SPOTLIGHT MAGAZINE SEPT 2022

Self-CareTipsfor

A 22 DS

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP REFINED

22 COVETTED SOCIAL IMPACT CATEGORIES

REGULARS + FEATURES

EXPLORE 1-11

Explore our research based insights on what's happening at Ark & Brook, from worklife balance productivity hacks to PR and other thought leadership tips and doodle hacks for small business owners

DISCOVER 12-28

Our Discover section is a movement to take our readers to experts in relatively distant geographical locations that they wouldn't normally dream of. We find local Thought Leaders in spaces and places that help businesses to survive.

THRIVE 31-35

Our Thrive Section is where you'll find your takeaway self-care to live a healthy and sane life, from our Travel, entertainment recommendations to the Ignite events, jobs , Adventures and much more.

A NoteFromJen

Editor-In-Chief Jennifer Nash introduces the content in this Spotlight issue. Starting with acknowledgements of our fabulous team to whet your appetite. Using a drop of ink to make a million think, has been Jen's motto since she learned how to write professionally, together we can amplify our voices

FROMBEINGKITCHENTABLE ENTREPRENEURSTOBECOMING GLOBALCHANGEMAKER!

Their Untold Stories Keep Coming!

Editor’sNote

Tis' the season to GIVA back again... Yes GIVA is now a verb! At least in my vocabulary, it is the season to give back with purpose and intention. That is what gets me up everyday...I hope something you're passion about - does that for you too

If you want to write for us follow me on on Qwoted where I frequently post my story requests.

Tis'theseasontoGIVAbackagain Yes,GIVAisnowaverb!Atleastinmyvocabulary,itistheseasonto give back with purpose and intention That is what gets me up every day I hope something you ' re passion about - does that for you too Every year, since I now look forward to being in a position to tell authentic stories of those that are underreported, underrepresented, and are often marginalised from the spotlight! I literary live and breathe this mission to ignite female entrepreneurs' visions and ensure their brilliance is seen Just before writing this note, I had a meeting with new acquaintance who after I explained what the Global Ignite Vision + Action awards are all about, she said the target audience for the awards is not her ideal client avatar because 'they're Kitchen Table Entrepreneurs' That sentence provokedmetothinkdifferentlyaboutGIVAinthatitempoweredmetowantGIVAtochangemorelives and have more impact than I ever imagined before, so that, if the fate allows, one day I can go back to this person and say, thank you for your words and inadvertently inspiring me to do more and better! To live to tell the stories of GIVA nominees going from being seen as 'Kitchen Table Entrepreneurs to being knownasglobalchangemakers

Inthisissuewegofromcovertocoverofwomenwhoarehustlingandbustingtobecomejustthat Onthecover,ChrisHolter aptly'ExplainstheworldneedsyourLeadership Andintheirownbackyardsandontheirownterms,theyhavechallengedthe statusquointheirownright Goingontobecoming'BossBabes'andwomenbreaking65Years'ofbadhabitsinamale dominatedindustrialsectorwhereJaneMcCormickisImplementingModernProceduresOldToolCompany Suchandmany otherfeaturesinthisarticlearetheUntoldStoriesyoucannotchopuplikevegetablesonakitchencounterandcookthem andservethemonaplatter Thesearerealauthenticstorieswhichareimpactinglivesatgrassrootlevelinlocalcommunities worldwide

OurmissionistoEmpower,ElevateandEndorsesuchwomen,sotheycanbeseen,heard,known,andTRUSTEDasthought leaderswithcredibility!ThatiswhyI’mstokedtoannounceGIVAisbackforthe2ndyearrunning

Allowmetointroducethisourimpressiveline-upofjudgeswhoareonamissiontobreakthestigmaandleadthewayto provingthattherearehiddengemsofexcellenceinfemaleentrepreneursjustwaitingtobediscovered Besuretofollow, shareandcheeronourjudgesfortheirjobwelldoneleadinguptoGIVA2022onOctober22nd

Untilthen,lettheGIVA’eraspotlightmagicbegin Together,WeImpactmorelives Best, Editor-in-Chief

OR email me your story suggestions direct to jennifer@arkandb rook.com I bid you

EXPLORE. DISCOVER. THRIVE!

Together we illuminate a spotlight on what matters to us and thrive

Acknowledgements

Welcome to the September edition of Spotlight magazine At Spotlight, We Don’t follow trends, We create them!

We're glad you're back in the Spotlight. Our gratitude as always goes out to you our clients, subscribers and small but mighty army of expert contributors and advertisers, Chris Holter, Lynn Power, Jane McCormick, Dr Puja Aggarwal and all the GIVA2022 Cohort of judges for your support of providing us with valuable content. A special and BIG thank you and welcome to our additional Spotlight team who have joined us in the last few months

Together we are happy to be navigating these uncharted waters, re-imagining and challenging the PR industry status quo. We do this with a Thought Leadership magazine founded and owned by a woman with female thought leaders writing for female entrepreneurs -this includes but is not limited to SMEs, Artisans, Freelancers and every type of small business that perhaps doesn't fit into the categories we have named above. [See list on left if you fit the bill - Click here to get featured as an expert contributor

It is with great pride and joy that we bring you this global phenomenon with exclusive content for you to Explore what it means to be a Thought Leader in this complex and cluttered digital space where everyone is a prosumer

We're confident you will Discover tools and insights that will help you to sustain and scale up your business, but much more so, amplify your voice as an expert in your industry.

More than anything else, we want to grow with you our readers, as we share and investigate what it means to be a Thought Leader. Our expert articles and advice will do just that. So take the front row seat enjoy the view as you Thrive.

GIVA2022 Gold Partners

COVER GIRL OF THE MONTH

Christine Holter

Explains the world needs your Leadership.

There has never been a better time to be a female leader in business If you're a woman who is looking to make a difference in the business world, now is the time to do it In fact, the world needs you

If you are like me, you are feeling the impact of the last few years and watching the world change dramatically. What used to work doesn't work. There is a converging of the future happening before us and the past trying to hold on, trying to divide us, and calling for a more human and connected approach to leadership and doing business. Although this is making us feel exhausted, overwhelmed, and at times perplexed - the beauty is seeing that there are more opportunities than ever before. Think about you. You have a set of unique gifts that no one else brings to the table and when you combine this with vision, values, talent, skills, and passion along with conscious leadership you will be able to 10x your impact and truly change the world

I know a thing or two about being a female leader in business For many years I found myself the only woman in the room or amongst teams and organizations where women were underrepresented I grew up with a mother who was an Aeronautical Engineer in the 1950s and 1960s and in her work, she had a hand in developing the lunar model that went to the moon. She taught me that each of us can do want ever we want to do and create the best life possible for ourselves.

She was a pioneer and in many ways 30 years later I went on to do the same thing - rising through the ranks of an hourly position at the world's largest hospitality company and becoming the first International Vice President of Revenue Management in a very patriarchal part of the world, Latin America For 20 years helped develop the global footprint of this developing part of the world and implemented a new way of maximizing top line revenue called Revenue Management. In order to do this, I had to change and transform into the leader that would be able to build a business into a multi-billiondollar organization.

Today, I help female executives around the world, inside and outside of corporate be their best in order to achieve their big mission. I would like to share with you my 3 tips for becoming a conscious leader. A hint - it starts with self-mastery.

What is conscious leadership?

It is a radically different way of approaching business It combines being your best which I callConscious best with doing good in the world which is intentional and thoughtful When these two combined there is massive shifts that occur bringing forth a new way of thinking, feeling, and behaving One that the world is hungry for and one where you feel alive, energized and fulfilled.

Conscious Best: What do you do better than anyone else? This is what you are meant to do. Build out your talents and skills and learn as much as possible. Continually become a better version of you. Invest in yourself. You have to be strong on the inside to be able to create massive external success

Intentional Gooding Good: When you do anything it must be with creating forward momentum for others. This could include you, be it for your team, organization, or bigger. You need to become more thoughtful about what you say, do, and become. Think about the collective good. Women have so many new ideas and ways of thinking about business that your voice truly matters.

Dream Big: Create Impossible Goals: Create dreams and goals that are almost impossible, yet create excitement and some fear inside. It is not about getting to them. It is about a place to come from according to my mentor Rich Litvin. You can literally collapse time and bring the future to today by visioning these and working towards them. They will also scientifically create more happiness and hope for the future. When working towards something big there is always one small action you can take to move it forward.

I have a dear friend that taught me inspiration comes from everywhere. Today I hope you are inspired to have your voice heard, to be a changemaker that we so dearly need in the world, that helps usher in a new way of leading. You have something inside of you that can change the world.

5 Self-Care Tips for Entrepreneurs

By Lynn Power Co-Founder & CEO of MASAMI

Being an entrepreneur is hard, don’t forget about self-care along your journey

The life of an entrepreneur is crazy. We tend to work around the clock. Many of us have an unbalanced sense of “work/life balance”. We feel pressure to be successful by VC standards (which are unrealistic for many businesses). On top of that, we’ve all seen the statistics that 90% of startups fail (10% within the first year). So, it’s not that surprising that what falls by the wayside frequently in our entrepreneurial journey, is our ability to take care of ourselves. But while it may feel counterintuitive to you (taking a pause to get ahead), if you make the effort to put yourself first now and then, it will actually pay off in many ways. You’ll feel better physically, you’ll have more energy, and you’ll be more mentally prepared to deal with the inevitable challenges. Here are 5 ways to think about bumping up your self-care.

RELAX.

Stress is a major issue. It affects our health, our mood, our relationships and more. One of the best ways to destress is to decompress. But what exactly does that mean? It’s really about time to take a breath. Find time in your schedule to take breaks to alleviate tension and recenter. Hint: if you start to feel anxious and panicky, the best thing you can do is take a break rather than working harder or faster. A break for you could be meditation, reading a book or playing with your dog. Whatever makes you feel at ease. The trick is to schedule it, don’t wait until the stress takes over.

REVIVE.

RESTORE.

Sometimes we’re so physically depleted that it feels hard to get out of bed, let alone tackle our mile-long to-do list. We need to get our mojo back, which can start with your energy There are some things you can do to restore your energy levels. Try a brisk walk, make sure you are getting enough of your vitamins (sometimes a little Vitamin D or B12 can give you a boost) or schedule time each morning for yoga. I’ve found that CBD tinctures and supplements can also enhance my energy levels. Once again, don’t wait until you’re fully depleted Proactively work these things into your routine so they become second nature.

So, now you’re restored (hopefully), let’s make sure your mood matches your physical energy. Take some time to hang with friends, grab a dinner with your significant other or feed off your kids’ energy. You should never feel guilty about having a little fun. The business is likely not going to shut down because you are taking time for yourself. And in fact, your business will perform better when you’re physically and mentally ready.

REST. #5

#4

Don’t underestimate the importance of sleep. Many of us rob our sleep schedules when we’re busy, thinking we’ll just catch up later. But our bodies don’t really work that way. Getting regular sleep (and enough of it) will make a big difference in your ability to function well. There are some great CBD supplements for sleeping if you need a little help. Routine is also helpful (going to bed around roughly the same time every night, reading a book before bed or even writing in a journal about your day).

RESET.

Finally, you should plan some larger breaks in your life to take a step back, evaluate your business, your priorities and reset. This may mean taking a 2-week vacation (or even staycation), a month sabbatical or just setting aside some dedicated days for planning. The point is that when we’re on the hamster wheel, we can sometimes lose sight of the bigger things that matter Resetting will also give you valuable long term perspective so the day-to-day won’t seem as challenging.

Hopefully, you learn to be self-aware enough to recognize when you are not at your peak and take some steps to course correct (or proactively get ahead of it). Think about all of the different facets of self-care and importantly, try to work them into your routine. You’ll find that you are worth the investment.

BOSS BABES!

The Trend Is Real

The Source Is Credible: Who Are They?

Profiles of Trail Blazing Women

Continued from July Issue

LYNN POWER

JANE MCCORMICK

WOMANIMPLEMENTINGMODERN PROCEDURESAT65-YEAR-OLDTOOL COMPANYDESPITERESISTANCE FROMSENIORINDUSTRIALSTAFF.

BY JANE MCCORMICK CEO AT ORMOND INDUSTRIAL TOOLS

Despite the challenges, it is possible for a female CEO, operating in the industrial tool sector, to work against resistance from senior staff and management, overcome decades of established low-tech habits and effectively modernize, update and add efficiencies that produce an increase in the bottom line.

Storytelling Body:

I had been working as an occasional consultant with Ormond Industrial Tools, a 65-year-old company that serves some of the largest industrial companies in the world, for over 20 years when I was asked to come in full time as the CEO The business had suffered the passing of the owner and manager, and his spouse had been trying to keep it going despite a cancer diagnosis of her own. The senior staff had been effectively running the business without control or management for nearly a decade – and had managed to keep it profitable!

This presented an interesting double-edged challenge

The staff had developed systems and processes that they believed were working well, largely based on paper and involving many inefficiencies, and did not see the need to update the methods They were losing ground slowly to competitors, had no on-line presence, and did no advertising at all relying heavily on the large steel mills for business. There was only one outside salesperson, and he was serving and maintaining our existing customers, but had no interest in expanding the customer base. In fact, if we received an email from a customer he didn’t recognize, he would very often ignore it. The business was in desperate need of modernization, and automation. On the other hand, you had to admire and recognize the skills and customer service know-how, to say nothing of the industry expertise, that was involved in keeping the firm on basically solid ground, even if there were signs that the ground was being slowly eroded away.

I encountered a great deal of resistance from the employees, who, as skilled workers who had been taking on all the responsibilities of the company, did not want or see the need for automation On one occasion I remember an inside salesperson having a triumphant ‘gotcha’ moment because after only 40 minutes of searching he had found a written note from a customer regarding a request for a quote. They were so used to doing things the old way that they had to be convinced there was even any value to looking at different methods The resistance was passive for the most part: the “smile and nod, and then go and do things the old way” type, although there was a certain amount of eye-rolling and huffing and puffing at some points. My being a woman may have exacerbated the issue on a subconscious level: in one meeting with a VP from one of our largest vendors I was called a ‘good girl’, and on another occasion was told that they were ‘talking about tensioning, so I didn’t need to listen”, but overall, I think anyone would have had challenges. In their opinion, they were doing just fine – and the customers they did serve were predominantly happy

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Conclusion:

My first realization was that I had to recognize some of the truth in what they were saying The business may not have been as strong as it once was, but they were doing their jobs and getting things done. I was working with top-notch people who knew the industry and knew their jobs. This may have made them more resistant to change, but it also meant they were a strong, knowledgeable team, and the company was in good standing. So, with the help of our office admin, who had come from a corporate background and understood workflow and automation, we had each staff member walk through their jobs, sales, repairs and rental procedures, fulfilment, shipping and so on, and used their descriptions to map out the flow as it was. Then rather than make sudden leaps, we automated those tasks in increments.

This made the procedure more exciting and gave the feeling that we were moving forward, but not making massive changes. We involved every staff member in designing the new procedures according to what they needed As well as streamlining our process for setting up orders, rentals and repairs, we moved our old mail server to Gmail, and began to take advantage of the cross-communication, group management and document storage functions.

We created a new, responsive website, just static content to begin, and added a contact form. Then we commissioned a basic leads application software which put website requests into a database and allowed them to be assigned to or claimed by a user

We trained a new employee to use and monitor that system and allowed her to respond herself to many of the leads and only pass on the items that needed more experience This meant we were following up on every lead, not just the ones our sales team recognized. We started some small advertising campaigns and hired a consultant to help us with a marketing plan. Along the way, we lost three employees, but the increases in efficiency have meant we only needed to hire one replacement

Every step has been met with some resistance, but increasingly less so as we have moved forward. Our next phase (in early September 2022) includes launching our webstore, which will be the first in our area to sell thousands of industrial tools and supplies, increasing our advertising and implementing our new marketing plan.So far, the combination of efficiencies, proper lead management and a small amount of advertising have allowed us to increase our annual sales by 40% over last year and our bottom line by over 100% over last year in the first quarter

Offer final thoughts in form of tips

I have some tips that can help people facing similar challenges keep their perspective and get through it successfully.

Recognize and celebrate the ideas and contributions of the people who are already doing the work. Allow and encourage them to be a part of the solutions and changes. Let them know they are valued and that you are there to capitalize on their skills, not to replace them.

Here will be times that you have to hold your ground, and effectively say “I appreciate your contribution, but we are going to do it my way ” I have not needed to resort to this often, but it will likely happen more than once in any significant project.

For younger women: just being a woman in an industrial setting can be challenging. I have found it best not to call out older gentlemen for minor infractions of a new way of life. Right or wrong, reacting emotionally to being called ‘my dear’ or to being somewhat dismissed in an inconsequential conversation will not help, and you may end up being taken even less seriously. If you have a persistent issue with an individual not understanding your position, speak to them candidly and privately first In my experience, that is usually all that is needed

Allow changes to be incremental to give time for adjustment and engender some excitement and movement in the culture of the company. Massive, sweeping changes can be overwhelming and promote anxiety and even further resistance. Frequent but incremental changes are less stressful, more inclusive, and can be more easily tested. An incremental approach can often get you to the results faster! (Tip 4 ½ - don’t be afraid to revise or replace a process that doesn’t work well in testing. Sometimes things that look good in a plan don’t function as well in practice).

Where possible, prioritize the simple automation of the initial tasks in existing processes. (In our case that was to have staff immediately set up a work-order for a tool repair in our new system, rather than hand-writing a tag that would need to be entered by a different staff member later. Use of a barcode font on the tag then allowed each task in the process to be linked back to the initial workorder.) The time savings will be seen immediately by all the staff who have a hand in that process, which again will promote more enthusiasm (or less resistance) to subsequent changes.

B E A T I N G

B U R N O U T

Dr. Puja Aggarwal Of Zenful Brain Coaching On The 5 Things You Should Do If You Are Experiencing Work Burnout

Work burnout is a state of physical or emotional exhaustion that also involves a sense of reduced accomplishment and loss of personal identity. Unfortunately, in today’s fast-paced world it is very common.

Our next Rule Breaker, Dr Puja Aggarwal, helps women navigate through work burnout so they can live a happy and fulfilled life

Dr. Puja Aggarwal is a Neurologist and Certified Burnout and Growth Mindset

Expert She teaches busy, high-achieving female professionals how to get rid of overwhelm, stress less, and find themselves in our chaotic, fast-paced world

1. Can you tell me a little bit more about Zenful Brain?

I started Zenful brain last year. I am a neurologist or brain doctor by training and helping high-achieving, working moms to help increase zen in their lives. I help take them from being burnt out to being more empowered and living a more fulfilled life I work on a lot of changes in the brain and cognitive reframing in terms of the way we are thinking

2. What inspired you to work in this field?

I was a practicing physician in 2015 and I have been working very hard for about 60 hours/week. I wasn’t sleeping much and had little kids that I needed to look after. Then one day in July 2016 I came home and my three-year-old daughter asked me to read a book with her. But I didn’t have any energy for that. It made me feel very guilty and horrible for giving all my time at work. That day I decided that I would make my family and myself my priority. Looking back, I now realize I was facing burnout as a physician. Coaching really helped me to change my mindset and make myself my priority. And now during the pandemic, there are many women out there who are trying to juggle everything and experiencing burnout. So now I help working moms realize that burnouts are not normal and that’s something you can overcome and take care of yourself.

3. What does the Zenful brain mean?

‘Zen’ means peace and the ‘Zenful Brain’ means making our brains full of Zen.

4. Knowing what you know now, what would you have done differently when you were first starting out?

If I could go back in time, I would make myself a priority. And definitely be better with nutrition, sleep, and exercise. I always used to say ‘yes’ to people at work, my boss and colleagues, for tasks that I didn’t want to do, and that contributed to my burnout. So I would learn to say ‘no’ to people I would also make my family a priority and spend most of my time with them.

5. What are five things you would suggest one should do if they are experiencing work burnout?

The first thing I would recommend is powerful selfreflection. Often we don’t know what we think or feel. We should take out ten minutes at the end of the day and sit down with a pen and a journal. And write about our feelings. When we do this every day and look at that journal at the end of each week, we’ll know exactly what we were feeling and thinking. It’s been shown to improve mood and decrease anxiety over time. The next thing is developing mindset readiness. Often our mindsets are resistant to taking on new challenges and trying new things If there is a certain goal in your life, write them down, pick one positive thought associated with each of those goals and say it out loud in front of the mirror every day. Over time you will start believing that thought and working towards your goal. This way you are rewiring your brain.

6. What is your favorite mantra or affirmation that keeps you going?

My favorite affirmation is that I can do it Whenever I say this to myself, it helps me to overcome stress and work towards my goal.

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