GSD Diaries with Angela Proffitt

Building a business is no easy task and at times it can be overwhelming. There's so many things to think about and consider, but one of the most important things to do before anything else is to establish values for your business. 

No matter what kind of business you have or want to create, this step will help you attract the clients you want and will establish a solid company culture. Creating a values-based company should always come first because it helps make sure every other decision you make aligns with who you are as an entrepreneur. 

I’m excited to share today’s guest, Erica Courdae, DEI Coach and Consultant, Founder and CEO of Silver Immersion Beauty Salon. She will be sharing with us how to build a values based business.

Main Topics:

- The definition of an “imperfect ally”- Strategies to use in business to ensure all clients feel welcome- What it means to optionalize your values

Key Takeaways:

- Simple, first steps to take if you feel like you’re late to the ‘diversity and inclusion’ conversation- Mistakes podcasters and content creators make that drive tokenism (even when the intention is to amplify BIPOC voices)- The difference between implicit and explicit values -- and how you can weave yours into your social media content, newsletters, and more 

We are told our entire lives to play small and to make others happy before ourselves. But the problem with playing small is that it leaves us feeling unfulfilled and without the abundance we want in life. 

When you're unapologetically you, there's no need for apologies or excuses because when you're being true to yourself, there's nothing wrong with who you are. If authenticity is what you crave most in your life then this podcast episode is for you! Embracing your uniqueness can lead to greater success in every aspect of your life!

I’m so excited to share guest, Petia Kolibova, CEO of Petia Kolibova who will be sharing all about how you can create abundance in your life. 

Main Topics:

- How you can create abundance- How do you find yourself- The routines and rituals that change the way you feel or think

Key Takeaways:

- You are perfectly made for your purpose- Be the energy you want to attract in your life- What would your higher self do? 

Have you ever really thought about it? Your strategy vs. your capacity? You may have curated and designed the best strategy in the world for your business, but if your capacity isn’t there, the strategy cannot be implemented to it’s fullest potential.

We all know we need to manage our time, but when it comes to actually doing it, we tend to draw a blank. 

I’m so excited to share today’s guest Lisa Fabrega, Leadership Coach or Lisa Fabrega International. She will be sharing with us all the ways to increase your energy and power, how to overcome scarcity mentality and essential boundaries every business owner needs to create. 

Main Topics:

- The six ways successful women subconsciously drain their energy and power- Signs of scarcity mentality - Essential boundaries every entrepreneur needs to create

Key Takeaways:

- Places you feel stuck are often not strategic issues, but capacity issues.- Emotional Labor aka lack of Boundary Capacity can be the source of your burnout.- Wanting to quit your business or constantly changing your business model is a purpose capacity issue, not a business model issue. 

As business owner, you are always thinking about how to grow your business. But do you know what is one of the most important considerations for success? Your mindset. It's not enough to have an idea or even skills that are needed in today's business landscape; you need a growth mindset that will help ensure you achieve your goals and reach new heights. 

I’m so excited to share guest, Margy Feldhuhn who will be sharing why mindset is so important in terms of personal growth and transformation, the power of sharing your story and what steps business owners can take when building a strategy. 

Main Topics:

- The Importance of Knowing Your Numbers- Personal Growth and Transformation- The Power of Sharing Your Story 

Key Takeaways:

- How have grief and loss can empower you as an entrepreneur - Knowing your numbers will transform your business- What steps business owners should take with beginning a strategy

What are the qualities of a great leader? It is not always about being charismatic or having good people skills, but it's important to have confidence in yourself. Leadership can be challenging so establishing a collaborative and competitive team is essential. 

Having a competitors mindset is important to keep up with your niche’s changing landscape in order to innovate. If you are looking to grow your business through leadership, this episode is for you. 

I’m so excited to share guest, Brain Covey, VP of Loan Depot, who will be sharing all about how to build a team that encourages growth. 

Main Topics:- How to be empowered by a failure mindset- Leadership- Building a team that encourages growth

Key Takeaways:- Setbacks can turn into setups for success- Competition becomes collaboration- Always learning and growing matters

Finding your niche is one of the most important steps in starting a business. You want to find something that you are passionate about and that people will be interested in. While there is no clear cut way to do this, defining your uniqueness is a good first step on your journey.

Our guest today, Jonathan Tuttle, Founding Director of Revenue Ascend is going to share with us his journey on finding his niche through his unique real estate knowledge and what steps you can take to discovering your niche!

Main Topics:- Unique ways to invest in real estate- Digital marketing trends- How to find value in unlikely places

Key Takeaways:- Be unique when finding your niche- How to invest in real estate so you can split your time amongst different places- The riches are in the niches

As entrepreneurs and business owners, we may find ourselves in a unique position to give back and make a difference. Many times not quite knowing how to get started. 

You first have to evaluate what works for you and your business and how you can use your time,  resources and skillset to make the biggest impact. 

I’m so excited to welcome today’s guest, Kris Putnam, President and Global Philanthropy Advisor of Putnam Consulting Group. She is going to share with us everything you want to know about giving back!

Main Topics:- The top mistakes most donors make- The one thing all philanthropists should be doing today - How to you help your clients

Key Takeaways:- Most funders are delusional (but not crazy!)- Effective philanthropic giving starts by asking the right questions- The top donors seek help from top advisors and coaches 

Do you have a strategy? Like a real goal driven strategy when it comes to creating and sharing content? If you, answered “why do I need a strategy” this episode is for you!

It can be challenging to know where to start, but with the right tools and information you will be creating consistent content in no time! 

Our guest today is Mark Savant, founder of Mark Savant Media, if you are looking to build your brand and reach people online, he can help! Listen in as we talk about focusing the power of strategy to create consistent content.

Main Topics:

• Podcast Growth Tactics
• Repurposing Content for Social Media
• Power of Video Collaborations

Key Takeaways:

• Podcasting is Powerful
• Social Media is Your Storefront
• Do You Want to Trade Time or Money?

More About Our Guest:

Mark Savant is a digital media expert and social media agency owner. He helps people create better content in less time. Mark focuses on the power of video collaborations to help clients create constant social media presences in less than 1 hour a week.

His YouTube channel has over 600,000 views. His podcast, the After Hours Entrepreneur features top digital marketing and media experts. 

If you’re looking to build your brand and reach people online, Mark Savant can help.

You’ve probably heard the saying “expect the unexpected” and being a business owner is no exception! Every entrepreneur faces unexpected challenges and obstacles. These challenges can be both big and small, and they can come from any direction at any time.

Pivoting is hard, but if you do it right it can change everything for the better! It will likely take some sweat and tears to get there, but when you overcome the challenges and look at your business on the other side of pivoting, all your hard work will all make sense. 

I’m so excited to share this week’s guest, Eman Pahlavani, Founder & COO of HUNGRY a food tech startup that has innovated to meet a need and grow their business in ways they never would have imagined!

Main Topics:

• How HUNGRY was born
• How to use your platform to give back during hard times
• How to pivot and then grow even more afterwards

Key Takeaways:

• Pivoting is hard as hell...but if you do it right, it can save everything.
• Take care of your employees during scary times. It's critical to keep morale high when things look apocalyptic.
• Figure out what motivates you and focus on it. Figure out what motivates your team and get them to focus on that. 

More About Our Guest:

Eman Pahlevani is a successful D.C.-based serial entrepreneur. After graduating from law school in 2012, he and his brother Shy Pahlevani founded LiveSafe - a venture backed mobile app company that crowd sources safety intelligence. The brothers teamed up with long time friend and business partner Jeff Grass to successfully grow LiveSafe into a global enterprise. Over the next five years, the trio would raise more than $30 million dollars for LiveSafe and take the brand international.

Later in 2017, Eman, Shy and Jeff again teamed up to create food-tech platform HUNGRY - the first ever online marketplace connecting local top chefs with businesses in need of office catering. The company grew quickly from a $1 million dollar run rate to nearly $20 million dollar run rate in less than 24 months. HUNGRY began launching in new markets earlier this year and today operates in D.C., Philadelphia, Atlanta, Boston and NYC. Throughout his startup career, Eman has been recognized as one of D.C.’s top entrepreneurs. Eman currently resides in the Washington D.C. area where HUNGRY is also based.

There is a lot of pressure on entrepreneurs to be successful, and there’s many roads to success. You may start down one path and find yourself on a totally different route down the road. 

It can be challenging not knowing everything all at once, but when we embrace our individuality and uniqueness, everything else falls into place.

Today, I’m so excited to share our guest Erin King, Founder of Socialite. She is a best-selling author and 3x entrepreneur, who is going to share with us all about how to embrace who you’ve been, who you are and who you are destined to become… no matter what the world tells you.

Main Topics:

- When your inner GPS is telling you to take a different route – how do you respond?- When you find yourself at a personal or professional crossroads - where do you turn for answers? Exactly how do you get unstuck?- When you find yourself in a challenging situation- do you gravitate towards the comfortable, even when you know you should level up? 

Key Takeaways:

- Audacity: how to embrace who you’ve been, who you are and who you are destined to become- no matter what the world tells you- Courage: how to identify and overcome the obstacles keeping you stuck and holding you back - - Leadership: how to develop and deploy concrete action steps for you and your team to ignite powerful progress towards your biggest goals and decisions 

More About Our Guest:

Erin King is a best-selling author, 3x entrepreneur and the CEO of the Socialite Agency. She’s helped clients ranging from The Academy Awards in Hollywood to The United States Navy at the Pentagon communicate more compellingly using her award-winning PUB method. She is the author of “Digital Persuasion” and “You’re Kind of a Big Deal” which both draw from her personal and professional experiences having founded three companies before the age of 40. Off-duty, you can find her either mountain biking with her husband Hartman, Facetiming with her huge, crazy Irish family, or being an annoyingly extra dog mom to a cavapoo named Betty White.