It’s Easier Than It Looks

Jennifer Rotner

Jennifer Rotner is the Founder and CEO of Elite Creative and its companies, Elite Editing and Elite Authors. Elite is a woman-owned, full-service content and publishing services firm that offers editorial, writing, and creative support for companies of all sizes, from small businesses and nonprofit organizations to Fortune 500 companies, as well as for independent authors at every stage of the publishing journey. Elite has a team of more than 225 people worldwide, including both full-time staff and freelance writers and editors who have all worked remotely since the business began.

Jennifer has won several business awards including the Stevie Award for Best Website and the Daily Record’s Most Admired CEO Award. In 2021, Elite made the Inc. 5000 List of the Fastest Growing Companies in the US. Jennifer lives in Baltimore, Maryland with her husband, son, and 18 chickens.

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Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn: 

  • What inspired Jennifer Rotner to start Elite Editing and how being fully remote led to the growth of the company
  • The most obscure fact about New York City
  • What went right when Jennifer created Elite Editing during a recession and how losing a big client impacted her business
  • How Elite Authors was started and how Elite Creative made it to the Inc. 5000 list
  • How Jennifer helps authors through Elite Editing and Elite Authors
  • Jennifer talks about the most impactful piece of advice she has received from a mentor
  • What Jennifer is currently focused on — and her advice to women looking to start something on their own
  • Jennifer talks about her superpower and shares her contact details

In this episode…

How resilient are you as a business owner or leader? How patient and persistent are you in growing and scaling your business, despite all the challenges you face?

In order to create sustainable growth for your business, those are some of the key skills you need. You cannot afford to give up when hard times hit. Jennifer Rotner believes in the power of having a supportive community that will hold your hand and offer advice whenever you feel overwhelmed. You should also think about the long-term growth of your business and avoid concentrating on quick wins that tend to be short-lived. Your future, the future of your business, and the future of your team depend on it.

In this episode of the Lead Like A Woman Show, Andrea Heuston interviews Jennifer Rotner, the Founder and CEO of Elite Creative, about how being resilient and patient can help you create value from tragedy. Jennifer shares the story behind the founding of her two businesses and explains how she grew them to make it to the Inc. 5000 list. She also talks about helping authors with editing and the benefits of being part of a community. Stay tuned.

Resources Mentioned in this episode

Sponsor for this episode…

This episode is brought to you by Artitudes Design by Andrea Heuston. Artitudes Design is an award-winning creative agency that has been creating visual communication for Fortune 500 companies for over 25 years. They have worked with notable companies such as Microsoft, Starbucks, Expedia, and have also served startups and nonprofit organizations.

They specialize in connecting speakers with audiences by creating visual value with presentations and through the creation of motion graphics, video, and content.

To learn more about Artitudes Design, visit their website today. Checkout their portfolio to see their previous projects, and contact them today to find out how they can help you bring your business a cut above the rest.

I Dare You to Tell Me I Can’t

Tracey Warren

Tracey Warren is a Community and Engagement Specialist and the Founder and CEO of InSpark Coworking, a collaborative workspace for entrepreneurs, freelancers, and remote workers. She is known as the connection queen and shows women entrepreneurs how to create amazing content that can help build a thriving community with ease.

Tracey is also an author, truth-teller, community creator, and authentic speaker. She is a bold example of how authenticity and vulnerability can be a huge asset for entrepreneurs who want to build community. Whatever trail she blazes and every journey she travels, including her recent victory over breast cancer, she shows up fully as herself. She wants you to know that you can too.

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Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn: 

  • What inspired Tracey Warren to create InSpark, a co-working space
  • The types of people InSpark serves and the solutions they provide
  • Why Tracey created Ignite Your Champions and the women she works with
  • Tracey explains what went right for her when she started her businesses and talks about the gift of being imperfect
  • Tracey discusses her journey of beating breast cancer and writing the book, Ignite Your Champions
  • The value of having a positive mentality and understanding yourself
  • The most impactful piece of advice Tracey has ever received
  • What Tracey is currently curious about, her superpower, and contact details

In this episode…

For someone who has built successful businesses, Tracey Warren knows that it is okay not to care what other people think. She also knows how important it is to understand yourself and the people you serve.

However, this does not come easily for most people — especially women. They fail to realize that being leaders sometimes requires them to make independent decisions without worrying about what others say or think. It is perfectly okay not to agree with everybody. Tracey advises women to give themselves permission not to care what other people think and to be comfortable with who they are.

In this episode of the Lead Like A Woman Show, Andrea Heuston interviews Tracey Warren, the Founder and CEO of InSpark Coworking, to talk about building an engaging community and creating value your way. Tracey also talks about her Ignite Your Champions business, her new book, and her experience battling breast cancer. Stay tuned.

Resources Mentioned in this episode

Sponsor for this episode…

This episode is brought to you by Artitudes Design by Andrea Heuston. Artitudes Design is an award-winning creative agency that has been creating visual communication for Fortune 500 companies for over 25 years. They have worked with notable companies such as Microsoft, Starbucks, Expedia, and have also served startups and nonprofit organizations.

They specialize in connecting speakers with audiences by creating visual value with presentations and through the creation of motion graphics, video, and content.

To learn more about Artitudes Design, visit their website today. Checkout their portfolio to see their previous projects, and contact them today to find out how they can help you bring your business a cut above the rest.

YOU Have the Answer

Olga Sagan

Olga Sagan is the Owner of the nationally renowned bakery, Piroshky Piroshky. Founded in Seattle’s historic Pike Place Market, Piroshky Piroshky has offered handcrafted pies to loyal fans since 1992. An immigrant from Russia when she was 16, Olga arrived in America and faced many challenges overcoming language barriers and learning to navigate what it means to be a woman in a leadership role — something that was not encouraged in her home country.

In 2006, Olga became part owner of Piroshky Piroshky and took complete ownership in 2017. Under her leadership, the bakery has grown to four locations and a food truck, teamed up with iconic Northwest businesses such as Field Roast, Uli’s Famous Sausage, Tillamook, and Double R Ranch, and introduced a vegan line. Passionate about leadership, she got her SHRM Certification in 2018 and was picked by Puget Sound Business Journal as a “small business hero” in 2019. She was also chosen by the SBA as the 2020 “Washington Small Business Owner of the Year.” In 2020, she started Catch22Market, a free website aggregator that helps small businesses take their customers back.

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Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn: 

  • How Olga Sagan started working at Piroshky Piroshky and how she took ownership of the bakery chain
  • What Olga has learned about herself as a business owner
  • Piroshky Piroshky’s history, its locations, and how Olga immigrated to the US
  • How the COVID-19 pandemic led to the creation of Catch22Market — and how the app has grown
  • What went right for Olga when building her businesses?
  • Olga talks about some of her mentors and the best piece of advice she has received from them
  • What Olga is currently focused on and her advice to women struggling in business
  • Olga talks about her favorite food joints in Pike Place Market and explains the difference between piroshki and pierogi
  • Olga’s superpower and how to get in touch with her

In this episode…

Two of the most important character traits needed to build a thriving business are trust and transparency. Entrepreneurs need to be transparent about their products, businesses, and how they relate to other players in their industry. They also have to build trust with their customers and industry partners.

Olga Sagan’s desire for transparency led to the creation of Catch22Market, a website aggregator which helps put power back into small businesses. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she realized that many players in the food industry were losing a lot of business due to the shutdowns and were spending a lot of money working with third-party delivery apps to serve their customers. She, therefore, came up with the brilliant idea for Catch22Market that not only provides transparency but also helps build trust between businesses and their customers.

Olga Sagan, the Owner of Piroshky Piroshky, is Andrea Heuston’s guest in this episode of the Lead Like A Woman Show where she gets interviewed about her entrepreneurial journey and her desire to give power back to small business owners. Olga explains how she immigrated to the US, how she came to be the sole owner of Piroshky Piroshky, and how her website aggregator tool is helping businesses in the food industry thrive. Stay tuned.

Resources Mentioned in this episode

Sponsor for this episode…

This episode is brought to you by Artitudes Design by Andrea Heuston. Artitudes Design is an award-winning creative agency that has been creating visual communication for Fortune 500 companies for over 25 years. They have worked with notable companies such as Microsoft, Starbucks, Expedia, and have also served startups and nonprofit organizations.

They specialize in connecting speakers with audiences by creating visual value with presentations and through the creation of motion graphics, video, and content.

To learn more about Artitudes Design, visit their website today. Checkout their portfolio to see their previous projects, and contact them today to find out how they can help you bring your business a cut above the rest.

Finding the Side Door

Michelle Bomberger

Michelle Bomberger is the Founder, CEO, and Managing Attorney at Equinox Business Law Group. As a small business founder and entrepreneur, Michelle understands the emotional and practical aspects of owning and scaling a business, which makes her an effective guide for business leaders in evaluating risk and opportunity in their decision making. She received her MBA and law degrees from Northwestern University and undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame.

Michelle serves on the Board of Directors for Bellevue LifeSpring and Youth Theatre Northwest, serving youth and families in the community. She was honored by the Puget Sound Business Journal as one of its “40 Under 40” in 2012. In addition, she and Equinox Business Law Group were awarded the King County Executive’s Woman-Owned Small Business of the Year Award in 2013, along with being listed as one of Puget Sound’s 100 Fastest-Growing Private Companies in 2020.

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Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn: 

  • What inspired Michelle Bomberger to start Equinox Business Law Group
  • What has led to the success of Michelle’s business?
  • Michelle talks about her business model, how she adds value to her clients, and the types of businesses she serves
  • What drives Michelle to work with nonprofits — and how growing up in Panama impacted her life
  • Michelle’s experience being a guest co-host on The Shrimp Tank Podcast
  • The most impactful piece of advice Michelle has received from a mentor and her advice to women looking to create value for others
  • How Michelle leads like a woman, and how she and Andrea met
  • Michelle’s superpower and her contact details

In this episode…

If you are a new business owner, do you have a trusted person to go to for legal advice? If you are an established company, have you been investing in regular legal counsel? This is a very important aspect of running a business that many owners often neglect.

Having seen how many small business owners fail to seek legal advice when starting their organization, Michelle Bomberger was driven to become a small business consultant. She later created Equinox Business Law Group to provide legal services to such companies. She advises them to plan for their future, manage their businesses in a smart and strategic way, and pay attention to their people and organization in general.

In this episode of the Lead Like A Woman Show, Andrea Heuston is joined by Michelle Bomberger, the Founder, CEO, and Managing Attorney at Equinox Business Law Group, to talk about the value of receiving legal advice as you grow a business. Michelle also talks about her law firm’s business model, how she serves her clients, and she shares her experience being a guest co-host on The Shrimp Tank Podcast. Stay tuned.

Resources Mentioned in this episode

Sponsor for this episode…

This episode is brought to you by Artitudes Design by Andrea Heuston. Artitudes Design is an award-winning creative agency that has been creating visual communication for Fortune 500 companies for over 25 years. They have worked with notable companies such as Microsoft, Starbucks, Expedia, and have also served startups and nonprofit organizations.

They specialize in connecting speakers with audiences by creating visual value with presentations and through the creation of motion graphics, video, and content.

To learn more about Artitudes Design, visit their website today. Checkout their portfolio to see their previous projects, and contact them today to find out how they can help you bring your business a cut above the rest.

LOVE is a Superpower

Cathi Rodgveller

Cathi Rodgveller is the Founder and CEO of IGNITE Worldwide, which works directly with teachers during the school day to provide programming that promotes STEM education and career advancement for girls and non-binary youth from historically marginalized communities. As a longtime educator and school counselor, Cathi witnessed the systemic obstacles girls face in accessing STEM pathways, especially girls from underserved communities. She founded IGNITE Worldwide in Seattle Public Schools over 20 years ago to bridge this gap and has grown the program to reach girls in over 100 US school districts and 50 countries, inspiring 80,000 girls to date.

Cathi received the 2012 Social Impact Abie Award from the Indiana Borg Institute, and IGNITE Worldwide has been lauded by the Department of Education, Department of State, and the National Science Foundation.

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Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn: 

  • How Cathi Rodgveller’s experience as an educator inspired the founding of IGNITE Worldwide
  • What Cathi’s bold mission statement means to her
  • What is STEM education?
  • How Cathi organizes STEM events for girls and what has led to her success with IGNITE Worldwide
  • Cathi talks about her motivation for her work and the need for funding 
  • How to support IGNITE Worldwide
  • Cathi’s superpower and contact details

In this episode…

Although many school-going girls love STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) and would love to venture into careers in these fields, few of them actually pursue those careers. The main reason behind this is that girls shy away from appearing smart in front of their peers and do not want to stand out.

This perception minimizes girls’ powers and abilities and ultimately limits their career prospects. This problem is common in many schools worldwide and not just in the US. To change the narrative, it is important to instill power, courage, and confidence in these girls at a young age. They need to know just how capable and talented they are, and receive the support they need to dream big, own their intelligence, and harness their full potential. 

Cathi Rodgveller, the Founder and CEO of IGNITE Worldwide, is Andrea Heuston’s guest in this episode of the Lead Like A Woman Show where she talks about community and providing educational opportunities for girls and non-binary youth. Cathi discusses what STEM education means, explains what drove her to start IGNITE Worldwide, and talks about how she helps empower girls and achieve gender equity in STEM.

Resources Mentioned in this episode

Sponsor for this episode…

This episode is brought to you by Artitudes Design by Andrea Heuston. Artitudes Design is an award-winning creative agency that has been creating visual communication for Fortune 500 companies for over 25 years. They have worked with notable companies such as Microsoft, Starbucks, Expedia, and have also served startups and nonprofit organizations.

They specialize in connecting speakers with audiences by creating visual value with presentations and through the creation of motion graphics, video, and content.

To learn more about Artitudes Design, visit their website today. Checkout their portfolio to see their previous projects, and contact them today to find out how they can help you bring your business a cut above the rest.