth. 
• If you are thinking about hiring an employee or contractor for less than your time is worth, it’s a no brainer. 

What counts as a write off for your taxes?

• Only a business owner can write off business expenses. Not W2 employees.
• Keep your finances as clean as possible. 
• For your home office either deduct $5/square foot of your home office or calculate the actual expenses and deduct the percentage your home office is of your home. 

Links:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_dawnpatton_/ 

Website: https://pattonaccounting.net 

Follow Karely:

• Branding For Women Website
• Instagram
• Facebook

Listen & Subscribe

• Apple Podcasts
• Google Podcasts
• Overcast
• Spotify

I’d love to hear from you!

Have some feedback about the show? Feel free to reach out to me at www.brandingforwomen.com or send me a message on instagram, @brandingforwomen. You can also rate the show in Apple Podcasts or your favorite app to help more people discover The Female Empowerment Podcast!