HOW TO ASK FOR WHAT

RESILIENT WOMEN MAGAZINE

Why did he say you weren't going to go raise? I said, Well, I don't know. He didn't tell me. So she said, well, you've got to go back and ask. So I'm getting chills just thinking about it because it was so hard for me to ask.

So the next day I went back and I asked again. And he said, oh, well, obviously you're not going to go raise until it's raised time. And that was the first time I realized, yes, my company had raise time, and it wasn't for another three months. And he said, oh, in three months you'll get a fine raise. Now, what I did do then? It was smart.

I said, well, can you tell me what I need to do to get the best rates possible? And he said, oh, you're fine. I said, no, I want the best rate possible. So we talked about it, and in three months I did get a great raise. But that sort of started me on the whole journey, like realizing, wait a minute, what do I need to do and how do I need to ask?

And I started telling my friends about this and other people, and I started thinking, I need to understand this more. So that was a huge step for me.

So ever since then I was like, I can make money. This is really fun. That first job was made such a difference to me.

I think that every parent should ensure their child has a job at 16. I think it's a great idea even if it's only three 4 hours a week, you start looking and you see the money and you go, oh, I had to work x amount of time to be able to buy this. It starts putting a real understanding as to what things cost and what the value is in it.

Kim: Why are you here today? I'm here because I don't want just me to make more money. I want everybody to make more money. Because once I was in human resources for years and years and years. So I know what goes on behind the scenes and I know that there are plenty of people in companies that make more money than others.

And it's really annoying because I would see these people that were really loyal and really good at their jobs and many of them were now not all women, but many of them were women and they wouldn't ask. And so the people that got the raises were first of all the ones that asked, okay? And the ones that made it clear and also the ones that the company was worried about losing. And so I hate to say this, but a lot of times when you have these really loyal, especially female employees that say I will stay here, I will stay here, when the boss thinks about how do I spend my extra money, it's not to those people because they're not worried about them. If you have basically told your boss I am here for forever and I love my job and I love my job, then you're not going to get the extra money.

I want to help women to understand just a couple of small things that they can do because talking about money is so uncomfortable. I don't know about you, but basically I was taught that nice girls don't talk about money. And we certainly don't ask for a raise.

I mean, gosh, we should be lucky that our companies are giving us money. That's not true. We work, we are valuable, and we deserve to make money. And a lot of times we deserve to make more money than we make now, but we don't mention it. And so nobody is there.

Nobody is going to hand you money. Nobody's going to toss you money if you don't. So I'll give you an example. So I was working with somebody, and she went to get a new job, and I was telling her how she should negotiate. And basically I said, okay, when you get the offer, thank them and tell them what a great job, that you know you're the right person, and reinforce that.

And then pause and say, is there any flexibility? And then stop talking. Don't say, but I'll still take the job anyway, it's okay. So she said, I don't know. That's going to work.

And I said, give it a shot anyway. So she said, is there any flexibility? And the woman immediately said, oh, yeah, there is. And then they went on. She got a 15% salary increase.

She said, well, if I hadn't asked, why didn't she just offer me more money? And I'm going to tell you right now, HR, and interview people. And I just saw this on post on LinkedIn that it's not their job to tell you you're not making enough money. It's not their job to say I could get you next to $10,000. It's your job, so you're the one that has to ask. It's really interesting that you're saying that be-

RESILIENT WOMEN MAGAZINE

cause I just recently saw Lonnie Love, who is from the Real and all those TV shows, and I think she's comedian, very good talk. Actually, I was in Phoenix. I saw her in Phoenix three weeks ago.

She had a quote that will stick with me for the rest of my life. "A closed mouth never gets fed."

Kim: We're going to be diving a little bit into the why, but I want to create the foundation so people know your value that you bring. So you have 20 years experience and ten books. Walk me through a little bit about this path for you because we know that we're seeing the great resignation with women over 40. Oh, yeah. And coming from corporate and moving into entrepreneurial is really scary for a lot of people. There's no instructions that come with this. You have to find a leader to follow like yourself. So share with us a little bit of your journey, discovering the path. Well, so this is really interesting that you say that, because I was purely a corporate person. I just figured I would live my life in corporate. Well, life doesn't always go the way you expect. I was working at a small company, and I wasn't really happy.

And I was working from home then, which was kind of unusual. And I was sick. I was really sick. And so I finally got up and I checked my voicemail message, and I had been laid off by voicemail from this company. Yeah, in retrospect, I should have known things weren't going that well, but I thought, oh, it won't happen to me. I was part of the layoff. I was the sole provider for my family. I had a little kid, I had a mortgage. I did not have a choice. And so basically, I looked for another job.

And the quickest way for me to get another job was to be a contractor at a company. And suddenly I was like, I'm a contractor, and I only work for a certain number of hours and I can do other stuff on the side. I was like, I love this. And so I started looking for other gigs. And so I was an entrepreneur for years and years and years, and I did training and I did coaching, and I did all sorts of things, and it was really fun. And then I decided, you know what? Maybe corporate life is good. And I dipped my toe back in the corporate life again, and I realized it was okay and it's good for a while, depending on your boss. But what I learned from that whole experience, because now I'm back in entrepreneur, what I learned from that whole experience is you are responsible for your career. Because again, early in my career, I thought, my boss will take care of me.

And some bosses did true. My boss will take care of me. First of all, number one, your boss is really busy, especially today. Your boss may have ten other people. They're responsible for a whole bunch of other projects.

And I tell you what, your boss is really worried about their job and they're not as worried about you and sometimes they don't even remember what you do. So when I got laid off, I was like, man, I am the only person that is responsible for my career choice and my career success. And that brings it to sort of today when I tell women, don't wait for your boss to hand you the wonderful money and the raise and the 3% increase or whatever it is. You need to work with your boss and you need to make it clear you need to be the CEO of your career rather than just sit back and wait for your company to do something nice. Because sometimes they will and sometimes they won't.

Kim: And sometimes you could get laid off and sometimes you'll get a big old bonus. But don't leave it to chance. As you said, open your mouth. If you don't open your mouth, things are not going to happen for you. And a lot of times, because of the way our brains are wired, we think the worst. Yeah. So immediately it goes to the worst, because there's a reason for that. Our brains are trying to protect us. So don't ask.

So even before we do that and we assume if we think about the other person, we assume the worst, and we

A CLOSED MOUTH NEVER GETS FED.

RESILIENT WOMEN MAGAZINE

tell all these stories, and we convince ourselves of it, see, I know I can't get a raise, or I know I can't do this, or I know I can't get that project. And unless you talk like you just said, unless you open up the conversation, you have no idea what's true. Yes, this is my personal belief, and I know, yes, my hair is pink. I do look at the entire world through rose tinted glasses. I do believe that 95% of human beings out there are doing the best they can.

Kim: There's no malicious intent. So the only thing you're afraid of is the things that are unknown. So do open your mouth and ask. And obviously, this is part of your why, over these 20 years, you start building this. I don't want to keep talking about it. I want women to be able to do this. I want it not to be an issue, but it still is. So that's what keeps me going. You know what? You got two choices in life. You can either smile and make things happen or you can just get out of my space. Those are your two choices.

So I was actually giving a presentation on how to be happier at work today. I didn't think about that as a choice, but I talked about you have choices. You can be happy or you can choose to not be happy. I'm going to use that later on. The very first thing, smile. Always smile. Smiling, it changes the muscle memory of the face and it affects your psychology. And you know what? It is one of these empowering amazing gifts. If you're walking down the street smiling, and you smile at somebody and they smile back at you, and you made.

A difference in that one second, you made a difference. You have no idea how bad that person today was or how good it was, but you just made them smile. I think that's great. Yeah. That's my mission in life.

Kim: I hope everybody out there is getting a really good feel around here. Everything that Laura has to offer and everything she has accomplished. And know that having a child that you are striving to make the world a better place for you truly do put your heart into what you're doing. So quote I love hearing quotes and why they inspire. Share with me your North Star quote. My favourite quote is from Eleanor Roosevelt, and it's do one thing every day that scares you. And I always try to think, what do I not want to do today? What's frightening? Sort of like, I don't know, being on a podcast or something might be a little like, out of your comfort zone, because if you just stay in your comfort zone, you're not going to change, you're not going to grow. So I'm always trying to push and do new things. So that's my favorite quote, do one thing.

That's awesome. I absolutely agree with that. Growing pains means you're growing. And so being uncomfortable, I personally love.

Maybe not at the exact moment, but I love being in a room of women who intimidate me just a little bit. Just a little bit, because it means I'm not the smartest. There's something I can learn, and my time is being well served. Yeah. It's always that pushing, that growing.

In today's world, we are going to replace your prices are not going to come down. You're still going to have to buy your groceries. Statistically, based on our current rate of inflation, if you made an average income of between 60,000 and $80,000, you need to be generating another $4000 to $600 a month right now in order to afford the same basket of groceries.

Kim: So next time you have an opportunity that you don't even see or know that's there, you seize the opportunity to get the money you're worth. Is that right? That is right. The one thing I would suggest is start early, because, again, don't wait until it's raise time and your boss is sitting in front of you giving you a raise. It's too late. Human Resources already agreed to it. Start four months early. So start today, start now. Start thinking about it. Start asking. Maybe your boss is already thinking about giving you a raise. So give them the question and help them to start working on it so you can make more money. Give them permission to treat your right.

Connect with Laura Instagram: @careertipsforwomen Twitter: @LauraBrowne7 Facebook: @Career-Tips-For-Women LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/laurabrowne/

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HOW TO LAUNCH A SUCCESSFUL PODCAST

BY KIM HAYDEN

If you're thinking about launching a podcast, you're not alone. In recent years, podcasting has exploded in popularity, and it's now estimated to be a 94 billion dollar industry by 2028. With so many podcasts out there, you might be wondering if there's room for yours. The short answer is yes— there's definitely room for your voice in the podcasting world. Here's everything you need to know about launching a successful podcast.

1. FIGURE OUT WHAT YOUR PODCAST WILL BE ABOUT.

The first step to launching a successful podcast is figuring out what your podcast will be about. What are you passionate about? What do you want to share with the world? When you find your niche, that's when things really start to come together.

2. CHOOSE A CATCHY NAME AND CREATE COMPELLING ARTWORK.

Your podcast name and artwork are what will first catch people's attention, so you want to make sure they're both catchy and eye-catching. Once you have a name and artwork that you're happy with, it's time to start thinking about format and content.

3. CHOOSE A FORMAT AND START PLANNING YOUR CONTENT.

There are endless possibilities when it comes to format and content for your podcast. Will you interview guests? Will you do solo episodes? What kind of topics will you cover? Answering these questions will help you start planning the actual content of your episodes.

4. FIND THE RIGHT EQUIPMENT AND EDITING SOFTWARE.

In order to create professional-sounding episodes, you'll need the right equipment and editing software. There are tons of great options out there depending on your budget and needs, so do some research and find what works best for you.

5. HIT RECORD AND HAVE FUN!

Now that you've done all the behind-the-scenes work, it's time to hit record and have some fun! Remember, the most important thing is that you enjoy yourself and stay true to your vision for the show.

Podcasting is a great way to connect with people all over the world who share your interests— but before you hit record, there's some work to be done behind the scenes. By following these simple tips, you'll be well on your way to launching a successful podcast that reflects your unique voice and vision . Happy recording!