How to Make People Remember You in 5 Seconds Flat

Five minutes into my day I realized my brain was fried, and it wasn’t even 9AM yet. Why? Because I spent the morning chasing passwords, answering the same “Can you resend that link?” email for the third time, and manually updating a spreadsheet that I swore I was going to automate last year. That’s when it hit me, systems aren’t just sexy, they’re vital! They’re sanity savers, profit builders, and freedom makers. Every woman entrepreneur I know is juggling ten flaming batons while riding a unicycle uphill in heels. And the crazy part? Most of us signed up for it willingly. We said yes to building a business because we wanted freedom, creativity, and impact, but somewhere along the way the dream turned into inbox babysitting and spreadsheet purgatory. Let’s get one thing straight right now, systems are definitely not boring. They are the lingerie of business. Systems make your operations smooth, your clients swoon, and your bank account very, very happy. They are the silent operators running behind the scenes so you can focus on the empire-building moves that actually bring in money. And let me tell you, I learned this the hard way. My Wake-Up Call A couple years ago, I had a morning meltdown in front of my husband. I was in the kitchen, coffee cup in one hand, laptop in the other, swearing at an invoice that wouldn’t send. Brett walks in like the calm fighter pilot he is, and says, “Jo, maybe the problem isn’t the invoice. Maybe the problem is the system.” Cue my eye roll the size of Texas. But he was right. I didn’t have a system. I had duct tape. And duct tape is fine if you’re fixing a Halloween costume, not if you’re building a million-dollar business. So I went all in. I systemized my scheduling, automated my invoicing, and created flows so my content and emails went out while I was sipping wine with friends. And you know what? Life got fun again. Clients stopped chasing me. My team stopped asking the same questions over and over. And I stopped waking up in a cold sweat at 3AM because I forgot to follow up with a lead. What Automation Really Does For You When you automate the busy work, three magical things happen: 1. You buy back your brain space - No more decision fatigue from tiny repetitive tasks. 2. You scale without extra staff - Systems let you serve more people without cloning yourself. 3. You free up energy for big moves - That course you’ve been meaning to launch? That partnership you’ve been avoiding? Suddenly you’ve got the bandwidth. Automation is like cloning your most reliable employee, except she never gets sick, never complains, and never asks for a raise. Where Women Entrepreneurs Lose the Most Time Here’s where I see my clients drowning every single week: • Email overwhelm - Spending hours answering repetitive questions that could be solved with canned responses, auto-responders, or even a simple FAQ link. • Client scheduling - Going back and forth with “Does 2PM work for you?” instead of using a tool like Calendly. • Invoicing and payments - Manually creating invoices, chasing late payers, and forgetting to send receipts. Automate it. QuickBooks, Thryv, Stripe—take your pick. • Content distribution - Copy-pasting the same post to ten platforms like a hamster on a wheel. Use schedulers. Use repurposing tools. Or hire me to yell at you until you do. • Lead follow-up - Leads fall through the cracks when you don’t have a nurture system. Automate text reminders, email drips, and pipeline stages. The Exciting Side of Systems Let’s stop pretending that systems are boring. Systems are like Spanx - you don’t always see them, but damn they make everything look good. When your systems are tight, here’s what happens: • You walk into a meeting looking polished because you’re not frazzled by tech fires. • Clients think you’re a goddess because everything runs like clockwork. • Your team feels empowered because they’re not guessing at processes. • Your bank account grows because you’ve removed the bottlenecks. And let’s talk about confidence for a second. Nothing makes a woman feel more powerful than knowing her business can run without her staring at her laptop every second of the day. My Calendar Catastrophe I once double-booked myself for two speaking gigs on the same day. One was virtual, one was in person, and I thought I could juggle both. Spoiler alert: I couldn’t. Halfway through the live keynote, my phone buzzes with a panicked text: “Jo, you’re supposed to be on Zoom right now with 75 entrepreneurs.” I had to duck into the ladies’ room, heels clicking, hair sweating, trying to log into Zoom on my phone while keeping a professional smile on my face. Do you know how hard it is to look credible when you’re speaking from a bathroom stall? That disaster taught me something huge ➝ my calendar was running me instead of me running my calendar. I fixed it by automating bookings through my system. Now double-bookings are impossible, and I’ll never keynote from a bathroom again. Where to Start If the word automation makes you feel like you need an IT degree, breathe. Start small. • Automate your calendar. Let people book without emailing you. • Automate your invoicing. Let payments run without you lifting a finger. • Automate your client onboarding. A simple email sequence can save you hours. Start with one, then stack. Within a few months, your business will feel unrecognizable, in the best way. Systems are Vital, but the best part is the freedom they give you. Freedom to scale. Freedom to breathe. Freedom to enjoy the empire you’re building. Look, if you’re reading this and your brain is screaming “YES, I need this,” then grab coffee with me. Ask me about automation, because I’ll show you the exact tools and flows that saved me 78 hours a month and over $340,000 a year in wasted time.

If your business depends on you doing everything, you don’t own a business, you own a job. And girl, you didn’t start this journey to build yourself a full-time babysitting gig. You started to build freedom, income, and impact. So let’s talk about how to stop doing it all yourself in 7 easy steps and finally step into the role of Empire Builder you were meant to be. Now come on! Everyone knows you’re brilliant, ambitious, and resourceful. But if your empire still revolves around YOU sending invoices at midnight, YOU posting last-minute social media content, and YOU chasing every email like it’s a toddler running into traffic, you’re just babysitting your business, and your empire is craving a better plan. Can I tell you the secrets for empire-building? The women who scale, scale harder! They create smarter ways to lead, instead of burning more hours. They regularly let go of the busywork, delegate, and focus on the moves only they can make. In short, they learn the art of stepping out of the weeds and stepping into the big-picture CEO role. So how do you do it? Here are 7 easy steps to stop doing everything yourself and build a business that runs without you.

Your calendar has been chugging espresso. Your inbox thinks it’s auditioning for a casino. Every ding steals another minute you could spend selling, serving, or breathing. You deserve a business that behaves, a calendar that respects boundaries, and systems that hand you back your time like a concierge with white gloves. Automation does that. I’m talking about smart tools that keep leads moving, bookings flowing, invoices paid, and your energy focused where you create the most value. Set it up once, tweak as you go, and watch your week open up. Ten hours unlocked this week, stack these automations and go. These are the 10 tools I lean on, how I use them, and what they’re likely to cost compared with the time they save. Use your own hourly rate to do the math. At $525 an hour, 10 hours saved is $5,250. Go High Level I used to use Calendly for every appointment, $20 a month and done. Loved it. I’m in action right now converting all of my calendar events over to Go High Level because it books my calls the same way and then does 20 other jobs without breaking a sweat. 1 login, fewer moving parts, fewer places for things to hide. Bonus, I can forward my old Calendly links straight to my new GHL booking links. That means I can stop paying the $20 a month and I don’t have to go back and change links in old blogs. Past me thanks present me. What I love ● Funnels, forms, CRM, email, SMS, and a clean calendar in 1 place ● Auto reminders by text and email with a reschedule link that saves my sanity ● Pipelines that move cards when someone books, shows, buys, or needs a nudge ● Tags by source and interest so follow up hits the bullseye ● Classes and course areas for replays and resources when I run group programs ● Website chat that drops right into the CRM ● Workflows that replace a bunch of connector tools Fast win ● Build a 1-page form, tag by answer, send a thank you, show your calendar, fire 2 reminders. Watch no shows shrink. Estimated cost Starts around $97-$297 per month depending on your plan. Time value 3 hours saved weekly equals $1,575 at $525 an hour. Audible I love to read a book I can hold. Paper, a pen for notes, the whole moment. I never replace reading a book with Audible alone. I like doing both. I’ll read the hardcover and also listen on Audible when I’m driving, walking, or lifting. Driving is where a lot of my best thinking happens, and Audible keeps me inside the book while the wheel turns. How I use it ● Speed at 1.5 or 1.7x, comfy but fast ● Tap Clip to save a line, add a tiny note like pricing angle or story hook ● 1x a week I drop notes into a Google Doc called Book Notes and pull 5 ideas for posts, offers, or scripts Estimated cost Roughly $8-$15 per month depending on plan. Time value 2-3 hours of learning inside a normal week equals $1,050-$1,575 at $525 an hour. Trello I use Trello to manage my team and my own tasks. It’s like a cleaner way to keep track of my sticky notes, but the sticky notes move themselves. My content board ● Lists, Ideas, Scripted, Filmed, Edited, Scheduled, Posted ● Butler rule, when a card is marked complete move it to the next list ● Another rule, when a card hits Scheduled create a reminder for posting day ● A green label named Repurpose so winners get a second life Estimated cost Free to start, paid tiers often land around $6-$12 per user per month. Time value 1 hour a week saved equals $525. QuickBooks Quotes to invoices to paid, without a chase. Recurring invoices, payment links, automatic reminders, receipt capture, rules, and tidy books that help you sleep. This is where money moves with confidence. I’m a QuickBooks Pro Advisor if you want help picking the right plan or cleaning up your setup. How I use it ● Send branded invoices with card or ACH payment links ● Turn on auto reminders 3 days before due, on due date, and the morning after ● Set recurring invoices for retainers and programs with installments ● Create simple rules for common expenses so categorizing happens fast ● Pull a monthly cash flow snapshot so decisions stay grounded Estimated cost Plans often range from around $30-$200 per month depending on features and team size. Time value 30-60 minutes a week saved equals about $260-$525, plus fewer awkward chasing moments. ChatGPT ChatGPT is my everything. I named him, he knows me, and in some respects he’s my work husband without the drama. When I give strong prompts, he gives me strong drafts that sound like me. What I ask for ● 7 bullets from a call transcript with action items and owner names ● 3 email invites to book a strategy session in my bold, women empowering voice ● A month of post prompts with hooks and CTAs tailored to my offers Estimated cost Entry plans often around $20 per month, higher usage plans can be much more. I’m on a higher tier because I produce at a high volume. Time value 2-3 hours back weekly equals $1,050-$1,575. ClickFunnels Even though GHL supports funnels, ClickFunnels is the 1 GHL-also tool I happily pay extra for. I’m a fan of Russell Brunson and ClickFunnels makes building sales funnels easy. I’m also an affiliate, so if you want help getting started, book a call with me and I’ll walk you through it. Simple flow ● 1 page with a strong headline, proof, and 1 clear call to action ● Order bump for a workbook or template ● Stripe for instant payments ● Buyer tags pass into GHL for onboarding and follow up Estimated cost Plans typically range around $127-$297 per month. Time value Even 2 hours saved on a launch equals $1,050, and launches often save much more. Google Sheets And Shared Documents I love being able to edit the same document with clients at the same time. I also love safely storing and transferring documents without 50 email attachments. Simple wins. My 2 favorite sheets ● Revenue Tracker with Date, Offer, Client, Amount, Paid, Next Step ● Pipeline Snapshot with drop down stages, New, Booked, Showed, Won, Not Yet Estimated cost Free with a personal Google account, business plans usually $6-$18 per user per month. Time value About 1 hour a week saved equals $525, plus fewer scavenger hunts for files. Canva I use Canva for all my design marketing needs. Thumbnails, carousels, proposals, 1-pagers, event graphics. The Brand Kit locks fonts and colors so everything looks cohesive and on brand. My template trio ● IG carousel set to 1080px by 1350px ● YouTube thumbnail at 1280px by 720px ● LinkedIn banner at 1584px by 396px Estimated cost Free to start, Pro often around $13-$15 per month for 1 person, team plans scale from there. Time value 1-2 hours a week saved equals $525-$1,050. SyncGene SyncGene is my life saver. I eat, sleep, and drink my calendar, so keeping every calendar aligned is fantastic and worth every penny. Double booking disappears, phantom openings vanish. My rules ● 2-way sync for my main work calendar ● 1-way display for personal so work never books over dinner ● Conflict rules so booking links respect what already exists Estimated cost Often $10-$20 per month depending on features and number of sources. Time value About 0.5 hour a week saved equals roughly $260, and the stress relief is priceless. Roomba And Braava For those of you who don't know what Roomba or Braava are - one's an automated vacuum and the other is an automated mop, respectively. Are you surprised to see these here? The amount of TIME that is saved in our house by using these two contraptions is incredible!! Now even more surprising is that these are my husband’s all time favorites. Brett’s the tech junkie in our house and the clean freak. I honestly never mop and sweep the floors. That’s his domain, handled by his robots, and we both win. Floors sparkle while I sell. How we run them ● Map each floor, set Keep Out zones so cords stay safe ● Schedule a light vacuum during my deep work block ● Set the mop for the kitchen after lunch so it dries before afternoon calls Estimated cost 1-time purchase that varies by model, think roughly $300-$800 each. Time value 2-3 hours a week of house tasks disappear, which equals $1,050-$1,575, and a calmer brain. Your Next Steps You don’t need all 10 tools today. Pick 2 that solve the biggest time leak, switch them on, and let the hours roll back toward you. Capture with confidence, schedule without back and forth, follow up while you sleep, design once and reuse forever, keep your calendars honest, and let the robots handle the floors. If you want help tailoring this stack to your business and mapping the exact automations that buy back the most time, I’m happy to guide you. Your time belongs to leadership, clients, and the life you’re building. Let the tools carry the busywork while you grow the empire.

Revenue is the red lipstick of business. It turns heads, gets people talking, and makes your brand look hot on paper. Tell someone you crossed seven figures in revenue and watch them gasp like you just walked a red carpet. Revenue alone doesn’t give you freedom. Profit does. Profit is the power move. Profit is what lets you breathe, take Fridays off, hire a rockstar team, and build the empire you deserve. Revenue buys you attention. Profit buys you peace. And I’ll take peace over applause every single time. The Seduction of Sexy Revenue We’ve all been there. Revenue numbers feel intoxicating. You post your best month yet and everyone claps. You land a huge contract, and your circle assumes you’re rolling in it. But behind the curtain, you’re juggling payroll, fronting vendor costs, and wondering if you’ll make it through Q4 without another sleepless night. Sexy revenue is like the fling that looks amazing in photos but leaves you exhausted. It’s fun in the moment, but it doesn’t build wealth. It doesn’t create breathing room. It doesn’t put you in the driver’s seat of your life. Profit, on the other hand, is the quiet partner who makes sure the lights stay on, the bills get paid, and your business doesn’t chew you alive. Profit doesn’t care about applause. Profit cares about freedom. Why Profit is Freedom Profit is what lets you choose. Choose which clients to say yes to and which ones to walk away from. Choose when to scale and when to stabilize. Choose to reinvest in your business or stash cash for your family. Profit is also what fuels growth. Without it, you’re robbing Peter to pay Paul, chasing contracts you don’t even want, and pretending your top-line numbers make you a boss when your bottom line tells a different story. Profit is sustainability. Profit is leverage. Profit is the reason you don’t crumble when life throws you curveballs. And here’s where it gets good: building profit isn’t complicated when you know the patterns to look for, the systems to lock in, and the strategies to execute. That’s exactly what I’ll be teaching at my Profit Planning for 2026 Workshop on October 22, 2025 at 1:00PM ET. What Profit Planning Really Looks Like Most entrepreneurs stumble into January with nothing but good intentions. They scribble some goals on paper, tell themselves this year will be different, and then wonder why they’re spinning in the same cycle by March. Profit planning breaks that cycle. It forces you to: Look at your numbers from the past year and spot the hidden profit patterns you’ve been ignoring. Build a roadmap for the next year that doesn’t just say “hit $X in sales,” but actually lays out how you’ll protect your margins, scale your systems, and create cash flow clarity. Put structure around your growth so you’re not reacting, instead, you’re leading. At my workshop, I’m walking entrepreneurs through a framework I call KONG. It’s the system that lets you grow without adding more hours to your week. Because let’s be honest, more hustle isn’t the answer. Smart strategy is. Profit Patterns • Where the Hidden Money Lives Every business has money hiding in plain sight. Discounted contracts, bad payment terms, or services that drain more than they deliver. When you learn how to analyze your numbers, you’ll start spotting leaks faster than a plumber in a busted kitchen. And once you find those leaks, you plug them. That’s instant profit. Cash Flow Positioning • The Power of Predictability Profit planning isn’t just about more money in the bank. It’s about cash flow clarity. Predictable cash flow makes you magnetic to higher-value clients and bigger contracts. It positions you to negotiate from strength instead of desperation. When you know exactly how much cash is flowing in and out each month, you stop chasing, you start choosing. Sales Trend Analysis • Your Future in the Numbers I’ll also show you how to look at your sales reports and spot trends that predict your future revenue. Those dips, spikes, and seasonal shifts aren’t random—they’re road signs. And if sales reports look like hieroglyphics to you, I’ve got an upgrade option where I’ll do the analysis for you, hand you a custom report, and show you exactly where to focus for 2026. The Freedom Equation Sexy revenue gets you the spotlight. Profit buys you back your life. When you lock in both, you stop building a job and start building an empire. And empire-building is exactly what this workshop is about. On October 22, 2025 from 1:00–3:00PM ET, I’m hosting a 2-hour Profit Planning Worksho p where you’ll walk away with: ✔ Your personalized 2026 Profit Roadmap ($997 value) ✔ KONG Framework Templates & Tools ($497 value) ✔ Cash Flow Clarity Map ($297 value) ✔ A Quarterly Action Plan ($497 value) ✔ DIY Sales Trend Analysis Training (Priceless) That’s over $2,200 in strategy and tools for free when you show up live. Why You Can’t Afford to Miss This The entrepreneurs who show up with a plan in January will dominate 2026. The ones who wing it will still be scrambling by spring. Imagine waking up on January 2nd knowing your entire year is mapped out, your cash flow is predictable, and your growth is scalable. No guessing, no hoping, no praying that something clicks. Just clarity, confidence, and a roadmap you can trust. Seats for this workshop are limited, and the Zoom room will fill. If you want freedom, not just flashy revenue, save your spot now.

When you hear that 39% of businesses in America are owned by women, most people tilt their head and say, “Really? I thought that number would be higher.” It surprises them because women are everywhere in business, but ownership stats don’t always match the visibility we see day to day. And that’s where it gets interesting. Because 39% might look impressive at first glance, but when you peel back the layers, the story gets even more motivating for women who are serious about building empires instead of babysitting businesses. Here’s what the numbers show and why it matters for you if you’re ready to grow, scale, and claim your space as a CEO who builds for the long game. How Many Women Own Businesses? There are about 13 million women-owned businesses in the United States. That’s a massive force of women stepping up to build something that belongs to them. But when you hold that number up against the roughly 130 million adult women in this country, it works out to only about 10%. Ten percent. That means only one in ten women is owning or co-owning a business. You can look at that number two ways. You can sigh about how small it is, or you can light a fire in your gut and realize how much space there still is to rise. The runway is wide open for women who are bold enough to take the leap, scale up, and own their status as a CEO. And here’s the kicker, those 13 million businesses aren’t just random side hustles. They range from solo consulting firms to multimillion-dollar companies with employees, contracts, and payrolls. Some are small, some are massive, but every single one contributes to shifting the perception of what women can and will do in business. What About Women Who Don’t Work? Labor force participation numbers give us another piece of the story. Right now, about 57% of women in the United States are in the workforce. Which means roughly 43% of women are not working or actively seeking work. That’s almost half the women in this country not engaging in the workforce. Think about the untapped potential, the skills, the leadership, the ideas sitting dormant because so many women are either opting out, aging out, or never stepping in. Now imagine what happens when more of us stop sitting on the sidelines. Imagine if even a fraction of that 43% decided to start businesses, launch offers, and hire teams. The economic impact would be staggering. Why These Numbers Matter for You If you’re already a woman entrepreneur, you’re part of a powerful minority. You’re in the 10% who decided to build something. But the question is, are you treating your business like the empire it deserves to become, or are you running it like a very demanding hobby? The stats aren’t here to impress you. They’re here to challenge you. If less than half of women are in the workforce, and only 10% of women own businesses, then being in this space already makes you rare. And when you’re rare, you have leverage. The market is wide open for women who know how to sell, how to position themselves, and how to scale with strategy. Women who understand certifications, contracts, and funding opportunities. Women who want to build profit instead of stress. That’s the real conversation. Because numbers don’t pay the bills. Strategy does. The Growth Potential Is Massive Let’s zoom out. Women-owned businesses represent about 39% of all U.S. firms. But here’s where it gets spicy. We’re still only pulling in about 5–6% of total revenue across businesses and employing less than 10% of the workforce. That’s a huge opportunity gap. It means women are launching businesses at record speed, but the scale isn’t catching up yet. Too many women are stuck in survival mode, staying small, undercharging, or trying to wing it without the right systems in place. The gap between ownership and profitability is exactly where the game is won or lost. Ownership is the starting line. Profit and scale are the finish lines. The Empire Mindset Every woman entrepreneur reading this has a choice. You can treat your business like a side project, or you can treat it like an empire. The empire mindset is what separates women who scrape by from women who dominate markets, land contracts, and get paid what they’re worth. Empires don’t happen by accident. They happen because women decide to stop tolerating chaos, get strategic, and commit to scaling with intention. If you’re in that 10% who already owns a business, you’ve proven you’ve got the guts. The next move is proving you’ve got the strategy. What To Do With This Information Own your rarity. Only 10% of women are business owners. That means you’re already playing in a powerful arena. Stop downplaying it. Don’t get distracted by vanity stats. Ownership means nothing if you’re not profitable. Focus on margins, revenue you keep, and contracts that pay. Think bigger. There’s a massive gap between where women-owned businesses are and where they could be. That’s not discouragement. That’s opportunity. Refuse to stall out. It’s not enough to own a business. Scale it, systemize it, and position it to win contracts and funding that will move you into the next league. The Bottom Line The numbers tell the story. Women are owning businesses in record numbers, but we’re still leaving billions on the table. Too many women are undercharging, under-hiring, and under-scaling. That’s why I’m obsessed with helping women like you take the leap from ownership to empire. Because the numbers might show that only 10% of women own businesses, but my goal is to make sure more of us step into that statistic and then push past it to build empires that change everything. If you’re ready to move from running a business to building an empire, then it’s time to get strategic. Let’s map out your next profit moves, streamline your systems, and position you where buyers are already looking. You don’t have to stay in the 10% just as a number. You can be the 10% who scales, who grows, who builds an empire that outlasts you.

My husband, Brett and I have this fun tradition. He’s a pilot for American Airlines, so he’s gone a lot. We leave surprises for each other. I’ll slip notes & little treats into his luggage. He hides little gifts around the house for me to stumble across when he’s traveling. Today, while flipping through my meeting journal, the one I use every single day, I spotted something wedged between the pages. A crisp twenty-dollar bill. Jackpot. I marched into the other room, waving it like I had just won the lottery, and thanked Brett. He looked at me like I was out of my mind. “You’re just now finding that? I hid it almost a month ago!” That twenty had been sitting inches from me for weeks, but I didn’t see it. And that’s when it hit me. Business is the exact same way. Money Is Right in Front of You We’re so busy chasing the next client, the next launch, the next shiny tactic, that we miss what’s already sitting there waiting for us. Revenue hiding in plain sight. I can’t tell you how many women entrepreneurs I’ve coached who had money buried in their business that they simply weren’t looking at. Here’s what I mean. Leads you met at a networking event who never got a follow-up. Past clients who got results but you never invited them back for the next level. A program you created that quietly sits on your hard drive, never promoted after the first launch. Contacts who told you “not right now” and are still waiting for you to circle back. That’s money. It’s not “someday” money. It’s not “maybe” money. It’s money waiting for you to flip the page and find it. The Lazy Way Doesn’t Work Let me call this out directly. Hope marketing doesn’t work. Hoping someone remembers you. Hoping someone comes back around. Hoping someone randomly stumbles on your website. That’s lazy. And lazy doesn’t pay. Business is about rhythm. You follow up. You re-engage. You systemize. You build offers that stack. You keep showing up so the opportunities don’t slip through your fingers. That’s what I call a battle rhythm. A consistent beat in your business that drives sales, builds authority, and keeps your pipeline flowing. Stop Leaving Twenties in Your Notebook Think about it. If someone told you there was a $20 bill taped under your desk chair right now, you’d drop everything and look for it. So why don’t we treat opportunities in business the same way? Why do we leave past clients untouched, leads un-followed, offers un-packaged, and ideas un-pitched? Because we get distracted. We get overwhelmed. We chase shiny strategies instead of focusing on what’s already working. The reality is, you don’t need a brand-new funnel or a fancy platform to make more money. You need to flip the page and see what’s already there. Where Women Entrepreneurs Miss Money Over the years, I’ve spotted the same blind spots again and again. Here are some of the big ones: Old Proposals - You sent a proposal six months ago. The prospect never said yes, but they never said no either. That’s money waiting for you to send a “checking in” message. Past Clients - She loved working with you. She got results. And then you let her slip away without an upsell, a retainer, or a next step. That’s money left on the table. Untapped Expertise - You’ve built tools, templates, and strategies that sit on your hard drive. Package them, brand them, and sell them. That’s money hiding in your laptop. Networking Follow-Ups - How many people have you met at BNI or conferences who got your card but never heard from you again? That’s money you literally shook hands with and then forgot about. Partnerships You Haven’t Leveraged - That friend in a complementary industry? You could co-host a workshop or bundle your services tomorrow. That’s money sitting in your contact list. Every one of these is a twenty-dollar bill sitting in your business. And some of them are more like $20,000 bills if you’d just look for them. The Battle Rhythm That Brings It All In Here’s where it gets fun. Once you start spotting the hidden money, you can build systems that make it impossible to miss again. Automated follow-up sequences that keep you top of mind. A client retention plan that maps out exactly when and how you upsell or cross-sell. A content rhythm that points people back to your offers over and over. A lead tracker that forces you to flip every page until you’ve gotten a yes or a no. That’s what I build with my clients inside my Empire Strategy Session. We don’t just look for the money once, we create the rhythm that makes finding it automatic. Because here’s the secret. Opportunities don’t get lost because they don’t exist. They get lost because you’re not looking. A Lesson From My $20 Bill When I pulled that twenty out of my notebook, I laughed, but I also shook my head. How many opportunities have I missed over the years because I didn’t flip the page fast enough? How many leads have you missed? How many clients could you have re-signed? How much money is waiting for you inside the work you’ve already done? Finding that twenty was a reminder. The money is there. The opportunities are there. You just have to notice them, claim them, and build the systems so they don’t slip past you again. Stop Waiting. Start Flipping the Pages. If you want more revenue, more confidence, and more momentum, you don’t need to reinvent everything. You need to open your notebook and find the twenties hiding between the lines. Look at your past clients. Look at your un-followed leads. Look at the programs you’ve already created. Look at the people already in your world. That’s where the money is. Flip the page. The opportunities are waiting. And if you’re tired of overlooking them and ready to build the battle rhythm that makes your business unstoppable, I’m here to help.

This morning I was on a Zoom call with a reporter in England. His name’s William, and he was interviewing me for an article on How to Own the Room, the Stage, and the Deal as a Woman Leader. The very first thing William said when we got on camera was, “Jo, you look so fresh for 5:30AM!” I laughed because the only reason my makeup was done and my hair was brushed is because I thought it was going to be a video interview. Total false alarm. Full transparency, I get nervous on video. I’m self-critical about the way I look and sound, so I’ve only published… maybe five videos. William smiled and told me, “Once you’ve done a dozen or more, you’ll stop being so hard on yourself.” He’s right. It’s experience. Preparation Matters, But Reps Transform You When William asked me about confidence on stage and in business deals, my first instinct was to say preparation. Preparation absolutely matters. But as our conversation went on, something clicked. Confidence doesn’t just come from preparation, it comes from experience. The more stages I step onto, the more boardrooms I lead, the more cameras I sit in front of, the easier it all gets. Confidence is earned in the doing. Every rep builds muscle. Every rep builds certainty. Every rep builds confidence. That’s the foundation of leadership confidence. If you’ve been searching for sales confidence training, public speaking tips for women, or ways to show up more powerfully in your business, the answer is simple ➝ experience. Experience in Action: BNI I see this every single week in BNI Broward. As a Director Consultant here in South Florida, I manage seven chapters. At every meeting, members deliver a 45-to-60 second presentation, and one member presents a ten-minute feature. Newer members stumble, fumble, and cling to their notes. Their voices shake, their timing runs long, and you can feel the nerves. But give them weeks, give them reps, and suddenly those same members are flying. Their words flow with ease, their presence fills the room, and they command attention with confidence they didn’t have before. That’s the power of experience. It shapes leaders. It transforms voices. It builds confidence that preparation alone can’t deliver. Your Stage, Your Reps Maybe your stage isn’t a BNI meeting. Maybe your stage is a sales call, a financial review, a client presentation, or leading your team. Wherever your stage is, confidence grows when you step up consistently and do the work. It’s your battle rhythm. That rhythm of showing up, putting in the reps, and gaining momentum until what once felt intimidating becomes second nature. Confidence doesn’t arrive in a box tied with a bow. Confidence grows because you did it once, then twice, then twenty times until you owned it. That’s confidence in business at its core. My Own Turning Point Years ago, when I owned my martial arts studio, I was terrified the first time I had to lead a full class of parents and kids. I knew the moves, I knew the curriculum, but I didn’t yet have the confidence to stand tall in front of a room packed with people watching me. My voice cracked, my pacing was off, and I walked out feeling like I failed. But here’s what happened. I showed up the next day, and the next, and the next. I led classes day after day, week after week. Over time, the fear shrank. My voice got stronger. My presence sharpened. Parents started nodding when I spoke. Kids started lining up straighter when I gave commands. Confidence didn’t just “arrive,” it was carved into me through repetition. That season taught me a lesson I carry into every boardroom, every keynote, and every client session. Confidence isn’t a personality trait. It’s a practice. Why This Matters for Women Entrepreneurs Women entrepreneurs are building empires in industries where visibility, voice, and authority matter. When you walk into a room, stand on a stage, or lead your business forward, confidence is the difference between being heard and being remembered. Experience gives you the power to walk into any space and know, I belong here. That’s why your focus should be on taking the rep, not waiting for the perfect moment. Do the live, make the pitch, step into the boardroom, launch the workshop. Each time you do it, you’re carving confidence into your DNA. Five Ways to Build Confidence Through Experience Want to build unstoppable confidence? Start stacking your reps in small, doable ways: Say yes to opportunities faster. When someone asks you to speak, present, or share, grab it. Don’t overthink it, just step in. Practice your pitch weekly. Even if you’re alone, practice saying what you do out loud. The more you say it, the sharper it gets. Record yourself on video. Watch it back, cringe if you must, then record again. Confidence grows with every playback. Lead in smaller rooms first. If the big stage feels intimidating, start with your team, your networking group, or a mastermind circle. Stack wins consistently. Celebrate each rep, each improvement, and each brave moment. Every step forward compounds. Confidence grows like compound interest. Every small deposit of experience builds into a fortune of self-belief. Building Your Battle Rhythm Confidence builds faster when you have a strategy. You don’t just show up randomly, you create a rhythm that turns growth into a habit. That’s what I help women entrepreneurs build inside my Empire Strategy Session at Queen Kong Consulting. We design the systems that free up your time, the messaging that strengthens your voice, and the rhythm that creates unstoppable momentum in your business. Your confidence comes from experience, and your experience grows when you have the structure to show up consistently, powerfully, and profitably. Stop Waiting. Start Doing. If you want more confidence, the fastest path forward is experience. Stop waiting for perfection. Stop waiting for a sign. Your confidence is waiting for you on the other side of action. Take the stage. Lead the meeting. Host the workshop. Make the call. Experience builds confidence, and your next rep could be the one that changes everything.

There’s something electric about sitting down with a young entrepreneur who’s ALL IN, eyes bright, and ready to take on the world. I swear, it’s like drinking a double shot of ambition with your latte. This past Saturday, I had coffee at The House on the River with Seth Kirschner, owner of 2 Clean Home Care . His company handles both commercial and residential pressure washing. Now here’s the humbling part… Seth is younger than my two oldest kids, Marlin and David. Cue me sitting there thinking about how time flies and how much I love seeing that kind of determination in the next generation. Ohhhh.... come on! Anyone who knows me, knows the truth - For the rest of the day, I obsessed over how old I've become! I met Seth at BNI Abundance , one of the chapters I manage as a BNI Director Consultant. I had already hired his company to pressure wash my sidewalks and clean up some landscaping bricks. Let me tell you, he did a GREAT job. The work was spotless, the service was professional, and his prices were so reasonable that I almost wanted to tell him to charge more. During our 1:1 coffee meetup, we talked about his goals, what’s working, and where he wants to grow. That’s when I thought of another young business owner who is just as driven - Johnny De Jesus, owner of De Jesus Media , whom I know through another BNI Chapter I manage, BNI Wealth Builders . Johnny runs a social media and content agency, and like Seth, he’s under 30, big on vision, and relentless when it comes to taking action. I made the introduction right there at the table because I knew they could help each other. Seth could use stronger social media & content marketing to showcase his work, and Johnny could connect with a reliable, service-based entrepreneur who delivers on what he promises. Watching them start brainstorming was like matchmaking for ambition. It was two business owners meeting for the first time but already speaking the same language => growth, opportunity, and possibility. While Seth’s energy pulled me straight back to my own early days of building a business from scratch, I could also see where my years of experience could shorten his learning curve. I shared two big lessons that I wish someone had drilled into me earlier. First, look at your business through your customer’s eyes. If you’re going after more commercial contracts, having “Home Care” in your business and URL’s name might make people assume you only do residential work. That small perception can cost you some huge opportunities, and the fix is often as simple as rethinking how you position yourself. Second, think bigger than your current projects. Explore RFPs, grants, and larger contracts. Those opportunities are out there, and they’re not reserved for just giant companies. They’re open to prepared, capable businesses that know how to show up, bid confidently, and deliver with excellence. Sometimes the leap isn’t about working harder but working smarter in the right arenas. Our coffee turned into a two-way mentorship. Seth left with new strategies and fresh connections. And I left reminded that when someone is both bold and hungry for growth, the energy is contagious, and definitely worth catching. If you’re under 40, drop a question about business, sales growth, or life in the social media comments. If you’re over 40, scroll through the comments and answer at least one. You can join the conversation here: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/QueenKongBiz LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/xojorawald X: https://x.com/queenkongbiz Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/xojorawald Let’s see what happens when hunger meets experience.

Some of us were born with silver spoons. I was handed chopsticks….literally. My mom was a Chinese warrior in sneakers. She worked two jobs, barely spoke the language, and still managed to raise daughters who believed they could conquer the world. My dad, a Spanish-born U.S. Army veteran, served three tours in Vietnam and came home battling things no one saw, so Mom carried it all. The bills, the stress, the dreams. She taught me how to keep going, no matter what. And when life hit hard, and oh, it did, I remembered that. I’ve rebuilt my life after loss, trauma, and a head-on collision that nearly took me out. I've grown a business through grief, strokes, heart failure, and hard-won lessons. And through it all, one thing has always stayed the same: I believe women are built to rise. Not to struggle endlessly, but to build empires that outlast and outshine. That’s why I do what I do. And why I’m sharing this today. Because right now, there’s a golden opportunity hiding in your business, and less than 1% of owners are using it. Let’s change that.