Women Thriving in Business

Starting a business is not as easy as one, two, or three. Dreams and vision aren't enough to be successful. You gotta have a plan, a passion for what you do, and a supporting system to help you overcome the hurdles and challenges.

Like any business, the wine business isn’t easy, especially during this pandemic. How you did business before has changed, and demand for your products has been affected. Nonetheless, you have to figure it out and make it happen because it is a continuous learning process. And you learn independently and from peers and mentors in the same industry every day.
As a business owner, doubt, fear of failure and challenges aren’t something to be afraid of. These things are all part of the learning process that can help you grow and improve. The success of your business relies on developing a strong network with other businesses, creating and maintaining relationships within your industry, and listening to your customers' needs.
ADVERTISEMENT: If you are ready to explore entrepreneurship and looking for guidance, book a discovery call with me! With my extensive experience and knowledge, I can help you make a plan before you leap. Visit bladen-group.com/ to book a discovery call with Nikki Rogers.

Listen to this episode to learn how Nicole Kearney journeyed from being a writer to a full-time winemaker. Take inspiration from how she has created a successful and intentional business that involves her entire family and is built on love and the desire to create a legacy. Learn more about wine, the benefits of vegan wine, and its comparison to that traditional wine we all know and - whether you’re a wine connoisseur or just plain love having a good drink!
Thriving Points:

• “I tell people it's a journey of pacing yourself and the patience to process legalities and important documents.” - Nicole Kearney
• “It's been fun and it's a learning lesson, and I would tell people to start small.”- Nicole Kearney
• “We sell Artisanal Vegan Wine but really what we're selling is community. We're trying to build generational wealth for not just us, but other families that we bring into our business.” - Nicole Kearney
• “Social media is a kind of an equalizer.” - Nicole Kearney
• “I am the diversity and we're educating and growing people as we grow.” - Nicole Kearney
• “People are really focused on their health and really trying to live clean but still wanting to have a glass of wine occasionally, I think it's wonderful that you are offering a product that helps them do that.” - Nikki Rogers
• “Our wines are named Abundance and Love that manifest gratitude. Those are all words that carry a certain energy within them and we want to pass that energy or vibe onto our customers.” - Nicole Kearney

Get to Know the Guest:

Sip & Share Wines is a boutique winery, passionate about creating a community with wine for wine lovers overlooked and underrepresented by the wine industry. Our diversity of handcrafted vegan wines are approachable to all palates, fun to sip and share and available via our wine club or by-the-bottle.

Vintner/Founder, Nicole Kearney has been in the wine world for over ten years. She began as a representative for Black and women winemakers. She then spent 18 months testing the market with wines, allowing the consumer's preferences to curate the flagship 7 Words Wine Collection of artisanal vegan wines. Her customer, community and culture- centered philosophy guides Sip & Share Wines decisions. Nicole is among the 2% of Black-owned wineries and .001% of Black women Vintners in the U.S.

• Website

Too often in life and in businesswomen are burdened by the expectations and examples of others and may compromise their identity, mental health, and physical well-being to please others. In the process, one may see who she is and her purpose, which is tragic.

But what if we don’t have to make those awful compromises that slowly chip away at who we are and why we initially chose our career and business paths? What if we can live out our profession, run our enterprise with integrity, and combine our faith and passion?

ADVERTISEMENT: If you are ready to explore entrepreneurship and looking for guidance, book a discovery call with me! With my extensive experience and knowledge, I can help you make a plan before you leap. Visit bladen-group.com/ to book a discovery call with Nikki Rogers.
In this episode, Carleeka Basnight-Menendez, an entrepreneur and business strategist, discusses how everything in our businesses and careers starts from the inside and is projected externally. In doing so, we are doing what God has called us to do. When we embrace this truth, we can proceed with living out our faith in and outside the professional and entrepreneurial arenas.
Thriving points:

• Being an entrepreneur, you can get paid for your purpose, doing whatever it is that God has called you to do
• Inside Out was built during a time when I was making a decision to live or die. So that’s where Inside Out came from because I had to decide and change some things from within about how I viewed myself.
• My pillars in my business are to connect and build relationships to form partnerships. Too many times, we want to skip over all the other stuff. So we connect with people, but we don't nurture anything.
• Let's not talk about sisterhood. Let's not talk about women’s empowerment. Let's live it.
• One of my biggest lessons for myself is definitely knowing who you're talking to. If you don't know who it is that you're serving, what are you going to offer them?

Get To Know the Guest:

As one highly sought out for her innovative approach to wide-ranging topics, Carleeka has earned both domestic and international respect from the world stage.

She is the creator of the F-IT Method, The A.V.E., and Menopause and Mimosas; offering new and aspiring Christian female entrepreneurs the skillsets needed to increase visibility, earn a solid income, and impact the world from the dimension of their purpose. Her coaching and consulting brand is one of a kind, as Carleeka offers consultation, strategies, and direction for clients looking to reform their lives.

Carleeka believes that when you change your perspective, you are then able to change your life. This has allowed her to bring top-tier service to the coaching industry as she takes clients from being sick, silent, and stuck, to creating the lives that they demand; with no compromise.

• carleeka.com
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter
• YouTube

A Team Dklutr Production

When we hear the word etiquette, what comes to mind? What emotions are evoked? Is it inspiring? Or is it stifling? Do you look forward to situations that require etiquette or do you avoid them because you're anxious about an embarrassing "breach" in etiquette? The truth is, you are practicing etiquette every day as you go about your daily activities.
This week’s episode sheds light on how etiquette, or having an accepted code of behavior for particular situations is a great foundation for enhancing a person’s leadership skills. Jacqueline Baker, speaker, author, and founder of Scarlet, helps debunk some of the myths that surround etiquette and shares how modern etiquette, protocol, and leadership can harmonize to bring out the best in each person.
ADVERTISEMENT: If you are ready to explore entrepreneurship and looking for guidance, book a discovery call with me! With my extensive experience and knowledge, I can help you make a plan before you leap. Visit bladen-group.com/ to book a discovery call with Nikki Rogers.

Jacqueline insightfully notes that there are 7.7 billion people in the world and we will be a better workforce and build better communities if and when we figure out a common way to operate together.
Listen to this episode to learn more about the connection between etiquette and leadership.
Thriving Points:

• If the rule is unethical, if the rule is stifling, if the rule and the etiquette and the protocol just flat out does not make sense for the world that we are now versus the world that it was first introduced in, I am not above challenging something and I'm not above other people challenging things that just flat out don't make sense. - Jacqueline Baker
• There are layers to everything. But when we are incapable of, not interested in, or refuse to have the conversation or refuse to even understand why something is, nobody wins at all. - Jacqueline Baker
• One of the most memorable mistakes that I made is not accepting the role and the opportunity to lead when clearly I was the person to lead in that situation. - Jacqueline Baker
• Just because you are a leader, whether it is by title, by position, or status, or if you are a self-leader, does not mean you won’t be out there making these mistakes. - Jacqueline Baker
• There’s a whole self-sabotage component of not accepting your role, not accepting the opportunity to lead, or not accepting really just a quick congratulations. This can be a huge problem on your journey as a leader. - Jacqueline Baker
• Social media is a beautiful lie. When you don’t know the behind-the-scenes, you're like, this is a miracle that is happening over here. But that is the public face of this. When you know what's behind the scenes and you can take it in stride and understand what people have had to do in order to make that happen. - Nikki Rogers

Mentioned on the Show:

• The Unexpected Leader: Discovering the Leader Within You

About the Show:

Women Thriving in Business features candid unscripted conversations with entrepreneurs, business experts, authors, and academics aimed at contributing to business success. This weekly show provides interviews with business leaders who have built, grown, and are thriving in business. Nikki A. Rogers, host of the show, also discusses achievements, lessons learned, and advice for aspiring business owners to develop the mindset, strategies, and connections necessary to thrive in business. Whether you are just starting or you have been in business for decades, WTiB offers inspiration, strategies, and resources to help you THRIVE in business.
Connect with Nikki:

When was the last time you took a moment to reflect and say, "Let me put my own health and happiness first?" Self-care can seem like an impossible task for most entrepreneurs nowadays when there are so many responsibilities and to-dos on an ever-growing list. We always want to push things forward and manage all the details, and when you’re extremely busy, self-care may be the last thing that comes to mind.
It’s important to focus on taking care of yourself, as it has a big impact on your mental, emotional and physical health. We cannot run and grow a successful business if we feel stressed, anxious, or depressed, as it can only lead to burnout and fatigue. Self-care is not a luxury, but it mainly focuses on the introspective work of being able to understand what you are feeling, allowing yourself to experience it, and being aware of what your mind, heart, body, and spirit really need.
ADVERTISEMENT: If you are ready to explore entrepreneurship and looking for guidance, book a discovery call with me! With my extensive experience and knowledge, I can help you make a plan before you leap. Visit bladen-group.com/ to book a discovery call with Nikki Rogers.

Making self-care a priority will help you feel better and support you in creating success in business and life!
The Thriver joining us this week is Jan Hice-Smith, Founder, and CEO of Heart’s Joy Consulting, LLC, a boutique firm specializing in joy and well-being. She is also the author of the book Soul Work: Excerpts from My Journey. Jan connects deeply with employee groups and leads with empathy and compassion. She works with a variety of clients from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies.
Jan shares with us the significance of engaging in self-care practices, being aware of whether or not we are in an unhealthy environment, listening to ourselves, and paying attention to the aspects of ourselves that demand our full attention. She also discusses how to recognize when professional help is necessary to improve our well-being.
Be inspired. Be empowered. Listen to Episode 706 to learn more!
Thriving Points:

• This is a place of our own care where it's not that others are doing this for us, but we have to fill our own cup. -Jan Hice-Smith
• Self-care is needed because we are human beings. So it's that we don't just need self-care when we're in a burnout situation or we're in a crisis. We don't just need self-care because we're in a pandemic or we've gone through a transition. It is the fact that we're humans. -Jan Hice-Smith
• My stance always with anyone is, you know yourself best. So, you know when you feel certain things and you know the symptoms and if you are finding yourself depressed, that is a reason to seek help. -Jan Hice-Smith
• You really are your best advocate because you have to know yourself and what's going on with you. -Jan Hice-Smith
• I know that it takes effort to find a therapist. Nobody wants to do it. Yes, it takes effort. But we have to remember that we're worth that effort. -Jan Hice-Smith

About the Show:

Women Thriving in Business features candid unscripted conversations with entrepreneurs, business experts, authors, and academics aimed at contributing to business success. This weekly show provides interviews with business leaders who have built, grown, and are thriving in business. Nikki A. Rogers, host of the show, also discusses achievements, lessons learned, and advice for aspiring business owners to develop the mindset, strategies, and connections necessary to thrive in business. Whether you are just starting or you have been in business for decades, WTiB offers inspiration, strategies, and resources to help you THRIVE in business.
Connect with Nikki:

Your life including your responsibilities and daily routine changes the moment you become a parent. It's not an easy task to take care of a child, as it comes with sleepless nights and requires a significant amount of energy, emotional commitment, and a great deal of patience. The adjustment to parenthood can be challenging, especially during the first year. During that time, many parents need support from their family, friends, and most importantly, their employers.

The transition to being a working parent is challenging to navigate, and it is so important to have support from your company or organization. Despite the well-known benefits associated with parental leave for both employees and employers, many organizations have not yet adopted parental leave policies. Parental leave contributes to the healthy development of children, improves the health of mothers, and increases the economic security of families. . This benefit allows parents to return to their organization with their most productive selves, which in turn increases overall participation in the workforce.
ADVERTISEMENT: If you are ready to explore entrepreneurship and looking for guidance, book a discovery call with me! With my extensive experience and knowledge, I can help you make a plan before you leap. Visit bladen-group.com/ to book a discovery call with Nikki Rogers.

In this episode, we are joined by Amy Beacom and Sue Campbell from the Center for Parental Leave Leadership (CPLL), the first consultancy in the United States that primarily focuses on parental leave. Dr. Amy Beacom is the Founder and CEO of the Center and is the United States' premier expert on the personal and professional interplay around parental leave for employers and employees. Sue Campbell is the Communications Director for the Center and is a writer, author, and coach. Her work is often focused on issues important to parents.
Dr. Amy Beacom and Sue Campbell authored a book called The Parental Leave Playbook: Ten Touchpoints to Transition Smoothly, Strengthen your Family, and Continue Growing your Career that aims to “help parents take control of their leave and make the most of what’s considered a career time-out, but is actually a vital “time-in” for your life."
Listen to our conversation as Amy and Sue share with us their practical tips and advice about creating the best possible parental leave experience within a broken system. Their guidance is based on Amy’s doctoral research and their collective work with Fortune 100 companies to improve parental leave policies and programs.
Listen to Episode 704 to learn more!
Thriving Points:

• The mission is to really make sure that everyone in this country, regardless of their role or their level of job has a paid and supported parental leave process. - Amy Beacom
• If we can nurture and support parents through this process, they just become these rock stars on the other side of it. If we can sell them on that message, train the managers on how to support the parents. This is just going to go so far into improving parental leave culture and the country as a whole. - Sue Campbell

About the Show:

Women Thriving in Business features candid unscripted conversations with entrepreneurs, business experts, authors, and academics aimed at contributing to business success. This weekly show provides interviews with business leaders who have built, grown, and are thriving in business. Nikki A. Rogers, host of the show, also discusses achievements, lessons learned, and advice for aspiring business owners to develop the mindset, strategies, and connections necessary to thrive in business. Whether you are just starting or you have been in business for decades, WTiB offers inspiration, strategies, and resources to help you THRIVE in business.
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