Welcome to Milestone Moments, the show where we explore the journeys that lead to success.
I'm Sheila Slick, your host and founder of Five Milestones. In every episode, we will bring you
insights from the minds of entrepreneurs, leaders, and experts who will share not just their expertise
but the milestone moments that have reshaped their journeys and led to significant achievements.
So if you're looking for motivation, you're in the right place. Subscribe now and discover the
milestones that mark the path to success.
Welcome to Milestone Moments in Business and Leadership. I'm Sheila Slick, your host. And
today, my special guest is Teresa Rand, founder and CEO of Teresa Rand Consulting and the boss lady,
Women's Leadership Community. Teresa specializes in career consulting, coaching, and training for
organizations and individuals and communities. As founder of the Boss Lady Community and the
Boss Lady podcast, Teresa focuses on women's empowerment, gender equality, and women's issues.
Welcome to the show, Teresa. Thank you, Sheila. I'm excited to be here. I love the name of your show
and we could talk all day long about milestones. This is going to be a great episode. Can you tell
us about a specific moment or experience that led you down this career path after many years
of working corporate? Yeah, I worked corporate for almost 30 years and really never thought I
would leave. And being an entrepreneur, I'd never thought about it. And I was at a women's
retreat and we were all talking about next stages, what we were working on. And it just was almost
like this epiphany that I announced to that group of eight or nine women that weekend. It was called
a work away weekend that I was going to retire and leave my career. I was 55 years old. I still had
plenty of time to work, but I worked for an organization. So I had some retirement. If I
wanted to retire early, I could go out at 55. And I remember saying it going, looking around like,
who just said that? But it just came to me at that moment in listening to the other women,
most of who were entrepreneurs, that I really wanted to do something different. I'd been
working with the same organization. I'd moved cities and states and jobs and all of that,
but with the same organization for all these years. And I wanted to try my hand at something
different. So I told the ladies and I came home. I hired a business coach that helped me come up
with a business plan. Cause I had a moment where I knew I wanted to do something different, but I
didn't really know what that was. So I needed some guidance in figuring out what that path was for
lack of a better analogy, what pain point I could solve for other people. And I created my consulting
company in about the next nine months and left my job within a year. Well, I'm glad you did. Cause
you motivate and educate so many women in our thank you. So looking back at these years, what
are some of the most valuable lessons that you've learned along the way? You know, I have learned so
much in the last six years. It's been six years since I went out on my own. And I learned that even
though I'd been with the same organization, I think the first thing I learned is that I actually had
a lot to offer outside of just what I had been doing. And I needed someone else to help me see
that. And often as women, we don't see the value that we bring to other women. And I needed that
guidance from a coach. But what I've also learned is that the business I put on paper six years ago
is not really the same business I'm running today. The women's membership leadership organization
was not part of that business plan. I was going to consult with businesses. I was going to do career
counseling, coaching, and I'm still doing that, but I'm doing a lot more keynote speaking, a lot
more business workshops. I use a lot of personality assessments that I've become certified in. And,
oh, by the way, I started the women's leadership organization. So I think the most valuable lesson,
and you know this, is that we have to be open to evolving and get out of our own way, right?
Yes. And that support that you talk about is really important. It's almost like you're giving
back because that's exactly what you're doing with the boss lady community, which keeps growing.
Right.
So how did that evolve?
That evolved because there was a group here probably 10 years ago now called Boss Lady,
and the young lady that started that moved, and she had done a retreat, hosted a retreat,
and I was not part of her group. It was for young entrepreneurs that were mostly under 40.
And she had a retreat though and asked me to come and be on a panel and talk about, you know,
my career and overcoming obstacles and being a mother and a working mother, all of those things.
All mothers are working mothers, but a working outside the home working mother.
And so I did, and ladies started coming to me and said, you know, Lacey has moved and we really
missed this group. So I took about 10 women to lunch and said, okay, what do you miss?
What was it about this group? And we recreated Boss Lady and made it a little different.
Number one, it was a membership. You have to join. Number two, it wasn't just for young women.
And number three, it wasn't just for entrepreneurs. So we have women from all walks of life,
all ages, and we're over 100 now. This will be our fifth anniversary. So we did start it five years
ago, a year into my living in corporate America. So it's been one of the most fun things I do,
because like you said, it's fun to give back. It's fun to say, and I say this all the time,
if you're coming up in your career, you're going to make mistakes, right? Everybody's going to make
mistakes. But if I can offer up some guidance and advice on the mistakes I've made, maybe you'll
make difference. And we don't have to keep repeating the same mistakes as women in the
workforce. So it's been a lot of fun. It's been a great road. And it continues to grow. Yep,
continues to grow. So talking about mistakes, we all know setbacks are inevitable. What are some
strategies you use to cultivate resilience and to stay motivated? Cultivating resilience and
staying motivated is very different for everybody, I think. Some people are what we call quote unquote
self motivated. Some need an extra push. It's different for every individual. And so the first
step is finding out what motivates you. And when I coach a client on career clarity, that's an
exercise we go through. What is it that motivates you? What kind of people do you want to be around?
What kind of environment do you want to work in? But what motivates me is seeing accomplishments.
I am an action oriented person. And I love to set a goal and meet that goal. Doesn't mean I always
meet the goals I set every year. But that's what drives me. They're right here on my bulletin board.
They stay in front of me all year long. I speak them out loud. I record them and listen to them
every day. And I try to make steps toward making those goals reality. Even when you get knocked down,
resilience really is just about getting up and going forward. You may have to go forward in a
different direction, but it's getting up and going forward. And the best thing I like to tell people
and I tell myself often is give yourself some grace. Everybody's going to make mistakes.
Everybody's going to get knocked down sometime. Just take a deep breath and just move forward.
One way or the other, just take a small step forward. And then all of a sudden, you've got that
motivation back and that back and you're ready to go again. Maybe a different direction, but you're
ready to go again. I love that. Maybe I'm going to put my goals up so that I can visualize them.
I've got them and I've got them printed, but like in a file. But that's a great idea. Yeah, I keep
mine right in front of me because and I've had years where somebody will say, well, what goals
did you set for the year? And I couldn't remember. So they're right here. I write myself a 30 day
letter every month talking about where I am in the goals. And I listen to that on my way to gym
every day. It really helps sink it into my head is what I'm working on today. Is it intentionally
helping me reach one of my goals? And if not, that's OK. But at least I'm aware that I'm working on
something that's not one of my goals. That's great. Keep them visual, but also do that recap. Yeah.
So what is your next milestone? My next milestone is on that sheet of paper. And I have been working
on a book for a year and a half. I wrote the last chapter last Monday. So I am in the middle of
so I am in the process of interviewing publishers and doing the final edits. So my next milestone
is to get my book published. My hope is it'll be ready to go by the end of the year. My book coach
says it will more than likely be the first quarter of next year. But at least the chapters are written.
It took me a year and a half to do that. It's it's a lot. Congratulations on that huge milestone.
Thank you. Can't wait till it's finished and out there. It's a business book and it's talking about
changes. How we talk about resilience and motivation. You know, we have all the best
life plans, but when something hits us, how do we adapt and how do we change? Because in 30 plus
years of working, not everything went as I planned it. Right. I always say the only constant is change.
Always. And you best learn how to deal with it. Right. Because it can knock you to your knees.
And we we don't always expect it. We don't know what change is going to happen. We're better
equipped if we can figure out on the front end how we adapt to change. And we all adapt differently.
But how do I adapt to change? So when it comes again, I'm more prepared. You can be prepared
for the unprepared. Right. Or the unexpected. You can be prepared for the unexpected.
And how to deal with it and have those strategies and those steps that you're going to offer in that
book. So I'm very excited about that. And that's my next big baby. Get to the finish line. Book one.
Yeah, I know my book coach mentioned a second book and I was like, Chrissy, please, you're stressing
me out. I just have to get through one. Just let me get through one and we'll see what happens from
there. Well, I think now that you've gone through the process, it'll probably be easier for you.
And you'll just think you're right. I think you're right. Just like, you know, you mentioned earlier,
you did with the book, like what's missing or what can I expand on? So I think the hardest one is that
first book. Yeah, I agree. So where can my listeners learn more about you, hire you, learn more about
the community, which I think anyone can join virtually. Right. Yeah, you can. Thank you. We
do have a virtual membership. You can join Boss Lady virtually. You can show up for meetings.
We have mastermind groups that meet in person. We do virtual education workshops, a lot of different
ways to be connected. And then we have a conference in the fall of every year, September 19th, 20th,
and 21st for this year. And you can find out everything about me more than you want to know
at Teresa T E R E S A, no H, Teresa Rand, R A N D dot com. And the conference is in Daytona Beach.
It is in Daytona Beach, Florida. Members, including virtual members can attend, correct?
Any woman can attend. We usually have about 50% members and 50%. We call them future members.
So because we have women come from all over the states to our conference, so anyone can attend
the conference. It's open to any woman. It really is about leadership strategies and lessons and
things to learn. We bring in keynote speakers and it's a really great couple of day, re-energizing,
re-motivating type of setting for women. Anytime you get a bunch of women together,
it's a lot of fun, right? Can't wait. And you can find all that on the website.
Okay. Well, before we wrap this up, can you offer one key piece of advice to any listeners,
specific female listeners, so that they can become the best CEO or boss of their own life?
Absolutely. I said it earlier and I'll say it again. Give yourself some grace.
I do a keynote speech called Superwoman is a Myth. We are not expected nor should we expect
ourselves to be super women. Some days things go well at home. They don't go so great at work.
Some days they go great at work. They don't go so great at home. And that's okay. Thinking that we
are going to have perfect balance in our lives every single day sets us up for failure and
disappointment. And as women, we tend to internalize that and beat ourselves up.
So give yourself some grace. Sometimes good enough is good enough.
Love it. So I want to thank you for joining me today.
Yeah, you are so welcome. And thank you. I'm so glad that you are a Boss Lady member. Excited
for you to get involved and get connected. I know we do a lot of things together in the community
and I enjoy working with you and the wisdom that you have to share to other women in our community
and people in general, business people. You have such a wealth of knowledge. So I was excited to
be here today. Well, thank you. And I invite all of our listeners to tune in to the Boss Lady podcast.
The Boss Lady podcast. You have to have to put the the in there. You have a lot of episodes. You've
been doing this for a couple years. Almost four years. Started during the pandemic. You know,
boredom causes you to do things sometimes. So that was one of my things. And that's actually
one of the most fun things I do. And you know this, it's just fun. You meet such fascinating
people, right? And just have good conversations. Yes. So I invite all of my listeners to go check
her out. She's got probably over 100 episodes out there. I do. And thank you for joining us
on another episode of Milestone Moments in Business and Leadership.