Smart Women Invest

Bridging the age divide in the workplace isn’t easy. While the Baby Boomers and Gen Xers push for stability and health benefits, millennials ask “why” and want to be part of the company mission. This push and pull, if not managed correctly, can drive an HR manager crazy. They have to constantly juggle the opposing forces, while steering the ship forward.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Internet has changed every industry. With just a few taps on our smartphones, we can dive deep into the story of any business. Suddenly, walking through the mall or ordering at a restaurant isn’t the blind experience it once was. We are within reach of knowledge about the vendors’ sourcing, ethics, and social responsibility. Thus, the brands of today are adapting to this consumer demand.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re trained to be docile. Growing up in the education system, we learn to listen to the authority figure’s instructions and not question our standing in the group. However, as we all know, once you reach adulthood, asking for the promotion or raise is the only way to get it. This stark difference between adolescence and adulthood can only be overcome if we reverse our hardwiring by examining why we’re not asking for more.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You either understand Bitcoin or you don’t. And for most of us, we fall into the second category. Cryptocurrency has captured the world’s attention, but it feels like nobody can explain what it is or how it works. The conversation is filled with foreign terms like “Ethereum,” “smart contracts,” and “protocol coins.” We pretend to know what we’re talking about, but really we’re just hiding behind jargon.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Should you work in a corporate or startup environment? In both settings, it’s going to take hard work to get to the top. In a corporate world, you climb the ladder to make the big bucks. And at a startup, you’re hustling to launch your brainchild to become something big. Each side has its unique pros, and each side has its unique cons.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Online dating doesn’t work. For most of us, it becomes an entertainment system rather than a utility driving us toward companionship. We hobble through creating our profile to then swipe through others’ profiles, judging our prospective matches based on their appearance. We think to ourselves: is this a step in the right direction?Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A work-life balance requires keeping work and life separate. But what if you combined the two? For some of us, dividing work and life just further complicates things. We view the narrative of our lives as something that can inform our careers. We want our projects to be deeply personal, and blending the two domains is the only route to making this happen. Though we may not wear the labels on our foreheads, we are the artists, the storytellers, and the problem-solvers of today.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our best ideas come when we least expect them. And at our lowest points, we feel the most closed off to inspiration. There we lie on our beds staring helplessly at the ceiling. In that moment though, we forget the one truth about rock bottom: that the only way forward is up. And for whatever reason, lightning strikes at the right time and you’re off to the races with your next venture.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Empowering girls makes empowered women. If we can teach the right values and skills to today’s youth, then tomorrow will bring a generation of leaders and trailblazers. However, this is easier said than done. In our country and most places worldwide, poverty makes teaching those values difficult. Our systems are not structured to think long-term, and most communities are nested inside of chaos.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“My mission is to make money less of a taboo subject and change as many lives as I can.” -  Shang Saavedra (click to tweet) We make money to spend money. Or at least that’s what we feel on payday. Once the paycheck hits our Chase mobile app, we feel lifted to have a good time. We spend more freely in the days that follow, and if we’re not careful we become trapped in this treadmill. To get out requires taking a serious step toward saving money, and the first thing we can do is reframe the concept in our heads. That is why today, on the $mart Women Invest podcast, we are joined by Shang Saavedra, Founder of savemycents.com. As a full-time consultant, Shang launched this passion project as a way to educate others on the different ways we can save money. In this interview, we hear her insights on everything budget-related, from how to start your own business with a full-time job to what grocery stores to shop at when eating on a budget. Tune in to hear from a savings expert! “It’s about changing the tiny behavio

We all know the challenge of networking. But in male-dominated industries, it’s much more difficult. Last year, less than 3% of venture capital in the United States was raised by women. In Silicon Valley, men meet with men to fund male-led applications, which makes being a woman trying to break into these circles especially challenging.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Social media is the new resumé. Today, many industries call for personal brands to demonstrate expertise over paper documents. In food and wine, a rich online presence showcasing your knowledge and passion might do more than an impressive work history. Social media has removed the gatekeepers, and that opportunity is exciting.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Imagine being a solo mom living on $26,000/year. With children to take care of and no spousal support, this reality is unimaginable for most of us. But for the solo moms making it work, they have solutions worth sharing. Providing this tribe with an infrastructure to share their insights is especially necessary in political times like today, when threats loom of cutting off their government support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We cannot control our upbringing. But we can control what we do with it. So many of us were born into environments not conducive for fostering emotional or physical health. But as we grow older, we must accept the reality and begin reframing the experience as positive, a trial by fire that bestowed us a set of survival skills that we can use as a strength now as an adult.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s that time of year again. Early January has us joining gyms and buying kale without thinking about the sustainability of self-transformation efforts. New Year's resolutions are, for the most part, ineffective in the long-run. Sure, you can ditch five pounds in a month with a new exercise regimen and diet overhaul, but what will your mindset be in April? In September? What about the same time next year? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In New York City, everyone has their own business. From clothing companies to financial management services, lifestyle brands to creative agencies, the spirit of entrepreneurship is everywhere in the big apple. If you don’t have your own LLC, then you can bet the person standing next to you on the subway does.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nothing is more taboo than sex, right? Wrong. If you're like me, sitting at these brunches with your girlfriends taking note of what subjects get get covered and which get brushed over, you might be realizing the same thing I am: that money is more taboo than sex.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Carrie Kerpen of Likeable Media is this episode’s special guest. Carrie is the CEO an cofounder of Likeable Media, and the author of the upcoming book “Work It: Stories to Help Women Rise in the Workplace and the World.” She’s a sought-after keynote speaker and contributor to Forbes and Inc.com. You don’t want to miss Carrie’s story of how her daughter’s request to spend more time with her led her to becoming an entrepreneur. By finding the right work-life balance, Carrie has her house and her business flying high.    Host Michelle McKinnon starts the program with a look at the “Teflon Market” under President Donald Trump. To better understand w [...]Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we take a look at what every woman should know about insurance, with special guest Erin Ardleigh. Erin is the founder and president of Dynama Insurance, an independent insurance brokerage. She and her team offer life insurance, disability insurance, health insurance, and long-term care insurance. Erin was also selected to be a mentor for Women Unlimited’s Leadership Development Program, where she helped successful women rise up the corporate ladder.   Host Michelle McKinnon and Erin discuss when it’s the best time to buy life insurance and the importance of disability insurance. They then shift their conve [...]Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Happy Holidays from $mart Women. As our present to you, meet Ronne Brown, wife, mother, coach, author, speaker, entrepreneur and overcomer. Her’s is a rags-to-riches story not to be missed. In 2009, she founded High Heels, High Goals, an exclusive non-profit organiastion that teaches women how to be successful entrepreneurs and empowers women to reach their goals. But she wasn’t done! In 2014, she launched the Millionaires Academy, where she teaches people all over the world how to leverage the direct sales industry and earn income from home. Ronne and host Michelle McKinnon have meaningful conversation on the importance of women supporting women in the professional arena. Ronnie then shares her tips for promoting yourself without coming across arrogant, and the importance of deleg [...]Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices