Succeed Against the Odds

One key point that I hope to highlight in every guest's story is how they overcame whatever odds they were given. It is truly so easy to give up when life hands us a problem. It is the easiest thing in the word. It takes so much courage, devotion, and hard work to accept the hardships in our lives and begin the steps to succeed in spite of them. Someone who knows this struggle all too well is Elisa.

On a regular day, just like any other, Elisa Hays' life would forever change. Driving down a highway, Elisa would encounter a head on collision with a semi truck. She could have chosen to allow this to derail her completely. She could have allowed her new disability to make her a homebody who curses the hand she was dealt. She could have done all this but instead, Elisa chose a different path for herself. Her current journey is one of kindness, hope, and redemption. If you enjoyed this interview with Elisa, I highly recommend getting your tickets to the Magnificent You Women's Conference to hear the rest of her story as well as her tips on becoming an inspirational leader.

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I am personally of the mindset that everyone, especially every woman, should be self employed and should be an entrepreneur. So many disappointing situations can be solved with gaining financial freedom. Although I am aware that there are plenty of people who disagree with me, my guest this week, Stacey Banks-Houston is not one of those people

Stacey has been living in the entrepreneurial mindset since she was just a kid and instead of selling lemonade, hand painted and sold seashells she found in her backyard. As she grew up, Stacey found herself coming back to the idea of owning her own business, whether it was taking over her dad's or beginning her journey as a coach, speaker, and author.

Whether you are looking to begin your own business or you have been in the field for years, I recommend listening to the tips offered by Stacey. She is quick to ask you to define your ideas as a hobby, a hustle, or a harvest. From there, you can begin to take whatever next step is required to get you to where you want to be.

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I wanted to make sure that the weekly Succeed Against The Odds episodes we bring you are centered around a variety of topics. I made this to be an important point for two reasons. The first reason is that there is simply a myriad of different aspects that play into personal and business development and I wanted to tackle all of them. The second reason is that a lot of these topics are fragmented into subtopics that also require further study. Online marketing is a completely different sector than offline marketing. Although the core values may seem similar, there are so many new and seemingly insubstantial parts of the online sphere that we, as entrepreneurs, may not be taking advantage of. Susan is an entrepreneur herself so she is fully aware of the importance of having the right online presence. Whether we like it or not, the online world has become an integral part of our lives, and thus our businesses. You do not need to master it but you should definitely find someone who has. We discuss Susan's journey from bankruptcy to being the founder and CEO of her company eVision Media. Online marketing is a whole new world and.... more info at FrancescaAnastasi.com

There are a few commonalities amongst the entrepreneur community, especially some of the women. Sometimes, although their business is great, they find it difficult to take the steps to network and present themselves to the standard they present their business. Unfortunately, when you choose to be an entrepreneur, your business' brand includes yourself. Some women struggle with this idea of being seen and that is exactly where my guest this week, Sheila Alley, comes in.

Sheila, like myself, has a background in image consulting. I was very interested to sit down with her and pick her brain on the way entrepreneurs, especially women, allow style to impact their lives. We discussed how our style impacts our confidence, how and why she works mainly with entrepreneurs, the difference between men and women when it comes to not wanting to be seen, and some practical tips you can implement right now to help boost your confidence. A key point she describes is that everyone is different. You do not have to wear glamorous clothing and heavy jewelry to be taken seriously and to present yourself well. Sheila will work with your specific personality type to ensure you are getting the style to match.

It can be difficult to put yourself out there and call attention to yourself in a room full of amazingly talented people. The thing to remember is that you are going to be noticed anyway, might as well present yourself in the best way possible (for you!).

More info at FrancescaAnastasi.com

Something really interesting about entrepreneurs is that they have usually found something they are good at and they have allowed it to guide their journey. In fact, being an entrepreneur is great because it allows you to harness your idea or talent and have full control over how you want to present it to your audience. Unfortunately, entrepreneurs cannot be good at everything. Indeed, it seems that although we may be fantastic in our businesses, some of us lack the talent to market it correctly. This common issue led my guest this week, Amber Griffith, to work with entrepreneurs on their branding.

Being an entrepreneur herself, Amber knows that you cannot expect one person to check all the boxes. A business requires more than drive and dedication to succeed. It requires a plan and proper marketing and branding. Amber works with entrepreneurs to tweak or completely overhaul their branding to make sure that it is working best for their specific needs.

Branding is a complicated topic because the word is so broad. For such a crucial term, we use it very loosely in common dialogue. Amber does a great job at not only explaining what branding is, but how to make sure you are doing it correctly. As a business owner, you will not want to miss it.

More info at FrancescaAnastasi.com