What I've Learned About Women Entrepreneurs and the $1 Million Journey

Leadership isn't just changing. It's evolving in ways we're only just beginning to imagine. And women, we're not playing this game anymore. We're the ones reshaping the entire field, building models, movements, and businesses that serve more than just a few. On the She Leads Podcast, you'll hear real conversations with women who've broken through all kinds of barriers, revenue, identity, borders, and expectations.

There's no sugarcoating here, just the truth told by those who are living it. I'm Adrienne Garland, entrepreneur, strategist, educator, and creator of live experiences, gathering women leaders together for over a decade. And this is the She Leads Podcast.

Hi, everybody. Welcome back to the She Leads Podcast. This is a very special episode for me and for the She Leads Podcast. It is episode number 200. And that just goes to show that it has been a journey for me to get to this number.

And as I tried to plan for this episode, I thought, let me take a look back at all of the conversations that I've had over these past 200 episodes. One thing to notice is that the podcast started out with a different name. It was called sugarcoated. And the reason that I chose that as the name to start the podcast was because I wanted to have conversations that did not have any sugarcoating on them. So for me, this conversation that we've been having over these 200 episodes has been about raw and honest conversations with women entrepreneurs and women leaders about what it takes to succeed.

At the beginning of last year, we pivoted the podcast a bit so that we could focus on women entrepreneurs who were taking their businesses to a million dollars and beyond. And the reason that we made that that shift, this this latest shift, is because I realized how important it was for women to get access to resources in order to do what they you know, in order to have money and capital to invest in their business so that they could grow and be profitable. And the profit is not simply for vanity purposes just for the sake of saying that your company is profitable, But all of the reading and research that I am constantly doing points to the fact that women entrepreneurs, women leaders, women in general, when they have access to capital, they take that capital and they put it to really good use. They help to solve some of the world's most insidious problems. They contribute to society, and they do good things in the world.

And we need more of that. Humanity right now is on a precipice, I think. And we are not necessarily headed in the direction of prosperity, the direction of health, the direction of kindness and love. We're not headed there. We're headed in the opposite direction.

And it's clear to me that women are the ones that are going to turn that around and and really heal our planet. And the only way that we can do that is if we are the ones that are making the decisions, and we are the ones that are directing resources to those areas that are going to correct some of the terrible things that are happening in the world today. And, you know, the podcast is recorded from the United States, from New York, and we have a very unique perspective. We are a very wealthy nation, a very powerful nation. And in the state of New York where I not only live, but also where I grew up, we have a a very open and liberal mindset and perspective.

And so I know that I have a different a different point of view than many people in the United States, many people around the world. But I I know that when people are being imprisoned, when human rights are taken away, when women are not able to make choices for themselves, that that that is it's it's bad. Plain and simple, it's bad. And so my entire thesis is that women must figure out how to earn and generate as much revenue and profit as possible because we statistically take that those resources and correct some of society's ills. I'm not suggesting that having women in power is going to be perfect, and nor am I suggesting that only women should be in power.

I truly am I truly have a humanistic perspective, and I believe in equality. So I believe that there should be a combination of women and men of all different races and all different perspectives in leadership roles. With that type of diversity. I believe that some of the decisions that have been made and the way that things are run and things are organized would be so much different. And would it be perfect?

Absolutely not. I'm not naive enough to say that that is the answer. It's just that it the scales are tipped so far in the other direction where one group is in power, and it is off kilter, and it's it's putting our world off kilter as well. So one of those systems that is also off kilter that I have been hyper focused on for probably the last twenty five years is corporate America. There are so many statistics that show that women and men enter the the workforce at approximately the same rate.

And then as they rise through leadership, women fall off. And it's not because we can't hack it. It's not because we're not as intelligent. It's not because we don't know how to make decisions or run companies. It's because there are other factors that impact our lives.

It's because of the way that corporate has been organized up until this point that does not support women rising to those ranks. The the percentage of women that are CEOs of companies and and Fortune 500 companies is minuscule. It's not changing. The the women that are funded by venture capital firms is pathetic under 2% and not changing. The percentage of women owned businesses that get past a million dollars is less than 4%.

All of these statistics are pointing to not a deficiency in women, but rather a deficiency in a system. If you want to understand this in more depth with a lot of statistics behind it, I highly suggest a book called Erased, and I will put that link to the book in the show notes. It's it's very eye opening and provides a lot of supporting evidence how women and people of color, different groups are marginalized, not only here in The United States, but around the world and the systemic problems that that causes. So getting back to the She Leads podcast, the pivot lately has been toward helping women to get past that million dollars and shining the light on women owned businesses that are marching toward that million dollar mark or they've reached it and and beyond so that we can have a real raw conversation about what it takes to set your business up, set yourself up in order to, you know, get past that mark. And the reason is so that we can have resources to do good things in the world.

Entrepreneurship, I've said this before, is an antidote to corporate America, but it's not it's not the answer because it is very challenging for the majority of us women entrepreneurs. It's challenging to be a leader in the corporate sphere as well. So there's no perfect choice. And I think it's important for us to hear the success stories of people that have figured it out or who have even stumbled upon an area that allows them to get past that mark. But the reason that I highlight and invite these women on is not because I only wanna show the shiny side of things.

What we have heard over and over again that those journeys are riddled with challenges that as much success as there is, there's also that same amount of struggle, that same amount of failure. And as I looked back and listened to many of these episodes, I was I was looking for a pattern. Right? I was looking for what are those success criteria? What is the the pattern or path in order for these women owned businesses to succeed?

And, really, what I found after these 200 conversations and a couple of them, I did interview a couple of men. So I think that I had about three different men on the show. One was my student who was inspired to develop a song that was based on an assignment that I had given him. And so I thought it was amazing to highlight him on the podcast. One, another man that was on the show was a or is a doctor who specializes in women's hormones and health.

So we had him on the show to to discuss that. It was very women centric. And the other person that was on the show was a a financial person who helps businesses to get themselves ready to sell, and that helps them to plan that whole entire journey. Since then, we've also had many women on the show that help other women owned businesses to maximize their revenue and their value so that they can be sold at as as high of a value as possible. And and we've also highlighted many, many stories of women.

I just wanted to point out that those 200 episodes were not exclusively interviewing women entrepreneurs. We did have a couple of men on. And as I'm doing right now, we also have had several solo episodes that were, I guess, awkwardly recorded by yours truly as I'm doing it right now. It's it's a lot easier for me to have conversations with people than to just kind of speak on my own, but at the same time, I do love to do it. So getting back to the patterns that emerged in these conversations, these hundreds of conversations that the people who, you know, have made it past that million dollar mark and the people who did not is that the journey, it never ends for anyone.

Right? So the women that have hit that million dollar mark, they're not done. That was just a stake in the ground, another chapter in their book, and they have set their sights on other objectives. Those objectives range from setting their business up for sale. Also, you know, women at that point start to think about start to think about more than just profit.

They start to think about impact. They start to think about how they can give back, how they can help younger women, how they can help older women. There's a whole spectrum of what women start to think about. And it's a place that women get to. And they're they I think in a lot of cases, as as proud as they are because of the statistics, they know how lucky they are to have, you know, kind of crashed through that barrier, if you will, and they wanna make the most out of it.

There are definitely women that want to scale their operations, whether it's nationally or globally, introduce new product lines, you know, go into new categories. But the the the theme, I guess, if there is any in those women that have gotten past that million dollar mark is they're they're not done. Right? And I think that that has been an overarching theme that I've seen lately on all of the different social media platforms in the in the news is that, you know, women aren't done. We are not sitting down and putting our feet up.

We all know that we still have a lot of work to do, and that work is not easy. It's not pretty. And we are we're here for it. As tired as we all are, as exhausted, and as exasperated as we are at the utter stupidity that is in our world and and the unfairness that I have no idea where that is coming from and and that so many people have these insane beliefs, there are many more, I will say, many more women that are speaking up, that are doing everything in their power to clean up this goddamn mess of the world. So we're not done.

I think we're just trying to figure out how we can move forward and make things better without doing any harm. And and if anything is holding women back at all, it's fear of repercussions of our actions. You know, we have a a very real enemy, I would say, and people that do not want to see women in power in any way, shape, or form. And they will go to extraordinary ends in order to ensure that women do not rise to power. And so women absolutely need to consider those types of, you know, threats to their safety.

And I think that that's very reasonable. So as women, we have to figure out what's the right path that is going to allow us to change the world for the better while also preserving our health, our humanity, and our well-being, and our safety to, you know, to to just say it outright.

Hey, everyone. So for years, I've been working with dr. Kent and sending people in my network his way. He does so much impact work. What do I mean by that? Well, he helps people create books and podcasts and things like that.

He even helps with this podcast behind the scenes. Dr. Kent is my thought partner. Anyone listening knows that we all need to do what we can to get our thoughts, opinions, and voices out into the world and how important it is for women to invest in other women and for women to hire other women. I am all about that and you all know that. But in this case, I think dr. Kent is an exception.

He's doing something really different via this new program that he's launched called the Genius Discovery Program. So he wants to work with people like me and like you who are impact driven. Dr. Kent has an intensive program that goes for a month. He also has a three month program where he figures out where you're headed with your brand, your business, your speaking, and your signature story as a thought leader. I've known Dr.

Kent for a long time. So believe me when I say that he has a ton of experience working with people that are looking to make an impact but might not know exactly how to approach them. So if you're interested in talking to him, you can go directly to talktokent.com or you can send me a DM on Instagram at She Leads Media, or just shoot me an email over at hello@SheLeadsMedia.com.

So the the women just going back to the the women that have hit that million dollar mark in their business, are are not done. Like I said before, they are measuring themselves against something that maybe was a straight line. And we all know that journeys are are not linear, that there are a lot of backslides, a lot of twists and turns and forks in the road. Women's lives are like that. Women's businesses are like that as well.

Women have the women that I have interviewed, they have taken long pauses in their businesses, they have been in corporate and then have left and started over from the beginning. There are women that have lost everything. There are women that have been in more than $500,000 worth of debt. There are women that have lost their their partners, lost their families, lost, you know, children. A lot of a lot of trauma just in women's lives in general.

So things that we have to contend with and overcome, and we do. And, again, if that's any type of a theme, that is a very clear theme is that women and women that are starting businesses and leading in their lives, they are absolutely resilient. And I know that that word is overused, but it is something that I see as a character trait of women that ultimately succeed. And when I say succeed, I'm not necessarily talking about success from a revenue perspective, but rather what success means to that woman in her life, you know, whatever that looks like. That is all individual.

Women are definitely trusting themselves more. They are setting their lives up so that they are moving toward their definition of success. And they every single one of the women that I have spoken to, and I'm gonna put myself in that category, we are all leaders in one way or another, whether that is, you know, leading ourselves toward a destination, whether that is leading our families, whether that's leading in a corporate role, whether that's leading business, leading community, leading a movement, leading a membership, leading a podcast, you know, women are leaders, we're natural leaders, we are the ones that just inherently know how to do things, we know what steps to take, we can think 25 steps ahead and see where things are going to, you know, fall apart, and where things are going to be more smooth. I see and I and the women that I interview on the podcast are also very supportive of other women, whether that's young women or older women. And we also recognize and speak out that not all women are supporting other women.

And we all think that that's super unfortunate. And we recognize that that's a function of society, not so much a function of women naturally, I think. You know, women, especially people that are our age, you know, 50, we were taught that there wasn't a lot of room at the top for the for women. And and quite frankly, there's still not a lot of room for women at the top. And so what happens is we end up being pitted against one another and fighting for limited resources.

And so in that case, you know, that sets us up to compete with one another instead of truly helping one another. And I think we've all been through the journey of competition and realizing that it really doesn't get us anywhere. And the the people that end up winning through that competition often have an epiphany, and they end up being the ones that are super supportive of other women. And I'm not saying that women that, you know, are in these incredible leadership positions do not 100% deserve it. They absolutely do.

And I I do see a lot of support for other women. It's just that on on that journey, sometimes you do come across other women that are not as supportive as you would hope they would be. And I think that, you know, as much as as that sometimes is confusing, I also understand it. It it's like the different stages that people go through similar to, you know, like the stages of of grief, denial, and then ultimately acceptance. But, you know, not every single woman is in support of other women.

And that phenomenon still exists for anybody that says, Oh, you know, all women are supportive of other women. It's just not true. So we have to definitely be discerning. And when we find others that are supportive of us in our journeys for all the right reasons, those are the people that you just, I think, hold a little bit closer and that you, you know, you invite on your team or into your circle or, you know, you just kind of turn to for the the support that we all need. I hope that this podcast is one of those platforms that you feel supported, that you feel like I'm bringing you women that you can relate to, whether they're on a journey and they've, you know, taken a little bit of a hiatus or a backslide or the women that are super successful, there is something to learn from all of them.

I have learned so much from all of these women on my journey to this two hundredth episode. And for, you know, episode two zero one and beyond, the conversations are going to continue. There is not a destination that is there's not a destination to reach. There's never an end. And so I'm going to continue to search out women that have super interesting stories that we can be inspired by.

I'm going to seek out women entrepreneurs that have made it to points that maybe we could have never imagined. And I'm also going to speak to women that are on a journey to that million dollar mark so that they have the resources needed to make change. So those are all the stories that you are going to be hearing in, you know, the next 200 episodes. I would love to invite women that are from all over the world to share their stories and share their journeys so that we can hear from them. And I hope that as you listen into these conversations that I attempt to make as real as possible, I try to ask questions that I'm channeling from the audience that the audience would would want to hear and want to learn from.

And I hope that as you listen in, that you take away, you know, any type of learning, any type of tips that are relevant for you on your own journey. Right? It's not just about listening to others and admiring them, but it's also about taking and extracting those insights so that you can apply it to your own life and to your own business. I would like to invite all of you that are listening in to reach out to me, and I'll put my email in the show notes. But reach out to me and let me know who it is that you would like to hear from.

Who who would you like me to interview in in these next, you know, 200, 300 episodes as as long as I can keep going, I will because I'm fascinated. I learn different things every single time. It's a great way for me to build relationships with these incredible women. And oftentimes, I will invite these women into my classroom at NYU where I teach entrepreneurship. I'll invite some of these women that are relevant for our class.

I'll invite them into my classroom to talk to students, to talk to, you know, our future. And I always say to them that I learn as much from those students as I hope that they are learning from me. And so it's a really beautiful way to get to know that this podcast has been a platform that's been a really beautiful way for me to get to know some incredible women that I don't know that I would have met otherwise. It allows me to also understand their story and where they might fit in at the She Leads Live conferences and Pitch the Media events that we're doing. So for me, I would just like to say to everybody that's listening in to this 200 episode, thank you so much for, you know, tuning in, for listening, for giving me feedback on what you would like to hear more of.

And if you can, I would like to ask you to give this show a five star rating and review on Apple Podcasts because it doesn't just help the show or me personally? It helps to share the stories and the journeys of all of these women that I have had on the show. I don't want their stories to be locked away on you know, in some pocket of this podcast universe. I really desire for these women's stories to be shared far and wide. We need to you know, I personally think that we need to hear more stories like the ones that I'm sharing versus our obsession and attention with, you know, celebrity that lives lives that are far different than the the lives of, you know, regular.

I'll I'll say regular. None of us are regular. We're all special. But, you know, the majority of people in the world. So a little bit less obsession with celebrity and a little bit more obsession with reality would be a really great first step and listening to these women that have been so bold to start their own businesses and go on this journey that is not easy.

And even getting past that million dollar mark is few and far between. I mean, how could you not be inspired by these incredible women? So if if you could take some time and give the show a five star rating and review, share it with all of your friends, all of your colleagues, not just women, but also men who are supportive of these incredible women entrepreneurs and leaders. If you could just, you know, take that, then maybe we could start a movement to bring more attention to women that I believe deserve a lot more attention than we are getting. So I will continue to have these honest ongoing conversations about what building a million dollar business looks like, feels like what the journey is to to that million dollar mark and beyond.

This, you know, I I I feel in a lot of ways that this two hundred two hundredth episode is is simply the beginning and that there's so much more to come. So I I hope that you will continue along with me on this journey. And I can't thank you enough for your time and your attention and your support of this show. So I am Adrienne Garland, CEO of She Leads Media. I'm an adjunct instructor at NYU in the Tisch Center for Hospitality.

I am a lecturer at the Rice University Jones School of Business in their online MBA program. I take students on global field experiences to mainly countries in South America. This two hundredth episode is coming to you from Santiago, Chile, where I am here with eight different teams of students, and we are working on consulting projects for startup businesses that are here in Santiago. And I provide advisory services to women entrepreneurs that are growing their businesses past a million dollars and beyond. Some of my credentials include having an MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business, more than twenty years of experience on both the corporate side and the entrepreneurial side.

As you know, I'm the host of the She Leads Podcast, and I am a huge proponent of entrepreneurship for women. And I do a lot of strategic work in order to help women get past that million dollars through visibility, through media strategy, through marketing operations, and financial alignment. So if you're a woman owned business that is looking for advisory services, somebody that understands the complexities of business, please reach out to me. The link will be in the show notes for you to get in touch with me. And don't forget to give this show a five star rating and review.

Thank you so much, and we will be back with episode 201 next week.

If this conversation moved you, inspired you, or made you think differently, please take a moment to leave a five star rating and review. It's not just about boosting the show. It's about amplifying the voices of women entrepreneurs who are leading with vision, building with purpose, and shaping what's next. We need more of these conversations in the world right now, don't you think? And if someone came to mind while you were listening, someone who matters to you, send this episode to them.

If there's something on your mind about leadership, legacy, or what's next, I want to hear it. Head to sheleadsmedia.com/voice and leave a voice memo or note. Your insight might just help shape a future episode. Make sure to follow the show and come back next week for more conversations you won't hear anywhere else. Thank you so much for listening.