Woman Owned: The Growth Podcast for Women Entrepreneurs

Today I'm talking to Carol Sankar, founder of the global executive leadership firm The Confidence Factor for Women in Leadership. They focus on diversity and inclusion initiatives for high level women.

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Carol has been feature on TEDx, The Steve Harvey Show, Bounce TV, The Society for Diversity, and the Huffington Post.

We are going to talk about why confidence is like a beautiful piece of jewelry, and some insights Carol has gained on the differences between how men and women step into leadership to build and scale their businesses.

Building your confidence is the single most significant asset that you can cultivate if you want to smash the glass ceiling, take your seat at the table where the big deals and decisions are made, and have a voice!

Takeaways

• You must wear confidence as a beautiful accessory that only you know how special you feel when you have it on.
• You must work to develop confidence. You have to have an open and honest discussion with yourself to stop playing small, stop minimizing your accomplishments and to stop discounting yourself.
• Carol learned that she needed to build up people's confidence before anything else. People had too much self sabotaging behaviour to move forward in their business. Everything came down to them not believing in themselves.

Connect with Carol Sankar:

http://www.carolsankar.com/

Sign up for my Free Video Training Series…

In "3 Critical Mistakes Women Entrepreneurs Make That Prevent Them From Replacing Their Corporate Salaries" you'll discover:

• Why your addiction to being efficient will keep you in under-earning jail.
• The critical mindset shift you MUST make if you want to separate yourself from the millions of women entrepreneurs who are never able to replace their corporate salary.
• 3 internal shifts you must make to join the top 2% of women entrepreneurs.

Head over to http://www.eleanorbeaton.com/training to learn more.

I highlight some common reasons why adversity is not only your best friend, but an incredible tool for deepening your leadership.

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5 Great Reasons Why Adversity Is Your Friend

1. It deepens your ability to empathize with people. It gives you a much broader range of experience that you can then use to connect more effectively with your staff, colleagues, stake holders and customers.
2. It gives you great stories. You must learn how to use these stories provide examples and illuminate your meaning. The three most important types of stories to note are: "to hell and back", "reversal", and "hero saga" stories.
3. It deepens your grit and your resilience. Anybody can have a dream. Anybody can have a goal. It takes a woman with true grit and resilience to see it through. You build up that grit and resilience through experiencing adversity.
4. It helps you attract better people into your life. Game recognizes game meaning if you've experienced adversity, you'll connect with others who have as well.
5. It helps you appreciate what you have. Sometimes it takes getting down on your luck or experiencing a health wake up call to help you appreciate what you already have.

Final Thoughts…...

If you are a fierce woman in business, adversity is your middle name. Understand that you can lean into adversity, see it for the gift that it is and embrace it. Make friends with adversity, because as long as you are trying, adversity is absolutely going to be a part of the journey and a part of the destination.

Calling all Coaches, Consultants and Thought Leaders…

If you are starting a business or have just launched a business and you are in the thought leader, coach, consultant, or expert space, I want to share with you a fabulous new video training series that I've just launched.

In this 4 video training series you'll learn:

• The biggest mistakes that I see coaches, consultants and thought leader based people making when they are building their businesses.
• Tips and strategies that you can put in place in your business right now in order to build a healthy thriving business

Head over to http://www.eleanorbeaton.com/training to learn more.

Today I am talking Desiree Adaway, the Principal Owner at the Adaway Group based in Nashville, North Carolina. She specializes in leading difficult conversations on race, class, and gender and building resilient, equitable and inclusive organizations. One of her prime success factors is the incredible skill she has for not caring with other people think of her. Her purpose is to move the needle on diversity and inclusiveness inside organizations.

What you will learn

• How to help create more diversity and inclusiveness inside your organization, and how to implement these changes.
• How to test where your unconscious bias lay in your organization
• You will hear Desiree challenge Eleanor how the assertion that Facebook algorithms are making it harder to have a good broad diverse range of conversations.

Takeaways

We need to change our vision of who is the definition of a leader -most organizations are still very bias towards gender, specifically white males.

Women in positions of leadership and power can help move the needle on inclusiveness by becoming mentors to other women, specifically women of color.

Some of the most common forms of unconscious bias are:

• where we are posting our job openings
• who are we hiring
• how we look
• and how we judge people by the institutions that they have attended

Recognizing your own biases is difficult. The Harvard Implicit Bias test can help. Sometimes you have to step away from a situation and ask yourself "where did that thought come from", and learn how to handle a situation differently.

Connect with Desiree Adaway:

Desireeadaway.com

Calling all Coaches, Consultants and Thought Leaders…

If you are starting a business or have just launched a business and you are in the thought leader, coach, consultant, or expert space, I've got a fabulous new video training series that I've just launched.

In this 4 video training series you'll learn:

• The biggest mistakes that I see coaches, consultants and thought leader based people making when they are building their businesses.
• Tips and strategies that you can put in place in your business right now in order to build a healthy thriving business

Head over to http://www.eleanorbeaton.com/training to learn more.

Sharing a Fabulous New Training Series…...

If you are starting a business or have just launched a business and you are in the thought leader, coach, consultant, or expert space, I want to share with you a fabulous new video training series that I've just launched.

In this 4 video training series you'll learn:

• The biggest mistakes that I see coaches, consultants and thought leader based people making when they are building their businesses.
• Tips and strategies that you can put in place in your business right now in order to build a healthy thriving business

Head over to http://www.eleanorbeaton.com/training to learn more.

Today on Fierce Feminine Leadership……

Whether you are in a job interview or pitching for a new piece of business, chances are high that this year you are going to spend a lot of time in "critical conversations". Today, I am going to share with 3 tips on how to handle a situation when you are in a critical conversation and someone catches you off guard with a question or comment.

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3 Tips To Try When You Are Caught Off Guard……

Tip #1 Remember, this is not a "speak when you are spoken too" situation. You get to chose if you keep your power, or if you give it away. Yes, someone has asked you a question but that doesn't mean you need to answer them right away, and it doesn't mean that you need to come up with a brilliant answer. You have every right to take some time, to think it through before offering a response.

Tip #2 Watch your thoughts. Take a moment to acknowledge the thing that has surprised you with a simple comment. This allows you to engage but has still given you a little bit of breathing space in that moment. If you are in a situation where someone is expecting a quick response, simply say "thank you so much, can you give me about 30 minutes to gather my thoughts and get back to you?".

Tip #3 PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE being caught off guard. It will make you so much more comfortable in the moment, and will actually make you less likely to be caught off guard.

A pioneering entrepreneur, Ipelang Mkhari, founder and CEO of Motseng Investment Holdings, took a 20 year journey to become the successful and recognized woman she is today.

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What does it take to build your career as an entrepreneur?

Discovery. Courage. Risk Taking. Sacrifice.

"Create a vision and make it so absolutely attractive that people want to kill to achieve that particular vision." – Ipelang Mkhari

Moving Your Business from Version 1.0 – 2.0

• Realize that you cannot do everything.
  • Be willing to let go.
• Surround yourself with great people, hopefully people much smarter than you. That is critical.
  • Ensure the business has a corporate structure and foundation from HR, to IT, to finance.
• Allow others to become strong leaders in your business or organization.
  • Make the people who work with you central to your business.
• Create a culture of performance.
  • Treat individuals as individuals, while urging them on the journey of your vision.

Core to leadership is understanding what it is that you care for and being confident in pursuing that.

"It's a continual process to understand what it means to lead. Because you're not leading robots, you're leading individuals, you're leading human beings. They are feeling, thinking people. They have aspirations and goals. And so being able to impart or at least articulate and represent that which they want to become is critical."

Top Three Pieces of Insight

• Recognize Your Confidence.
• Recognize the Importance of Training.
• Recognize the Need for Sacrifice.

"We tend to believe that the people that we see on the cover of these magazines or women we see on television have not gone through difficulties, although we continue to go through difficulties … It couldn't be further from the truth. The reality is all of those women have had to really go through huge obstacles, they had to face their own fears, and they've had to take on challenges that are far larger than they are and with possibly a lot of trepidation." – Ipelang Mkhari

Practices to Cultivate Courage

• Establish a spiritual connection and tap into that source.
• Surround yourself with advisors.
• Find people travelling a similar journey and communicate openly and regularly with them.

"It's good to celebrate our successes but it's more important to celebrate the difficulties that we've encountered along the way because they're the ones that we learn from." – Ipelang Mkhari

Two Most Important Steps to "Go Big" with Your Business

• Get Great Consultants.
• Get Great Sponsors – both financially and people who understand your industry.

Love the show? Let us know!

Are you a fan of the Fierce Feminine Leadership Podcast? If the tips and interviews we share in each episode have helped you gain the confidence and inspiration to become a better, more powerful leader, head on over to iTunes, subscribe to the show and leave your honest review to let us know!

Each month, one lucky podcast reviewer will be selected to receive a free coaching session with me – Eleanor Beaton!

What are you waiting for? Head on over to iTunes, subscribe and leave your review to enter your name into this month's drawing!

5 "Alternative Facts" For Women In Business

I am just wrapping up a 3-day retreat with the beautiful and fierce members of our Bold Women in Business Mastermind. 3 days of intensive strategic planning, masterminding, sisterhood and just a touch of Malbec. FUN. Fun enough to make me reimagine a new term I learned this week, care of Kellyanne Conway: "alternative facts." The term is both terrifying and hilarious. And I have decided to grab the term back.

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5 alternative facts I'd like to share with you.

1. An alternative fact to Imposter Syndrome: No dear, you actually ARE qualified to do this thing that you've worked so hard for. Your hard work, your dedication and the depth of your desire to do it well are what qualify you. It is only your quest for perfection that disqualifies you. So get over it. #Sorrynotsorry.
2. An alternative fact to being confused: Sorry Fierce One, I won't take that one lying down. You are in fact VERY clear on your vision and mission and you know exactly the right next step to take. But you have trained yourself to stop trusting YOU. So for a moment, trust in me and hear that after coaching many, many wonderful women I can tell you this: the wisdom and clarity you seek are inside you. But that wise creature? She's a Queen, OK? And she never raises her voice. So listen hard.
3. An alternative fact to waiting to have things perfect before you make a move: Good luck with that. When you're over it ping me. We have a WHOLE HOST of fierce, action taking women who can't wait to meet you.
4. An alternative fact to thinking that if you don't do it yourself then you're incompetent/unqualified/weak: The very best work comes from teams of people working together. Please refer to the movie Hidden Figures for further evidence.
5. An alternative fact to the desolate feeling dogging so many that this is a troubling time for women: Pink hats. January 21, 2017.

Happy February! It is Black History Month and we are focusing even more on promoting diversity and diverse women in leadership.

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Interesting Facts

• Black women are doing an incredible job on moving barriers and rising to the top.
• Studies show that black women are 3 times more likely to aspire to positions of power and a prestigious title than white women or other races.
• However, white women are twice as likely to attain said position of power and prestigious title.

What is Happening in the World?

• Currently there are 20 women at the helm of those fortune 500 companies. (about 4%).
• Once Ursula Burns, the CEO of Xerox leaves, there will be NO black women as leaders in the fortune 500 companies.

What We Can Do to Help

Even though black women have networks and support, they lack sponsors! One of the things that is critical is that if you want to reach the upper echelons of your ambition and reach the top levels in your business, you are going to need sponsors. The problem we are seeing in the world of business is that black women lack sponsors.

Sponsors are powerful well connected people, who talk about you and circulate your name, they unlock their networks to help you be more successful.

"Sponsors are like steroids for your growth trajectory"

My Challenge To You….

I would like to be a sponsor to aspiring black women in business. I am currently an advisor for the Visiting Women Executive Exchange Program at the Yale School of Management.

This program focuses on supporting diverse, especially African American, African Canadian women, into positions of senior leadership, in both the non-profit sector, the private sector, and in government.

We are running another cohort, and are looking for up and coming ambitious black women who would like to participate in this powerhouse program at the Yale School of Management. You will have access to the networks, the skills the resources that will help you reach the top.

If you know of a woman in your network who could benefit from a program like this and benefit from studying at the Yale School of Management, I invite you to have this person reach out to me personally at [email protected]. Please put "Yale" in the subject line, and I will respond to you as soon as I can with more information about the program.

Whether you're thinking about starting an online business, you want to take your current business to the next level by selling your products or services online, or you're ready to really step up your game, step into your power, and find more freedom through the power of online sales – there are many things you must consider. One of the first things, though, is creating powerhouse sales funnels that will work for you and help you reach your goals faster – and easier.

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But – what is a sales funnel? How many funnels does your business need? How do you create these powerhouse funnels that will put your business on auto-pilot so you can focus less on generating sale and more on spending time with your family?

Stephanie Nickolich is recognized as "The Millionista Mentor". She's a successful business mentor and expert in building and scaling online businesses using sales funnels. Stephanie has been featured and recognized by the Huffington Post as one of the Top 50 Online Women Entrepreneurs to Watch by the Huffington Post, and has helped countless online entrepreneurs grow their businesses to the 6-figure income level by helping them identify and create the sales funnels they need to continually scale their businesses. She joins us today to share her insight on what the term "sales funnel" really means, how they can help you automate your business, and grow your income on auto-pilot.

"You cannot have a business beyond yourself without having a sales funnel in place." – Stephanie Nickolich

Today on the Fierce Feminine Leadership Podcast:

• Stephanie shares her "Come to Jesus" moment and how it impacted her decision to pivot her career.
• She explains how she helps entrepreneurs create businesses around the life they want to live instead of around the goals they want to achieve.
• She explains what sales funnels are as well as how each funnel type differs depending on the products or services you want to launch.
• We discuss the importance of implementing systems in your business to push your business to the next level without sacrificing your freedom.
• She explains the difference between "cold leads," "warm leads," and "hot leads," and why entrepreneurs should have funnels in place for each type of lead.
• We discuss when you should consider outsourcing certain tasks or whether you should do them yourself.
• She explains why she believes that if you're doing something more than once within your business – you should create systems to automate the process.

3 Core Things New Entrepreneurs Need to Find Success Online:

1. Patience
2. Testing
3. Paying attention to your numbers.

Connect with Stephanie Nickolich:

• Join Stephanie in Miami, Florida on May 5 to 7 for her 3-day Success Without Sacrifice Summit Live Conference!
• com
• Stephanie on Facebook

Claim Your Free Success Pack Today!

Are you looking for a way to gain even more insight from other highly ambitious, successful entrepreneurs? Head over to EleanorBeaton.com/SuccessPack to claim your free resource pack!

The Fierce Feminine Leadership Success Pack is filled with interviews with highly successful women entrepreneurs as well as transcripts, worksheets, workbooks, and an e-book that highlights and outlines some of the biggest mistakes women make while building thought-leader-based businesses!

Claim your Success Pack today!

Visit EleanorBeaton.com/SuccessPack

Love the show? Let us know!

Are you a fan of the Fierce Feminine Leadership Podcast? If the tips and interviews we share in each episode have helped you gain the confidence and inspiration to become a better, more powerful leader, head on over to iTunes, subscribe to the show and leave your honest review to let us know!

Each month, one lucky podcast reviewer will be selected to receive a free coaching session with me – Eleanor Beaton!

What are you waiting for? Head on over to iTunes, subscribe and leave your review to enter your name into this month's drawing!

And, if you really want to ramp up your fierceness…

Reach out to us for a free 30-minute Bold Women in Business Makeover Session with me or one of the fabulous coaches on my team!

Explore your path and discover how you can be the fiercest lady-boss possible.

Visit EleanorBeaton.com/Discover

Our partners play a very important role in our lives. We value their support more than anyone else in the world. It's natural to feel this way and I have observed that many women in business expect their partners to give them 100% support with everything they do. This is where things usually go wrong.

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One of our podcast subscribers reached out to me recently with this very dilemma. She wanted to know why the people whom we love hate what we do and most importantly, what to do when you find yourself in this situation.

In today's episode, I'm going to share 5 coping strategies you can use when your biggest love doesn't love your biggest idea. Stick around to the end of the podcast and I'll even throw in 1 extra tip that is sure to help you develop a stronger relationship with your partner and boost your confidence to persevere with your dream.

The biggest problems happen when we run away from pain.

Key Points from today's Fierce Feminine Podcast:

• Don't run away from the pain. Take the time to sit down and really feel your emotions. This is the first step to mastering your emotions.
• Your partner cannot and will not be 100% supportive of you through everything that you do. The sooner you wrap your mind around this, the easier it is to deal with the hurt that come with being rejected by your loved one.
• Your partner's feedback is a subjective expression of his/her feelings and not necessarily an objective view of your plan. Listen to your partner's opinion and learn to take the feedback constructively.
• It is important to surround yourself with other people who can support you and help you grow.

5 Strategies to Cope when Your Biggest Love Doesn't Love Your Biggest Idea

1. Feel the pain.
2. Examine your thoughts.
3. Respect your partner's feedback.
4. Continue to explore and nurture your idea without the need for external approval.
5. Talk to your partner.

Love the show? Let us know!

Are you a fan of the Fierce Feminine Leadership Podcast? If the tips and interviews we share in each episode have helped you gain the confidence and inspiration to become a better, more powerful leader, head on over to iTunes, subscribe to the show and leave your honest review to let us know!

Each month, one lucky podcast reviewer will be selected to receive a free coaching session with me – Eleanor Beaton!

What are you waiting for? Head on over to iTunes, subscribe and leave your review to enter your name into this month's drawing!

And, if you really want to ramp up your fierceness…

Reach out to us for a free 30-minute Bold Women in Business Makeover Session with me or one of the fabulous coaches on my team!

Explore your path and discover how you can be the fiercest lady-boss possible.

Visit EleanorBeaton.com/Discover.

"Let's meet for coffee. I want to pick your brain about something."

You oblige. You meet. Then, you quickly discover that what was supposed to be a simple chat over coffee has turned into a free consultation.

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Does this situation seem familiar to you? You're not alone. The request for free brain picks is rampant among successful women. Many women-in-business have expressed mixed feelings about these types of requests. Almost everyone I have talked to want to genuinely help by sharing their time, encouragement, and expertise, but are unable to do so because they are already maxed out.

In today's episode, I will be sharing 5 tried and tested strategies on how you can handle requests for free brain picks with respect and care towards the person, while also protecting yourself in the process.

"Remember that NO is a complete sentence. No explanation, no apology required."

Key Points from today's Fierce Feminine Podcast:

• While most women-in-business want to be helpful, they are unable to do so because they are maxed out. They want to use the spare time that they have, outside their business or careers, with family, friends, and for themselves.
• Many women find it difficult to say no to brain picking meetings, because they know that it's dangerous for a woman-in-business to be perceived as "not nice" or "unhelpful".
• Free "pick your brain" sessions are different from connection calls or networking meetings, because with the latter there is a clear win-win for both parties. With "pick your brain" sessions, the help is clearly going in one direction alone.
• Networking is critical for your business. You need to spend enough time networking and this means that sometimes you will need to say no to requests, such as "pick your brain sessions", to prioritize meetings that are crucial for your business.

5 Strategies to Say No to Free Brain Picks

1. Send them to your free content.
2. Thank them and connect them to the next step of your sales process.
3. Tell them the next networking event that you will be attending and meet them there.
4. Allot a specific time per month for "pick your brain meetings".
5. Just say NO.

Love the show? Let us know!

Are you a fan of the Fierce Feminine Leadership Podcast? If the tips and interviews we share in each episode have helped you gain the confidence and inspiration to become a better, more powerful leader, head on over to iTunes, subscribe to the show and leave your honest review to let us know!

Each month, one lucky podcast reviewer will be selected to receive a free coaching session with me – Eleanor Beaton!

What are you waiting for? Head on over to iTunes, subscribe and leave your review to enter your name into this month's drawing!

And, if you really want to ramp up your fierceness…

Reach out to us for a free 30-minute Bold Women in Business Makeover Session with me or one of the fabulous coaches on my team!

Explore your path and discover how you can be the fiercest lady-boss possible.

Visit EleanorBeaton.com/Discover.