Sheventures

If anyone knows how to pivot from a traditional job to entrepreneurship, it’s Kim Gros, founder of SteelCraft, a company that creates outdoor urban eateries from repurposed shipping containers. Starting in 2107 in Long Beach, California, Gros later expanded to outposts in Bellflower and Garden Grove. Gros — with a leap of faith and a loan — built eateries where tourists and locals can eat artisanal food, drink craft beer, and enjoy community events in a shared safe space.  Gros decided to dive into the food industry with little knowledge and abundant determination. She curated her business from start to finish with the help of economic development partners and an idea that would stand out: using shipping containers — a common sight in Long Beach (the second largest port in the world) — as a dining space. Gros shares how she executed her business plan from scratch.  Listen to Gros as she describes the ups and downs of implementing a business idea and shares her advice for navigating unexpected challenges and h

How does a single mother battling substance abuse end up pivoting to a career in the White House? How does she then become founder and CEO of her own seven-figure business? The answer is within Rebecca Contreras herself. The CEO of Avant Garde, a human resources consulting firm, and author of a memoir, Lost Girl (in which she describes her childhood, her decisions as a young adult, and how she turned her life around), Contreras gives new meaning to perseverance, dedication, ambition, and humility.  Contreras’ life has been anything but easy. Though she has been successful in her career, Contreras began facing challenges at an alarmingly young age.  In Contreras’ eyes, growing up in an abusive dysfunctional household under the welfare programs paved a predestined path for failure. Determined to escape a cycle of trauma, Contreras relied on mentorship, endurance, and willpower to overcome the obstacles that weighed her down.  Listen to Contreras describe the trials and tribulations of her childhood and teenage

With 20-plus years of experience as a news anchor, Kerry Barrett is the last person you’d imagine to have a paralyzing fear of public speaking. How did this Emmy-award winner overcome her crippling fear?  She faced it, and turned it into one of her core strengths. Barrett once suffered from anxiety that left her crouched in the proverbial fetal position — yes, it was that bad. Now, she shares her public speaking and media training knowledge with clients at her namesake company, Kerry Barrett Consulting.  From one-on-one public speaking coaching to media training and public relations, Barrett and her team offer various options to make even the shyest person come to life on camera.  Listen to Barrett describe her fear of public speaking and how she pivoted from news anchoring to becoming an entrepreneur, on this episode of SheVentures.  2:18 Barrett describes her fear of public speaking.  9:14 What public speaking challenges are most prevalent among women? 15:05 Barrett describes her pivot to entrepreneurship.

How does one balance work and intimacy to achieve success and stay sane? If anyone knows this answer, it’s Cheryl Grace.  After decades as a corporate executive, Grace pivoted to entrepreneurship, to help other women achieve their dream work and personal lives.  Now she shares her tips through her business, Powerful Penny, a consulting firm for women who want to be intentional about identifying and achieving the next level of their career.  In this episode, Grace explains how she emphasizes her “fabulosity” mindset to clients, helping them set their priorities. Through one-on-one or group coaching sessions, Grace believes, any woman can achieve clarity to move forward. Listen to Grace discuss how to discover and cultivate a “fabulosity” mindset, on this episode of SheVentures.  1:55 Grace recalls her grandmother’s influence on her childhood. 3:30 Grace highlights her impactful career milestones.  7:50 What led to changing to a multicultural marketing paradigm?  11:36 How can consumers tell if a brand is genu

Can you imagine being paid $1,000 per minute for a speaking engagement? Tonya Rapley, internationally recognized speaker, millennial money expert, financial educator, bestselling author, CEO and founder of My Fab Finance, and owner of Club Loofah, doesn’t need to imagine it because it happened to her. Learn about what attracted Rapley to entrepreneurship, why it matters to her to create generation wealth with passive income streams, and how she is able to so effectively engage with her audience. Rapley also discusses relatable mom guilt — and how it plays a role in her decision-making. In one case, she didn’t want to miss her son’s first dentist appointment and felt the real heart-wrenching tug moms experience every day as they try to balance a successful career with life. If you’re building a brand, Rapley’s story will inspire you. Listen to this episode of SheVentures. 5:00 Rapley describes a typical day. 8:24 How the idea for My Fab Finance came to fruition 13:10 How being a woman of color influenced Raple

Has love ever inspired you to risk it all and start a new business? Isabelle Andrieu left her home in France to follow her heart and her future husband to Italy. How could they create a company that melded their passions — hers in linguistics and her husband’s in artificial intelligence (AI) and computer science — with an investment of $100? This was the catalyst for Translated, an AI-based translation company that — in the 20 years since its inception — now boasts 250,000 clients (including Google, IBM, Airbnb, and United Colors of Benetton) in 193 languages and 40 areas of expertise.. Andrieu’s passion for mentoring women means action. Women have grown their careers at Translated: some starting as interns and climbing the ranks to director positions at the Rome-based company. More than 80 percent of Translated’s project management team is female, according to Andrieu. Listen to how Andrieu fosters leadership, paid maternity leave, and is able (and willing) to raise new mothers’ salaries and to help make the

This mom’s frustration with finding quality outdoor gear ⛷

Imagine locking eyes with a venture capitalist and saying, “I’m building a big, badass company. You would be so lucky to invest in me.”

How many Black women billionaires can you name besides Oprah and Rihanna?

When you think of a truck driver does that memorable scene from Thelma and Louise come to mind? Ellen Voie wants to change that stereotype and amplify gender diversity in the trucking industry; so she started Women in Trucking, a nonprofit, whose mission is to mentor women with the information, education, opportunity, community, and support they need to succeed in a male-dominated business. Established in 2007, the organization now boasts more than 4,000 members. Voie’s pivot happened after earning degrees in broadcast journalism and communications. She landed a job in a steel fabricating plant where she moved up the ranks to transportation management and thus her second pivot into the trucking industry. Voie speaks about her organization’s diversity and inclusion initiatives, the best practices for women drivers, and why “they should ask a lot of questions and make sure they know what they’re getting into before signing on the dotted line.” She also lends her opinions on how the pandemic affected the truckin

Erectile dysfunction products are widely accepted, but women’s sexual health and wellness are far less so. Christine Brown is helping to reclaim the female sexual health and hygiene market with The Kind Cup, an innovative, ergonomically designed silicone menstrual cup. Brown was first introduced to the menstrual cup at their all-women undergraduate college (where they obtained a degree in critical thought) — and it changed their views on feminine products forever. This American Sign Language (ASL) teacher juggled their career and helped to run their family’s specialty fruit farming business, while casually researching product reviews about the incompatibility of some menstrual cups with women’s bodies. This eventually led to their pivot into entrepreneurship, where The Kind Cup was born. Brown shares how their own hard-of-hearing journey and non-binary identity helped shape their ideology, explains the misconceptions in label setting, and defines the limits they sought to overcome by challenging people’s noti

When’s the last time you had the courage to take a major risk on faith?

Did you know that half of women don’t have personal retirement savings, according to the U.S. Census? If that’s you — whether you are 25 or 55 — it’s never too late to find your financial footing. Even if you are contributing to an individual or workplace retirement plan, you don’t want to miss this knowledge-packed episode for financial literacy month. Mary Beth Franklin, an award-winning and veteran financial journalist who specializes in retirement income, reminisces about her 40+ years in journalism, starting as a congressional cub reporter for United Press International before distinguishing herself at Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, among other publications. During this time, she also became a wife and mother. Most inspiring, Franklin became a certified financial planner (CFP) late in her career, presenting to the CFP Board that her professional experience as a journalist was enough to meet the organization’s practical experience requirement. This episode kicks off Financial Literacy Month by emphasizing

Have you ever wondered why there is so much buzz around Big Data? Should it be exalted or feared? Retired Air Force Captain Kimberly Shenk believes data, used responsibly, is a force for good. She earned her master’s degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a Draper Fellow, served as a senior data scientist in the Air Force at Pearl Harbor, and worked a few stints exploring how data can be segmented and inform marketing with companies like Sports Authority and Eventbrite. How did Shenk pivot to her current role as co-founder and CEO of Novi, a database that catalogs the supply chain of chemicals and other ingredients used in everyday products? Shenk explains that consumers are demanding more transparency, as are businesses, who want to ensure they can continue to rely on ingredients they use, as the supply chain has been tested during the pandemic. Shenk successfully raised more than $1M to fund Novi. Listen to how this woman, with a “superpower in problem-solving” is serving both B2B and end cons

Have you ever felt afraid to find your voice and make some noise? Kristen Guillory, Ph.D, thrives on public speaking with a twist of dancing. She shares how to overcome fear, self-doubt, and show your authentic self. A professor turned self-care coach, and author of Look, Stop Hiding! How to Find Your Voice and Never Dim Your Light Again, recalls becoming a professor in social work by age 27, and learned “not to put herself in boxes that weren’t meant for her.” Guillory shares the mistakes she’s made, and gives tips on how women can stop being apologetic. Learn how to take ownership as an entrepreneur on this episode of SheVentures. 2:49: Guillory shares how she learned to show up as who she is. 16:30 : How did Guillory overcome her fear of speaking about herself? 20:33: What was the catalyst for her pivot from professor to entrepreueur? 24:32 : Learn from the mistakes Guillory made as a young professor and entrepreneur 27:42 : Want to stop apologizing for being assertive? Yes! 32:12 : What are fears unique

Retired commander Majorie Eastman is not a career politician. Yet, this mom, Army intelligence officer, and award-winning author decided to run for North Carolina’s U.S. Senate seat. Why? Having served in both Iraq and Afghanistan, Eastman’s decade-long commitment to defending our country speaks for itself. How does she plan on shaking things up as a D.C. outsider if elected? And why is she running? Eastman reveals all in this SheVentures exclusive. P.S. Eastman is the only veteran in the North Carolina GOP primary field. Plus she’s the mother of a little boy who beat cancer. Her down-to-earth pragmatism is refreshing. 1:47 Eastman shares the defining moment when she decided to enter the Senate race. 4:34 Why should undecideds cast a vote for Marjorie Eastman? 5:53 What Eastman thinks it will take for a divided America to move forward. 10:24 Eastman delves into how socialism could be a threat to health care. 13:24 Eastman envisions her first 90 days as senator. 16:23 How will independents identify with her o

The odds are stark: Women of color in tech raised less than half of 1 percent of all venture capital in 2020, according to Project Diane. Can you imagine using a vision board to inspire you to raise $1.4 million in venture capital? Co-founders Angela Muhwezi-Hall and her sister Deborah Gladney did just that for their career discovery platform, QuickHire. Listen in as these siblings explain how they pivoted from careers in editorial public relations management and college placement and career counseling to venture capital success.  Muhwezi-Hall and Gladney explain how their upbringing in a small town in the Midwest, as first- generation Americans with Ugandan parents, helped to shape their “no excuses mindset.” After working at a nonprofit, Gladney realized that underprivileged youth who decided not to take the traditional education route weren’t getting their fair share of opportunity. This birthed the idea of QuickHire.  Learn how networking and tenacity earned the sisters spots in the competitive TechStars

Don’t think social entrepreneurship can earn a profit? Think again. Rahama Wright discusses how she built Shea Yeleen, a skincare brand that focuses on high-quality shea butter, produced by women’s cooperatives in Ghana. Listen as Wright speaks about the decision to create living wage jobs (nearly five times the minimum wage) for women-owned shea butter cooperatives in Ghana, through Shea Yeleen. Wright offers some of the women the opportunity to travel to the United States to witness the business funnel from beginning to end. Wright describes growing up as a first-generation American with Ghanian parents, which motivated her to volunteer for the Peace Corps in West Africa. Wright describes how her time there later sparked the idea for Shea Yeleen. Discover how Wright pivoted from a foreign service officer for the State Department to bootstrapping her own social impact company. A classic type-A personality, Wright describes how she never let logistics get in the way of her goals, and how she’s determined to s

What does it mean to be an organization that promotes equity? Listen as Kerry Mitchell Brown, Ph.D. (a diversity, inclusion, and equity strategist), shares her insights about how organizations can ensure they’re practicing workplace impartiality — as in walk the walk, not simply check the boxes and call it a day. Mitchell Brown discusses her pivot from a C-suite finance exec — at companies such as Disney and Prudential — to founding KMB, her namesake diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) consulting firm, where she is CEO. Like many women, Mitchell Brown faced work-life tradeoffs, as she juggled multiple personal and professional roles, both early on and later in her career. Her motto: “You can do it all, but not at the same time; and you can’t do it all by yourself.” Though the pandemic acted as a catalyst for many businesses to evaluate and invest in DEI, Mitchell Brown recognized the need more than a decade ago. “Organizational health is based on how employees are valued, understood, and recognized,” says