CEOMOM Winter 2019

Winter 2019

JANELL STEPHENS

FROM KITCHEN EXPERIMENTS TO MILLION DOLLAR BUSINESS

KEISHA REAVES

HELPING MOMS WITH POSTPARTUM CARE

5 TIPS TO REALIZE YOUR OWN GLOW UP ALISA VITTI

CHANGING HOW YOU VIEW YOUR REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH

THE GLOW UP ISSUE

e u s s I e l b u o D

CONTENTS 05 FROM THE EDITOR In this double issue, we are celebrating our year of the "Glow Up." We're talking about mental, emotional, physical and financial transformation.

06 MEET LAURA BRADY Talks to us about how she took a novel idea for luxury real estate and turned it into a billion dollar business.

20 MEET ALISA VITTI Alisa Vitti, author of "WomanCode," integrative nutritionist and hormone expert is helping us rethink how we see and manage our reproductive health.

35 MAKEUP TIPS FOR VALENTINE'S DAY New York makeup artist Markphong shares beauty tips for this Valentine's Day. CEOMOM | 3

16 MEET JANELL

LAURA BRADY

From a Novel Idea to a Billion Dollar Business CEO & Founder of the Global Luxury Real Estate Auction Firm, Concierge Auctions

Laura Brady is the founder and president of the international luxury real estate auction firm, Concierge Auctions. This record-breaking firm is realizing exponential growth and setting the standard for high-end home sales. In only 10 years, Brady has led her team to generate billions in sales, garnering Concierge Auctions’ placement on Inc. Magazine’s list of the fastest growing companies in America for five consecutive years. Brady admits that realizing such growth and success does not come without challenges. With the mission to motivate, equip, and position her team and company as a socially responsible brand, Brady is taking the real estate world by storm.

It was an honor for CEOMOM Magazine to interview Laura Brady who has been profiled by the likes of CNBC Money, The Today Show, The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and more. Brady shared her key to success and how giving back has changed the way she does business.

Who is Laura Brady?

I am a wife, mother of three, and the CEO and founder of a global luxury real estate auction firm. Princesses are everything around our house, as I have three toddler girls, so lately, this quote by Cinderella has been top-of-mind, “Have courage and be kind.” So much of parenthood is caught versus taught, so I try my best to exhibit this both at home and in leading my business. At work, I try to exude that there is a way to conduct tough discussions with a sense of composure — to embrace conflict and reach a resolution while still being kind.

Tell us about Concierge Auctions? What does the company do? Who do you serve?

We are a technology-driven luxury real estate auction firm.

We sell high-end, unique and difficult-to-value properties around the world. When you think about auctions of high-end arts and antiquities, we sell homes that are one-of-a-kind in the same way. The houses we sell are difficult to value and have a very small pool of buyers. We handle all of the marketing and sales in the 27 countries our properties have been sold. Concierge Auctions has been growing consistently over the years, and our database now includes over 600,000 high-net-worth buyers, sellers and agents from around the world.

High-end property auctions have been around, but on a small level. We had the idea of implementing this on a global scale and are now the dominant player in the industry, pioneering at a higher unit volume and velocity than all other firms combined. In Australia, auction is the primary way of selling homes at any price point. When they first come to market, they are offered for bidding at auction first. If they don’t obtain a price that is suitable to the seller, they remain on the market. We believe this will continue to be a growing trend in the US to produce the highest and best prices.

You were named “One Of The 100 Most Influential People In Real Estate” by Inman News for three consecutive years. What has been the key to your success?

I think my greatest key to success is that I am always learning.

This is the first business I have started, and every day I am learning how to be a better leader, how to grow into new tasks and how to help others around me. I believe that we each have a duty to identify our strengths, hone them and contribute them to the world. Otherwise, the world is missing out on its potential. I read, listen to podcasts, and meet with people who can help advance my business and career — or I theirs. I surround myself with people who help me and everyone on my team grow.

I believe that we each have a duty to identify our strengths, hone them and contribute them to the world.

Otherwise, the world is missing out on its potential.

What challenges have you overcome to get where you are now as a leading business woman?

Like any business leader, I have come across many challenges. I try to keep things in perspective. I try to glean what I’m learning through each challenge and grasp onto the positive things that are going on in my life at the time.

From a professional standpoint, we have scaled a business and now have billions of dollars in sales across 27 countries. For the first few years, we bootstrapped the business ourselves. When we grew the business, we did that with our own money. Another challenge is that we are in a pretty cut-throat industry. Ten years ago, the word “auction” typically generated a negative connotation. It has been difficult because some of our competitors have tried to put us down and hold us back, but we’ve always remained focused and committed to our values.

From a personal standpoint, my husband and I struggled with infertility for over five years — the early years of this business. Like many women, I suffered in silence and continued as “normal” with my everyday life. While infertility is not life threatening, it is very physically, emotionally and mentally taxing. To help me conquer these challenges, I surrounded myself with supportive friends and family, and because of that struggle, I relate to others who are facing unseen challenges. Luckily, we were able to work through it and now have three beautiful daughters.

Tell us about your work with Giveback Homes as a part of the Concierge Auctions’ Key for Key® initiative. How long have you been participating in the program? How many homes have you built in Nicaragua?

In April 2017, we launched our Key for Key® Program in which we commit to build a home for a family in need for every home that we sell. Through past philanthropic efforts, we met the Giveback Homes team and decided to create a specific mission to bring more social good to the real estate community. Because of Giveback’s experience working with TOMS® Shoes, the team was familiar with various issues in third-world countries and wanted to help us give the real estate industry an opportunity to help those in need.

In December 2017, our team traveled to Nicaragua to build homes for a whole community with Giveback and got to know the devastation in that country. My partner said, “We really need to make a commitment to give back and do this.” We engrained this commitment into every transaction, and by doing this, it has become a part of our company and culture. By partnering with Giveback, we are not just giving money to those in need, but we are establishing tangible relationships with these families whose homes we have helped build. That is one great part of the program — we receive biographies from every family in need of a home and meet them in-person when we build their home and it becomes such a rewarding experience.

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Dr. Sonja Stribling

FOLLOW YOUR SPIRIT

Photo Credit: Drea Nicole Photography

THE NEXT LEVEL LIVING 7.0: HELPING WOMEN ELEVATE THEIR LIVES - MIND & SOUL Dr. Sonja Stribling wants to do more than inspire others to propel their lives to the next level. Her mission as a transformation specialist is to help you evaluate the way you think, the people around you and how you perceive your self worth. From teenage pregnancy to a horrific divorce to being deported to Iraq without her children, Dr. Sonja knows firsthand what it requires to turn life struggles into triumphs that change lives. In addition to being a transformation specialist, Dr. Sonja is an author, TV host for Bravo, army veteran, business strategist and speaker. She is a mom on a mission to teach other moms to make themselves a priority.

Read our candid interview with Dr. Sonja as she shares why your next level starts with your mindset.

Who is Dr. Sonja Stribling?

I am a mom. I believe in the term, you are more than your children’s mom and your

husband’s wife. We get so caught up in working behind the scenes in everyone else's lives. Having a child at 15, a military background, and all of the disappointments along the way, I want to be to other women what I never had.

You are a transformation specialist. What does that entail? What does it mean to live a transformed life?

I provide tools, tips and strategies for people who are making transitions in their businesses, relationships or careers. I provide that pathway to help them get to that next level and change their mindset. I was given the name transformation specialist by followers and clients. People would often say, “You are transforming my life.” I help a person look at where they are and provide tips to help them get to the next level, no more just inspiring people. I work to transform them by giving them practical

tips to get where they want to be. It’s like the cat that looks in the mirror and sees a lion. I want you to see what you really want or even a glimpse.

That glimpse of light helps you to have hope for more. It’s hope that something better is to come.

There is more, but you really don’t know that until you change the way you think and have a renewed mind. You can change your environment with just a thought.

Tell us about The Next Level Living 7.0 Institute.

What inspired you to start the Institute?

Describe the programs.

The idea came about because I am a dreamer. I knew I was pregnant with something amazing. You get to this point in life where you want to give birth. It was born out of all of the things I had gone through. I had gone through a horrific divorce and being deported to Iraq. Most women can’t fathom going through that. I was crying everyday and missing my children, but I made a commitment to serve my country.

JANELL STEPHENS

FROM KITCHEN EXPERIMENTS TO MILLION DOLLAR BUSINESS What started as a solution to her children’s eczema evolved into a multi-million dollar hair and skin care brand that is sold in stores across America including Target, CVS, Walmart, Whole Foods and Sally Beauty.

Camille Rose Naturals is a beauty brand that was created in the kitchen by mother of five and health and wellness advocate, Janell Stephens. This vegan entrepreneur believes in living a life of total wellness and it shows in the connection she has with her customers and her desire to give them products with only the best ingredients.

Who is Alisa Vitti?

I’m an integrative nutritionist, hormone expert, and author, who helps women biohack their way to optimal hormonal health and get rid of quality-of-lifedestroying symptoms with food and lifestyle. My first book, WomanCode, is one of the 50 top best selling women’s health books of all time and I just finished my second book which was published the Fall of 2018. I’m the founder of the FLO Living Hormone Center and MyFLO period app and the creator of The Cycle Syncing(R) Method. I do what I do because when I was diagnosed with a serious hormone condition in my early 20s —and was told that I would never be able to get pregnant, even with IVF—I experienced how limited my options were for real and effective treatment. I saw a huge need not being addressed, so I dedicated myself to researching the endocrine system and functional nutrition and I discovered just how simple it can be for many hormonerelated issues to be put into remission with targeted nutrition and lifestyle strategies.

Most women don’t know that specific nutrition and lifestyle changes can ease or completely erase hormone symptoms. I didn’t know that at first either. Instead, women are offered band-aid solutions or the watch-andwait recommendation. Meanwhile, they are left to suffer, like I was, with a hormonal condition that impacts every aspect of their lives, from mood and energy to weight and skin issues to infertility.

As time has gone on, I’ve become even more committed to my work as I've been able to watch the hundreds of thousands of women we've been able to help. I also worry a lot about the confusion in the supplement industry. I see so many women waste so much money on supplements that either don’t work or that are filled with unhealthy ingredients that negate the supplement’s purported benefit.

Photo Credit: Hope Leigh

That’s one of the reasons I created my own line of supplements called Balance. My goal, always, is to give women information they can trust and advice that will dramatically change the quality of their lives. Women don’t need to suffer from painful hormone conditions. They can feel better! And they don’t always need pharmaceutical interventions to do so. (A lot of prescription drugs actually make hormone conditions worse.) I do what I do to help break this cycle of needless suffering.

What does it mean to be an integrative nutritionist and hormone expert? How did your career begin?

I stumbled upon the gap in menstrual health care while I was a student at Johns Hopkins University. I was on my way to becoming an OB/GYN when I developed PCOS and experienced serious symptoms that affected every aspect of my life. I saw doctor after doctor, but no one was able to offer me real support or effective treatment. So when I discovered through my own research that I could put my condition into remission with food and lifestyle, I switched courses and dedicated myself to helping other women do the same.

My work as an integrative nutritionist and hormone expert means helping the millions and millions of women who suffer every

month with symptoms that range from annoying (minor breakouts, fatigue) to debilitating (painful cystic acne, severe PMS, brain fog, infertility, endometriosis) and are given almost no option except synthetic birth control, which multiple studies have revealed make hormonal issues worse.

What is the MyFloTracker? What inspired you to create it? Why is it important?

I was inspired to create the MyFlo App so that women could easily track their 28-day cycle—and then use that knowledge to biohack their way to better hormonal health.

Biohacking is essentially using supplements, food, lifestyle, and technology to optimize the body's performance. There is a subtle gender bias in biohacking, which is not necessarily purposeful but real nonetheless. Women and men have different endocrinology patterns, and women need specific ways to biohack to optimize their hormonal health.

In short, women’s bodies have cyclical needs during the 28-day menstrual cycle.

So the nutrition and lifestyle choices that work to optimize hormonal health during the first week of your cycle are not the CEOMOM | 22

Habit Hacks for a Healthy 2019

Doctor (& Mother of 4) Shares Realistic Health Tips for 2019 By: Dr. Liz Cruz People across the country have shifted gears to make goals to better their health in 2019. More than half of all New Year's resolutions are related to wellness, weight loss, or diet. Though people start off the year with the best intentions, sadly, almost 80% of these goals fail by February.

According to Dr. Liz Cruz, if you want to be healthy in 2019, you should focus on habits not resolutions.

"The biggest problem with health resolutions is that people make unrealistic or vague goals," says Cruz, who as a gastroenterologist has seen the fatal flaw of resolutions play out with her patients year after year. According to Cruz, people make goals that they truly want to achieve but the issue is how they go about achieving them. Just because a person wants to better their health doesn't mean that they know the best way to get there. Resolutions to lose weight, lower blood pressure, eat healthier, or exercise more are all commendable health goals, but one must understand the individual steps needed to make and maintain these new habits.

"Good health starts with healthy habits. Focusing on habit change is the key to bettering your health in the new year," says Cruz. "Habit change is tough for any individual but it is even more complicated if you are doing it for a whole family," she adds. As a parent of four kids, Cruz is determined to keep herself and her family feeling good and staying healthy in the most natural way possible. Both in her medical practice and in her home, she adheres to a balanced approach to health that combines both holistic and traditional methods of care.

According to Cruz, you don't have to compromise all the things you love in order to be healthy and feel good, it's all about setting doable goals and remembering that small steps can yield big results. She encourages her patients to make sustainable health resolutions: Instead of "exercise more" Cruz believes a better resolution would be, "go to two spin classes each week, and take the stairs instead of the elevator whenever possible." Instead of "eat healthier" a more sustainable resolution would be "Prepare a healthy, home cooked meal for the family at least once a week."

Dr. Liz Cruz is a gastroenterologist, an author, and (most importantly,) a parent of four children. She is the creator of wellness products designed to promote all-natural, holistic wellness. Learn more at http://www.drlizcruz.com.

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NEW YEAR, NEW GOALS, NEW BOOKS FROM WILEY! JUMP INTO THE NEW YEAR WITH FOUR GREAT NEW BUSINESS BOOKS FROM WILEY - WILEY.COM

The Joy in Business By: Joy Baldridge Innovative Ideas to Find Positivity (and Profit) in Your Daily Work Life The Joy in Business by Joy Baldridge provides quick and easy ways to infuse positivity into work. The book is filled with 45 bite-sized chapters that are designed to be read and absorbed in just a few minutes. These actionable Golden Nuggets of information provide innovative ways to bring more joy into the work day. Written for solo-entrepreneurs to top corporate executives and everyone in between, The Joy in Business offers humor, insight, inspiration, and practical solutions for the multitude of challenges in business.

The Power of Understanding Yourself By: Dave Mitchell The Key to Self-Discovery, Personal Development, and Being the Best You Often the reason people struggle with others is that they haven’t taken the time to understand themselves. The Power of Understanding Yourself explores a proven process that encourages readers to achieve a deeper understanding of their behaviors and provides a path to living a more rewarding life. Author Dave Mitchell offers an in-depth exploration of the metacognition process using humorous stories, high impact exercises, and entertaining analogies from winemaking. Simply defined, metacognition is thinking about how you think and differs from mere self-awareness which is knowing how you behave but not why you exhibit certain behaviors. This hands-on guide is filled with reflections and exercises to help readers see what is holding them back and to help them to discover their full potential.

Unlocking Creativity By: Michael A. Roberto How to Solve Any Problem and Make the Best Decisions Unlocking Creativity is an exploration of the creative process and how organizations can clear the way for innovation. In many organizations, creative individuals face stubborn resistance to new ideas. In this climate of stifled creativity and inflexible adherence to conventional wisdom, potentially game-changing ideas can be dismissed. Unlocking Creativity offers effective methods and real-world examples of how the most successful organizations create cultures of innovation and experimentation. Best-selling author and scholar Michael Roberto presents a thorough investigation of organizational obstacles to creative thought.

Authentic Marketing By: Larry Weber How to Capture Hearts and Minds Through the Power of Purpose Authentic Marketing offers a forward-thinking approach to achieving an entirely new level of engagement with today’s purpose-driven and skeptical audiences. The heart of this process involves finding the soul of an organization. When moral purpose becomes central to an organization, it can deliver benefits to both the bottom line and mankind: a profit meets purpose proposition. Authentic Marketing spells out in simple terms the actions necessary for companies to transform their brands and businesses through purpose—the ultimate key to unlocking the hearts and minds of today's consumers.

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Mignon Francois

FOLLOW YOUR SPIRIT

Photo Credit: Frozen

THE CUPCAKE COLLECTION: FROM $5 TO A MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR CUPCAKE EMPIRE There’s power in starting where you are with what you have. Using your faith and hunger to succeed often proves to be more valuable than money itself. Mignon Francois, mother of 6 and award winning entrepreneur, founded The Cupcake Collection in Nashville and most recently New Orleans when her family was experiencing financial hardship. With only five dollars, Francois took a prompt from God and transformed it into a business that makes more than cupcakes. She is on a mission to inspire and equip others to “follow their spirit” and look beyond their current circumstances to realize greatness.

CEOMOM caught up with Mignon Francois to learn more about how her faith and hunger for more helped to create one of the most popular and sought after cupcake shops in the South.

Who is Mignon Francois?

I'm a mother of 6 plus 1, a serial entrepreneur, a faith walker, and a cheerleader for others in business.

We love this statement, “I heard God say, ‘Make cupcakes.’ But I’m like, ‘God, I don’t know how to bake.’” What inspired you to take the leap and start your cupcake business even though you didn’t consider yourself to be a baker?

Hunger. Hungry people will do anything to eat. I was desperate to have what I saw others experiencing as the basic necessities of life when for me they were luxuries. I was just so tired of being sick and tired.

You started your business when you only had $5, financial hardship and 6 kids. How did you balance starting a business with a

large family and financial trials?

Sometimes your faith has to be bigger than your financial statement. I took risks, risks that were going to have hefty consequences whether that be good or bad. It was a case of eating chicken or beans. It was a case of having gas to take the kids to school or having them stay home. I knew our lives were not the moment we were in. Somehow I believed that I had more to lose in not trying than I did in the possibility of failing.

What makes The Cupcake Collection stand out from competitors? What’s your favorite flavor?

That’s such a hard question for me every time. I see so much positive in at least one thing that anybody else is doing. I think one thing that makes us stand out is that we are no frills, just flavor. I think people expect a cupcake to be all about sprinkles and piles of icing and we just aren’t that.

We are hunks of real strawberries in

BAKED STUFFED APPLE INGREDIENTS 1 Medium Pink Lady or Empire Apple 2 Tbsp Quick Oats 2 1/2 Tsp Chopped Walnuts 2 Tsp Whipped Butter 1 1/4 Tsp Dark Brown Sugar 1/4 Tsp Grated Lemon Peel 1/4 Tsp Ground Cinnamon

INSTRUCTIONS

WE HELP YOU GET WHAT YOU NEED IN LIFE.

1. Preheat Oven to 400 degrees F 2. Cut 1/4th of an inch off top of 1 medium Pink Lady or Empire Apple 3. Core apple 3/4th of way to the bottom, and place in ramekin; add 2 Tbsp water.

4. Tightly cover with foil; bake 25 minutes.

5. Mix 2 Tbsp quick oats, 21/2 tsp chopped walnuts, 2 tsp whipped butter, 1 1/4 tsp dark brown sugar, 1/4 tsp grated lemon peel, and 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon.

6. Remove foil; fill apple with mixture.

7. Bake until crisp, 5-10 minutes

Photo Credit: Creme de la Crumb

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