Fierce Lab

Latese Hickson, a Senior Brand Marketing Manager at Foot Locker, sits down with Tara to discuss taking a risk by changing her career path.   She offers tips for owning the room, getting comfortable with being uncomfortable and how each of those can lead to success.  Also, Latese discusses being the only female voice on the Foot Locker Men’s team and her advice for leaning into that dynamic.

Taking Risk

Latese discusses the change she made from being a buyer to a marketer and the risk of changing careers and starting over.  For her, she listened to the signs and herself, the change felt like the right thing to do.  Latese believes in shooting your shot and suggests when evaluating risks, consider your passion.  She says you'll know it’s a good time to take a risk when you’ve given something your all and are no longer experiencing growth and development in return.  Latese tells us to not be afraid to raise your hand and ask for more – usually the worst that can happen is being told no.

Owning the room and learning from others

To be successful in a job, Latese says it helps if you know how to own the room. To do this, know what you know, be confident about what you know, own it, and be good at it. Also, transparency is key. Along with being confident in what you know, recognize and be honest about what you don’t know and ask for help in those areas. When asking for help, check in with those you are asking and request feedback. 

Being uncomfortable

Throughout her career, Latese has often found herself in uncomfortable positions, speaking to consumers that she doesn’t necessarily identify with. She is empowered to understand those around her, so she is always learning by consistently asking questions, listening, and trying to be a part of the different conversations. Latese states that it is good to get comfortable with being uncomfortable – you should always be looking to create passion and challenge yourself. 

Working in a male-dominated environment

Currently, Latese is working on the Foot Locker Men’s team, is the only female voice, and she owns it. In filling this role, in addition to owning the room and being confident about what she knows, she also aims to empower her team. She welcomes insight from team members, and when authentic and respectful male colleagues offer advice, she receives and applies that advice.

GET YOUR TICKETS NOW.  Fierce Lab, our full-day conference for women, will be live and in-person on SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2021.  Tickets are on sale now with early bird pricing ($100 OFF) through June 30, 2021.  More details on our website.

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Dee C. Marshall, CEO of Diverse & Engaged, is an influencer and award-winning business owner as well as a thought leader on equity, diversity, and inclusion. She is a serial curator with bright ideas that are an outgrowth of passion and her focus on women’s growth and development and not just living life by default. In this episode Dee discusses the importance of recognizing your own unique brilliance and being boldly unapologetic. Tara and Dee also discuss the necessity of having a personal brand for job success, starting your day doing something just for you and they explore what it means to be politically engaged.

Women’s growth and development

Dee wants to see women love their life and live their dreams. She describes many women as living by default – they are following the typical American story but are often left feeling unfulfilled by midlife/midcareer. To make the shift towards fulfillment, first you must gain clarity on who you want to be and what you want, and then you can work towards your goals. For Dee, Brian Moran’s The 12 Week Year has helped guide her with breaking down her goals, and she uses a breakout block, an activity scheduled midweek, to help raise her mindset and health and wealth sets.

Starting your day right

Dee and Tara, both early risers, discuss their morning routines and starting the day with time your yourself. Tara reads the Wall Street Journal in the morning, while Dee avoids news first thing and instead always reads something related to development. Dee describes starting the day with the golden hour whereby you take the first hour of the day to focus on yourself; she states that she first gives time to herself before giving herself away to others.

Owning your unique brilliance and being boldly unapologetic

To own your unique brilliance, consider what you are really good at; discovering this can come through clarity in the morning. Balance your recognition of what you are uniquely brilliant at with what you know little about – “I am uniquely brilliant at X,” and “I am completely clueless with this thing.” Dee also discusses how being unapologetic for who you are is becoming more of a norm.

Having a personal brand and Dee’s retreats

Dee and Tara discuss the importance of having a personal brand to get a job, keep a job, and to grow in a job. By having a personal brand, you highlight what you bring to the table that others don’t and what your value add and unique serving position is. In addition to running a course for personal branding for executives, Dee also offers the Win, Rock, & Rule retreat, a yearly conference in New York for midlife/midcareer corporate women and influencers, as well as the Utopia Retreat, a weekend retreat aimed at helping women do better and be better.

GET YOUR TICKETS NOW.  Fierce Lab, our full-day conference for women, will be live and in-person on SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2021.  Tickets are on sale now with early bird pricing ($100 OFF) through June 30, 2021.  More details on our website.

FOLLOW FIERCE LAB

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Eager for more tools and resources to help you find your fierce? Now you can access additional content across the four content pillars using the Fierce Lab app. Premium subscribers get access to articles, guides, checklists, video content, and workshops, as well as exclusive events for members only.

Lauren Hasson, the founder of Develop[Her], author of The Develop[Her] Playbook, and a woman on the frontlines of tech, shares the five simple steps she took to make a comeback and negotiate for higher pay. She did it by owning her outcomes and taking action, building her network before she needed it, learning new skills and building her portfolio, communicating her value, and investing in herself. You can do it, too! In this episode, Lauren discusses defining and sharing your successes, LinkedIn as a tool, and how to network, learn marketable skills, and negotiate for higher pay.

Lauren Hasson and Develop[Her]

Develop[Her] was inspired by a podcast Lauren had hosted that was centered around women on the frontlines of tech and by her own personal story. She shares her experience of hitting rock bottom and being broke, laid off, and lacking confidence. Lauren was able to make a comeback and negotiate for higher pay after following the five simple steps outlined in her book, The Develop[Her] Playbook.

Defining and sharing your success

Lauren discusses how defining success, tracking her accomplishments, and acknowledging her growth and progress helped her make her comeback. With her book, she offers the At-A-Girl journal, an editable PDF for tracking your activities. She also explains the importance of visualization, whereby you make your goals a reality in your head first and later in real life.

Networking

When it comes to networking, Lauren and Tara talk strategy, like setting a goal to meet three new people at an event or in a day. She suggests reaching out to your heroes and having a small ask and offer prepared to help create a mutually beneficial relationship. It’s important to play the numbers game when networking by reaching out to many people.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a great tool for sharing your portfolio, meeting other people, and updating your connections about your accomplishments. Lauren says it’s important to consistently post something short, have content already queued up, and space your posts out.

Learning new skills and negotiating for higher pay

To make yourself marketable, it helps to strategically learn new skills. Lauren calls these “front of the line skills,” marketable skills that every company wants. Talk to recruiters and hiring managers to learn what skills are valuable, and then set out to learn them. Lauren also offers advice on negotiating for higher pay by having multiple offers. Though, knowing how to do this properly is important; otherwise, it could backfire.

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This episode of Fierce Lab, we're trying something different, what we're calling In Conversation With.  Tara sits down with her good friend Chelsee Adams, a creative consultant to discuss Chelsee’s background and starting their own businesses.  They discuss the value of being a generalist, networking, when it is time to take a break from stressful work, and how to visualize success.  Throughout they sprinkle in questions that were culled from Chelsee's Instagram followers and friends. 

Chelsee Adams’ background and starting her own business

Chelsee discusses how she got started as a food and lifestyle blogger before Instagram was a thing. Later, she started her own business as a creative consultant. She talks about the learning curve that goes with striking out on your own, how you are your own everything, and the importance of being prepared. As a creative consultant, she aims to always give her clients a thoughtful approach to creative direction, content strategy, and brand messaging, and how she can do as much or as little as is needed.

Being a generalist

Being a generalist, or a Jack of all trades, sometimes can have a negative connotation, but it is actually an awesome skill to have. Chelsee likens someone who can do more than just their area of expertise to being a unicorn. Being able to leave your ego behind, roll up your sleeves, and to do different things can open up a different world with more opportunities.

Networking and building relationships

Tara and Chelsee discuss the importance of building relationships and staying in touch with someone in a genuine way, and not just contacting someone when in need of something. Tara tells the story of how she joined Curves in attempt to network, and they tell the story of how the two became friends over Instagram.

Time to jump back in, or time to take a break?

Tara thinks that after the pandemic, it is time to jump back into work. But it is also important to know when it is time to recharge and take time for yourself if you have a stressful job. Chelsee recommends taking yourself on a creative date, and Tara discusses how solo trips help her reset. They also discuss that you should take full advantage of your vacation days, and when it is appropriate to negotiate PTO and sick days at your workplace.

Visualizing success

To help you set and achieve goals, visualizing your success helps. For Chelsee, creating a mood board/vision board helps her manifest her goals. For Tara, the book The Secret helped inspire her to incorporate a gratitude practice in her life, and she talks about setting big, scary goals and how others’ doubt helps feed her determination.

SAVE THE DATE:  Fierce Lab, our full-day conference for women, will be live and in-person on SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2021.  Pre-sales for tickets start June 1, 2021.  More details to be released soon.

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The Community of SEVEN, a leadership development program, was created by Lan Pham to bring people together in a community to help change the world for the better. The pivots and risks Lan took throughout her life prepared her for her role in creating the program, and she believes that living your purpose and values will help you achieve success in your life and in bettering the world. On this episode we discuss her love of micro-learnings.  To help instigate positive change in a manageable way, Lan launched the 1% challenge whereby you improve some area of your life by 1% each day, which will in turn help you achieve your greater goals.  

What is Community of SEVEN?

The Community of SEVEN was created to bring people together to change the world for the better. It is an intersectional, purpose-driven executive leadership development program consisting of two main parts: the core community, which is an invite only membership comprised mostly of C-suite executives and founders, and the supporter membership, which is open to all growth minded individuals and is intended to be a more affordable option. Community of SEVEN aims to create a community for each other where knowledge and thought leadership can be shared.

Lan’s background and the number 7

Lan has a rather unconventional background, beginning her career as an educator, working as a serial entrepreneur, and then landing in marketing. The pivots and risks she took in her life prepared her for the creation of the Community of SEVEN. Following layoffs due to COVID of Lan and her team of five individuals, they continued to meet, and with her daughter who often joined in on calls, they formed a team of seven. The number seven is also the ideal number of people for any meeting and productivity.

Living your purpose and values

Lan stresses the importance of living your purpose and your values – for her, that is focusing on family, friends, faith, helping others, and freedom. To achieve the goal of bettering the world, you must be in alignment with your values, purpose, and personal development.

Micro-learnings and Let’s Talks

The Community of SEVEN features Let’s Talk sessions as well as micro-learnings, which are open to anyone. Let’s Talks are conversations with a guest speaker where the audience can ask questions and participate. Micro-learnings are led by subject experts or career coaches who aim to teach you something.

The 1% challenge

Lan launched the 1% challenge, a challenge whereby you improve in some area of your life by 1% each day rather than attempting to make a major change that can often lead to failure. With the 1% challenge, small success can better stick and helps you to achieve greater success in a more manageable way.

SAVE THE DATE:  Fierce Lab, our full-day conference for women, will be live and in-person on SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2021.  Pre-sales for tickets start June 1, 2021.  More details to be released soon.

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Channing Beumer, is the founder of CNK Daily an online community with the goal and purpose of serving, educating, and empowering women in the sneaker and streetwear space, with a focus on Black and Brown women. On this episode we discuss the how to evaluate personal and professional risk, the importance of building something greater than yourself and how putting a stake in the ground can lead you to your calling.  Channing lives by her values, leading with her "why" and shares her tips for building the life you want for yourself by never wavering.  With CNK, she and her team aim to make sure women feel seen, heard, and understood.  They are amplifying voices in a real and tangible way, having created  the CNK Marketplace, a curated collection of must-know black-owned businesses.   Channing breaks down how they built it, who she admires and even shares which sneakers are in her current rotation.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

The CNK Team

Channing discusses her business partner and friend, Cassidy, and the newest member of the team, Jacqueline, and the importance of working with people that are not only good at what they do but also bring different perspectives and elements to the table. She also discusses her struggles with micromanaging and how giving an end goal and allowing people to go and do what they do results in better content.

Advice and the Why

To build a community and/or business around a passion, you really have to love it and not just be in it for the money or prestige or attention. Being in it to help people will always supersede any other goal, and it’s important to realize that there’s something bigger than you.

Finances

Figuring out what you can do with what you have sets you up to be financially sound; when you know that you can do something with little money, when you get big money, you know you don’t have to spend it all and can better manage the big money. You should be mindful of how you are making your money work and how you are paying your people.

The CNK Marketplace and Designers and Sneakers

The CNK Marketplace features everything from beauty and clothing to photographers and graphic designers and people who are in the creative space as well as favorite Black-owned businesses. Channing lists some of the up-and-coming designers she is excited about as well as some of her current favorite sneakers.

SAVE THE DATE:  Fierce Lab, our full-day conference for women, will be live and in-person on SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2021.  Pre-sales for tickets start June 1, 2021.  More details to be released soon.

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On this episode we chat with Kim Smith about the challenges that parents face with raising teens today, how to deal with their access to technology, and we explore why kids are less interested in getting their driver’s license now. She is the founder of the ministry Beautifully Broken and author of Beautifully Broken: Forged through Fire, Up from Ashes, as well as the nonprofit she started with her best friend dedicated to kids and teens struggling with their own or a family member’s addiction. 

The challenges parents face raising teens today

It is important to give grace to others, yourself, and your kids – it is okay to make mistakes and giving grace will help you and your kids face whatever challenges arise. Kim recommends taking the time to really listen to your kids and to ensure that your kids feel safe coming to you and trust that you will be there for them, as well as setting boundaries. You should focus on and celebrate the good, while staving the bad, which kids get enough of from social media and their peers.

Teens and technology

Today’s technology presents new challenges to the parents of teens; Kim recommends that you take charge and have access to social media passwords and texts, and that you monitor your teen’s phone use. Parental control apps, such as Circle, can help limit kids’ internet and social media access. She also suggests it is important to give your kids a way out – using a phone tracking system or drug testing gives your kid a reason to turn down a friend if they are being asked to go somewhere or do something that they don’t want to do.

Depression, anxiety, and suicide

Teens can be very vulnerable to the effects of social media, and it is important that they have time away from their devices, especially at night. Make sure you know what is going on in your kids’ lives and watch for warning signs such as changes in their eating habits, sleep patterns, and grades, and if you notice anything, act on it. If something is awry, the school, or district, often has a department run by a therapist or psychiatrist who can direct you to the best resources in your community for counseling or support groups.

Why kids today aren't as interested in getting their driver's license

Kids seem to be more comfortable staying at home, perhaps due to a lack of mobility, exposure, and getting out. Encouraging your kids to stay active outside and maintaining some structured responsibility is critical for helping your child prepare for when they transition to adulthood and leave the house.

SAVE THE DATE:  Fierce Lab, our full-day conference for women, will be live and in-person on SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2021.  Pre-sales for tickets start June 1, 2021.  More details to be released soon.

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Gaining financial security can seem like an intimidating process, but the most important thing you can do is to just take the leap and get started, says Financial Content Creator, Ashley Kilroy.  On this episode of the podcast we discuss the building blocks of financial security.  From figuring out how much money you have coming in and going out to making a budget, building an emergency fund, to minimizing debt, we cover it all.  Ashley even shares her formula investing at any age and her guidance for proper insurance coverage to protect your assets.  

Whether you're just starting out, doubling down on your efforts, or looking for a refresher on the topic of money – this podcast is for you.

Recap

The starting point: the money coming in and going out

To get started on a path towards financial security, you must first understand how much money you are making and what your spending habits are. Take a look at what your fixed expenses (e.g., auto insurance or mortgage) and variable expenses (e.g., utilities) are. Once you have an idea of the money you have to work with, you can organize a budget to follow; 50% for needs, 30% for wants, and 20% for savings, debt, and investing is a good rule of thumb, but there is no one size fits all, and you can tailor your budget to your needs.

Emergency savings fund

Set aside an emergency fund for worst case scenarios such as a car accident or losing your job. Having money set aside will prevent you from having to use credit and possibly winding up in a sticky financial situation. The amount you should have set aside depends on your own situation, but generally, it’s good to have 3 to 6 months’ worth of necessary expenses (basic necessities) saved.

Minimizing debt

Debt can be challenging to get out of, especially with negative compounding interest. If you have credit card debt, student loan debt, etc., start managing your debt by first figuring out what is owed and what the payments will look like. Good communication with your lenders can be beneficial, and you can look into options for handling the payments – i.e., student loans may be deferred for a period if needed or payments can be configured based on income, or credit card interest rates may be negotiated.

Investing

There are many options for investing, and a good place to start is with your employer if they offer a 401k or other retirement savings plan; they may also offer a match program and may have a financial advisor who you can talk to for more information. With investing and saving for retirement, it makes a significant difference if you start early, even if it’s with a small amount, and to stay consistent over time. There are many apps for investing, with some offering fractional shares, and another good option to look into is a Roth IRA, which offers a tax advantage.

Insurance

It is important to have the right insurance for protecting your assets as well as yourself and your loved ones in case of catastrophe. Disasters, such as a fire or car accident, can cause you to lose everything you worked for if not properly insured. When looking into insurance options, it is important to understand what you have and what your needs are to make sure you get the best protection.

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Brooke Lively helps entrepreneurs sleep better at night.  I should know, I'm one she has helped.  Brooke is the founder and CEO of Cathedral Capital, a company that helps business owners become profitable and thriving.  Her company provides financial strategy as well as outsourced CFO, accounting and bookkeeping services.

Brooke and her team have worked with hundreds of businesses and over the course of time have identified six key numbers that every entrepreneur should actively chart in their business.  On this episode we dive into those numbers, four of which are forward looking and two help keep the finances on track.  The six include: Cash Flow Forecast, Owner Compensation, Work in Progress, Sales Calls Booked and Net New Engagements.  The principles that Brooke outlines applies to all industries and business types.  So whether you operate a retail store, sell products online, have a service based business or manage a law firm, these six numbers apply.

If you're looking to grow your business financial intelligence or improve the performance of your company, this podcast is for you.  It's full of actionable tips, spoken in easy to understand terms, and filled with extra reference resources.  

To learn more about Brooke and Cathedral Capital and to download your free copy of their Cash Flow Forecast worksheet, visit their website:  https://www.cathcap.com/fiercelab

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This month we're kicking off our Women and Money series.  We wanted to bring you one of our most listened to episodes with Jacqueline Twillie that originally aired December 3, 2020.

Jacqueline and her company ZeroGap are on a mission to eliminate the gender wage gap.  One way she works toward this goal is by teaching women to negotiate to increase the longevity of women in leadership roles within male-dominated industries.  The author of two books including Don't Leave Money On The Table, Jacqueline is an internationally recognized negotiation expert but she credits working in her mother's hair salon in Louisiana as a teen with learning the art of negotiation.

For this episode we sat down to lay out the steps women can take to improve their skills and to debunk the top six myths about negotiation.  From the misconception that women should never show emotion when negotiating to there's only one winner in a negotiation, Jacqueline sets the record straight about these myths.  Along with way she shares valuable tips for establishing your career goals, how to advance your career, and what you should be asking of your employer while we're in the middle of a global pandemic.

To learn more about Jacqueline and her company visit ZeroGap.co or JacquielineTwillie.com.

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