Today, we're breaking the mold on our usual format, and taking a minute to reflect on what being a woman means, on International Women's Day. While this day is often a bit of a Hallmark holiday, I wanted to dig in to something a bit more real, vulnerable and personal.

Being a woman, and being with women, is a privilege and a joy. It can also be painful, frustrating and hard.

I wrote this essay a few years ago during a retreat, and it is a personal reflection on my own journey through womanhood and how that has evolved and manifested itself throughout my life.

I hope you find it poignant, entertaining, and heartfelt, and helps you reflect yourself on your own relationship to women, or to being a woman.

Happy International Women's Day!

Chris Troka is a serial entrepreneur and the founder of Focused-Biz, an innovative marketing company that leverages AI to help businesses create better customer experiences, increase conversion rates, and reduce time spent on administrative tasks using automation.

In this episode, you’ll hear how Chris identified a gap between technology and marketing and developed an AI-based solution to fill it, the collaborative approach he uses to develop his business tool, and the opportunities and considerations for using AI in your business. 

Chris tells us about the incredible success of his first business as a wedding DJ and falling in love with marketing, the drive behind launching a marketing agency, using AI and automation for business enhancement, and his quest to improve customer experience and administrative efficiency.

Chris describes the gap he saw between marketing and technology, Focused-Biz’s Comprehensive 14-in-1 business tool, the collaborative approach he’s taken to developing and improving the tool, and how businesses can use the tool to enhance their processes. 

Chris gets candid about the challenges of becoming a business owner, why he says you need to “choose your hard” as an entrepreneur, how the shift in work culture and worker motivation impacts business strategy and the two channels that have been most successful in generating leads. 

Lastly, Chris shares why most businesses can benefit from using AI, the big opportunities he sees in AI, ethical considerations to be aware of in your marketing and communications, why he believes in collaboration over competition in business, and the work he’s doing to create industry-specific AI solutions.

Skip to Topic:
3:20 - Starting an AI-based marketing agency
4:59 - Taking action and avoiding analysis paralysis
6:01 - How Focused-Biz’s 14-in-one AI business tool works
7:06 - Two ways businesses can leverage Focused-Biz’s AI tool
8:40 - Using open-source development and improving upon what’s already out there
10:58 - Creating a solution to fill the gap between technology and marketing
13:08 - The challenges of becoming a business owner
15:26 - Why you need to understand worker motivation as a business owner
19:12 - Why most businesses can benefit from AI
21:35 - The emergence of new skill sets and uses for AI technology
23:49 - Ethical considerations in marketing and communication
26:02 - Opportunities in AI and marketing to enhance your business
28:55 - Two lead generation strategies that Focused-Biz uses to attract customers
30:37 - Using a collaborative approach to development and business
32:46 - The truth about competition in business
34:50 - Creating industry-specific AI technology solutions
37:11 - The value of niching by industry

Find Chris at:
Website: https://focused-biz.com
Facebook: http://facebook.com/focusedbiz
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/focused-biz

Visit Stephanie at: https://stephaniehayes.biz/

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Ali Nichols is the co-founder of Getaway, an innovative real estate financing platform that empowers real estate entrepreneurs with creative financing solutions to build portfolios without taking on restrictive capital. 

In this episode, you’ll hear how Ali merged her passions into founding a business, the insights she gained along the way that led her to shift business models, why she prefers working with a business partner, and what her plans are for the future to scale Getaway.

Ali tells us how she combined two of her passions into entrepreneurship, the inspiration she gained from working at Uber, and the early stages of launching her business and raising capital.

Ali describes how she used research and testing to develop her value proposition, the importance of honing in on the core problem you solve, and how Getaway helps its customers build real estate portfolios. 

Ali shares the two channels that have yielded the most growth, how Getaway uses customer research and feedback to improve its product, pivoting from offering fractional investments to assisting customers in outright property ownership, and how she realized Getaway needed to shift business models.

Ali discusses the importance of building and nurturing partnerships for distribution, the difference between investment buyers and residential home buyers, and the challenges in the current real estate market.

Finally, Ali talks about the symbiotic relationship she shares with her co-founder, the benefits of being in business with a partner, the importance of defining roles and responsibilities in a partnership, the unglamorous reality of entrepreneurship that isn’t talked about enough, and Getaway’s future plans for expansion.

Don't miss Ali Nichols' reflections on her journey with Getaway and the hard-won wisdom she shares.

Skip to Topic:
3:31 - Going from business idea to startup
4:41 - Validating your business idea through research and testing
6:43 - Identifying the core problem you solve for customers
9:01 - How Getaway helps customers build real estate portfolios
10:37 - Shifting business models based on customer feedback
12:04 - The two channels that have contributed to Getaway’s growth
14:05 - Knowing when it’s time to shift your business model
16:29 - Identifying your ideal customer
17:16 - How to use partnerships to grow your business
22:20 - Understanding the risks of real estate investing
24:40 - Forging a successful co-founder working relationship
28:21 - The unglamorous truth about being an entrepreneur
 31:58 - Scaling the business to include foreign investors

Find Ali at:
Website: https://www.getaway.co
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alicnichols/

Visit Stephanie at: https://stephaniehayes.biz/

Follow me on Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | Twitter