Live and Earn

“We’ll go as fast as we can, but as slow as we have to.” -- AJ Vaden

Personal life and work don’t always mix — but that was the first rule AJ and Rory Vaden broke when they set out to create their own recipe for success. Since meeting by chance as business partners in a startup, AJ and Rory have gotten married, started a family, and founded a series of multimillion-dollar companies. 

Their latest venture is Brand Builders Group, a personal brand strategy firm for influencers, thought leaders and entrepreneurs. 

In this episode of Live & Earn, AJ shares her secrets for ensuring her marriage and her family thrive just like her businesses. We also discuss the challenges entrepreneurs who are women and mothers might encounter as they look for community in the startup world. 

What we tackle in this episode: 

• How to go into business with your spouse
• Applying certain business principles to managing a family
• Treating business meetings and date nights with equal importance
• The key to a happy family
• The value of time versus money 
• Narrowing one’s client base and accelerating business growth as a result 
• How to scale a business quickly
• Finding community in unexpected places
• Living beneath your means short term to have guarantee comfort throughout your life
• Building a business that will grow with future generations 

Resources and links mentioned in episode: 

https://www.freebrandcall.com/

https://brandbuildersgroup.com/

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“The sky's the limit when you have your own company.” Alessandra Pollina

Three months into her first job out of college, Alessandra Pollina had an epiphany: She didn’t need to spend her 20s paying her dues in a traditional 9-5.

Living in Boston on just $20,000 a year, Alessandra didn’t have much to lose — but had everything to gain — when she walked away from her desk job to make a name for herself in PR. At just 23 years old, Alessandra launched her own company, Pollina PR and Marketing. 

Since then, Alessandra’s business has grown into Quotable Media Company, she’s started a family, and she’s diversified her income through investment properties, giving herself the flexibility to enjoy quality time with her son and husband. 

In this episode of Live & Earn, Alessandra tells us how she had the discipline to become a successful, young entrepreneur and the courage to become a mom at the same time. We also learn about how she found community with other women and millennial founders. 

What we tackle in this episode: 

• Starting a business right out of college
• Building a client base from nothing 
• Becoming an entrepreneur and a parent in the same timeframe
• Feeling lonely as a young, female entrepreneur 
• Hustling in your 20s and 30s to achieve financial freedom in your 40s and 50s
• The role of patience in sustaining an entrepreneurial endeavor 
• The importance of periodically reflecting on your priorities as a business owner and preferences as an individual 

Resources and links mentioned in episode: 

https://quotablemediaco.com/

https://www.instagram.com/quotablemediaco/

https://quotablemediaco.com/podcast/

https://quotablemediaco.com/quotable-magazine/

Linsey Levy is a Certified Health Coach with a no-nonsense approach. Linsey believes in the power of small changes to create healthy habits that last a lifetime. Her science-backed philosophy is a stark contrast with the fad diets magazines and celebrities have pushed on us for decades, and more recently, Instagram influencers who promote obscure supplements to their vast audiences of impressionable women and girls. Linsey herself spent years searching for the “perfect” diet, until she realized it simply doesn’t exist. In this episode of Live & Earn, Linsey explains how she teaches clients to think about health holistically. She also describes the challenges of starting a business and becoming a mom during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

What we tackle in this episode: 

• Becoming a mom and changing careers at the same time
• Common misconceptions about health coaching
• How to find accurate information about health and wellness 
• The financial pitfalls of falling into a multi-level marketing scheme (MLM)
• Starting a business during the Covid-19 pandemic 
• Finding a unique voice in the online health space 
• How to develop healthy habits — and stick to them 

Resources and links mentioned in episode: 

http://www.linseylevy.com/

https://www.instagram.com/linseylevy/

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“Winning a divorce is not about what you financially gain from it. It's about how each of you become financially independent and thrive mentally, and being a healthier human being.” -- Renee Bauer 

Divorce attorney, Renée Bauer, isn’t ashamed to admit she’s been divorced twice, but that hasn’t always been the case. 

Renée’s second marriage came to an end while she was counseling clients through the very same thing — yet, she felt too embarrassed to tell anyone how well she could relate to the shame and sadness they felt about getting divorced. When Renée finally opened up about her second divorce, her law firm and digital platform became busier than ever before. Renée realized that discussing her personal story in a professional setting wasn’t inappropriate; instead, it has helped her make even more authentic connections with her clients at a time when they need it most. 

On this episode of Live & Earn, Renée challenges the myth that divorce is something to be ashamed of. She also stresses the importance of financial independence and the one conversation you can’t afford not to have before getting married. 

What we tackle in this episode: 

• Why you must talk about money with your partner before marriage 
• The #1 source of conflict in marriages 
• Why you should discuss a prenup – but don’t necessarily have to have one 
• How bad finances prolong bad marriages
• The importance of financial freedom 
• Overcoming the shame and embarrassment of divorce

Resources and links mentioned in episode: 

https://www.instagram.com/msreneebauer/

https://renee4c30b8.clickfunnels.com/auto-webinar-registrationtmosnv7p

https://course.thedcourse.com/optinmdu2lxlm

https://msreneebauer.com/ 

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“What you believe matters, but what you do about what you believe matters even more.” Johanna White

For most of her life, Johanna White was be paralyzed by fear. Fear of being late. Fear of change. Fear of uncertainty.  Then, when she was 25, Johanna faced a battle most anyone would fear: a brain tumor, and along with it, actual paralysis. She couldn’t move the left side of her body. She couldn’t talk. She couldn’t swallow. The anxiety Johanna had always struggled to suppress only made her symptoms worse, so at that point, she made a decision to be done with fear. In this episode, we hear about how healing her mindset helped resolve Johanna’s symptoms. Johanna also explains how she founded three companies while battling her brain tumor and has continued to scale up her design business, Design by Jo. 

What we tackle in this episode: 

• What it means to live a “full” life 
• Overcoming extreme anxiety and decision paralysis 
• Getting a new lease on life at age 25, when doctors discovered a brain tumor
• Growing from a commodity graphic designer to specializing in brand identity design and custom websites 
• Misconceptions about graphic design services 
• Helping clients build a brand that grows their business 
• Knowing your value, showing your value, and setting your rate to reflect the value you bring your clients

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“You can say you want more freedom. You can say you want more… adventure. You could want a loving relationship. But it’s not what you say you want — it’s what you actually believe.” Andrea Parker

From her first day at the police academy, Andrea Parker knew a career in law enforcement wasn’t the right fit for her. Despite that, she went on to achieve great success, graduating at the top of her class, rising quickly to the rank of detective, making a salary over six figures. Still, even with the pride she took in serving the public, Andrea couldn’t shake the feeling that something was missing. That’s where her personal development journey began. Within 12 months of becoming a human potential coach, Andrea not only grew exponentially more grateful and grounded, but doubled her personal finances. In this episode, we learn what can happen when we learn to let go of limiting beliefs and learn to live from the heart. 

What we tackle in this episode: 

• How to lovingly transition from one career to the next 
• The true timeline for setting up a successful business 
• Identifying and overcoming limiting beliefs 
• The difference between the conscious and the unconscious minds
• The stages of personal development 
• The meaning of heart-centered living 
• Creating a life that you’re in love with 

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“Being an immigrant made me resourceful, made me a motivated individual. It changed my career track and the way that I view life, and the way that I’m going to teach my daughter to persevere.” -- Juanita Velez

Moving from Medellín, Colombia to Atlanta, Georgia at the age of six — and on the first day of the ‘96 Olympics, to boot — Juanita Velez grew up bridging communities. As an adult, she’s made a career of it. Driven by her innate empathy for others, Juanita earned a degree in psychology followed by a master’s in international business, going onto run international communications campaigns for Delta and UPS, companies that are simultaneously homegrown and global — just like Juanita. Early on in the corporate world, Juanita noticed a gap. At networking events, she rarely met anyone like her: young, Latinx, immigrants. Yet she knew these people existed; they were her friends, her classmates, her mentees. To connect that talent with opportunity, Juanita founded HYPE: Hispanic Young Professionals & Entrepreneurs. As HYPE has evolved over the years — its fifth anniversary is coming up this June — so has Juanita. Diversity, equity, and inclusion is no longer her extracurricular, but her 9-5, as she recently hung up her social media hat to become a DE&I manager at Delta. In this episode, we discuss the importance of representation, the unique resourcefulness of immigrants, and the lessons in perseverance Juanita plans to teach her daughter.  

What we tackle in this episode: 

• Growing up between Colombia and the United States
• Navigating school and career as an immigrant in the U.S.
• The relationship between sacrifice and success 
• Founding HYPE: Hispanic Young Professionals & Entrepreneurs
• Switching career tracks, from psychology to marketing to diversity, equity & inclusion (DEI&)
• Managing global brands, sponsorships, and social media for international brands like UPS and Delta Air Lines  
• Becoming a mom and raising a Latina daughter in a multicultural family
• Bridging communities to find common ground 
• Creating economic opportunities through a global entrepreneur mindset 
• Succession planning and cultivating a sustainable business model 
• Using her platform to drive change in her community 

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“We want money because of what it gives us. It's not the dollar bill or the number in our bank account… it's the freedom.” --Ashley Williams 

Ashley Williams had it all: the high-power finance career at Barclays, New York City apartment, black car service, and a promotion waiting for her in either London or Hong Kong. Then, she landed a $4 billion IPO — and felt no excitement. That’s when Ashley realized the dream job she had hustled for was no longer her dream. 

Following some soul searching, Ashley decided she wanted to become an entrepreneur.  After reconnecting with her now-husband Terry, who was crushing it in the fitness industry, Ashley moved back to Houston. Together, Ashley and Terry founded The League: Elite Training Facility. Today, Ashley is running three businesses, including her own firm Bird Williams Consulting, LLC. 

On this episode of Live & Earn, Ashley explains what initially motivated her to chase after a challenge on Wall Street, and why she walked away from it when she did. Ashley also reflects on the financial habits she learned from her parents, and how having her own children taught her that paying herself is just as important as investing in her businesses. 

What we tackle in this episode: 

• Why we really want money
• How to figure out what fulfills you 
• The importance of paying yourself as an entrepreneur 
• How working with your partner can change your marriage 
• Why you should focus on your core competencies and delegate the rest 
• How to overcome your fear of debt 
• When and how to start teaching your children about money 

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“A misconception ... is that self-care is always a feel-good thing. It’s also doing the hard things sometimes.” Dr. Lauren Collins 

Lauren Collins is a perinatal chiropractor, mama, devoted wife, doula, and holistic health advocate. On this episode of Live & Earn, Lauren redefines self-care and debunks misconceptions about chiropractic medicine. She also explains how she stopped asking for permission and learned to put herself first, both as a mother and a business owner.

What we tackle in this episode: 

• The different definitions of self-care 
• How to balance the demands of motherhood and entrepreneurship
• The truth about alternative medicine
• How children and infants can benefit from chiropractic medicine 
• The importance of preventive health care 

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“When someone tells you that it's not possible, or it's not going to work, that should motivate you even more to go out there and prove that it can be done.”

Anne Gill is the founder of Haist Designs, her own brand of luxury handbags designed in Nashville and made in Italy. Haist is inspired by  Anne’s family — her husband, former professional ice hockey defenseman Hal Gill, and their three children Isabel, Sophie, and Talon — as much as her lifestyle as a globetrotting NHL wife and busy mom squeezing yoga classes and grocery runs in between the kids’ three different carpool schedules. 

On this episode of Live & Earn, Anne explains her mission to redefine luxury — and why she was so determined to make Haist happen when fashion industry veterans told her, even with an MBA, she didn’t stand a chance. Three years into her startup journey, Anne pauses to reflect on what she wishes she had known about creating her own business, including how to ask for help. 

What we tackle in this episode:

• How to become comfortable delegating as an entrepreneur
• Building a direct-to-consumer business and cutting out the middleman 
• The meaning of modern luxury 
• Managing international business operations and three kids’ schedules
• Turning doubt into motivation 
• The myth of work-life balance 
• Designing with a business background

Links mentioned in this episode:

https://haistdesigns.com/

https://www.instagram.com/haistdesigns

https://www.instagram.com/tribeofanne

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