The Female Insight Zone

By The Female Insight Zone & C-Suite RadioBusiness Careers

The Female Insight Zone episodes

June 23, 2017 Brittney Castro: Bringing Fun Into Managing Your Money
‘When I have the money, I’ll work with a financial planner.’
There is a lot of fear and stress around money, and a disproportionate number of women are intimidated by the prospect of working with a financial planner. It’s never fun to be judged, and many of us operate under the mistaken notion that financial planning is reserved for the rich. Today’s guest would argue that financial planners can help people in any income bracket, at any stage of their lives.
Brittney Castro is the founder and CEO of Financially Wise Women, a financial planning firm that seeks to teach women and couples the art of managing their money the fun and simple way. She created the firm in an effort to help women get their financial lives in order, using an approach that is smart, compassionate and nonjudgmental. Castro is a Certified Financial Planner, Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor, Accredited Asset Management Specialist, and a sought-after speaker and resource for national media outlets such as CNN, CNBC, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and Entrepreneur.
Castro also serves as the Chase Financial Education Ambassador to promote financial literacy, and a CFP Pro spokeswoman on the CFP Board campaign to educate more women and minorities about the career of financial planning. Today she shares how working with female clients allows her to be more authentic in a male-dominated profession, why a career in financial planning is a good fit for women, and the benefits of getting your financial life in order regardless of the size of your bank account.

Key Interview Takeaways
Because women speak differently about their financial goals, it may be beneficial for female clients to work with a female financial planner. Castro finds that she can be more authentic with her female clients, approaching the topic of money from a uniquely female perspective.
The CFP campaign to foster diversity in the profession seeks to educate women and minorities about financial planning as a viable career option. As a spokesperson for the campaign, Castro leverages her own journey, inspiring the next generation to consider a career in financial planning.
The benefits of being a financial planner include a flexible work schedule as well as the opportunity to make a significant impact in people’s lives. Castro sees the career as a good fit for women, and hopes to change the bleak statistic that less than 20% of CFPs are female.
The process of sitting down with a financial planner involves three major components: 1) An initial consultation call, 2) Data, strategy and implementation meetings to build a budget and educate clients about their options, and 3) Review meetings to assess progress and address changes.
Financial planners can help people in any income bracket, at any stage of their lives. You don’t have to be a millionaire to benefit from the advice of a professional.
Designing a financial plan and implementing systems around your money provides freedom, stability, clarity and peace of mind.
Connect with Brittney Castro
financiallywisewomen.com
Follow on Twitter
Resources
Financial Planning Demystified Blog Post
Free Discovery Session

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16 min
June 09, 2017 Julia Pimsleur: Million Dollar Women
We’ve all heard the phrase ‘go big or go home,’ but the sad truth is that many female entrepreneurs end up choosing the latter. Women are two times more likely to shut down their businesses due to a lack of capital, and despite the fact that there are 10 million female entrepreneurs in the US generating $1.4 trillion in revenue, only 3% of women-owned businesses hit the $1M mark.
These are the statistics that inspired Julia Pimsleur to start the Million Dollar Women Movement, a venture dedicated to helping one million female entrepreneurs reach $1M in revenue by 2020. The movement encompasses an annual summit for high-growth women entrepreneurs, the Million Dollar Women Masterclass, as well as her book, Million Dollar Women: The Essential Guide for Female Entrepreneurs Who Want to Go Big.
Pimsleur’s work with Million Dollar Women stems from her experience as the founder and CEO of Little Pim, a foreign language learning program for young children and one of the few women-led venture capital backed companies in the US. The movement leverages the lessons she learned while scaling up Little Pim, and affords Pimsleur a platform to inspire and educate other women entrepreneurs in the areas of fundraising, sales and developing the ‘go big’ mindset.
Pimsleur is also an award-winning filmmaker, a trained NLP master practitioner coach and mother of two. When she isn’t speaking or coaching Million Dollar Women, she can be found kicking a soccer ball in Central Park with her boys. Today she explains the vast gender gap in the entrepreneurial space and explores the reasons why women tend to downplay their strengths. Listen in to learn the benefits of networking and how to develop a ‘go big’ mindset.

Key Interview Takeaways
There is a vast gender gap in the entrepreneurial space. Pimsleur was inspired to start the Million Dollar Women Movement when she learned that only 1.8% of women-run companies were getting to $1M in revenue in 2014, and only 4% of venture capital goes to businesses run by women.
Pimsleur’s big goal is to get one million women to $1M in revenue by the year 2020 by way of her book, Million Dollar Women, as well as the Masterclass and annual Million Dollar Women Summit.
The three things you need to ‘go big’ are mindset, skill set and network. Develop resilience, celebrate your strengths and get in the right rooms with the right people – and it’s much easier to get to $1M.
Women are socialized to downplay their gifts, but we must promote ourselves and offer our credentials right up front. If you have a PhD from Harvard, lead with that!
Networking is key in making it to the next level. Though successful women are often fiercely independent, we must get outside our comfort zone and develop relationships with the right people – and that might mean attending Entrepreneurs’ Organization events rather than having margaritas with our girlfriends.
Develop a ‘go big’ mindset. Visualize yourself running a multimillion-dollar company and know that it is possible.
Connect with Julia Pimsleur
juliapimsleur.com
Million Dollar Women Masterclass
Million Dollar Women Summit
Resources
Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg

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19 min
May 26, 2017 Ekaterina Walter: Never Eat Lunch Alone
The social media revolution continues to grow and change the way we do business, and marketing in the virtual world requires a different approach. Today’s guest argues that true innovation requires collaboration, and the best way to navigate this new territory is by connecting to share best practices.
Ekaterina Walter is the Global Evangelist for Sprinklr, a social media management infrastructure that allows top brands to create community online. The company provides technology to manage and enhance the customer experience, allowing businesses to do marketing, care and research by way of social platforms. Walter’s job entails sharing Sprinklr’s mission with the world.
Walter is recognized as a leading industry innovator, receiving the SoMe Marketer of the Year award in 2013. She was number three on Forbes’ 2014 list of The World’s Top 40 Social Marketing Talent, and named by Fortune magazine as one of the most impactful business people on social media. Walter’s impressive resume includes a run as Social Media Strategist and Innovator at Intel, where she led the brand to international recognition as an early social marketing leader. She went on to co-found BRANDERATI, a marketing platform for advocacy and influencer relations; Walter served as a catalyst for the startup’s acquisition by Sprinklr in 2014.
Walter is an international speaker and author of the bestseller Think Like Zuck: The Five Business Secrets of Facebook’s Improbably Brilliant CEO Mark Zuckerberg. She is also the co-author of The Power of Visual Storytelling: How to Use Visuals, Videos, and Social Media to Market Your Brand and a frequent contributor to principal print and online publications including Fast Company, Huffington Post, Entrepreneur and Forbes. Today she shares the significance of building a network, how collaboration has contributed to her success, and the evolution of marketing strategy in the digital age. Listen in to understand why you should never eat lunch alone!

Key Interview Takeaways
There is no such thing as a self-made woman. Walter counts the network she has built as her most significant accomplishment.
True innovation requires collaboration. Walter suggests reaching out to smart people to share best practices.
Don’t have lunch alone. Leverage opportunities to provide value to and learn from others.
Everything you ever wanted is on the other side of fear. Yes, rejection is difficult, but remember that you are no worse off.
Smart people are open to new connections. Highlight shared passion points, and you might be surprised how many people are willing to share their experience with you.
Businesses must evolve in light of digital transformation, taking the community-building model of social channels and building that customer-centric focus into the fabric of business intelligence.
With changing customer expectations, businesses have an obligation to develop a unified customer ID that every department can work from to personalize customer experience in real time.
Connect with Ekaterina Walter
ekaterinawalter.com
Follow on Twitter
Connect on LinkedIn

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16 min
May 12, 2017 Elizabeth Dean: Women Can Have it All
Ever heard about Forensic Accounting?
If not, then you’ll in for a treat as our special guest, Elizabeth Dean shares how her passion for mathematics led her to a rather new kind of service in the financial world.
As the vice-president and founding member of TM Financial Forensics LLC, Elizabeth tells her journey from doing a traditional accounting role into consulting.
Along the way, she discovers key issues that impact not just her but all women who are looking to further their career in male dominated fields: law, technology and finance.
With more than 20 years in financial services, Elizabeth shares her personal definition of success. She talks about how success changes as she move forward from being in college to the professional field. Plus, we’ll learn about HiPower and what value it delivers especially to women who want to advance their careers.

In this episode, you’ll learn:
• How she got started in a field that’s dominated by men.
• Reasons why there’s quite a shortage of women scaling up to higher position in traditional industries like law, financial services, engineering and accounting.
• Instances in her career where being a woman restricted her from doing what she has to do.
• The value of being in an organization like HiPower.
• The challenges that she had to overcome during her career in forensic accounting.
• The risks involved in creating a business that is fairly new to the market and wasn’t recognized by most companies.
Tweetables:
• The assumption that women can’t be effective at their jobs once they have a family is naïve.
• If you need something, you should ask. Don’t toil in silence.
• I feel in retrospect that everybody, even in a very large organization, has an impact. Everything you do is beneficial to the company.
Big Takeaways:
• Organization should create a cultural environment that encourages women to develop a long-term career goal. Such encouragement could be in a form of a more flexible policies.
• If you want to advance your goals – whether professionally or personally – you have to learn how to ask. Toiling in silence isn’t a smart thing to do.
• Create an environment that supports diversity – whether it’s between genders or races.
• Even challenges can open a window of opportunity to grow your business or your career. Don’t close your door to the possibility of building on the challenges you had to go through.
Related Links & References:
• TM Financial Forensics LLC official website : www.tmfin.com
• Elizabeth’s LinkedIn profile: linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-dean
• Elizabeth on HiPower.org: www.hipower.org
• ELLEVATE official website: www.ellevatenetwork.com
• Book: Stiletto Network: Inside the Women’s Power Circles That Are Changing the Face of Business by Pamela Ryckman
• Book: The Ask: How to Ask for Support for Your Nonprofit Cause, Creative Project, or Business Venture by Laura Fredrick
• Book: The Connectors: How the World’s Most Successful Businesspeople Build Relationships and Win Clients for Life by Maribeth Kuzmeski

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32 min
April 28, 2017 Marguerita Cheng: Bringing Empathy and Connection to Financial Planning
Though the world of finance continues to be dominated by men, today’s guest argues that the strengths required for success in the field of financial advisory are competencies normally associated with women, specifically empathy and communication. Rita Cheng is the CEO of Blue Ocean Global Wealth, an investment advisory firm that delivers comprehensive financial planning and wealth management solutions to families, entrepreneurs, and executives. As a trusted partner and educational resource, Blue Ocean provides corporations and institutions with portfolio construction, investment due diligence, and risk management consulting.
While studying Asian Language & Literature as well as Finance at the University of Maryland, College Park, Cheng was awarded the prestigious Monbukagakusho Scholarship which allowed her to study abroad at Keio University in Tokyo and eventually land a position with Towa Securities, where she leveraged her language and accounting skills to become both Analyst and Editor, translating Towa’s newsletter from Japanese to English for overseas investors in the US and Europe.
Cheng returned to the US to further her education and start a family, and she soon discovered the discipline of personal finance. She spent 14 years as a Financial Advisor for Ameriprise Financial Services before transitioning to her role at Blue Ocean. She is a CFP professional, a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor, a Retirement Income Certified Professional, and a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst. Cheng is committed to educating the public about the benefits of ethical financial planning through her roles as a Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Ambassador and Women’s Initiative Advocate. Today she shares the secrets to getting your financial life in order, her take on why women have a different approach to investing, and the need for women in the growing financial industry.

Key Interview Takeaways
“So many people spend their health to gain wealth, and then have to spend their wealth to regain their health.” This A. J. Reb Materi quote is Cheng’s matra, and in her role as a financial planner she seeks to have a positive impact on individuals, families and society. She is committed to helping each client achieve a reasonable amount of wealth and enabling them to enjoy that wealth in good health, with their community of friends, family and loved ones.
Don’t be intimidated or overwhelmed by the prospect of getting your financial life in order. Begin by determining your net worth, cashflow, and credit score, as well as exploring your priorities.
The financial planner’s office must be a judgement-free zone. Cheng sends new clients a questionnaire to facilitate an initial dialogue, but she makes it clear that there will be no shaming and doesn’t charge for the first hour. Her goal is to make the first experience a positive one, even if the client decides not to work with her.
While women and men both want to build wealth and reach their financial goals, women employ a different approach. Women tend to be more relational and risk-aware, thinking several steps ahead, thus the conversation a financial planner initiates with a female client should explore the impact each decision has on other aspects of her financial life.
The financial industry is an excellent fit for women. Cheng initially thought of the business world as cold and cut-throat, but she learned that psychology and the ability to communicate with clients were the most important skills in financial advisory. “The need for empathy and the ability to connect with one another is never going away.”
Connect with Rita Cheng
blueoceanglobalwealth.com
Email [email protected]

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21 min
April 14, 2017 Cindy Heine: Strength Through Generosity
Conventional wisdom tells us that change is necessary, and we must work toward acceptance. But change can also be terrifying, and our instinct is to resist. Today’s guest found a way to not only accept sentinel change in her industry, but to adapt and capitalize on that change to build a business helping others navigate the new lay – and law – of the land.
Cindy Heine founded SyncStream Solutions in 2013 to combat mounting confusion among employers about how to navigate and comply with emerging Affordable Care Act regulations. SyncStream builds intuitive software that helps employers understand and fulfill their obligations under healthcare reform policy. Based in Baton Rouge, the company seeks to be a thought leader, educator and innovator for clients.
Heine got her start in the healthcare industry as a hospital chaplain before working her way up to middle management and finally executive roles in the faith-based healthcare system. She had been on the board of her father’s employee benefits consulting firm since its inception in 1998, and succeeded him as President in 2009. When the ACA went into effect, Heine led her team in learning as much as they could about the new law. One employee developed a software curriculum, and SyncStream was born – first as the marketing arm for the product, later purchasing a controlling interest in the company. Without the benefit of outside venture capital, SyncStream has grown to 30 employees and 10,000 customers.
Listen in as Heine shares her journey in the family business, honoring her father’s legacy while making the firm her own. She also offers a unique perspective on the current political debate around health care.

Key Interview Takeaways
View change as an opportunity. When the ACA came along, Heine dove in and developed SyncStream Solutions in response to the changing landscape of the healthcare system.
Work as a team to assure a smooth succession. When Heine took over for her father as President of the employee benefits consulting business he founded, some difficult conversations took place. Together they were able to plan and implement a smooth transition, and her father still functions as a ‘recliner consultant’ for the firm.
Generosity and kindness are not the same as weakness. Heine’s father taught her that it’s better to have a small piece of a larger pie, as opposed to the whole pie. Working with people you love who have the same kind of energy but complementary skills is good business sense. ‘You can always get more pie.’
Control what you can control. The current political climate around the ACA is turbulent; however, it remains the law of the land. Continue to comply by doing your best to report what you know, and remember that any further reform would be subject to the Administrative Procedures Act process.
Connect with Cindy Heine
Sync-Stream.com
[email protected]

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14 min
March 31, 2017 Wendi Kelly: Stepping Over the Fear
Life can be a juggling act, and many women find themselves overwhelmed by the task of keeping those balls in the air. How do you make forward progress when you are just trying to make it through the day without dropping one?
Wendi Kelly is an author, artist and transformation coach who teaches clients to blast through the negative thoughts, patterns and habits that are preventing them from creating the life they envision. She helps other writers and small business owners build a mindset of self-efficacy and develop the discipline necessary to take one small step each day as they work toward the life of their dreams.
Kelly has co-authored five novels with her writing partner, Deborah Dorchak, including the Bonds of Blood and Spirit series: Loyalties, Uncivi
l Wars, Reclamations and Legacies. The first book in their second saga, Tau’s Pride: Storms, is also available.
When Kelly isn’t writing or coaching clients, she is leading workshops and delivering keynotes for groups who want to learn how to live a creative, inspired life. Listen as she explores the reasons why so many women get stuck and shares her approach to ‘stepping over the fear.’

Key Interview Takeaways
In writing fiction, you must know the ending – yet be flexible in how you get there. Kelly and her co-writer always know the purpose of the chapter they are working on, but they are often surprised by the what happens along the way.
There is no such thing as writer’s block. In writing and in life, fears, expectations, judgements and comparisons can stop you from moving forward. The secret is to focus on your work and the message.
One reason many women get stuck is because they feel that in order to be ‘good enough,’ they must be ‘better than.’ Kelly advises choosing one of the most important balls you are juggling, and moving it forward … just a little bit.
You will never stop being afraid. You just have to step over the fear and keep going.
Say it out loud. When you share your fear, you learn that you’re not alone.
Transformation is about figuring out how to take that one small step each day – and doing it with consistency. We get more powerful when we act with integrity, aligning our behavior with the things we said we would do.
Connect with Wendi Kelly
bluesunstudio-inc.com
Wendi’s Amazon Page

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22 min
March 24, 2017 Janet Salazar: UN Representative Shares a Real Solution for Diversity
While the world has seen many women stake their claims as leaders, there is still a gap between genders in terms of leadership. In today’s episode, Janet Salazar, human potential activist and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, talks about a solution to bridge the gap and create real change. She discusses her innovative dialogue series, Conversations with Men™, a pioneering and groundbreaking executive forum with the mission of engaging men in leadership roles to accelerate women’s leadership at the top, and achieving gender equality.
Janet relates her own experiences with taking on responsibility and management, and how that helped her gain her position in the UN and establish Impact Leadership 21, a social enterprise dedicated to sustainable leadership worldwide. She also discusses her thoughts on leadership, and the importance of having men be champions for women leaders.
While the world still has some distance before achieving a better balance between genders in terms of leadership, Janet’s initiatives are paving the way for a future for the best and brightest leaders, whether male or female.

In this episode, you’ll learn:
• Just how big the gap is between men and women in leadership roles.
• How Impact Leadership 21 has been empowering men and women for sustainable leadership.
• What the Conversations With Men forum has been doing to bring awareness about this disparity.
• Why Janet wishes to someday do away with the term “women’s leadership”.
Tweetables:
• I believe that the changes that need to happen have to come from conscious decision from leadership.
• At the end of the day, it really boils down to humanity and being human. There is no gender.
Big Takeaways:
• Many organizations, such as the United Nations, have been working to empower both men and women for leadership positions. Notably, the leaders of the private sector are highly influential in this scenario, and making them aware of their influence is a key step to bridging this gap.
• Women leadership is not just about salary increases or positions. It is about realizing the economic impact that women bring to the table as well, and involving them to be part of it.
• Having conversations with male champions of female empowerment is a powerful tool that can help advance gender equality in leadership.
Related Links & References:
• Janet’s official website: www.janetcsalazar.com
• Janet’s LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/janetcsalazar
• Janet’s Twitter handle: twitter.com/janetcsalazar1
• Impact Leadership 21: www.impactleadership21.com
• Conversations With Men: www.impactleadership21.com/conversations-with-men.html

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32 min
March 17, 2017 Dorri McWhorter: An Innovative Transformation for Women Empowerment
The YWCA has had a long legacy for providing social services to a number of different communities. Learn more about its journey of transformation from a 140-year-old social service agency to a twenty-first century social enterprise in today’s interview with Dorri McWhorter, the current CEO of YWCA Chicago and one of the top women innovators listed in Chicago’s #TheBlueNetwork.
Dorri tells the story of how her experience in a number of corporate positions gave her the perspective to find new solutions for the YWCA’s transformation. She also talks about the YWCA, and how it has remained true to its vision while being able to find its own foothold in modern society. She touches as well on her thoughts about having more women tapped for the boardrooms of many other companies and organizations today.
While remaining true to its vision, the YWCA has enjoyed a welcome transition in modern society. Learn from Dorri, as she talks about the YWCA’s initiatives and how you too can be empowered to engage people and be involved with your community today.

In this episode, you’ll learn:
• The importance of exposure to different situations in providing new solutions to any organization or company.
• How YWCA Chicago has been able to raise awareness on their vision of eliminating racism and empowering women.
• What women can do to find opportunities for career advancement and boardroom positions.
Tweetables:
• We’ve really raised the visibility of the YWCA and the work that we do, so people are aware that these things are happening… right in their backyard.
• It’s about what you do in your day-to-day work, but it’s also about extending that network and keeping that professional circle well-populated so you can have access to opportunities.
Big Takeaways:
• It is a good idea to be exposed to a number of different situations, as they may give you the perspective to find solutions and growth in a number of different areas in the future.
• Among the first steps to take in helping a community, raising awareness about a key issue is very important. In today’s modern society, there are a number of ways to make people aware of problems that may just be happening in their backyard.
• Career advancement, even appointments to the board of directors, rely not only on the work you do, but also on the network you have. Being involved in communities and organizations will help expand your network and make you open to many opportunities.
Related Links & References:
• Dorri’s Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/dorrimcwhorter
• YWCA Chicago website: www.ywcachicago.org/
• #NotThatComplicated: www.ywcachicago.org/notthatcomplicated/
• YShop.org: yshop.org
• National Association of Corporate Directors’ website: nacdonline.org
• The Mayor’s Commission for a Safer Chicago: www.cityofchicago.org/saferchicago

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25 min
March 10, 2017 Eloise Bune: Finding Success After Being Rejected…50 Times
You’ve heard the phrase, “Don’t take no for an answer,” but what if you heard the word “no” 50 times from 50 different venture capitalists? Would you have the inner drive to keep moving forward? Today’s guest puts a new spin on perseverance with her story of how grit and grace led to her eventual success – and a Harvard Business School case study!
Eloise Bune is the founder and CEO of Handwriting.io. Since founding the technology startup in 2011, she has guided the development of Handwriting.io’s groundbreaking handwriting replication software. Under her leadership, the company has established partnerships with major players in the print space, including Hallmark, Xerox and 1-800-Flowers, and secured its Series A funding to continue her vision to enrich a digital world with personal messages. Bune has also played a leading role in the launch of Handwriting.io’s new app, ScribbleChat, which functions to personalize text messages via “handwritten” text, emojis and animation.
Bune is also committed to educating aspiring entrepreneurs and new business owners. As such, she is active in several leadership organizations like Springboard Enterprises, Golden Seeds, Million Dollar Women and WeCN. Today she coaches you to learn from every “no” and seek out mentors who can help you secure a “yes.”

Key Interview Takeaways
Be coachable. Bune presented to 50 venture capitalists and heard “no” 50 times. She had the strength to persist because she learned from their feedback, applied that information and kept moving to the next level.
Find your Janet. Bune attributes her perseverance to mentor Janet Kraus, CEO of peach, inc. The presence of a sounding board who could help Bune supply a next step inspired her to continue moving forward.
Create a list of ten people who can help you. Reach out and invite those ten individuals out for coffee by picking up the phone to leave a voicemail or to make an appointment with an assistant. Bune has discovered that people want to help, and if they can’t, they will put you in touch with someone who can.
Don’t entertain the monsters in your head. Women tend to listen to the destructive voices that make us feel unworthy and fear we might be wasting someone’s time. But we must look past that apprehension and ask for help to reap the rewards.
Only 4% of venture capital goes to women. Venture capitalists are looking for a great idea in a big market, pitched by a confident entrepreneur with a team in place to execute a fully developed strategy, while angel investors are more likely to take a risk on someone who doesn’t necessarily have all of the answers.
Connect with Eloise Bune
handwriting.io
getscribblechat.com
Resources
Harvard Business School Case Study: What Do Angels Want?

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19 min

About The Female Insight Zone

From the publisher's feed

The Female Insight Zone is a 30-minute podcast sharing insights from women who have made an indelible mark in business and the path they took to soar. In each episode, host Maribeth Kuzmeski…