The 10 Most Influential Entrepreneurs to Follow in 2022

VOL 01 I ISSUE 04 I 2021

The

Most

Influential

Sustainable Journey Sustaining Entrepreneurial Spirit in the Digital Era

Entrepreneurs to Follow in 2022

Pragmatic Terms A Pragmatic Approach to Business

Entrepreneur of The Year

Meagan Gallman

Salon Owner, Master Colorist Artistic Educator, Guest Writer The Magnolia Parlor

Dr. JoAnn Ajayi-Scott Empowering Youths to Greatness through Education, Mentoring, and Networking www.insightssuccess.com

Editor’s Desk Availing Edge in the Business by Thinking Ahead of the Time

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hat separates great leaders from the rest of the pack is their unconventional approach to solving a problem. Their business success is directly proportional to the impact of solutions provided by them.

Great business leaders don’t just believe in delivering the latest solutions but also in availing an edge over others by being the first in the industry to deliver innovative business solutions. They think ahead of time, recognize the evolving needs of the clients, and meet those needs with their cutting-edge solutions. They constantly seek new opportunities and innovations with their curiosity.

By aiming for the sky, they don’t settle for mediocrity. They don’t like to be trapped in the comfort zone, fear, and halfhearted efforts. They understand that fear, indecision, and inertia are the greatest obstacles on the journey to success.

They overcome these obstacles with confidence, decision-making abilities, and momentum in their actions.

They always think beyond the box and constantly enhance their abilities and skills to serve the evolving needs of the businesses. They have excellent leadership acumen. They lead their teams by setting exemplary standards.

Undoubtedly, these are the qualities that make them stay ahead of the curve, but the other essential thing that counts is empathy. There is no business without people, and thus, treating them with compassion brings the best out of them.

With the right boundaries intact, great leaders show genuine concern for the people they lead and foster an environment that is conducive to thriving.

Moreover, influential leaders believe in challenging the status quo, ask intelligent business questions, and believe

that valuable discoveries can reform the business processes for the better. They are experimental and research-oriented. They tap the potential of technologies for improving the business processes. They pursue worthy ambitions and deliver better solutions. They plan things smartly and execute diligently. They are not afraid to take calculated risks. They accept failures as stepping stones on the journey of success. They are focused, persistent and innovative.

In this edition of “The 10 Most Influential Entrepreneurs to Follow in 2022”, we have enlisted the most influential entrepreneurs who are making their marks in the business world with their exceptional abilities, talents, and skills.

On the cover, we have Dr. JoAnn Ajayi-Scott, a philanthropist making a difference in the lives of youths positively through educating, empowering, networking, mentoring them, and helping them attain greatness.

Featuring as an entrepreneur of the year is Meagan Gallman, a Salon Owner, Master Colorist, and Artistic Educator. You will get to read many more such stories of influential entrepreneurs in this edition.

Lastly, do not forget to scroll through CxOs by industry experts and creative articles written by our in-house editorial team.

Have a Great Read ahead!

Sharad Chitalkar sharad@insightssuccess.com

08 Dr. JoAnn Ajayi-Scott

COVER STORY

Empowering Youths to Greatness through Education, Mentoring, and Networking

CONTENTS ARTICLES

20 Sustainable Journey Sustaining Entrepreneurial Spirit In The Digital Era

38 Pragmatic Terms A Pragmatic Approach to Business

30 Expert’s View Why Learning Negotiation is Important for Leaders?

16 (Entrepreneur of The Year) Meagan Gallman Making the Stylist Inside You Future Ready

24 Jennifer Ammons Curating a Unique Bridal Show

34 Mariam Nusrat

Unleashing the Power of No-code to Transform Interactive Content Creation

40 Yasar Chaudhary Spearheading with Exceptional Tactics

CxO

Editor-in-Chief Hitesh Dhamani Managing Editor Anish Miller

Executive Editor Sharad Chitalkar

Assistant Editors Jenny Fernandes

Visualizer

Associate Designer

Co-designer

David King

Shyam Sonawane

Kartik Balapurkar

Senior Sales Manager

Business Development Manager

Kshitij S

Peter Collins

Marketing Manager

Sales Executives

John Matthew

David, Anthony, Saurabh

Technical Head

Business Development Executives

Jacob Smile

Steve, John, Irfan

Technical Specialist Aditya

Digital Marketing Manager Marry D'Souza

SME-SMO Executive Amol Wadekar

Research Analyst Frank Adams

Database Management Stella Andrew

Circulation Manager Robert Brown

Technology Consultant David Stokes

sales@insightssuccess.com January, 2022

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Featured Person

Company Name

Brief

Aaron Albert Co-founder

Mine'd doyoumined.com

Mine’d is a digital platform with human pathos.

Armineh Keshishian Founder

Evolution Dance Theatre evolutiondt.ca

Evolution Dance Theatre develops, promotes and performs original Middle Eastern-inspired multimedia and multidisciplinary spectacles to both entertain and provoke dialogue on social, spiritual and humanistic themes.

Ashley Brichter Founder

Birthsmarter birthsmarter.com

Birthsmarter is a group of pretty smart and extremely thoughtful parents, doulas, and birth educators.

Bernardo Ahlborn President

Absolute Builders absolutebldrs.com

Absolute Builders, Inc. is a Woodwork Construction Contractor in the Washington DC, metro area since 1998.

Dr. JoAnn Ajayi-Scott Founder

Essence Of A Lady eladies.org

Essence Of A Lady provides program support for YELL's mission of ONE GIRL.

Jennifer Ammons CEO and Owner

The Big Fake Wedding thebigfakewedding.com

The Big Fake Wedding exists to promote small businesses, inspire couples and encourage solid marriages.

Jennifer Cohen CEO

Suprema Fitness jennifercohen.com

Suprema Fitness is a full service agency backed by venture fund MDO Holdings, which primarily invests in health and wellness tech startups.

Mariam Nusrat Founder and CEO

Gaming Revolution for International Development gamingfordev.com

GRID is an award-winning social-impact gaming studio.

Meagan Gallman Salon Owner

The Magnolia Parlor themagnoliaparlor.com

The Magnolia Parlor is a specialty hair salon offering customized looks for clients that are guaranteed to make an unforgettable impression.

Yasar Chaudhary Co-Founder and President

LA Vodka lavodka.com

LA Vodka is the Ultra Premium Vodka.

COVER STORY

Dr. JoAnn Ajayi-Sco

Founder and CEO Essence of a Lady, Inc

Dr. JoAnn Ajayi-Scott Empowering Youths to Greatness through Education, Mentoring, and Networking

Our purpose is to help women and girls in becoming productive citizens or future entrepreneurs and help them in gaining maximum health and wealth!!

Below are the highlights of the interview: Brief our audience about your journey as a business leader until your current position at Essence of a Lady, Inc. What challenges have you overcome to reach where you are today?

I founded Essence of a Lady over 32 years ago. What started as a social club with over 23 women supporting each other in their side hustles in May 1989 evolved into a sustainable 501©3 nonprofit organization in 2003. Over this 32-year period, I have had partnerships with schools, school districts, Big Brother Big Sister, MENTOR, Susan B.

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ife's most urgent and persistent question is, "What are we doing for the well-being of others?" To endure difficulties for a meaningful purpose is a sublime pleasure, and there is no greater pleasure than utilizing one's life, wealth, intelligence, and words for the welfare of others. People leave a great legacy behind by helping in the well-being of others and will be remembered by the lives they touched and made a positive difference in people's lives. Great leaders live in a spirit of compassion and generosity along with humanitarian and philanthropic approaches helping them contribute significantly to the world without expecting anything in return.

Dr. JoAnn Ajayi-Scott is one such humanitarian and philanthropist making a difference in the lives of youths positively through educating, empowering, networking, mentoring them, and helping them attain greatness. As the Founder and CEO of Essence of a Lady Inc., Dr. JoAnn ensures that each girl aged from 6 to 19 is provided an opportunity to receive a mentor. These mentors help guide them through the trials and tribulations of growing up, graduating from school, becoming productive citizens or future entrepreneurs.

In an interview with Insights Success, Dr. JoAnn AjayiScott shares her journey and her contribution though Essence of a Lady, Inc. in the overall development of women and girls.

Taylor's National Mentoring Cares, Point of Light, and President Obama's PRESIDENTIAL LIFETIME AWARDS commission. In addition, I have been in partnership with over 400 local, state, and national professional and entrepreneurial women who helped support the mission to educate, mentor, and empower over 1000 youth, especially girls, in three states and six school districts. My vision is ALL women and girls will gain maximum health and wealth!! Now, after over 30 years, I have retired from the educational arena, and I run Essence of a Lady, Inc. fulltime. Through my journey, I have received awards in education, community, and entrepreneurship, including national philanthropist of the year, congressional award and recognition, and an international humanitarian award. The biggest challenges have stemmed from a lack of funding to support the mentoring programs.

Tell us something more about your company and its mission and vision.

The mission of Essence of a Lady is to educate, mentor, and empower girls through the philanthropy of women. I work toward this goal with a team of women to provide youth, especially girls, with tools, resources, and financial support to develop a career, leadership, and social skills. With women joining our network of philanthropy to give their time, talent, and treasure to help develop these skills, girls graduate from high school and pursue further education and/or entrepreneurship. The mission of education, mentoring and empowerment, allows me to carry out the vision of helping women and girls gain maximum health and wealth. The hidden benefits of women giving to girls are the connections they make with other philanthropists and the joy of seeing girls reach their full potential, knowing they contributed to their growth.

Enlighten us on how your organization has made an impact on the lives of people.

Over the 32 years of supporting women and girls, Essence of a Lady has provided a platform for women to share their journey to success, revealing the struggles, pain, and heartache they went through and the tenacity and resilience to persevere, despite the struggle, to become the women they have become. Women have started and or leveraged their businesses. Girls have developed high self-esteem through mentoring sessions, workshops, webinars, special events, and scholarships to attend college or technical schools. Long before self-care was trending, Essence of a Lady, through a researched-based curriculum created by me, conducted weekly mentoring sessions to help girls develop mentally, emotionally, physically, and socially.

Describe in detail the values and the work culture that drives your organization.

The core values of Essence of a Lady are we are our sisters' keepers. It takes a village to raise a child, and the village has changed in the 21 century. The village is not our

Created in 1989, Essence of a Lady, Inc. recruits professional and entrepreneurial women to help educate, mentor, and empower school-age girls.

neighbors but caring and giving adults who are passionate about supporting youth and their families. I believe in providing positive interaction in a positive environment to motivate girls to strive to reach their full potential, believing someone cares about them. The goal is to provide non-judgmental support to girls through mentoring: group or one-to-one.

Undeniably, technology is playing a significant role in almost every sector. How are you leveraging technological advancements to make your solutions resourceful?

I recognized the importance of being in the technological space over 15 years ago. Although I was scammed on several occasions with people supposed to build websites for us to leverage opportunities to support more youth, I have had a website, social media presence, and online forms and payment systems for over ten years. I am in the process of rebranding and upgrading our websites with a branding specialist, branding photographer, automation, and strategies coach as I speak.

If given a chance, what change would you like to bring in mentoring?

The change I would like to bring is more support from adults. Most adults believe when youth get into high school, they need less support; my experience in working with youth and teaching at-risk students in high school for over 16 years proved that is inaccurate. Additionally, I wrote my dissertation on mentoring. USDOE (2012) stated, "every 26 seconds a child drops out of school, and 12th grade was the only grade girls dropped out more than boys." My goal is to provide opportunities for parents to be involved in their children's lives all the way through graduation with Essence of a Lady's continuous support and mentoring programming.

What, according to you, could be the next big change in the empowerment of women?

Women understand the power of collaborating more now than ever before. When I first began Essence of a Lady in 1989, women's mindset was, "Women don't want to work together; they only want to tear each other down." Well, it was true then; the women who helped create Essence of a Lady listened to the then-president and disbanded the organization and dispersed the money equally. Four of us took ours, and I created the first "Ladies Only Conference" then, I created a non-profit and received the 501©3 status through the IRS so that would never happen again. With influencers, strategic partnerships, and collaborative partners, women can leverage their business and provide support to each other and girls, who are our legacy!

How is your company preparing to be a part of that change?

Essence of a Lady, in partnership with the Females are Fabulous Empowerment Series, is providing a media, marketing, and PR platform to allow women to live out their passion and share their journey to their FABULOUSNESS with the world! We work with them to provide the tools, resources, and support to leverage their businesses as a philanthropist, leave a legacy through their stories on different platforms, and ultimately become LEGENDARY in the world!

Where do you envision yourself to be in the long run, and what are your future goals for Essence of a Lady, Inc?

I see myself as a global philanthropist, women empowerment speaker/emcee, and legacy builder, providing a media, marketing, and PR platform for women to share their stories of triumph and providing the audience to hear their stories through Essence of a Lady's women and girls events. Additionally, I see Essence of a Lady establishing partnerships with girls’ and boys’ programs by providing a mentoring component to their established clubs. The goal is for every child to have an opportunity to get mentoring support from adults in their community. I have created an action plan to connect with established mentoring programs in the community to provide support and guidance to them utilizing research-based, data-driven strategies to help them leverage their programs.

What would be your advice to budding entrepreneurs who aspire to mentor and empower youth?

You do not have to worry about re-creating the wheel. I have mentored and empowered hundreds of budding entrepreneurs; that is my passion, that is God's purpose for my life. I have been out here for over 40 years as an entrepreneur, over 35 years as an empowerment speaker/emcee, and over 32 years as a philanthropist. I am here to support you; all you have to do is be willing to support girls. By coming together, we create a win-win opportunity for everyone. Remember, we are not going to be remembered by the cars we drive, the clothes we wear, or the house we live in; we will be remembered by the lives we touch in a positive way. Philanthropy provides you that opportunity to give…without expecting anything in return, knowing you can be gifted 100-fold! Contact me at Dr. JoAnn or Schedule a 15-minute Consult at ConnectwithDrJoAnn.as.me and learn more about leveraging your business as a philanthropist to build generational wealth.

Meagan Gallman

Salon Owner, Master Colorist, Artistic Educator, Guest Writer The Magnolia Parlor

Our stylists are not only well educated in their craft, but they also provide only the best services to the guest of all ages and hair types.

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The 10 Most Influen al Entrepreneurs to Follow in 2022

Meagan Gallman

Making the Stylist Inside You Future Ready

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ive a few years into the past, and you’ll notice when social media mainly existed for entertainment purposes and was not as businessdriven as it is today. However, the waves of transformative shifts in the business world when building a robust client base required paper ads, passing business cards, and word of mouth began to change and took a more digital route.

Surrounding were evolving, and not many people adapted quickly, but when they did, they defeated all the odds to perceive the success they yearned for. Akin to the words above is Meagan Gallman, who realized her potential and finally overcame the naive mindset that held her back for years to find her venture, The Magnolia Parlor.

Meagan decided to booth rent after pursuing her career started as a commission stylist in a salon. She faced several challenges along her journey but struggled with one for years when people didn’t take her seriously as an artist. She had to fight tooth and nail to prove her value and be respected while facing her biggest pet peeve, “So, you’re just a hairstylist.” Overcoming similar comments, Meagan learned from experience, allowing herself to grow and making things happen for her amid the disbelief of others.

Over the years, Meagan has built herself a reputation by working in various aspects of the industry, aspiring every artist to view that success can be achieved even from a small town in the South with dedicated efforts. She impacts the industry as an educator for Joico, Olivia Garden, and is also part of the education team for Beauty Launchpad. With years of experience, Meagan made strides with her words as a guest writer for multiple beauty publications. She asserts.

“There is room for everyone with a passion for the beauty industry. That drives me to impact my industry in the most positive way possible.”

The Passionate Culture Meagan strongly believes in sharing the knowledge that she received with other stylists. After spending half her career

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as a Master Colorist, she was blessed to work with a few prestigious names in the industry and considers herself lucky to call them friends. Meagan loves mentoring young stylists and is eager to teach them about the know and how of the industry, guiding them to avoid her mistakes to excel from the start.

Meagan mentions that she never knew that she wanted to launch her venture, The Magnolia Parlor. It has become a safe and creative space for stylists to grow their talents and succeed in various ways. She understands the stagnant feeling one might feel due to lack of support system, limited access to education, demographic mindset, and lack of mentorship and encouragement. Meagan gives it her all with the thoughtful approach that allows her to remedy the negative thoughts of the students that can take over and deliberate their confidence.

Meagan invests in her stylist, setting a goal where she wants them to be better than herself. She wants her students and stylists to grow continuously because she understands that getting comfortable in the beauty industry is dangerous.

She notes, “You become comfortable, you become lazy. You become lazy; you become irrelevant. You become irrelevant; you become forgotten. You become forgotten; your career is dead. Never become comfortable. Become an unforgettable life force of the beauty industry.”

From training stylists from basics to business, Meagan has cultivated a vibrant culture by entrusting her team with the core of The Magnolia Parlor: tackling and achieving anything. She describes being an entrepreneur as like running a household, and she is the head of her salon household. She ensures that her mindset is on point and that she is ready for anything. She asserts, “If the core is weakened, the household will crumble. No entrepreneur wants their empire to fail, especially because they have lost sight of what is important.”

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Adapt, Embrace, Bequeath When the world was dealing with the chaos of pandemics, Meagan and her team learned to adapt to the situation to ensure the continuation of the success of her Fempire. In her opinion, technology has its definite downfalls but also has been the saving grace. During the pandemic, Meagan taught countless classes digitally while keeping up with the team. The different technology implementations allowed her to pre-record lessons and guide stylists with platforms like zoom, which boosted her as an entrepreneur.

Meagan expresses that she would like to see more states allow an “apprenticeship” program added to Cosmetology Curriculums. She wishes that there should be designated salons that should pass an accreditation application to be involved. So, students could acquire a certain amount of their practical hours within an accredited salon. It will allow future professionals in the beauty industry to adapt to an actual salon environment. In Meagan’s opinion, with the addition of the accreditation salon program, students will be

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able to shadow and assist while in school and essentially get acquainted with real-life salon situations and how to address them.

Moving ahead, Meagan envisions a beautiful educationbased salon blossoming in ways that a younger, naïve, unrealistic “business owner” would have never thought possible. She sees herself working diligently to help change the small mindset of those who have stereo typed the beauty industry as just a play job or a backup plan if Plan A doesn’t work out.

Meagan advises budding women entrepreneurs never to stop learning and studying about every side of the industry.

Finding compatible mentors is essential to produce the type of work that intrigues oneself. “Never settle. Perform like a professional, and you will be respected as a professional.

Perform like someone that plays with hair as a hobby, and you will not be taken seriously,” concludes Meagan.

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Entrepreneur of The Year

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ecognizing digital business opportunities and being a part of digital transformation has become a necessity in modern times. Having an online presence enables businesses to expand their services regionally and globally, maximizing the businesses' profits.

With digital technologies, businesses have accepted organizations' innovative approaches for tackling tough societal challenges. Digital sustainable activities are becoming the new business opportunities in entrepreneurship, and digital entrepreneurs are playing a significant role in utilizing digital technologies for addressing issues in the world.

Digital sustainability has the potential to increase advances in entrepreneurship, strategy, and innovation for making a positive and revolutionary impact in society. Adopting digital technologies with their infinite potential is the beginning of a new era in entrepreneurship. Here traditional ways of doing business will be reshaped, giving rise to new business opportunities and deriving profits by pursuing digital entrepreneurship.

The game rules are changing with the adoption of digital technologies by most businesses. These technologies will add new parameters and functionalities. Business leaders who are experts in tapping the potential of these technologies can make a lot of difference in the era of digital entrepreneurship. Many startups are emerging in the digital field. The growth of these startups depends on how they can grasp the digital technologies efficiently and be more functional with these technologies.

Digital technologies are also beneficial to already established businesses. They can increase their growth with these technologies and scale up to a great extent. Having an appropriate regional ecosystem can help enterprises flourish and resolve most of the complex challenges in the world with digital technologies.

the innovation system. Digital technologies change the innovation system and provide new and disruptive business opportunities.

The key parameters of digital entrepreneurship are an ecosystem, entrepreneur, and entrepreneurial process. A favorable environment leads to favorable results. With the combination of all these parameters, digital entrepreneurship can make a tremendous contribution in the business world by tapping the potential of digital technologies.

Clear recognition of the needs and resources that are required for digital firms and startups, the detailed examination of the operative mechanisms of already existing ecosystems with a focus on digital technologies, and investigations of the changing trends and using digital technologies accordingly, etc., form the essential component of sustaining the entrepreneurial spirit in the digital era.

Digital transformation is the most affecting trend for businesses currently. Some of the most exciting researchrelated ideas and entrepreneurial avenues are due to the confluence of digital and sustainability imperatives.

Embracing digital technologies for sustainable growth and development of businesses is possible for entrepreneurs in the digital era.

Entrepreneurs can sustain their entrepreneurial spirit by being experts in tapping the potential of these technologies.

Businesses can rise to great heights by the successful implementation of digital technologies. Entrepreneurs who will be able to leverage digital technologies for availing the business advantage will be able to make great profits and huge contributions to society and thereby derive more meaning, purpose, and fulfillment.

Digital entrepreneurship is the most important element of the innovation system. It is changing the overall business system and impacting the different dimensions and levels of

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Sustainable Journey

SUSTAINING ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT IN THE DIGITAL ERA

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A bridal show alternative complete with an emotional vow renewal ceremony, light bites, and a dance-party reception.

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The 10 Most Influential Entrepreneurs to Follow in 2022

Jennifer Ammons

Curating a Unique Bridal Show

he most intriguing aspect about acting on a unique idea is that it brings together creative minds together to initiate a change that can disrupt the industry's landscape for the better. To connect the newly engaged couples to several local boutique vendors to form a connection before investing towards their special day under one big roof was the core idea that birthed The Big Fake Wedding.

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to succeed at an event. She asserts, "We personally know each and every business we work with, and we know what they need. It also works because, unlike the majority of the wedding industry media, we are not in it to propel the unnecessary stress and competition of wedding planning and instead exist to encourage solid, committed marriages of all types." TBFW doesn't join on the hand wagons and intentionally chooses to market uniquely and genuinely.

Jennifer Ammons leads The Big Fake Wedding as the CEO and Owner, steering her experience to expand worldwide. Embarking on the mission of TBFW, Jennifer promotes small businesses, inspires couples, and encourages solid marriages, creating a platform where brands can showcase their best, resulting in a network of like-minded business owners with future clients at their fingertips.

Jennifer states that engaged couples come to the TBFW events entrusting that the brand only supports fair, quality, and authentic local businesses. Couples visit the events to carry out real conversations and view the relationships between the clients and vendors without any pressure.

An Arbitrary Beginning Having very little interest in becoming involved in the wedding industry to becoming the CEO of an experiential marketing company in the niche has been an exhilarating ride for Jennifer. She didn't plan her elaborate wedding, having a small dinner table of eight, before stepping into becoming the owner of The Big Fake Wedding, realizing that the industry is filled and served by small businesses chasing their dreams, no marketing support. Thus, Jennifer understood that the small business is the heart of the wedding industry. She is honored to work with 800 supporting the business annually. Jennifer welcomes 2022 to bounce back from the unprecedented times with newly rejuvenated nationwide awareness and support small businesses.

Thinking Out-of-the-Box Jennifer expresses that the TBFW business model works because it cares about supporting business vendors, setting them apart from an average "boxed event." Every Big Fake Wedding vendor is individually connected to in-house Production Managers, with their cheerleaders guiding them

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Jennifer Ammons CEO/Owner The Big Fake Wedding

TBFW provides a reminiscing experience that couples can witness personally rather than viewing from a zoom call.

The event includes a REAL vow renewal, 15 minutes where the mingling stops to remind why marriages are so great in the first place. "Without this, we'd be just another wedding show," mentions Jennifer.

Heads Up Move Forward In the relentless pursuit of being the best, in 2022, Jennifer hopes to propel the industry's disruption by changing how GenZ can book vendors and organize and serve clients while also seamlessly growing its business. The methodologies that engaged couples can utilize to find quality vendors are antiquated and entirely driven by large conglomerate companies that follow an advertise-based business model. Although, The Big Fake Wedding has impactful imprints, having a personal conversation with the clients and vendors knowing the need for change.

Jennifer notes, "Clients want easier ways to book vendors instantly, vendors want easier ways to track and follow up with leads, and easier ways to create residual quality bookings under the secureness of a brand they trust is rooting for them. The Big Fake Wedding is striving to be this solution in 2022." The experiential platform that TBFW provides is expanding by strategically partnering with a new company in the tech industry, Wedy. The company will continue to serve the industry needs as engaged couples look for better ways to spend their budget; Wedy and The Big Fake Wedding will be the first trusted choice.

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Thriving Connection Jennifer welcomes the changes in the wedding and marketing industry but hopes that people never lose sight of human connection. "Owning a business BASED on the human connection during a pandemic that forbids it was, to say the least, hard. But we continued to be supported by the network we had created because human connection is desirable, and we had created not just a network but a family," expresses Jennifer. She is hopeful to embrace the innovative technology platforms to support the business model to serve everyone better but also knows that the human part of people will never cease to exist and wants organizations to continue seeing value in that.

The Blooming Bud Jennifer witnessed several businesses fail and flail, and new opportunities and ideas came into existence, primarily woman-owned. As women continue to seek meaningful purpose outside their responsibilities in the home, more small businesses will blossom. In her concluding thoughts, Jennifer advises, "When the woes of business ownership hit, which they undoubtedly will remember why you started.

Was it to create or fuel a passion that could serve your family or lifestyle? Then honor that. Quit or scale back if you have to, but never waiver and continue to create those same benefits and safe spaces for other women to be employed.”

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Expert’s View

Why

Learning Negotiation

is Important for

Leaders?

W

ant to be a leader? Then you're going to need to get people to follow you. Coincidentally, the way to do that is by brushing up on your negotiation skills. The two skills go hand in hand, after all, if you've got followers, it's because people are agreeing with your proposed ways of achieving a goal. How does a great leader do that? By using the same skills that negotiators use every day like listening, demonstrating empathy, communicating effectively, and by maintaining composure under stress.

It's Starts with Listening It's hard to get people to follow if you don't know what's going on with them. What makes them tick? How are they operating on a daily basis? What are some of the challenges that they encounter? Back when I was in my early sales days when I worked in manufacturing, I got to spend a lot of time on the road in stores talking to store managers about the conditions in their stores. I was fortunate enough to go on the road with some of the most senior leaders in my global organization and I got to watch them stop in the aisles and talk to customers about why they bought certain beauty products over others. I learned an important lesson that day that I carried with me for years to come. If you're coming up with proposals, products, ideas for someone,

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unless you know why they're making the choices that they do you may be trying to lead folks to a place in which they have no interest.

Empathy is a Pre-requisite Most people confuse empathizing with agreeing. It's simply a matter of being able to put yourself in someone else's shoes. Once you understand where they're coming from and how they think only then can you come up with a way to lead them where you want them to go. Great negotiators understand the need to frame things from the other party's perspective. Want to get a raise? You know the reason you want it is to have more money in your pocket but what's in it for your employer? According to studies, an employee who feels valued is a more productive employee and that means better results and profits for the employer. Being able to frame it up that way allows you to get what you want while making it (somewhat) appealing to them. If you're a leader who wants people to change behavior and adopt a new process, take a moment to walk in your team's shoes to frame it in a way that's going to help them find a path to your solution. "I know it may seem like this new process may take longer but we'll show you how it will save you from answering a zillion more emails over the course of the next few months." People want to be acknowledged, and

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About the Leader Author of HarperCollins’ Say Less Get More: Unconventional Negotiation Techniques to get what you want, Fotini Iconomopoulos empowers audiences all over the world through her expertise in negotiation, communication and persuasion. Business executives partner with her to achieve their business goals and create a competitive advantage with negotiation consulting and training. Fotini occasionally returns to the classroom as an instructor of MBA Negotiations at the Schulich School of Business in Toronto. In addition to her features on TV, media and outlets including CNBC, Forbes and Harvard Business Review, Fotini’s book has received critical acclaim and she has been recognized with multiple awards including a 40 Under 40 award.

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effectively you can minimize resistance and get a lot more value out of your interactions with your followers. once they have that they're more open to listening to your proposal instead of tuning you out. Acknowledgement doesn't mean agreement, it's a demonstration of humanity while you can still meet your objectives.

Communicate Carefully There's a reason I named my book "Say Less, Get More" and it's because great negotiators are considered about what they say and how they say it. They say less to take the time to listen and contemplate the most effective way to express their ideas… They're not full of fillers like "I think maybe this might be a way to…" as those words can lead to doubt from the listener. If you sound like you're doubting yourself, they're going to start doubting you too and good luck getting people to follow you. Instead, leaders choose words that are clear and succinct: "Thanks to some studies on the matter, we've decided to roll out this new procedure."

Less doubt also means less pushback and a lot less damage control to deal with later. The order of information presented is also critical, as starting with credible positioning or acknowledgment will engage the audience and get heads nodding before you even make the proposal in question. When you say less by communicating

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Maintaining Composure is Critical When things are easy leaders get to coast. But when the going gets tough everyone looks to their leaders for examples of how to handle the stress. If leaders freak out or throw a toddler style temper tantrum (it happens) then others start to follow their lead to everyone's detriment.

Negotiators face stressful moments all the time and they pause to say less and maintain their self-control. During stressful moments it's tempting to succumb to the instinct to react, however it's that ability to pause and stay poised before speaking that allows one to make better decisions and communicate effectively. It's in those moments where leaders need to dig deep and use those listening skills and empathy to resolve conflict and demonstrate the stability that their followers need to carry them through.

Using these skills will not only help you through the high stakes negotiations I help my clients through, they'll also help you in the every day negotiations that bring your followers daily steps closer to meting your goals. Taking the time listen and say less will certainly get you and your followers a whole lot more.

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CEO

ariam

Nusrat

Unleashing the Power of No-code to Transform Interactive Content Creation

F

rom games like snake, space impact to games like angry birds and Player Unknown’s Battleground (PUBG), we have witnessed a drastic transformation in the gaming industry.

All successful entrepreneurial journeys boil down to passion, purpose & perseverance!

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Studies reveal that the gaming industry that was valued at USD 173.70 billion in 2020 is expected to reach a value of USD 314.40 billion by 2026, registering a CAGR of 9.64% over 2021-2026. What was earlier considered a waste of time is now a billion-dollar industry. It is because many ingenious minds have joined the gaming industry and changed the way people think about video games. And the good news is that women entrepreneurs have also made significant contributions to shape the future of the industry.

Meet Mariam Nusrat, an innovator and the Founder of GRID, a tech startup unleashing the power of video games to educate, engage and empower people. Mariam and her team are building Breshna, a no-code platform that empowers users to create their own purposeful mini video games at lightning speed. It’s the lightning speed that gives

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The 10 Most Influential Entrepreneurs to Follow in 2022 Breshna its name (the word Breshna means lightning in the Pashto language, Mariam’s mother tongue).

We at Insights Success caught up with Mariam to learn more about her entrepreneurial journey and contribution to enhancing the gaming industry.

Below are the highlights of the interview:

irrespective of their knowledge of coding or design, is empowered to create their own videos to inspire positive impact. With Breshna, everyone can be a game developer So think about a teacher who wants to make math learning fun; she can transform a math quiz into a super mario like game, where kids have to catch the right answer and dodge the wrong ones.

Brief our audience about your journey as an entrepreneur until your current position at the company. What challenges have you overcome to reach where you are today?

Having grown up playing games such as Sim City, I knew games leave an impression on our brains that transcends the boundaries of the virtual world. I wondered to myself, if games on building cities can teach urban planning, can games focusing on environmental awareness promote climate action, those about women’s rights promote equality, or those building humane education improve animal welfare? Games have the power to leave an impression on our brains that far transcends the boundaries of the virtual world, and I am committed to leveraging this power to inspire social change.

Enlighten us on how you have made an impact in the gaming industry through your expertise in the market.

At GRID, we are changing how video games are created & used.

I have more than a decade of experience in the education and purposeful games industries.

With Breshna, we are breaking the skills, cost and time barriers of making video games. Breshna empowers users to create their own purposeful video games with no-code, at low cost & at lightning speed.

For this work, I have been recognized on the Forbes Next 1000 entrepreneur list and received the Clinton Global Initiative Honor Roll Award. But I have not done this work alone.

When they say it takes a village, it really does! I would not be where I am today had it not been for my family, friends, collaborators, investors & the GRID team, and especially my COO (and brother) Rizwan Nusrat!

For the past year, I have focused my entrepreneurial efforts on building Breshna under a new venture-backed C-corp.

We have only been incorporated for 7 months, but we’ve made mad progress. We launched Breshna’s MVP with a game jam and had 6k users create 1k video games in 96 hours. We have 9 B2B partnerships aimed at getting Breshna in the hands of users. We are also oversubscribed at our $1m seed round.

Tell us something more about the company and its mission and vision.

We are building for the complete democratization of the purposeful games industry; A day when everyone,

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Video games are powerful communication tools. The impact they leave on our brains far transcends the virtual boundaries in which we play them! There is an opportunity to leverage this power for a purpose beyond entertainment.

Purposeful Video games, i.e. video games that have a purpose beyond entertainment, have immense potential to influence industries like education, marketing, and training; but we do not see them being mainstreamed in these industries. This is because making video games is costly, complicated, and clunky!

Describe in detail the values and the work culture that drives your organization.

I am building Breshna with a team of passionate gamechangers. We are diverse, capital-efficient, and highly motivated individuals. Our core values are impatient optimism, community first, undiluted creativity, graceful growth, and humble confidence.

If given a chance, what change would you like to bring in the gaming industry?

I absolutely believe we need more women in the gaming space. Women belong in all walks of life & it breaks my heart to see women self-selecting themselves out of the industry.

We have to address our imposter syndrome upfront; that constant self-doubt leading to questions like “Am I good enough?” or “Do I belong in this industry?” Thoughts like these are the reason we see women shying away from unleashing their full potential in their professional careers.

For all of them, I have two words “You belong!”

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What, according to you, could be the next big change in the gaming industry? How is your company preparing to be a part of that change?

We are operating at two exploding tech trends; The serious games market is expected to be $29B by 2025, while the global low-code development platform market is expected to produce $187B in revenue by 2030. Furthermore, we are not only democratizing the video games industry but also the NFT space, where everyone can embed their NFTs into their own video games!

If you have an idea to solve a pain point that you see in the world, the only scenario where you “fail” is the one where you do nothing about it. Do not let your gender, your educational background, your income status, or the color of your skin hold you back from becoming the best version of yourself!

What would be your advice to budding women entrepreneurs who aspire to venture into the gaming industry?

Shoot your shot!

Ideas are plenty; execution is what sets apart the doers from the thinkers!

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A Pragmatic Appro

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Pragmatic Terms

roach to Business E

ntrepreneurship is one of the most profound ways to make an impact in the business world. But attaining great success in businesses is as challenging as in other fields. Great success requires great sacrifices. Nothing is impossible for those who have laser-like focus and are determined to deliver results no matter what the challenges are.

Such leaders believe in themselves and their potential to contribute something substantial to the world. They are solution-oriented. They believe that challenges are opportunities and like to be a part of the solutions. Business leaders become great by their ability to resolve complex challenges.

Successful business leaders can make a difference in the businesses they are leading with the remarkable attributes they have. They have great leadership qualities.

They become distinguished entrepreneurs with distinctive abilities that help them deliver more than expected. They do things differently than others. They are ambitious. They don’t like to play small. They have a broader vision. They are ready to put their mind, heart, and every nerve into making things happen. They believe that anything is possible with the nerves

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they have. With the guts, nerves, knowledge, talents, skills, and courage, they know that they can fight through any challenges and deliver the best.

External motivation is a very momentary thing. It is not sustainable to keep one going in the long run. But successful business leaders are self-motivated. Their motivation comes from within themselves. They see the world insideout. They are not dependent on external factors for pushing themselves to attain something extraordinary in the world.

They are humble enough to learn from their superiors and more knowledgeable, skilled, and experienced people. They are diligent in executing their plans with utmost perfection.

They learn from the mistakes of themselves and others because they believe that they don’t have all the time in the world to make all the mistakes. They don’t repeat the mistakes.

Remarkable entrepreneurs minimize mistakes and aim to deliver maximum results. They deliver smarter business results that are beneficial for their clients. They improve the user experience. They solve complex business problems with their innovativeness and ability to utilize smarter solutions. They deliver profitable business results through their sharp skills, educated use of technology, and smarter solutions. They are serial innovators, and because of their constant ability to come up with newer and newer innovations, they can avail themselves of the edge in the industry.

Success in the modern world requires something more than just academic intelligence. Successful business entrepreneurs are beyond academic intelligence. They don’t think in terms of black and white solutions. They know that complex problems require unprecedented solutions. With their innovative intelligence, they resolve complex issues with their ingenuity. With their innovative ideas, they improve on existing processes. This is the purpose with which they choose the path of entrepreneurship and can do justice to their ambitions. They make the world a better place by delivering innovative and smarter business solutions.

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The 10 Most Influential Entrepreneurs to Follow in 2022

Yasar Chau

ary

Spearheading with Exceptional Tactics

D

etermined to become his own boss, Yasar Chaudhary stepped into the business world following his entrepreneurial drive. At the early age of 12, he was intrigued by his father's businesses. Yasar began to learn every aspect of the company to get into the workforce as soon as possible. After he graduated, he decided to start working as he knew that he could make the most of his career without a degree.

Today, Yasar is the visionary Co-founder and President of LA Vodka alongside two other Co-founders, Jeff Prescott and Kyle Blevins. The company was crafted by the most experienced and knowledgeable master distillers in California. Over the years, Yasar innovated various strategies to gain a competitive edge over the competition matching the core competencies of the opportunities.

Insights Success came across Yasar in our endeavor to find "The 10 Most Influential Entrepreneurs to Follow in 2022."

We talked with him to understand how his business acumen and determined efforts have made him a prominent entrepreneur.

Below are the highlights of the interview: Brief our audience about your journey as an entrepreneur until your current position at the LA Vodka. What challenges have you had to overcome to reach where you are today?

I knew I wanted to always be my own boss. One of the biggest challenges I had to face was my age. I often was not taken seriously due to that. I had to learn to have an answer for any concern or pushback from the other party. This

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challenge also made me the businessman I am today. I learned to present and uphold myself in a certain manner.

Fast forward a few years, and I have launched over a dozen successful companies. One of my best years in business had to be in 2021, which included hitting the INC 5000 list along with being listed as Forbes Next 1000. LA Vodka was always a concept my partners and I wanted to do one day.

In my opinion, now is the best time for us to shift our focus and make LA Vodka a household name.

Tell us something more about LA Vodka and its mission and vision.

Our vision with LA Vodka was to create a vodka that was unique and different from the rest. What better place than Los Angeles, the city where people go to pursue their dreams. We want to encourage people to carve their own paths, to go against the grain. The development process of LA Vodka reflected just that. We source the finest ingredients to create an ultra-premium vodka with an extremely smooth taste.

Enlighten us on how you have made an impact in the industry through your expertise in the market.

Over the years, I gained a tremendous amount of experience

A New Vodka, For A New Age.

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Yasar Chaudhary Co-Founder & President LA Vodka

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January 2022 | 41

and knowledge in startups across many different sectors.

One of the many things I enjoy about business is that I've found most of the business principles I have learned and lived by; I am able to take with me in this venture with LA Vodka. Namely, a direct-to-consumer/ e-commerce launch.

We have recognized an opportunity in the market that we plan on tapping into.

Describe in detail the values and the work culture that drives your organization.

At LA Vodka, we believe in growth. We want our whole team to grow with the company. We know how important it is to have a positive work culture because it can translate into other aspects of our lives. At La Vodka, we are willing to not only teach and train our team but learn from them as well. We are lucky enough to have many talented team members in our company who trust and support each other but also challenge us in a constructive way that ultimately promotes growth within the company.

concepts will quickly tap into the on-premises sales category. Drizzly and Reserve Bar are perfect examples that there is success to be had in real-time delivery and local shipping, changing the game for how to purchase alcohol in the new age.

Where do you envision yourself to be in the long run, and what are your future goals for the company?

We believe that LA Vodka is a world recognizable name.

Our future plans consist of being a household name not only nationwide but worldwide. Right now, we face different challenges every day. We are excited to see the progress we make in the coming years.

Undeniably, technology is playing a significant role in almost every sector. How are you leveraging technological advancements to make your solutions resourceful?

Efficiency is what we strongly believe in. Technology is growing and changing at a rapid pace. We know if we leverage the tools available, we can focus on the more important issues, like quality and our customer satisfaction.

We wanted to invest a lot of time and money into a focused e-commerce brand. Without a doubt, technology plays a huge role in our success.

If given a chance, what change would you like to bring to the industry?

One of many things that drove us to bring this product to market was being different. Through the development process of LA Vodka, we wanted to capture the uniqueness of our ingredients and brand. Having a Vodka with a name that resonated with everyone is disruptive itself. Not only that, the lifestyle that this brand represents as well. One change we plan on bringing to this industry is to redefine what "premium" actually means.

What, according to you, could be the next big change in the industry? How is your company preparing to be a part of that change?

One main change in the alcohol industry we are preparing for is having our direct-to-consumer footprint down. Covid 19 has made ordering alcohol online mainstream. We believe the 3-tier system in this industry is due for a change.

Regulations will loosen up, and direct-to-consumer

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