Potential to Powerhouse: Success Secrets for Women Entrepreneurs

Taking a family business into the future can be a daunting venture. How do you best balance history with vision? And when that business is winegrowing in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, home to more than 600 wineries, how do you stand out and continue to innovate?

For Alison Sokol Blosser, Co-President, CEO, and second-generation winegrower of Sokol Blosser Winery, the answer lies in staying true to yourself no matter the conditions. Wine wasn’t necessarily in Alison’s blood, so she studied other fields including marketing, but all paths led back to pastoral Willamette Valley, where her parents ventured decades earlier and, without prior experience, built a world-class winery.

In today’s episode of the Potential to Powerhouse Podcast, Alison walks Tracy and the audience through her journey, which now includes running her parents’ namesake winery with her family. It’s a fascinating conversation that showcases how the next generation can take businesses in exciting new directions when given the proper amounts of care, support, and attention.

Key Points:

• What inspired Alison’s parents to start the vineyard and winery, and how did they go about purchasing the land and equipment as recent college graduates?
• The family struggled working in an industry that was not established in Oregon like it is today. How did the stress of growing a family business affect Alison’s childhood?
• Alison talks about the risk that went into the development of the winery and how the collaborative culture of Oregon helped the state rise in the wine industry.
• Alison discusses her journey during college and post-grad when she thought she did not want to be involved in the family business, and then what finally led her to change her mind.
• How an executive coach helped Alison and her brother, Alex, maintain a healthy and successful dynamic in the family business in the process of making decisions and growing the future of the business.
• Alison discusses the experience of divorce in a family business.
• Alison walks the audience through the thought process that led to the idea of having her and her brother run as co-presidents.
• Tracy and Alison talk about their shared experience of being a mother while running a business, and the resources they turned to when they were struggling.
• Is Alison excited about the future growth of the business?
• How did Covid change the way the business was ran and the direction that the business is going?
• In a family-run business, how do you prepare the upcoming generation to take over? How do you get these kids to learn about and have a healthy love and respect for the business?
• Alison speaks on her family’s move to Boston, while the vineyard and winery are across the country in Oregon.

What lights you up? Are you making decisions based on what you want to do or what you think you should do? Heidi Dugan lives her life as the antithesis of “shoulds” and solely listens to what excites her. Because of that guiding principle, she lives a passionate and joy-filled life surrounded by the people she loves most. And where did following her heart instead of the intrusive “shoulds” lead her? Heidi is the first foreign TV host in Shanghai! She now uses her personal experience and teachings from living and working in China for two decades to help international companies understand the Chinese consumer market. Whether you are happy in your successes or are finding yourself in a rut, there is something in this episode for everyone to take away and apply to their lives.

Key Points

• Even though Heidi is well-known in China and is currently living in Shanghai, she grew up in Australia, traveling all over the country with her family. [03:02]
• Heidi didn’t love moving around a lot as a child, but it helped her develop some incredible skills that she has been able to apply throughout her life. [08:53]
• Parents push when the kids are not able to push. [11:13]
• Heidi went to Wuhan, China, to study international trade with the intention of using various life experiences to help her become a better actor. [13:12]
• Tracy tells the story of her fellowship abroad, and how she ended up in Spain at the last minute instead of going to Beijing. [16:54]
• Follow your heart and the “breadcrumbs.” [19:53]
• You’ll always make better decisions when you do what you want to do instead of what you should do. [24:11]
• How learning about what you don’t want can push you to take leaps of faith to achieve what you do want. [28:59]
• Changing your mind is not an indication of failure; it just means the goal or circumstances may have changed. [32:52]
• Heidi’s experience becoming an international host on TV in Shanghai [34:17]
• How Heidi met her husband [42:06]
• Learning to speak Mandarin well into your 20s [43:32]
• The Arete Group - founded by Heidi Dugan [48:48]

Memorable Quotes

“I realized that there were many paths that could actually achieve the things that I wanted to do.”

“It’s been done before, it must be something that I can do.”

“It’s not always the fantastic things that push us into what we want to do. Sometimes it’s the things that we don’t want.”

“I love everything I do. And it’s because I chose the things that I wanted to do.”

Guest Links

LinkedIn

Instagram

Heididugan.com

Guest Bio

Heidi Dugan is the Director of Arete Group. She has consulted internationally with governments and companies in Australia, the UK and the United States to provide advice on entering and succeeding in the Chinese market. With Heidi’s following of more than 6 million fans, success in selling $2 million worth of products in just 1 1⁄2 hours on Oriental Shopping Channel, and the only foreign host to obtain a license to live broadcast on Chinese National TV, she is the “Go-To” health and wellness, food and beverage Influencer and Celebrity. Her influence across China has been recognized through media coverage on Channel 9 News, Auzbiz TV Australian Financial Review, Harper’s Bazaar, China Daily, and Global Times, to name a few. She is recognized and awarded Leading International Woman in Business, Best Foreign TV Host, and International Alumnus of The Year. Heidi currently is Founder & Director of Arete Group, Chair for AustCham Shanghai, and Council Member of University of Southern Queensland.

Dr. Joe Hirsch is an expert at helping individuals, leaders, and organizations design and deliver feedback without fear. He is now a renowned TEDx and global keynote speaker, but just seven years ago, Joe was living a very different reality in which he did everything he could to avoid receiving any feedback from anyone. Joe and Tracy’s conversation centers on what happens when we infuse our conversations and relationships with courageousness and how giving fearless feedback can really transform our future for ourselves and others. Feedforward and mirror holding are two juicy terms that you are going to want to remember and implement in all of your relationships. You are going to be on the edge of your seat when you hear about Dr. Hirsch’s groundbreaking methods and how we can all become better leaders, partners, parents, and all around better people!

Key Points:

• Growth hurts and it is hard. [03:24]
• Feedback starts before you even open your mouth. [06:58]
• “Feedforward” is a new way of thinking that was first introduced by Marshall Goldsmith, and Joe Hirsch uses the science and strategy to turn people into problem solvers.
• Joe Hirsch has used his practices of giving feedback with many major companies and corporations. [09:16]
• Just five to seven years ago, Joe was not someone who practiced what he is now preaching. [11:46]
• A very basic human truth we should all acknowledge to fix the future for ourselves and others
• Mirror holding is the essential act of “feedforward” and can open up new perspectives one may not have had access to before. [17:37]
• The goal of mirror holding is not to force change, but to provoke an insight. [23:09]
• How leaders can use mirror holding as an act of empowerment
• How the “forgetting curve” impacts our approach to giving feedback [28:37]
• Feedback Wrap: A four-part plan to beautifully wrap up these conversations, to change the dynamics from fear to joy, from power to partnership, and ultimately, from accountability to agency [33:44]
• Feedback is about relationships. [47:24]

Memorable Quotes:

“Growth hurts, growth is challenging, growth is painful. And growth pushes us past our boundaries.”

“It’s no longer about power, it’s about partnership. It’s no longer about ratings only. It’s about relationships. And it’s about activating people’s deepest desires for agency and for affirmation, and not pinning them to a past that they can’t change or control.”

“You can’t go back and change the past. But you can start right where you are and fix the future.”

Links:

Website: www.joehirsch.me

TEDx: https://www.ted.com/talks/joe_hirsch_the_joy_of_getting_feedback

Book: https://www.amazon.com/Feedback-Fix-Embrace-Future-Change/dp/1475826591

Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/0Hk8FyFkgiGrlocemkBLCd?si=7f3be9c5c618425f

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joemhirsch/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/joemhirsch

Andréa Bendewald discovered the power of circling early on in her acting career. Upon moving from New York to Los Angeles, she attended her first circle, which was comprised of actors, singers, writers, and producers, and found out that these successful and self-empowered women had the same complex inner emotional landscape as she did. She instantly felt less alone and more supported. She is now a circle facilitator and brings that same life-changing magic into her business, The Art of Circling. In today’s episode, Andréa and Tracy come together to explore how the authentic sharing of ourselves strengthens our intuition, increases our self-esteem, and enhances our overall expansiveness.

Key Points:

• How Tracy and Andrea met.
• Andrea grew up in the Lower West Side of Manhattan during the 80’s and this provided an incredible basis for an inspiring childhood and young adulthood.
• Andrea began acting at a young age and even attended a high school for performing arts.
• Andrea dives into what both of her parents were like and how their work ethics shaped her into who she is today.
• Stop forcing things and start fitting into the flow so you can begin to enjoy life and trust the process.
• The mindset of enjoying the process helps Andrea tremendously through her acting career, as the audition process is tedious; if you don’t love and enjoy auditioning, you are in the wrong job market.
• LOVE WHAT YOU DO.
• Andrea revisits the beginning of her friendship with Jennifer Anniston.
• Andrea tells the story of her first acting gig on a sitcom alongside Harland Williams and Jason Bateman.
• Andrea explains that she wasn’t in her “Zone of genius” and decided to cave into her obsession of circling.
• Andrea tells her story about her first circling experience in Laurel Canyon right after she moved to LA from NYC.
• Tracy and Andrea bond over their shared experience with talking sticks.
• Burning Man led Andrea to fall in love with art for art’s sake again, and upon returning home from the festival, she decided to buy a teepee and create a sacred space for circles in her backyard in Beverly Hills.
• Today, Andrea rides on the joy of having the best of both worlds through knowing what to say yes to, and what to say no to with respect of keeping the energy flow moving.

Memorable Quotes:

“In a circle, we get to remember who we truly are and reconnect with who we truly are before everyone told us who we were supposed to be.”

“When women gather, shift happens!”

“Self-made people many times have children who are self-made people... they understand that there are a lot of moving parts”

“I spent so much extra energy trying to force things... sometimes you force and you get it, it does move the needle, but I wish I could back and do it again, and just try and enjoy.”

https://www.instagram.com/andreabendewald/

https://theartofcircling.com/

The Potential to Powerhouse podcast features conversations with experts, thought leaders, and trailblazing entrepreneurs who share their success secrets to help lift others up. Be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode! And don’t forget to rate and review!

Maria Quiban Whitesell is a powerhouse media weather anchor on Fox 11 news who has been a positive force on television for two decades. She built an award-winning reputation as a trusted go-to for weather and reporting on human interest stories and has developed a fan base that celebrates her bubbly personality on TV. While having to put a smile on her face every day in front of millions on LA’s popular morning show, Good Day LA, no one had a clue the kind of personal toll she was taking on at home.

When on the home front in 2014, Maria Quiban Whitesell's husband Sean was diagnosed with a deadly form of brain cancer known as glioblastoma (GBM), she was completely unprepared. Her first thought was how could she possibly explain what was happening to their young son, Gus? How would she manage to say goodbye to the love of her life and, ultimately, live without him? In today’s Potential to Powerhouse conversation, Maria speaks openly about her journey of finding hope and shining her light through grief after Sean’s passing. Tuning in, you’ll learn about the book she wrote describing her experience, titled You Can't Do It Alone: A Widow's Journey Through Loss, Grief, and Life After, in which she teams up with licensed therapist Lauren Schneider to provide readers with a roadmap for walking through illness, death, and grief. This is a heart-led conversation about love, resilience, and the understanding that everyone has their own challenges to overcome, despite how things may appear from the outside. Maria takes this opportunity to reach out to those who may be dealing with a traumatic loss to say, “You are not alone!” Make sure not to miss this tender-yet-powerful conversation with media powerhouse and author Maria Quiban Whitesell!

Key Points From This Episode:

• Insight into Maria’s 25 years in ‘infotainment’ and what drew her to the weather.
• How she came to work for KTTV in Los Angeles and what she loves about being live.
• Hear the fateful story of how she met her late husband Sean Whitesell at a party.
• Find out why she and Sean broke up before getting back together; and married
• Some early signs something was wrong that Maria noticed prior to Sean’s diagnosis.
• How she and Sean were blindsided by the news that he had glioblastoma.
• Why Maria believes that it was actually a blessing that Sean’s GBM was inoperable.
• Part of Maria’s purpose is to shine a light on this disease and attract funding for research.
• Advice she received from a nurse shortly after receiving Sean’s diagnosis: Be strong.
• How Maria devoted herself to spending the time they had left making memories.
• Why she decided to title her book You Can’t Do It Alone; the importance of support.
• What it was like to work with licensed therapist Lauren Schneider.
• Maria shares why she is such a strong advocate for professional mental health support.
• The crucial role that family support played and her advice to listeners: Find your village and share your story to gain support.
• The promise she made to Sean; that she and Gus would live their greatest lives possible.
• Maria shares where she is on her journey through grief and how she hopes her book will inspire and help readers.
• What this journey has taught her about herself: You are stronger than you think you are, one day at a time.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Maria Quiban Whitesell

Maria Quiban Whitesell on Twitter

Maria Quiban Whitesell on Instagram

Maria Quiban Whitesell on Facebook

You Can’t Do It Alone

Paragon Performance Evolution

Link Strategy Group

HeartMath Institute

Potential to Powerhouse

Tracy Holland on Instagram