Woman Wednesday: Carly

*Note: Woman Wednesday is a part of our blog. Each Woman Wednesday post will feature a woman who would like to share information in the hopes of inspiring and motivating other women. Comments are welcome below.     


 

Q and A with Carly, Melbourne, Australia

 

I used to give up on projects too early without enough feedback to see it through, and I attribute my giving up too early mostly to self-limiting beliefs. You can have the best business model and the best-looking website and great marketing strategy, but if you don’t believe in yourself first, you will fail every time. So for me, first and foremost is get your mindset right in the beginning, and set the foundations to build an amazing life for yourself and stick at it! The only way you will stick at anything is self-reliance, discipline, and self-belief.”   

 

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Q: What are you passionate about?

A: I am most passionate about creating personal and financial freedom for not only myself and my family, but also empowering women to create the same for themselves.  For me, it’s always been about being able to live my best life on my own terms with the flexibility and freedom to be able to help and inspire others in my own unique way. I have always been passionate about the online business space, and I started my own affiliate marketing site back in 2002 and never looked back since. From there, I went into web development and search engine marketing and helped businesses grow their online presence. I also studied personal and business coaching and assisted a mentor of mine to build an online course that helps people to change self-limiting beliefs and mindset coaching. I now own and operate one of Australia’s largest Christian dating websites and have just started compiling all my knowledge to build a platform for women to grow personally through an online business called InspireHer Online. InspireHer Online will help positively change the lives of millions of women around the world giving them the most effective path to their personal and financial freedom on their own terms.

 

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Q: What is something valuable you’ve learned that you’d like others to know?

A: I love to share my skills, failures, and successes with others in an effort to help them avoid the pitfalls and misdirection that is rampant in the online business world.
One of the most valuable lessons I have learned that you can apply to both personal and business is consistency and self-belief! Never give up on your dreams! Realize that lots of failures lead you closer to success. I used to give up on projects too early without enough feedback to see it through, and I attribute my giving up too early mostly to self-limiting beliefs. You can have the best business model and the best-looking website and great marketing strategy, but if you don’t believe in yourself first, you will fail every time. So for me, first and foremost is get your mindset right in the beginning, and set the foundations to build an amazing life for yourself and stick at it! The only way you will stick at anything is self-reliance, discipline, and self-belief.

This was a big one for me, and it is what lead me to learn how to remove and change the old belief patterns I had and replace them with ones that align with my values. Developing a set of values for yourself is so important; they are your foundations and backbone that guide you through your life. Having no/a poor set of values or compromising your values to suit your needs at that moment will always create self-doubt, lack of direction, lack of purpose, and anxiety for you. Not correcting your old beliefs that don’t serve you will have you chasing your own tail and repeating the same old behavior and ultimately, lead to self-sabotage. So, I would say this is the most valuable lesson I can pass on and teach with my passion to help others finally achieve the long-term success they deserve.

 

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Q: What were your younger years like? 

A: I grew up in a small town near Melbourne, Australia, as an only child, and my mother was a hard-working single mum. During my younger years, I was always painting and drawing and ran art classes for other younger kids to raise money to go on a 12-month student exchange trip to Sweden which had a huge impact on my life—showing me that life experience and experiencing different cultures and people are things you can never learn in a classroom. I backpacked all around Europe afterward and have now traveled to 21 countries and counting! I started online marketing back in 1999 and developed a long-standing background in I.T. and digital design and marketing. 

I combined both talents and first began designing websites in 2001 as a web designer for a Melbourne-based company, then started my own business developing online businesses for clients, and then later studied and taught coaching and consulting. Since then, I have been married and divorced, I have a wonderful 12-year-old son, and I have started many businesses (some that failed, some that succeeded). I have been flat broke, I have had wealth, and I have come through it all into total prosperity now, and I feel so privileged to be able to help other women achieve the same and more.

 

 

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Pictured: Carly and her son. 

 

Q: What does feminism mean to you? 

A: I have never been a fan of labels, so to me, feminism means being a good human and treating each other as equals. I don’t believe women should have to be a certain way due to societal beliefs, and I also think men should be able to show emotion and cry without being perceived as weak. We are all human in the end—no matter what kind of body parts we have, I hope in time we can love and respect each other for the individuals we are and celebrate that.

 

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Carly’s collage to remind herself of her path to success.

 

 

Connect with me! I’d love to chat with you! 

Business Links:

www.inspireheronline.com

www.instagram.com/inspireheronline

 

 

 

 

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Woman Wednesday: Sarah

*Note: Woman Wednesday is a part of our blog. Each Woman Wednesday post will feature a woman who would like to share information in the hopes of inspiring and motivating other women. Comments are welcome below.    


 

Q and A with Sarah, Seattle, Washington

 

“Sports have been a passion of mine since I started playing soccer at 4 years old, and I have been coaching for 15 years. In addition to being a soccer player, I have now joined the Seattle Majestics football team to try my hand at something new. As a rookie this year, I am excited to step outside of my comfort zone, learn to tackle, and hopefully win a championship with the impressive women who make up this team.”   

 

Q: What are you passionate about?

A: As the CEO/ Founder of Girl Boss Sports and a professional tackle football player with the Seattle Majestics this year, you could say that one of my biggest passions is sports. Girl Boss Sports is a company I created for two main reasons: 1) To improve the pipeline of female sports coaches as there are simply too few of us (for example, only 21% of soccer coaches in the US are women) and 2) To provide a quality sports experience FOR girls BY women (currently we are focusing on soccer in the Seattle area). We work on soccer-specific development, mentality, fitness, AND do all of this with the added benefit of providing female role models to the athletes we coach.

 

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Sports have been a passion of mine since I started playing soccer at 4 years old, and I have been coaching for 15 years. In addition to being a soccer player, I have now joined the Seattle Majestics football team to try my hand at something new. As a rookie this year, I am excited to step outside of my comfort zone, learn to tackle, and hopefully win a championship with the impressive women who make up this team.

 

I am also passionate about leadership, women supporting women, and being a “womanpreneur.” Currently, my two big goals are having the best season I can with the Majestics and scaling up Girl Boss Sports as we hire several coaches and are establishing partnerships with other local businesses who have similar goals.

 

Sarah Wolfer Headshot

 

Q: What were your younger years like?

A: Being an athlete my entire life was one of the most impactful things on who I am to this day (and I’m not alone in this). According to a survey of female C-Suite Executives, 96% said that they participated in sports as a teenager, and I am one of those individuals. Sports ignited my passion for leadership when I first took on the role of “captain” and then eventually “coach.” Sports also taught me life lessons about teamwork, accountability, working toward goals, sportsmanship, confidence, and communication–all these things that have helped me to be successful as a woman in this world and at work. These lessons I learned along the way are a huge part of who I am today and what Girl Boss Sports is working to do for the next generation of female athletes and coaches.

 

 

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Q: What is something valuable you’ve learned that you’d like others to know?

A: I have learned that if you want success (in whatever area that is for you), it takes hard work, grit, preparation, and resilience (and one without the other doesn’t work). Life will hit us hard at one point or another, and the ability to be resilient in the face of adversity is one lesson that sports taught me that is transferable to finding success and happiness in life. Secondly, I have learned that nothing comes easy that is worthwhile, and this is where hard work and grit comes in. One thing I often find myself speaking about to the athletes I work with is centered around these topics. Often I have found that athletes can be hard on themselves if every movement, touch, etc. is not perfect every time. Instead of getting frustrated about not having fully developed a specific skill we are working on, I discuss that it is not perfection we are after, but progress. The only way to progress at something is to go through the discomfort of imperfection. Finally, whenever I am working on a “hard thing” (and what that is varies depending on the circumstances), I have found that by preparing for it ahead of time not only does it go better, but I have significantly less anxiety around it as well. Preparation really is the key to success in life!

 

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One of the things I hope you learn from my story is the power that sports can have on anyone and everyone. Being involved with sports provides so many opportunities to teach life lessons and find success on AND off the field. Whether you are someone who has never played before or thinking about getting back into it, just do it! There are a ton of recreational leagues and teams and classes around the nation that could be a great outlet for you and I highly recommend it. And if you are someone with children (or know somebody who has children) I’d encourage you to get them involved in (and help them stay in) sports. If you have girls, it’s even better that you’re reading this. By age 14, girls are 1.5 to 2 times more likely to drop out of sports, and this is incredibly sad to hear. This is due to a ton of reasons including lack of access, costs associated with participation in sports, and lack of positive female role models. These are all things that Girl Boss Sports is working to change.

 

 

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Q: What does feminism mean to you? 

A: Intersectional feminism is where it’s at! This means that I am striving to do my part in advocating for equality not only among the sexes, but also working to be inclusive of women with other intersectional identities (i.e. women of color, LGBT+ women, women with different abilities, and more). As someone who has experienced how hard society can be on us women, it is so important for us to stand together and advocate for one another in everything we do.

 

 

Connect with me!

 

Girl Boss Sports:

Website: https://girlbosssports.com/

Email: Info@GirlBossSports.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/girlbosssports/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/girlbosssports/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/girlbosssports1

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/girlbosssports/

 

 

Sarah Wolfer:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ceo_sarahwolfer/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahwolfer/

 

 

Seattle Majestics Women’s Tackle Football:

Website: https://seattlemajestics.wnfcfootball.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theseattlemajestics/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seattle_majestics/

 

 

 

 

 

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Woman Wednesday: Tabatha

*Note: Woman Wednesday is a part of our blog. Each Woman Wednesday post will feature a woman who would like to share information in the hopes of inspiring and motivating other women. Comments are welcome below.   


 

Q and A with Tabatha, Washtenaw County, Michigan

 

Having a team is the cornerstone to success.” 

 

Q: What are you passionate about?

A: Baking! Confections Factory has been a part of my heart for well over 20 years. The concept of what we do is simple. Love in every slice. The mission is for every client to feel like they are [ back in their childhood years ] sitting at the foot of their mom’s apron tasting the delicate treasures that come from her oven. If I had to define my passion, it’s the smile I get from each customer with every delivery. There is no greater feeling than a good slice of heaven and a smile to go with it.

 

52744559_393016344592510_903654981570134016_nPictured: Culinary baker and businesswoman, Tabatha. 

 

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Pictured: A delicious buttercream birthday cake by Tabatha from Confections Factory. Shipping is available in all U.S. states! 

 

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Chocolate strawberries, anyone? 

 

Q: What were your younger years like?

A: I have loved baking since the age of 8. Spending time with all the women in my family baking was the release we had and the bond we built together. Sharing recipes and watching them create sparked a fire I could never put out.

 

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Pictured: A peanut butter chocolate lover’s best friend!  

 

Pictured: Some of the delicious goodies you can order from Confections Factory! Their number one best seller? The cake named “Sexual Chocolate!” It is pictured on the bottom left. 

 

 

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Q: What is something valuable you’ve learned that you’d like others to know?

A: Having a team is the cornerstone to success. I used to do all of this solo. I never had outside support. I just thought this was a hobby. Then I attended a class in 2017 called “E-Series,” and it gave me my fire back. It showed me how to gradually put the right pieces in place and excel. Since then, I have been on a mission with God on one side and my team on the other. Right now, we are only a team of three, but it’s a mighty one. One person handles production and development so that we keep the flavors fresh, one handles the strategy, and I handle the baking. Then of course let’s not forget our pop-up staffers that assist with events and more.

 

 

Pictured: Tabatha, Graphic Designer Sheryl Morton, and Business Manager Brandi C. Shelton.
Not pictured: Christopher McGhee’ Kelly (but a special shout-out goes to him as Tabatha’s business partner)! 

Q: What does feminism mean to you? 

A: I like this quote by Coco Chanel:

“The most courageous act is to think for yourself. Aloud.”

 

 

 

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Do you have a sweet tooth? Do you have a special occasion coming up?

Confections Factory ships anywhere in the United States! Click here to check out her bakery! Call or contact her on her page to order!

Click here to follow Confections Factory on Facebook!

 

 

Tabatha & My Lilianas would love to hear from you! Comment below! 

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Woman Wednesday: Chanel

*Note: Woman Wednesday is a part of our blog. Each Woman Wednesday post will feature a woman who would like to share information in the hopes of inspiring and motivating other women. Comments are welcome below.  


 

Q and A with Chanel, Annapolis, Maryland 

 

“Staying true to yourself is important in any industry. It’s easy for others to laugh or joke or not take you seriously, so try and tune out those voices. No one else is responsible for your happiness or life successes.”

 

Q: What are you passionate about?

A: I am passionate about empowering women in the form of positive thinking, learning independent lifestyle habits to allow us to not have to fully rely on anyone else, and body positivity. I am currently a lifestyle, boudoir, and wedding photographer. This career allows me to meet so many different people. We have a self-love project going on right now. I also have spent two years working as a distributor for a makeup company, Senegence International. This has opened many doors from opening a team of over 120 ladies all over the USA and helping others learn makeup skills with a cruelty-free brand.

 

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Pictured: Chanel ready to take some amazing photos! 

 

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Pictured: Some shots of Chanel promoting self-love. 

 

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Pictured: Photos Chanel took while collaborating with My Lilianas.

 

 

Q: What were your younger years like?

A: My younger years were focused around finding myself. I studied early childhood education in college, but I never fully dove in. My passion became photography.

 

My parents have a huge influence on my life. They’ve encouraged me to make my own path, money, and success since high school. I immediately worked multiple jobs from 15 and up. Savings was my main focus versus spending money on some of the things that friends were. It helped fund the start of multiple businesses. My mom is very much into makeup and helping women find confidence within themselves. She’s constantly showering others with praise. My dad is a businessman who has paved a way of multiple streams of income, hard work, and goal setting.

 

 

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Pictured: Chanel, her husband, and their three children. 

 

 

Q: What is something valuable you’ve learned that you’d like others to know?

A: Staying true to yourself is important in any industry. It’s easy for others to laugh or joke or not take you seriously, so try and tune out those voices. No one else is responsible for your happiness or life successes. Making goals and understanding that plans will change is crucial in finding growth. I also feel it’s important for women to make their own money, save some for life-changing events, and invest in themselves and their family. I would love for ladies to learn that you can honestly become anyone you want to be. Whether it’s a teacher, photographer, life coach, makeup artist, or something else entirely.

 

 

 

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Pictured: Chanel and her friends, Brittani and Kristin.

 

Q: What does feminism mean to you? 

A: I feel it means not letting others have a hold on you. Feminism means knowing you’re the one in charge of your life’s outcome. One of the hardest things for me to see in relationships and marriages is a male figure seeking dominance over someone based on income or working status. Or when couples separate seeing a female say she has nothing to her own name or has nothing for herself. I hope to one day design a course for ladies in high school and college to help encourage women to protect themselves.

 

 

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Pictured: Chanel and her daughter.

 

You can check out the variety of services Chanel provides by clicking here. 

Chanel Photography services, click here. 

Chanel’s SeneSite, click here.

 

 

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Woman Wednesday: Jess

*Note: Woman Wednesday is a part of our blog. Each Woman Wednesday post will feature a woman who would like to share information in the hopes of inspiring and motivating other women. Comments are welcome below. 


 

Q and A with Jess, Howard County, Maryland 

“If you have a setback in the process of achieving your goals, and you feel as though you’ve failed, take a moment to reflect on why you weren’t successful and what you can do to ensure that you won’t make the same mistake(s) again. Then forgive yourself and get ready for another try. Self-improvement is not an endgame; it is a constant process.”

 

Q: What are you passionate about?

A: I’m passionate about self-improvement in all areas of my life. I am constantly reflecting on how I can become the best possible version of myself, the person that I visualize when I think “this is who I want to be.”

As a third-grade teacher, I am always looking for better ways to engage and instruct my students, whether it’s something small like using a magnifying glass to be “Story Problem Detectives,” or something big, like transforming my classroom into a tropical rainforest, complete with a humidifier and real plants. Every lesson that I teach, I ask myself, “What went well?” and “What could I do differently to make this lesson better?” The book that I’m reading now, “The Wild Card: 7 Steps to an Educator’s Creative Breakthrough,” is a great source of inspiration, and it also provides concrete steps to help me improve my teaching.

I strive for self-improvement in other areas of my life as well. I want to be physically stronger, I want to be more organized, I want to be more financially secure, and I want to be more fearless in pursuit of things that excite me. I’m always working on some part of myself.

It can be hard not to beat myself up when I make mistakes that put me further away from reaching my goals. But it’s something that I’ve been working on a lot lately.

 

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Pictured: Jess in her classroom. She does whatever she can to make learning fun for her students. 

 

Q: What is something valuable you’ve learned that you’d like others to know?

A: Striving for perfection doesn’t work. It’s an absurd amount of pressure to place on yourself, and it’s setting yourself up for failure. You are a human being. You’re not perfect, and you never will be. Perfection is an unattainable goal, and it’s unreasonable to expect it of yourself.

You can, however, always strive for improvement. I personally have started changing my mindset to think “progress, not perfection,” and that has done wonders for my stress level.

I wrote a lot about this in a post about my New Year’s resolutions on my blog, which you can find here if you would like to read it: https://averageadventuress.blogspot.com/2019/01/new-year-new-words.html

 

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Pictured: Jess rock climbing. 

 

Q: What were your younger years like?

A: One of the stories I’ve heard the most about my childhood is the one that my dad likes to tell: When I was about three years old, my family was getting ready to leave the house (we may have been going out to dinner or to the park, that’s the part that no one really remembers). I was sent upstairs to get my shoes. After several minutes, my dad hollered up the stairs that if I didn’t come back down with my shoes soon, I would be left behind. No response from three-year-old me. He came up the stairs to investigate, and there I was, on the floor of my room, silent tears streaming down my face as I fiercely struggled to tie my own shoelaces.

I like to say that this story sums up two of my three main personality traits: stubbornly independent (to the point of pigheadedness at times) and a perfectionist, holding myself to high standards (sometimes impossibly high). This simultaneously drives my desire for self-improvement and makes me very anxious.

 

 

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Pictured: Jess at the Colosseum in Rome, Italy. 

 

My third main personality trait: I’ve always been an introvert. As a kid, I remember feeling tortured every time my parents made me order my own food at a restaurant or introduce myself to someone new. Speaking to strangers was the absolute bane of my childhood existence.

I started playing the violin in 3rd grade, but I was hands-down the quietest in the entire orchestra until high school when the director decided he was going to bring me out of my shell. Throughout my four years of high school, he pushed me to take on leadership roles within the orchestra, and he even tutored me during the summer (to the point that I became concertmaster of the orchestra and played a solo in the spring concert my senior year). This was something beyond unthinkable to my ninth-grade self.

That one teacher had such a profound impact on my life. The confidence I found in orchestra spilled over into other areas of my life. It also cemented my desire to become a teacher. I want to do for students what my high school orchestra director did for me.

I’m still an introvert. I’m still stubbornly independent. And I’m still a perfectionist. I think these things are the anchors of who I am. But I’ve found ways to make these traits work for me, rather than allowing them to be obstacles between me and my goals; I’m turning them into strengths.

 

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Pictured: Jess playing kronum (a hybrid sport of soccer, handball, and basketball, played on a circular field with 4 goals). 

Q: What would you like others to learn from your story? 

A: To become the person who you want to be, you must make a plan; it’s not just going to happen on its own. I start with the big goals I want to achieve, and I look for small steps to get me closer to achieving that goal, one step at a time.

For example, reducing the amount of trash I send to the landfills is one of the big goals that I’m working on. Small steps toward this goal include using reusable grocery bags and produce bags, using reusable water bottles and coffee cups, and saying “no” to freebies that I don’t need. As I master each “baby step,” I move on to another small goal. Big changes don’t happen all at once; the small changes add up to big change.

If you have a setback in the process of achieving your goals, and you feel as though you’ve failed, take a moment to reflect on why you weren’t successful and what you can do to ensure that you won’t make the same mistake again. Then forgive yourself and get ready for another try. Self-improvement is not an endgame; it is a constant process.

 

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Pictured: Jess during her recent skydiving adventure. 

 

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Pictured: Jess surrounded by Legos in Copenhagen, Denmark.

 

 

 

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