Her Story Of Success

Shannon Litton thought she’d spend her whole career working as an English teacher, but when she fell in love with marketing and kept moving forward with the opportunities presented to her, she eventually decided to start her own agency. Today, Shannon is president and CEO of 5by5, a marketing and digital agency which serves change makers and delivers messages with undeniable clarity, reach and results. 5by5 was named to the Inc 5000 list for 2018, 2019 and 2020, and it was named a Nashville Business Journal Best Place to Work in 2017 and 2018.  Shannon has worked on technology, social media, branding and communications for hundreds of organizations including the Christian Leadership Alliance, Amazima, LifeWay, the United Methodist Church and more. She’s also a speaker on leadership, marketing, branding and business strategy. In This Episode: Shannon describes the unexpected career journey that led her to create 5by5. She also shares practical examples of what it looks like to put people first, give back as a

Bailey Spaulding first fell in love with homebrewing while attending Vanderbilt Law School, and she decided to start working toward opening her own brewery after graduation. Along with co-founder Robyn Virball, who Bailey met while studying abroad in Scotland, she started Jackalope Brewing Company in 2011. Since then, the company has grown tremendously, opening a second taproom and brewery in Nashville, becoming the first Nashville craft brewery to can its own beer, and distributing to New York, Vermont and Arkansas. Jackalope is also committed to sustainability, with innovative practices like the CO2 recapture system they use to make their beer while minimizing waste.  In This Episode: Bailey shares her story of deciding to pursue her passion and building a successful, woman-owned brewing company. She also opens up about the behind-the-scenes realities of running a business, from finding the right partner to becoming a working mom to pivoting during COVID-19. Episode Highlights: Finding the right business p

When Laura Hutfless was struggling to find her purpose as an employee, she decided to create new purpose for herself by starting a company dedicated to giving back. Laura co-founded FlyteVu, a Nashville-based, full-service entertainment marketing agency that uses the power of pop culture to connect brands with customers. Since starting the company in 2015, Laura has helped grow FlyteVu’s client roster to include companies like American Red Cross, Barefoot Wine, Cracker Barrel, Drybar and Spotify. They also created the first ever Super Bowl Ad with an all-woman team for Bumble with Serena Williams. FlyteVu was named to the Inc 5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies in America list, and their campaigns have even won a GRAMMY and an Emmy.  In spite of all of these accomplishments, Laura is most proud of the way FlyteVu has been able to help others. The company has donated more than $750,000 to a wide range of nonprofit organizations in the past five years. Laura is especially passionate about mental health, subs

Dr. Kimberly Clay started Play Like a Girl for a project in her PhD program, but when she saw volunteers coming together to carry on and grow its mission, she realized the organization could become something bigger. Play Like a Girl takes the transferable skills learned from playing sports and uses them to propel young women into STEM careers. To date, Dr. Kim and her team of volunteers have impacted more than 25,000 girls and young women around the world.  Even outside of her role as CEO of a non-profit, Dr. Kim is dedicated to serving the Nashville community. She’s a member of boards for the YWCA Nashville, the Junior League of Nashville, Tennessee Girls Collaborative and Ellevate Network’s Nashville Chapter. Dr. Kim has been honored for her work with numerous awards, including the 40 under 40 from Xavier University, the Daily Point of Light Award, Toyota’s Everyday Hero Award, and more.  In This Episode: Dr. Kim tells her inspiring story of starting and growing Play Like a Girl, including some of the bigge

When Lisa Powers Struble first started pursuing a career in fashion, she made up for her lack of industry connections with a willingness to work hard and take on any role. Eventually, she worked her way up to become a vice president at Abercrombie & Fitch and then UnderArmour. While taking a career break to care for her aging parents, Lisa discovered BANDED, a fashion accessory company that gives back by providing meals to children in need for every product sold. Lisa joined the company as executive vice president and then purchased it in 2018, becoming owner and CEO. An industry expert with more than 25 years of experience, Lisa has been featured in Sourcing Journal, Nashville Fashion Week, Textile Excellence and more. To date, BANDED has donated more than 13 million meals to undernourished children, and they also partner with U.S. based companies that help vulnerable women learn to thrive.  In This Episode: Lisa shares her inspiring story of building a fashion career from scratch and working her way up

Overwhelmed by the stress of running a business on Etsy while raising a new baby, Emily Ley sat down to create a planner that would make her life easier. What started as a binder, paper and Sharpie evolved into Simplified, a multi-million dollar brand of planners and home organizational tools for busy women, which also includes product lines in Office Depot, Staples, Walmart and Target. Along with running her company, Emily is the author of four books, including Growing Boldly, her latest release that shares five key practices for building a life you love. Emily has been featured in Forbes, Family Circle, Better Homes and Gardens, Glamour and Good Housekeeping. She’s been honored with awards including Entrepreneur of the Year, Female Owned Business of the Year and Small Business of the Year from Studer Community Institute, and her products have won Best New Product at the National Stationery Show.  In This Episode: Emily shares her inspiring story of growing her business from a side hustle into a multi-millio

While taking time off from college to receive treatment for Lyme disease, Alexis Isham was also forming deep friendships with people experiencing homelessness in Nashville and looking for new ways to help them. Alexis and her co-founder turned that passion into Resera (formerly known as Unlocked), an ethical jewelry brand that employs women survivors overcoming homelessness, domestic violence, incarceration and forced relocation. Beyond just offering them jobs as makers, Resera also helps women access housing, therapy, career counseling and other services that will help them build successful futures.   Before starting Resera, Alexis attended Vanderbilt University, where she received a bachelor’s in human and organizational development and a minor in economics. She also spent a gap year after high school working at five different non-profit internships in five different countries, learning more about poverty through the eyes of those experiencing it. Alexis is focused on using her leadership to increase opport

Activating the Four Types of Mentorship When Her Story of Success CEO Leah Glover Hayes was looking for mentorship to help her grow in her career and eventually start a company, she quickly realized that not all mentorship is created equally. And while experts tend to agree that mentorship makes a major difference in determining someone’s career success and fulfillment, few people are sharing specifics about how to find the right mentor and build a mutually beneficial relationship. Leah believes that there are four types of mentorship: Passive mentorship, peer mentorship, traditional mentorship and mentoring others. No matter where you are in your career journey, you can benefit from implementing one or all of these in your life.  In part three of this four-part series, Leah is joined by Anna-Vija McClain to discuss the importance of peer mentorship. Her Story of Success… Anna-Vija McClain didn’t intend to start Piccolo Marketing, but when she needed a source of income after leaving the hospitality industry,

In honor of International Women’s Day 2021, Her Story of Success was honored to join Collective615 for ChallengeHER, an event celebrating women who are affecting change in Nashville and beyond. As part of the event, Her Story of Success CEO Leah Glover Hayes hosted a panel discussion with three incredible women who are affecting change in Nashville and beyond — Mignon Francois, Domonique Townsend and Alexis Isham. They discuss some of the challenges they’ve faced as women business owners, especially during the difficulties of COVID-19. The women also share some amazing lessons about the things that have kept them going in times of hardship, and they talk about some of the ways we can all help each other succeed.  Their Stories of Success Mignon Francois was living on her last $5 when a neighbor asked to order cupcakes from her home bakery. Mignon took that $5 and continued to multiply, eventually building The Cupcake Collection into a multi-million dollar business. Mignon’s bakery helped revitalize her Nashvi

When Nancy McSharry Jensen and Sarah Duenwald were preparing to re-enter the workforce after taking career breaks, they each realized that women face significant challenges when trying to find a new job after a break. To help with this, Nancy and Sarah co-founded The Swing Shift, a company dedicated to lifting barriers that impede women from finding meaningful work. The Swing Shift provides workshops, coaching, accountability, educational resources and other tools to help women with the job search. Most recently, the two women also co-authored a new book, Back to Business: Finding Your Confidence, Embracing Your Skills, and Landing Your Dream Job After a Career Pause.  Before becoming co-founder and CEO of The Swing Shift, Nancy spent her career helping businesses expand, working with the International Data Corporation to open new businesses and launching products like SharePoint at Microsoft. She also worked as an account director at Sterling Communications. Nancy has been featured in Forbes, The Huffington

Activating the Four Types of Mentorship When Her Story of Success CEO Leah Glover Hayes was looking for mentorship to help her grow in her career and eventually start a company, she quickly realized that not all mentorship is created equally. And while experts tend to agree that mentorship makes a major difference in determining someone’s career success and fulfillment, few people are sharing specifics about how to find the right mentor and build a mutually beneficial relationship.  Leah believes that there are four types of mentorship: Passive mentorship, peer mentorship, traditional mentorship and mentoring others. No matter where you are in your career journey, you can benefit from implementing one or all of these in your life. In this four-part series, Leah will provide you with all the tools and resources you need to start seeking out mentorship for yourself.  In This Episode: Leah shares some of the life-changing lessons she’s learned from mentors in her life, including Pat Shea, Marcie Allen Van Mol an

Fawn Weaver is a serial entrepreneur and bestselling author, and when she learned about the story of Uncle Nearest Green — the slave who taught Jack Daniel how to distill whiskey — she decided to create a company that would bring his legacy to life. Since she launched Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey in 2017, it has become the fastest growing independent American whiskey brand in U.S. history. Uncle Nearest Whiskey was named “World’s Best” by Whisky Magazine in 2019 and 2020, and it earned the Double Gold in the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. Along with Uncle Nearest, Fawn is also the founder and CEO of Grant Sidney, Inc.  — a privately held investment company — author of The Happy Wives Club and co-author of The Argument Free Marriage, and a popular Ted speaker. She’s also a dedicated philanthropist who created the Nearest Green Foundation, a non-profit that offers scholarships to every descendant of Nearest Green and supplied more than 300,000 masks to frontline workers and disadvantaged communities

Domonique Townsend spent years being undervalued by the companies she worked for, and when she decided to take the leap to start her own business, she knew she was ready to reach a higher potential. Domonique is the founder of We Optimize Work, a company that creates strategies and systems to help working moms and mom CEOs. As an operations coach and workflow expert with more than 10 years of engineering experience, Domonique is able to help moms manage their work and raise a family without compromising their sanity or goals.  Along with her years of industrial engineering experience, Domonique has trained or coached more than 3,100 people, and she’s a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt. Domonique also serves on boards for Purpose Preparatory Academy, the WBENC Next Gen Initiative and WomenGetIT, and she’s a Senior Scholar Instructor for #BlackTechFutures. In This Episode: Domonique shares her inspiring story of feeling undervalued at her job, getting laid off and turning her experience into a business that’s h

Since starting her business in college, Gabby Male has transformed her interest in fitness into a passion for helping women to ditch dieting and feel empowered in their bodies. She’s a content creator, certified personal trainer and entrepreneur who’s built a large social media following and multiple successful businesses. In addition to her social media, Gabby is the creator of SWITCHIITUP — a monthly exercise platform based on building confidence— co-founder of The Rose Retreats — a series of events that help women find self-love and empowerment — and founder of relic96 — an upcycled apparel shop. Gabby is a firm believer in the idea that health involves so much more than just fitness and nutrition, and she’s using her platform to help women find greater mental, emotional, social, financial and sexual health. She joined Her Story of Success for our first live podcast of 2021 to share her inspiring story.  In This Episode: Gabby explains how she inadvertently started her fitness business in college and then

When Her Story of Success CEO Leah Glover Hayes was looking for mentorship to help her grow in her career and eventually start a company, she quickly realized that not all mentorship is created equally. And while experts tend to agree that mentorship makes a major difference in determining someone’s career success and fulfillment, few people are sharing specifics about how to find the right mentor and build a mutually beneficial relationship.  Leah believes that there are four types of mentorship: Passive mentorship, peer mentorship, traditional mentorship and mentoring others. No matter where you are in your career journey, you can benefit from implementing one or all of these in your life. In this new, four-part series, Leah will provide you with all the tools and resources you need to start seeking out mentorship for yourself.  In This Episode: Leah explains how passive mentorship can help you grow in your career, relationships and life. She also shares some of the resources that have been most beneficial

Her Story of Success… Sherri Kottmann believes that developing a strong sense of self is one of the most important things you can do for your career. She’s the Chief People Officer at Forrester, a research and consulting company that helps organizations grow through customer obsession, where she’s worked for the past ten years. Sherri initially started her career in sales, but upon being promoted to a sales leadership role, she realized her true passion was people. Sherri also served as the Director of HR at EF Educational Tours.  In her work as Chief People Officer, Sherri’s role extends beyond traditional conceptions of HR to include leadership over the employee experience organization, talent strategy, leadership development, executive coaching, experience design and cultural transformation. She’s excelled at helping her employees all over the world feel safe and supported during the challenges of COVID-19, and she’ll share some strategies other leaders can use to care for their teams. In This Episode: Sh

Her Story of Success…  Stephanie Cartin has a gift for staying ahead of the curve and executing on great ideas. She’s the co-founder and co-CEO of Socialfly, a social-first digital and influencer agency that’s worked with major brands like Girl Scouts, Samsung and Univision. Through the process of growing Socialfly and wanting to inspire other women, Stephanie and her co-founder Courtney also launched Entreprenista Media, where they co-host the Entreprenista Podcast and co-authored Like Love Follow:  The Entreprenista’s Guide to Using Social Media to Grow Your Business. Stephanie has appeared in or been featured on media outlets including Bloomberg, Forbes, Entrepreneur.com, Refinery29 and CheddarTV. She’s been recognized for her work with the SmartCEO Brava Award and a Stevie Award for Women Run Workplace of the Year. Additionally, Stephanie is the co-founder of Markid, a marketplace app where parents can sell gently used kids items.  Along with all of her innovation and business success, Stephanie has also

Celebrating Success in 2020 Even though 2020 was an incredibly difficult year, it also provided a unique opportunity for changes in perspective. As we come to the end of 2020, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on the ways Her Story of Success has grown and changed amidst the challenges of the past year. We’re grateful for the opportunity to play a role in helping you define and pursue your own version of success, and we’re excited to continue living into that mission in 2021! In This Episode: Her Story of Success CEO Leah Glover Hayes sits down with her Executive Producer Claire Bidigare-Curtis and Production Coordinator Bronte Lebo to take a look back at some of the ways Her Story of Success has changed throughout 2020. They also explain how they’re defining success for themselves and the company as they look ahead to the new year, and they share some amazing insights that were submitted by some of our listeners.  Episode Highlights: A look back at how Her Story of Success has changed in 2020 Listener S

Kim’s Story of Success... Kim Jones wants to help women find the freedom and confidence to remake their careers on their own terms. She’s a career transformation coach and the founder and CEO of Kim Jones Alliance, which she built out of her own experience of changing careers after experiencing personal tragedy. Before starting her business, Kim held executive level positions for multiple Fortune 250 clients, which gave her the experience she needed to work as a consultant for corporate clients and a coach for high-performing women. Kim is also a speaker and facilitator about topics including women in IT, diversity, inclusion and belonging, and navigating career change. Samantha’s Story of Success… Samantha Lane believes that by building more productive habits and time management skills, women can achieve greater success while also experiencing balance in their personal lives. Samantha is the Founder of Origami Day, a company that offers speaking, training, and consulting services, along with a product line c

Leisse Wilcox believes the key to greater contentment is found through healing your relationship with yourself. She’s a coach who works with high-achieving, purpose-driven women, and she’s changing the global conversation around self-love and emotional health. Leisse is also a TedX speaker, podcast host, certified NLP practitioner, and author of To Call Myself Beloved: A Story of Hope, Healing and Coming Home. She’s been featured on season 2 of Amazon Prime’s The Social Movement and interviewed for media outlets including ABC, The Toronto Star, NPR and Thrive Global.  Leisse’s deep understanding of the human experience comes not only from her education, but also from her ability to turn difficult experiences like divorce, narcissistic abuse and breast cancer into something beautiful. Because of her own experience of learning to love and accept herself, she’s uniquely equipped to help other women do the same.  In This Episode:  Leisse shares inspirational advice for how you can start healing your relationshi