Leading Through Challenging Situations - Susan Black-Beth

11/15/22 • 47 min

Branch Out - A Podcast from Connection Builders

From heading a family business, running franchising models, running a private equity firm, and being a mother to two, is there anything Susan Black-Beth can't do? Growing up in an entrepreneurial family, Susan's relationship with business started at an early age and has been formative to her leadership style.

In this episode, Susan shares the value of having a robust and reliable network, how to overcome unforeseen challenges, her serendipitous relationship with COVID-19, and the importance of resiliency, authenticity, and vulnerability. With years of experience in multiple spheres of entrepreneurship, Susan explains how all these skills unexpectedly came together to help her through a life-changing family crisis. Finally, bringing this all together, we hear how a shift in perspective can help improve our outlook and allow us to lead ourselves and those who depend on us.
Key Points From This Episode:

Susan's experience with an entrepreneurial family.
Susan and her sisters experience buying and building carwashes.
Why Susan felt called to move away from the safety of the family business.
How Susan overcame her limiting and self-doubting internal dialogue.
Susan's seven-year journey in private equity.
The life lessons Susan has learned while overcoming challenges.
What Susan learned about leadership from the most challenging days of COVID.
Susan's experiences with her son's heart transplant journey.
Susan's relationship with resiliency and leadership.
Most importantly, the power of gratitude and how it has helped Susan succeed.

Susan Black-Beth on LinkedIn
Avante Capital Partners
Connection Builders Alex Drost LinkedIn
Branch Out Podcast LinkedIn
Connection Builders LinkedIn

Susan's experience with an entrepreneurial family.
Susan and her sisters experience buying and building carwashes.
Why Susan felt called to move away from the safety of the family business.
How Susan overcame her limiting and self-doubting internal dialogue.
Susan's seven-year journey in private equity.
The life lessons Susan has learned while overcoming challenges.
What Susan learned about leadership from the most challenging days of COVID.
Susan's experiences with her son's heart transplant journey.
Susan's relationship with resiliency and leadership.
Most importantly, the power of gratitude and how it has helped Susan succeed.

Susan Black-Beth on LinkedIn
Avante Capital Partners
Connection Builders Alex Drost LinkedIn
Branch Out Podcast LinkedIn
Connection Builders LinkedIn

Previous Episode

Embrace Uncertainty & Take Risks - David Hartley

Today we are joined by partner, director, and advisor at Anders CPAs, David Hartley to discuss how he has found success and happiness in his career by taking risks and embracing uncertainty. You'll hear about David's professional career journey, the catalysts for change early on, and how he handled changes he encountered along the way. We also talk about why we as leaders have to accept that we do not know all the answers and instead focus on being a facilitator for problem-solving.

David also shares his view on why it is critical to be open to learning, staying up to date with technology, asking questions, and staying true to yourself. We then dig into how to handle changing circumstances, manage your mental health, and why self-care is essential. Finally, David shares a piece of advice for professionals hitting the five-to-10-year mark in their career.

Key Points From This Episode:

David talks us through some of the pivotal points in the beginning of his career.
How to work your way through life change.
Why it's okay not to know all the answers.
The importance of facilitating a group as a leader rather than dominating problem-solving.
The importance of embracing the newest tools and latest technologies.
How to navigate constant change.
The importance of asking questions and being a sponge in the beginning of your career.
Why you don't need to know everything and why it's imperative to ask questions to learn.
The themes that came out of the new partner presentations David's company has just done.
Why we need to manage mental health in the workplace.
The importance of being authentic to the things you enjoy early in your career.
David shares some advice about self-care for professionals hitting their five-to-10-year mark.

David Hartley on LinkedIn
Anders CPAs
Dare to LeadConnection Builders Alex Drost LinkedIn
Branch Out Podcast LinkedIn
Connection Builders LinkedIn

Next Episode

The Entrepreneur's Mindset - Isatou Smith

To be an entrepreneur requires hard work, self-discipline, and a tremendous amount of courage. When you are your own boss, there is no one else to look to. Therefore, everything your business needs to succeed requires your efforts and discipline. Today we are joined by the Managing Director of EisnerAmper, Isatou Smith. She is a natural entrepreneur who left a stable corporate role to gain greater autonomy and agency in her personal and professional life. In our conversation, we discuss how Isatou became an entrepreneur and what she's learned from her journey. Isatou shares examples of the challenging moments she has had to endure and ultimately persevere. Isatou also explains why all entrepreneurs need to know themselves very well, why instant gratification is a slippery slope, and how society can break you down if you let it. Finally, we discuss the importance of self-discipline, how to be intentional with how you spend your time, and why goal-setting is an entrepreneurial necessity.

Key Points From This Episode:

Isatou's entrepreneurial journey: when it started, how she chose it, and what she learned.
The part of her journey that forced her to endure and persevere.
The importance of knowing yourself and what you want very well.
Instant gratification and living in a world of 'right now'.
How external influences could be detrimental to your entrepreneurial endeavor.
The importance of leading both yourself and others as an entrepreneur.
Why there's a high risk of burnout and poor mental health when you're your own boss.
How to be self-disciplined when given full autonomy.
Being intentional with how you spend your time.
Why it's important to set goals as an entrepreneur.

Isatou Smith on LinkedIn
Isatou Email
EisnerAmper
Connection Builders Alex Drost LinkedIn
Branch Out Podcast LinkedIn
Connection Builders LinkedIn

Branch Out - A Podcast from Connection Builders - Leading Through Challenging Situations - Susan Black-Beth

Transcript

[INTRODUCTION]

[00:00:01] ANNOUNCER: Welcome to Branch Out, a Connection Builders podcast. Helping middle market professionals connect, grow, and excel in their careers. Through a series of conversations with leading professionals, we share stories and insights to take your career to the next level. A successful career begins with meaningful connections.

[00:00:21] AD: Hey, everyone. Welcome to the Branch Out podcast. I’m your host, Alex Drost.