After being laid off from middle management, Dale Gantous’ colleague showed up at her door with business cards that had her named as President of a non-existent company entitled InGenius. Dale decided to take the leap and InGenius, a successful consulting business, was formed serving giants such as Nortel. But with the dot com burst, Dale and InGenius had to pivot- and fast. Through perseverance (and several iterations,) InGenius was there to answer a need in the marketplace, developing a premier software for the call center industry. The leap paid off and by working with clients such as LinkedIn, Expedia, Gap, Bank of New York Mellon, and VMware, InGenius grew to eight figures. Tune in to this week’s Breakthrough to hear Dale discuss her 23 year journey in business, advice on selling a company, and not only how to get to seven figures but what it takes to get to eight.

Breakthrough

A Positive Work Culture and Strong Organic Growth Leads Canada's InGenius to 8 Figures

The question of ‘where am I from?’ is one that can be answered by most groups except for African descendants looking to accurately trace their roots. With only $1,200 and a database of DNA lineages, AfricanAncestry.com grew to seven figures tracing African lineages. They use genetics to help people reliably trace their roots back to their ancestor’s tribes. On this week’s episode of Breakthrough, Sara Roach Lewis talks to Dr. Gina Paige, co-founder of AfricanAncestry.com, about her 17 years in business, how Black Panther’s Chadwick Boseman tripled the businesses’ revenues, and how staying true to her values of being a black owned company grew the business to seven figures. Dr. Paige has worked with- and revealed the roots of- the world’s leading icons, including Oprah Winfrey, John Legend, Spike Lee, Condoleezza Rice, and the King family. AfricanAncestry.com proves that when you follow your calling and you listen to your market, you can solve a problem that changes lives.

AfricanAncestry.com Proves That When You Can Answer ‘Where Am I From?’, You Can Change Lives

In this special live broadcast episode of Breakthrough, Sara and her panel of guests will talk about coronavirus and how to manage the uncertainty for your business, support your team, and listen to the latest public health directives.

Leading through Crisis: COVID 19 & Your Business

Dr. Suzanne Simpson started HRSG in order to remove the pain from business’ important HR processes. In order to remove the pain from growing your business, she joins Sara Roach Lewis on a new episode of Breakthrough to talk about the lumps and bumps she’s experienced over the last thirty years as she grew from solopreneur to seven figure international success. Dr. Simpson, President, CEO and founder of Human Resource Systems Group Ltd., doesn’t sugar coat what it takes to grow. What happens when it’s questioned whether you’re the right one to be the CEO of the company you started? What happens when a concussion forces you to improvise a backup plan that takes years to recover from? And how does your daughter's book entitled Mommy’s At The Office All The Time play out over the years? Tune in as Dr. Simpson shares important lessons guaranteed to apply to you wherever you are on your path to seven figures.

30 Years of Lessons: From Serviced Based Solopreneur to Software-as-a-Service, Seven-Figure Success

When you can predict human behavior, you can predict the future and grow to seven figures. Meet Polly. Polly is an AI tool whose job is population research via social media. If you want to know what the population is truly thinking and feeling, the way to get that data has moved online. But Polly is for more than just increasing website clicks. Think how long it took for the population to adopt anti-smoking and drunk driving messages. With targeted messages and Polly’s data, change takes years, not generations. Behind Polly is cofounder and CEO Erin Kelly of Advanced Symbolics and she joins Sara Roach Lewis on this week’s episode of Breakthrough to talk about the sacrifices that are required when growing from a startup to a global business, being in the male dominated tech and AI space, and how parenting fits in when the airplane is your second home.

When You Can Predict Human Behaviour, You Can Predict the Future and Grow a Global Business

This week on Breakthrough we answer listener’s questions. How do you pick a rock star team? How do you minimize growing pains? How do you squeeze the most productivity out of your day? How do you set yourself apart and build trust? All these questions - and more - are answered on this week’s episode of Breakthrough. Join me, your host Sara Roach Lewis, business strategist and coach, and Karla Jo Helms, owner of JoTo PR Disruptors, as we dive deeper into what it really takes to get to a million dollars in revenue.

86% of Women-Owned Businesses Make Less Than $100k. So, What Does It Really Take To Breakthrough?

On this week’s episode of Breakthrough, we’re doing things a little differently. Eve Rodsky, New York Times bestselling author of Fair Play, a Game-Changing Solution for When You Have Too Much to Do (and More Life to Live), joins Sara Roach Lewis to talk about a 21st century solution to an age old problem. The Mental load, the second shift, emotional labour, invisible work. Whatever you call it, women carry the brunt of it and Eve argues that it keeps you from the seven figure business you work so damn hard for. Take a listen as Eve debunks every myth from women’s innate talent at wiping butts to the fact that society values men’s time as diamonds and women’s time as sand. Let’s apply the same long term thinking and planning that corporations do to the most essential organization in our lives - our households, and change society one marriage at a time.

You Weren't Born To Wipe Butts - The Invisible Work That Keeps You From 7 Figures

Is Your Business A Vitamin Or A Pain Killer? When Kimberly Lewis, co founder of CurlMix, organic products for curly hair, realized she was selling a vitamin and not the solution to her customers’ pain, she stopped in her tracks and pivoted with lightning speed. Leaving product, marketing and money spent behind to give her customers what they told her they wanted paid off quickly. On this week’s episode of Breakthrough, join Sara Roach Lewis as she talks with the millennial entrepreneur about turning her business on its head and how in less than five years she scaled to a $12 million valuation- with $5.5 million in sales last year alone. Kimberly is transparent about the sacrifices that are required when seeking funding, turning down an offer from Shark Tank, her billion dollar plans and the free in-house genius who helped make it all happen.

Is Your Business a Vitamin or a Pain Killer? Knowing the Difference Led CurlMix to 7 Figures

Starting with just $300, Bobbie Racette built a seven-figure business in under three years. Even more impressive than her revenue is the massive social impact of her award-winning business, Virtual Gurus. Join Sara Roach Lewis on Breakthrough as she talks with Bobbie about building a business with a mandate to do good and paying employees a fair wage in an industry that is typically a race to the bottom. They talk about Bobbie’s unwavering commitment to hiring marginalized people and using innovative technology to match entrepreneurs with their perfect Virtual Assistant. Virtual Gurus is proof positive that with clear mentorship and a social purpose, businesses and lives can thrive.

Think a Business Committed to Doing Social Good Can't Scale? Virtual Gurus is Proof that it Can

Being a woman in a male dominated industry created its own set of challenges for this week’s ambitious entrepreneur, Kathy Robertson. Kathy is the owner of Robertson Wealth Advisory Group, providing financial advice to her clients as they transition through major life events. Her advice to other women entrepreneurs entering the field? When you’re faced with closed doors, you need to build your own door. Join Breakthrough’s Sara Roach Lewis as she talks with Kathy about her client centric approach because in order to grow a seven figure wealth advisory firm, you have to go beyond the numbers.

Beyond The Numbers: Building a 7- Figure Wealth Advisory Practice

Attention crafters and makers! How would you scale your business to seven-figures if you didn’t have access to the digital tools we use to reach a global audience? On this week’s episode of Breakthrough, Sara Roach Lewis talks to Jennifer Ridgway, owner of Moonsnail Soapworks and Luna Eclectic Emporium. They manufacture over 60 unique body products from the east coast of Canada. She joins Sara to talk about her 25 year journey from crafting soaps to give as Christmas gifts to a seven-figure retail business. Like every entrepreneur's path, Jennifer’s was not without its own set of issues. From finding lenders who would support women in business, to dealing with seasonal retail cash flow issues, Jennifer has worked through it all with an ego-free attitude that doesn’t compromise on who she is. Jennifer talks about how empowering her employees to take charge has led to innovation and how letting go of wearing all the hats (and aprons) allowed her to scale.

Crafting a Seven-Figure Retail Business- Organically and Ego-Free

Who said artists have to starve? This episode of Breakthrough features Michelle Sakhai, visual artist, primordial sound meditation instructor with the Chopra Center and certified Reiki Master. Michelle discusses the power of letting her creations go into the world and the necessity of bringing a business edge to creative work. She shares how her exposure to the art world from an early age instilled a thriving artist mentality that has brought her business to seven-figures. Michelle talks to Sara Roach Lewis about how an awakening triggered a leap to a new style in her work, leading her to exhibit her work globally and align organically with her ideal clients and collectors.

Who Said Artists Have To Starve?

Have you ever spent time stressing over a necessary evil in your business and wishing it would just go away? Our latest Breakthrough guest turned her irritation into several massive businesses. Monica Eaton-Cardone is the co-founder of Chargebacks911, a division of Global Risk Technologies, which manages over 200 million global transactions each month. Fed up of being penalized in her online retail space for “chargebacks” (forced transactions that occur when a customer contacts their bank for help, rather than the retailer), Monica dove into this unfamiliar world to create the software needed to help her predict chargeback risk and mitigate fraud. Chargebacks911 started as a joke, but in mere weeks, Monica was flooded with media requests and calls from banks seeking advice on chargebacks. Tune in to hear Monica share with Sara Roach-Lewis her strategies for working in a super-fast industry and how growing up on a ranch instilled skills she continues to use in the boardroom.

How One Woman Turned a Necessary Evil into a Global Business

Breakthrough Season 1 is a wrap! Over the last 3 months, we’ve been fortunate to speak with 12 ambitious women who’ve all achieved more than a millions dollars in annual revenues in their business. What trailblazers, since less than 2% of women entrepreneurs achieve this milestone. We hope their stories motivate you to break through the million-dollar ceiling—let’s smash the stat to welcome other women into the seven-figure club! Tune in to our most recent episode, where Sara Roach-Lewis talks with 3 loyal listeners about the first season of Breakthrough. Get a warm beverage and join Sara—as well as Frances Gertsch (Stewart Travel Group), Maureen Hanley (Navigate Food Safety Solutions), and Sarah Bennetto O’Brien (The Handpie Company)—as they reflect on the learnings and the actions that we all can do as we climb our way to a million and beyond. Warning: Side effects of this episode include higher energy, added inspiration, and a desire to re-listen to previous Breakthrough podcasts.

Breakthrough Season 1: Inspire, Motivate, and Act

In the latest episode of Breakthrough, we meet Katherine Fleischman, founder and CEO of Do Tell PR, a boutique PR firm based in Miami, Florida. Katherine started her business straight out of grad school and invested her 20s growing and stabilizing both her PR firm and her work processes. From working out of her bedroom office for a year to now bringing in seven-figure revenues, Katherine opens up about what it meant to create a business during a time when her peers were focused on other priorities. Tune in to hear host Sara Roach-Lewis chat with Katherine about being a remote worker—the challenges, the perks, and the realities in a 24/7 social media world. Is working in PR the equivalent of being a “professional stalker”? What role does PR play in business? How important is building relationships in business? And how do you turn yourself off when you work in an industry that never sleeps? All these things are covered in this episode of Breakthrough—don’t miss it!

Learning to Turn 'Off' While Working in a 24-7 Industry

Entrepreneurs often have similar characteristics: energy, passion, vision. Why do some soar to success while others struggle to climb? Would it shock you to know that less than 2 percent of women-owned businesses in North America ever achieve a million dollars a year in revenue? Why is that? How do we dramatically increase that number? What methods and mindsets do these powerful businesswomen have that you can learn from as you press forward on your journey to success? What obstacles did they face, opportunities did they identify, and trails did they blaze to hit this milestone? Each week Sara Roach Lewis has conversations with the ambitious women entrepreneurs that help to form that 2 percent as well as those destined to shatter it. Are you interested in becoming a 7-figure entrepreneur? Sara Roach Lewis is here to help you “breakthrough.” Listen live every Monday at 8 AM Pacific Time on the VoiceAmerica Business Channel.

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Breakthrough

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