Liberty Sessions With Nada Jones | Celebrating Women Who Do & Inspiring Women Who Can |

Jennifer Kennedy is the Founder and CEO of By Your Side Collection. Her business offers tangible ways for communities of friends to support and encourage through jewelry.  In this episode, Jennifer shares how her diagnosis of cancer inspired the mission of her company. During her 12th year of living cancer-free, Jennifer’s mother was diagnosed with breast cancer as well. At her mother’s first chemo appointment, Jennifer had a life-altering interaction with a patient in the waiting room. Seeing the woman sitting alone, Jennifer took off her necklace and gave it to the chemo patient as a physical reminder that “there is hope.” That simple exchange birthed the inspiration for By Your Side. Jennifer has learned a lot in the process of designing, manufacturing, and building her jewelry company. She offers thoughts about learning a new industry while being present with her family.  Her passion for using her survival story and creating hope keeps her committed to this venture, even in the hard times. Please follow J

Heather Trilling is the Founder & Principal of Trilling Landscape & Design and the Founder & Designer of the newly launched Lumber + Linen. In both businesses, she designs and curates intentional outdoor spaces.Heather has always worked in creating a “healing environment”. Originally, she was a nurse in the pediatrics department at UCLA, but her landscaping hobby caught the eye of an HGTV producer. To her surprise, she landed a role on an HGTV show and subsequently launched Trilling Landscape & Design. Over the past 14 years, Heather has built a thriving business known for intentional drought-tolerant design and building spaces for people to gather and create memories. In this episode, Heather shares how she came to a crossroads with Trilling Landscape & Design. The business was growing and all was going well, but she found that managing the day to day operations wasn’t the role she wanted anymore. After several conversations with clients, Heather was encouraged to create an outdoor line o

We have big plans for Season 2 of LIBERTY Sessions with Nada Jones, but before we share amazing stories of female founders, we want to hear from you! We have a little survey for you to participate in. So give this mini-episode a listen and share with us your comments and suggestions at info@libertyforher.com. Also, please check out our Kickstarter campaign and support our effort to get the LIBERTY Editorial Journal into the hands of women everywhere! The Kickstarter campaign ends January 31st, so don't delay! Hop on over to the Kickstarter page today. Don't forget to follow us at @libertyforher on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Please let us know your thoughts about this episode by using the hashtag #libertysessions and please rate and review us—it helps to know if this podcast is inspiring and equipping you to launch and grow your ventures. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Brittany Merrill Underwood is the Founder and CEO of Akola Project, a non-profit jewelry brand that empowers marginalized women through training and employment in Dallas, Texas, and Uganda.A 2006 trip to Uganda and a meeting with a woman named Sarah, a woman who cared for the stray kids, changed Brittany’s life forever.  Seeing first hand that the creation of employment opportunities would, in turn, transform the lives of women, their children, and their communities prompted Brittany to launch Akola Project.In this episode, Brittany shares how she pivoted Akola Project from building an orphanage to employing women to make jewelry and earn a steady income. She details Akola’s deep dive into the entire production process, ensuring each step from sourcing materials to distribution yields a positive impact.In addition to her work in Uganda, Brittany expanded Akola’s social impact to include opportunities to marginalized women in Dallas. This growth had lead to the expansion of their collection to include an exclu

Amy Swift is a Brand Strategist, Copy Writer and Founder of AmySwift.com as well as the Founder of SMARTY. Her secret sauce lies in helping brands to unpack and restructure their messaging. Amy has been cultivating community and conversations around female entrepreneurship long before it was popular. First through Ladies Who Launch, where she co-authored a book and ran the West Coast region. Eventually, Amy pivoted to launch SMARTY a community platform that supported female-owned small businesses.While working hard to grow SMARTY, and continuing her work as a brand strategist, Amy decided that her family needed a change. They transplanted to Manchester by the Sea to slow down, but life had other plans. Amy became severely ill and surviving became the only goal. During Amy’s time of healing, she was able to step back and redefine how she wanted to structure her life and work.The wisdom that emerged from that season of life is evident. Amy’s insight and advice is a breath of fresh air in the midst of the boomin

Ryan Larson is the Founder and CEO of Tin Parade and Savoir Flair Weddings. She’s one of those people that has a knack for elevating the simplest of gatherings and turning them into something special.She caught the entrepreneurial bug early on. By the time she was eight years old, she had a paper route. Since then she has always looked for ways she could create her own income and live by her own rules.  As an adult, she channeled that same spirit by launching Savoir Flair Weddings, a wedding design service.While planning and creating meaningful celebrations for couples, Ryan she was inspired to create a line of memorable party and home goods. In 2013, Ryan founded Tin Parade and brought to market the first ever Table Banner.In this episode, Ryan shares the challenges of communicating high concept products to buyers and shares how she cleverly overcame that as she grew. She shares the difficulty in starting up in an industry that is unfamiliar and offers tips that will help you stand out at trade shows. It’s e

Kara Dykert is the Founder and CEO of Kara Elise and Author of Toast. She specializes in creating spaces that spark community. She is also a recipe creator, food stylist and officially the hostess with the mostess.After working in the wedding planning industry for years, Kara was ready for a change. She moved to Los Angeles and decided to create her dream job, a dinner party company. She began hosting a bi-monthly dinner party from her loft called Whisky Wednesdays. Kara’s dream job organically grew into catering for individuals and events, hosting retreats, food styling, creating branded content, and authoring a book about Toast!In this episode, Kara shares how her Enneagram 7 personality, “The Enthusiast,” has aided her in embracing who she is as a woman and entrepreneur. She has been able to build, and grow, a business that is life-giving based on a deeper understanding of both her strengths and weaknesses.Although Kara has focused on being a content creator, she developed an itch to produce something she

Alexa Fischer is the Founder and CEO of AlexaFischer.com and Wishbeads. She specializes in teaching people how to speak their truth and find their internal light, in her words, “all 1000 watts”.Trained at Yale School of Drama, Alexa had a successful career in acting. An “aha” moment prompted her to leave acting when she realized it wasn’t fulfilling her core passion, to love people. Three days later she took a job doing media training. Organically, she began getting clients and she her coaching services were thriving.To differentiate herself, she put herself in front of a camera and began developing her methodology. Today, Alexa offers many ways to receive her training and expertise through online classes and in-person training for individuals and groups. Alexa has loved getting to use her training from drama school and love for people to help empower them to communicate effectively and naturally.In this episode, Alexa shares the realities, and offers a few pointers, for those who want to launch an online cla

Lauren Foundos is the Founder and CEO of FORTË, a streaming platform that brings live and on-demand boutique fitness classes to your home.  It’s the Netflix of gym memberships. How cool is that?Lauren Foundos never set out to be an entrepreneur. She had a thriving career as a bond trader, but the Wall Street lifestyle was preventing her from integrating a core passion of hers, working out. So Lauren assembled a crew of co-workers and clients who, instead of going out to happy hour, would go to boutique fitness classes after work. Lauren’s love for working out and the community atmosphere ignited her passion to bring the boutique fitness experience to everyone, no matter where they lived!In this episode, Lauren shares how she developed a robust streaming platform with no tech experience. She goes into to detail about the importance of spending wisely and keeping a lean budget while expanding your business. She also offers insight about free marketing through strategic partnerships and leveraging the partner's

Carley Rudd is a travel photographer and so much more. In addition to capturing exotic photos from all over the world, Carley also creates visual content for other brands. A creative soul from the beginning, she was raised by two artists and was always the “girl with the camera” growing up.Carley initially pursued a career in PR and marketing, while photography was an off-hours passion. One by one, photography jobs came Carley’s way and after 3 years as a side hustle, she decided to pursue her first love full-time. Then came this crazy app called Instagram. A rep from the social platform called to ask if they could put Carley on their “suggested user” list and within two weeks her modest following of 5,000 grew to 30,000 followers. CRAZY! That was the beginning of a new venture and the end of her office PR days.Identified as an “influencer” Carley was now being approached by brands to create content for them. Armed with the foundation of her PR background, she was able to navigate through the new world of con

Samantha Ettus is a work/life wellness expert, keynote speaker, bestselling author, entrepreneur, Forbes contributor, and Founder of SamanthaEttus.com—Whew, that took a minute!  This lady is serious about helping people lead more fulfilled lives!When Samantha went Harvard Business School, she was the only entrepreneur in her class—hard to imagine these days. She knew she wanted to do something different with her life but wasn’t sure what.  After graduating, Samantha launched Ettus Media Management, a personal branding firm. There she worked with many CEOs and field experts to create healthy boundaries and make meaningful changes that would lead to fulfilled personal and professional lives. Through her hard work and focus, she has become an expert in work/life wellness. Since launching SamanthaEttus.com, Samantha has shifted her focus to women. She supports women who want to work, have a family, be involved in their communities and be fulfilled. For Samantha it is not a “work/life balance” but a “pie for life”

Blythe Hill is the Founder and CEO of Dressember, a crowdfunding foundation working to raise awareness and provide anti-trafficking grants for organizations who are working to end human trafficking.What started as a personal style challenge in 2009 grew into an opportunity to align a cause near to Blythe's heart with wearing a dress. Blythe asked women (and men) to join her in wearing a dress, or a neck tie, everyday for the month of December in order to raise awareness and funds for human trafficking. These funds are then passed onto organizations that serve as boots on the ground to alleviate trafficking world-wide. Naturally, she named the campaign Dressember.Blythe never had any intention of starting a nonprofit. She was happily working for a small trend forecast magazine, and leading a movement was the furthest thing from her mind. In this episode, Blythe and Nada get into the weeds discussing the different operational and fundraising structures of nonprofits. Blythe shares the importance of being self a

LIBERTY Sessions with Nada Jones is switching it up this week! In this episode, Nada shares 5 listener questions about growing their small businesses. She offers insightful advice that can be applied to various types of businesses and a few examples to better illustrate solutions. If you have a question you would like answered please feel free to send us an email at info@libertyforher.com or leave a comment on our Instagram or Facebook.Don't forget to follow us at @libertyforher on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Please let us know your thoughts about this episode by using the hashtag #libertysessions and please rate and review us—it helps to know if this podcast is inspiring and equipping you to launch and grow your ventures. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Andrea Weinberg is the Founder and CEO of ANDI, a line of bags made for the daily commute or adventure travels. While in the midst of completing her MBA and working a full-time job, Andrea identified a gap in the accessories industry. She needed a bag that she could use for work, travel, and daily life that was both durable and luxurious. Andrea’s curiosity led her to embark on an adventure of developing the ANDI bag.In this episode, learn how Andrea’s background in litigation technology sales, her knowledge of travel, and an MBA created a thriving business. Andrea deep dives into the world of manufacturing. She offers advice on how to source materials, create a pattern, develop strong relationships with manufacturers, and encourages you to never hesitate to ask for advice or help.Andrea also offers her perspective on social impact. She encourages us to develop products that embody one’s social impact values. Andrea’s passion is contagious and will encourage you to take that next step in your own entrepreneur

Sarah Magidoff is the Founder and Creative Director of Canopy, a boutique creative studio designing for emerging brands. From a very young age, Sarah had her sights on being an architect and she worked hard to land in a reputable firm. In the midst of a career defining project, Sarah realized she didn’t actually enjoy being an architect. Heartbreak led to risk-taking and Sarah left her architecture career. She gave herself time to “play” in order to discover what she truly loved, and ultimately wanted to do with her life.In this episode, hear how Sarah unintentionally began her own creative studio during her “play” period. Since launching, Sarah has grown her client base organically through word of mouth and has remained focused on working with emerging companies. Sarah walks her clients through an guided process of question asking in order to distill their story and create a compelling brand concept.As a business owner, Sarah has experienced the challenges of being an entrepreneur. The hustle of working all

Tami Spenst is a multi-passionate entrepreneur. As an actor, interior designer and founder of Pluck, co-founder and co-owner of the Wheelhouse bike and coffee shop, she’s been traversing over the uncharted territory of maintaining three different ventures. Although each business may seem extremely different from the other, Tami has been able to identify the centering purpose for all three, "creating so others feel like they belong."Tami’s passion for inclusion propelled her into an unexpected entrepreneurial lifestyle pursuing three ventures. While each gives her life meaning, juggling all three does not come without challenges. In this episode, learn how Tami's organizational skills, and self-awareness, help her to manage her time, market her businesses, and continue to refine the processes of creating spaces for community and belonging. In addition, she enthusiastically offers the platforms, programs, and resources that have aided her in managing her full schedule.As a storyteller, curator of human experien

Iman Oubou, a published scientist, philanthropist, beauty queen and entrepreneur, is the Founder and CEO of SWAAY Media and the Entrepreneurs En Vogue podcast. On the heels of being crowned Miss New York US in 2015, Iman sought for a meaningful way to utilize her platform. She launched the podcast to provide a space to share stories of successful female entrepreneurs. Based on the response to the Entrepreneurs En Vogue podcast, Iman launched her new business venture SWAAY Media.In this episode, Iman shares the multiple reasons why she went after her entrepreneurial goals and why she aspires to change the way media communicates to young women. Iman talks about the lessons she learned raising money from investors, working for both nonprofit and for profit organizations and from an early business venture she was unprepared for. Her advice to pivot when necessary while never losing sight of the original vision is a great reminder to all.In addition to her varied experiences, Iman talks about how starting her care

Lauren Wallis is the Co-Founder and President of YOUME Clothing, a San Diego based nonprofit that exists to renew and empower communities through collaborative repurposing partnerships. YOUME Clothing turns rags into resources by providing new school uniforms to children in exchange for their oldest used piece of clothing. The tattered pieces of clothing are repurposed as patches onto YOUME branded apparel. The apparel sales fund the clothing exchanges and community projects.Before co-founding YOUME Clothing, Lauren went to work for her father’s business after college. It was there that she unexpectedly learned lessons in sales, retailing and manufacturing that would aid her in ultimately running YOUME Clothing. Lauren never wanted to be an entrepreneur or even run a company, but it was YOUME’s mission that caused her to step out of her comfort zone and lead the organization.In this episode, Lauren shares goals to scale YOUME Clothing as well as expand their mission and model to positively affect many other c

Anne Sage is a Content Creator. As a blogger, stylist, author and influencer she’s been navigating the road less travelled in an industry that is still unfolding. Back 2008 Anne, in hopes of having a running resume ready for Martha Stewart Living, started a blog. It was during the time when lifestyle and interior design blogs were still new and the community was small and supportive. In the past ten years Anne has witnessed the birth and boom of the blogging industry.In this episode, learn how Anne navigated the challenges and benefits of an industry, and has been able to pivot to be a full-time content creator, stylist, writer, and creative. Anne is a wellspring of wisdom and insight and is acutely aware of the over saturation in the content creation industry. She breaks down useful ways to utilize the best platform for your audience. She gives examples on how to identify the value of your posting when in conversation with potential brand partnerships, and reminds us all to thinking about the long game. Anne

Celeste Liversidge is a 20 year veteran lawyer and has spent the last 12 years focusing on adoption. In her tenure, as an lawyer, she has been listening, observing, and identifying the gaps in the adoption industry. Her justice minded passion kept her up late many nights thinking about ways she could solve the issues she identified. Her solutions propelled her to take an entrepreneurial approach and the result was not one, not two, BUT three additional ventures, all within the adoption industry!In addition to her adoption practice that has been active for over a decade, Adoption Law Group, Celeste shares why she found the need to create an app, AdoptMatch, that connects birth parents searching for adoptive parents. From that, she found a need to create Adopt Connect, a secure platform that allows birth parents and adoptive parents to share information and stay connected based on their adoption agreement. TruAdopt is non-profit full-service adoption law firm dedicated to representing expectant mothers in an et