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Does your business model, fulfillment strategy, and marketing plan reflect your bigger objectives in life? Have you sat down and really thought about what it is that you are hoping to achieve, leave behind, or be known for? Jessica Zambarano is the latest guest on the Young Female Entrepreneurs Podcast where she shared five reasons for us YFE’s to rock our legacies.
What is legacy? As mentioned in yesterday’s post on the Podcast, legacy to Jessica means… “knowing who you are and what you have to offer and having an understanding how you can bridge that with your personal passions to create a successful business model that not only allows you to live a comfortable lifestyle, but also can be a catalyst for positive and lasting change in the world.”
Why should you rock your legacy? Jessica’s fifth point, was that it gives you purpose (check out the download below to listen to the first four reasons).
Why does this all matter? “Knowing that this would produce a paycheck wasn’t enough for me,” Jessica explained. This comment is true for many in our generation. After all you are leaving behind that steady paycheck when you leave corporate America to go after your dream. Many of the young female entrepreneurs who come across YFE have started their business(es) for three reasons:
To be in control of my time
To be my own boss
To do what I love
Taking the a risk to build a potentially better financial future than possible with employment is rarely the answer. However, for Jessica, knowing that building a successful business would allow her to give back to the causes she loves, she was able to push her business forward in a way she hadn’t been able to before.
By understanding your legacy you know that building and growing your business is more than what you are doing right now (bookkeeping, marketing, fulfillment, etc.). You understand that it’s about what you are leaving behind and the positive change you are helping to bring about in the world.
Jessica Zambarano of Jessica Z Solutions sounds like your best friend… no not literally, but she feels very familiar when you speak with her over the phone, having a way that welcomes you into the conversation.
In the short time I’ve gotten to know Jessica I genuinely love her positive, go-to attitude and cheerleading she has done for other Young Female Entrepreneurs over social media. She was a fabulous guest to have on the Podcast, being very patient with me after taking multiple starts to pronounce her name correctly. It’s really an easy name to pronounce, but for some reason I had some difficulty with it that morning.
So what is legacy anyway? Jessica explains in the Podcast that legacy is “knowing who you are and what you have to offer and having an understanding how you can bridge that with your personal passions to create a successful business model that not only allows you to live a comfortable lifestyle, but also can be a catalyst for positive and lasting change in the world.”
Like what you heard? Jessica recently launched her Rock Your Legacy Mini Session. “The Rock Your Legacy Mini Session is intended to help you get clear on what legacy means to you and to brainstorm creative revisions to your existing business model that will help you achieve your legacy by bridging your professional talents and your personal passions.”
Check out all of the details behind it and how you can save money by being a Young Female Entrepreneur. Visit her website here, using the password YFEsRock (it is case sensitive). The special is available through Wednesday, May 11th at 5pm PST.
Sarah J.K recently talked with YFE Jenny Dibble for the Young Female Entrepreneurs Podcast. Sarah owns CTL360, a “cost-effective online design house catering primarily to the small and medium businesses in Pakistan and soon around the world… a group of young professionals with ‘magenta’ personalities and a distinct passion for the world of graphics, advertising and all things creative.”
Find Sarah and her team on Facebook and visit their site. Listen to the Podcast on iTunes to hear Sarah’s story; how a young woman in Pakistan started and builds her business.
Nicole Donnelly is a former pro-snowboarder, founder of BabyLegs, developer of Big Ruby, and author of Ride Like a Penguin. If you are a YFE and a mom, Nicole is most likely a celebrity to you, I know she is to me! After selling BabyLegs Nicole packaged her years of experience in growing her company into a book, a social media tool, and online training courses at Salty Waffle. Nicole Donnelly is also a debuting guest on the YFE Podcast ’5 series’ where each week we feature an expert in their field to share 5 steps, 5 tips, 5 anything that will help our community fo 20s/30s female entrepreneurs reach their goals in business.
This week’s episode (Episode 9) is Nicole’s 5 Steps to Social Media Success. Be sure to check back to the YFE Blog over the next few days to get your fill of “Social Media Success” with Nicole Donnelly! In the meantime, listen to the Podcast and check out a post Nicole wrote on the Salty Waffle Blog called “Great Entrepreneurs Start Here.”
It takes a remarkable entrepreneur to set up a business that can run well and set their ego aside to put quality of life first. It doesn’t mean that a $1B company can’t have a great entrepreneur at it’s heart, but it’s highly unlikely that she’s still running it. Read the whole post.
The Young Female Entrepreneurs Podcast has started once again over on iTunes. This time around we are doing a ’5 series’ where each week an expert on a particular topic relevant to entrepreneurial women in their 20s and 30s is a guest with Jenny and myself on the audio Podcast. Subscribe to get the Podcast delivered to your iTunes weekly.
I kicked off the new YFE season talking about 5 ways to become a champion in your business, in school, family, or any other area of your life where you have set goals for yourself. The points I make come from the original blog post I wrote on my days as a Drill Team coach over at my blog, the Cloud Maven. You can find a summary below. I expand on these concepts on the Podcast and make additional points on my blog.
Begin with the end in mind.
I had set in my mind what I wanted to accomplish as a Coach in deciding who the next year’s leaders would be. Later, I remember asking the leaders of the team what their goals were for the year and we all had a common goal: superior. This common goal between the team, the coach, and the officers really helped in guiding everything they chose to do that year.
Choose your leadership team carefully.
There were so many times during that year that I knew I was so fortunate to have the four young ladies as officers. So much of what a team is able to accomplish is due to the leaders that you have in place, both in official, and not so official positions.
Be conscious of what you are communicating to the outside world.
So you know you have a great team, you know you have a great product or service, and are confident in reaching your goal. Let people in on the secret to help you out in reaching your goal. Be sure they know what you are up to and that your best side is always showing. The community was really behind these girls and their goal; they were in the local papers, present in community events, and were role models for their peers and others in the community.
Know your audience.
Know who it is you are selling the completion of your goal to. The girls knew that the judges were who they had to answer to at the end of the day, not their friends or family. The officers choreographed their routine with care, literally keeping what the requirements for a superior were with their notes.
Know your numbers and share them with the team.
Along with that, I made a point of presenting the judges notes to the team and the number needed for a superior was well known to the girls. They knew how the points were broken down and what they could do personally to improve those numbers. The captains made signs with that number, which they displayed during practice and on the way to competitions to keep a constant reminder of what needed to be attained at all times.
Read the other 5… actually 6 points I made over at my blog, the Cloud Maven.
PS. Thank you to everyone who has participated in our Who Are You? post. We have received over 20 comments on 5 questions each ranging from years in business to what your beverage of choice is as a YFE. LOVE IT! If you haven’t shared already, head on over so we can start to compile and write a post later.
Are you diligent about setting personal income goals?
I’m a firm believer that if you don’t set the goal, you will never achieve it. That’s why every year I force myself to set aside a day dedicated to Goal Setting. First things first, I ask myself what I want to earn that year. It may sound preposterous to think you can just decide what you want your income to be, but it is absolutely possible. The secret is to then work backwards and determine what level of activity you need to generate that income. It makes a big yearly number much more edible when broken into little chunks! Trust me – it works!!!! (Or, don’t trust me and do it yourself – I’d prefer that, actually!)
Episode 8 of the Young Female Entrepreneurs Podcast goes into detail about how the system works, and how you can use it to work backwards into your personal income goal.
Note it will be live in iTunes later today!
Jenn points out during the Podcast it’s also a great way to determine if a business idea is financially feasible as well. Tune in for the details!
As an added bonus, download an Interactive YFE Worksheet (excel format) make your planning even easier!
PS – Be sure to tune in at the end of the podcast for Jenn & Jenny’s Obsession of the Week. Have your own personal obsession right now? Share it in the comments below!
PPS – Are you a YFE Facebook Fan? What are you waiting for? Show us some love.
Episode 6 of the YFE Podcast features Dr. Roger Stark, a retired physician and author of numerous in depth studies on health care policies. Dr. Stark is also the health care policy analyst at Washington Policy Center. He outlines how the health care laws will effect small business employers over the next four years.
In the first few years, there are new definitions put into place and employer tax credits for small business owners you should be aware of. There is also certain health care benefit information which should be outlined on employee W2 forms, and employers are required to file 1099 forms. 2014 is when the bulk of the new law takes place. This is when every adult is required to have insurance and when employers with more than 50 employees are required to pay for employees health insurance or pay a fine or tax. The government will also place minimum benefit mandates on every insurance policy where every insurance policy must meet certain requirements set by the federal government.
This is a very wide encompassing law that also touches on taxing on drugs and insurance companies, medicare, and much more. There are some gray areas in the legislation around this law, so certain parts may be outlined differently now than when it rolls out in the following years.
It is extremely beneficial to listen to Dr. Stark go into further detail as he outlines what the reform means for you as an employer and what you should be aware of. Check out Episode 6 to learn more.
Episode 5 of the YFE Podcast focuses on managing your business risk with three legal tools. YFE Legal Department Blogger Michelle Bomberger talks about how you can use legal tools including business structure, insurance, and contracts to protect the owners, business operations, and relationships within the company.
In your business structure it’s important to follow legal formalities and understand the roles within the company when it comes to decision making. Insurance is also vital to protecting your business and allows you to continue operating through any incident, natural disaster or other liability. Documenting the rights and obligations are important in tackling the risks of relationships within the company so formatting a contract is critical. Michelle goes into detail on how to balance your business by using these tools effectively.
Why should you rock your legacy? Jessica’s fifth point, was that it gives you purpose (check out the download below to listen to the first four reasons).
Jessica Zambarano of 
Episode 6 of the YFE Podcast features Dr. Roger Stark, a retired physician and author of numerous in depth studies on health care policies. Dr. Stark is also the health care policy analyst at 
Episode 5 of the YFE Podcast focuses on managing your business risk with three legal tools. 
