Moneeka Sawyer | Empowering Women | Exeleon Magazine

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MONEEKA SAWYER

AMY SANCHEZ

MISA CHIEN 40

Moneeka Sawyer

Cultivating Bli

IN THIS EXCLUSIVE COVER FEATURE, WE LOOK INTO THE STORY OF MONEEKA SAWYER, AN ENTREPRENEUR, INVESTOR, COACH, PODCAST HOST, AND BEST-SELLING AUTHOR.

There is an innate capacity among born leaders to always put others before themselves. These leaders empower, inspire, and impact others with their valuedriven leadership.

Moneeka Sawyer is an example of one such born leader. This empowering woman has impacted the lives of thousands of women by integrating bliss into their lives.

Persevering through her own set of challenges, Moneeka has created a successful pathway in her real estate journey. Today, she is paving the way for other women in real estate to reach the heights of success.

Moneeka Sawyer is the bestselling author of the book, Choose Bliss. Thanks to her highly spirited nature, she is the creator of Blissfulinvestor.com, and has also appeared on many TV shows including CBS SF Bay Area, ABC TV-Portland and more.

Moreover, Moneeka has learned the ine balance of real-estate investing and now teaches women to be empowered with their money so they can retire rich and live blissfully . She believes, “an empowered woman is someone who inspires other women to stand in their strength, trust themselves, and live a life based on their own values, goals, and desires.”

Talking about her childhood, Moneeka recalls “I remember in pre-school standing on a chair and all the kids would gather around me. As I stood there raising something up high with my right hand (usually an umbrella) I would announce to the other children that I had POWERS.”

She adds, “One day when my dad came to pick me up from school one of the kids whispered to him “Did you know Moneeka has POWERS? She told us all about it

today!” My Dad smiled and said, “Well yes, I did know she has POWERS,” and the little boy gave him a big hug. “Thank you for letting her come to our school!” he exclaimed.”

When asked about these powers by her father, Moneeka mentioned “I told him that my POWER was to make the other children smile. Whenever I would point at one of them, they would smile or giggle. And everyone in the room felt good.”

Seeing how Moneeka used her imagination to make other

“BORN LEADER”

We can't always control what happens to us and around us, but we can always control how we choose to respond.

”

children smile, made her dad proud and refer to his daughter as a “Born Leader.”

Since then this powerful statement has been a big part of Moneeka's life. It has given her the belief she is a leader and strength when she has doubted herself the most.

MEETING HER REAL FORTUNE

Moneeka's journey with real estate began even before she was born. Soon after her parents moved from India to the US, they started saving their nickels and

dimes. Years of hardwork paid off when they bought their irst rental property - and their real estate journey began.

As a young impressionable girl, Moneeka learnt many real-estate investing lessons from her parents. But she could also see an uptick in the levels of stress it brought to her dad. “He dealt with all those things you hear about from landlords —late rents, broken leases, late-night phone calls, and the many mortgages they sometimes had to struggle to pay,” she recalls.

Based on all of that she realized that a successful career in real estate was a consequence of patience for a long-time. She didn't want something in her life for that long that sucked the life out of her, as it did for her dad. So, she decided very young that it wasn't for her.

A few years down the line, when Moneeka graduated from college, her chances of getting a job dwindled as the entire country struggled in recession. When she inally got a job, it paid very little, and she felt really stressed. However, a simple yet lifechanging statement by Moneeka's father was enough to convince her about her direction.

He said “Moneeka, everyone has stress, everyone has fear, and everyone has money problems. Do you want poor-people money problems, or do you want richpeople money problems?”

She was stunned into silence, and it really got her thinking. “If I'm going to have money problems anyways, they might as well be rich-people money problems!” This led her to take his advice seriously and inally buy some real estate.

To ind out what happened next you can get the rest of the story in her free ebook “Blueprint to Building Your Multi-Million Dollar Real Estate Portfolio” at Blissfulinvestor.com.

MOVING AND RISING TOGETHER

Moneeka believes that each one

of us has the capacity to be a leader in our own lives. It's a skill we can develop and doing so is very empowering. She emphasizes the need to build your own inancial independence to supercharge your conidence.

“It really is possible for everyone, as long as they are willing to learn, focus, and most importantly, take mindful action,” she shares. “I have a top-rated podcast and radio show where I talk about mindset, heart-set, strategies, money smarts, and all those things a woman needs to feel empowered to build the real estate business that will satisfy her goals,” she adds candidly.

For those women who prefer to read, she has taken these strategies that blend bliss, success, and real estate and compiled them into a fun-to-read book called Real Estate Investing for Women.

LEADING THROUGH THE LABYRINTH OF PURPOSE

For several years, Moneeka Sawyer has continued to don several hats gracefully — whether it be as an entrepreneur, investor, coach, podcast host, or as a best-selling author.

Amidst the maze of her responsibilities, when quizzed about her work-life balance, she says, “I don't believe in work-life balance, rather I believe in passion balance. Life is an ever-changing adventure and at different times in life, different areas pull more of my focus. “

In her current phase of life, her biggest passions include travel, giving back to the world, and building a passive income to give her husband the joboptional freedom he is looking for.

Moneeka realizes that the things she is balancing in her life today are very different than they were even ive years ago. “That's what I mean by passion balance. I don't necessarily focus on work-life balance. Instead, I focus on balancing my time and energy with my passions,” she adds.

When talking about her normal day, she begins her day with a consistent morning routine which includes doing her gratitude practice, taking a nice long walk with her husband and puppy, enjoying some inspirational media, and then starting her workday at about 10 am.

After her morning routine, each day is different. She has a day completely dedicated to recording her shows, a day dedicated to doing all the backofice business stuff that must get done, and then the rest of the week she sets aside her time for meetings and clients.

She also makes sure to spend an hour everyday writing. “I don't have a daily schedule as much as I have a weekly schedule. This wouldn't work for everyone, but it is exactly what I need to be my most blissful and productive self,” she mentions.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT RESPONSES

Moneeka believes that making choices truly matter. “We can't always control what happens to us and around us, but we can always control how we choose to respond,” she says.

In fact, her book is the perfect guide to build your bliss muscles, so you can choose to respond in ways that will give you more bliss in your life. You will get the strategies that have worked consistently well for her and

don’t believe in work-life balance, rather I believe in passion balance. Life is an everchanging adventure and at different times in life, different areas pull more of my focus.”

“I

INTEGRATING BLISS WITH MONEY

Moneeka had seen all the struggles her dad had gone through as a real estate investor. Simultaneously, she also knew that investing in real estate was a long-term strategy for building wealth. “I decided early on that I was going to build my business differently from my dad,” she says.

Her focus was to build a business that enhanced the joy in her life, rather than suck the life out of her. “I built systems and processes to make running the business easier. Quickly, I found that having the right tenant was the key to having a blissful business, so I put a lot of time and energy into that selection process,” she adds.

Even with all of this, there have always been challenges. Moneeka understands that it's impossible to have a problem-free business.

For those times when she did have issues, she developed and practiced her bliss strategies to keep her in a balanced emotional state. This helped her make good and rational business decisions. Her most successful strategies are all described in her book Choose Bliss: The Power and Practice of Joy and Contentment .

for her many clients over decades of coaching very successful executives, creatives, and professionals. She believes with all her heart that, “You deserve to be blissful in your life.”

STEPPING TOWARDS YOUR DREAMS

As a self-made successful businesswoman, Moneeka is certain that conidence is built by taking successful action.

Her advice for women entrepreneurs struggling to take that leap of faith in themselves is,

“ Start taking small consistent steps toward your goal. With each step that you complete and succeed you build trust in your ability and conidence to take that next step. Each step also allows you to become a little more comfortable with getting out of your comfort zone. Success breeds more success, so you will naturally want to reach for the next step.”

At the same time Moneeka mentions, “There will be times when you have a setback. That's natural and expected.”

She believes that if you never have a setback, your goals aren't getting you out of your comfort zone. A setback is indeed a very good sign. “When it happens, it doesn't feel good and may shake your conidence,” she clariies.

Moneeka suggests taking the time to examine and learn from your journey. Then take another small step toward your goal. “Don't stop! You must keep moving. Every small step forward is a necessary step to building your dreams,” she concludes.

#MyJourney Exeleon Magazine Presents

#MyJourney Coming Soon...

Exeleon Magazine features some of the leading players in business and shares their journey of excellence to inspire aspiring leaders across the globe.

- Amy Sanchez -

Executive Career & Leadership Coach

“I SWIM AGAINST THE CURRENT”

What according to you makes one

a transformational leader? How do you integrate the same thought into your leadership?

A transformational leader is one who is operating with a positive mission at the forefront of their decision making. They lead from a place of trust and motivate their people through encouragement and coaching, while keeping the mission of the organization front and center.

Many times, corporate leaders will come to me for coaching when they feel burnt out, disengaged, or just generally seeking more fulillment. One of the ways I help them realign and rediscover an inspiring path forward is by helping them identify and connect with their values, their purpose, and an inspiring vision of how they want to show up as a leader. When they go through this work, they are more able to open themselves up to the potential of transformational leadership.

Talk to us about your growing up years. What is your earliest memory as a leader/entrepreneur that you remember?

My irst job out of college, I applied to become a pharmaceutical sales rep and didn't get the job. Determined to reapply once I had some tangible results, I took a role doing inside sales, matching travel nurses to shortterm hospital opportunities. It involved a lot of cold calling.

We had a “power hour” of cold calling daily. A lot of my peers dreaded this hour, but I loved it. I had already done a fair amount of travel at that time and, instead of selling the job or hospital, I would leave a message painting the image of the travel experience and excitement of change. My peers would largely leave a canned message on an answering machine (I'm dating myself here). I ended up becoming the top sales rep- I learned early to connect to the emotion and experience instead of focusing on the product. I also learned I love helping people create change

for the better.

What prompted you to become a coach and help corporate leaders and executives?

The insight I gained about my passion for helping others was reinforced when I eventually did get a role as a pharmaceutical sales rep. From there, I got my MBA and transitioned into marketing because I'm a big-picture person and enjoy strategic thinking. My last role before becoming a coach was working for a company who was thin on employees but growing like gang busters. I put everything I had into that job, worked long hours and was on an airplane almost every other week.

When I announced I was pregnant, they told me in order to keep my job, I had to move to the home ofice and pay out of pocket. That experience forced me to reexamine how I was spending my days and I had a hunch that if I was experiencing the dark side of corporate, others were too. But I knew there was a different/better way to treat people. So I decided to lean into what I loved and was intuitively good at- helping others create positive change in their lives to increase the level of fulillmentand impact- for themselves and others. I work with executives because I thrive when I'm working with smart, motivated people who have the ability to create large amounts of positive change, both through the people they inluence

and through their company's efforts. I see every client engagement as an opportunity to spread more positivity throughout the corporate space and help propel leaders to be able to solve big problems that will improve the planet.

What was the idea that led to the formation of Swim Against the Current? What was the idea behind its name?

I wanted a name that embodied what I do, how I do it, and felt personal. As it relates to what I do and how I do it - Swim Against the Current is about inding your authenticity so you can be reinspired and empowered to ind your path forward- even if it looks different than everyone else's and the path you were previously on.

I also work with companies and the purpose of my work with them is increase the vibration of leaders and the corporate workspace so they can improve productivity, eficiency, and make a greater impact.

From a personal standpoint, water is very healing for me- it's where I go when the world gets to be too much. (Healing and time and space to acknowledge where one is is the irst step towards change). I'm also a Pisces so the ish analogy it well.

Being the Founder and CEO, what role do you play in the dayto-day proceedings of the

company?

Everything. I make every decision for the company. I do have incredible support people who are an important part of allowing me to focus on the work I enjoy the most (an admin, a marketing agency, a lawyer, and a website support person).

Looking back at your journey, what would you have done different when starting out?

This one is hard because I believe everything happens for a reason. Perhaps I would have been less harsh on myself to igure it out and grow quickly but that's a theme throughout my life that I continuously work on.

What would be your advice for aspiring and emerging leaders and executives in today's work environment?

Take time to really understand yourself, what makes you tick, what you need to operate at your peak, and what your core values are. When you have a solid sense of self and recognize/give yourself credit for what you bring to the table, you have a greater capacity to serve others. This will also enable you to navigate your career with more intention.

Also, the corporate structure is largely set up to incentivize reaching company revenue goals. However, the way in which we do

that is often overlooked, both from an incentive and training standpoint. Focusing on task completion solely will only get you so far.

To really thrive as a leader and as a person, pay attention to how you treat yourself and others. That is the true measure of the value of a person. And when you love and respect yourself, you will have more capacity to focus on the bigger picture and a greater ability to trust others (which is at the crux of good leadership and ability to inluence).

Finally, what does the future look like for you and Swim Against the Current?

There are many exciting things brewing! Over the past couple of years, as I've successfully helped leaders transition into new roles, they've brought me back to do executive coaching and team building workshops, so that arm of my business continues to grow, along with the executive career coaching.

I know I will continue to support corporate leaders but the way in which I do that continues to expand as more success stories come from Swim Against the Current (as of now, I've helped over 200 corporate leaders successfully make positive career changes and transitions from companies like Johnson and Johnson, Pinterest, Samsung,

Google, Pizer, and the list goes on…) I know that the key to my future is continuing to stay connected to my purpose and serving my clients to my full ability. That won't change!

INTERVIEW WITH

FOUNDER OF OPULENT LIFESTYLE

What according to you makes one a powerful woman? How do you integrate the same thought into your leadership?

A powerful woman is one who stays true to who she is. She respects herself. She's unafraid to share her ideas, her thoughts, her wisdom—even if the audience is a tough one—because she has strong convictions about how to reach goals and measure success.

I believe a powerful woman not only stands up for herself, she also advocates for others. She knows people matter.

She also knows that she intends to keep learning. A powerful woman is unafraid of constructive criticism because she wants to improve because her personal growth beneits her and the people surrounding her

As a business leader, I strive to practice this. I

stay true to myself. I remember my convictions.

Most of all, I value communication. The loor is open for dialogue with my staff, partners, and clients. Robust communication welcomes fresh perspectives. Everyone can be heard.

I also believe communication makes everyone more productive because it presents opportunities to grow, problem-solve, and build business relationships.

Talk to us about your growing up years. What is your earliest memory as an entrepreneur that you remember?

Since childhood, I've always envisioned myself doing great things. It was my life perspective. But a family friend planted the seed of success deep within me. I credit her for giving me the drive to push forward. She observed my intellect, my study habits, my demeanor, and

PHOTO CREDIT

Photographer: Kamile Kuntz

Hair: Kyle Bullock

Makeup: Alexis McLean IG @alexismichelemua

even how I engaged with others and spoke success over me.

It was the irst time someone had believed in me. I accepted that success mantle. From then on, I became a self-driven, hard-working, nothing-can-standing-in-my-way type of woman.

What prompted your interest and subsequently your foray into the concierge services industry?

The vision started when I couldn't achieve a partnership with several Jet & Yacht brokers for my clients' travel needs. I wanted to merge travel services for C-suite management while planning their corporate events and meetings.

They refused to form a cohesive partnership that would have beneited them and my company. Instead, their focus was on their proit and not mine.

It was a rejection, but their lack of vision didn't stop me. My response was to come up with services that eventually shaped the Opulent

Lifestyle concept, which fused the event and travel industry. From there, we expanded into a concierge club that offered corporate memberships.

What was the idea that led to the start of Opulent Lifestyle? How does the brand stand out from the crowd?

As I mentioned, I identiied a need between two industries and built a niche solution. There are a very limited number of companies that provide this combination of event and travel services the way we do.

Many companies have attempted this similar approach but failed because they realized how timeconsuming event management processes are.

We had an advantage in this space. Opulent Lifestyle already had access to the needed infrastructure and resources from its sister company, Opulent Events by Grace Mice-Incentive-Conference-Events (MICE) operation. In other words,

we simply focus on corporate event needs.

What does a day in the life of Gracie Jones look like? How do you ensure work-life balance?

It's a constant hustle! Opulent Lifestyle is not the only business I run. COVID-19 hit several of my businesses very hard. I had to let go most of my staff and assume additional responsibilities.

To be honest, trying to set up time to spend with family and friends has been challenging for me. However, I've attempted to allow myself some time to focus on selfcare and spending more time with my husband. I'm also taking the time to enjoy activities I enjoy, such as indoor skydiving, walking, exercising, pickle ball, and golf lessons.

Being an African American women entrepreneur, what has been the biggest challenges for you in your journey?

Let's be honest.

White men have the inancial backing and access to connections that I don't have. The old saying, “it's not what you know, it's who you know” seems to be very true.

Breaking down old-boys-club barriers is challenging to this day. Every person I've ever spoken to loved my business model and concept, but they never took the next step to work with me.

I was determined to keep moving forward by any means. I pumped up my networking, I rebranded, I conducted marketing campaigns, and I established relationships with contacts and partners. But the journey is ongoing.

Looking back at your journey, what would you have done different when starting out?

I would go back two years to the start of my vision and change the marketing approach. Rather than giving it its own identity and marketing needs, I held off and made it an extension of its sister company, Opulent Events by Gracie.

I eventually realized it was imperative that Opulent Lifestyle needed its own brand, look, feel, and voice rather than being an extension of something else.

Finally, what does the future look like for you and Opulent Lifestyle? What are you most excited about, both professionally and personally?

Well, I want to see Opulent Lifestyle become the talk of the industry. Because of the trials and tribulations, the company experienced, my objective is for the company's inancial gains to exceed my expectations so that we can offer even more.

Our goal always is to put our members irst! We have programs lined up that will allow us to do this annually. For example, our Founding Members program includes annual trips and galas hosted by us. The inancial gain we achieve will allow us to bring that to reality.

I want our members to feel great about their choice of joining our

club. I want them to feel valued and appreciated about how they've helped us achieve our success. I'm excited about watching the membership grow and see how members will praise our brand.

We have wonderful plans for a new headquarters and bringing on talent that will become thought leaders in the industry. We forecast offering employee programs that will provide work-life balance, wellness, and professional development.

Personally, I get to see what I've built grow from birth to maturity, making all the challenges, struggles, and hard work well worth it. I see myself taking on speaking engagements to help other women and youth achieve their goals and dreams. Finally, I see myself spending more quality time with family, my husband, and making self-care a priority.

www.opulent-lifestyle.com

IMANI ELLIS

The Diversity Queen

Ideas without action are useless. For Imani Ellis

it has been always about taking actions, instead of dwelling on the idea.

ELLIS

Following her realization of the lack of diversity in talent on stage, Imani chose to take an action instead of being disheartened by it. “It was really one of those, “If you don't see it, build it” moments,” she recalls.

And thus, led to the formation of CultureCon, a conference built for the culture by creatives of color. In this Exclusive Interview with Exeleon Magazine, Imani Ellis talks about her journey, her beliefs, and more.

What according to you makes one a transformational leader? How do you integrate the same thought into your leadership?

A good leader knows their team, but a transformational leader understands their team and leads with empathy and humanity. I think it's so important to always carry forward with an authentic

curiosity that allows you to stay a student in the process. Leaders are truly in service to their teams and their community, and I think it all starts with genuine curiosity.

Talk to us about your growing up years. What is your earliest memory as a leader/entrepreneur that you can remember?

I did ballet for 14 years beginning at age 3 and ran track throughout high school. I truly believe these experiences played a huge role in developing my work ethic and instilled in me the value of persistence and perseverance. I am someone who doesn't stop when the job gets hard but when it gets done. This mindset has been such a game-changer for me because I am able to put off temporary rewards for the larger (more fulilling) vision.

What was the idea that led to the formation of CultureCon? What is your vision through this endeavor?

Living in New York City, I was attending a number of conferences and started to realize that I was not seeing true diversity in talent on stage that represented the talent I saw all around me. Instead of getting disheartened by it, I was empowered to do something about it. It was really one of those, “If you don't see it, build it” moments. My North Star of purpose is to continue to champion underrepresented voices and create brave and safe space for them. Our team has built something that we did not see in the world and invited our community of creatives to be a part of this brave space that is really illed with people who want to empower each other.

Brief us about your idea of culture. How important is diversity in business in today's work environment?

Culture starts within us and then comes from there— it's a pooled body of experiences that is shaped by history, community, survival, resilience, and creativity. From there, it bubbles up to the surface of our hearts, collectively brewing within us to aid in helping us feel connected and whole. We are all multifaceted people connected through culture and the diversity of our individual experiences.

I can't stress enough how important diversity is in a work environment — besides it being a proven business case for success— diversity is shaping the future, inviting every viewpoint to the table and asking them to be a key contributor to the conversation.

What has the journey been like for Imani Ellis over the years? Looking back, what would you have done differently when starting out?

As I look back, I can truly say my journey has been a beautiful one. There were incredible challenges but with God and my family and friends, I was able to constantly ind a way ro persevere. I've always been someone with laser-vision. Meaning, I could look out into the world and ind a direction. The destination wasn't always super clear, but a general direction was always placed on my heart. If I could go back and change anything— I think it would be to not worry quite as much when I was younger. Life has a way of working out in a beautiful way.

What would be your advice for aspiring and young women leaders and entrepreneurs?

The Creative Collective team relies on three pillars: hustle smarter, building a life, and driving culture. I would encourage aspiring women leaders and entrepreneurs to avoid hustle culture that says they cannot rest and instead lean into hustling smarter. I would also encourage them to build a life that they love, and to constantly audit themselves and their process to see what's working best. Knowing your capabilities and limitations is the irst step to increasing your potential and being an accountable leader.

Finally, what does the future look like for CultureCon and The Creative Collective NYC?

For CultureCon and The Creative Collective NYC I hope that we continue to create brave spaces for creatives of color, so they know this is a place that was intentionally curated just for them. We also want to provide resources that lead to economic freedom, creative liberty, and unprecedented access. For myself, I hope to continue to explore new avenues of fulillment and to never cease being curious about things, after all curiosity keeps you young.

About Imani Ellis

Imani Ellis is the Founder of CultureCon and The

Creative Collective NYC , a community dedicated to facilitating brave spaces for Black and Brown creatives. Born in Imani's one-bedroom apartment as a means to foster meaningful connection, TheCCnyc has since parlayed into the fastest-growing community devoted to creatives of color.

TheCCnyc's marquee event is CultureCon, a conference celebrating the impact diverse voices have on culture. Past speakers include Tracee Ellis Ross, Will Smith, Regina King, John Legend, Spike Lee, Lena Waithe, and more. CultureCon is the irst of its kind ideas conference that caters to all aspects of creative and young professional life.

In addition to community events, The Creative Collective NYC provides countless resources and workshops. In the height of the pandemic, The Creative Collective NYC launched CultureCon at Home, a virtual campus that reached over 22,000 creatives in over 131 countries around the world, and Creative Curriculum, a series of digital masterclasses touching on everything from entrepreneurship to navigating the corporate world.

Named a "2021 Breakthrough Creative" by Ebony, and a "Diversity Champion" by Adweek, Imani has been recognized by Forbes as a "Visionary" and "One To Watch" by Black Enterprise.

Imani graduated from Vanderbilt University with a major in communications and a double minor in German and Film.

‘‘ ‘‘ Misa

CEO & Co-founder Autopilot Reviews

Misa Chien

At the age of eight, a young and

determined Misa Chien set out on her entrepreneurial quest. A quest that began by selling rocks! A quest that has today propelled her as an empowering entrepreneur.

Misa Chien is the Co-Founder of Autopilot Reviews, a one-of-a-kind

software platform built with the intention of showing frontline agents' positive feedback about themselves.

In this interview, the model turned tech leader shares about her journey, her failures, achievements, and the importance of mental health.

What according to you makes one an empowering woman? How do you integrate the same thought into your leadership?

An empowering woman is someone who is open to grow, self-relect, and continues to put herself out there. I continue to experience fear of failure and imposter syndrome, but despite that, still want to continue to be uncomfortable with being uncomfortable and pushing the envelope.

Talk to us about your growing up years. What is your earliest memory as an entrepreneur that you remember?

When you want to be an entrepreneur, you need to start somewhere. For my sister and me, it was selling rocks. Yep, that's right, rocks! It wasn't a very successful business. If I remember correctly, we didn't have many customers. In fact, I think it was only our mom and maybe a neighbor who pitied us.

We had no market and no demand, but it did teach us one thing—

How important it is to put yourself out there. If you don't put yourself out there, you will never take the irst step. You'll never start your own business or launch your own ideas. You'll always wonder "what if" and dream of what could be. In the end, selling rocks was not the right business for me. It was the irst of my many business failure stories. But at only eight years old, it was a great irst step.

I got to learn how to sell and be an entrepreneur. Today, I'm cofounding a software business. Luckily that has a much better proit margin than rocks! My sister, on the other hand, has still managed to sell rocks. But now, she's doing it as a popular jewelry designer. So, I guess it is a happy ending.

What prompted your interest and subsequently your foray into the tech space?

I saw a lot of opportunity to make a large, positive impact on the world, through tech. You can scale very quickly (for example we only have a team of 5 people, but we positively impact millions of employees/customers per year).

It's a very dificult industry to break into, unless you both understand marketing, sales as well as engineering. However, I was lucky, because my husband is the CTO of the company, and I have a great understanding and forte in sales/marketing, so we've found the recipe to be able to scale and grow the company in a dificult market/industry.

What led you to start Autopilot Reviews? What was the pain point that you wanted to address in the market?

As a front-line employee, your life is usually a path of putting out ires, and hearing negative feedback.

In my 20s, I worked as both a frontline employee and manager for my food truck business, Nom Nom Truck, and I was always trying to please the unhappy customers,

making sure everyone was happy. When you're on the front line, you don't usually have time to get a pat on the back from customers. You don't have time to stop and be recognized for your good customer service. You don't have time but to get to that next customer in line, or fulil that next order.

So, when Nom Nom Truck failed, and I had the opportunity to build another business, I relected back on my time at this business and realized I wanted to build something to help others, i.e., frontline employees.

And so I did. Just like all frontline employees, frontline agents at call centers never get to see much positive feedback about themselves. For the software tool we built— Autopilot Reviews, we decided to build a platform to show frontline agents' positive feedback about themselves.

And what was the result? Increase in customer retention. Increase in employee retention. And a survey tool and customer experience platform that everyone loves with almost 0% client churn.

What is the approach followed by you and your team to ensure optimal client satisfaction?

We've built an awesome software product for leaders in the customer service industry because we've listened to our customers. It's extremely important to listen to your customers, without them, you will be out of business. There's a reason we have almost 0% churn despite there being a recession; it's

One Book Entrepreneurs must read:

The Charisma Myth by Olivia Cabane

One Productivity Tool that everyone should use: Slack

One Mobile App that you use the most:

LinkedIn

One Movie / Show that you would recommend:

WeCrash- It shows the dark side of startups, and what you don't want to do

One Quote that Motivates you the Most:

“Just because you failed, does not mean you're a failure.”

One Investment Advice that you Follow:

Traction Trumps Everything.

www.misachien.com

because we have built a great product, that customer experience leaders need and want.

What would be your advice for aspiring female entrepreneurs struggling to take that leap of faith?

A lot of people – advisors, the media, society in general—often highlights the negative statistics of being a woman. It's important to ignore the statistics, and don't let them scare you. It's easy to not even try, when you feel that you have a whole mountain to climb. But just remember, if we all never tried, we would never break that ceiling, and there would not even be female entrepreneurs in existence. We all need to start somewhere, and the irst step is taking the irst leap of faith.

Looking back at your journey, what would you have done different when starting out?

I wish I had addressed my mental health in my 20s sooner. When I was on TV and in the spotlight for my previous business, Nom Nom Truck, I didn't realize how unhealthy my lifestyle was. I should have found an executive coach as well as a therapist right away to help me through the tough times. Instead, I did not ind a therapist until after I had a falling out with my business partner, and I had hit rock bottom. It's important to prioritize mental health, even if you don't feel you have the time.

What does the future look like for Autopilot Reviews? What are you most excited about?

I am most excited about helping others. That could be everywhere from helping frontline employees staying motivated and driven through positive customer feedback on my software, or it could be from being a headlined speaker at a conference and helping others through that talk. It's drives me to get up every morning, knowing I am making a positive impact on the world, that's what I feel I've been brought on earth to do.

e

CaueKndnes Story

– Written By Mandy Cordia

Ihave a photo on my desk of a

bright-eyed, eight-year-old me. That little girl was so full of hope and determination to make a difference. She wanted to change the world. Somewhere along the way, someone made her believe she was too small and insigniicant to make a difference, so she set that dream aside.

My irst love in life was fashion. The glitz and glamour I saw in fashion magazines were very different from my hand-me-down, small-town, Missouri life. I always wondered what it would be like to walk into a store, buy whatever I wanted, and never worry about how much it cost. That very idea seemed outside the realm of any possibility I knew. I was taught very young that you have to work for everything you want in life. I got a job in retail at age 15 and never looked back. I managed to turn my love of shopping into a full-time career. I had the pleasure of helping others ind love and joy through the clothes they wear every day as a corporate retail fashion buyer for companies like

Zappos.com, Dillard's, and The Home Shopping Network.

My career as a corporate retail buyer allowed me to live out my childhood dreams of attending fashion shows, traveling the world, and working with brands that had previously only been within my reach in the pages of fashion magazines. I was living out my dreams, but those dreams came crashing down quickly with the onset of the pandemic.

The pandemic was my wake-up call. I realized I wasn't that same little girl anymore. Over the course of my career, I got married and had two beautiful children. My job required me to travel frequently, which meant I missed out on irst birthdays, picture days, and far too many other important events to count. If you were to ask my children, “Where does mommy work?” They would almost always reply, “New York,” even though we live in Las Vegas, Nevada. Prior to the pandemic, I did my best to separate home and work. I made it a point to be

present with my family, and my kids rarely saw me working. The pandemic changed that; they saw mommy working all day, pulling all-nighters, and working on the weekends to keep from drowning in the workload. I was one of the “lucky” ones who got to keep my job in retail when many were laid off or furloughed. My job was already demanding, but now I was taking on the work of 3 other people. Whenever I received a phone call from an Account Executive to tell me they had been laid off, I secretly wished I could trade them places. The workload was becoming more than I could handle, and it wasn't long before I crash-landed in burnout.

My breaking point was a day I will never forget. I was at home frantically working to meet a last-minute deadline. I heard my 3-year-old son playing in his room, and something he said caught my attention. I got up and peeked around the corner to watch. My son had set up his stuffed animals around his table. He made a computer out of paper and pretended to work just as he saw me do every day. After a few moments, he turned to his stuffed animals and yelled at them to be quiet. He said, “I'm on an important call and need to inish my work.” I cried. My heart was broken. This was not the example I wanted to set for my children, and I knew something had to change.

I didn't know what that change looked like, so I started with therapy. Little did I know then that those therapy secessions

would change everything. One of the most signiicant discoveries was that I had been neglecting my passion for giving back. Before having children, I volunteered my time to several charitable organizations. Life had become so busy that I no longer had time to volunteer. We were still in the middle of the pandemic, so volunteering in person wasn't an option. Plus, I couldn't bring myself to take a lunch break away from my computer, let alone enjoy helping others, all while knowing the work is piling up (don't worry, this was also addressed in therapy).

As a mom, I felt like every time I turned around, I needed to buy another gift for a birthday, housewarming, or wedding. I started to buy gifts for my friends and family that supported charitable organizations as my way of giving back. The gifts became conversation starters about important issues and a way to learn about different nonproits. However, it often took a lot of work to uncover and learn about the nonproit beneiting from my purchase, and the giveback was often vague. As a product person, I didn't always love the selection offered. There had to be a better way. I decided that my many years of retail experience, coupled with my love of helping others, put me in a unique position to tackle the problem head-on.

I launched my business, The Kindness Cause, in March of 2022 with three main goals: (1) make giving back easy when life is busy by incorporating giving into the things we do every day, like buying gifts for our friends and family; (2) provide transparency around funds donated with purchase and

transparency around the charitable organization beneiting from the sale; and (3) create a platform to educate, bring awareness, and raise funds to support the incredible work of smaller, regional nonproit organizations. Getting to merge my love of fashion, advocacy, and philanthropy is an added bonus.

The causes and issues that I am passionate about is an extensive list. However, my initial nonproit partnerships for The Kindness Cause focus on human rights, women empowerment, the LGBTQIA+ community, children, cancer, and environmental issues. It was vital for me to launch with the right partners. I utilize Charity Navigator, GuideStar, and tax

returns to vet and hand-select the organizations for partnership.

Once I partner with a nonproit organization, I create and curate merchandise around their mission for a “Cause Collection.” These collections are speciic to one nonproit organization, and the merchandise is only available for purchase for a period of 60-days. In every product description on the website, I state how much we donate to charity with purchase, along with the nonproit organization beneiting from the purchase.

The Kindness Cause also features a great assortment of merchandise themed around kindness and

positive afirmations that are sold throughout the year in our “Kindness Collection.” Like the Cause Collections, every purchase donates to a charitable nonproit organization, and we transparently share how much we donate and the organization beneiting from the sale.

So far, I've had the distinct honor to partner with, bring awareness, and raise funds for some incredible charitable nonproit organizations, including but not limited to:

Ÿ Birmingham, Alabama, nonproit GASP, whose mission is to advance healthy air & environmental justice in the greater-Birmingham area through education, advocacy, and collaboration.

Ÿ St. Louis, Missouri nonproit, Zugunruhe Experience believes that to understand the world, you must see the world and that education through travel has the power to be the most inluential factor in inspiring a life illed with meaning. They provide opportunities to travel for underserved youth to discover their limitless potential.

Ÿ Las Vegas, Nevada nonproit, The Remissonaries, positively impacts women ighting breast cancer by providing comfort during and after chemotherapy treatment with their comfort crates.

Ÿ

Westlake Village, California nonproit, My Stuff Bags Foundation provides new belongings, comfort, and hope

to thousands of children each year rescued from abuse, neglect, abandonment, and homelessness across the United States. The new belongings address the immediate physical and emotional needs of rescued children and help support the agencies caring for them.

I've discovered that life only gets busier. When we have the inancial means to give, we often do not have the time. When we have time to give, we often do not have the inancial means to give. How we give back evolves over time. It doesn't matter how we give; it just matters that we do. One of my favorite quotes is by Mother Teresa.

She said, “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.”

Every day when I sit down at my desk to start my day, I see that photo of 8-year-old me and smile. I no longer feel small and insigniicant. That photo is my daily reminder of the beautifully broken journey I've taken to ind my voice, my worth, and to be here doing what I love today. The work I do makes a meaningful difference daily, and the best part is I'm just getting started. I know that 8-yearold me would be so proud.

IN CONVERSATION WITH THE IMPACT LEADER

Melissa Orozco

Impact is often a term that is used casually to describe

one's leadership. However, it is rarely do we see leaders who are truly driven towards delivering impactful results. Melissa Orozco, CEO and Chief Impact Oficer of Yulu, is one such pioneering leader. Her impactful strategies and client service has helped spearhead the company towards heights of success. In an Exclusive Interview with Exeleon Magazine, Melissa shares her journey.

What according to you makes one a transformational leader? How do you integrate the same thought into your leadership?

A transformational leader is someone who is not afraid to challenge the status quo. “This is just the way we've always done things,” is not a phrase in my vernacular. I pride myself on pushing boundaries that challenge the status quo and deliver impactful outcomes, and savor opportunities to help clients approach complex issues unconventionally and creatively.

Talk to us about your growing up years and what led you into entering the PR industry.

I was enrolled in the media studies program at Hunter College in NYC when I did my irst purpose-led internship, planning a fundraising gala for VH1 called Save The Music. It was a wonderful glimpse into the ways PR could be leveraged for something meaningful.

What was the thought that led to the formation of Yulu? What does the name mean?

Yulu's journey to becoming an impact focused agency was a gradual one. Our roots began in PR work for nonproits and social enterprises, including World Housing and Fuck Cancer. While Yulu recognized the public's growing appetite to support brands that were built on transparency and authenticity, in 2011, terms like “social impact” and “social purpose” were still considered aspirational and bad for the bottom line. In 2014, this inspiration and hunger began to take on the shape of a new industry, a new way of doing PR. That was when Yulu developed Impact Relations. One year later, we committed to a portfolio of 100 percent cause-based clients –- the same year, Yulu became the irst PR agency to become a certiied B Corporation and was recognized by PR Daily as North America's Top PR Agency for Corporate Social Responsibility.

Contrary to popular belief, Yulu is not an acronym. Yulu's name is a soft translation to “the journey of words” – “Lù” is “road; journey” and “Yù” is “to tell; speech” in Mandarin.

Being the CEO and Impact Strategist, what role do you play in the day-to-day proceedings of Yulu Public Relations?

As CEO and chief impact strategist, I am involved across nearly all of Yulu's clients' impact strategies – working

closely with them during the initial strategic process to inform the programs direction, participating in stakeholder interviews with executive team members, and providing concentrated support on impact strategies and activism frameworks. During this phase, I consult on all aspects of our clients' social justice and sustainability initiatives, working closely with Yulu's division directors to ensure program initiatives are ambitious, progressive, and resonant.

What is the process followed by the company when offering its services?

Yulu has a strict client-vetting process, which results in the agency turning away about 80 percent of the new business opportunities that come in its door. One of the ways Yulu establishes authenticity when building purpose-lead strategies is ensuring we have access and complete buy-in from the leadership team. It is also important that while building out our clients' strategies, that we allow time for implementation throughout the company so that the strategy is not positioned or executed as a standalone PR initiative. Yulu's process always begins with a deep-dive assessment where we explore how the client is already creating a positive impact within the communities that they serve. Yulu follows this process by reviewing the issues that are impacting our clients' target audience group(s) to determine how the brand or organization can add the greatest value and impact.

What has the journey been like for Melissa Orozco over the years?

Over the past decade, Melissa has worked closely with Csuite executives and the heads of innovation and sustainability departments to co-design industryrelevant CSR and impact strategies. Under her direction, Yulu has provided impact-sector research reports to inform key initiatives in her clients' impact programs, with recommendations to scale their impact into new markets. Global brands that engaged Melissa to consult and strategize around their impact possibilities, program initiatives and CSR strategy, include Audible, The Body Shop, Red Bull, UNICEF, and ALDO.

Looking back, what would you have done differently when starting out?

I would have leaned into our niche sooner, which is to

only work with socially innovative companies. To turn away willing business because it falls outside your company's values, is challenging when you're just getting started. We had a gradual transition to becoming as disciplined as we are today. If I could start over, I would tell the 27-year-old me to trust her gut and stay focused. We eventually found our way, so I have zero regrets. Each failure made us stronger.

What would be your advice for aspiring and emerging leaders and entrepreneurs?

I always advise aspiring and emerging leaders and entrepreneurs to ind one thing they can do better than anything else and hone their skills and focus to become a specialist in that ield. The world has enough generalists – seek ways you can authentically shine and create impact within your industry. The best piece of advice I ever received was to shoot for the moon and stick to my values. Advice I have for others looking for a career in impact relations is to understand that communication is a powerful tool that can be used as a force for good.

What does Impact Relations mean to you? How does one ensure impact through their actions?

Though it's been gratifying to be on the leading edge of PR's social evolution, we have always believed that rising tides should lift all boats. So, in 2014, we developed a new industry discipline of PR called “impact relations.” The practice of impact relations is rooted in the belief that if a story is told well, it can serve as a catalyst for positive change – leveraging the tools of communications to inluence attitudes, policies, internal systems, and human behaviors, to address some of the world's most complex challenges.

To scale this ideology, we collaborated with our competitors and brand allies to develop the Global Impact Relations Network, a nonproit industry organization led by a dedicated board comprised of communicators from Porter Novelli, Ben & Jerry's, Kind Snacks, Sustainable Brands, Mission and Cause, Carol Cone on Purpose, and of course, Yulu. The organization attained 501c3 status last year, and we're in the planning phase to pilot an Impact Relations university curriculum in 2022.

What has been the biggest roadblock during your journey? What has been your biggest learning?

Yulu turned 10 years old this year. As someone who preaches transparency and authenticity to clients and colleagues, I'd be remiss not to acknowledge that getting to ten years old wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. We experimented, and sometimes we failed (oh, did we fail!). But each failure taught us something about our values as a company, our worth as a communications partner, and our bond as a high-performing (and always-celebrating) team. In the early days of founding Yulu, we worked with clients whose values weren't aligned with ours and we made some rather rotten people look good. What seemed like a setback of personal values at the time ended up propelling us into our specialty to focus exclusively on working with companies that are making a positive difference.

What does the future look like for Yulu? Personally, where do you see yourself standing in the coming years?

As we continue to scale the ideology and practice of impact relations through our agency work and through the Global Impact Relations Network, Yulu is applying

these allyship values to expand upon our service offering. This Fall, Yulu is launching our Expert Partner Network (EPN) to meet the growing needs of our clients while addressing global issues. The EPN will be comprised of leaders with deep skills and expertise across speciality services, industry sectors, and relevant issue areas. Services offered through Yulu's Expert Partner Network will include impact consulting, brand purpose planning, public policy, and impact measurement & assessment to name a few.

Industry experts in ields such as renewable energy, agriculture & forestry, impact investing, healthcare, housing, and education, will join us in building impactful strategies to address issue areas such as accessibility, DEI, environmental justice, human rights, public health, consumption, waste, and climate change, for example. For readers who are interested in learning how to get involved, please visit www.yulupr.com/EPN.