What do you do when someone tells you you're behind?

Nesha Pai walked into her annual performance review at a Charlotte CPA firm ready to ask for a raise — and her boss told her she was "nowhere near her peers" because she'd taken time off to raise her son. She quit on the spot, with no plan and no backup income, at 40, as a single mom. One client followed her. Fifteen years later, Pai CPA is the first fully remote accounting firm in North Carolina, serving 80+ clients with a team of stay-at-home moms.

In this episode, Jennie and Nesha talk about the "mom gap" and why the time you spent raising your kids is not a hole in your resume, how to advocate for yourself in a room full of men, the biggest money mistakes women business owners make, why she fired her largest client to protect her core values, what to do this week if you're scared to open your books, her book Overcoming Ordinary Obstacles, and what it looks like to reinvent yourself again at 55.

In this episode:
- The performance review that changed everything
- "Little Nesha stood up and said I quit"
- Starting a firm at the kitchen table with one client
- Building the first fully remote CPA firm in North Carolina
- The hustle: every networking event in her city for six months
- Perfectionism vs. actually investing in yourself
- Firing her biggest client over her core values
- How to stop being afraid of your own numbers
- Writing a book to heal, and the reader she never expected
- Keynote speaking and the "Don't Settle" speech
- Why there is no age limit on reinvention

Connect with Nesha Pai:
Instagram: @neshapai
Website: neshapai.com
LinkedIn: Nesha Pai
Book: Overcoming Ordinary Obstacles

If this episode hit you, share it with the woman you were thinking about the whole time you listened, and leave a review — it's how these stories find the women who need them most.

Girl, why not you?

I took my three-and-a-half-year-old to see Moana expecting popcorn, candy, and a cute little mom-son afternoon. Instead I sat in a dark theater and ugly-cried through about 70% of it. Apparently, I was not ok... Ha!

Because what I saw on that screen wasn't an island adventure. It was the entire journey of being a female entrepreneur, laid out scene by scene — and nobody warned me it was coming.

In this episode I break down why Moana is secretly the most entrepreneurial movie Disney has ever made:

• The ocean calling her — that whisper you hear folding laundry at 2am that says there's more. Mine showed up while I was standing in my kitchen, eight months pregnant, after the rug got pulled out from under my family.
• "No one goes beyond the reef" — why the people who love you most will hand you their fear disguised as protection, and why their reef is not your boundary.
• Grandma Tala — every woman building something needs one person dancing on the shoreline saying go. If you don't have one, I'll be her.
• The storms and the crashes — my first year was me getting rocked by every wave. Wrong pricing. Flopped marketing. Events that went sideways. She stays on the boat. That's the whole game.
• "Just choose someone else" — the scene that broke me, because I've sat on my couch and said those exact words.
• "Do you know who you are?" — the single question that separates the women who build empires from the women who almost did.
• Walking toward the fire — how many of us have turned our pain into walls and become our own version of Te Kā.

I started with a toddler at home, a baby on the way, and served my first event three days before giving birth. It was messy. It was scared. It happened anyway.

So here's your Moana challenge: listen to the whisper. Sail past the reef. Stay on the boat. Pick the heart back up. Walk toward the fire — because the most beautiful version of your life is on the other side of it.

Girl, why not you?

WEBSITE: www.girlwhynotyou.com

What do you do when your child is diagnosed with a condition so rare that only nine other kids in the world have it — and there's no playbook?

Today's guest, Kasey Walsh, lived that reality. After her daughter Robbie was diagnosed with a rare form of hereditary spastic paraplegia at just two years old, Kasey refused to sit on the sidelines. She bought Neuroscience for Dummies, taught herself genetics, co-founded a nonprofit, and connected with researchers at Boston Children's Hospital — all while raising two kids.

Now she's the Founder & CEO of Winsights, a groundbreaking patient-powered platform using AI to turn real family experiences into research-grade evidence for rare disease communities.

In this episode, we talk about:

-The moment that took her breath away — and how she found the strength to keep going
-Why families often have to connect the dots that the medical system misses
-How she found her voice in rooms full of experts
-What she's building with Winsights and why it matters for every rare disease family
-Her advice for anyone facing something unexpected: don't say "why me" — say "plot twist"

Timestamps:
00:00 — Intro
00:30 — Meet Kasey Walsh
02:16 — The diagnosis that changed everything
04:43 — Navigating the early days as a special needs mom
05:32 — Starting a nonprofit & finding other families
09:16 — Buying Neuroscience for Dummies — the moment she took control
12:16 — What is Winsights? Turning anecdotes into evidence
14:59 — Finding her voice in rooms full of experts
16:28 — Advice for anyone afraid to advocate for themselves
19:36 — "Don't say why me — say plot twist"
20:09 — Where to connect with Kasey & learn about Winsights

Connect with Kasey:
Winsights: https://winsights.life Website: https://kaseywalsh.com

Connect with Jennie:
Podcast IG: @girlwhynotyou_
Website: https://girlwhynotyou.com Email: mailto:[email protected]

#raredisease #patientadvocacy #momentrepreneur #healthtech #winsights #kaseywalsh #hereditaryspasticparaplegia #caregiver #AIinhealthcare #rarediseaseresearch #womeninbusiness #girlwhynotyou #jennieblackwood #podcast #femalefounder

You're posting. You're showing up. You're doing all the "right" things — so why does it still feel like you're running in place?

Here's the truth nobody wants to hear: the thing holding you back probably isn't your strategy. It's you.

In this episode, I sit down with Leanna de Bellevue — a single mom who was making $80/hour doing massage, got told her job was disappearing overnight, and said "OK, I'll figure it out." She taught herself marketing from a Google search, built a six-figure agency from scratch with zero budget, scaled it across 17 countries for 15 years, and then sold it for over asking in 10 days flat.

Now she helps entrepreneurs uncover the blind spots they can't see on their own — and 85-90% of the time, the real problem isn't systems or marketing. It's mindset.

We're talking about:

 The "Whisper Theory" — why ignoring your gut always costs you more later
 Why imposter syndrome gets LOUDER at every new level (yes, even after you "make it")
 The one free thing you can do today to find your biggest blind spot
 Why the promises you keep breaking are always the ones you make to yourself
 How accountability — real, uncomfortable accountability — changes everything

If you're stuck and you've tried everything, this one's going to hit different.

Connect with Leanna: @debellevueconsulting | debellevueconsulting.com

What happens when you stop waiting for someone else and just go? In this episode, Jennie Blackwood sits down with Charlotte Lilly, founder of The Retreat Co, who turned a spontaneous solo yoga retreat in Cuba into a thriving business creating transformative travel experiences for women. Charlotte shares how that one trip gave her a confidence she didn't know she needed, why the scariest part is always saying yes, and what she sees happen when women finally stop waiting to feel ready. Whether you're dreaming about starting a business, booking a solo adventure, or just taking that first scary step — this episode is your sign. Just go.

Guest: Charlotte Lily, Founder of The Retreat Co 

Website: theretreat.company 

Instagram: @_theretreatcompany

She was thriving in corporate — big teams, big projects, 60-hour weeks, addicted to the next promotion. Then her son was born five weeks early, and she almost didn't make it.

In that hospital room, everything she thought she wanted stopped mattering.

In this episode of Girl, Why Not You?, I sit down with Wendy Jensen — bestselling children's book author and founder of Scandinavian Hearts — about the moment she realized climbing the corporate ladder wasn't her path anymore. Not because she hated it. Because she loved something else more.

Wendy shares how she went from corporate executive to freelance consultant to launching a heritage-inspired brand — starting with stickers — that turned into four bestselling children's books. No publishing deal. No writing degree. Just a woman who Googled "how to write a children's book" and went for it.

We get into:

• Why she almost died during childbirth and how it rewired everything
• The difference between corporate success and the success that actually fills you up
• How helping small business owners inspired her to become one
• Turning family traditions into a bestselling book series
• Why "test and learn, fail fast" isn't just corporate jargon — it's how she built her whole second chapter

If you've ever felt stuck on a ladder that doesn't even lead where you want to go — this one's for you.

Find Wendy at scandinavianhearts.com and on Instagram @scandinavianhearts.

She went from accounting at one of the largest mining companies in the world to growing a financial firm from $500 million to $4.6 billion in four years — as a single mom.

Then her body stopped letting her push through.

In this episode of Girl, Why Not You?, I sit down with Jackie Yoder — executive consultant, leadership strategist, and growth advisor — for the conversation women in leadership aren’t having out loud. We’re talking about what happens when perimenopause collides with your biggest professional season. The brain fog. The anxiety out of nowhere. The moment you realize "just push harder" isn’t going to work this time.

Jackie shares how burnout and premature menopause forced her to completely rethink how she led — and how letting go became the thing that actually made her team (and her business) stronger.

We also get into:
- What feminine leadership actually looks like in male-dominated industries
- Why high-performing women hide what they’re going through
- The delegation breakthrough that changed everything
- Jackie’s new female executive roundtables in Scottsdale (and virtual options coming soon)

If you’re a woman in leadership quietly wondering what’s happening to your brain, your energy, or your edge — this one’s for you.

Find Jackie at jackieyoder.com and on Instagram @jackiemyoder.

More than 50% of women are unsatisfied with their lives because they gave up on their dream. In this episode of Girl, Why Not You?, bestselling author and women's leadership expert Emily Lampkin reveals exactly why — and gives you the step-by-step playbook to start changing that THIS week.

Emily is the founder of the Women Leaders Series, has spent 25+ years training thousands of women across corporate, nonprofit, education, and politics, and her book Duct Tape and White Lies is the practical, no-fluff guide women have been begging for. We go DEEP: why talking to men the way you talk to women is costing you promotions, deals, and respect. The 3 things you must do before walking into any networking event (I learned this the hard way after eating alone at a millionaire conference). The "dream slashers" keeping you stuck — and how to fire them today. Plus, the wild story of a country president who flew back just to hear Emily speak again.

If you've been waiting for permission to bet on yourself, this is your sign. Stop waiting. Start now.

 Grab Duct Tape and White Lies on Amazon ($17 paperback | audiobook available)

SHOW NOTES:

About the Guest
Emily Lampkin is a bestselling author, sought-after speaker and advisor, and the founder of the Women Leaders Series. She has spent more than 25 years training thousands of women across the country and around the world in corporate, nonprofit, education, and political leadership. Her book Duct Tape and White Lies: A Woman's Practical Guide to Real-Life Success was published by Simon & Schuster and is available now.

Connect with Emily

• Website: emilylampkin.com
• Instagram: @emilyklampkin
• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/emilylampkin
• Facebook: facebook.com/emily.k.lampkin
• Book: amazon.com — Duct Tape and White Lies Emily Lampkin

 Connect with Jennie

• Website: jennieblackwood.com
• Instagram: @girlwhynotyou_
• Podcast: Girl, Why Not You?

You work hard for your money. So why does it still feel like you're behind?

Maybe you've been telling yourself you'll "figure it out later." Maybe you've googled "what to do with savings" at midnight and closed the tab more confused than when you opened it. Maybe you just feel like everyone else has it together and you're the only one faking it.

You're not. And this episode is proof.

I sit down with Hayley Dickson — Certified Financial Planner, CEO and founder of Rippl Wealth Management — and she pulls back the curtain on the 3 things silently eating your wealth alive: taxes, inflation, and your own emotions. We talk about why "I'm not a money person" is the most expensive story you've ever believed, why your savings account is actually working against you, and what financial freedom really looks like (hint — it's not some far-off retirement dream).

Hayley left a cushy Hollywood career, started over with a toddler on her hip and a baby on the way, and built a firm specifically to help women like us — women who weren't handed a trust fund, who are building something from scratch, and who deserve a financial partner that actually speaks their language.

Whether you're a mom, a 9-to-5er, a business owner, or all three — this conversation will make you feel seen, fired up, and ready to stop leaving your money on the table.

FREE OFFER: Hayley is gifting every listener a complimentary 30-minute chemistry session — normally $500. No pressure, no pitch. Just real talk about your money and what to do next. Email her for details!

Find Hayley:
www.rippl.nm.com

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

Email: [email protected]

If that quiet little voice inside you is saying "maybe it's time" — listen to it. This is your permission slip. 

Jennifer Blair was a stay-at-home mom of four with no business plan, no investor, and no experience. She just wanted a way to feel like herself again.

She took a one-day lash certification class, ran a Groupon expecting maybe 20 sales… and over 300 people showed up. She almost quit before she even started. Instead, she leaned all the way in — practiced on friends' couches, opened a tiny studio, created her own training program, and built Deka Lash into a nationwide franchise with 125+ locations.

In this episode, Jennifer shares:
• How a Vegas trip sparked the entire idea
• Why her Groupon almost made her quit on day one
• How she created a training academy when the industry didn’t have one
• What it took to go from 1 rented chair to 125+ franchise studios
• The real talk on mom guilt, imperfect starts, and betting on yourself

If you’ve ever felt like you’re carrying everything and wondering when it’s YOUR turn — this episode is for you.

 Find Jennifer & Deka Lash:
dekalash.com — use "Find a Studio" to locate a Deka Lash near you

Jennifer Blair on LinkedIn — speaking events & more

Shop Deka Lash products at dekalash.com or on Amazon