The Wealth Edit Podcast

On this episode, we talk with Christa Cotton, Founder and CEO of El Guapo Bitters. Cotton’s entrepreneurial spirit comes from her upbringing, as she joined her father’s business while a student at Auburn University. Post-grad, Cotton moved to New Orleans, eventually starting the New Orleans Beverage Group and acquiring the El Guapo trademark. As CEO, Cotton leads overall business strategy, is the brand’s social media manager, and makes a killer cocktail.

Cotton details her experience in a traditionally “men’s business,” and explains how being a woman in business has opened up doors for her. Christa Cotton is the definition of a talented, driven entrepreneur with a hustle that makes El Guapo the success that it is. Our conversation with Cotton is a must-listen. She is fun, insightful, and full of inspiring advice for female entrepreneurs and beyond.

If you want to explore Christa Cotton’s business, El Guapo Bitters, click here!

You can also follow El Guapo on Instagram.

To learn more about the Wealth Edit, visit our website and take our quiz!

We post fun updates and tips on our Instagram, @wealthedit, and YouTube so make sure to come see us!

Check out the podcast on Spotify!

On this episode during our Atlanta launch, we talk to Lauren Finney Harden, the Editor in Chief of Modern Luxury Magazine. Lauren started her career as a fashion editor in New York and now oversees a collection of ten magazines across several different markets. She discusses the importance of networking, connecting with people, and being a “yes person”. She encourages women not to be afraid to put themselves out there, even if it’s a blind email.

Here is her advice for networking emails:

-  Give an elevator pitch that explains why you want to connect with them/what you want from them (Ex: 10-15 minutes of their time to discuss…)

-  Keep it short (3-4 sentences)

-  Do your research

-  Follow up with a thank you

Lauren’s father was an investment banker who always took care of her family’s finances, but when she moved to New York, she took ownership of her finances and started to learn how to manage her money through trial and error. She explained that while talking about money with friends can still feel taboo, it is so important to have those conversations.

She drives home several important points:

-  Learn to advocate for yourself

-  Make connections and maintain them

-  Be a “yes person”

-  Learn to read a room and read people

Be sure to listen until the end to hear about how saying yes landed Lauren a job later down the road.

To learn more about the Wealth Edit, visit our website and take our quiz!

We post fun updates and tips on our Instagram, @wealthedit, and YouTube, so make sure to come see us!

Check out the podcast on Spotify!

Today, we talk with Michelle Edwards, a corporate layer by day and a fashion and travel blogger by night who lives by the motto “living younger longer”. She got the inspiration from her friends to start her blog and her passion only grew from there. Her username comes her from Hotty Toddy background as an alum of University of Mississippi. Michelle talks about how it takes confidence to build an online presence like she has. Now, her blog and Instagram are not daunting tasks to take on, but a fun part of her day after long work hours. Here are some key take points:

-  Putting yourself out there makes you feel younger again.

-  Being creative will help you grow in your confidence.

-  Learn from your experiences.

-  Age doesn’t define you.

-  Live well, live healthy, live the way you want to live!

Some fashion tips:

-  Do what is flattering on you. It will be different for everyone.

-  Bits of color are great!

-  Finding your own style is very important and a fun experience.

-  You don’t need to spend a lot of money to have a great closet, but you don’t have to choose fast fashion.

Listen to the end to find out how to grow in confidence and chase the feeling of being young again.

To learn more about the Wealth Edit, visit our website and take our quiz!

We post fun updates and tips on our Instagram, @wealthedit, and YouTube, so make sure to come see us!

Check out the podcast on Spotify!

On this episode, we talk with Edwina Dunn about her business called The Female Lead. After getting fired from her job, Edwina Dunn and her husband started their own business called Dunnhumby. Now, as one of the leading technology gurus, she continues to make big strides in the data world. She also started The Female Lead which is a nonprofit where women tell their stories and give younger generations role models to follow. She shares several pieces of advice as follows:

·  Real people with real stories are far more interesting than fiction.

·  Do not feel threatened by others but give people a helping hand.

·  Asking questions and asking for help is a sign of strength not weakness.

·  It is important for women to talk about money because they experience freedom and are empowered when they understand it.

·  Being underestimated is our secret weapon.

Edwina knows how hard it can be to start a company. It is all about finding your own strengths that makes the journey worth it. Make sure to listen till the end to hear about her newest project with her daughter called Starcount.

If you want to learn about how to close the entitlement gap, browse the amazing work of The Female Lead!

To see more of the groundbreaking work of Edwina and her family, check out Dunnhumby and Starcount.

To learn more about the Wealth Edit, visit our website and take our quiz!

We post fun updates and tips on our Instagram, @wealthedit, and YouTube, so make sure to come see us!

Check out the podcast on Spotify!

Join us on this episode as we talk with Elizabeth Cook, founder of Domino Media Group, as she takes us through the process of selling her business and being successful from a young age. Elizabeth started her journey in New York at a Think Tank where she went on to attend Parson’s to learn about the intricacies of running a small business for creatives. She began making stylish hair barrettes that launched into a successful company which she ended up selling at 26 years old. Elizabeth tells us the story about the company journey, where she was offered a spot to be seen on Good Morning America, so she had to figure out a way to have enough product to deliver to her customers. One of her biggest advice on making sure your company is able to stay afloat: Stay determined and if an opportunity comes your way, say yes then figure it out as it comes your way.

Elizabeth gives us some tips on what she did to ease the transition of selling her business:

- Make an inventory of all your assets, both tangible and intangible, and figure out what the company is worth to you

- Create a short list of potential buyers based on the value

- Create email introductions for your current consumers and new accounts to make a seamless transition

- Get a business broker and use a variety of different companies that help the acquisition… almost like a real estate agent for a business!

Elizabeth notes that the most important part of the whole process was determining what the company was worth, not only monetarily but personally. So, she suggests having a professional evaluate the company and using that number as a base to then add on the extra value the company gives that is not monetary.

To learn more about the acquisition, visit The Glitter Guide to learn more.

To learn more about the Wealth Edit, visit our website and take our quiz!

We post fun updates and tips on our Instagram, @wealthedit, and YouTube, so make sure to come see us!

Check out the podcast on Spotify!

Today, we hear from Cheri Leavy and Whitney Long, co-founders of “The Southern C”, a network of southern business owners founded in 2011. They discuss how they started to build their amazing network. They are a “virtual front porch for southern entrepreneurs”. It started as a newsletter until they realized most of their subscribers were entrepreneurs who wanted to meet. After the first year, they started to grow. Every year, they host a summit for southern entrepreneurs. The summit mixes business and pleasure. They had to pivot quite a lot with COVID but have handled the transition seamlessly, hosting smaller summits in different locations to meet COVID protocols. Some tips:

-  Be a good listener. Know what your community needs before even they do.

-  Growth can happen quickly, so be ready for it.

-  Always be confident and prepared.

-  Partnership is like a marriage. You will have your differences, but you work together so well.

-  Trust is key with a partnership.

-  Failure is natural.

-  Community is so important.

-  Don’t go into business thinking you’ll make money.

“The Southern C” helps the entrepreneurs share their stories, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Cheri and Whitney have worked to create a safe space. They have every presenter share a time when they’ve failed because failure is a part of life! They believe we have something to learn from our peers and that it is so important to hear these stories to better yourself.

To learn more about the Wealth Edit, visit our website and take our quiz!

We post fun updates and tips on our Instagram, @wealthedit, and YouTube, so make sure to come see us!

Check out the podcast on Spotify!

Helen Owen, "Budgeting Extraordinaire," joins Lauren and Emily again to discuss steps to help you get "unstuck" in your personal finances. She discusses practical ways to get on a budget and stay on a budget.

On this episode, Mary Drennen joins us to discuss her journey in founding Nourish, a health food delivery subscription that focuses on farm to table freshness. Business concepts can come from all over, and for Mary, Nourish formed based off of an idea from working at a gym. Her advice to new business owners: expect the unexpected.

Mary is the Co-Founder of Nourish Foods, a weekly subscription meal service. She also recently founded Nourish Foods Market and The Eat Well Kitchen, a low-cost frozen product initially created for the United Way and now open for the general population. Her two biggest roles in life are entrepreneur and mother to 3 children and 3 stepchildren. With an English degree from Washington & Lee and a Culinary degree from French Culinary Institute in New York, she gained most of her business experience from trial and error and learning from her failures.

Mary is not afraid to take a risk, and we hope you join us to hear Mary’s incredible story.

To start ordering delicious food, visit Mary at Nourish!

To learn more about the Wealth Edit, visit our website and take our quiz!

We post fun updates and tips on our Instagram, @wealthedit, and YouTube so make sure to come see us!

Check out the podcast on Spotify!

On this episode, we hear from Delphine Carter of Boulo Solutions, a platform that serves women to help them stay in the work force. There is an obvious divide in the work force, specifically between the presence of mothers and women. More often than not, there is a strong pay gap between what mothers and women who are not mothers earn. Boulo Solutions helps them work through these struggles to get what they deserve.

Delphine gives us a look at some questions they ask at Boulo Solutions for women just getting started:

-  What are your goals for the year and how do you want to get there?

o  Highlight your strengths, what you have done for free, and how you can utilize that in a job (ex. PTA )

o  Get rid of the words “just” and “should”

-  Understand that you need to own your decisions and be confident in your abilities

Delphine goes through a case study, where a mother stopped working to be more involved with her kids. She became very involved in school campaigns, so they took her skills at the school and applied those when helping her re-enter the work force.

Delphine also discusses the process of starting a company and all the things that come along with it. She notes that it is crucial to find someone who will be honest with you. Her advice: As daunting as being independent in the financial world is, don’t be afraid that you are not enough or not qualified enough. Listen in to hear how starting this company helped her through her divorce and gave her life a new meaning. She gives some great advice on how to manage your finances and become confident in your decisions once you are on your own.

If you need help utilizing your skills or getting back into the work force, reach out to Delphine and Boulo Solutions!

To learn more about the Wealth Edit, visit our website and take our quiz!

We post fun updates and tips on our Instagram, @wealthedit, and YouTube, so make sure to come see us!

Check out the podcast on Spotify!

Today, we are joined by Ashlee Ammons, president and co-founder of Mixtroz. She talks with us about the hard work of building a business and the importance of personal health along the way. Mixtroz started in Nashville as a software that analyzes personality and other characteristics to make a more meaningful and engaging online connection. Mixtroz complements platforms like Zoom to prevent users from getting lost in the world of virtual connection. Ashlee, who was financially independent from early on, gives us some tips on how to manage money and get by as you are starting out on your own:

-  Live off of the simple things just so you can make it work

-  Know exactly what you need and don’t be afraid to tell your boss your worth

-  Remember your value when you get paid

When she started her company, she quickly learned that no one is passionate about your company except for you and your cofounder, so when someone helps you, cherish those connections and opportunities. Her mother ingrained in her mind from a very young age to be grateful and be conscious in decisions with money. Stayed tuned to listen to how to purchase Mixtroz and where the company is going in the future!

Visit their website here!

To learn more about the Wealth Edit, visit our website and take our quiz!

We post fun updates and tips on our Instagram, @wealthedit, and YouTube, so make sure to come see us!

Check out the podcast on Spotify!