Lioness - March 2014

http://www.chikmedia.us

BUSINESSASK AN ENTREPRENEUR

7GIRLS OF ATOMIC CITY

12FEMALE JOB GROWTH

16BRINGING BACK THE BLUES

20AN ENTREPRENEUR’S JOURNEY

26

EDITOR’SLETTER

5LIPSTICK CHRONICLES

17MAKING CENTS

18MANAGING ME

21STILETTO STATEMENT

22

CONTENTS

MARCH COVERYASMINE KHATER

ISSUE 30 MARCH 2014

©2014 Lioness is the first leadingmagazine for female entrepre-neurs. We believe women aremulti-dimensional creations whoflourish, personally and profes-sionally, when they take time tonurture their spirits.

We celebrate the unique challengesand achievements of women inbusiness. We believe women aremulti-dimensional creations whoflourish, personally and profes-sionally, when they take time tonurture their spirits. Our missionis to elevate, educate and supportfemale entrepreneurs.

Editor-in-ChiefKatelyn Gendron

Art DirectorLeo Pilares

Director of PhotographyDenise Smith

ColumnistsKristina ChapellAliyah CherrisseBrenda’s ChildAngela Lussier

Contributing WritersErin K. CorriveauCarley Dangona

Paige CerulliTara McCollumEmily Thurlow

Published by The Lioness Group.Founder, Natasha Clark.

mailto:[email protected]

welcome to

LIONESS MARCH 2014 5

Katelyn Gendron

editor’s letter

Have you ever wondered how you could make a living traveling, teaching others about the personal and professional benefits of global exploration? Icertainly have! While I may not have figured out how to make my passport work for me, Yasmine Khater, our cover story this month, certainly has.Founder of Transpiral Coaching Programs and b Women Retreats, Khater encourages women to climb the highest mountains (literally) and forgeevery stream until they make their dreams of success become reality. Our reporter, Erin K. Corriveau, was able to catch up with Khater as she took abreak from her globetrotting to give us insight into the world as she sees it – her office!

This month’s issue has unintentionally taken a global perspective of sorts thanks to Khater, author Denise Kiernan, and actress/singer Margo Bingham.Kiernan’s latest work, “The Girls of Atomic City,” reveals the untold story of the women who assisted this country’s race for the atomic bomb in OakRidge, Tenn., during World War II. Sworn to secrecy, even from one another, they had little to no idea that this makeshift town was the productionsite for the Manhattan Project, or of the worldwide impact of their work. Bingham brings our issue’s journey to the bright lights of New York City,where her young talent has graced the stage of RENT and the screen on HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire.” Reporter Tara McCollum uncovers how thisyoung talent plans to change the landscape of the industry with her unique style.

It is my sincere hope that this issue encourages you to take a moment outside of yourself, to daydream, to imagine far off places. The world, after all,is your canvas; you just have to decide how you’ll choose to paint it.

Katelyn

Global perspective shines light on circumstances

COMING SOON!

LionessMagazine.comNew

http://www.lionessmagazine.com


1) How long have you been in business? Weactually just had our three-year anniversaryon March 1, 2014!

2) Why have you chosen to dedicate yourselfto this particular business/industry? Eatingwell is a life skill! All of us need to eat multipletimes a day but we don’t have to see a doctorevery day. A high Eating IQ leads to a greaterquality of health of life and preventing manydiseases. I really believe in the words ofHippocrates: “Let food be thy medicine andmedicine be thy food.”

3) What makes business/product unique?The business model is unique because weput the patients first, employee second andprofit third. Many healthcare facilities put prof-it first but we strive to put the patient first, cus-tomer service is what sets us apart from ourcompetition.

4) You could have worked for anyone andwould have been successful, why become anentrepreneur? When you are passionateabout your work, you want the flexibility andfreedom to create your own project and culti-vate your own ideas.

5) What was your last, “why did I go into busi-ness for myself” moment? Many of mypatients use their insurance to pay for theirvisits. Spending over an hour with the insur-ance company to discuss why they processeda claim incorrectly is tedious, frustrating andtime consuming. I always think it would bereally nice to work for a hospital where theyhave a billing department! Being an entrepre-neur is not easy and you have to wear multi-ple hats but if it was easy then everyonewould do it!

6) Every female professional should have ...ingenuity.

7) If you could steal some business mojofrom another mogul, who would it be andwhy? Tanya Zuckerbrot, who is also a dietitianwho really thinks outside the box! She part-nered with an organic food company to createa fiber rich food line and has a strong mediapresence in TV and publication.

8) What is your business motto? “Let’s GetThere Together.”

9) If you could give other entrepreneurs threetips, what would they be? Be open to riskbecause every business venture has it.Measure twice and cut once because you willsave a lot of money, time, and aggravation.Create a solid support system because youare not going to know it all.

10) Has there been a piece of technology orsoftware that has been a lifesaver to you?Electronic Medical Record Charting!Eliminates paperwork, big file cabinets andallows multiple users to open a patient chartfor seamless patient flow.

11) What is your goal for the next year?I would love to hire two more employees andexpand my office space.

12) When someone is telling their friendabout your business, what do you hope theysay? They want you to feel empowered about yourhealth and well-being!

Answers By:

Adiana Castro MS, RDN, CDN.Registered Dietitian Nutritionist andCo-founder of Compass NutritionLLC. New York, N.Y.

www.mycompassnutrition.com

Entrepreneur?We’d love to hear from you

Send your story ideas to [email protected]

Ask an ENTREPRENEUR

mailto:[email protected]

8 LIONESS MARCH 2014

Khater makes global landscape her office

By Erin K. Corriveau

Yasmine Khater, founder of TranspiralCoaching Programs and b Women Retreats,is an ambitious professional and seeminglyfearless woman.

The youngest person to be awarded the titleof “Top 40 AIESEC Alumni at 40” for herimpact on society, she has gone on toreceive the Stevie Award for Young FemaleWomen of the Year and the InternationalAlliance of Women’s 2014 World ofDifference Award.

“I always wanted to be an entrepreneur,”Khater said. “I come from a family of entre-preneurs, but I was always afraid because Iwas stuck in the things I felt I was expectedto do; the things that society told me to do.”

She’s a leader, an inspirational motivator, agoal-oriented woman who is deeply in touchwith her feelings and how they lead her life.This, however, was not always the case.

Half Egyptian and half Singaporean,Khater’s parents met in Saudi Arabia. Herfamily lived there until she was 10 years old,making the move to Egypt and then spend-ing time in Estonia, Holland, and Canada.

The eldest child, she was very shy, spendingmost of her time reading. Through herbooks, she saw a different way of thinking; adifferent way of doing things. It was alsothrough these books that she discoveredthe many adventures that she hoped toaccomplish one day. One of them was toclimb Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa,which she and a group of women just com-pleted in January of this year. “I love climb-ing mountains and taking women up ontrips with me,” Khater said. “I took fivebrave women and it’s amazing because amountain is a great representation of life. Ifyou know where you are going, it’s prettyclear where you need to work to go. Somedays are good and some days are bad, butthat’s all part of the learning experience.”

To add to her love of reading, Khater discov-ered art during high school. For six yearsshe painted, even selling several of herpieces. “That was really the first taste ofentrepreneurship for me,” she recalled.After painting, she would go on to start ajewelry business for high-end luxury stones.Khater would carry this entrepreneur spiritwith her through college where she earnedher first award, The Entrepreneurs Award,which also came with $5,000. “You canimagine for an 18 year-old that’s a lot ofmoney,” she exclaimed.

It was also during high school that shefound her philanthropic voice. “My motherused to drag my siblings and I to the cancersociety to volunteer. It was during one ofthose trips I started to feel a sense ofresponsibility to give back,” she said.

Tragically, her experience with the cancer

Continued on next page

society would soon hit much too close tohome.

When she was just 21 years old, her fatherwas diagnosed with cancer. It was duringthis time that Khater learned about heremotions and just how strong she could be.With her younger brothers in denial, it wasup to her to be the rock; to be there for bothher father and her mother.

“For my whole family it was a pivotal point.Taking responsibility really shifted my per-spective of what I could and could not do,”she said. “I became incredibly aware thatlife doesn’t last forever and I wanted tomake the best of it.”

When her father passed, Khater got a cor-porate job in a Fortune 500 company – feel-ing that this was something she was sup-posed to do. It wasn’t long before she feltthere was more for her, something beyondher daily job. “I found it difficult to findmeaning in my work,” Khater recalled.

She became obsessed with understandingfear and purpose. Khater took several yearsdiscovering herself and studying fear itself –whether it was an extensive nine-month-long research of fear, or the fear of startinga business or project and why people use itas an excuse. Last but not least, she stud-ied the fear of not being enough; smart

enough or good enough. “The fears we havecan paralyze us and stop us,” she said.

It was through this research that she beganan incredible part of her journey as anentrepreneur. “I started to coach individu-als, teams and organizations on how theycan channel and embrace fear. My researchhad allowed me to understand myself, howpeople react and don’t react. It’s not alwaysbeen easy, there have been good days andthere have been a lot of bad days, but thatis part of the experience. And that, I think,is the beauty of being an entrepreneur,” shesaid.

Nurturing this, she became involved in sev-eral initiatives, including experimenting withtwo businesses. This lead to the launch of asocial enterprise, Gone Cyclin’, raising$50,000 dollars for women in South EastAsia’s poorest country, East Timor. Next upwas “Transpiral,” a digital community dedi-cated to inspiring people from “wonderingto wondrous business and lives.” Through“Transpiral,” ambitious professionals andsmall business owners work towards achiev-ing their dream lifestyle and income, deliver-ing results through small group programs,digital books and high level one-on-onecoaching.

As with starting any business or personaljourney, Khater’s did not come without road-

blocks.

“The first roadblock is to cope with all thefears that you will face. Then it’s about get-ting super duper clear on what you want tocreate. That comes from truly masteringwhat Jim Collins, author of ‘Good to Great’called the ‘Sweet Spot,’” Khater said. “Everyone of my clients, be it in a corporate work-shop or through my digital programs, hasleft an impact because they were able toembrace their fear and play bigger. Somereaching to C-suite level in their organiza-tion while others quit to run their own busi-nesses.”

To embrace her own fear, Khater looked toher family and her upbringing, specifically toher grandfather – a man she never met butwhose words stayed with her family creatinga wonderful legacy, including this quote: “Ican leave you with money, it can be spent. Ican leave you with property, it can be lost. Ican leave you with education; it will alwaysbe your friend.”

For Khater, this had tremendous meaning.

Continued on page 11


Yasmine KHATER

http://www.womego.com


“If you are not learning, if you are not strug-gling, then you are not living. My mantra is‘Life is a work in progress.’ Perfection is forlosers, so why be a loser and lose out onopportunities? This is because I am so com-fortable with my fears that it empowers meinstead of paralyzes me,” she said. “I knewthat I wanted to enable to women embracetheir fears, to play bigger, just like I hadbecause I believe that's the only way we canchange the world to become a more peace-ful place.”

In order to start a business, a person has toinvest in learning more about themselvesand their fears. Khater felt very stronglyabout this and began to experiment withpsychological tools and techniques until shefound a system. The system, of course,begins with approaching fear. Called the 14Day Fear Challenge, the program leads theparticipant through a path of identifying,addressing and overcoming fear to allowthem to move toward their goals.

Overcoming fear is hard enough, but whencoupled with self-doubt, it can be toxic.More often than not, this happens withwomen, Khater explained. Khater passion-ately encourages women to embrace thefact that they are truly enough. “I think thebiggest misconception about women is thatyou need to be something that you are not.Women, and even men, all have their gifts,and they all have powers to play in thisworld. Therefore those powers should beused, not repressed, with fears of neverbeing enough. I think everyone has to fighta battle and the battle is between you andyou.”

In addition to helping others achieve theirgoals, Khater’s work on her own is neverending. In fact, she keeps a bucket list forherself and encourages others to do so,challenging themselves. She is so dedicat-ed to her own list that she crosses 10 to 15items off per year and adds new items asthey come along. Some of her bucket listaccomplishments include bungee jumping,singing from the Leaning Tower of Pisa, geta master’s degree and eat cheese inSwitzerland. Some that are yet to be done

include participating in a rickshaw race,speak Spanish, start an e-commerce busi-ness and see the tiny frog in Costa Rica.

When asked what her favorite bucket listitem was, she replied, “Definitely runningmy own business. My scariest? Ironically, itwas becoming me and really being alignedfor who I was meant to become.”

With Mt. Kilimanjaro crossed off her bucketlist, Khater said her next adventure wouldbe in the South Pacific. “I run my next moun-tain trip this September in Bali up a volcanicisland. I am taking eight women with methis time,” she said. Her interest in moun-tains comes from the idea that they discon-nect someone from external distraction,allowing them to connect with themselves,something she does for herself as a form ofself-love.

In addition to leaping volcanic islands in asingle bound, this year has Khater commit-ted to running more fear therapy camps andwriting her book entitled, “Wonder Woman’sGuide,” which consists of interviews with 50of Singapore’s most powerful women.

Yes, Khater is fierce. She confronts fear,accepts it and turns it around. To anyone lis-tening, her message is loud and clear: “Iwant everyone to dream big, embrace yourfears and change your world!” she said.

Yasmine KHATER


Kiernan reveals untold story of WWII heroinesBy Katelyn Gendron

Denise Kiernan didn’t grow up with aspirationsof becoming a writer. She penned short storiesand took to journaling but the prospect of sup-porting herself on a meager writer’s incomewas simply too risky; that is, until it was toomuch fun to quit.

Kiernan, now a New York Times, Los AngelesTimes, NPR and IndieBound bestsellingauthor, began her career as a journalist rathernonchalantly during the 1990s. She had noformal training, having focused her educationin the field of science.

“I was in New York [City] and I didn’t know whatI wanted to do so I thought, ‘I’m going to go tograduate school at New York University.’ I wasan environmental conservation major. I wasconsidering a Ph.D., when one day I was wan-dering on campus and I saw a sign that read,‘Write for the Daily.’ I thought, ‘I wonder whatthat would be like?’” she recalled. “I loved itand I was there writing constantly. AtChristmas break, I begged for an internship atthe Village Voice and it was my education injournalism under Wayne Barrett, one of thelegendary investigative journalists in New YorkCity.”

Kiernan called her unconventional training akind of baptism by fire, working fulltime hoursas an intern for no monetary compensation,only bylines. She worked in catering and tutor-ing to pay the bills.

“I loved it!” she said of her time at the VillageVoice, eventually pitching and networking herway into the inboxes of editors at The New YorkTimes, The Wall Street Journal, Reader’sDigest and Ms. magazines.

“If you try to go the freelance route, networking

is very, very important,” Kiernan advised. “It’sjust constant looking and asking, always tryingto get to the front of the book at places. Part ofit is that you have to be pitching [editors] con-stantly. I was very sleepy during my 20s and30s.”

Kiernan noted that she has taken somesalaried jobs over the years, including time atScholastic, as head writer on television’s “WhoWants to Be a Millionaire” and as a producerfor ESPN and MSNBC but those positionsnever gave her that sense of personal and pro-fessional fulfillment. Instead, she said, sheturned to writing books.

“Once books started to be a bigger part of mylife than articles, my goals became to tell larg-er stories that reach a larger audience. I’vebeen very fortunate that with this last book,‘The Girls of Atomic City,’ that has happened,”she said. Her prior works include several titlesshe’s penned with her husband, JosephD’Agnese, such as “The Indiana JonesHandbook,” “The Money Book for Freelancers,Part-Timers, and the Self-Employed,” and“Stuff Every American Should Know.”

While she enjoys writing with her husband,Kiernan said “The Girls of Atomic City,” allowedher to craft a work that’s truly her own.

“I was working on a different project when Icame across this one,” she recalled. “I found aphoto of young cubicle operators [during WorldWar II]. I thought it was just a beautiful picturebut I thought the women looked rather young;they were high school graduates. I thought,‘I’m an idiot. I bet everybody knows this.’ As ajournalist, you’re always questioning, ‘is this astory?’”

What Kiernan came to discover was that theseyoung cubicle operators were in fact a part ofthe country’s war effort in Oak Ridge, Tenn.,which was founded in 1942 as a productionlocation for the Manhattan Project.

“I knew about the Manhattan Project but assoon as it became clear to me that this wasn’tcommon knowledge [I began to pursue it],”she recalled. “We’ve been telling this storyfrom the people on top. We’ve had this back-ground about the race for the bomb but the lifeof this town just kept growing and growing butthey didn’t know what their responsibility was.

“I personally like stories with a strong sense ofplace – that you could go through the gates of

Oak Ridge. It’s a very contained moment intime, 1943-1945,” Kiernan added.

Her enthusiasm for the people of Oak Ridge,not only spawned “The Girls of Atomic City”book but also a documentary based on its con-tents. The documentary, Kiernan said, is cur-rently in the works.

When asked what she’ll write next, Kiernanreplied with a laugh, “I want to keep on plow-ing through my idea file.”

She added, “For writers, people who enjoytelling stories, one of the questions [you haveto ask yourself is], ‘Do you want to write a par-ticular story or two or do you want to have awriting life? Do you want to live your life as awriter or are you happy with these couple ofstories you want to get out in the world?’ Ifthat’s the case, I’d say work on them at nightand have a [day] job.

“When you’re working as a journalist you don’twant to write advertising copy. I know peoplewho wait tables, bartend and teach college tosupport their writing. You have to decide whichpath you want to take,” she continued. “Whenyou’re sitting there writing those things youdon’t want to write, you’ve chosen to do this. Icould get a job but this is what I’ve decided todo. That’s an important distinction to make.”

http://www.theceomamma.com/blog

http://www.lionessmagazine.com

http://www.facebook.com/lionessmagazine

http://www.twitter.com/#!/thelionessgroup

http://www.thebrunofoxgroup.com


Job growth increases for women over menAccording to an Institute for Women’s PolicyResearch (IWPR) analysis of the Marchemployment report from the U.S. Bureau ofLabor Statistics (BLS), women gained99,000 jobs in February, while men gained76,000 for a net increase of 175,000 jobsin February. As of February, men haveregained 82 percent (4.9 million) of the jobsthey lost during the recession, whereaswomen hold 17 percent more jobs on pay-rolls (68 million) than at their previousemployment peak in March 2008 (67.6 mil-lion), more than recovering all the jobs theylost in the downturn.

In February, women’s employment growthwas strongest in Professional and BusinessServices (55,000 jobs gained by women),Education and Health Services (24,000jobs), and Leisure and Hospitality (14,000jobs). However, women also lost 16,000

jobs in Trade, Transportation, and Utilities,including 10,000 jobs in Retail Trade alone.In the last year, job gains were particularlystrong in sectors where women workers areconcentrated, including Professional andBusiness Services, Education and HealthServices, Retail Trade, and Leisure andHospitality.

“The economy continues to grow largely dueto strong job growth for both men andwomen in female-dominated sectors,” IWPRPresident Heidi Hartmann, Ph.D., said. “Butjob growth is still too slow to accommodatemillions of unemployed workers and youngadults entering the workforce, and as aresult, family incomes continue to sufferlong-term effects.”

As of February, 10.5 million workers remainunemployed and, of these, 3.8 million (37

percent) are workers, usually referred to asthe long-term unemployed, who have beenunemployed for 27 weeks or longer. During2013, a larger share of black (43 percent ofblack women and 44 percent of black men)and Asian American (45 percent of AsianAmerican women and 40 percent of AsianAmerican men) were long-term unemployedworkers, compared with both white (35 per-cent of women and 36 percent of men) andHispanic (34 percent of women and 35 per-cent of men) unemployed workers.

The Institute for Women’s Policy Research(IWPR) is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organiza-tion that conducts rigorous research anddisseminates its findings to address theneeds of women and their families, pro-mote public dialogue, and strengthen com-munities and societies.


The Lipstick Chronicles

Kristina Chapell is a single gal in her 30s making her way in the world. Passionate,savvy, and stylish; Kristina is a social relationship builder. You can often find her onFacebook and Twitter keeping up with the latest news and always supporting causes sheis passionate about such as the Alzheimer’s Association, Link to Libraries, and TheBusiness Channel.

By Kristina Chapell

Finding time for love is near and dear to myheart right now. And yes, you know what I amtalking about. We are busy and we like it thatway but how do we have time to date? Youhave work, board meetings and social activi-ties with the girls but you want to find love andwant to have time for it. What can we do tohave it all? Juggle and schedule.

I am currently negotiating a new work contract,which will have me insanely busy (and honest-ly, I cannot wait), in addition to sitting on twovery active, hands-on nonprofit boards. I tryand spend time with my girlfriends, hit thegym, and find a few quiet minutes. So with allof this, when do I have time to date?

Just recently I was starting to date someoneand he asked, “Will you really have time forme?” Of course I said yes but it left me won-dering, “How can I make it all work?” And asthings with that guy didn’t work out I am find-ing myself writing this article and saying to anew guy on OkCupid, “I make time for theimportant things and people in my life”; whichis true but it is no easy task.

How can you or I really do that? Well here’swhat I found out after research and asking myclose girlfriends: schedule it! Figure out howmuch time you have a week to devote to onlinedating or whatever you choose to do to meetmen (or your perspective mate, whatever sexthat is) and do it. What we don’t do is createtime to find someone and we need to becauseit won’t just magically happen.

If you want dating to be a priority in life, youneed make it one. Think of what you do when

you look for a job or are networking – it’s yournumber one priority. Dating should be thesame way.

Once we create time to find someone we needto plan and schedule; this time, we need toschedule dates. Just as we schedule our meet-ings, appointments, gym time, etc., we need toschedule date time. Make every Friday orSaturday date night. And honestly, seeing eachother every night or talking 24/7 gets monoto-nous, and you run out of things to talk about,so scheduling one night a week, or two, is agreat way to start.

Good dates to plan that don’t take up toomuch time, while you are getting to knowsomeone, are happy hours, lunches or coffeedates. A first date doesn’t have to be all glam-orous with flowers and horse-drawn carriages.It can be two people getting coffee, lunch or adrink; and sometimes short and sweet is thebest way because if you don’t like him, youaren’t there for long.

Another way is using your “drive time.” Myfriend, Heather, uses her drive time to connectwith her boyfriend. They have opposite sched-ules and she drives an hour to work and back,so she catches up with her boyfriend on thephone every day. And then they do date nightevery Saturday. And for over a year this hasbeen working for them.

It may sound harsh to hear “schedule it” but inour busy world that is what we need to do. Andwe need to not waste our time on the wrongguys – married, separated, not getting back toyou, etc. We waste so much of our time onthese guys because there is something aboutthe “bad boy” we so love but it doesn’t help us

in any way. So, stop it (and that goes for metoo)!

If you meet a guy online, meet him within twoweeks and if you aren’t feeling it, move on. Youwouldn’t put that much effort into a work dealthat has no real Return on Investment wouldyou? So why do we do it in dating?

Ladies, I can’t and won’t sugarcoat this, datingisn’t easy but if you want 2014 to be your year,make time for it. Schedule it and tell yourfriends to hold you accountable. Nike says it allthe time and we have to listen: “Just do it!”

Until next time, make a plan, schedule it, besafe and have fun!

~ xoxox KC

Squeezing in romance into an already busy schedule

Stop judging yourself for not having all the answers

By Angela Lussier

As I was preparing for winter hibernationmode a few months ago, I spent a gloomySaturday afternoon sucked into a Netflix vor-tex. I needed the downtime and was search-ing for some inspiration by way of documen-tary-style storytelling. I came across the doc-umentary “Eames” – a film described as astory about a husband (Charles, the archi-tect) and wife (Ray, the painter) and theirprocess of building a creative businesstogether. I decided to check it out and quick-ly realized these two were the innovativeartists who designed the Herman Millerchair in the 1960s that is still famous today.Learning about Charles’ artistic process heused to build his art and solve problemsimmediately created a small revolution in myhead. It got me wondering about how I solveproblems. Why do I fixate on some, whileothers seem so simple to solve?

Charles’ process started out as simple aspossible. He approached each problem withinfant eyes – like he was seeing it for the firsttime – and had no assumptions or beliefsabout what was right or wrong with it. Hemade himself curious, open, and did notjudge himself for the questions he askedduring his process.

One of the film’s contributors said Charles’work philosophy went like this: “Life is workis art is work is life.” He felt everything could

be created, destroyed and recreated.Everything was fluid, and there were noabsolutes. This approach resonated with menot only as I think about my business, whichis my art, but also how I approach anythingin my life. As I have started to look at my lifeas a work of art, I am finding that I am muchless judgmental, much more free form, and Iam finding that each day goes by with moreease.

One area of my life that has been mostaffected by this new way of thinking is how Ideal with my finances and the stress I putmyself under to have everything figured outtoday. I have said I prefer financial informa-tion to be broken down into bite-sized bitsthat remind me of counting Lego bricks as amethod of learning addition. I have alwaysfelt bad about this and wondered if I ammissing the part of my brain that allows meto understand a profit and loss spreadsheetlike a whiz or understand dividends like it’s ano-brainer. The financial side of the businesshas always been an area of embarrassmentfor me and I’ve felt ashamed for not havingthat piece “more together.”

However, since watching the “Eames” docu-mentary, the mindset of approaching every-thing through the lens of a child withoutjudgment has helped me feel more comfort-able with numbers, talking about money,and feeling comfortable asking questionswhen I am confused about taxes, business

expenses, and invoicing. Instead of feelingintense shame for not knowing how to beperfect at everything, I am allowing my curi-ous side to lead me and allow the process tohappen by not mentally whipping myselfevery time I have a question.

I belong to a women business owners mas-termind group and the topic of money,billing, negotiation, and how to managefinances comes up a lot. We share some ofthe same perplexing thoughts in this areaand I’ve decided that since I don’t have allthe answers, the best I can do is help myfriends ask themselves and others the rightquestions and feel good about asking them.The process of building a strong business ishard, but it can be made easier by acceptingwhen you don’t know something and beingcurious enough to find the answers.

In just a few short months of employing thismethod of running my business, I’ve hadmany shifts not only occur in the focus of mywork, but within myself and the way I feelabout my personal growth. I am findingmyself more impressed with my progressrather than focused on what I do not yetknow. Although I don’t yet know everythingabout the financial side of my business, I amconfident that in time it will come. Theprocess is the fun part, not the hard part.Take it from Charles and Ray Eames”Curiosity builds a lot more than self-judg-ment, no matter what you are working on.

Making Cents

Angela Lussier is the chief strategy officer and partner at the BrunoFox Group inWest Springfield, Mass. She is an award-winning speaker, author, and business owner.Visit her website at www.theBrunoFoxGroup.com.


http://www.speaksuite2014.eventbrite.com


Margot B. brings back the bluesBy Tara McCollum

At this point in the year many of us are in thethroes of our New Year’s resolutions. Whetherthat means we are in the process of abandon-ing them altogether, revising them or simplylooking ahead at the fresh start in front of us,we are still hanging on to the small excite-ments and possibilities of a brand new yearand perhaps no one more than MargotBingham understands those feelings at thisvery moment. Having wrapped up a whirlwindof a year in 2013 as the breakout star inHBO’s “Boardwalk Empire” as DaughterMaitland, Bingham, 25, finds herself entering2014 with opportunities that just a year agowere unimaginable to her.

A Philadelphia native entertaining and creat-ing for as far back as she could remember,Bingham has been on a steady incline withcommercial appearances, touring with thelikes of Jason Mraz, starring in the web hit-series “In Between Men” and the off-Broadway revival of the Tony Award winningRENT in New York City. In the middle of all ofthat she also managed to put out threealbums as Margot B., her latest titled “Live atthe Hazlett” featuring her newest single,“Complete,” a contemporary jazzy tune that is

sure to please. And please she does, with asoulful voice that is a throw back to the jazzgreats of generations before, yet completelyher own and individual.

It was her voice and style that cemented herrole in the fourth season of “BoardwalkEmpire” as the 1920’s jazz singing chanteusethat many critics said brought a new breath oflife into the series.

“A lot of it was not supposed to happen,”Bingham said of her role as DaughterMaitland. “It was a quick turn and I didn’thave time to think about it until we wrapped inOctober and it sunk in.”

Having originally meant to only appear in acouple episodes, Bingham’s character bal-looned into a major subplot of the series, win-ning over critics and fans alike not only withher incredible singing, but acting as well.Bingham’s role on “Boardwalk” put her in theforefront of a nationwide audience, whereeven Mariah Carey had talked about wantingher role.

“I actually heard about it on Twitter,” Binghamsaid. “It was really funny. That made my wholeholiday. She is so incredible; it was such a

compliment just knowing she was watching.I’d probably lose my mind knowing who elsewatched.”

A singer-song writer in her own right,Bingham’s entrance on a national level as aslinky jazz singer couldn’t have been a moreperfect introduction of her talents. Havinggrown up listening to all styles of music,Bingham found herself in jazz music, particu-larly the styles of the 1940s.

“It thrilled me, captivated me like no othermusic had,” Bingham recalled. “It was easythe way it was to get up on stage and the wayI felt and lost myself.”

Losing herself in the talents of MatthewSullivan, Peggy Lee, Julie London and more,Bingham knew where she needed to be andwas never, as she described, a “typical” the-ater kid. She was always working on her ownmusic, leaving school for a time to tour withher own music and build a following.“I was torn between two worlds and ended uppicking my own world,” she said.



Managing Me

Brenda’s Child has made it her life’s mission to inspire people through poetryand stories and through leading by example with courage, confidence, andintegrity. She emphasizes self-love, worth, and value. She also feels obligated totell the truth ... even if it hurts. Visit www.brendaschild.com

By Brenda’s Child

You’ve just gotten home after a long workweek. You’ve kicked offyour shoes, ordered take out, and poured a class of wine. Suddenly,your phone sends you an alert that you have an event you need tobe at in an hour. Do you go?

How often we feel obligated to attend an event because we checked“going” on Facebook or promised we’d support? The guilt of notshowing up is a killer, at least it used to be for myself. Recently I’vedevised a checklist, or a system for deciding if I am going to get upoff the couch. Here are some things for you to consider:

• Is the event related to cause I am passionate about? If it is, willthere be other opportunities for me to support the cause otherthan tonight?

• How much will it cost me for a babysitter, gas? • Will attending this event be advantageous for my career or othergoals by providing new networking opportunities?

• Does this event involve a new experience? Will it involve going toa place I’ve never been, an activity I’ve never tried, or even expo-sure to new food?

• Do I have something else to do tomorrow that may be more para-mount, time consuming or require more energy?

• Will the hosts be understanding of me canceling because I am afaithful attendee of their other events?

After taking some or all of these matters into consideration, I makea decision and stick with it, knowing tomorrow is another day, andanother opportunity.

***One of the biggest time and energy zappers are those so-calledfriends who don’t put in the same effort as you. Just as an intimaterelationships require work from both partners, so do friendships.

With all that we already give of ourselves unselfishly, this is onearea where a return on investment is a must. Otherwise, we canwind up feeling completely drained. While it can be difficult to dis-tance ourselves from people because of habit, or because we’veknown them for 20 years, it becomes necessary when we exertmore effort than our said friend on a continual basis. Most of ushave lived enough to know how to stay away from beggars,moochers, big mouths, and, let’s call them, overly flirtatious andmoral-less. However, you should also raise an eyebrow and questiona friendship if:

• You are always the one who is calling to check up, and if youdidn’t call you’d never speak.

• When your friend calls she/he is always talking about them-selves, forcing you to be the listening ear and never asking aboutyou.

• Your friend can’t be genuinely happy for you and your successeseven if their life isn’t exactly how they want it; a friend shouldn’tdownplay your accomplishments.

• They rarely show up for your important life events and celebra-tions. People have lives and children, and careers but they shouldalso have planners and it’s inexcusable to miss four out of fivemonumental moments.

• You can’t tell them the truth about several things. Tact is impor-tant in friendships but when your opinion is asked you should beable to sincerely dish it without fear of your friend taking offense.

Finding yourself in any of these situations doesn’t necessarily meanit’s time to end a friendship; it just means it’s time to have a con-versation about the future of the friendship. If she/he is an authen-tic friend, they will take the feedback in stride and do what’s neces-sary to resolve the issue. If they are unwilling, then for the sake ofyour spirit, you may have to love that person from afar. And if youare that friend, hopefully after reading this you will evaluate yourbehavior as well.

To go, or not to go … that is the question


AC – A woman of many skills, who exactly is,Sa’Rah Davis?

SD – Sa’Rah Davis is a well-rounded woman amother to a beautiful daughter first, a creatorof hair second and last but not least a womanwanting to be the next Oprah Winfrey [laughs].Meaning a mogul in my own right. I refuse tobe anything less than successful.

AC – When did you know that transformingwomen, men, and children through the art ofcosmetology was for you?SD – I knew transforming through the art of

cosmetology was for me when I enjoyed see-ing how much the women my aunt trans-formed in her kitchen made me feel as if I wasdoing your hair myself. The smile on theirfaces meant everything to me and I wasn’teven the one doing their hair.

AC – In the best content, you’re a bit of a peo-ple pleaser due to the work you do, does thatspill over into your entire being? Are you ableto turn that on and off?

SD – Turn it off? [Laughs]. Yeah, I wishbecause I know some people are ungratefuland don’t deserve it. I should be able to butyou see, [that’s not] the way my god is setup.He won’t allow me to turn anything off, Heknows my heart and he knows how happy Iam when I see others happy#TurnOffForWhat!

AC – How do you balance being a mother, aworking woman, and getting that required“me time?” What is your support system like?

SD – To be honest I have a great support sys-tem [of] family, friends, as well as my other

half. As far as the, “me time,” that’s alwayshard because it always has to be planned wayin advance in order for me to enjoy it. At theend of the day, coming home and seeing mybaby C’Arah is always worth the grind.

AC – Where do you find your inspiration fromto stay creative in this competitive beautyindustry?

SD – One thing I never do is compete! Why?Well due to me being my own worst critic, asmuch as my mind races every day, it is veryhard to watch shows and things of thatnature. So between the magazines I read, mymentors, I watch everyday people, and myeveryday thought, my inspiration comes quitefrequently.

AC –Who have you worked with that our read-ers may know? Who would you like to work it?

SD – I’ve been lucky to work with a couple ofbeautiful ladies within the industry but theone that truly sticks out is my most recentteam-up with VH1 & MTV’s personality, Ms.Tionna Smalls. She is very humble and downto earth. Now the two that I am keeping myeyes on and have been set on for many yearsis Mary Mary! I would love to have Tina andErica #GetTressed! [Laughs].

AC – If you did not become a hairstylist, didyou have an alternative career option ordream?

SD – Now, Aliyah [laughs]! As I said before,

Stiletto Statement

Davis wields successful ‘stylings’By Aliyah Cherrisse

Sharp with her scissors and a passion for perfection with her styling, this 17-year veteran hair stylist has pridedherself on the happiness of her clients. Deriving from Irvington, N.J., Sa’Rah Davis has been blessed with theopportunity to style the tresses of an array of women, children, and men where it was satisfaction every time!Moving to combining hairstyling with fashion, Davis has created a platform for designers, hairstylist, and modelsto come together and showcase their love for beauty during her production of the “Speak Suit Fashion Affair!”

Read along, as I get in the know with this beautiful spirit known as Kay Sa’Rah!

“One thingI never do is

compete!”



Margot B.

Bingham, performing often, created a buzz onher own and let the music of her voice and thebands that performed with her speak forthemselves. And it carried.

Upon landing the role in “Boardwalk”Bingham prepared by studying the differ-ences in the earlier styles of jazz in the 1920sand the ones she was more acquainted with.

“It was interesting to hear the tonalities andstylizing between the two,” Bingham said.“The beauty of the 20s records was that theysold purely on emotion. The stylizing was intheir feeling.”

Picking up on the rawness of the time andsound, Bingham learned how to, in a sense,throw away technique and simply sing. Sheworked on her posture and studied the lyrics.

“I had to learn the words and the truth of thesong,” Bingham explained. “Those womenwere stunning and had their own styles, butwere still limited on their vocal performances.It was so heart felt. These women were pour-ing their hearts out.”

Bingham nailed it. Both viewers and critics feltit, pure emotion and truth, taking the charac-ter of Daughter Maitland off the stage of a TVshow and into their hearts.

“I see pieces of her in me,” Bingham said.“She’s really, really strong and I like to takethat home with me. I try to be a fighter like sheis. She’s a beautiful lost soul and they reallywrote her unbelievably.”

And now one can see pieces of her in theevolving music scene. With sales of the“Boardwalk Empire” soundtrack (on whichBingham is featured along with the likes ofLiza Minnelli and Patti Smith) on the risematched with records of similar sounds andstyles.

“It’s an interesting time in music,” Binghamnoted. “A new generation is connecting to thisstyle of music, no one was really expecting it,but there’s a whole underground with a mas-sive following. There’s an urge for somethingnew and fresh, even if it’s old.”

It seems that urge is only going to grow, butthere are venues that are already answeringto the call. In February the Apollo Theater inHarlem, N.Y., turned back the clock andopened its doors to the club that it was whenit first opened in the 30s. Transforming itsorchestra level back into the jazz lounge itonce was, with tables and drink service, theApollo featured Bingham and others for threenights of truly old school entertainment.

“[I knew it was] going to be a blast,” Binghamsaid. “The first time I ever went to the Apollo Iwas auditioning for ‘Dreamgirls’ and it waslike below zero outside and I was justawestruck that I got to audition and now I’mperforming there.”

Someone pinch her because the girl is livingher own dream now. There is no telling whatwill come from here, but one would assume itwould be safe to say that Bingham’s star isjust on the start of its fiery rise. Not yet sure ifshe will be reprising her role in “Boardwalk’s”fifth and final season in the fall, Bingham isnothing short of optimistic for 2014.

“I didn’t even think I’d be here this long, so I’mblessed,” Bingham said. “I think it’s alwayseasy to look at other people’s trajectories andcompare where you are and constantly tearyourself up about it, but where I am is where Iam. Whatever happens, happens. I’m notgoing to push anymore, things will come. I justwant 2014 to be a creative year and a judg-ment free zone, whatever that brings me, I’mopen to it.”

Currently working on getting back to the stu-dio and writing new materials, Bingham is wellon her way of being creative. No doubt we willall be hearing and seeing a lot of her in 2014and beyond.

Tara McCollum, a New York native, currently resides in Houston, Texas, where she haslearned to trade in cosmopolitans for margaritas, contemporary décor for bedazzledembellishments, and white winters for palm trees, but has held stead fast to her greatlove for the Yankees. With a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from State University ofNew York at Purchase, she manages an office for an electrical company by day and is aloving mother to three beautiful furry animals by night. Never giving up on her dreamsof one day becoming a novelist, she has slowly been documenting the crazy and unex-pected soap opera-like turns of her life in the hopes of one day entertaining the masseswith her unbelievable tales. Stay tuned.


On March 8, thousands of established womenleaders from around the world met withemerging women leaders to participate in theseventh annual Vital Voices Global MentoringWalk, part of a global movement to inspire arising generation through mentorship.

Held on International Women’s Day, and spon-sored globally by Bank of America, the walkbrought together women in more than 30countries, including, for the first time, threemajor U.S. cities: San Francisco, Calif., Seattle,Wash., and Washington, D.C. The women dis-cussed their professional challenges and suc-cesses to establish mentoring relationships, inwhich the established leader guides, advisesand supports an emerging leader as shedevelops and grows her career. This year, par-ticipants in Washington D.C., were joined byactress Sally Field and mentoring walkfounder, Geraldine Laybourne in SanFrancisco.

Mentoring has been proven to be one of themost important steps to establishing a suc-cessful career, and the Vital Voices GlobalMentoring Walk enables aspiring women pro-fessionals to gain the support and guidancethat they need to fulfill their goals. It’s a partic-ularly effective support system to help over-come the obstacles to career growth thatwomen commonly face in corporate and pro-fessional environments, including the “glassceiling” effect and more limited networkingoptions. Equipped with a mentor’s advice andsupport, female professionals are better ableto navigate professional challenges. As such,mentoring provides a unique opportunity forrising women professionals to accelerate theircareer advancement – and for establishedwomen leaders to share their successes tohelp future generations of women leadersgrow and develop. In fact, research fromCatalyst reveals that 65 percent of womenwho have had a mentor will go on to becomementors themselves, thus paying forward theinvestment made in them.

“Mentoring for skills building and leadershipgrowth is an integral part of our company cul-ture, particularly for women as they look toadvance their careers,” Anne Finucane, GlobalStrategy and Marketing Officer, Bank ofAmerica, said. “We’ve doubled-down on thiscommitment to professional development by

using our capabilities and reach to help part-ners like Vital Voices connect women to thehuman, financial and social capital needed forsuccess.”

Bank of America and Vital Voices coordinatedand organized mentoring walks in three U.S.cities for the first time since the movementbegan in 2008, as well as leveraged its globalnetwork of women leaders to host walks inmore than 40 international locations.Coordinated locally by key members of theVital Voices global network, each mentoringwalk is designed to meet the unique needs ofwomen in their communities and featureopening and closing remarks from Bank ofAmerica and Vital Voices executives and othernotable thought leaders. Each walk is tailoredto fit the particular needs of each locale butbuilds on the success of mentoring walks host-ed the past six years across Eurasia, LatinAmerica, North Africa, the Middle East, andSub-Saharan Africa.

Launched in 2008, the annual Vital VoicesGlobal Mentoring Walk has reached thou-sands of women in more than 59 internation-al locations. The concept for this signature ini-tiative was derived from American media icon,founder and former CEO of Oxygen Media,Geraldine Laybourne, whose busy scheduleprevented her from meeting with the dozens ofyoung women who were eager to learn fromher and receive her advice. Instead of rejectingthese meeting requests, she offered the youngwomen the opportunity to join her on hermorning walk each day in New York City, whichquickly became a regular occurrence. Thisinspired her to launch the Mentoring Walks asa means for emerging women leaders to meetwith top women leaders across sectors.

“International Women’s Day is the ideal oppor-tunity to demonstrate the power of women’sleadership and unite women in support ofother women,” Alyse Nelson, president andCEO of Vital Voices, said. “Thanks to generoussupport from Bank of America and the dedi-cated efforts of thousands of women through-out the Vital Voices' global network, this year'sGlobal Mentoring Walk will provide even moreaspiring women professionals with the guid-ance they need to fulfill their goals and posi-tively affect their communities.”

The 2014 walks take place in Argentina, Brazil,Cambodia, Cameroon, Costa Rica, Ecuador,Ghana, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Kenya,Lebanon, Liberia, Malaysia, Mexico, Namibia,Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Poland, Serbia, SouthAfrica, St. Lucia, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo,Uganda, and Zimbabwe.

“The Mentoring Walk makes an impact in somany powerful ways,” said Hema Vallabh, aVital Voices network member who is organiz-ing a mentoring walk in Johannesburg, SouthAfrica. “It provides the platform for powerful,successful women to give back. I was over-whelmed at the positive response I had fromsenior women who have wanted to give backbut did not know how. We’re creating a net-work for both the mentors and mentees togrow and engage in.”

An additional sponsor for the global walks isthe UK Government’s Department forInternational Development through VitalVoices’ Lead Fellowship Program. And in theUnited States, local sponsors of the walkinclude ANN INC., Nintendo, TataCommunications (America) Inc., TataConsultancy Services Limited, and MetLife.These critical partners provide not only sup-port, but help extend the spirit of mentoring totheir own networks.

This is the first year that Bank of America issponsoring the Vital Voices Global MentoringWalk, building on its longstanding partnershipwith Vital Voices. The partnership began inMarch 2012 with the launch of the GlobalAmbassadors Program, an initiative that sup-ports women business leaders around theworld through intensive one-on-one mentor-ship and communications, advocacy, andbusiness training. To date, mentoring forumsfor the Global Ambassadors Program havetaken place in Haiti, India, South Africa,Singapore, Brazil, Mexico, and Qatar.

For more information on the Vital VoicesGlobal Mentoring Walk, visitwww.vitalvoices.org/node/627

For more information on the GlobalAmbassadors Program, visit: http://globalam-bassadors.vitalvoices.org/

Female voices vital to global mentoring

LIONESS MARCH 2014 25LIONESS JANUARY 2014 25

Stiletto Statement

[that’s not] the way my god is set up. God hasput this in my heart since I was very young. Ibreathe this hair thing, I’ve tried to do otherthings when my money was tight and it neverworks out well. Once I put all my focus into mycareer and something I love, my dream start-ed to become my reality!

AC – Glamour, fashion and hair all fall underthe same umbrella especially since there isnot one without the other. “Speak SuiteFashion Affair” in New Jersey is a night toshowcase it all. How did you come up with theidea to put on this production?

SD – Exactly! As an artist there are manyforms of artistry in my field; hair, makeup, andfashion. So what better way to showcase itthan on a live canvas, which is our modelswho are also artist[s]! So with that in mind,coming up with, “Speak Suite Fashion Affair,”which for me means speaking to the audiencethrough different forms of artistry. Gotta loveit!

AC –Where do you see your production of the“Speak Suite Fashion Affair” in say, fiveyears? Is there anyone you would like to workwith on the show?

SD – One thing I am is a giver and with thisproduction I’ve decided to use it as an outletto give to others in need. So in five years, Ihope that I can work with people who cantake us on the road in hopes it give back notjust locally. With “Speak Suite Fashion Affair,”having such as an array of talents, I feel any-thing is possible.

AC – Where can we expect to see MissSa’Rah Davis in the next five years?

SD – Well this year I’ve started two business-es. One is, “Suite Styles Luxury Full ServiceSalon,” which I plan to turn into a franchise. In

five years, I see three more salons and pray-ing they are not all locally, meaning the NewJersey arena only. I also started a nonprofitcall “Suite Dreams Incorporated,” which helpsgive back to other organizations in need. Infive years I plan to take my organization on theroad and help others outside of New Jersey.

AC – I must know and my Dream Chasers outthere need to know, what made Sa’Rah a,“Dream Catcher In Heels?”

SD – [Laughs] Due to me being a tomboy forso long, heels were not my thing! [Laughs]. Ittook me a very long time to get use to them. Imust say, with this dream of mine that I’ve

been chasing since day one, one thing Inoticed was that once I got use to wearing theheels, my dreams have been easier to reach!

AC – I love it!

WRITER’S NOTE: “Don’t ever be afraid to helpyourself, love yourself and build your confi-dence level up. We are our own worse critics,so take the time out, figure out what you don’tlike, and then take the steps to fix it. Chaseyour dreams until you awake them. Secondguessing yourself is not an option. Don’t beafraid, for God gave us the spirit of love, usethat love on yourself first!”

Aliyah Cherrisse, born and raised in Atlantic City, N.J., has grown to be a very edu-cated, vibrant, and driven intellectual. As a graduate of Morgan State University, witha Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Business Marketing, Aliyah has put her studies touse in branding herself as the “Multimedia Personality” she is to-date. Currently pur-suing her love of entertainment, Aliyah is known for her titles of “Fashion ShowProduction Assistant, Radio/TV Personality, Curvy/Full-Figured Model, Red CarpetCorrespondent, Host, and Blogger,” but let's not forget to mention: this is all whilebeing a single mother! With no intentions on slowing down, Aliyah anticipates whatGod has awaiting ahead for her!

By Donya Zimmerman

When I passed the Bar (to become alicensed attorney) in 2000, I had no cluewhat I would do next or where I would work.I had been sending my resume to variouslaw firms for employment as an attorney,but to no success.

So, I attended a workshop entitled “BeforeYou Hang-Out Your Shingle,” which teachesyou how to start your law firm before takingcases. The only thing about the workshopis that it did not properly prepare you forthe “business” of running a law firm. Theworkshop did teach you how to be a lawyer,but only advised you to get professional lia-bility insurance to protect yourself againstdisgruntled clients who may decide to sueyou. I had my own law practice for approxi-mately 10 years, but had to let it gobecause I was unhappy as a litigating attor-ney and did not have the support I neededto run my law practice effectively. Whenclosed practice in June 2012 had to decidewhat to do next in my career.

After much research I chose business con-sulting and mediation/conflict resolution. Istarted to do research on what type oftraining I needed to become a businessconsultant and mediator. I took trainingthrough Community Mediation of PrinceGeorge’s County, Md., to become a certi-fied mediator. I took my training to becomea certified business consultant throughWomen Entrepreneurs of Baltimore, Inc.,Small Business and TechnologyDevelopment Center, and took SmallBusiness Administration.

My second turn around as an entrepreneuris more exciting and more enjoyablebecause I am better prepared because: 1.[I] completed a business plan; 2. Created agood networking system of fellow entrepre-neurs; 3. Continue to take training on howto properly run a business; and 4. I amenjoying what I am doing as an entrepre-neur.

Donya Zimmerman is a business consult-ant, mediator, and legal professional withmore than 10 years of experience. She isowner of Family & Community Mediationand Business Consulting in Baltimore, Md.,and has been in business since 2013.Contact information:[email protected], www.face-book.com/FACMBC, and http://dzimmer-man36.wordpress.com.

My journey as an entrepreneur

http://www.brighterthanbefore.com

http://www.chikmedia.us

Lioness - March 2014

Documents

Transcript of Lioness - March 2014