At a certain level of expertise, more effort stops being the differentiator. Proximity becomes the lever that accelerates opportunity.

If you've ever wondered why some experts seem to attract opportunities effortlessly while others work twice as hard for half the traction, this episode will connect the dots. The key factor is rarely how good you are, how much experience you have, or how well positioned your authority is – it's the environment they are operating in.

In episode 475 of Amplify Your Success podcast, I break down why experts inside collaborative communities like curated masterminds and The Rising Tide Collective have a powerful and often overlooked advantage. We explore how opportunities actually move in the market, why visibility accelerates through trust amongst connections, which activates an unfair advantage that no amount of solo effort can replicate.

This conversation is not about networking harder or joining more groups (especially the free online FB groups that become overly saturated.) It's about understanding how aligned communities can create shared visibility, compound credibility, and open doors that are difficult to access alone.

If you are an expert who wants more referrals, higher-level conversations, and opportunities that feel aligned rather than forced, this episode will help you see what really creates traction at the next level.

[00:00] Why opportunity is rarely about effort and more often about relationships with the right people.

[02:41] How collaborative communities quietly accelerate trust and visibility.

[04:58] The difference between being visible alone and being visible through shared momentum.

[07:12] Why referrals and opportunities flow faster inside aligned communities.

[09:36] How collaboration removes friction from visibility and relationship building.

[12:04] Why many experts stall by trying to grow in isolation.

[14:27] What makes a community expansive instead of an energetic drain.

[17:10] How shared values and contribution create compound opportunity.

[19:45] Why experts who win consistently are rarely doing it alone.

• The Rising Tide Collective is an online community where experts and leaders come together to co-create visibility opportunities and aligned collaborations that lift everyone up. Each month you can participate in our signature mini-minds, a curated connection space, showcase your business, and gain access to tools to build powerful, profitable partnerships.
  If you're ready to lead at your next level, apply for membership at MelanieBenson.com/Collective.

Being visible on LinkedIn can help you get found by your ideal audience, but if you aren't leveraging the platform to its fullest potential, you can still be overlooked.

For many business women who post content regularly, the authority, invitations, and opportunities they desire are still falling short. What many discover is that doing all of the right things on LinkedIn doesn't mean you are a 'discoverable expert.'

In Episode 474 of the Amplify Your Success podcast, I'm joined by Karen Yankovich, LinkedIn and PR expert for women entrepreneurs, to unpack what is actually creating authority right now and why visibility without credibility no longer moves the needle.

Karen and I talk about the difference between being active on LinkedIn and being positioned, how PR accelerates trust in ways content alone cannot, and why midlife women are uniquely suited to lead with experience, perspective, and presence. We also explore how authority compounds over time when visibility is anchored in identity, relevance, and contribution, not noise.

If you are tired of blending in, want your expertise to be recognized, and are ready for LinkedIn to open real doors, this conversation will help you see what needs to shift.

[00:00] Why LinkedIn visibility alone no longer creates authority or opportunity.

[04:12] The difference between posting content and being positioned as a thought leader.

[07:35] How PR elevates credibility and accelerates trust beyond social media.

[10:28] Why midlife women have a natural advantage in building authority right now.

[13:44] The identity shift required to move from expert to recognized leader.

[17:02] How strategic visibility compounds into long-term influence and opportunity.

[20:16] Why authority is built through relevance and proximity, not volume.

[23:41] What it means to lead with perspective instead of chasing engagement.

Karen Yankovich is the CEO of Uplevel Media and host of the Good Girls Get Rich podcast, where she teaches ambitious women how to turn their brilliance into bank through the power of LinkedIn and PR. Known as the "LinkedIn Fairy Godmother," Karen helps midlife women step out of invisibility and into thought leadership — landing high-ticket opportunities, media features, and brand collaborations that grow both income and impact.

After decades in corporate and entrepreneurship, Karen saw too many brilliant women underselling themselves, so she built her signature She's LinkedUp programs to change that. Her clients learn to magnetize opportunity with modern strategies that blend soulful energy work with the practical magic of visibility — because wealthy women change the world.

When she's not helping clients reignite their careers, you'll find her recharging by the ocean in New Jersey, wrangling her four kids and six grandkids, or recording her next podcast episode with a cup of coffee and a big dose of Jersey real talk.

Karen believes visibility is an act of service — and that every woman deserves to be known, valued, and richly compensated for the work she loves.

Connect With The Guest:

Connect with Karen on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenyankovich

Follow Karen on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/karenyankovich

Connect with Karen on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/karenyankovich

Check out Karen's Website For Some Great Resources https://www.KarenYankovich.com

Listen to Good Girls Get Rich Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/good-girls-get-rich-by-karen-yankovich/id1308227233

• Download Karen's complimentary resource, Ultimate LinkedIn for PR Checklist, your step-by-step guide to leveraging LinkedIn for more visibility, more credibility, and more income—without the overwhelm. - http://LinkedInforPR.com

• FREE GUIDE & SCORECARD: Feel like the best-kept secret? My proven Un-Ignorable Expert Framework is your step-by-step guide to turning your expertise into consistent, high-value client attraction by borrowing authority-rich visibility streams.

There often comes a point in your business where growth stops feeling exciting and instead, starts to feel heavy. Not because you don't know how to grow. Not because your strategy stopped working. But because you are carrying everything yourself.

If you have been thinking, "I know what to do, or at least I have a sense of it. I just do not want to grow this way anymore," this episode is for you.

In episode 473 of Amplify Your Success podcast, I explore why heaviness often shows up at higher levels of success and why adding more strategy is rarely the solution. I unpack what is actually missing when momentum stalls, how isolation quietly becomes a bottleneck, and why the rooms, conversations, and collective energy you are surrounded by matter more than another tactic.

This conversation is an invitation to see heaviness not as a problem to fix, but as a signal that your next level requires a different kind of support, collaboration, and leadership container.

If growth feels constrained, visibility feels effortful, or you feel called to build something bigger without carrying it alone, this episode will help you reframe what is happening and where true momentum comes from next.

[00:00] Why when 'growth feels heavy' is not a failure, but a signal that something essential is missing.

[02:21] How becoming the bottleneck to every decision and outcome quietly drains momentum.

[03:01] Why defaulting to more strategy often increases heaviness instead of resolving it.

[04:27] The difference between rooms that fuel expansion and rooms that leave you feeling contracted.

[05:35] Why even "great" masterminds can feel draining when the frequency does not match your level.

[06:25] How collective conversation and shared momentum activate energy that strategy alone cannot.

[08:41] Why visibility expands faster through proximity, collaboration, and shared opportunity.

[11:24] The hidden ways hierarchy, competition, and ego drain communities of momentum.

[13:58] What actually fuels powerful rooms, including peer based contribution and shared values.

[15:02] Why your next level is not meant to be built alone and how collective lift changes everything.

• The Rising Tide Collective is an online community where experts and leaders come together to co-create visibility opportunities and aligned collaborations that lift everyone up. Each month you can participate in our signature mini-minds, a curated connection space, access my private podcast Becoming UnIgnorable, and gain access to tools to build powerful, profitable partnerships.
  If you're ready to lead at your next level, apply for membership at MelanieBenson.com/Collective.