Way To Go! Podcast

Building the business you want, the life that you desire and the impact you’d like to make on the world starts with the right mindset. But many entrepreneurs struggle with turning down the volume on their inner critic. Thankfully, Heather Whelpley helps with that sort of thing. She’s an author, coach and speaker who’ll be leading a session called Imposter Syndrome and How to Overcome It, at the TSVE Chart Your Course event on Thursday, November 19th, 2020 at 12:30 PM EST. In the leadup to the event, Heather joins The Way to Go! Podcast to talk with Terri Potter and Amanda Nichols about what to expect from her session. 

In this episode, Heather defines Imposter Syndrome, Amanda talks about her experience and Heather offers tips for those with feelings like Amanda’s. Heather then talks through other common scenarios where Imposter Syndrome pops up, the “under-doers” and “over-doers” dichotomy, and what’s surprised her about the feedback she’s received from people she’s worked with before. Heather expands on what to expect from the interactive session and what attendees can expect in the form of take-aways. Sharing that 70% of people will experience Imposter Syndrome at some point in their career, this conversation and Heather’s session are certainly of the ‘can’t miss’ variety. Register for free here.

Although it’s been a tough year for small businesses everywhere, Tony Kraayenbrink believes it’s still a great time to be a small business owner. As the Owner and Founder of IFC Studios, he knows beneficial things come from analyzing your company and refocusing priorities around what you do best. We’re so happy that he was able to join us on the Way to Go! Podcast to share what he did when the going got tough this year, what technology he’s leaned on and how his company’s now stronger as a result.

Tony begins by sharing how he got started in web design, how his company grew overtime and just what happened when he had to go through some downsizing this year. He gets into how IFC Studios refocused on what it does best and what technology they’ve embraced to communicate with clients and potential new clients without meeting them face-to-face. He brings lots of advice to the discussion and his optimism is contagious. A must listen for any small business owner.

Oh, and don't forget about this right here! :)

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The early stages of starting a business can be stressful and time consuming to say the least. Now add being full-time students to that workload and you have some idea of what Angelica and Cristina Galavis are doing these days. Together they are Staging Sisters LLC, a home staging & interior design company located in the Triangle area of North Carolina. We’re so pleased to welcome them both as guests on this episode of The Way to Go! Podcast to talk about the technology with which they got their business up and running and what they have planned for the future. 

In this episode, we learn about how Angelica and Cristina are both students at NC State, their passion for interior design, their introduction to home staging and starting their business when classes were moved online earlier this year. They discuss how they used Instagram to catch the eye of local realtors, using social media to broadcast their services generally, communicating with clients through video-conferencing platforms and FaceTime, their virtual staging and consulting offerings and their desires to expand in 2021 post-Cristina’s graduation! All throughout, the sisters share about the tech that they find most useful and what they hope to utilize in 2021 to keep their business growing.

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Here’s a story that will brighten your day. A brand-new coffee company called Nirvana Soul has Silicon Valley buzzing. With a new space just opened (yes, in 2020!) in downtown San Jose, sisters and co-founders Jeronica Macey and Be’Anka Ashalou are creating community with coffee and tea. We’re so pleased to welcome Be’Anka to this episode of the Way to Go! Podcast to discuss her role as Co-Founder and CMO of Nirvana Soul, how the dream became a reality and the technology that makes it all possible.

In this episode, Be’Anka Ashalou discusses her and her sister’s backgrounds, the dream of opening a coffee shop in their hometown, building relationships pre-opening, putting themselves out there genuinely and documenting every step of the way on social media. She describes having to push their opening back, finally getting to the big day, seeing huge lines, receiving unexpected press, how technology solutions helped to get things going and what they’d love to do in the near future. Listen while you sip!

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You know what they say: When you manage to combine your personal interests with what you do for a living, you’ll never work a day in your life. Well, Sean Adorno may’ve found a way to do just that. Sean’s the President of Evolution Partners, a boutique staffing firm with a focus on Quantitative Trading, Machine Learning, Software Engineering, Data Science and Artificial Intelligence. As a self described “techie,” Sean enjoys finding the brightest tech talent in the country and helping his company improve its processes by building some A.I. of its own. 

As a guest on this episode of the Way to Go! Podcast, we learn about his story, starting a business in 2020 and how he focused on new ideas for internal processes when clients froze their hiring practices. Sean describes how he and his firm lean on video-conferencing tech and messaging platforms like Slack to communicate with clients and colleagues, a fascinating internal pet project they’re working on and what advice he has for other entrepreneurs at this time. 

Your business was primed for a massive growth year, but 2020 had other plans! Instead of shaking your fist at the heavens, listen to our guest, Ryan Heafy’s story in his own words. He’s the Co-Founder and COO of 6AM City, the fastest growing, newsletter-first, local media company in the country; with over 250K active subscribers across seven different markets. And he might just inspire you.

In this episode, we hear about Ryan’s background in mechanical engineering, how he got started with 6AM City, how they grew from their first morning newsletter product in 2016 and how they had a scheduled fundraising round right when the pandemic shut things down. Ryan describes how things lagged for a while, but the time was spent rethinking some of their processes and fostering innovation internally, how streamlined software-based HR, accounting and video-conferencing solutions allow 6AM City to seamlessly operate remotely and save money. 

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How can your business successfully work from home during the pandemic? Our featured guest, Kathy Kacher, knows just what to do. She’s the President of Career/Life Alliance Services (CLAS), Co-founder of the SMART Workplace and perhaps, most notably, a champion for professional women everywhere. Kathy’s regarded as a pioneer in workplace transformation and she joins us to talk about how companies must learn a new way of working to remain competitive.

In this episode we learn about Kathy’s story, her focus on women and the work/life balance, workplace flexibility, transitioning to a mobile work environment and fostering cultural change. We also get her perspective on the right technology vs. the right mindset for transitioning your business, maintaining wellness and setting virtual boundaries, moving towards a short technology stack and IT security in times of increased mobility. She speaks to this moment like no other and businesses of all sizes should take note!

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