RedBottoms

What does it mean to rise in rooms that were never designed with you in mind?

This week, I sit down with Starrlee DeGrace @tea_with_starrlee, corporate leader, advocate, cultural voice, and legacy builder. As an Indigenous woman in the executive space, she has built a career on staying fully herself in places that expected her to shrink.

We go deep on:

• The early moments that shaped her ambition, and the breakthrough that changed her trajectory
• Code-switching, authenticity, and what representation actually means beyond diversity quotas
• When advocacy became part of her identity, and why women in leadership carry a responsibility to lift others
• How to build influence strategically inside an organization
• The career mistakes ambitious women keep making, and how to position yourself for promotion
• What power looks like to her now

You’ll want to replay this episode!

This is a conversation about power, visibility, and the legacy you’re building every time you walk into the room. Walk in your power. 👠

What happens when your 9–5 is paying the bills, but your ambition is building something bigger?

In this episode of RedBottoms, I’m sitting down with Aisha and Steph, two corporate women who are doing exactly that.

They’re working women, podcast hosts (@best.e.a.s), entrepreneurs, and multi-hyphenates building businesses while still showing up to their day jobs.

And we’re having the conversation so many women are quietly having with themselves:

When does a side hustle become something more?

We talk about why they started, what it’s really like to build a business while working in corporate, and how they protect their ambition without sacrificing their careers.

We get into visibility, confidence, money, and the fear that can keep women playing small.

Because maybe the goal isn’t to leave corporate.

Maybe the goal is to leverage where you are while building what’s next.

If you’ve ever had a business idea, a dream, or a bigger vision for your life but thought, “Now is not the right time…” this conversation is for you.

Want more? Follow me on Instagram @itscoach.mel for practical tips on building a corporate career with purpose, getting seen, getting paid, and creating a career that actually works for the life you want.