Ep. 3 Building Beyond Barriers with Brooke Skinner Ricketts

03/27/25 • 32 min

In this inspiring episode, Amanda Nizzere sits down with Brooke Skinner Ricketts, the powerhouse CEO of Beyond Barriers—a career acceleration platform helping professionals advance with clarity and confidence. Brooke shares her winding path from aspiring documentary filmmaker to C-suite executive, and how a pandemic-era soul search led her to take the leap into entrepreneurship.

From launching brands and leading IPOs to empowering thousands of professionals through community and career "fitness," Brooke offers honest insights into what it takes to grow, build, and take bold action. They discuss everything from career pivots and burnout to mentorship, board seats, and boundary-setting.

Whether you're a fractional executive, an entrepreneur, or simply someone considering your next big leap—this conversation is full of golden nuggets.

Resources & Links:

💼 Beyond Barriers
🔗 Connect with Amanda Nizzere & explore more episodes at https://www.femalefractionals.com/

Love the show?
Don’t forget to like, follow, rate, and share to help us grow the Female Fractionals community.

Whether you're a fractional executive, an entrepreneur, or simply someone considering your next big leap—this conversation is full of golden nuggets.

Resources & Links:

💼 Beyond Barriers
🔗 Connect with Amanda Nizzere & explore more episodes at https://www.femalefractionals.com/

Love the show?
Don’t forget to like, follow, rate, and share to help us grow the Female Fractionals community.

Previous Episode

Female Fractionals - Trailer

Join host Amanda Nizzere on Female Fractionals, a bi-weekly podcast dedicated to successful female fractional executives and entrepreneurs. As a seasoned B2B marketing expert and fractional CMO, Amanda interviews tenured fractional executives and subject matter experts to help entrepreneurs build thriving businesses on their own terms. Tune in to explore the growing movement of fractional executives reshaping the corporate landscape and learn how to thrive in your fractional journey.

Next Episode

Ep. 4: Kymm Martinez on Purpose, Power & the Pivot

Amanda Nizzere is joined by fractional CMO Kymm Martinez, CEO of Wilder Marketing Group. With a 25+ year career that spans Fortune 200 brands, nonprofits, and higher ed—including CMO roles at General Mills, the University of St. Thomas, and the American Cancer Society—Kymm now leads her own fractional marketing firm with purpose, flexibility, and impact at the core.

In this refreshingly honest conversation, Kymm shares what prompted her bold leap at age 55, why she left a high-profile job with no backup plan, and how she gave herself space to figure out what came next. She discusses the difference between consulting and fractional work, the joy (and surprises) of entrepreneurship, and how she’s using automation and AI to scale her business and her network.

Whether you’re thinking of launching your own fractional business or wondering what happens after you leap—this episode is packed with practical insight, inspiration, and real talk from someone who’s walking the walk.

Resources & Tools Mentioned:

💼 Wilder Marketing Group
🧰 Tools: HubSpot CRM (free version), ChatGPT, SCORE/SBA, LinkedIn

Favorite Quote from Kymm:

“I’m still a work in progress—but I’ve learned to stop defining myself by my last job title. I have so much more to give, and now I get to decide how and when I give it.”

Love the show?
Follow, rate, and share to help us spread the word about "Female Fractionals" and support women in creating careers and businesses on their own terms.

Female Fractionals - Ep. 3 Building Beyond Barriers with Brooke Skinner Ricketts

Transcript

Amanda: [00:00:00] Welcome to Female Fractionals, the biweekly podcast for successful female fractional executives and those ready to take the leap. In each episode, I'll bring you actionable lessons and inspiration through interviews with thriving fractional leaders and experts. Let's dive in. Welcome to today's episode of Female Fractionals.

I'm your host, Amanda Nazz. I am so excited to introduce you to today's guest, Brooke Skinner. Ricketts, CEO of Beyond Barriers, a career accelera