Getting your audience's attention in a world full of information requires much more than just a straightforward pitch. As an entrepreneur, you're not merely selling products or services; you're selling a unique story, a vision, and a promise.
​
In this episode, co-hosts Nola Boea and Lori Vajda talk to Lisa Mullis, a dynamic strategic brand coach, accomplished copywriter, and visionary founder of Paraphrase Communications, about her method for creating brand messaging. Join us as we uncover the key skills and writing tips to help ensure that your messages not only connect but also highlight your brand's distinct value proposition.

Are you an entrepreneur or career professional who struggles to negotiate confidently or successfully in a variety of situations? It is not just you. Many people, especially women, are aware of the psychological and cultural factors that play a role in their difficulties.

In this episode co-hosts Nola Boea and Lori Vajda talk to Andi Haddad, a highly accomplished professional specializing in vendor relations, negotiations, and B2B partnerships about her win-win approach to negotiations. Join us as we uncover the negotiating skills and tips to help you achieve remarkable success regarding contracts, collaborations, or career advancements and more.​

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to leave your successful career and embrace the adventure of entrepreneurship? You’re not alone, many professionals dream of being their own boss or creating multiple streams of income. Are you ready to take a transformative leap that holds the potential for extraordinary growth and fulfillment?

In Part 2 of this thought-provoking interview, co-hosts Nola Boea and Lori Vajda talk to Shari Cedar, a former senior TV executive and executive producer of notable award-winning hits, about her transformative journey into self-employment. Join us as she reveals her valuable insights, essential tips, and resources that will empower you to confidently navigate your own entrepreneurial path.​

Professionals who are established in their careers often have demanding work schedules and responsibilities. Juggling a side business alongside a successful career can have an impact on work-life balance. Despite these challenges, many women successfully navigate the transition and thrive in their side businesses.

​In Part 1 of this 2-Part interview, co-hosts Nola Boea and Lori Vajda talk to Shari Cedar, a former senior executive and executive producer for notable award-winning hits networks, about her life-changing decision to leave a successful career and venture into the world of entrepreneurship. Join us as we uncover the reasons behind her bold move and the unique path she embarked upon.

The global pandemic brought remote work to our attention, and as a result, people are becoming less and less willing to adhere to the traditional career path or workday. Between the great resignation and the quiet quitting trend, more people are rethinking their jobs, careers, and entrepreneurship. 

We invite you to listen in as co-hosts Lori Vajda and Nola Boea share why more individuals are building their career portfolios by starting their own companies and turning their knowledge, experience, and interests into multiple streams of income. But that’s not all; many are choosing to create lifestyle businesses that allow them to earn a living while still enjoying life.

Whether you run a marketing company or are a business owner with a new venture, it can be difficult to stand out from the crowd and spread the word. Storytelling is one technique that most experts advise. Why? Because our brains are designed for telling and listening to stories. An inspiring story draws us into the narrator's experience. 
​
Join co-hosts Nola Boea and Lori Vajda as they explore the magic of brand storytelling with David Fischette. Learn how to connect brand stories with your target audience by using the tricks, techniques, creative applications, and action steps discussed in this episode.

As podcast co hosts, the goal of our show is to empower women to become first-time entrepreneurs in the second half of a vibrant life. 

And Nola and I believe that part of having a vibrant life includes taking time to be with family and friends as well as taking time for oneself.

Today is the Fourth of July, also known as Independence Day, here in the US. It’s a national holiday and an extended weekend that a lot of Americans look forward to.

If you have felt unsatisfied in your current position or profession and have wondered about switching to a different industry or starting your own business but are hesitant to take the plunge, you are not alone. Making such a move can be intimidating, overwhelming, or even exhilarating.

In this episode, co-hosts Nola Boea and Lori Vajda speak with David Fischette about the difficulties he encountered in the music business and the pivotal decision that would ultimately change his career and life. Listen as this musician-turned-entrepreneur discusses the twists, turns, and unexpected detours he underwent as well as the practical steps, ideas, and solutions that ultimately led to his own successful business adventure.​

Whether it’s setting boundaries with clients, prioritizing your physical, emotional, and mental health needs, or just needing time alone, some people, especially women, find it challenging to say ‘no’ to others. 
​
One reason for this is the belief that practicing self-care is egocentric, selfish, and self-serving. We contend it is just the opposite. Come listen as co-hosts Lori Vajda and Nola Boea share why and how putting yourself first can shift everything in your life and give you more energy so you can assert your needs and desires with confidence - and there’s nothing selfish about that.

We may be tempted to give credit and accolades to successful entrepreneurs like Richard Branson or Anne Wojcicki, co-founder and CEO of 23andMe, for their drive, innovation, and remarkable success. However, the credit would be misdirected, at least partially. In fact, some of today's most successful businesspeople were influenced by their business-owning parents.

How does our upbringing influence our entrepreneurial spirit? In this special Father's Day episode, co-hosts Nola Boea and Lori Vajda discuss the role fatherhood plays in the lives of entrepreneurs. Whether you’re a business owning parent or an aspiring entrepreneur, hear from successful CEOs and founders as they share the parental role models who inspired them. 

Thanks for listening! Let’s stay connected!

If you enjoyed this show, subscribe to the podcast. 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 

• Nature and nurture both play a role in developing future entrepreneurs
• How CEO fathers of daughters are leading women's advancements in both the corporate and entrepreneurial worlds
• The influence parents have on children’s business interests
• Simple ideas parents can use to mentor and help steer their children down a path to business ownership

Key points Lori and Nola are sharing in this episode:

(01:40:23) According to a study, male judges who were the fathers of daughters were 16% more likely to decide in favor of women's rights.

(03:41:71) The ways in which fathers influence their daughters, and how having a daughter influences fathers to be better leaders

(04:09:81) Journalist, entrepreneur, and founder of the5starz company, Noa Gadot, shares what she learned from interviews with successful entrepreneurs

(05:27:37) When we asked guest Carly Reiley, founder of Overpriced JPEGs,  about her parents' influence, she had this to say about her father.  

(07:42:50) Natalie Nixon, author of the Creativity Leap and Founder of Figure Eight Thinking, shared the best career advice she received 

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)

[00:00:00] Noa Gadot: What I've seen is that most of the women that I interview, their parents, mostly daddy, and they always tell them, you can be anything you want. They raise them that way.

[00:00:11] Lori: In a Fast Company article on the topic of closing the gender wage gap, management psychologist Gail Golden said, "it's not just abstract statistics about salaries of women versus men. It's about his daughter not being paid fairly for the work she's doing." Golden goes on to say, "dads who have daughters are more aware of the obstacles faced by women in the workplace."

Stay tuned, listener, because in this special Father's Day episode, we're looking at how and why CEO fathers of daughters are leading women's advancements in both the corporate and entrepreneurial worlds. You'll also hear firsthand accounts from guests about the influence their fathers had on them and how they were inspired to start their own businesses.

[00:00:57] 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.

[00:01:14] Lori: Hey, Nola. You know, when you and I were talking about doing this Father's Day episode, a lot of our initial ideas came from what we were hearing and learning from our own guests about the influence their fathers played in both their professional careers and in their decision to become entrepreneurs. However, what we discovered in researching the topic surprised even us.

[00:01:37] Nola: It sure did.

[00:01:39] Lori: For example, according to a research study, I found having a daughter, particularly if she's a firstborn daughter, has a tremendous impact on dads. In a study that looked at judges, what they found were male judges with daughters were 16% more likely to decide in favor of women's rights.

[00:02:01] Nola: And that totally surprised me because you'd expect judges to be impartial.

[00:02:06] Lori: When I read it, I was surprised too, but the researchers believed the reason for the influence came from the fact that having a daughter put male judges in the perspective of learning firsthand from their daughter's experience, and therefore that awareness was what prompted them to have a better, more balanced understanding of what a woman experiences.

[00:02:32] Nola: Okay. That does make a lot of sense and it aligns with another study that I discovered in which companies led by men who have daughters made more progress in a variety of areas, including closing the wage gap between men and women.

[00:02:46] Lori: Speaking of which, even former President Obama, who we all know is the father of two daughters, has been impacted as a dad. He was quoted in the Washington Times as stating, I want to make sure my daughters are getting the same chances as men. I don't want them paid less for doing the same job as some guy is doing.

And what research is finding is that it's not just limited to the wage gap. Other research has shown companies benefit in a variety of ways, including increased profitability and performance; increased empathy and sensitivity towards gender related issues, leading to more respectful and inclusive behavior in the workplace; and male executives with daughters were more likely to champion policies that support a work-life balance and gender diversity.

[00:03:41] Nola: Well, all those stats that you just said are really, it's so encouraging, and they are also part of the reason we wanted to do this episode in the first place. That is, to share the ways in which fathers influence their daughters, and how having a daughter influences fathers to be better leaders.

[00:03:58] Lori: Yeah. It's that reciprocity, which I also love. We learned a lot about the impact that fathers have on entrepreneurs in a two-part interview we did with journalist and entrepreneur, Noa Gadot. In the second interview we did with her, she spoke about her role being a journalist who frequently interviews female tech founders. Her approach to those interviews piqued our curiosity.

[00:04:25] Noa Gadot: Well, I speak to women founders a lot, and I always try to hear their journey. Every woman that I speak to is completely inspirational, and then I've always tried to understand, what made her different? What made her a successful entrepreneur? Where others, they have the dream and they don't go for it. And so I always have a question about their childhood. What did that look like? Because I have a theory that it starts there, and what I've seen is that most of the women that I interview, their parents, mostly daddy, and they always tell them, you can be anything you want. They raise them that way. You don't have to be afraid. You are good enough as you are. And a lot of them have these bonds with their fathers where they're doing things that are considered ungirly. They're kind of tomboy girls, where they would go on adventures and they weren't always told when they climbed the ladder or they climbed the tree or whatever, be careful don't fall. So they were treated as equals. And I really see that coming through in almost all of my interviews.

[00:05:32] Nola: What Noa found really aligned with what we were hearing when we asked our guests about their parents' influence, such as this statement made by Carly Reiley, founder of Overpriced JPEGs, in episode 127.

[00:05:45] Cary Reilly: I'm like, girl, dads are the secret. Like the number of older men who are in positions of power or authority, who have been really helpful to me in very uncreepy ways, who also have daughters, is really striking. Like I think there's a lot of men now who have daughters and are really excited to have their daughters grow up in a different world and be empowered, who have been great champions for me and for the show and for what, what I'm doing.

[00:06:06] Lori: So the question is, how are fathers making such a positive impact on their daughter's career? And the answer, it seems, is the same way they make any impact, whether that's positive or negative: with their words and their actions aligning. As an entrepreneur, Noa's father modeled talking the talk and walking the walk, as you'll hear in this clip from episode 116, or part one of our two-part interview.

[00:06:37] Noa Gadot: Well, when you have entrepreneurship in your family, I think it gets you really ready for what it's like, which is a rollercoaster. I've seen my father go through amazing success and terrible failures. And the way I saw him deal with it, I think got me really ready for my journey. He used the support of the family to get through hard times, and he always said, I'm not giving up. I can do this, I can do this. And when you hear that growing up all the time, and when it's said to you, you can do this, then it's like a flower, right? It needs sunshine, it needs water, it needs all of these things to grow. And when you have that, then that flower is going to bloom.

[00:07:26] Nola: Now note here what this daughter, Noa, heard her father say. He said, I'm not giving up. I can do this. And he said, you can do this. That really makes a difference in a growing girl's self-confidence and can-do attitude.

[00:07:42] Lori: I totally agree. Matter of fact, both parents really have an impact on the mindset of their kids when it comes to their careers and to their ability to feel empowered. And this was evident when we started our podcast in an early interview we did with Natalie Nixon, author of the Creativity Leap and Founder of Figure Eight Thinking. In our episode 27, we asked Natalie about the best advice she had ever been given, and here's what she had to say.

[00:08:13] Natalie Nixon: Yeah, to follow your heart. I remember my father told me that when you follow your heart, you'll have to turn down opportunities. They both said, my mom and dad said, study what you love, which turned out to be Anthropology and Africana Studies. You see right there how indecisive an. I thrive in multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary environments. But my father was right. When you do what you love, no one has to tell you to wake up earlier, stay after longer and later, put in the extra hours, because you are just energized to do that work.

[00:08:47] Nola: It is quite amazing to learn how much that a supportive, encouraging dad can have an effect on a woman's career choices and her confidence to take that entrepreneurial leap. But not everyone has had the benefit of growing up with that kind of a father. Lori, did your father inspire you in your career or in your desire to start a business?

[00:09:06] Lori: Yes and no, so to speak. Yes, in the fact that my dad ended up getting a G E D, so he didn't complete high school. He did get his certificate for graduation, but I think that stigma stayed with him. And I could see that even if he didn't talk about it. So I think the influence was to understand that if I wanted to get ahead, I was going to need to go to college. But I didn't have parents who really thought that way. So I got no help and no support. I kind of stumbled into it, which is how I ended up finishing my undergrad and graduate degree with kids. I was an adult. So in that sense, there was that positive impact. On the other side, there was the discouragement, again, from both parents, but particularly from my father, at least this is how I took it. Being his daughter, he referred to the benefit of going to college was getting an MRS degree. And I'll tell you, when I was young, I didn't understand what that degree was. And it was only in sharing that kind of in a joking way that somebody pointed out MRS as in Mrs. degree, getting married. And that that was the purpose of college. But that also was my grandmother's experience. My grandmother was very bright in English and as a child. Her elementary school wanted her to skip some grades, and even though her math skills weren't on par with her English, they were still advanced, so she went on to do that. But when it came time to go on to further her education, her parents put all of their investment and their goals on their son, who was her younger brother. So they didn't want to support her going to college. They put it in for their son to go to college. Which was also, given the time and the generation gap, that pretty much was the way of thinking. But what about your experience? Did your parents, particularly your father, inspire your business degree and even your entrepreneurial adventures?

[00:11:19] Nola: I would say that my parents, uh, including my father, their impact was probably neutral. They didn't really discourage me and they didn't really encourage me either. I mean, my father, he never finished high school. My mother was only able to get a two-year business degree to be a secretary, which was one of the three professions that was acceptable for women, that being teacher, nurse, and secretary. But when I did decide to go to school, it was under my own funding, although they were proud of me because they hadn't gotten a degree and nobody in their families had gotten a degree. And so it was celebrated, but it's not that I can point back to necessarily their influence.

So it's obvious that you and I have risen above our circumstances and forged fairly successful entrepreneurial journeys, despite the bias against being a female that was so normal to our generation and to our parents' generation. So listener, even if your father's influence may have been less than encouraging, you can still be your own advocate, as you'll hear in this next clip.

[00:12:25] Noa Gadot: Even if you didn't grow up in that ideal family where your father told you that you're amazing and you can do anything, because a lot of us haven't, right? I mean, so that's just the reality of it. Be that person for yourself. Don't wait for someone else to tell you you're awesome. You don't need that. If you do it for yourself, look in the mirror. Really, just look in the mirror. Tell yourself, I can do this. I'm awesome. I'm amazing. Even if I wasn't amazing today, that doesn't mean that I'm not an amazing person. So be that role model for yourself. You can do that.

[00:13:01] Lori: I love Noa's message. I think it gives me chills actually in hearing it, because she's right. You don't always get the encouragement and support you need from outside factors, but then you can have an internal motivation.

[00:13:15] Nola: Absolutely.

[00:13:16] Lori: Well, listener, we hope the ideas and thoughts we've shared here today on this very special Father's Day episode 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 this podcast for a fun little surprise.

[00:13:43] Nola: If you've found the information we've shared helpful and want more tools, tips, and inspiration delivered to your inbox, sign up for News You Can Use over on our website, stickybrandlab.com, or click the link in our show notes.

[OUT-TAKE]

It is quite amazing to learn how much that a supportive, encouraging dad can have an effect on a women's on a women. Take two. It is.

[00:14:09] Lori: Sorry. I wish we could have the clip and the image of your face at the same time, because then people would know why I'm laughing.
​
[00:14:31] Nola: All right.