#134: Mother’s Day: Role Models for Women

Show Notes

Male and female entrepreneurs pursue entrepreneurship for more or less similar reasons. Yet, while the number of female owned businesses (252 million female entrepreneurs worldwide) has grown significantly, there’s still a lack of mentors and advisors guiding and offering support.  
​
In this special Mother's Day episode, co-hosts Nola Boea and Lori Vajda discuss the role of female entrepreneurs, their vision, and goals, as well as share a special and inspiring story from a listener about a role model who inspired her. 

Thanks for listening! Let’s stay connected!

If you enjoyed this show, subscribe to the podcast wherever you listen. That way, you’ll never miss an inspiring, motivating episode. 

Want more helpful tools, tips, and inspiration delivered to your inbox? Sign up  for “News You Can Use” at Sticky Brand Lab

We love hearing your feedback! Leave or speak your message here

If you haven’t already, please connect with us on Facebook! 

Would you like to be a featured guest or have your question, comment, or review mentioned? Ask Muse!

Business success strategies are in the works. Come have a listen!

In This Episode You’ll Learn 

• Findings from a survey on gender in entrepreneurship; are women underrepresented in entrepreneurship? Does it matter in 2023?
• What the key motivation for starting a business is and why it’s so different between men and women.
• Why owning their businesses is a viable way for women to create their own paths to success
• Why business owners need to embrace DIY marketing.

Key points Lori and Nola are sharing in this episode:

(01:43:23) In a study out of the UK asking young people to name a female entrepreneurial role model, this was the number of respondents who were able to do it. Hear if you guessed correctly.

(02:45:41) Successful female role models influence the next generation of children. As a mother and tech entrepreneur, founder and CEO, Noa Gadot had this to say about her mission. 

(05:15:05) Our inspiring female role models and the opportunities these relationships created for us.

(08:27:80) Our decision to step out of our comfort zone, has a profound impact on our children and their friends, especially when they can see themselves in their heroes. Hear from Nikki Oden, a women-owned business leader and author who takes this to heart.  

(10:42:68) Our special recognition sent in by Jamie Levin of J Levin Communications, honors mompreneur Shari Cedar

Resources 

Sign up for “News You Can Use” at Sticky Brand Lab

You can subscribe to Lori and Nola's show (we love you and want to make it easy) on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Audible, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
​
ConvertKit: Our #1 Favorite Email Marketing Platform   (This is an affiliate link)

Transcript

[00:00:00] Kate Nowlan: I didn't believe I could start a business and build a business in the same capacity that Kimberly believed we could because she had those years of experience that I didn't have. And so, once I recognized like, wow, we did this, how empowering that was for me in terms of other aspects of my life as well. I was a single mom raising two girls, but now on the other side of it, my girls are 19 and 21. And. They say to me and all their wonderful cards that they write for my birthday or Mother's Day is what an inspiration, because you started Grace by Grit. I believe I can do anything I want.

[00:00:34] Lori: We've been fortunate to interview many influential female entrepreneurs on our show. And one thing we've learned is that great female role models are all around us, from our moms to mom bosses, to innovative entrepreneurs in our industry. But the problem is that they're few and far between. Stay tuned listener because in this Special Mother's Day episode, we're taking a look at female role models from both previous shows and from messages sent in by listeners who wrote to tell us about the inspiring women who have encouraged and motivated them to go the distance, climb the ladder, or start their own entrepreneurial adventure.

[00:01:13] Nola: Welcome to Sticky brand Lab, where we bridge the gap between knowledge and action by providing you with helpful information, tips, and tools from entrepreneurs and other experts so you can quickly and easily jumpstart your side business. We're your hosts. I'm Nola Boea, and this is my co-host, Lori Vajda. Hey Lori!

[00:01:31] Lori: Hi, Nola. I am so excited about today's episode. More so because I recently came across what I think is a pretty startling finding. It stated, if you asked 50 young people in the UK to name a female entrepreneurial role model, only one would be able to answer. Isn't that amazing?

[00:01:55] Nola: One out of 50?

[00:01:56] Lori: One out of 50. This statistic was among the findings of a new study into young people's ambition by Entrepreneur First. It's so disappointing. I think it's more than that. I think it's quite damaging, myself.

[00:02:10] Nola: Yeah, that it really is startling. This UK study talked about young people in the UK but I kind of wonder how young people from the US would respond. Would they do the same? What do you think?

[00:02:23] Lori: I thought the exact same thing. I think that's probably why I wanted to mention it, because successful female role models Influence the next generation of girls and boys, both in business and in life in more ways than just one. They also serve as the inspiration for women who want to improve the future of the world. Take for example, our interview with Noa Gadot in this clip from Episode 118.

 Lori: So your sons will grow up not thinking about barriers between female and male. They'll just be able to say, like you said, my dad did it. Now they'll be able to say, my mom did it.

[00:03:03] Noa Gadot: Yes. Wow. Exactly. Be the person that you want your kids to follow. Be that role model all the time if you can. It's not easy.

[00:03:12] Nola: Wow, Lori, female role models are incredibly important, and when young people engage with women who have dared to become entrepreneurs, challenge a status quo or blaze a new trail, they too are more willing to disrupt gender biases, which can be very infectious and empowering. Was there anyone in your past or present who inspired you?

[00:03:34] Lori: Actually, I had two women that came to mind. The first was my grandmother. She was a really, a great inspiration. She got divorced at a time that that was very uncommon, so she was older in life. She got her real estate license so she could sell the home in which she raised her kids during her marriage and sold that. And then bought her condominium. She dated, she worked. She was a great inspiration for me in a variety of ways.

And the second actually came from my career. Up until that point, primarily in the Division of Youth Corrections, I worked in the mental health field, worked with kids who were committed. You couldn't call them in jail because they're kids, so they're minors. And the majority of people that work in that industry are male. But there was a woman that really was, to me, a great inspiration. She was savvy. She didn't play the political game. She really fought for what she believed in, and she wasn't afraid to go up against some pretty tough males. So she gave me the opportunity to design a specific program on her campus that really would revolutionize the way we, up until that point, had been doing interventions with kids and families. And initially didn't even look like we were going to get the program. But because of her visionary guidance, it all came about. What about for you? Was there anybody in your past or currently in your present who's been an inspiration for you?

[00:05:15] Nola: Well, my answers are actually similar as well because I do have two, one family as well, and that is my mother, who was actually an older parent. So, probably old enough to be my grandmother, technically. So, I suspect that they may have been the same age. And in that generation, I mean, when we talk about the challenges and the trails they blazed, we're talking about things that seem normal now, but were not so normal then. And my mom, she initially was kind of the breadwinner of the household and was basically running an office that a man got credit for. While she got the secretary's salary, he got the manager's salary. My parents eventually divorced. She was a single mom and did what she could rising up the ranks in the office space, basically. But she would stop and take advantage of teachable moments. Like, I remember her opening her spiral budget book and saying, okay, Nola, this is a budget. This is how you manage money. Here's where you keep the receipts and this is what the IRS is going to want to know, and things like that. Which is not something that a lot of parents do anymore. Eventually actually majored in accounting for a while because it wasn't scary.

[00:06:21] Lori: That's important because I didn't have that kind of role model. So look, you have an MBA so it clearly influenced you.

[00:06:28] Nola: Yeah. Yeah, that's true. She really was supportive of education and you know, and she could only go so far and I watched her work really hard for what really was only meager wages because that's all that women were given back then. Yet she forged forth. So I admired her grit and what she was able to do under the circumstances.

I have a career role model. My manager's manager, she was the VP of marketing and communications of where I used to work. It's not like I went to her and said, would you be my mentor? But we just had this natural affinity. And I really respected her edits basically, and her insights and her wisdom and experience and learned a lot on the job. And we became friends off the job, especially after both of our career followed different paths. And she eventually retired, remained on the boards of many organizations and I continued my marketing career, but at one point wanted to go into consulting. I wanted to go solo and shift from a full-time job to trying out this consulting thing, and potentially taking it full-time. Well, this mentor of mine, prior to being a VP of marketing, she actually had owned her own communications consulting firm with her husband for several decades, and it was quite successful. But she had a lot of experience in consulting and she sat down with me for hours to really help me think through what I needed to do to launch my consulting business, just because she wanted to help me. And to this day, we still stay in touch and once we get on the phone, we're, we're there for quite a bit.

[00:08:05] Lori: That's awesome.

[00:08:05] Nola: Yeah. I admire her too because she was actually an older generation. She was older than me and I just know that she also had to blaze a trail and probably stand out like how people viewed women who were outspoken and

[00:08:19] Lori: Mm-hmm. Still do.

[00:08:20] Nola: And decisive. Yes. And that was her.

[00:08:24] Lori: That's fantastic.

[00:08:25] Nola: Yeah. You know, as mothers, our decision to step out of our comfort zone, regardless of whether we succeed or fail, can have a profound impact on our children and their friends, especially when they can see themselves in their heroes. Nikki Oden takes this to heart, as you'll hear in our interview from episode 132.

[00:08:45] Nikki Oden: Just because we are raising these amazing humans doesn't mean we can't have our own goals and dreams. And I think that's really important to model for your kids, that you can be a mom and have a life. It's something I, especially, I want my daughter to watch me do.

[00:08:59] Lori: You don't have to be a celebrity or a famous entrepreneur to be a female role model. It does, however, require that you have a certain level of confidence, not rooted solely in your career or your professional title, but in recognizing the unique value you bring to the table by being true to yourself and being able to stay true to your values and what you believe is what inspires others to find the courage to follow your lead and your example. These qualities are exactly why female role models are so important. And they're the reason we're committed to celebrating and recognizing them.

In honor of Mother's Day and the power of female role models, we asked listeners to tell us about the women who blazed the trail forward and have made an impact on them. We actually made two requests. The first was, we asked women to tell us about the mom and mom bosses who inspired you to start your business and how she made an impact on your life. In our second request, we wanted to celebrate mother-daughter entrepreneurs. We asked you to tell us about your dynamic partnership and to apply for the two of you to be a guest on our show. We'll be hearing more about those mother-daughter teams in upcoming episodes, but for this episode, we're lifting up today's role model.

[00:10:25] Nola: Yeah, I love this quote from Startups Magazine. It says, "Successful female role models do more than just inspire today's generation of girls to become tomorrow's business leaders. They're a driving force behind the women who want to change the world for the better in the future." And this relates to a special recognition sent in by Jamie Levin of J Levin Communications. We'll read her shout out. Here it goes:

Shari Cedar is the mom of two boys who recently reinvented herself in the second chapter of her career. For 25 plus years, Shari Cedar has been leading with purpose and passion. Whether in TV production, where she spent the first chapter of her career, or commercial cleaning, where she's been investing her time in her second chapter, Shari’s presence is felt by all who she encounters for her business and community work. Her entrepreneurial spirit and multidisciplinary approach are inspirational, impactful, and appreciated by the team she leads, the customer she serves, and the community she supports.

In her capacity as vice President and Co-Owner of AK Building Services, an industry-leading family owned and operated commercial janitorial services provider. ​Shari leads sales strategy, marketing, communications, learning and development, and customer service.

Prior to her tenure with AK Building Services, ​Shari held senior leadership roles in television production, much of her time as an executive producer, communications and broadcast journalism with networks including Bravo, History Channel, NBC, MTV, ABC, HGTV, TLC, National Geographic, and Discovery.

Shari earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from University of Vermont and a Master's in Broadcast Journalism from Boston University.

She is the definition of a servant leader in the workplace and in her community. In business, she prides herself in serving as an extension of her clients' teams, proactively supporting them and partnering with them to ensure seamless operations and quality work. In her community, she's known for giving back, serving on boards, and being an active member. And when she's not at work or supporting the community, she can be found running or on the slopes.

As a working mom of two boys, Shari hopes to pass on her commitment to making a difference, both in business and in the community, to future generations.

Nola: Whew. Isn't that something?

[00:12:51] Lori: It's very inspiring.

[00:12:52] Nola: Yes, it is.

[00:12:53] Lori: Let's just say, here's to strong women. May we know them, may we be them, may we raise them.

[00:13:01] Nola: Here, here! Woo-hoo!

[00:13:03] Lori: Woo-hoo.

[00:13:05] Nola: We hope the ideas and thoughts we've shared here today have sparked your interest, curiosity, and willingness to turn your knowledge, experience, ideas, or passion into multiple streams of income, and empowered you to become a first-time entrepreneur in the second half of your vibrant life. Be sure to stick around to the very end of the podcast for a little fun.

[00:13:24] Lori: If you found the information shared here today helpful and want more tools, tips, and inspiration delivered to your inbox, sign up for News You Can Use, over on our website at stickybrandlab.com or click the link in our show notes.

[OUT-TAKE]

Lori: I just lost my place because my script went flying! I was like, oh shit. I was, the tone of voice was just perfect and I lost my place. Okay, so take two on this one.