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Start Fierce Business Podcast

The Start Fierce Business Podcast is on Hiatus

Auntee Rik is a trusted operations and systems specialist who has a knack for taking her clients businesses to the next level. Her no-nonsense, get-you-together approach is refreshing and reassuring to her clients and everyone she comes in contact with. In this episode, we discuss why systems need to be at the forefront of your branding efforts - not design as most people think. We talk about career cycles in life as well as why she’d like to have lunch with Pharell and Queen Latifah. ----- You’ll find links to everything we discussed in this episode at

#171 - Entrepreneur Chat with "The Fairy Gawdmother of Hustle" Auntee Rik

Brianna Zajicek of The One Year Project started her career without a degree as a teen mom, and in a matter of months went from a server to a 6 figure earning corporate technology executive. Even though she seemingly had it all, she wasn’t happy. So she set out on a mission to take everything she applied over the years to create The One Year Project. In this episode, Brianna shares the story of her entrepreneurship journey. We also talk about the importance of in-person networking for your business. ----- You’ll find links to everything we discussed in this episode at

#170 - Inspiring Interview with Brianna Zajicek of The One Year Project

Estie Rand of Strand Consulting has been helping businesses improve on minimal budgets for over 13 years. After spending many years finding fulfillment in the non-profit industry, Estie founded Strand Consulting to bring her skills of doing more with less to small business owners. In this podcast episode, Estie talks about the three things that make up a successful business. We also discuss how to begin building your business network. ----- You’ll find links to everything we discussed in this episode at

#169 - Estie Rand on 3 Things Every Successful Business Needs

Nathan Hirsch is a serial entrepreneur who co-founded his first company out of his dorm room drop shipping products on Amazon and built it to sell over $25 million worth of product. Today, he’s Co-founder & CEO of FreeeUp, an online hiring marketplace that allows business owners fast access to a hand-picked network of top talent freelancers. In this episode, Nathan talks about how he built several multi-million dollar a year companies. As well as how FreeeUp can help entrepreneurs scale quickly. ----- You’ll find links to everything we discussed in this episode at

#168 - Nathan Hirsch on Building a Multi-Million Dollar Business

Leslie McDaniel is a certified professional coach who helps INFJ women bring their vision to life. Her knowledge as an MBTI®-certified practitioner helps INFJ women understand their personality, celebrate their strengths, and claim their potential. Leslie serves other INFJ women through individual coaching and her weekly email, The INFJ Life. In this podcast episode, she shares business advice for INFJ women. We also talk about how to deal with introversion as a business owner. ----- You’ll find links to everything we discussed in this episode at

#167 - Business Advice for INFJ Women with Leslie McDaniel

Brain Bergford is a Peak Performance coach at Bergford Performance. He specializes in helping motivated athletic business owners gain the tools to take their businesses and their lives further. In this podcast episode, Brian shares insight on what it’s really like to be a business owner. We talk about why the grass isn’t always greener on the entrepreneur side and things you should know before jumping into a business. ----- You’ll find links to everything we discussed in this episode at

#166 - Entrepreneur Secrets with Business Coach Brian Bergford

Valarie R. Brooks is a nationally known real estate mogul, investor and, entrepreneur. She’s the owner of Valarie R. Brooks Real Estate, a brokerage agency. She also provides guidance to other entrepreneurs on how to dominate and become top earners through, Destination You Inc. In this episode, Valarie shares advice for those wanting to get started in the real estate business. She talks about how she got started in the business and why she’d like to have lunch with Beyoncé. ----- You’ll find links to everything we discussed in this episode at

#165 – Interview with Real Estate Entrepreneur Valarie R. Brooks

Lauree Ostrofsky is an author, speaker, and coach with her company, Simply Leap which helps A students leap into fulfilling work. Many of them are entrepreneurs and facing the fear of going out on their own as well as other fears. In this podcast episode, we discuss doing things in business even though we’re afraid to do them. We also talk about finding the right people to talk to about the scary things we’re doing so as not to have them project their fears on us. ----- You’ll find links to everything we discussed in this episode at

#164 – Facing Your Entrepreneurial Fears with Lauree Ostrofsky

Kirk Deis founder of The Bug Squasher is a writer on Forbes.com and Founder of the digital marketing agency Treehouse 51. The Bug Squasher is a new project management tool that streamlines communications between developers/writers/designers, project leads, and clients. In this podcast episode, he shares how an in-house tool his agency built has become a new business. He shares how he’s grown his new business through podcasts and creative marketing. As well as why he’d like to have lunch with Elon Musk. ----- You’ll find links to everything we discussed in this episode at

#163 - How Kirk Deis Took an In-House Tool and Launched a New Business

Crystal Etienne is the founder of PantyProp, a 7 figure fashion company. Something only 3% of women-founded businesses achieve. The majority-women owned, bootstrapped company, has grown organically without any ad spend. In this podcast episode, Crystal shares how she organically used SEO to build a 7 figure business without knowing what SEO was. She talks about the importance of understanding your ideal customer and how that will help you generate the right content to drive revenue. ----- You’ll find links to everything we discussed in this episode at

#162 - How Crystal Etienne Built a 7-Figure Business with No Ad Spend

Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith is an author, speaker, and board-certified internal medicine physician. Her book, Sacred Rest: Recover Your Life, Renew Your Energy, Restore Your Sanity, includes ground-breaking insight on the seven types of rest needed to optimize your productivity, increase your overall happiness and live your best life. In this podcast episode, we talk about why you’ve got to think beyond your top goal at the moment. We also discuss how comparisons can stunt our entrepreneurial growth. ----- You’ll find links to everything we discussed in this episode at

#161 - Going Beyond Your Goals with Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith

Serial Entrepreneur Trevor Gaye comes from an entrepreneurial household and has been around it since the age of two. He knew he wanted to be an entrepreneur at a young age after seeing his parents in their businesses. Today he helps run his family’s transportation business, he has a production company, as well as a new logistics business. In this episode, he shares what it’s like to work in a family business, how he started a large group podcast and the importance of having a great work ethic. ----- You’ll find links to everything we discussed in this episode at

#160 – Interview with Serial Entrepreneur Trevor Gaye

Christopher Watters, founder of Watters International Realty built his business in the middle of the Great Recession and in a highly competitive market. His vision and entrepreneurial spirit took him from sleeping on his girlfriend’s (now wife’s) couch in 2010 to becoming the first team owner to EARN $1Million in net income in three years. In this episode, he shares why you need to build a business foundation around something that’s already been proven, as well as bootstrapping a business vs. raising capital. ----- You’ll find links to everything we discussed in this episode at

#159 - From 0 to $1 Million in 3 years with Christopher Watters

Genecia Alluora, founder of Soul Rich Woman is a former beauty queen turned business maven and serial entrepreneur. In 2006, she represented Singapore in the Miss International pageant. This opened opportunities for her. But she saw a challenge unique to women. Women need a solid community for support, guidance, and mentorship from women who have the same goals and ambitions as ours. In this podcast episode, we discuss why you need a mentor, how to find the right mentor, and how to be a good mentee ----- You’ll find links to everything we discussed in this episode at

#158 – How to Find Support as a Business Owner with Genecia Alluora

The Start Fierce Business Podcast is a podcast for women who are just starting out in business. We don’t publish interviews with the same celebrity entrepreneurs you’ve heard over and over. You’ll meet regular people, just like you, who turned their dreams into businesses. Web Designer turned Business Strategist Cindy Rodriguez hosts this podcast.