Women Worldwide with Deirdre Breakenridge (general)

What happens when you combine the left and right side functions of your brain? For Nora Gardner, she merged finance and fashion to create functional, beautiful professional wear for the intrepid career woman. Listen in to hear how she did it, why she did it, and the challenges she faced while building an exclusive collection of women’s workwear. 

We would be remiss not to share that Nora always had a love of the arts. She coupled her love of design and training in business and finance to fill a need that has gone ignored for too long. After 6 years in the finance industry, Nora realized that while men had custom-designed workwear that stood the test of a busy business person, women did not have the same. 

She shares the impetus for starting her first collection and why inventory is one of the biggest challenges. One of her most pressing concerns, aside from creating beautiful designs, is sustainability in the fashion industry. Too many big businesses create excess inventory that eventually ends up in our landfills or burned. Hear how Nora aims to curb these excesses in her own business and why more designers need to do the same.

If you’ve ever wished for a custom suit or a tailored dress made from luscious fabrics and functional design, then you need to take a look at Nora’s collections. The pieces are limited, but the wait is worth it. Listen in to hear how you can bring opposite worlds together to create harmonious design.

Show Notes:

  • [01:14] What are you looking forward to in 2020? How can we help you? 
  • [02:52] Welcome Nora Gardner, a former investment banker turned fashion designer.
  • [04:26] Why did Nora decide to transition from banking to fashion? 
  • [07:15] Did Nora develop any skills in her early career that helped her build the business? 
  • [09:20] Listen in as Nora shares the process she went through during the research phase.
  • [11:43] How does she plan out her year and collections? 
  • [15:53] Nora shares some of the challenges she’s faced and how she’s overcome them. 
  • [22:44] How is Nora bringing emotional intelligence into her business? 
  • [29:47] Learn Nora’s strategy for building her team.
  • [33:01] Does she still step out of her comfort zone? How? 
  • [36:06] Hear Nora’s advice to that person who wants to take that next step!

Links and Resources:

Nora Gardner NYC
Nora on Facebook
Nora on Instagram
Nora on Twitter

Episode Sponsor: Feel First Test

Direct download: WW253.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:00am EDT

What does it mean to find clarity in your life and your business? Steve Woodruff, the King of Clarity, joins me to discuss just that. You won’t want to miss his valuable pieces of information on why you should find clarity and how.

Steve has spent the last 30 years helping businesses, small and large, to get on the same page with their message both internally and externally. There are five questions that many companies don’t take the time to ask themselves about what they do, who they do it for, how they do it, and why. 

One of his biggest dreams is that all companies start asking and answering these questions at the C-suite level, or the top of their organization. Once your leadership is clear on the company message, it can be filtered down to every employee. When everyone is on the same page, your clients and customers will always feel that the message they receive is consistent. 

If you have no idea where to start, think first about what it is you want to do. You cannot find clarity with your message if your offer or your service isn’t clear. You cannot be heard if you don’t know what you should be known for. People can’t refer you to others if they’re not sure what you do.

Listen in to hear all of Steve’s wonderful advice. Then start answering the five questions for yourself and your business. Let us know if answering those questions helps you to see your own message more clearly.

Show Notes:

  • [02:05] Our topic for today? Getting heard and referred!
  • [03:06] Welcome Steve Woodruff, the King of Clarity, to Women Worldwide.
  • [04:11] How did Steve become the King of Clarity? 
  • [06:32] Learn why Steve’s company is called Clarity Fuel.
  • [07:34] Steve shares the main takeaways from his book and who it is for.
  • [09:35] How does the activating language work? 
  • [12:29] What channels and where should you focus your efforts? 
  • [14:05] Learn how to ask the right questions of yourself to find clarity.
  • [17:44] How does Steve apply emotional intelligence to his company?
  • [20:17] Steve shares how he has found his own clarity.
  • [23:03] What are the best questions you should ask yourself to find clarity?
  • [27:17] Hear Steve share one of his dreams for all businesses.
  • [29:13] What advice does Steve have to help you find clarity? 
  • [30:40] Connect with Steve and grab his book.

Links and Resources:

ClarityFuel
Clarity Wins by Steve Woodruff
Steve on Facebook
Steve on LinkedIn
Steve on Twitter

Episode Sponsor: Feel First Test

Direct download: WW252.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:00am EDT

Effective communication is the key to removing gender bias and promoting equity in business. Susan Freeman has made it her life’s work to help women in business find effective ways to communicate with the world while educating men on the right way to communicate with women in business. She has a passion for helping women succeed and has founded and co-founded several programs to help empower women and girls in finding their success.

She recently coordinated and sponsored the Empowered Women 2019 event which was her biggest event to date. Susan has made it her mission to help women and plans to continue the Empowered Women events for the next two years. (They’ve already been scheduled!

Listen in to learn her biggest tips for promoting parity in the workplace and how leaders can better show and use empathy with their employees. She shares a poignant example of some people’s willful misunderstanding of the gender equality movement that you won’t want to miss. Her response to a blatantly abrasive question is masterful!

The tips and advice Susan shares in this episode are amazing reminders of how women can assert themselves without taking on the persona or antics of men. It’s also extremely refreshing to learn that there are men in business who are truly ignorant of the issues that women face in finding parity. 

Are you ready to show up in the workplace armed with more knowledge on how and why women communicate differently than men? Then grab a notebook and get ready to learn.

Show Notes:

  • [02:11] Learn how to boost communication and promote equity with Susan Freeman.
  • [04:36] How did Susan know that helping women find equity was her calling? 
  • [06:50] What are some of the different communication styles women and men use? 
  • [10:12] Does this apply to how men and women take up space in the room? 
  • [15:00] If hope is not a strategy, how do we change equity in the boardroom? 
  • [18:03] What can leaders do to become more empathetic? 
  • [25:32] Susan shares more information about the Empowered Women 2019.
  • [28:05] How does it feel coming off her first big event? 
  • [35:08] Hear Susan’s advice for dealing with challenges in communication.
  • [36:48] Connect with Susan.

Links and Resources:

Episode Sponsor: Feel First Test

Direct download: WW251.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:00am EDT

In the course of our 250 episodes (can you believe it?) on Women Worldwide, you’ve heard from successful and impactful women in business, politics, entertainment, and many other challenging industries. Now it’s time to chat with a high-powered woman from the law enforcement and intelligence field. This is a field that historically and today has been male dominated for a variety of reasons, but Lauren Anderson decided that there was no reason she couldn’t make it in intelligence as well.

Lauren grew up in a home where she was always told that she could do or be whatever she wanted. The sky was the limit for her dreams and ambitions and, looking back, she realizes that those dreams always pointed in the general direction of intelligence. She didn’t immediately start down that path however, she first decided that becoming a doctor was her calling. After spending several miserable years studying medicine, she switched paths. 

After and during her amazing career with the FBI, Lauren has moved her focus to helping other women and young girls find their paths and battle gender inequity across the globe. Listen in as she recounts tales from her FBI days that propelled her desire to help other women succeed in male dominated fields.

Lauren holds nothing back in this interview. Her advice and recommendations are spot on for all women and men, not just those seeking careers in law enforcement. While she is always seeking to find gender equality, she has no desire to exclude the men in her life from her vast business and intelligence knowledge. As she says, find those partners in your career, be they women or men, and develop relationships.

This is the last show of 2019 and the 250th show of Women Worldwide and there couldn’t have been a better guest than Lauren Anderson. Can’t wait for you to hear her advice and everything she has to offer with regard to starting your own business and impacting women around the world. 

Happy Holidays! Looking forward to serving you in the New Year!

Show Notes:

  • [02:06] Women Worldwide is going on holiday break!
  • [03:26] Welcome Lauren Anderson, a strong woman in law enforcement and intelligence.
  • [04:14] Lauren shares her journey to working in the FBI.
  • [06:45] What kind of studies do you need to get into the FBI? What did Lauren study? 
  • [07:52] Learn what it was like to finish the FBI Academy and how many women there were.
  • [09:17] Lauren chats about the most challenging aspects of the FBI Academy and the FBI.
  • [11:53] Did she have to prove anything while working in the field to prove her worth? 
  • [14:26] What kind of skills did she have to develop to succeed in law enforcement? 
  • [17:23] How can leaders be more empathetic with their employees? 
  • [21:46] Why did Lauren decide to start her own consulting firm?
  • [26:56] Lauren shares the resources she uses to stay on top of her field.
  • [32:16] Hear Lauren’s best advice to women in difficult and underrepresented careers.
  • [34:52] Connect with Lauren.

Links and Resources:

Direct download: WW250.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:00am EDT

It’s the holiday season. Are you stressed yet? So many people walk around living in and with unnecessary stress. Dr. Jane Tornatore, a therapist and speaker in Seattle, WA, helps people convert outdated patterns and stress into more freedom, joy, and authenticity. She shares how people process stress, when many of our mindset issues form, and how we can overcome them and maintain a less stressful lifestyle.

With her studies in mental health and neuroplasticity Dr. Jane has found effective ways to help others turn their bad habits into effective solutions and change the course of their lives. She says that the majority of our major mindset hurdles form when we are less than six years old, as we move into an aware consciousness. Habits however, can be broken. Learn how as we chat.

Awareness, practice, and choice are the keys to changing your less than ideal habits. Our brains are naturally designed to look for problems that need to be fixed. Learn how you can overcome grim situations and how Dr. Jane’s new book, Everything is PERFECT, Just Not ME!, can help you move through your negative self-talk.

Dr. Jane has been studying the brain for more than 25 years and her insights into how our brains process the world are invaluable. Listen in and learn how you can work on altering your neural pathways and be kinder to yourself. Mindset and business success go hand in hand, but only if you keep working on the blocks that hold you back.

Show Notes:

  • [01:54] Dr. Jane Tornatore discusses how to turn stress into confidence and peace of mind.
  • [02:56] Learn about Jane’s background and why she chose to become a therapist.
  • [05:15] What do patterns of stress look like and how do we identify them?
  • [07:09] Are there people who push back on identifying and addressing their stress?
  • [08:34] Hear about the mind work needed to uncover and overcome our longstanding mental blocks.
  • [11:34] How does Dr. Jane help others keep from backsliding into bad habits?
    [13:05] Change is simpler than we think, it’s simply practicing… for the rest of our lives.
  • [17:25] What does Dr. Jane do when everything looks grim? 
  • [19:09] Dr. Jane shares what she wants people to walk away with from reading her book.
  • [21:29] Where does the concept of perfect come from? 
  • [23:37] How can you reassure someone that they don’t have to be perfect?
    [28:10] What kinds of challenges has Dr. Jane faced in her business and how does she approach them?
  • [32:15] Learn how you can overcome the stress of the holiday by walking through an exercise.
  • [34:54] Connect with Dr. Jane.

Links and Resources:

Episode Sponsor: Routledge. Download a free chapter of my book Answers for Modern Communicators at http://bit.ly/learningtheessentials.

Direct download: WW249.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:00am EDT

Do you struggle with creating deep meaningful conversations that lead to lasting connections? In this world of instant feedback and world-wide connectivity, having real conversations has become harder than ever. Dr. Karen Jacobson works with organizations to strengthen their communication practices and learn how to create lasting impressions through power conversations.

Karen is the President of Aligned Leadership Academy and a former Israeli military commander. She has run her own Chiropractic practice and is a champion ballroom dancer. She has many and varied experiences that have helped her to connect with others in a sincere way. 

She is now a high-performance strategist, speaker, and author who helps others realize the power of connected conversations. Her book Power Conversations, develops her ground-breaking communications framework called the High-Performance Triad. Karen helps leaders find their personality and leadership style and how they can best adapt conversations to create effective communication opportunities with their teams.

The ability to communicate effectively is the key to growing a business, serving your family, and developing relationships. Listen in as Karen shares the four personality types, why we all have a bit of all four, and why being confident in your knowledge and abilities will lead to success. She’s done it all! Listen to the end to hear her top tips for developing your power conversations.

Show Notes:

  • [02:18] Welcome! Dr. Karen Jacobson here to discuss how to start power conversations.
  • [03:41] What stands out the most throughout Karen’s career and shaped where she is today?
  • [05:01] How has her military career impacted her later pursuits? 
  • [06:40] Learn how to build trust within the military and in leadership.
  • [09:10] Karen unpacks her books and what she hopes her readers take away from them.
  • [11:14] Why you have to temper your personality with emotional intelligence in different situations.
  • [12:22] Karen shares the four characters or personalities from her books.
  • [18:57] What does it mean to Karen to command a presence in a room or on stage?
  • [21:32] Learn why you need to keep a cool head under pressure to maintain your beliefs.
  • [25:13] Which extends to all career tracks as well.
  • [28:47] How has Karen tackled challenges throughout her career?
  • [34:36] Karen shares her top tips for developing power conversations.
  • [35:47] Connect with Karen.

Links and Resources:

Episode Sponsor: Routledge. Download a free chapter of my book Answers for Modern Communicators at http://bit.ly/learningtheessentials.

Direct download: WW248.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:00am EDT

Politics has historically been a man’s world, but in recent years women have come to the forefront of many influential political roles. Joni Wickham is a shining example of a strong woman in a political leadership role. She grew up reading newspapers and watching the nightly news as a child while spending time with her grandparents and originally planned to report on political events herself.

Fast-forward several years and Joni found herself in a position without power while a decision was being made to cut a social service that directly impacted her and her family. It was then that she decided to change her focus and have a seat at the decision-making table. She has since built a career in politics that culminated in her being named Chief of Staff to the Mayor of Kansas City, MO. 

Listen as Joni shares triumphs and failures she experienced in her political career and the skills and traits that have benefited her the most in her career. Ever resilient and hard-working, Joni has created a women’s empowerment initiative that has been implemented in several cities and benefits women seeking to build a political career.

Joni, like many of you, is smart, driven, motivated, and resourceful, but her path has not been easy. Hear her take on carving your own path and what it takes to be truly successful. Joni is an inspiration for all women seeking to have their voices heard in the political arena. Do you have what it takes? 

Show Notes:

  • [02:15] Women in politics, how can you be successful in a difficult position? 
  • [03:31] Welcome Joni Wickham! Learn how she found herself as a leader in the political forum.
  • [07:01] What was like to be a woman in politics as the Chief of Staff to the Mayor of Kansas City, MO?
  • [09:02] Joni shares the skills she’s relied on to move her through her political career.
  • [10:52] How did preparedness conquer the ever-encroaching imposter syndrome? 
  • [13:04] Why did Joni choose to enter into entrepreneurship?
  • [15:37] Hear the biggest challenge Joni faced as a woman in politics.
  • [17:32] Learn Joni’s take on how women can best support one another.
  • [22:09] Millenials in government. Joni shares her thoughts!
  • [23:33] What does it take to build trust with millennials?
  • [25:27] How did her younger staff members change with the focus on team building?
  • [27:07] Social media and communication in politics. What are Joni’s thoughts?
  • [30:33] Joni shares her advice to business professionals facing tough times.
  • [31:34] Connect with Joni! 

Links and Resources:

Wickham James Website

Joni on Twitter
Joni on Facebook
Joni on LinkedIn

Wickham James on Twitter
Wickham James on Facebook
Wickham James on LinkedIn
Joni’s LinkedIn Series

Episode’s Sponsor: Empowered Women Event - December 5th, 2019. Get your ticket here: http://bit.ly/empowereddec5

Direct download: WW247.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:00am EDT

We all have to eat! Deepti Sharma has a new take on how to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to have their food voice heard. In 2011, Deepti founded FoodtoEat, a community-minded catering concierge service that connects immigrant, women and minority-owned food vendors to growth opportunities. She saw an area of need and has worked tirelessly to provide an equitable solution.

Deepti shares the impetus for creating FoodtoEat as well as the process she followed to move from helping food trucks reach more audiences to facilitating relationships between restaurants and corporate catering needs. Her work has helped New Americans build stronger business skills and fostered a more diverse work culture.

Her background is in political science and she is an advocate for policies that benefit small business owners and immigrant entrepreneurship. She also focuses on gender equity in the small business space. After taking stock of the number of companies founded and owned by men, she began to take a greater interest in helping women to build and foster their own businesses. She also shares what she thinks is the best way for women to help other women business owners.

All of her work has not gone unrecognized. Deepti is a World Economic Forum Global Shaper and a Forbes 30 Under 30 alumnus. Her insights into small business and diversity in the community are amazing. From the way she’s built her team to the plans she has for the future of FoodtoEat, Deepti is a wealth of knowledge about entrepreneurship and advocacy. Listen in to learn more ways that you can impact your community by harnessing the power of diversity and inclusion.

Show Notes:

  • [02:06] There’s power in bringing diversity to your community. Learn more with Deepti Sharma.
  • [03:30] Deepti shares a bit about her background and what drove her to create FoodtoEat.
  • [08:39] Learn about the challenges Deepti felt in pivoting from food truck supplier to corporate catering.
  • [14:53] What is Deepti’s philosophy on team creation and nurturing?
  • [17:24] How can women help one another in fostering equity in the workplace?
  • [20:06] Deepti divulges the things she’s learned about herself while building her business.
  • [24:37] Has her team been able to tap into her resilience? 
  • [27:25] Learn how Deepti manages her time between being a mom and wife, a business owner, and a woman.
  • [31:42] Deepti shares her best advice for staying resilient in building your business.
  • [33:19] Connect with Deepti.

Links and Resources:

Episode’s Sponsor: Empowered Women Event - December 5th, 2019. Get your ticket here: http://bit.ly/empowereddec5

Direct download: WW246.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:00am EDT

Being bold and taking full ownership of our capabilities is not a natural talent for most women. More often than not we get stuck thinking that we couldn’t possibly succeed if we don’t have the right education, upbringing, social views, etc. Here to debunk those beliefs is Kate Isler. She is an author, international marketing executive, co-founder and CEO of Be Bold Now, Inc., and she did it all without a college degree.

Kate has had a fabulously dynamic career in which she has traveled the globe while working as an executive at Microsoft. She helped open subsidiary offices in Africa, Eastern Europe, India, and the Middle East, Latin America, and China. When she finally returned to the US she lead the international marketing and campaign teams for Microsoft Windows.

It wasn’t until she left Microsoft, after achieving so many career milestones, that she finally stopped and obtained her degree. Kate is supremely passionate about supporting women in reaching their career and life goals, which is what drove her to co-found Be Bold Now. Their mission is to build a network of women to support and inspire each other to take bold action in pursuing gender parity for women in leadership.

Be Bold Now is an outlet and community for women to share their stories and help others find the courage to take action in their own workplaces and communities. If you have a Bold story to tell, take the time to tell your story! Kate has also penned her very first book, a memoir about her young adult career that is due out next year. 

Kate’s advice for women leaders and those who simply want to reach for the next milestone is fantastic. She shares so many amazing stories from her own early career and how her actions then have informed her life today. Listen to the very end to learn why asking for help is not a weakness and why the first step on the road to success is to have a goal. 

Show Notes:

  • [01:11] Welcome back to everyone and thank you for being here.
  • [02:42] Kate Isler is on the show to help you learn how to be bold, now.
  • [04:02] Learn more about Kate’s beginnings and why she created Be Bold Now.
  • [07:15] What does Kate tell women who feel alone in the boardrooms of corporate America?
  • [08:57] Hear why diversity and inclusion are separate ideals that must be addressed equally. 
  • [10:51] Are there common roadblocks to integrating diversity and inclusion? 
  • [12:43] What has Kate learned from hearing the stories of those involved in Be Bold Now? 
  • [15:51] Learn what it means to self-select oneself out of an opportunity.
  • [17:46] How can women support one another to achieve equity in leadership?
  • [21:46] Kate shares information about her new book, a memoir about her young adult life.
  • [25:33] Any lessons that stand out for Kate that helped propel her forward in her career? 
  • [27:41] Where should a woman go to ask for help within their company and in life?
    [30:13] Kate shares her final piece of advice on how to Be Bold. 
  • [32:09] Connect with Kate.

Links and Resources:

Episode’s Sponsor: Empowered Women Event - December 5th, 2019. Get your ticket here: http://bit.ly/empowereddec5

Direct download: WW245.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:00am EDT

Taking the leap and changing your career or launching your own business is a seriously scary prospect. Sara Bliss knows all about changing roles, pivoting her focus, and building a brand and a business. She has done everything from ghostwriting books to building brands through words. Her most recent book, Take the Leap, is the result of 10 years of labor, love, and a drive to never quit.

There is no better person to discuss what it takes to move out of a job you hate to creating a business you love than Sara. Before writing Take the Leap she interviewed over 60 entrepreneurs who made the transition from employee to CEO in various stages of their careers. The insights she gleaned from hearing their stories and taking the time to compile them into this wonderful tome are as inspirational as they are informative. 

Listen in as Sara discusses the ups and downs, ins and outs of ghostwriting and writing for major publications. She also shares how taking on the voice of her customer has helped her to dial into what a brand requires to survive. Learn why taking on every project and writing for nearly every topic has helped her better realize the scope of her abilities and how that applies to building her business. 

This conversation was a true adventure into the mind and world of a person born to be an entrepreneur. Sara’s vast experience and willingness to move, grow, and change is something to be admired and studied! Don’t miss out on all of her juicy business tips and listen to the end to hear her fantastic parting advice.

Show Notes:

  • [01:08] Welcome back. We just turned 5! Sending a huge thank you to all our listeners!
  • [02:24] Sara Bliss, the author of Take the Leap, is here to chat about making huge changes.
  • [03:32] Learn all about Sara’s career path and all of the changes she has made over the years.
  • [05:26] What was it like becoming a ghostwriter? 
  • [07:04] Why did Sara feel that bringing Take the Leap to life was important? 
  • [09:27] Sara shares her process for completing and compiling her research and interviews.
  • [10:40] Learn more about the challenges Sara faced as she wrote the book.
  • [14:07] How do you get rid of the chatter so that you can take the leap? 
  • [18:36] Sara discusses how you can best handle rejection.
  • [20:24] Where did most of the people interviewed for Sara’s book fall in their career cycle before taking the leap?
  • [24:21] Speaking with all of her interviewees inspired Sara to continue to make pivots.
  • [25:04] Learn more about the different types of roles Sara has taken on throughout her career and how that has bolstered her business.
  • [27:20] Is retirement an ideal prospect anymore? 
  • [29:31] Sara gives all of us a piece of advice for everyone thinking of taking the leap.
  • [31:34] Connect with Sara.

Links and Resources:

Episode’s Sponsor: Routledge

Download a free chapter of my book Answers for Modern Communicators at http://bit.ly/learningtheessentials 

Direct download: WW244.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:00am EDT