by Eva Glassman | Jan 25, 2024 | Blog, Featured
By Beth Finke, SVP (Retired), Oracle | C200 member since 2023
January marks the beginning of a new chapter, a time when many of us take a pause to reflect on our past accomplishments and set new professional goals. We celebrate a new year infused with opportunities for greater success.
In this recent article for Forbes, C200 Member Beth Boettcher Finke advocates for a shift towards holistic goal setting that goes beyond traditional career metrics. She shares her personal experience in redefining success to consider personal happiness and well-being, fostering a more balanced and well-rounded approach to life.
You can read the full article here.
by Eva Glassman | Jan 22, 2024 | Blog, Featured
Stacey Alioto is the Deputy Group Chief Operating Officer of the international bank HSBC. She is responsible for the Bank’s corporate services, chief control office, transformation, and group transactions. She also has COO oversight of Latin America, Canada, and the Middle East, and leads HSBC’s transition to net zero across the Bank’s operations. Stacey has moved 15 times in her life, living everywhere from the US, Italy, Dubai, and Germany to London today. Stacey is passionate about being a mentor for women early on in their careers and building diverse teams. Outside of work, Stacey maintains an active lifestyle and enjoys walks with her family around local parks. Stacey has been a member of C200 since November 2023.
Eva Glassman: You are the Deputy Group Chief Operating Officer of HSBC. What does that mean?
Stacey Alioto: HSBC is one of the world’s largest financial institutions, operating in 62 countries and territories. HSBC is structured by businesses and functions, and I’m in the function called Digital Business Services (DBS) where the operations, technology, transformation, and corporate services teams of the bank sit. What’s exciting about DBS is that we develop innovative digital solutions and deliver excellent services for our customers and colleagues.
As the Deputy Group Chief Operating Officer, I am responsible for our corporate services, transformation, chief control office, and group transactions teams. I also look over our Chief Operating Officers in Latin America, Canada, and the Middle East.
EG: I read that you are also leading HSBC’s initiative to go net zero across the Bank’s operations. What does that look like?
SA: At HSBC, we are committed to net zero in our own operations and supply chain by 2030. That aim incorporates all our offices, data centers, travel, and supply chain. We’ve had a significant program of reducing emissions for quite some time and now we’re starting to look at where we can dial up on renewables. A lot of us personally, as well as professionally, are working to make a difference and move the dial a lot faster.
EG: I want to know more about your career journey. You joined HSBC when they acquired your former workplace, Household International. I also read that you went to University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV)—what did you study? From there, where did you go?
SA: Let me take you back even further than college. My father was in the military and was stationed in Germany when I was 9 months old. My upbringing involved moving around the world quite a bit – so far, I’ve lived in 5 countries and moved 15 times, so I’m comfortable with change, love exploring new cultures, and learning new things. This has served me well working for HSBC as there are many opportunities to work internationally and with people from diverse backgrounds.
I began my career in financial services by pursuing an entry level role in operations at Household International in Nevada. At the time, I was studying business management at University of Nevada-Las Vegas (UNLV); juggling university while being a 19-year-old single mother and working part time wasn’t easy.
My dream of getting into international business came true in 2001 when HSBC acquired Household International; suddenly, I became part of a big international firm. At this stage, I was progressing through supervisor and management roles and went back to UNLV for my MBA in 2004 while continuing working full time.
I then spent the next 10 years progressing through various roles and leadership positions across Transformation, Products, Transactions, and Operations, before moving to Dubai in 2017 to become the COO for HSBC in the Middle East where I was responsible for the COO function across 9 markets. In December 2019, I moved my family to London for my current role.
EG: What do you think were the biggest factors in your success, being able to get to the place in your career that you’re in now?
SA: Having a growth mindset is one of the biggest factors. I always encourage my colleagues to run towards tough projects and tackle problems head on.
Having strong mentorship and support is also super important. It doesn’t come naturally—you have to earn credibility and support as you deliver outcomes.
EG: As you’ve progressed through your career, have you had any female mentors yourself? Are there any other women you find inspiring?
SA: I had a very inspiring female manager who promoted me right before I went on maternity leave with my younger son, which really shocked me. She encouraged high performance and didn’t believe becoming a mother should get in the way of a successful career—that sticks in my mind all the time. Just like she did, I want to help my team get the resources and support they need to be successful both professionally and personally.
Another woman I find inspiring is my mom. Growing up, she was never a runner but in her late 40s she started jogging. She started with a mile or two and progressed to 5ks, 10ks, half-marathons, and marathons. She is now 72 years old and still loves running.
Running a marathon is a bit like facing challenges at work. It’s about breaking them down in such a way that you can deliver the necessary outcomes and achieve the end result, and make sure you’re not sprinting and running out of steam.
EG: What does being a “woman in business” mean to you and how do you apply that thinking to what you do?
SA: I’m passionate about building diverse and inclusive teams. Diverse teams reach outcomes at a much quicker pace and organizations achieve the results they need to achieve because they’re much more open-minded and creative.
I’m really proud of the diversity of my function. Since I inherited the team, we’ve made great progress in becoming more gender balanced and I will continue to push for more diversity and inclusion across the team.
I’m also passionate about being a steward for younger females and mentoring them in their careers. Many are getting married or having their first child but struggle to see how they can have a career, be a wife, and be a mother. I often walk them through my journey and remind them of the resources they have available so they don’t give up too early in their career—I want them to stay confident in their ability to develop their career path.
EG: What is some of the other advice that you give to women in your organization when they want to advance their careers? What are some of the concerns they bring to you?
SA: I’m often asked how confidence is built. For me, it’s about taking risks that give you butterflies in your stomach. When you stretch yourself, you come out on the other side uplifted and more confident.
Moving around also helped build my confidence. When we moved to Dubai, I had to leave before my husband and youngest son to start the visa process, and we left my eldest son back in the US at university; it felt like I was breaking up my family. The first month was difficult, but after a few months I started to get into my new groove and further developed my confidence.
It’s also important to own your career path; don’t wait for somebody to tap on your shoulder. Every year I make my aspirations known, find out what succession plans I’m on, and address my development gaps.
EG: As you said, you’ve moved around a lot of times and lived in a lot of different countries. What is your favorite place you’ve either lived or traveled to? What are some of the things you love to do outside of work?
SA: Everywhere I go, I walk away with something to treasure, a memory, or something to learn. My time in the Middle East taught me the importance of relationships and self-reflection. I can’t say I have a favorite place as they’re all amazing in their own way.
I love being outdoors. I live by one of the large parks in London and love going for a long walk or quick jog–it’s my time to re-energize, reflect, and clear my head. I also enjoy completing the yearly London Marathon Walk–it’s a great way to kick start the year. I think it’s really important that everyone protects some time for their wellbeing and hobbies.
EG: My final question: How and why did you get involved with C200? What are you most excited about as a new member?
A C200 member and fellow HSBC colleague, Lisa McGeough, nominated me. We crossed paths around two years ago and connected right away. We both have a growth mindset and have found some amazing opportunities to work together and improve alignment across the organization.
C200’s mission to support women in business really resonates with me. I’m passionate about how I can support the future generation of female leaders with C200’s Reachout Program for university-age women. I’m also excited about helping to extend C200’s reach across the globe; Lisa and I have already brainstormed some ways we can help grow C200 internationally!
I love the opportunity C200 gives me to expand my network and learn from the amazing women who are part of it.
by Eva Glassman | Dec 19, 2023 | Blog, Featured
Dear C200 Community,
Several months ago, at the start of my role as CEO, I asked a long-term member why she joined and has stayed a member of C200 all this time. Her answer was a simple one: “These are my people.”
C200’s community, while our members are at its center, is larger than just our members: our members’ loved ones, Advancing Women Program participants and facilitators, event speakers, and even social media followers are all a part of our wider community. It’s all of you, a group of individuals who believe in our mission to advance all women in business, who are able to make C200’s offerings to current and future women entrepreneurs and corporate leaders possible. Below is just a small list of the many things we’ve accomplished in 2023:
- We held our first-ever Empowering Women Summit in Atlanta, GA
- We reimagined and relaunched the Protégé Program
- We hosted a Reachout in partnership with Agnes Scott College and Georgia State University
- We hosted an incredible Annual Conference in San Diego, CA
- We revitalized our communications to better align with our focus on #SuccessShared
- We engaged with hundreds of community members through in-person and virtual events
- We built an incredible C200 team who works tirelessly to advance our mission
Of course, we still have a lot to do—2024 will be an exciting year for C200. In addition to ensuring that we provide the best experience for our members, we will continue to focus on developing premier educational programs for the next generation of women entrepreneurs and executives, as well as redesign our model for high-impact experiences and programs for members and non-members alike. Additionally, we are thrilled to host:
- Our Empowering Women Summit in Washington, D.C. from April 18-20
- Our Annual Conference in New York City from September 26-28
- Many more events and programs to be announced
In 2024, building up and supporting this wonderful community will be at the core of everything we do, all while shining a light on why everyone, members and non-members alike, should continue to care about our mission to inspire, educate, support, and advance current and future female entrepreneurs and corporate, profit-center leaders.
I, with our C200 team, love to see you engaging with C200 and our cause, whether that be through attending one of our Signature Events like our Empowering Women Summit or Annual Conference, sharing your C200 stories, donating to C200, or simply giving us a like or reshare on LinkedIn or Instagram. Your involvement with C200, however big or small, extends the reach of our community and mission, and we hope you follow us into the new year and beyond.
We are thankful to be an organization that matters to you. I hope to see you at our upcoming events in 2024.
-Myla Skinner
CEO
by Eva Glassman | Dec 18, 2023 | Blog, Featured
Beth Finke is the recently retired Senior Vice President, North America Applications Customer Champions at Oracle, a cloud software company specialized in cloud-engineered database technology. Prior to working at Oracle, she worked nearly two-decades at Accenture where she pioneered the creation of their cloud business. She retired from Oracle in September 2023 and is exploring ways to utilize her marketing background, business experience, and passion for design to spark her next creative endeavor. Beth believes in the importance of mentorship and helping people to create their best personal “brand”. She loves to travel, spend time with her husband and two sons, and engage in the “hunt” for the perfect inspiration piece. Beth has been a C200 member since October 2023.
Eva Glassman: I know you’ve recently retired, but could you describe the work you did at Oracle as Senior Vice President?
Beth Finke: I had what I call the best job at Oracle because it was focused on our customers and their success. I was hired to transform their applications consulting business into a cloud consulting business. After a few years successfully leading that transformation, I was asked to lead one of the cloud application sales teams. I got to see the other side of the cloud world I worked in—not implementing the software but positioning and selling it.
Based upon feedback from customers, I proposed to my boss that we needed a greater focus on our customers’ experience with us. The business of cloud is being a service provider, which requires a different approach to how we support our customers who previously purchased on premise software. Being a service provider required us to up our game throughout the entire customer journey, making the experience amazing at critical moments.
In my role, I was responsible for the North America applications consulting business and all the applications sales support functions. I created and led a transformational program to reimagine the customer experience and how we engaged in, positioned, and sold our cloud services. We re-imagined how our sellers better understood their customers’ needs. It was an amazing experience to work for a Fortune 100 company and to be empowered to reimagine the way we serve a market that we have such a huge stronghold in.
That’s what I retired from—I decided to retire because I was tired. I have two young kids. I was always told in my career that I’m very creative and think about and solve things differently than many others. I was never disgruntled—I loved my work—I just felt like it was the right time for me to step back and rewire my brain to do something totally different. That’s what I’m doing now: trying to figure out what that totally different thing is. It’s a fun journey!
EG: What a wonderful opportunity you have, to pivot in your career and tap into your creative side more! Care to share your insights into what that next thing might be?
BF: When I first started exploring this idea of retiring about a year ago, I actually enrolled in college again! I’m taking interior design classes and getting an interior design degree. I’ve always had that eye; I loved decorating my room as a kid. I loved to imagine all different kinds of houses and would use playing cards to create 2D models of them on my floor.
I’ve also always had a passion for creating amazing experiences for people. My husband and I own a few properties that we fixed up—not to flip and sell them, but to rent them. We have one house where our tenant, who is renting our place while they work on her own remodel, collaborates with me on design ideas, using our home as her inspiration. [laughs] She’s using my house as a bit of a design template, and that gives me so much joy! I love seeing that she’s inspired by our house, that she’ll take those ideas and create a home for her family.
I’m trying to figure out how to take this idea of design and put it into an experiential model, if that makes sense. I don’t know what it is yet, but there’s something brewing in my head. Hopefully, it will spawn into something amazing. We’ll see!
EG: I read that your background is in marketing—I’m curious how you started with a degree in marketing and wound up where you were in Oracle. Take me through your career journey; what do you think were the biggest factors that led to your success?
BF: I have a marketing degree, but I also like to tell people I’m three credits short of having an advertising degree. This is going to sound awful, but I didn’t complete my advertising degree because I eventually realized the entry-level salaries wouldn’t allow me to quickly pay off my college debt. Also, I found that my advertising professors made me feel like I wasn’t creative. Ultimately, they squelched my confidence to pursue a career in the field. Isn’t it funny that, when I got into work, people told me that my greatest attribute was my creativity, yet when I was in college, my leaders demotivated me and didn’t make me feel like I could be a creative?
I started in consulting—arguably for not the most strategic reason. I was seeing a guy at the time who was a consultant, and he traveled all the time. He would call me on the airplane phones—back when we didn’t have cell phones—and say, “We’re not going out tonight because my flight is delayed,” and I thought, “I want that lifestyle. How cool is that?” [laughs] The salary I received as a consultant was much higher than what I would have made in advertising, too.
When I got into consulting, I was focused on sales, service, and marketing related projects. My marketing background and understanding of advertising allowed me to work on some amazing programs. I advised companies for 20 years, helping them think about how they go to market differently; it just so happened that I did it in the context of their technology implementations. I was in technology consulting, but I was not a technologist. I was always the person doing the corporate communications, change management, and re-engineering processes.
My marketing juices really took off when I was tapped on the shoulder at Accenture to go figure out if this software called Salesforce.com was a real tool that could make it in the marketplace. I had to market it internally, selling the idea that cloud was the next best thing and something we should invest in. That’s how my passion and my background took what I’m known for now—selling and delivering cloud applications, sales and marketing, and customer experience—and led me to my position at Oracle.
EG: I’m also curious about how you got involved with C200. Nancy Albertini was your nominator—how do you two know each other?
BF: I’ll never forget what Jill Smart, a senior woman leader at Accenture, said at an event very early in my career: “If you work really hard, you get really lucky.” That really stuck with me, because I’m not very lucky; I’ve had to work very hard for everything I’ve done. I worked my tail off and through the process, I developed a broad network.
I don’t know how it happened, but about four years ago, out of the blue, Nancy called me. She said, “I found your profile on LinkedIn, and I’ve checked in and people know you, and I want you to join a board.” I had been on nonprofit boards, but I had always wanted to join a private equity-backed or public company board.
So that’s how I met Nancy—I worked hard, and she found me out of the blue. She has this connection with everybody; I don’t think she has an enemy in the world. Her passion is connecting people —you can just feel it. She wants to take care of folks, and she’s taking care of me. Now as a C200 member, I’m just navigating my way to see how I can contribute and help other women in business.
EG: That’s incredible that Nancy simply connected with you on LinkedIn! It’s so serendipitous.
BF: I don’t respond to that many people on LinkedIn, either! Just the way she engaged me—she had me at hello! [laughs] She’s amazing.
EG: Aside from connecting with Nancy and getting involved with C200, along your career journey, did you have other female mentors? In general, what women are inspiring to you and why?
BF: You probably don’t want me to answer this question, because many of the women I worked for were highly competitive, threatened, and unwilling to help grow junior female talent. I remember a few months out of college feeling this way by some women leaders I was working for. One of the men who also led the team pulled me aside one day and said, “Beth, learn more from those people about what you won’t do instead of what you will do.” That advice from Stan Oyama a quarter of a century ago are words that I still live by.
The reality is that my mentors were men, and maybe it’s because my two brothers have always been coaches to me in my personal life (they even coached my soccer team as a kid!). That’s why seeing someone like Nancy, a woman helping other women, is so cool to me. She’s got so much confidence, strength, and a desire to help others out. That’s why I was so drawn to C200; I didn’t see the same type of support from the female leaders that I worked for. I’ve been on two or three calls with these women and I walk away from them beaming.
EG: Believe it or not, so many other members who I’ve asked this question to have a similar answer: they didn’t have many female mentors, or the women they worked with were not supportive. I think your answer is so honest and excellent, because C200 is a community that, by nature, has worked to stop the narratives of women feeling isolated in male-dominated fields and like the women that are there don’t have their back. You could have internalized the unsupportive behavior from your female colleagues above you and perpetuated it onto women rising after you—but you didn’t. Instead, you knew how important it is for women in business to have each other’s backs, and now you’re a part of C200.
BF: It was so lonely at times. I really made an effort to mentor other women in my career. So many women reached out when I retired asking if they can still count on me. Of course! I’m not going anywhere! [laughs] I’m still here for these women. As much as I was and am a mentor, I probably got more mentoring from them.
EG: This discussion leads perfectly into my next question! What does being a “woman in business” mean to you, and how do you apply that thinking to your work?
BF: I didn’t ever think of myself as being a woman in business; instead, I thought of it as, “Am I the best person to do the job, and can I prove to people I am who they need?”
I grew up with brothers and, I don’t know why, but I never got into the “boy versus girl” thing. Even though I was never very good at sports, my brothers were, and they wanted me to play with them. I still got out on the field and wasn’t intimidated by it. I took that same approach, not knowingly, in my professional life, where I never thought about gender. I just thought, “How do I do my best job, stand out, and do amazing things?”
That said, a man and a woman can say the same words or have the same tough conversations, but they will often not be received in the same way. Over time, as a leader, I had to be more aware of that implicit bias. Although I didn’t have that bias, there are a lot of people who did and still do. There’s a certain toughness that some people think a man can have but a woman can’t. That was probably the biggest pivot in my behavior I had to make, about eight or nine years ago. I couldn’t be as bold as my male counterparts.
EG: Now is the time I usually ask what you like to do outside of work, but you just retired, so I guess my question is: What are you up to now? You said you have two kids—are you spending more family time together?
BF: Absolutely. I spend lots of time with them. They’re the two cutest, funniest little boys—but doesn’t every mother say that? [laughs]
I love to travel. I’ve always had this dream that I would live in a foreign country—not move there, but just spend a few months every year to embrace a culture, and so we rented a house in Italy for next summer! I’m taking my boys over and my husband’s going to find a few days to come over and see us; he still works and is like, “Seriously? You’re doing what?” [laughs]
Of course, I love designing and decorating. There’s something about when I travel or when I’m decorating—I get into “the hunt,” or whatever you’d call it, for the perfect thing for a space or an event. When I travel, I usually pick something up that becomes an inspiration piece for a little project, whether it be decorating a room or throwing a party.
EG: What’s your advice to aspiring female entrepreneurs and corporate executives to advance their own careers? What would you say to those hoping to join C200 one day?
BF: Just be true to yourself. To return to that marketing and advertising mindset, it’s also about creating a great brand for yourself. I remember something strangely profound that one of my brothers said to me when I was really little. He said, “Beth, your brand lives with you; the world is small. What you do and how you treat people will follow you for the rest of your life, so create a good brand for yourself.” Looking back on that moment, he was probably 13 or 14 when he told me that.
EG: I don’t think I was that cognizant at that age!
BF: Me neither. It’s influenced how I think about everything. I tell my 7-year-old son all the time to be a nice person, a hard worker, proud of whoever you are, and to stick to your brand. Don’t divert because people want you to do something different. My grandmother, who passed away at nearly 104 years old, would say all the time, “When in doubt, Bethie, don’t do it.” That stuck with me when I was making decisions at work and now personally; if I doubt it or it doesn’t feel right, I just don’t do it.
EG: Trusting your gut is key.
BF: I do think that’s something women have over men. We have heightened intuition. I feel that there’s a high moral and ethical responsibility to do the right thing, and I expect greatness from myself and the people I surround myself with. I think of it as being a coach on any sports team: who do you want on your team? Sometimes I don’t want the best athlete; sometimes, I want the most positive or hardest working person. There’s an athleticism in business and there is the softer side of business, where intuition lives. I firmly believe intuition is very different in the female mindset than in men, and that’s something women can leverage in the business world to everyone’s benefit.
EG: What are you most excited about as a new C200 member? What does C200 mean to you?
BF: I didn’t know I was going to be so excited about joining C200 until I started joining the virtual forums, calls, and webinars. I just love sitting there and hearing these amazing things that women have done. Being able to learn from them in this environment is something I’ve never had before.
To me, C200 is part of this continuous desire to learn and grow that is innate in humans. We should always be continuously learning, and I see this as a community where I get to learn more and learn it from people that have really done it, versus from a professor in a classroom that has never stepped foot in a board room.
Even though I’m retired from business and want to go down this design route, I don’t want to lose the love that I have for business because I love solving the big complex problems that you get with it. Being a part of several boards helps keep my skills fresh, and I believe C200 will be another part of that. I can teach others what I’ve learned all these years, but still give myself space to go and explore something new and different.
by Eva Glassman | Dec 13, 2023 | Blog, Featured
By Maryann Bruce, C200 Chair | C200 member since 2002
C200 members Maryann Bruce and Barri Rafferty are helping to empower women in the executive hiring process. Based on their experiences, they have written a comprehensive guide to help make your endorsement a game-changer. Their recent article for Forbes details the steps in providing a powerful professional reference for colleagues eyeing top-tier roles. It starts with understanding your role in the process and what is expected of you.
You can read the full article here.
by Eva Glassman | Dec 4, 2023 | Blog, Featured
Becky Sharpe is the CEO and Owner of International Scholarship and Tuition Services, a trusted educational assistance program management partner for organizations looking to enhance the impact of their scholarship, tuition assistance, tuition reimbursement, loan repayment or grant program. Becky cites selling Girl Scout cookies as a young girl as the moment she found her entrepreneurial and business-driven spirit. From a young age, Becky saw the importance and value of carrying oneself with maturity and professionalism to achieve success. Outside of work, Becky loves to cook with the fresh produce she grows in her garden and, because she enjoys being “a beginner at things,” is also learning how to play the piano. Becky has been a C200 member since July 2023.
Eva Glassman: Can you please introduce yourself and describe what you do?
Becky Sharpe: I own a business called International Scholarship and Tuition Services, and we manage large scholarship or tuition reimbursement programs. Organizations turn to us to manage their programs if it’s gotten too big for them to handle internally. I bought the company in 2002 and I’m 100% owner. We’re a virtual company, although many of us are in the Nashville, Tennessee area.
As owner and CEO of the company, my job is to protect and support our culture, to hold people accountable for implementing the vision of the company, and to hold my direct reports accountable for their day-to-day. We follow a “traction methodology,” which puts me in the “visionary” role and is a nice way of saying, “Keep me out of the details because I will mess everything up!” [laughs]
EG: Tell me more about how you wound up at International Scholarship and Tuition Services. Where did you start your career journey and what do you believe are the biggest factors of your success?
BS: Everything that I have accomplished has been because someone else has helped me. I’m very aware that I am part of a whole network of people, some of whom gave me my first jobs, gave me feedback in a job, made introductions, or mentored me to be more acquainted with the leader I wanted to be—even if that was not the one who was evolving at the moment they met me! [laughs]
My career started very early when I realized, as a young girl, that I could take a box of Girl Scout cookies and sell them to a stranger and make money. [laughs] I was hooked! From then on, I’ve always been a business development or sales person.
Although I would call selling Girl Scout cookies a serious endeavor because it was essentially a cold calling job, my first job as an adult was selling residential real estate in Nashville. I worked for an iconic woman, Shirley Zeitlin, who is still around. She allowed me to join her firm, and I was able to watch her lead from professionalism and not madness, despite all the sexism she experienced during her time.
I worked for Shirley for a few years before I went back and got my MBA at Vanderbilt. Then, I started working for a small startup. The word “startup” wasn’t a thing at the time, but looking back, that’s basically what it was. It was a startup payroll and human resources software company that ran on an IBM platform called the IBM AS/400, and that was basically a cold calling job. We built that company from the ground up—when I say we, I mean the owner of the company who had 100% ownership, a tech person who was writing the software, and me, who was doing sales and marketing. We took that company from no revenue to around $8 million.
I would probably still be at that company today had the ownership of the company fed and watered me a little bit more. They would never have engaged me in a group like C200—it just wasn’t their style.
I left the company in 2002, and then met a gentleman who introduced me to the guy that started the company that I own now. He offered to mentor me and help me along the path of learning how to run a business. I came on and negotiated a sweat equity deal with the owner, and then about five years later, I bought it out 100%.
EG: You’ve talked a little bit about an important female mentor in your career already, but I was wondering if you had any more women in your professional journey who helped you along.
BS: Although not a professional mentor, my first-grade teacher comes to mind. She might not have been a businesswoman, but she was in the business of educating children, and that can be very entrepreneurial. I was in first grade in the mid-70s, and my teacher was an African American female, Ms. Pepper. As a 6 or 7-year-old girl, I remember getting the message early on from Ms. Pepper that I could do anything that I wanted. And here she was, dealing with the prejudice of not only being a female teacher, but also an African American female teacher at mostly white school. She taught me the importance of professionalism, doing your best, and speaking from knowledge.
The first jobs I had as a preteen or teenager were in fast food, and I saw again that the successful women would ignore the meanness and stupidity, and just keep doing their best with a smile on their face—not because they weren’t going to do anything about it, but because it was mature and professional. A lot of times, you will encounter people who don’t want you to succeed, who will see if they can stir the pot or press your buttons. I saw those people, and I saw those women who wouldn’t stoop down to that level, and knew I wanted to emulate those women.
One of the worst interactions I had in my early career was at a software company, and I was sure that the highest-ranked leader in the company, who was female, was going to have my back. I was shocked when I found out that wasn’t the case. She was jealous and backstabbing, but I still learned from her; I just remember thinking, “I’m not going to be that person.” I learned that I wanted to come from a place of, “I don’t care who you are—I’m going to support you.” I don’t know what was going on in her life, but why would you treat a 20-something year old who just wants to learn that way? Why not be helpful and loving and supportive?
EG: Dealing with someone like that, it can be so easy to internalize that negativity and continue that cycle onto the next generation. It’s so easy to think, “I had a difficult time, so why should you have it easier than me?” I think it’s so interesting that you took the opposite route and understood her behavior as a learning opportunity for how you wanted to lead the next generation.
BS: I also think about doctors in this sort of situation. There were years where doctors thought the best professionals were poorly rested and badly nourished, because it showed how much time they put into their work. Personally, I don’t want that doctor operating on me who isn’t well-rested; embracing and choosing constant exhaustion shows stupidity, in my opinion.
EG: You can’t do your best work when you’re not taking care of yourself. My next question is: What does being a woman in business mean to you and how do you apply that thinking to your work and your life?
BS: To me, it presents a responsibility that I can choose to take seriously or not. My grandmothers would have loved the chance to own a business. It wasn’t even an opportunity for them. My maternal grandmother was one of the first women accepted to medical school in Tennessee, and as soon as she got married, they kicked her out. For my mother’s generation, there were so many stereotypes and so much sexism that made the experience very difficult. I feel a deep responsibility to take advantage of the incredible opportunity I have in front of me and not take it as a given. It’s a privilege, and I try to remind myself of that by imagining my relatives—whether it’s my mother, my great grandmother, my great-great-grandmother—and understanding that they were absolutely put in a box that I don’t have, and so my job is to take advantage of not being boxed in.
I also think it’s important not to be a know-it-all, to stay humble in my empowerment. I look at the younger generation and ask, “How can I learn from you?” I was never asked those questions by my elders; the younger generations have a lot to offer. I want to pay it forward, not by closing it down and doing the same thing, but by saying, “Teach me how to be a better 58-year-old business owner. What can I do better?”
EG: When I ask other women this question, they always make mention of their sense of responsibility—not only as a successful businessperson, but also as someone with the chance to build on progress, to make it easier for the younger generation to achieve even more that you could have dreamed of. It’s wonderful that so many of our members at C200 share that same philosophy. Shifting gears, what do you enjoy doing outside of work?
BS: I love to garden and cook with my husband. Right now, it’s fall, so I have arugula, onions, spinach, turnip greens, and mustard greens in my garden. In the summer in Nashville, we’re lucky that we can plant pretty much anything from late April onward.
I’m an avid athlete—not good, just avid. I like to hike, bike, swim, and walk. I love to read and write—I’m writing my second book right now. I’m also currently learning to play the piano—I’m like a four-year-old on the piano right now, but I like to be a beginner at things.
EG: What is your advice for aspiring female entrepreneurs and business leaders to advance their own careers?
BS: This isn’t my idea, but I love it anyway. Make sure that the “trifecta” is there, which is: 1) that you’re really passionate about your job, 2) that people want to buy your product, and 3) that the price they’ll pay for it allows you to live the lifestyle you want to live. You don’t have to have those three things, but if you don’t have them, you won’t have optimal mental and physical health, which is so important for your success. If your mind is not right, your body’s going to follow, and vice versa.
Everyone’s mental health improves with different things, so it’s important to know what nourishes you, whether that’s spending time in nature, with people you enjoy, or something else. Be careful of people who try to tell you why things aren’t going to work; surround yourself with people who are going to tell you how it will work and support you, even if it’s a wild and crazy idea.
Even though you’re trying to climb the ladder, it’s important to give back in your life as you do. It’s very easy to think, “Oh my gosh, I’m running so fast, and I don’t have enough money or time.” We can give back without any time or money exchange by simply liking something on social media, starting a conversation online, or engaging with a post in some other way. It spreads the word about important things and creates community and connection.
Maybe this isn’t strictly professional advice, but something else I’ll say about social media is: Don’t hang out with the haters. Hang out with people who enjoy things and share funny pug pictures and love, not people who get energy out of hurting people. I don’t think that does well for any of us. Brené Brown says, “There are a million cheap seats in the world today filled with people who will never be brave with their own lives but will spend every ounce of energy they have hurling advice and judgement at those of us trying to dare greatly.” Social media has so much power to it, but being able to curate your online experience and unplug at times is so important.
EG: What are you most excited about as a new C200 member?
BS: I attended the 2023 Annual Conference in San Diego, so my expectations are high now that I’ve met Brooke Shields! Who’s next? [laughs] But in truth, I’m most excited about getting to know members. The one-on-one conversations I had with members at the conference were great, and I’m now in contact with a bunch of women. Finding out how I can be a resource and learning from them is really what I’m most excited about. I travel a fair amount teaching workshops around the country, so I’m going to reach out to C200 members anytime I’m in town and get to know some people personally.
