She Lift Project Podcast

#19 - Ida Martikainen: Learn How to Think Better

Ida Martikainen is a Senior Consultant with Collaborative Strategies Inc. (CSI). She is a leadership coach and a strategy advisor who helps organizations and executives develop resilient strategies and robust stakeholder relations. She empowers firms and not-for-profits to navigate the challenges of transparency, collaboration, and rapid change. Ida has developed, communicated, and executed plans that create intentional change, purposefully aligned with strategic goals, for both privately held and public entities across the globe.
 
She talks to Cynthia about her approach to career goals, the skills needed for effective consulting, and how she was challenged to think better early in her career. As a transplant from Helsinki, Finland to St. Louis, MO she has undergone quite a life transformation, and she brings a fresh new perspective to the podcast.

#18 - Sheila Burkett: Trading Wealth for Health

Sheila Burkett is the Co-Founder and CEO of Spry Digital. Her company helps small to mid-size businesses design and build things for the web. She also loves to networking, teaching, mentoring, and public speaking.
She talks to Cynthia about getting started in technology back in 1985, and how that led to her becoming a General Partner at Edward Jones at the age of 33. Ultimately, she decided to leave the corporate world and jump into another fast paced industry, auto racing. She helped her husband with Tuxedo Park Racing before ultimately deciding to start Spry Digital with some like minded colleagues. She shares her wisdom on running a good business, her views on networking effectively, and the importance of prioritizing your own health and wellbeing.

#17 - Jennifer Siess: Saying Yes to Yourself

Jennifer Siess is a broadcaster for Audacy. She does sideline reporting and occasional color commentary for the STL City SC radio broadcast through Y98 in St. Louis, and hosts the St. Louis Soccer Report radio show on KMOX. She’s also the Founder of Mine to Define, a personal coaching program designed to teach youth athletes how to approach the mental side of sports. She works with players individually, as well as teams, and many other clients have seen a remarkable improvement in delivering peak performance in games.
She talks to Cynthia about her long and winding road to her current role at KMOX. She also covers the importance of mental preparation for sports and life. In a surprising twist, Jennifer also revealed that she is Cynthia’s older sister, and they shared several moments about the climate around sports and school when they grew up, and how it led to decision making in their adult years. It’s an episode for people who felt like they never quite fit in, are addicted to achievement, or are just trying to figure out who they are and what they want to do with their talents.

#16 - Kristie Jones: Selling Your Way In

Kristie Jones is the Founder and Principal of Sales Acceleration Group. She is a fractional sales executive, coach, consultant, and trainer. She specializes in helping VC backed startups in the tech industry. She tells Cynthia about her path to becoming a successful entrepreneur in the sales space, a most unlikely destination. This episode is chock full of wisdom and “Kristieisms”, many from Kristie's new book SELLING YOUR WAY IN. This episode is a must listen for anyone involved in sales.

#15 - Jennifer Bardot: Hardships Lead to Hope

Jennifer Bardot is the Founder of the GRIT Community which helps women gain knowledge, learn, build relationships, advance career opportunities, make a difference while engaging in an inclusive community of women. G.R.I.T. (Growth, Resilience, Intention, Tenacity) brings leaders together by providing support, professional development and inspire its members to have growth, resilience, intention and tenacity.
 
She talks Cynthia about her early struggles in school, her brush with death as a child, and the multiple successes she's had in different industries. She started a successful an entrepreneur in her teens, later became a therapist, transitioned to a senior executive in the banking industry, before ultimately focusing all of her efforts on the women of the GRIT Community. Her story is one built on G.R.I.T. and will inspire you into believing that you too can do anything.

#14 - Whitney Kenter: Slow Down to Speed Up

Whitney Kenter is the Founder of Glowe Connective. She calls it an Un-Consultancy that helps leadership teams ask themselves the tough questions so they can properly focus their personal and professional efforts. She’s worked with companies all across the country, with incredible results.
She talks to Cynthia about her path from the corporate world to her company Glowe Connective. Though typically risk averse she felt she had no choice but to launch this service. There is an easier, healthier, and more pleasurable path to success and she’s ready to help you find it.

#13 - Carrie Burggraf: Help People Help Themselves

Carrie Burggraf is a Business Consultant with Wide Awake Business. Business owners call Carrie when they want to get more from their sales efforts. She spent two decades at the start of her career as a geriatric physician’s assistant, eventually moving into a sales role at a home care assistance company in St. Louis. She’s an accomplished sales representative and business coach.
She talks to Cynthia about her early career, a tragedy that shaped her, raising her three sons, and her approach to sales. She breaks down sales interactions and demonstrates the right and wrong way to approach an interaction. This episode contains proven methods and would be valuable for any sales professional.

#12 - Caitlin Murphy: Your Network is Your Net Worth

Caitlin Murphy is the Founder & CEO of Global Gateway Logistics. Her entry into the world of International logistics has been a fast paced and exciting ride, and has opened up new career opportunities for women. She's found a better way to deliver on her promises, and her success is a testament that it's working.
She talks to Cynthia about her career path from Mizzou to China, and how that experience directed her into the international logistics industry. Her fluency in Mandarin Chinese has served her well and opened up many new opportunities. She shares her philosophies on customer service, delivering on promises, and the value of giving back. Caitlin is a remarkable individual carving her own path in this world.

#11 - Dr. JoAnn Galakatos: Finding Harmony in a Dual Doctor Household

Dr. JoAnn Galakatos is an anesthesiologist with Mercy Hospital. An obviously brilliant individual, JoAnn started out as an engineer, before transitioning to medicine. She and her husband are both doctors and have 5 children. JoAnn's life has been a delicate balance of juggling her career and parenting duties, and she did a remarkable job prioritizing her family while sustaining her career value.
She talks to Cynthia about how she became a doctor and the struggles she and her husband faced as they were both doing their residency. She goes into detail about the early challenges she faced as a female doctor, especially when her children were young, and the nuances of managing a household where both parents are doctors. JoAnn offers great advice to anyone who wants to pursue to pursue their purpose without sacrificing their self-worth.

#10 - Claire Flowers: Crafting the Perfect Fit in Fashion and Business

Claire Flowers is the Founder and CEO of Claire Flowers LLC, a high-end women's apparel company. She started her journey by reimagining the classic pump, and later expanded into other footwear, apparel, jewelry, bespoke designs, and more.
She talks to Cynthia about her journey from an IT Sales professional to fashion designer, and all the bumps along the way. She gives a masterclass in how to approach entrepreneurship, as her rise to success was a perfect mix of vision, grit, risk taking, partnership, mentorship, pivoting, and business acumen. A must listen for anyone who wants to quit their job and start a business.