Tune in for Episode#6 of Season 3, when Pon Angara, VisionReady’s Creative Director and Disrupt Your Day Host, chats with Yvette Steele, VP Technology Talent, Strategic Partnerships & National Expansion at SnapIT Solutions.

Yvette is a passionate executive who helps businesses realize the promise of a diverse workforce through the implementation of data driven initiatives that eradicate barriers many face in launching and thriving in tech careers, maximizing their potential, and integrating inclusion into day-to-day interactions.

 "If you're a solopreneur and you own a company with one to ten employees, your approach will be starkly different than one who has dozens or hundreds of employees," points out Yvette. "What many soloprenuers fail to realize, though, is that they are not too small top leverage diversity even if they are a company of one."

 Yvette has been recognized as a diversity thought leader on the Channel Futures DE&I 101 List for advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion through words, actions, and leadership and has served on the DEI Advisory Committee for YMCA-USA, the Tech Advisory Board Steering Committee for the National Urban League, and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Task Force for Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce. Toward the end of our podcast, Yvette helps us further by broadening the meaning and impact of diversity for business success.

 "When you think about the way we can make an impact as leaders, socializing with other leaders who are doing the same things we're doing and have different skill sets from ours and are more successful at it, benefits us," says Yvette. "These are people who we should emulate and identify as role models so we not only go through the challenges but also grow through the challenges."

 Watch the full interview with DEI Insider Founder Yvette Steele on our podcast channels today.

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Tune in for Episode#5 of Season 3, when Pon Angara, VisionReady’s Creative Director and Disrupt Your Day Host, chats with Pattie Sheehan, Certified Mastectomy Fitter and Owner of Second Act Cancer Recovery Boutique in Chicago.

Pattie graduated college in 1975 with a bachelor's degree in journalism and started what would become her dream career in Advertising. The challenges were many as advertising account management was a "man's job" back then but Pattie persevered, eventually becoming vice president of client services for a mid-sized ad agency for more than a decade. But, at age 53, that agency closed and Pattie faced the agism that many older professionals encounter.

“In February 2005 my mother Tess, age 80, was diagnosed with stage four ovarian cancer," recalls Pattie. "I watched her struggle to maintain her dignity, never losing her sense of self or her sense of humor, and all the while reaching out to others as they ‘joined the club’. When she died in June 2007 I realized what I needed to do for my second act."

In 2008 she made a colossal career shift opening Second Act Cancer Recovery Boutique and in 2020 was named Certified Mastectomy Fitter of the Year by Breast Cancer Wellness Magazine. Today, at age 70, she continues to operate Second Act, Chicago's only ABCOP accredited mastectomy boutique, serving breast cancer patients and survivors from throughout the Chicagoland area.

"Second Act embraces the belief that life is an ongoing creative project and that everyone has the power to envision the life we desire, even after unexpected, sometimes devastating, circumstances," says Pattie. "In this spirit Second Act helps individuals facing physical changes retain their self-esteem, regain their self-image and thrive."

Watch the full interview in which Pattie shares how she chose to become a pioneer in her industry, persevered through the uphill climb, and built a reputation in Chicagoland as the go-to source for breast cancer patients and survivors seeking physical transformation for their emotional well-being.

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If you want a free 30-minute Business Strategy call on how to build your brand and take your business to the next level, schedule a call with us: https://diverse.visionready.org/strategy 

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You're only one connection away from success. Cheers! 🥂

Capital and Advocacy: How Black founders can find support to scale and grow their companies.

Tune in for Episode #4 of Season 3, when Pon Angara, VisionReady’s Creative Director and Disrupt Your Day Host, chats with Delmarie Cobb, veteran journalist and a fierce advocate for underserved communities. She was the first African American to serve as press secretary of the Democratic National Convention in 1996 and served as the Illinois press secretary for Hillary Clinton's historic presidential bid in 2016.

To pass on her wealth of experience and knowledge, she founded the Ida B. Wells Legacy Committee, a political action committee whose purpose is to develop the next generation of progressive African-American women candidates who are willing to speak truth to power and work in the best interests of their constituents, keep voters informed, and engage political activists around public policy decisions.

Delmarie grew up in a family wherein politics was a regular topic of conversation. Her journalism and publicity career began in the newsroom where she worked as a television reporter. The stories she covered helped to grow her dream to work for a presidential campaign in the future. 

After serving as the national traveling press secretary to presidential candidate Jesse Jackson in 1988, she decided to marry her love for media and politics by starting her own venture, The Publicity Works, a Chicago-based, public affairs, political consulting, and media relations firm.

“What fascinates me the most about this profession is the fact that every day is a different day because my work is determined by what’s happening in the news,” says Delmarie. “I’ve been doing this for more than 30 years and I’m still not bored. I must keep reading and learning about the issues which affect us all.”

Homing in on our topic, Delmarie advises Black business owners to seek partners who bring different skillsets that complement their own.

“As founders, we don’t have to recreate the wheel in order to be successful,” says Delmarie. “And if you try to do it all, some things won’t get done and some things will get messy. I wish I had known this when I started.”

Watch the full interview for more compelling sound bites from Delmarie Cobb into how Black founders can leverage today’s business trends for success.


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If you want a free 30-minute Business Strategy call on how to build your brand and take your business to the next level, schedule a call with us: https://diverse.visionready.org/strategy 

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You're only one connection away from success. Cheers! 🥂

Tune in for Episode#3 of Season 3, when Pon Angara, VisionReady’s Creative Director and Disrupt Your Day Host, chats with Sheryl Soukup, Founder and President of Soukup Strategic Solutions, providing nonprofit organizations with expertise in fundraising, nonprofit management, marketing, and grants management.

 Sheryl founded the company in 2012 because she had been working for many years in nonprofits and felt that she could have a better impact if she worked with many nonprofits instead of just one.

 "I found that consulting work was something that allowed me to use my strengths in a way that was very beneficial for our clients and very rewarding for me," says Sheryl. "Over time, I realized that there were many other consultants who could do the same thing so I decided that instead of just being a consultant myself that I would grow a business that matched consultants with nonprofits that needed that special expertise."

 Sheryl’s North Star in managing her business and leading her staff comprises three pillars—strategy, culture, and process. In our interview, she breaks them down even further to define specific goals and tasks.

 “For Q1, I'm reporting on the strategic plan for everyone in the company to get the big picture and create fun ways to bring that plan to life throughout the year,” Sheryl points out. “We're growing so we also need to prepare training videos for onboarding new staff sometime in Q3.”

 Watch the full interview for more insight from Sheryl Soukup into what it takes to have a laser-focused approach to starting the year with a clear strategy for your business.

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If you want a free 30-minute Business Strategy, call on how to build your brand and take your business to the next level, schedule a call with us: https://diverse.visionready.org/strategy 

 🔗 Join the conversation on social media: 

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Tune in today for Episode#2 of Season 3, when Pon Angara, VisionReady’s Creative Director and Disrupt Your Day Host, chats with Lynn Hazan, President and Founder of Lynn Hazan & Associates. As a "relationship recruiter," she has been making a difference in the careers of marketing and communications professionals for the past 23 years.

“How I work with clients mirrors the way I work with candidates,” says Lynn. “I ask questions and I dig deep going beyond the descriptions of the job specs. I ask for stories because people remember stories that reflect their culture and values. Stories help candidates to interview better with good synergy that flows between them and the client.”

Watch for a bonus tidbit from Lynn about creating your own six-word story that captures your unique essence and can help potential clients or partners to remember you. She also shares her strategies for building relationships that generate business leads.

“One of my mottos for my internship program is: You teach me, I teach you, we teach each other, and we all learn together,” Lynn points out. “The more we help each other across the generations, everybody wins.”

For startups who need to hire talent for the first time, Lynn recommends the book “Love + Work” by Marcus Buckingham. Watch the full interview for more learning nuggets from talent and relationship guru Lynn Hazan.

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🤙 If you want a free 30-minute Business Strategy call on how to build your brand and take your business to the next level, schedule a call with us: https://diverse.visionready.org/strategy 

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You're only one connection away from success. Cheers! 🥂

Tune in today for Episode#1 of Season 3, when Pon Angara, VisionReady’s Creative Director and Disrupt Your Day Host, chats with Sandee Kastrul, President and Co-Founder of i.c.stars, developing leaders through a robust training program for underserved young adults.

"I discovered that the kids with the least amount of resources had the most resilience," says Kastrul. “If we could foster that, we would have a great pool of talent for technology careers as programmers but also as entrepreneurs and, most importantly, as system thinkers who can use that process and methodology embedded in technology to develop their communities."

Today’s episode is Part 1 of a series on the topic “Starting the Year Right: What are your Top 3 Priority Action Steps for January 2023?” Kastrul began her response by sharing her Big Word for the year—READINESS.

“As a person, as the leader of the organization, and as the organization with specific growth goals, how do we get emotionally ready, physically ready, our infrastructure ready, our brand ready?” asked Kastrul. “What is that guiding principle that brings us through to the other side?”

Our interview with Sandee Kastrul was packed with many learning nuggets you can use to start your year with strength, clarity, and confidence. Give a listen and let us know what you think.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
🤙 If you want a free 30-minute Business Strategy call on how to build your brand and take your business to the next level, schedule a call with us: https://diverse.visionready.org/strategy

🔗 Join the conversation on social media:

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We launched our podcast 1yr ago on National Podcast Day.

Today is our anniversary. Help us celebrate by looking back at our year and listening to these amazing entrepreneurs’ stories, struggles, and successes!

Don’t forget to like, subscribe and share!

View Full Episode:
https://youtu.be/mqDTLuAqTFs

Tune in today for the Second Episode of our Special Edition: Champagne & French Fries when Petula Sankarsingh, VisionReady CEO and Disrupt Your Day Host, chats with B. Cole, comedian, actor, director, writer, producer—Chicago’s very own.

 Starting his career at a young age B. Cole has performed at clubs and colleges all over the United States. He made his television debut at the age of twenty on BET’s Comic View, hosted by D. L. Hughley. B. Cole reached a pinnacle when he was awarded his own one-hour Grandstand Special on BET’s Comic View. He was a founding member of The Second City’s first urban sketch comedy ensemble Forgotten City.

 "Growing up, I was a shy kid, but when you’re surrounded by people that you feel comfortable with, they get to see the real you," says Cole. "So, I started with a small circle of friends who knew my unique sense of humor and they encouraged me to make it in comedy."

 B. Cole has captured audiences across the country with his original side-splitting, thought-provoking material. He has toured U.S. military bases throughout Japan and here in the states. His internationally acclaimed signature comical piece, “I’m in Love with a Crack Head” a satirical love poem, inspired B. Cole to develop the concept into a short film.

 “Every comedian has another comedian who they look up to and who inspired them—Richard Pryor, Eddy Murphy, George Carlin—they taught me how to be funny,” points out Cole. “But the person who truly encouraged me to get up on stage was Damon Wayans.”

 In 2002 one of B. Cole’s biggest accomplishments is when he was invited to share the stage with musical genius, Prince, accompanied by Common and Macy Gray!

 “My advice to the youth is that every time they are confronted by a hurdle on their path to pursue their dreams, they must stay honest to themselves,” says Cole. “Don’t worry about conforming to what others expect or want you to be just to fit in. You have to be yourself. And you have to give yourself enough time to do that.”

Facebook/B.Cole
Instagram @bcolecomedian
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YouTube/bcolefilms

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You're only one connection away from success. Cheers! 🥂 

~Petula Sankarsingh