Shows
CEO ChroniclesWhen chasing your dream becomes a nightmareWelcome in, everyone! It’s your hosts Michele and Karamel here to talk all about what it means to chase your dream and what it means when that dream can become a nightmare. While we do acknowledge that there are lists out there that help you determine how you know that your dream is becoming a nightmare, we point out several different ways to tell, starting with assessing whether or not your personal life and/or business is/are suffering. Your dream can also, of course, become a nightmare when you’re not making enough to cover your...2024-04-0127 minCEO ChroniclesIs It Still the New Year...Let's Catch Up!We are back for a new season, everyone, and we are starting off by catching up on our entrepreneurial journeys, sharing insights, challenges, and triumphs. As brick-and-mortar and e-commerce business owners, we've navigated the ever-changing landscape of entrepreneurship for years, adapting to market shifts and personal growth along the way. From managing brick-and-mortar insurance agencies to e-commerce ventures and luxury travel experiences, our diverse businesses keep us on our toes, and we discuss the daily grind of entrepreneurship, the constant pursuit of growth, and the importance of strategic planning. We also delve into topics like the intricacies...2024-03-2528 minCEO ChroniclesDo You Make the Cake? Working On or In Your BusinessWe hope that you will join us today as we discuss the challenges and triumphs of small business ownership! As the year comes to a close, we reflect on our experiences, sharing insights on working in vs. working on the business. Michele discusses her shift from working IN the business rather than ON the business due to rising costs and the need to cut expenses. With a strategic approach, she streamlined operations, making tough decisions like letting go of certain expenses, including a beloved billboard. Embracing an abundance mindset rather than a scarcity mindset, she emphasizes the importance of...2023-11-0630 minCEO ChroniclesDefining Employee RolesIn this thought-provoking episode of the show, we hope that you'll join us as we discuss the intricate process of defining employee roles within our businesses! As we gear up for the upcoming year, we find ourselves at a crossroads, facing challenges in hiring the right candidates and clearly outlining their responsibilities, so we explore the delicate balance between employee expectations and employer needs, discussing the importance of effective communication and setting realistic goals. Through candid anecdotes and valuable insights, we share our personal experiences of managing teams, emphasizing the significance of clarity and flexibility in defining...2023-10-2330 minCEO ChroniclesSeason 2, Episode 28In this episode of CEO Chronicles, we take a deep dive into the blurred lines between a hustle and a business. We grapple with the challenges of expanding our income streams, sharing personal experiences and candid insights. The conversation revolves around the critical decision-making process, exploring when a venture evolves from a mere hustle to a fully-fledged business. Discussing the importance of strategic investments, we emphasize the need for experts' guidance and how hiring specialists can elevate a side hustle into a thriving enterprise. We reflect on our own approaches, Karamel's risk-taking attitude and Michele's cautious, calculated...2023-10-1629 minCEO ChroniclesBottom Line Up Front - BLUFWelcome back to another exciting episode of CEO Chronicles in which we dive deep into the essence of effective communication and time management, both incredibly important when it comes to being CEOs! We share our no-nonsense approach to business dealings, emphasizing the importance of getting straight to the point. Karamel discusses her frustration with unnecessary details and the need for clear, concise information in business interactions, and we both stress the significance of the "bottom line up front" mentality, focusing on what truly matters and making decisions swiftly. We also explore the balance between urgency and importance...2023-10-0927 minCEO ChroniclesComing into your Bossdom!Join us this week on CEO Chronicles as we provide insights into both of our journeys as CEOs! In this candid conversation, we discuss the challenges and responsibilities that come with leading a business, and Michele reflects on her background in radio and sales, emphasizing the importance of never missing work and always achieving goals. Karamel, on the other hand, coming from a startup background, shares her experience of building something out of nothing and navigating the complexities of running a business. We both touch on our interactions with vendors and the need for clear communication and...2023-09-1127 minCEO ChroniclesCareer Considerations…Do We Have To?Join us today as we get talking about whether employers should consider things like commute times. We believe that you need to set clear expectations up front. We discuss how we are both upfront with our employees - the work needs to get done, even if it means staying late some nights. We do also talk about how we understand that people's lives change and how showing a little flexibility can build loyalty, but we also do not believe in showing favoritism. Listen in as we also get into how we each manage teams and how our...2023-09-0430 minCEO ChroniclesEntrepreneur Arrogance, Competence or ConfidenceJoin us today on a thought-provoking episode of CEO Chronicles as we delve into the complex interplay between confidence, competence, and arrogance in the world of entrepreneurship! While we acknowledge that as business owners, we certainly exude confidence and certainty, we also explore the distinction between arrogance and competence. Reflecting on our roles as confident leaders with a clear vision, we emphasize the value of humility and the importance of balancing confidence with approachability. We also discuss the challenges of decision-making, the nuances of leadership, and the difference between employees and business owners in terms of responsibilities...2023-08-2828 minCEO ChroniclesWho is the Keeper of Your Institutional Knowledge?We are talking all about institutional knowledge today, and some of you may be wondering, what is institutional knowledge? Well, listen in today as we talk about what institutional knowledge is and why it’s important, offering personal examples along the way such as something that happened on Karamel’s recent trip to St. Lucia (not Croatia)! As we explain on the show, institutional knowledge is the sum of information a company and its employees possess, including but not limited to techniques, expertise, policies, data, skill sets, processes, and experiences. We also explain that there is an impo...2023-08-2129 minCEO ChroniclesSeason 2, Episode 22Welcome in, everyone! We are back in this episode to discuss the peculiarity of business nowadays. It has us thinking about "fad businesses" that pop up but can't last, like all those cupcake shops from a few years back. We're analyzing why they fail, looking at models of ear piercing salons and such to figure out their potential flaws. We also debate the pros and cons of brick and mortar vs. staying online, relating it to how we each prefer to work. A brick and mortar can feel legit, but it comes with high costs that aren't...2023-07-2430 minCEO ChroniclesSeason 2, Episode 21Welcome back to the show, everyone! As entrepreneurs, we are, of course, busy. Our work days sometimes involve productivity rabbit holes that create distraction after distraction that veer away from our original objective. Does this sound like you? If so, then this episode is definitely for you! We are talking all about helpful strategies to help you overcome such distractions, get back on track, and deal with the many challenges of growing your business as a CEO, including but not limited to taking time to make a concrete plan and list of priorities to stay focused on...2023-07-1726 min
The Midlife Makeover Show - Empty Nest, Divorce, Health, Career, Self-Care, Empowered Women, Spiritual Growth, Mindset, Stress Management, Aging, Weight Loss, Menopause, Motivation, Life After 40106 🧳 Unleash Your Wanderlust and Discover the World with Founder of Women Traveling Abroad, Karamel McCoyGot wanderlust, but don’t want to wander alone? Are you craving an epic vacation, but don’t have anyone to go with you? If traveling solo is a no-go, then today’s guest has a solution! Today you will meet Karamel McCoy, founder of Women Travel Abroad, a boutique women’s travel group. Women Travel Abroad leads intimate groups of 6-8 women on culture-filled adventures full of authentic experiences. WTA absorbs all the planning worry for you, so you can enjoy your travels from start to finish.
Girls, pack your bags, because it’s time for a...2023-07-0646 minCEO ChroniclesSeason 2, Episode 20Once people become small business owners and entrepreneurs and start bringing in some money, do most of us start living more in ease, comfort, and style? Do we start living more extravagantly? Listen in today as we each share our own take on this and whether or not we have become more extravagant in our personal lives. ‘We argue that this comes down at least in part to how we view money. Michele, for example, discusses how she has taken more trips as an indirect result of her business, and Karamel agrees that she does have more ea...2023-06-0528 minCEO ChroniclesWhat Do You Do When the Numbers are SOBERING?What makes a business great? Is it merely the money that it’s making and the financial numbers, or is there more to it than that? We are discussing all things businesses dying or thriving as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and what it means for numbers to be sobering. Sobering numbers aren’t always a terrible thing. It doesn’t necessarily mean that the business is bad, and it could just mean that something has to be restructured. Maybe you need to scale or grow. Remember, however, that this podcast is all about encour...2023-05-2929 minCEO ChroniclesYour Business Will Run as Long as You Run ItAs long as you continue to move forward and lean into your business, it will continue. That’s exactly what we mean when we argue that your business will run as long as you run it. If a business is going on even in the face of adversity, it’s because the owner is still going at it and won’t give up on it, and that’s ultimately the key. Listen in to this episode as we discuss this, giving various examples of how our businesses are still going strong because of the energy that we put into...2023-05-2229 minCEO ChroniclesAre you Scaling or Growing and Does It Matter?We are talking about all things scaling and growing today! We talk about the difference between the two and why that is important, how we have scaled and/or grown our businesses, and more! We also discuss accrual and how Karamel and her business Women Travel Abroad sometimes has to predict for a price increase when booking for a trip that isn’t actually happening until the following year. It’s really important that you identify whether you’re growing and scaling because there is a distinction that can make a difference. We are really glad that we had...2023-05-1525 minCEO ChroniclesDo You Know Your “Mentorship Legacy”?We are talking today about the legacy left behind by mentors and how it creates a tree, with Karamel pointing out that when it comes to mentoring, it’s not about what we leave for people but rather what we leave in people. Listen in as we give many examples of situations in which we have had mentors in our lives, touching upon the gold nuggets of wisdom that we have learned from them and how we have then imparted that wisdom into people as mentors ourselves. That is exactly what makes mentorship a tree - wisdom, wh...2023-05-0829 minCEO ChroniclesHow to Find Your Ideal CustomerAs a business owner, not everyone is necessarily an ideal customer. Listen in today as we discuss whether or not business owners should spend time finding out who actually wants what they have to offer rather than try to target everyone, with Karamel giving examples of how she markets Women Travel Abroad. We talk about the importance of finding the ideal client (or avatar) whose goals and values align with your vision and mission. It’s also so important that you determine in advance what your ideal client is willing to do and what they are unwilling to...2023-05-0129 minCEO ChroniclesS2E14Every customer has a threshold when it comes to willingness to pay, and Michele gives a recent example of being a customer herself and being unwilling to pay what was being asked of her. When it comes to determining what the “right” price is for what you’re selling, that right price is ultimately however much the customer is willing to pay. We also touch upon rules and regulations when it comes to running a business and whether or not any of them are arbitrary, when the government needs to step in and set standards and regulations, and so...2023-04-2430 minCEO ChroniclesWomen working with women…what’s it really like?Women being unable to work together is such a harmful stereotype, and we are here today to tackle that issue and explain how and why women absolutely can work well together and often do. We point to an article from Inc. magazine which highlights four unique ways that women entrepreneurs are helping each other succeed, including passing along opportunities, pooling resources, intentionally investing in women-owned businesses, and celebrating women’s success. That harmful stereotype that women can’t work well together is harmful, and we need to do our best to band together to tear that...2023-04-1024 minCEO ChroniclesWhat Are You Reading?Why do we read the books that we read as entrepreneurs? That’s what we are diving into today, discussing and listing books that we have read and ones that have impacted us in one way or another. We love reading self-help books that make us better business owners not only because it helps us become better entrepreneurs but also because it’s fun for us! We list off not only books that each of us have enjoyed reading but also books that both of us got something out of, especially Your Next Five Moves by Patrick Bet...2023-04-0329 minCEO ChroniclesIt's Bring your Bookkeeper to Work Day! AMB Accounting Services, LLC owner Amber Delgado talks shop!Join us today as we chat with a very special guest, Amber Delgado! Amber is the owner of AMB Accounting Services and started working with Karamel as her bookkeeper a couple of years ago, and who better to talk about why it’s a good idea to have a bookkeeper than a bookkeeper herself? Amber dives into what she does as a bookkeeper and what the responsibilities of a bookkeeper are and are not. She also touches upon why she started her business to begin with and what her motivations were, why the handling of money tends to...2023-03-2730 minCEO ChroniclesTime is not Free… Manage it Well!We have both hit a milestone in our businesses - five years! That has us thinking about time and how to manage it well. We talk about different components of time, such as not being able to own it, what it means to spend it, and how time is not infinite. We also offer up some helpful tips on managing your time wisely, including scheduling everything, avoiding procrastination, prioritizing and delegating tasks, the importance of automating, and so much more! Time is precious, so we hope that this episode helps you manage yours effectively. If s...2023-03-2025 minCEO ChroniclesHow to Know if You’re an EntrepreneurIt seems like more and more people want to become entrepreneurs or business owners, but what does it actually mean to be an entrepreneur, and is it different from being a small business owner? We point out these distinctions and make cases for what makes an entrepreneur vs. what makes a small business owner. We offer some personal experiences that we feel point out the differences between being an entrepreneur and being a small business owner, arguing, for example, that an entrepreneur isn’t just interested in expanding sales but is also interested in expanding their enterprise. En...2023-03-1330 minCEO ChroniclesHow to Read the Room and Introduce Yourself as an Entrepreneur!Reading the room is best defined as understanding the state of a conversation so that your tone and subject matter matches that conversation. So what goes into reading a room as a presenter and/or entrepreneur? We are here to take that question on for you today! We point to a helpful Harvard Business Review article that gives some tips on how to read the room prior to a presentation, including but not limited to observing, controlling how much you talk, and interpreting what you observe. We also touch upon the importance of being enthusiastic during a...2023-03-0627 minCEO ChroniclesAre Entrepreneurs Motivated by Money?If you are an entrepreneur, are you primarily motivated by money, or are you motivated by something more intrinsic? There are various things that drive an entrepreneur, and most of them actually have very little if anything to do with money. Listen in as we dive into that very topic, sharing what motivates us personally. Research shows that there are four common motivators for entrepreneurs: control, freedom, impact, and of course money. We walk you through each one of these, giving real-world examples from our own experiences and the experiences of entrepreneurs in general. We...2023-02-2730 minCEO ChroniclesFrom Educator to Entrepreneur...Terrence Baldwin Shares His StoryWe are so excited to have someone special on the podcast today, someone whom Michele has known his entire life! Michele’s brother Terrence Baldwin is the owner of T Baldwin Music and MEOW (Music Education on Wheels) Academy, and he comes on the show today to share his story of being an entrepreneur and how he got started. Terrence touches upon various subtopics such as how he is making his business a family business, what it’s like working in a gig economy, how he defines success, and more. He also gives prospective musicians advice, such as n...2023-02-1326 minCEO ChroniclesTurning Pain into Passion then into Business!We are so excited to have a special guest on the podcast today - Debórah Faith, host of The Xchange Place podcast! Deborah shares her tragic origin story with us and how she got into podcasting. She also discusses turning a passion into a business, why she decided not to have a co-host on her podcast, how she goes about networking, her plans for the future (including but not limited to making podcasting full-time), and so much more! We love Debórah’s passion and enthusiasm for what she does and hope that you love listening to o...2023-02-0630 minCEO ChroniclesWorking with Family...What's it Really Like?Working with family and friends can create a sense of comfort and familiarity which can be a good thing, but it can also cause a business to suffer, so what are the pros and cons of working with family and friends in business? Michele, for example, discusses how working with her husband is somewhat of a challenge because of how her personal relationship with him is a bit different from her professional relationship with him. When it comes to working with family and friends, we argue that working with a partner is different from working with a...2023-01-3030 minCEO ChroniclesWhat is the REAL ROI when you invest in your business?Karamel recently spoke at a trade show which we both attended, and that has us thinking about return on investment, or ROI. Karamel paid to have that booth, paid to speak, and paid for the swag that she gave out for free, all of which requires budgeting and an expectation that it will end up paying off. Listen in as we explain what ROI is and discuss all that it entails. It’s not always just about numbers. It’s also about connection and branding. We talk about the importance of having an avatar, or an idea of a...2023-01-2330 minCEO Chronicles9 Hard Lessons After 5 Years of Being In BusinessIn our first episode of the new season, we talked about a business reaching the huge milestone of five years and what that means going forward, and we are following up on that today by sharing the nine biggest lessons learned after five years. Some of the biggest lessons that we learned include reinventing your business once every six to twelve months, having a team rather than being a total solopreneur, taking time off in a deliberate way, and so much more! We really hope that this episode and the nine hard lessons and myths...2023-01-1629 minCEO ChroniclesBack 2 Business BasicsWelcome in, everybody, not only to the first episode of 2023 but also to the first episode of our new season! We reflect a little bit back on 2022 and what we hope to accomplish in 2023, discussing the merit of going back to basics after having a business for five years. We both discuss what going back to basics will look like for our businesses and how we have had to have conversations with our teams about how we are going to do that. We agree on the importance of having a trusted advisor and remind you that sometimes...2023-01-0933 minCEO ChroniclesRespecting the Chain of CommandMany people are used to a chain of command, and now that we are in positions of power, we find that there are times when that does need to be brought up, especially since some younger folks don’t seem to be as used to a hierarchy. Karamel offers an example from Women Travel Abroad, discussing WTA’s policy on transgender women joining women-only cruises and how that involved chain of command. We also discuss, however, the fact that not understanding the chain of command and being disrespectful toward people who are higher up is not just an i...2022-11-2829 minCEO ChroniclesThe Future is Now...Electric Vehicles and what they are teaching us about Change!Karamel recently bought an EV (electric vehicle), specifically a Tesla, so we are talking about all things electric vehicles today and how they are promising to change the future. It is expected that the number of people in the United States driving EVs will drastically increase by 2030 (not even ten years away), so states are even making legislation in preparation for this change. When it comes to change, though, there is almost always fear because change can be scary, so we also address some of the common fears around electric vehicles such as whether or not the...2022-11-1428 minCEO ChroniclesThe Making of Trust Fund Babies!After reading a couple of articles about protecting your wealth, we got to thinking about trusts and decided to discuss it on today's podcast. We are discussing various elements of a trust fund such as what its primary purpose should be, the difference between a revocable trust fund and an irrevocable trust fund, and more. We also strongly encourage you to ensure that any spouse or anyone else who might be involved in your trust fund is fully aware of all of the stipulations and ramifications of the trust. This is very important, and as a small...2022-10-2429 minCEO ChroniclesSome will, Some won't...So what!There is so much information and so many resources out there for small business owners – conferences, trainings, coaches, and so forth. The problem, though, is that not only do not all small business owners and CEOs take advantage of these resources, not all of them follow through on what they learn if they do. Not everyone is a doer. We both give examples of resources that have helped us – Michelle having recently attended a conference that led to incredible benefits for her business and Karamel having recently seen a coach who gave her some helpful pointers. These reso...2022-10-1729 minCEO Chronicles3rd Quarter Recap and 4th Quarter Projections!With third-quarter just having recently ended, we are talking today about how it went for us and reflecting on the highs and lows. We are also discussing the differences and similarities between how the past two years have impacted the insurance industry and the travel industry. We also talk about various topics today such as some goals for the fourth quarter and into next year, whether or not we feel lonely as CEOs, how we have used the book The 12 Week Year to help us set goals for our businesses, whether or not we procrastinate and why...2022-10-1030 minCEO ChroniclesHow Important is Community Involvement for a Small Business?We are talking about community involvement today and whether or not it's something that we regularly take part in. We share our differing opinions on what kind of community involvement would make the most difference and how we should align what kind of community involvement we choose to take part in with our interests. It's really important that a company be aware of industry statistics and necessities, and we talk about how that is related to community involvement and using our platform to do so. We also discuss the importance of forecasting for our business and diversifying...2022-09-2630 minCEO ChroniclesShould You Invest in Friends and Family Business?Welcome in as we talk in this episode about investing money in a loved one's business. If you are investing money or loaning money to a friend, should you get that in writing? Do you need to establish boundaries? We answer these questions and more, discussing the difference between investing and loaning, why communication is important, how we need to assess risks, and so much more. In short, it's really important that when you are investing, you should be aware of what you are getting into and have something on paper. This applies even when you're investing...2022-09-1928 minCEO ChroniclesIs CHARITY apart of your business plan?Welcome back to CEO Chronicles! Something that we haven't really talked about on the show yet is how to go about making the decision to make charitable donations. Do entrepreneurs consciously think about that, or does it just come with the job description for some entrepreneurs (especially since it does come with tax benefits)? We point out that charity doesn't always just involve money either. Giving up your time and providing opportunities to people can be just as valuable, and we both offer examples of how we do that. Being benevolent is not only a critical part...2022-09-0517 minCEO ChroniclesManaging Multiple Generations...What you need to know!There are now five different generations in the workforce – including but not limited to Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, and Generation Z. Different generations work differently and can therefore sometimes clash and cause conflict in the workplace. Different generations have also grown up with different levels of access to technology, and we offer some examples of how that comes into play in the workplace. We stress the importance of continuity in an e-commerce business, why emotional IQ is crucial, how to build a team, and why leading by example is important. We also discuss why it's important to...2022-08-2929 minCEO ChroniclesCEO Burnout...OUCH!Employee burnout happens, but what makes CEO or founder burnout different than other types of employee burnout? For starters, the CEO of a company causes a domino effect. If you, as CEO, are experiencing burnout, it's going to trickle down and negatively affect the whole company. Stress has several different levels – the honeymoon phase, the onset of stress, chronic stress, burnout, and, finally, habitual burnout. That final stage takes over your emotional wellbeing and can cause depression and even physical symptoms. All hope is not lost, however, and we are here to share some of th...2022-08-2230 minCEO ChroniclesMentor Wanted, Are You Available?Is it okay to cold call someone out of the blue because you're interested in what they do and have questions for them? We believe that if you are able to, you should be willing to help people and maybe even mentor them if they're asking, especially since being a CEO can be lonely. We give you the dos and don'ts of searching for a mentor. While it's unlikely that any mentor is going to be talking with you and checking in with you every single day (as that is more like a best friend than a...2022-08-1529 minCEO ChroniclesSmall Business Owner, Do You Take a Salary?We are talking about all things salary today and whether or not most small business owners take a salary. Why do some small business owners take salaries while others don't? What are the trade-offs of not taking a salary or of giving employees higher salaries than we give ourselves? We disclose whether or not we take salaries ourselves as small business owners and also offer up some insightful statistics. Discussing education, we talk about whether or not having a college degree is necessary to be a small business owner and what benefits having one has. We also...2022-08-0830 minCEO ChroniclesHow to Find the Right People for Your Culture!What comes first – your company or the people who work for you and your company? Using a metaphor that Jim Collins uses in his book Good to Great, that's what we are talking about in this episode of CEO Chronicles! We talk about finding the right people with the right kind of energy and passion and whether or not how much they get paid has anything to do with that. We also agree that the people who work for you are people who you need to be able to trust because if you don't trust them, they're no...2022-08-0130 minCEO ChroniclesHow do you identify High Performers?Welcome to the thirtieth episode of CEO Chronicles in which we are talking about all things feedback! Although we don't quite agree on the definition of feedback, everyone, even if they aren't necessarily an entrepreneur, needs feedback in their work life - that is, of course, when it is used correctly and not used just to negatively critique someone for no good reason. Effective communication and making sure that we are understood correctly is so important when it comes to both providing and receiving feedback, and we give some examples of times when communication was misunderstood and...2022-07-2526 minCEO ChroniclesWhat does it take to be a High PerformerMichele recently read Brendon Burchard's book High Performance Habits: How Extraordinary People Become That Way which led to us talking about what it means to be a high performer. We talk about what the book teaches its readers and how it motivates them and agree that when it comes to someone motivating us, we would rather be told the truth directly rather than have the truth sugarcoated. We also make a case for what a high performer actually is, trying to dispel the incorrect notion that a high performer must be a billionaire and/or someone famous...2022-07-1828 minCEO ChroniclesWho's afraid of AUTOMATION? I'm not...Karamel has talked before on CEO Chronicles about automation and how she lives by it, and we are discussing all things automation in today's episode! Karamel helps us understand what automation is, why it's important to her, and how she goes about implementing it into Women Travel Abroad. We also discuss how automation can help us cut down on the time that we spend on things that we don't need to be spending time on. Michele also delves into if and how she implements automation and what that looks like. We both agree, however, that computers need...2022-07-1130 minCEO ChroniclesSo 2nd Quarter is over! How'd you do?We are talking all things quarters today and the importance of looking back and looking ahead! It's so important, as we stress, that you know your calendar. Even we, for example, have different ideas of what the most important quarter is because of what our businesses offer and what type of clientele we attract. It's so important to know your target clientele and offer what's wanted and what's trending, and we talk about that and also warn against the dangers surrounding projecting ahead. While projection is important, it does have its pitfalls that you need to be wary of!2022-07-0430 minCEO ChroniclesHow I became an entrepreneur!Being an entrepreneur is very much a state of being, and we're spending today talking about that and what people and resources in our lives inspired us to be so entrepreneur. Michele details who inspired her to become an entrepreneur, and Karamel reveals that while it wasn't so much a specific person or people who inspired her, she knew that she didn't want to “work for the man.” Part of being an entrepreneur means being in control of your own income, and we both knew that we wanted that. Here's the thing about being an entrepreneur – not everyo...2022-06-2730 minCEO ChroniclesWhat are the lingering effects of Covid-19 on your business?How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted small businesses? That's what we want to spend this episode discussing and trying to get to the bottom of. There are a lot of variables, such as how it affected employment, how it affected finances, how it affected people's mental health, and so on, and we talk about these various impacts and how the country (and even many parts of the world) experienced these effects collectively. We talk about how the pandemic affected a lot of people's mental health and how it brought the issue of mental health to the light...2022-06-2029 minCEO ChroniclesThrow away the box and start generating leads!Join us today as we talk about generating leads and thinking outside of the box! We spend a lot of time as business owners thinking about how to get customers and get customers to come to us, and we discuss in this episode of CEO Chronicles how to go about doing that in creative ways. We both give examples of thinking outside of the box and even throwing the box away! Michele, for example, recently had a customer appreciation event which is a great out-of-the-box way to generate leads! We talk about how you have to push...2022-06-1329 minCEO ChroniclesWhat's a living wage??We are talking about all things wages and healthcare today! What makes for a fair wage? One of the questions that we recommend being asked when it comes to what makes a fair wage is what kind of work the employee is doing. We also touch upon the differences between what an employee thinks about what they should be paid vs. what an employer thinks, emphasizing that the employee often does not fully comprehend the full process behind paying employees. Michele, for example, points out that half of her gross income last year was spent on payroll! ...2022-06-0630 minCEO ChroniclesLearning to trust your GUT!We are chatting today about listening to our intuition and trusting it! We discuss why it's important to pair your gut feelings with analysis and how that can help you make better decisions, and we give examples of times when we heard great ideas and instantly knew that the ideas were good because that is what our guts told us. The gut gets stronger with experience, so even though some people might argue that trusting your gut is a mystical, unreliable thing, we argue that it isn't, that it's based at least in part on measurable data. ...2022-05-3029 minCEO ChroniclesDoing Business with FRIENDS 101!We have been giving some thought to doing business with friends and/or work associates and how that might impact expectations. Michele argues that when you're dealing with people that you know, you need to go above and beyond with your service, but Karamel disagrees, asserting that everyone on a Women Travel Abroad trip will receive equal treatment no matter what. We also discuss the problems that sometimes come about because of friends doing business with you just to do you a favor. Mixing business with friendship can get very complicated, but we point out some of...2022-05-2328 minCEO ChroniclesConducting Business Around the World!Karamel was just in Egypt on business, and we talk about a couple of cultural barriers that happened along the way. Talking about what's called international English, or simplified English, we discuss how it's a necessity when traveling the world as Karamel does with Women Travel Abroad! A simplified form of English free of regional slang and idioms helps best ensure that other English-speaking people in other countries can understand you. However, we also talk about international business practices and how that is also somewhat of a language of its own that can be easily misunderstood. As...2022-05-1629 minCEO ChroniclesNetworking 101We are talking all things networking today, something which Michele credits as being a big reason for her success. Michele talks about all of the different industries that she has worked with, including radio, banking, and so forth, discussing the various networks of people that she has built over the years. We both offer some examples of networking and it being intentional and purposeful networking, examples from our own businesses, and we discuss the various ways that you want to make sure that the needs of your target audience are being met. Both of us agree that...2022-05-0929 minCEO ChroniclesDo you need a Social Media Manager or Marketer? Duh there's a difference!As of when we recorded this episode, Karamel is out of the country on a Women Travel Abroad trip in Jordan, and she is so excited to talk about marketing strategies using things like social media and email! We talk about target marketing and reaching your ideal client and the importance of identifying the difference between a social media manager and a social media marketer and why one tends to be a lot more valuable than the other. We also list off and describe the four different types of strategic marketing and how to make use of...2022-05-0229 minCEO ChroniclesYes you need to file and pay taxes!Today's episode is kind of a hodgepodge of various topics! As an entrepreneur, what does giving mean? With giving being one of Michele's core beliefs, we talk about not just giving money but also giving time and service to the community and why that is important. Giving time might, for example, look like mentoring and paving the way for the next generation. We talk about having a game plan for what the end of a business might look like, especially since serial entrepreneurs are often always coming up with new ideas. We also dive into taxes and...2022-04-2528 minCEO ChroniclesMoney is a tool, if you know how to use it!!!It's hard to talk about being a business owner without talking about money, and we are talking today about all things money and why we should know how to both earn it and use it! We talk about both the pitfalls and the advantages of taking loans out and give examples of resources that will lend money to small businesses and how running a business is financially similar to running a household. We discuss in detail various ways to borrow money such as peer-to-peer lending, crowdfunding like Kickstarter, credit cards, home equity loans, and simply going to...2022-04-1829 minCEO ChroniclesWe had a plan, but...1st Quarter 2022 recap!!During the COVID-19 pandemic, we had to be very fluid and flexible with plans because things were bound to change at the drop of a hat, and when things don't go right, you really can't blame anyone but yourself. We, in this episode of CEO Chronicles, talk about why it's so important that you plan in advance! Learn about how one of us had to scale down our staff and why, how each of us handles uncertainty, and how we solve problems that arise from planning so far in advance. Hear about how Karamel has recently hired...2022-04-1129 minCEO ChroniclesBusiness is Business even if it's Nonprofit!We have something really exciting in store today – our first ever guest! Ms. Tammy Buckner of Kansas City joins us today to talk about her company, WeCode KC, which has been putting on great programs for local children in the community since November 2019! She is not only a woman in the world of technology but also a woman of color in the world of technology, and she shares her fascinating story with us of how she got involved in it, having been fascinated by tech at a very young age getting into trouble for taking computers apart. Gr...2022-04-0533 minCEO ChroniclesHow hard is it to build a GREAT team?As entrepreneurs, we sometimes start things off ourselves and often run things ourselves and consequently forget about the importance of having a team. With Women Travel Abroad, Karamel has been talking a lot about building a team, especially in the form of getting a trip coordinator. We also talk about how most entrepreneurs need social media managers, and we give several personal examples of how and why it's important to have a team. We also talk about the advantages and the disadvantages of having W-2 employees vs. 1099 employees, some of the “rules” around being an effective leader, and...2022-03-2830 minCEO ChroniclesIs now a good time to diversify your business revenue streams?Why is diversifying your business revenue streams crucial to your success as a business? We are talking about that very topic today and give several examples from our own businesses of how doing that led to success for us. We give concrete examples of why it's so important to diversify, especially since the trajectory of a business can change so quickly. We, in addition, talk about why it's important to be careful who you share business ideas with when you don't actually yet have the income to act on those ideas. They might, and they're not in...2022-03-2128 minCEO ChroniclesIt's a BIG leap from employee to business owner,Are you READY?We are talking today about moving from an employee to a business owner and why that is not easy. You can't possibly see or understand both sides until you have experienced both sides, especially since business owners encounter a vast amount of pains that employees do not. We discuss our experiences having been both and offer some advice and insight on both. Your paycheck, your time, and your whole frame of mind all need to change when you transition between being an employee and being a business owner, and that is – again, easier said than done. We ta...2022-03-1528 minCEO ChroniclesByron Allen, the unknown mogul!What Byron Allen is to cable television is what Barack Obama is to the American presidency. Now a media mogul on track to purchase an NFL team, he essentially started from very little. He started from a modest place and made his debut on television on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson at only eighteen years old. We are talking all things Byron Allen today, diving into his story and how he got to where he is today and using him as an example of the importance of things like activity, leverage, and owning our success. We...2022-03-0728 minCEO ChroniclesTime for Time Management!We are talking all things time management today! Being able to manage your time properly is absolutely crucial as an entrepreneur, especially since you're your own boss. We offer up some time management tips and techniques such as leaning into your support, creating routines, and making to-do lists. We go into detail about how to make a to-do list, whether or not prioritizing tasks on a to-do list is a good idea, how to get things done that you really don't want to do, and more! We also touch upon cluttering up space and how it ties...2022-03-0525 minCEO ChroniclesWhen is a good time to PIVOT?We are here today to talk all things PIVOTING! When you are in the world of business, you sometimes have to pivot – or shift to a new strategy. It can go in many different directions and does not necessarily mean a total change, a total 180. It can sometimes be something smaller, as it just means to turn from a center point and go down or add a new path. Pivoting can be scary, but it is necessary. Every business will go through pivot points. Where you start as a company is very unlikely going to be where yo...2022-02-2125 minCEO ChroniclesBranding, Marketing, Advertising REPEAT!It is time for us to start branding, marketing, and advertising! Your business all starts with you! You have to build a brand and know yourself before you can know your customers or your audience (which is where marketing comes into play), and you can then go about identifying who your ideal client is! We each share with you what our branding is and what our stories are, why we do what we do. We also talk about marketing and advertising and what the difference between the two is, how Karamel uses email marketing tools to track...2022-02-1427 minCEO ChroniclesIs It Time for a Business Coach?At what point in time during your career as a small business owner do you need a mentor or a coach? There is, as we talk about today on CEO Chronicles, a difference between a mentor and a coach, and although there really is no set right time or right reason to get a business coach, we talk about the reasons why we feel like we might need one, especially because of growing pains and feeling overwhelmed. Again, there is no correct reason for feeling like you need a business coach, but it is still a good...2022-02-0726 minCEO Chronicles"Small Business Owners need Self-Care too....right?"Being a small business owner is great and all, but it means needing to find time for the big S.C. - self-care! Self-care is so monumentally important because being a small business owner often means being under a lot of pressure and sometimes even means sacrificing a lot, and that is exactly why self-care is so important even though it's often overlooked because of our busy schedules. What does self-care even mean, though? We define it mainly as the practice of taking action to preserve or improve one's own health, especially during times of stress. We...2022-01-3126 minCEO ChroniclesPolicy vs COVID!!!As a business owner, COVID-19 has been nothing short of frustrating. It keeps spiking and causing changes in policy and procedure, especially when the CDC and doctors aren't always in agreement over what they're saying. This has led us to think about policy, procedure, and practice and whether they should always be stringent or have exceptions. Small business owners can't put the blame on someone above them when it comes to enforcing policy and procedure, and that sometimes means having to feel like the bad guy. We talk about how to enforce policy and procedure, if and...2022-01-2429 minCEO ChroniclesWomen have shattered the glass ceiling, but are they being paid for it?We are talking all things diversity, equity, and inclusion today on CEO Chronicles – real diversity, equity, and inclusion! We discuss the peak wage between men and women and the gap that is still there and address how there are only five or six black CEOs of Fortune 500 companies. We reflect on some of our past experiences such as feeling like an employee vs. an intrapreneur, how motherhood can affect a woman's work life, the extra responsibility of having to build a reputation, how important that it is to surround ourselves with people who support us, and how we need to...2022-01-1731 minCEO ChroniclesCash flow are you swimming or sinking?Cashflow is a hot topic when it comes to the world of business, and we're here in our second week of CEO Chronicles to tackle it! When you are cashflow positive, how do you know when to spend it and what to spend it on? How should you monitor cashflow, and how often should you do cashflow statements? We help you answer these questions and so many more! Cashflow, which we define for you as the balance of cash moving into and out of a business at any given time, is so important that, as we speculate...2022-01-1032 minCEO ChroniclesWhat am I??? Self Employed, Entrepreneur or Business OwnerWelcome to CEO Chronicles, hosted by us, Michele and Karamel! We are so excited to bring this podcast to you and share with you who we are and what we do! We met in radio and have been friends for more than fifteen years, and throughout this journey, we have evolved so much and have each started our own businesses at around the same time. In our first episode, we discuss the three different types of people talked about in Michael Gerber's The E-Myth books and how that links to small businesses, remote working vs. in-person working...2022-01-1057 min