Financial Fluency: How Women Thrive Outside of the 9 to 5

Ever feel like you may be at a disadvantage being a woman in Corporate America?  Today we have Heather Havenwood, serial entrepreneur, author, and a top authority on digital marketing, sales coaching, and online publishing strategies.  

When asked if she enjoyed working from home, Heather began by explaining why she describes herself as “unemployable”.   Between 1997 and 1999-2000, Heather was employed in Corporate America in B2B sales and achieved the number one spot out of 10,000 reps. She describes how she got a pat on the head, and comments such as “good job, you’re so cute”, and was fired.  This was her first inkling that she was unemployable in corporate America.

Why was she fired?  Because she didn’t fit the bill - she said: “I wasn’t a white dude who was 45 with a gut”.  When she proposed going to global sales, they again said she didn’t fit - she was a single 25-year-old woman, without a college education amongst a sea of 40 something white males with families.  Men with families and mortgages were viewed as more worthy of higher paying jobs.  In fact, when she left, they gave all her accounts to her assistant, a man who was married with kids.

She then decided to go into waitressing, and became a hostess where she made suggestions to the manager on how things could be more efficient.  The manager did acknowledge that she was right, but that he was the manager, and she was a hostess.  And once again, she was fired.  She couldn’t just stay within the box she was required to be.   

Her determination, and refusal to give up allowed her to gain experience in sales, and to navigate being in

In 2005, Heather achieved massive success creating a digital marketing company and going from zero to one million in sales in just one year. She had a business partner who was the front man, and she did everything in the background.  And one day, he left, emptied her bank accounts, and Heather was left having to foreclose on her home, and declaring bankruptcy.  

Undeterred, she continued on, and now has a thriving business helping others achieve success with their own businesses.

You can connect with Heather on her website at http://heatherhavenwood.com/, and on social media via  www.HeatherHavenwood.com/twitter, www.HeatherHavenwood.com/facebook, and www.HeatherHavenwood.com/instagram.

Resources:

To get three free chapters of Heather’s book Sexy Boss™ How Female Entrepreneurship is Changing the Rule Book and Beating the Big Boys, go to www.askheatherann.com .

You can also purchase her book here.

Heather Ann Havenwood, is a serial entrepreneur and is regarded as a top authority on digital marketing, sales coaching, and online publishing business strategies. Heather Ann has been named Top 50-Must-Follow Women Entrepreneurs for 2017 by Huffington Post. She is also called Chief Sexy Boss™ (from her Amazon BEST SELLER book Sexy Boss™ How Female Entrepreneurship is Changing the Rule Book and Beating the Big Boys and others call her an 'Icon Creator' or a 'Wizard Behind the Curtain'. In 2006 she started, developed and grew an online information marketing publishing company from ground zero to over $1 million in sales in less than 12 months. Starting without a list, a product, a name or an offer, Heather Ann molded her business partner into a successful guru now known as an expert in his field. She has instructed, coached and promoted hundreds of entrepreneurs leading them down the path to success in building a lucrative business from their knowledge and leveraging it online.

Are you riding the roller coaster of failed relationships and heartbreak? Today we have Diana Mandell, international Dating Coach and Relationship Expert, Speaker and Author.

Diana grew up in a family of entrepreneurs.  From a very young age, she had a vision of having her own business.  When she was 10, she saved a girl from committing suicide, without really having a knowledge of the impact of what she had done.  She did, however, come to realize that her ability to handle psychological distress was innate in her, and wanted to be involved in something related to psychology, and helping people.   She then went to undergrad and graduate school in psychotherapy and psychology.  

The dating and relationship component of her business came from the desire to help people find their connections in the world, and navigate the dating scene, having experienced parents who had an exceptional marriage and set a very high standard.   

Out of grad school, Diana became a therapist but soon found that she wanted to expand her scope and provide more support to her clients outside of the structured methodologies of therapy.  She began a business as a life coach and quickly evolved into relationship coaching for women, men, and couples.   

You can find out more about Diana and her services on her website at  http://dianamandell.com/, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/DatingMixologist  on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/dianamandell/.

Diana is an international Dating Coach and Relationship Expert, Speaker and Author. Diana specializes in helping men, women, and couples find and keep healthy and sustainable relationships with women they once thought were out of their league. Diana's clients refer to her as the Female Hitch. Since 2012, Diana has developed and perfected a personalized and exclusive dating blueprint formula to support her clients in the belief that love is possible.

If you are like most parents, you probably had at least one (or many) occurrences when your baby just wouldn’t sleep, and neither did you.

Greta and Brad Zude, who are now parents of 6 children, began their quest for learning the secrets to a sleeping baby about 9 years ago when they had their first child.  Before her arrival, in fact even before Greta was pregnant, they read all the books, took parenting classes, and learned as much as they could about helping their baby sleep through the night, and easily nap during the day.  

Their knowledge served them well for the first 4 weeks of their newborn’s life, but then at 4 weeks, everything changed.  Naps became inconsistent, and their little one woke up several times a night, and sleep was irregular, for all of them.  They decided to get in touch with a sleep consultant, who helped them work out what was normal and what was not.  After a couple of weeks, things started to go more smoothly and by 8 weeks, their daughter was once again sleeping through the night.

From this experience, and the birth of their 5 subsequent children, Greta and Brad learned a great deal about sleep, and people started asking how they did it.  They started to give classes to other parents, teaching them the secrets of a sleeping baby.  Brad, who has an entrepreneurial spirit, came home from work one day when their youngest was 2 weeks old and announced that they should become online baby sleep consultants.  They created an online course and set up a facebook page, and now they have approximately 550 students.  

With lack of sleep, comes a myriad of issues - stress, exhaustion, marital problems, health problems, issues in the workplace - you name it.  Through their course, Greta and Brad have given parents the tools they need to get the sleep they desperately need, and as a result, have a healthier more productive life.  On a daily basis, they receive emails from happy parents claiming that the course saved their marriage, their babies are so happy, and many other tales of gratitude.

For Greta and Brad, one of the biggest benefits of their business is that they have a tremendous amount of structure, so they can keep a healthy balance in their lives.

You can find out more about Secrets to a Sleeping Baby on Brad and Greta’s website at  www.MyBabyCanSleep.com or on Facebook at  Facebook.com/MyBabyCanSleep.

Does filing taxes as an entrepreneur scare you every quarter? Today on the show, I have Founder and CEO of Empire Tax Professionals, Rachel Michaelov. Her goal is to take a proactive approach to tax planning and finding all possible deductions and credits.

Rachel shares her story with me on how she left her corporate job to start her own business. About 13 years ago, Rachel was hired by one of the biggest companies in NYC who represented big celebrities. At the time, she was told she would work a 9-5 job, but she quickly realized that there was no work/life balance; it was too hard to juggle a family life and the corporate job. She mentions to me that leaving her W-2 was the best decision.

Now, Rachel gives her employees the flexibility to have a work/life balance with her current venture. With her family life, Rachel tells me that business is flourishing. She now serves over 600 small business owners and helps advise them to get their maximum deductions when it comes to taxes.

Rachel’s Business Mission

Teaching business owners about having someone help them in maintaining accurate records, and being sure they are spending the money they should for business and not overpaying for anything unnecessary.

To learn more about Rachel and her business, visit empiretaxusa.com or follow her on Facebook:

• facebook.com/rachel.michaelov

Resources

empiretaxusa.com/in-depth-tax-planner/

Bio

Rachel Michaelov is the Founder & CEO of Empire Tax Professionals. She has been a Licensed tax specialist for over a decade and is a true Entrepreneur at heart. Her specialties lie in helping small business owners optimize their taxes and achieve financial success. Rachel is constantly acquiring further certifications to master her craft and has been mentored by the very best throughout her climb to success. Now, she carries over her own skill set, and coupled her coaching career with her tax specialization. She is always looking to collaborate and help business owners, so follow her on social media!

Launching. If you are in the online entrepreneur space, then you have probably seen a lot of launches. I know I sure have. And yet, for years I was terrified of launching myself. So as I entered into my very first launch for Mastering Money Matters a couple of months ago, I caught up with Kate Boyd to learn more about launching. Kate is a launch and marketing strategists who helps entrepreneurs with every part of their launch from the pre-launch strategy to writing the email copy and interacting with joint venture partners.

Kate has some great advice for online entrepreneurs launching at all different stages of business growth, as well as business owners in general.

You can connect with Kate Boyd via her website at cobblestonecreativeco.com.

Facebook.com/cobblestonecreativeco

Instagram.com/cobblestonecreative.co

Kate is a launch + marketing strategist who help entrepreneurs make a bigger impact with less hustle by optimizing, automating, and delegating the marketing tasks they don't enjoy. She combines a journalism degree, 3 years of online business experience, and 5+ years in nonprofit marketing to help others grow, nurture, and mobilize their tribes so they can have success and have time to enjoy it too.

Is it a constant struggle to find balance in your life? Today on Financial Fluency, I have Shelia Heard with me. Shelia is a retired Army veteran and the founder of My Life. My Terms Movement. On the show, Shelia will help provide tips to help keep things more in balance.

Shelia tells me that she originally didn’t plan to retire from the Army and jump right into her business. Sadly, one family tragedy after another came year after year for Shelia. First, her daughter got sick and lost her eyesight and mobility. After that, her youngest son was diagnosed with a mental illness. And the year after, her oldest son passed away and her younger son was charged with the murder.

Shelia works with all kinds of women to help them find awareness to get them to understand where (and why) they are now. To her, shifting your mindset is the first step to change.

Quotes from the Show

“This is my life. I need to be responsible for it.”

“You can’t see everything. You have to listen to the coach...who is it that you want to be like? Who is it that you want to become? What can you do to have that life that you want?”

Shelias’s Personal Message

“Control self, control your life. Pain is unavoidable, suffering is a choice. Why: The storm can blow you anyway but loose; however, you can position yourself to blow every which way and still come out focused and ready to take the next step despite the odds.”

To learn more about Shelia, visit her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/livingthejoyfullife/

Minling is a geek about all things branding. Good thing too because as a brand marketing strategist and coach, she has worked with solopreneurs, small businesses, consulting companies, and big brands to strategically market and position themselves so they have an eye-popping 'It' brands that turn heads. Minling is passionate about helping small business owners uncover their unique message so they can rapidly build a list of raving fans eager to buy along the way.

Branding is more than the website, logo, and graphic. Branding is perception. How you are perceived by others. So instead of focusing on the visuals, start by focusing how you can emotionally connect with your audience and building a strong bond with your potential clients and customers. This will help you build loyalty and become known as an authority brand.

On this episode, Minling tells the story of her crush on Tom. Tom is so amazing. He cares about others, he gives back everyday and when Minling is with him she feels like a better person too. Who is Tom? It’s actually a brand. A shoe brand that gives away one pair of shoes for every pair purchased. The way Minling feels about Tom’s brand is exactly the way we all want our clients and customers to feel about us and our brands. Mingling talks about what individuals and companies can do to help create that kind of connection and feeling with customers.

Minling also shares the story of her journey from doing marketing for big brands through an agency, to trying to start her first company and eventually coming back to her love of branding for small businesses.

You can connect with Minling Chuan via her website at http://brandfameschool.com.

http://facebook.com/minlingchuang

http://instagram.com/minlingchuang

And you can get a free Branding Masterclass right here: http://brandfameschool.com/masterclass

Resources:

Tom’s Shoes

Minling Chuang has 8+ years of experience in branding and marketing, working on top brands such as Nestle Toll House, Lean Cuisine, Toyota, and UBM. While at Nestle, Minling launched a $54 Million product for Lean Cuisine that also won Product of the Year. Minling holds an MBA from Indiana University and a BA from the University of Southern California. She has been featured in the Huffington Post.

Where do you start when it comes to getting your finances in order? On today’s episode of Financial Fluency, I have Michelle Bobrow with me. Michelle is the founder and personal finance strategist behind The Holistic Wallet. The Holistic Wallet is a place where people can help you set a financial foundation and provide creative and casual guidance to reign-in control of your spending, overcome your mental money blocks, and optimize your cash flow.

Michelle shares her path to The Holistic Wallet and what led her to make the transition to become a personal finance strategist. She recalled graduating in the recession and had $55K of consumer loans from spending in college.  To defer the student loans, she started grad school with no real direction in what she wanted to do. Her first job was with a bank, and it was an excellent opportunity to earn money.

Because she was making significant money, Michelle wanted to optimize how she was spending it.  Michelle has a background and degree in women’s studies, and when she first started in finance, she noticed how masculine the entire industry was and continues to be today. Michelle found a way to feminize the financial world, and help others seek the emotional, “right-brain-side” of finance. All of her research helped her creative ideas and ideologies of personal finances. And now, The Holistic Wallet is her full-time gig.

Notable Quotes from Michelle

“We are relating to media messages and things we’re supposed to buy because it’s supposed to make us feel good.”

“We keep spending and pushing the envelope because we’re looking for that boundary.”

“Our financial lives are always going to be changing. There’s always going to be a variable expense that comes up whether we anticipate it or not—there’s so much variation in our lives and finances.”

“Our financial lives are always going to be a work in progress.”

Michelle’s Personal Message

“In the 5 years it took me to increase my net worth by $100K, I went from spendaholic to burnt-out personal finance addict. It seems innocent enough to make positive lifestyle changes but when you spend most of your waking minutes obsessing over them, you kind of forget to live your life. I'd love to share what ignited my obsession with personal finance, how it consumed my life, why being addicted to something good can actually be bad, and what I did to create a more balanced relationship with money.”

To learn more about Michelle and The Holistic Wallet, visit theholisticwallet.com or follow her on social media:

• Facebook

Resources

Bio

Michelle Bobrow is the founder and personal finance strategist behind The Holistic Wallet and is here to lighten up your relationship with your money. Having gone from shopaholic to personal finance addict, Michelle now focuses on money psychology to integrate healthy and balanced financial habits into our lives. Set yourself up for big savings in 7 simple steps by grabbing your free copy of The Money Cleanse. http://moneycleanse.theholisticwallet.com

Have you ever wondered how to impact the world using your gifts and talents? On today’s episode of Financial Fluency, I have the pleasure of speaking with Cameo Gore, an intuitive success coach. In her line of work, she uses high-level business strategies to help online and brick-and-mortar businesses with growth and development. She helps develop businesses with the heart over hustle mindset. In her own business, Cameo mentions on the show that she loves working with coaches that have an intuitive side and understand energy, in addition to having a highly-strategic side.

Before jumping into entrepreneurship, Cameo worked as a registered nurse and had a career in the medical field. She tells me that she left a high-level job as the Director of Surgery  at a pediatric hospital in the Bay Area to pursue a freedom-based business. She stepped away from corporate so she could redistribute her time and priorities with her family.

Right after leaving her corporate job, she went straight into strategy in addition to personal development. She quickly realized her strength was working with energy. For Cameo, energy work is aligning your energy with higher-vibrational frequencies so you can a match for the most incredible things to come into your life.

Now, Cameo’s mission is to help women live fully empowered lives and create businesses that are in alignment with their gifts, talents, and intuition. Cameo helps clients upgrade money consciousness to rise to the next level of success and freedom.

Quotes from the Show

“We all have the gift of intuition, it’s about using it and applying it to your business to create success.”

“Your business isn’t going to grow and you’re not going to get to the next-up level if you’re not working in alignment with how you’re feeling.”

“Your life can unfold in direct proportion to the vision of what you actually want to be creating.”

To learn more about Cameo, her business, and retreats, visit her website http://cameogore.com/ or follow her on social media:

• Facebook

Resources

Cameo’s 5-day money challenge: https://cameogoresuccesscoach.lpages.co/5-days-master-your-money-mindset-op/

Cameo’s 7-week acceleration program is open for enrollment right now, sign up here: http://cameoandsuzanne.com/digital/

Bio

Cameo Gore is the Lifestyle and Business Success Coach (and modern intuitive) that you need on your team if you’re a creative, conscious woman ready to make great money from your spiritual gifts on your terms. A certified energy healer and business coach with 15 years experience making millions for others, Cameo brings both razor-sharp intuition and solid business acumen to the table to help her clients create thriving businesses with soul-driven business strategy and spiritual alignment.

When she’s not Skyping with clients or hosting beautiful retreats around the globe, you can find Cameo soaking up the sun on the beach, booking a midday massage, hiking on the trails or hanging with her husband and kids. Learn more about building a business that makes bank from your natural gifts at www.cameogore.com.

Are you ready to streamline your online business? On this episode of Financial Fluency, I have Erin Hook Kelly with me. Erin is an online business manager and founder of Member Vault, a CRM (customer or client relationship management) tool where you can create and manage content for your business and well as engagement and lead tracking.

Erin’s path to creating Member Vault was accidental she tells me. Originally, she started working as an OBM (online business manager). As Erin put it—she acts as the ‘second business brain’ to help clients work on their business. What started as a quick tool for one of her clients, turned into something much bigger—a business. At the time, there weren’t many tools on the market to meet a particular client’s needs, so her husband (who is a developer) decided to build something himself. Now, the platform has evolved from housing courses to a full-fledged content platform. Erin tells me this is now merging into her full-time business.

Although Member Vault has seen proven success over the six months, Erin tells me on the show the decision to focus her time and energy wasn’t an easy one. There were times she would stay up at night wondering if she made the right decision. With her busy life, her online business, a 15-month-old, and all the other responsibilities Erin was juggling—something had to give. The book The Pumpkin Plan gave her the insight and courage she needed to make the right decision on what to focus her energy on: being the OBM to Adrienne Dorison, and passing over all her course materials to her and focusing her time on Member Vault.

“Be ruthless about your energy.” - Erin Hook Kelly

So what makes Member Vault different? First things first, it’s a content platform that’s based on your opt-in, and it’s a great way to surface the content you already have and track what people are consuming. What content you use is entirely up to you. It can be audio, video, pdfs, you name it. You can put your website URL, waitlist, your one-on-one services into the platform—any content you want people to have access to. Alongside content is the engagement portion of Member Vault. The tool allows you to see your most popular content, engagement points, and users. Erin also tells me that some popular user requests are in the pipeline for Member Vault updates in the new year and include affiliate programs, payments, and more.

To learn more about Erin or Member Vault visit: https://membervault.co/ or visit her social media channels:

• Member Vault Facebook Page

Erin’s Personal Message

Automated, personalized engagement is the wave of the future in online business. We saw it with email marketing tools like Active Campaign, and now we're seeing it with Facebook bots, website tools like ConvertFlow and of course, my course platform, Member Vault. Give your clients, and prospective clients, a personal experience by providing support, and sales pitches, that are appropriate for their stage and phase.

Resources

https://membervault.co/

https://www.facebook.com/membervault/

Start your 30-day free trial with Member Vault today

Bio

Erin Kelly is an OBM for the fantastic Adrienne Dorison, and a co-founder of the automated engagement focused course platform, Member Vault, where students complete courses, and course creators watch their income domino.