She Built Success

What does it take to build a brand you hope will still matter long after you’re gone?

In Part 2 of my conversation with Lola Banjo, founder and creative director of Silver & Riley, we get into the story behind building the luxury travel brand and the kind of legacy Lola wants it to leave.

First, she tells me where the name Silver & Riley actually came from.

“Silver” connects to her mother, who called Lola her “silver baby” after going out of her way to find the silver jewelry Lola wanted as a child. “Riley” represents the future and the family Lola hopes to build. Together, the name connects the legacy she inherited with the one she’s creating.

Then we get into what building the company has really required.

Lola shares how she approached more than 100 manufacturers trying to find someone willing to produce her designs. When emails and phone calls weren't working, she went to Italy eventually hired a translator and started showing up at factories.

It took 136 rejections before she found the right manufacturing partner.

And that wasn't the end of the hard parts.

We talk about manufacturing problems, financial losses, lessons she had to learn through experience and why those setbacks strengthened her commitment to building a company rooted in quality and integrity.

Lola also shares her vision for Silver & Riley becoming a legacy brand, why supporting other women entrepreneurs is part of that vision and what changed when her brother decided to leave what he was doing to help build the company alongside her.

Because there’s building a successful business.

And then there’s building something you hope can exist beyond you.

In this episode:

00:00 Intro

00:21 Continuing my conversation with Lola Banjo

00:45 The story and legacy behind the name Silver & Riley

04:39 What it really took to build a luxury brand

08:24 136 rejections and choosing to keep going

13:54 Lola's vision for creating a legacy brand

16:44 Supporting and investing in women entrepreneurs

19:43 When building the company became a family legacy

24:03 Making room for life while building something big

28:18 Why self-belief matters when other people can't see the vision

33:07 Closing thoughts

What are you building today that you hope can live beyond you?

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She Built Success explores the stories behind what we build through conversations about business, leadership and personal growth.

What happens when your definition of success changes while you’re still building?

In this episode, I sit down with Lola Banjo, founder and creative director of luxury travel brand Silver & Riley, for a conversation that starts with business but quickly becomes something much bigger.

And I came into this one as a real customer.

I discovered Silver & Riley on Instagram before I knew Lola. I bought the Convertible Executive Bag, experienced the brand for myself and eventually got to know the woman behind it. So we start there.

Then Lola takes us into how her definition of success has evolved.

She talks about reaching a point where constantly being busy no longer felt like something worth celebrating. She began questioning what she wanted her life to represent, what actually mattered to her and what she needed to remove to make room for the things connected to her purpose.

We also talk about what makes a brand feel human.

From handwritten notes to carefully considered packaging, Lola explains the intention behind creating a customer experience where people can actually feel the care that went into it. And she shares what it means when customers stop long enough to tell her they Noticed.

That leads us into a larger conversation about connection, kindness and how something incredibly small can have an impact you may never know about.

Because sometimes building something meaningful isn't only about the product.

It's about how people feel because they encountered you.

In this episode:

00:00 Meet Lola Banjo of Silver & Riley

00:25 How I discovered Silver & Riley before meeting Lola

02:01 How Lola defines success

07:02 When your definition of success and purpose evolves

15:59 The impact and growth of Silver & Riley

17:42 Why Lola still writes handwritten customer notes

24:04 Human connection, kindness and the small things people remember

29:06 Closing thoughts

She Built Success goes beyond the highlight reel to explore the stories behind what we build. Through conversations about business, leadership and personal growth, we talk about the decisions, challenges and experiences that shape success along the way.

Has your definition of success changed as you've gotten older? What matters now that didn't matter as much before?

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Success means something different depending on the season of life you're in.

So instead of defining success only by money, titles or achievements, I created my own framework for thinking about the bigger picture.

And because I love a good acronym, of course it spells S.U.C.C.E.S.S.

In this episode, I’m walking through seven things I believe contribute to a successful life:

S: Self-awareness

Know who you are, what matters to you and what success actually means to you.

U: Unplug

Create space to step away, get quiet, pray, reflect or simply slow down long enough to hearyourself think.

C: Commitment

Decide what matters in this particular season and give it enough time to see what happens

instead of immediately moving on when something gets difficult.

C: Community

Success isn't built alone. Think about the faith, family, friends and people who make up your support system.

E: Effectiveness

Look at what's working. Measure your progress, make adjustments and focus on getting better rather than using the numbers to beat yourself up.

S: Sacrifices

Everything can't have equal priority at the same time. Sometimes one thing has to pause so something else can receive more of you. I think about this as give and take rather than trying to make everything perfectly balanced.

S: Sow Seeds

Success isn't only about what you achieve for yourself. It's also about how you give back, mentor, encourage, help and pour into other people.

In this episode:

00:00 Why I created my own definition of success

00:59 Self-awareness

01:51 Unplugging and finding what brings you peace

03:37 Committing to what matters in this season

04:56 Building your community and support system

05:47 Measuring effectiveness without tearing yourself down

06:56 Understanding sacrifice and give and take

08:51 Sowing seeds and giving back

10:15 Putting your own definition of success into practice

She Built Success goes beyond the highlight reel to explore the stories behind what we build. Through conversations about business, leadership and personal growth, we talk about the decisions, challenges and experiences that shape success along the way.

If you had to define success for the season you're in right now, what would make your list?

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Making friends as an adult is different.

And if you’ve experienced disappointment in friendships before, opening yourself up to new relationships can be even harder.

In this episode, I’m talking about adult friendship, reciprocity and something I’ve had to examine in my own life: Who do I actually need around me as I grow?

Some of my experiences with friendship go all the way back to childhood, and those experiences affected how I approached relationships as an adult. I talk about the hesitation that can come from being disappointed before, why meaningful friendships require intentionality and why I don't think one friend has to fulfill every role in your life.

Instead, I break down five types of friends I believe we need:

The praying friend. Someone who supports you spiritually.

The check-in friend. The person who genuinely wants to know how you're doing.

The business growth friend. Someone who understands what you're building and can support your growth.

The vision-sharing friend. Someone you can safely share your ideas, dreams andaspirations with.

The cross-check friend. The person willing to challenge you, tell you when you're wrongand give you honest feedback.

Because building success is one thing.

Having meaningful people around you while you build it is another.

We also talk about reciprocity, communication and the reality that healthy friendship can'tconsistently be one person doing all the reaching, checking and giving.

For this one, I would skip timestamps unless you still have the original episode transcript. The file we have is your Success Notes rather than the full transcript, so I don'twant to manufacture chapter times that aren't supported by the source.

She Built Success goes beyond the highlight reel to explore the stories behind what we

build. Through conversations about business, leadership and personal growth, we talk about the decisions, challenges and experiences that shape success along the way.

Which of these five friends do you have in your life? And which one might be missing? Tell me in the comments.

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Estate planning isn’t only about what happens when you die. It’s about protecting the people, responsibilities and life you’re building right now.

In this episode, I sit down with estate attorney Shakisha Morgan, also known as The Legacy Counselor, to talk about estate planning, family, faith and what it really means to be intentional about your legacy.

Shakisha was actually my estate attorney, so this conversation is personal for me too.

We talk about why estate planning isn’t reserved for people who are wealthy or older.

Shakisha explains how the process forces you to think about the people who matter to you, your finances, your health, your children, your business and the decisions that would need to be made if you weren’t able to make them yourself.

But this conversation goes beyond legal documents.

Shakisha also shares what entrepreneurship, motherhood and marriage have taught her about priorities. One of my favorite parts of our conversation is her definition of success in this season: becoming comfortable with disappointing people.

Not because other people don’t matter, but because everything that matters to them doesn’t have to become a priority for you.

In this episode:

00:00 Meet Shakisha Morgan, The Legacy Counselor

01:10 Why estate planning matters for everyone

02:30 Protecting the life you’re already building

05:02 Entrepreneurship, motherhood and being intentional with your time

07:18 Getting comfortable with disappointing people

09:19 When to revisit your estate plan

10:30 Why so many people avoid estate planning

11:43 The connection between faith and legacy

14:04 Closing thoughts

This conversation is for general educational purposes only and is not legal advice. Estate planning laws and requirements vary. Consult a qualified attorney about your individual Circumstances.

She Built Success goes beyond the highlight reel to explore the stories behind what we build. Through conversations about business, leadership and personal growth, we talk about the decisions, challenges and experiences that shape success along the way.

What are you building today that you want to make sure is protected tomorrow?

Subscribe to She Built Success for more conversations beyond the highlight reel.

Building a team isn’t simply about finding people who can do the work.

I learned that the people you bring into your business need to make sense for where the company is now, where it’s going and the culture you’re trying to build along the way.

In this episode, I’m sharing how I approached building my team as my company moved from startup toward scale, including some of the decisions I got right and some I had to learn through experience.

I talk about hiring contractors versus employees, building systems around the team, using goals to create visibility without micromanaging and why I believe relationships matter just as much as roles.

Because your team isn't a collection of job descriptions.

These are people helping you carry a vision.

I also get into the less comfortable parts of leadership: realizing someone may no longer be the right fit, having difficult conversations, allowing roles to evolve and dropping the ego enough to hear when your team sees something you don't.

In this episode:

00:00 Intro

00:42 How I think about building an A+ team

03:13 Systems, processes and accountability

05:18 Hiring for the stage your business is actually in

06:38 What I learned from hiring too quickly

07:49 Building a team that can evolve with the company

09:00 Why leaders need regular conversations with their team

11:03 Celebrating people beyond their performance

12:40 Handling conflict and difficult team dynamics

14:11 Why your team has to support the larger vision

19:57 A three-month exercise for evaluating your current team

At the center of all of this is something I still believe strongly: business relationships shouldn't become completely transactional. Your people matter.

She Built Success goes beyond the highlight reel to explore the stories behind what we build. Through conversations about business, leadership and personal growth, we talk about the decisions, challenges and experiences that shape success along the way.

Look at the team you have today and where you're trying to go next. What role, relationship or responsibility may need to change?

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My kids could name my partner’s hobbies. Then I asked them to name mine.

Crickets.

That dinner-table conversation made me realize something: somewhere between motherhood, business, family and everyday responsibilities, I had gotten away from doing things simply because I enjoyed them.

So I went looking for a hobby.

And somehow I ended up learning to fly.

In this episode, I’m talking about why I chose aviation, what having something that belongs to me has given me and why I think we sometimes lose pieces of ourselves inside the roles and responsibilities we carry.

This is especially for the moms. Being a mom can be one of the most important parts of who you are without being the entirety of who you are.

I’m also challenging you to think beyond what we sometimes label as self-care. A manicure, bubble bath or night on the couch may give you a chance to relax. But what do you genuinely enjoy doing? What interests you?

What gives you something to learn, explore or look forward to that isn't attached to work or someone else's needs?

In this episode:

00:00 Intro

00:23 The dinner-table conversation that made me rethink my hobbies

01:25 Why family dinners matter to me

02:20 How aviation became my hobby

04:25 When motherhood and responsibility consume your interests

06:23 Remembering who you are beyond your roles

09:14 How to start rediscovering what you enjoy

11:33 Making space for yourself on the calendar

15:19 Hobbies I've loved throughout different seasons

21:37 Why everything you enjoy doesn't need to become productive

23:40 Finding something that belongs to you

She Built Success goes beyond the highlight reel to explore the stories behind what we build. Through conversations about business, leadership and personal growth, we talk about the decisions, challenges and experiences that shape success along the way.

So I’m asking you the same question I had to ask myself: What’s your hobby? Tell me in the comments.

Subscribe to She Built Success for more conversations beyond the highlight reel.

What happens when achievement keeps moving forward but your mental health doesn’t get the same attention?

In this episode, I sit down with mental health and wellness professional Marilyn Dyson for a candid conversation about mental health, leadership, relationships and what it means to protect your inner peace.

Marilyn shares her journey from working as a psychotherapist to consulting with leaders and organizations. We talk about what she has seen among high-achieving professionals, including stress, burnout, difficult workplace conversations and the tendency to keep climbing without knowing when to step away.

We also get into something that extends well beyond work: knowing who you are as your life changes.

Marilyn shares her experience as a single mom entering the empty-nester stage, why she believes everyone needs a North Star and how giving yourself permission to change can be part of growth rather than evidence that you’ve gotten off track.

And when I ask Marilyn what success looks like for her, her answer is simple: inner peace.

In this episode:

00:29 A candid conversation about mental health

01:31 Marilyn's journey from psychotherapy to consulting

03:15 Mental health, leadership and workplace wellness

05:14 Understanding the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline

12:47 Why inner peace is part of Marilyn's definition of success

16:52 Identity, changing seasons and finding your North Star

19:39 Giving yourself grace when your direction changes

23:19 Why the people around you matter

24:07 What it really means to love yourself

Mental health resource: If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health, suicide or substance use crisis in the U.S., call or text 988 to connect with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

She Built Success goes beyond the highlight reel to explore the stories behind what we build. Through conversations about business, leadership and personal growth, we talk about the decisions, challenges and experiences that shape success along the way.

What does protecting your inner peace look like in this season of your life? Tell us inthe comments.

Subscribe to She Built Success for more conversations beyond the highlight reel.

What if the thing you’re really good at isn’t actually your gift?

In this episode, I’m getting more personal about a question I was wrestling with at the time:

What’s the difference between what I’m good at, what I’ve been gifted to do and what I’m actually called to do?

I know I’m good at strategy, systems, data, research and finding patterns.

Those skills have shaped my career and business. But I was beginning to question whether being good at something automatically meant I was supposed to keep building my life around it.

That led me into a much bigger conversation about purpose, faith, control and learning to listen when the path ahead isn’t completely clear.

I also share some of the experiences that have shaped the way I think about purpose, including being born four months premature, my tendency to want everything structured and what I was learning about surrendering some of that control.

Because sometimes the question isn’t, “Can I do this?”

It’s, “Is this actually mine to do?”

In this episode:

00:00 Getting to know me beyond the titles

02:40 The difference between gifts and what I’m good at

04:24 How my story shaped the way I think about purpose

06:31 When your skills and your gifts aren't the same thing

08:32 Faith, control and learning to surrender

09:21 What I was learning about purpose and alignment

13:04 Following what keeps pulling at you

16:09 An exercise for identifying what you actually enjoy

She Built Success goes beyond the highlight reel to explore the stories behind what we build. Through conversations about business, leadership and personal growth, we talk about the decisions, challenges and experiences that shape success along the way.

What are you good at that you’re beginning to realize may not actually be your gift?

Tell me in the comments.

Subscribe to She Built Success for more conversations beyond the highlight reel.

Thinking about government contracting but not sure where to begin?

In this episode, I’m breaking down some of the strategy behind getting started in government contracting and sharing lessons from my own experience building a company in the federal contracting space.

We’re getting into NAICS codes, registrations, certifications, agency research, past performance, subcontracting and some of the resources you can use to better understand the government market.

But there’s a bigger point I want you to take away from this conversation: government contracting is not easy money.

It takes research, strategy, relationships, persistence and a willingness to play the long game. I’m walking you through some of the things I considered when deciding which agencies to pursue, why I believe relationships matter and how you can start thinking more strategically about whether government contracting makes sense for your business.

In this episode:

00:00 Intro

00:47 Getting started in government contracting

02:17 Understanding NAICS codes and registration

04:25 Certifications and where they fit

07:13 Resources for researching opportunities

10:22 Identifying agencies strategically

13:32 Why relationships matter in government contracting

17:24 Prime vs. subcontracting opportunities

18:50 What it really takes to pursue government work

Note: Government contracting programs, requirements, thresholds and online resources can change. Use this episode as a strategic starting point and verify current requirements with the appropriate government agency before taking action.

She Built Success goes beyond the highlight reel to explore the stories behind what we build. Through conversations about business, leadership and personal growth, we talk about the decisions, challenges and experiences that shape success along the way.

If you’re building something of your own, subscribe and join me for more conversations beyond the highlight reel.