Laura and Amanda Ernst are twin sisters from Texas and are the co-founders of Sunshine Tienda, a vacation-inspired accessories and beachwear brand designed around a simple state of mind—to “be vacation happy.” Founded in 2014 the collections are influenced by a love of warm-weather destinations and their love for international travel. The line features statement-making jewelry, sunhats, and most recently, beachwear styles including printed sarongs and breezy dresses. 

Each collection is developed by Laura and Amanda and crafted by female artisan partners around the world. We discuss how Sunshine Tienda is dedicated to providing lasting support to the villages of its artisan partners through creative collaboration. They love working for a mission and have developed wonderful relationships with their international partners. They are now located in over 800 stores such as Nordstrom, Anthropologie, Tuckernuck and other high-end boutiques nationwide.

I learned a lot about what it takes to run a family business, which Laura and Amanda explain respect and boundaries are extremely important. The are both so down to earth and love what they do at Sunshine Tienda and let it show. They break down all of the realities of running a small business of 2 employees and they explain the importance of writing down goals and the importance of remembering the why behind running this company. They have stayed true to themselves and their brand and are continuing to build and innovate every day. Enjoy! 

Erica Thomas started her Atlanta food blog, Eating with Erica, in 2013. It started as a food directory based on her love of dining. She continued on this path working at a food magazine which helped her discover more of the Atlanta food scene where she began to grow her blog. In between jobs, she took the chance to grow the blog full time and has never looked back. She has grown her influencer brand in food & hospitality & entertaining beyond her blog, such as launching networking dinner parties and creating a home decor business and growing her brand partnerships. Her latest project is her new own podcast called Owning Her Seat interviewing empowering women in the culinary, hospitality and entertainment industries. Erica breaks down her timeline of how she continued to grow her business and is full of so much wisdom on how to stay motivated and self-care, how to utilize one’s network, and how to never stop evolving. Erica continues to build her brand by trying new things consistently regardless if they don't work out. Pull out your notebook because Erica is full of bumper sticker advice that we all need to remember. 

Claire O’Bryan is a nurse practitioner and co-founder of The Skin Clique, a concierge aesthetics company that offers medical-grade skincare offering services such as Botox and fillers. A couple of years ago, she also started an Instagram called DabbleCo., which quickly turned podcast to navigate the overwhelming content when it comes to understanding trends in health and wellness and beauty. With the rise of in-home services in medicine, Claire discusses how Skin Clique's concierge service grew pre and post pandemic and also discusses ways they adapted during uncertain times.  Claire also addresses the stigma around fillers and the overall benefits of botox and building a basic skincare routine. Claire is doing so many different things in medicine while raising two girls with her husband, so we will learn how she balances it all as well! 

Serena Wolf is a well-known chef based in New York and author of the best selling books, The Dude Diet and The Dude Diet Dinnertime. She has a loyal following which started on her food blog (domesticate-me.com) and it has continued to grow on her Instagram (@serenagwolf), which features her recipes, food hacks, beauty and wellness, and mental health topics. She is so real and fun-loving with her followers!  Overall, she has had a rollercoaster ride of finding her passion in the culinary world. From the time she enrolled at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, to starting her very own food blog and even navigated the reality of trying to make it in traditional food media/television, Serena has learned through various jobs (jobs that she didn’t love) to figure out her own space in the culinary industry. She talks through many moments of taking initiative even when people doubted her and this persistence made things happen! She “stuck to her guns,” which has ultimately allowed her to reach her goals and she is now in a more strategic position to grow her revenue streams, such as her newly popular virtual cooking classes. As an added bonus, she is so witty and fun to listen to! Tune in to learn from Serena!

Emilie is the founder of healthy grab-n-go food store called Tasty As Fit, which is located in 2 store locations in South Carolina - the flagship is in Columbia and another in Greenville. Her menu is plant-based and gluten free and features delicious smoothies, bowls, salads and many more creative dishes. Before Tasty As Fit, Emilie lived in New York for five years where she learned how much she loved to make healthy food that actually tasted good. When Emilie moved to Columbia,  she began posting her recipes on social, which led to making meals for many families and then she took a leap of faith to buy a commercial kitchen which has now evolved into grab-n-go. Emilie has great words of wisdom when it comes to getting the courage to start a business and she embraces failure as a tool for learning. She is nimble and knows when to pivot and has such gratitude for every single day. Tune in to learn more about Emilie’s steps to building her vision of Tasty As Fit. 

Mollie is the co-founder, creative director and CEO of Crosby by Mollie Burch, in which she founded with her business partner, Taylor Montes de Oca, in 2015 in Atlanta, GA. This female empowering brand is full of bold color and vibrant prints and they are now located in over 200 retailers in addition to direct to consumer. Mollie designs all of these vibrant prints in house. One other amazing fact about her business is that this brand was founded with the focus on supporting organizations that aid victims of sex trafficking. I loved getting to know Mollie's background of how she got to where she is today. One thing she points out is that "she is not good at going slow," which aligns well with this fast-paced industry. During the interview Mollie breaks down the technical side of launching and growing a clothing line and discusses the full cycle of designing, producing and selling 1 full season. This is episode is wonderful for any aspiring fashion designers and/or anyone who is pursuing a career in this industry. She has so many pieces of advice as a growing leader in her company as well. Tune in! 

Katherine Blanford is an Atlanta-based comedian. You can find her regularly performing at the Laughing Skull Lounge. She has also opened for many well known comedians including Jeff Foxworthy and Ron White. Katherine also produces and hosts a show called Walkie Talkies that features comics around Atlanta and even surprise guests. She is a co-host of a podcast called Cheaties that has over 100 episodes about cheating which includes personal experiences but also people who are calling in from all over the country with their story. Katherine’s personal brand is her business and she crushes one of the most uncomfortable jobs….stand up comedy. Katherine explains her thought process of pursuing her career as a comic and has learned many lessons in this industry, such as learning not to wait and to make her own moves to make things happen.  She found herself in her day job wondering why waste time counting down the hours just itching to get back to her comedy job. As she has grown into her career, many more windows of opportunity are becoming available to her - things she never would have imagined! She has taken on the storm of being a female comic in this industry and found many silver linings in light of the pandemic and has some creative projects on the horizon. Tune in to learn more about what it takes to be a successful comedian! 

Addy Collett is a personal trainer and founder of the online fitness community, Find Your Altitude, based in Charlotte, NC. When you become a member of Find Your Altitude, you get access to various live and on demand fitness videos, recipes and the encouragement from Addy herself! Addy brings so much creativity to this personal and group training experience. Within this community she doesn’t just focus on fitness, but the full scope of what it means to live a balanced and healthy lifestyle and brings together an inclusive community of members. She started this business during the pandemic and really made it her own. She listened to herself carefully on the type of brand she wanted to build for her clients and continues to build upon it. One thing I am learning from Addy is you have to try new things to learn about yourself and if it doesn’t work, move on to the next thing. Tune in to learn more about Addy’s story on building this community and personal training business in the fitness industry.  

Sara McGlothlin  is the founder of the natural foods company, Gratisfied. Sara is a holistic nutritionist, health writer, wellness entrepreneur and yoga/fitness teacher based in Richmond, VA. For years she has been coaching clients on the importance of holistic health and nutrition, and she decided to develop a nutrition bar for her clients and family and friends with the goal of fueling your body, so you actually feel full and satisfied. Based on the high demand of her first bar, she decided to launch Gratisfied in January 2019. The bars that she created are low in sugar, grain free, paleo friendly and hand-baked bars and they actually fill you up! These bars are now located in about 95 locations, and they are continuing to grow their presence in Whole Foods stores and other major food stores in the U.S. Sara has great advice on going through the phases of building a business from the ground up.  Her interview is full of tips of how to stay focused and to trust the process. If you also want to learn more about the detrimental effects of sugar and the importance of the mind body connection when it comes to eating she shares her knowledge on these topics as well. Tune in to learn how Sara is making an  impactful change in the packaged food space

Lindsay Sims is the founder of Toast Events, a full service wedding and event planning company that launched officially in 2010. Her company that includes two other talented wedding and event planners is well known across the Southeast and has been recognized as best planner and is featured in Vogue, Southern Living, Martha Stewart Weddings and countless more. Lindsay’s team is known for their exquisite taste,  impeccable execution and overall they offer a service that is close to perfection when it comes putting together a wedding. She walks through the countless lessons learned not only as a business owner but also in her industry of events. She emphasizes the importance of delegation, the power of networking and how learning how to say no can surprisingly help your business.