Podcast appearances and mentions of lena west

Let's Celebrate, Change Maker!   We're 50 Episodes in and you're growing, connecting and thriving! For this special episode, we're bringing three separate conversations centering collaboration. Grab your notebook, pull up a chair, you're in for a good one! Your vision is clear, your momentum is strong, and the impact you're creating is undeniable. But even the most powerful leaders know—growth at the highest level doesn't happen alone. Collaboration isn't just about working together. It's about aligning with the right people, in the right rooms, at the right time—where influence is built, strategies are executed, and expansion is inevitable. In this 50th episode of Impact Innovators, we're bringing you three powerhouses who have mastered high-level collaboration, scaled their influence, and led through transformation: Lucinda Cross – Leading movements, elevating visibility, and making bold leadership moves. Dr. Rhonda Simmons – Navigating leadership, balance, and the courage to set boundaries that create success. Lena West – Commanding the room, shifting power dynamics, and making sure strategy turns into results. This conversation is about what it really takes to build with the right people—and how these leaders have done just that. Next Steps:  Connect with Lucinda Cross - www.lucindacross.com  Connect with Dr. Rhonda Simmons - www.tsefi.org  Connect with Lena West - https://ceorising.co   Join Momentum Lab: https://lab.feliciafordandco.com Get Strategic Edge: https://media.feliciafordandco.com  Celebrate National Black Girl Month: www.nationalblackgirlmonth.com    #Connection #Community #Collaboration #BlackWomen #PowerMoves #50

Julie and Casey sit down with Lena West (a unicorn in the business coach space) to talk what it means to stand in your value. Along the way we rehash the Girl Boss era, dig into integrity and being of service, and hear about finding a medical team that actually works for you.    TOP TAKEAWAYS: The Girl Boss movement and the “create more places for women in leadership” movement aren't the same thing. Girl Boss was about branding and youth and hustle, but not much beyond that. It was a formula more than a movement. When you give someone a formula (in business or, in voice work) you take their individuality out of the equation. Predatory business practices like false scarcity are both ridiculous (you sold out of virtual seats? really?) and damaging. Start doing the work to get people to trust you so that they want to voluntarily, not from a manipulation standpoint, but voluntarily do business with you and give you their money from a wholehearted place instead of FOMO. Maybe it's less about charging “what you're worth” and more about charging for the impact or transformation you are contributing to your clients. You'll know what makes you feel compensated AFTER you do it for too little money. Transformational pricing is less about the YES than it is about reminding folks that YOUR TIME and YOUR ENERGY are not free. LESSON: Don't try to Miss Cleo your audience — on not trying to predict how your audience will respond.   Lena L. West's razor-sharp business acumen is the well-hewn result of more than a decade of hands-on experience in digital transformation and strategic business growth. As an award-winning serial entrepreneur, writer, keynote speaker, inclusive business growth strategist, independent filmmaker, and grant maker, this truth-telling business advisor is often referred to as an “entrepreneur's secret advantage”. She shows experienced, self-funded, service-based founders and entrepreneurs how to learn, love and leverage their inner CEO and build a business that loves them back. Lena is the Founder of CEO Rising®, a virtual business accelerator dedicated to transforming principled solopreneurs into CEOs by providing them with the three growth tools they need most: coaching, community, and cash...so they can build ethical, profitable, and sustainable businesses. CEO Rising® was intentionally founded to disrupt the landscape of business coaching by providing affordable access to business coaching -- all without resorting to the prevalent, yet commonly accepted, predatory practices of false scarcity, false urgency, and marketing manipulation. Lena is also the visionary creator of CEO DNA®, a personalized inventory that uncovers a founder's specific CEO leadership archetypes and style. She has written for American Express, Fast Company and Entrepreneur and has spoken for notable organizations such as American Express, Wharton School of Business, SCORE, National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI) and Syracuse University. She sits on the Advisory Board of The Feminist Coaching Academy and is an Alum Ambassador of The Op Ed Project. An honorary highlight of her career was speaking about diversity, equity, and inclusion in digital media on Capitol Hill and at the United Nations. Lena's internationally acknowledged expertise has led to winning several business awards, among them: The Hall of Femme, BuzzFeed's Most Influential Influencers, The Women's Congress' Entrepreneurial Champion for Women in Business and NCWIT's Entrepreneurial Hero. Her life's work is to prove once and for all that service-based businesses can indeed scale. Her mission is to expand what's possible for self-funded founders of service-based businesses by pairing reinvented coaching, community, and funding models with increased digital media representation. http://CEORising.co https://LenaWest.com  

To connect with Lena, head to www.CEORising.co…Transcendent Business HubBook a "should" audit

Cam interviews Lena West, a Business Coach and Strategist and also one of the Advisory Board for the FCA. Lena is also the Founder and CEO of CEO Rising, an online business accelerator and digital media platform for women identified entrepreneurs. It connects entrepreneurs with the three things they need to grow a sustainable, scaleable and ethical business: coaching, community and cash.Lena shares what Feminism means to her and what drew Lena to the Feminist Coach Academy. Cam and Lena discuss why the big brands really should be investing in the FCA training and what Lena teaches about breaking free of Bro Culture in business. Even though we’ve gotten used to these oppressive strategies and tactics in business, we can unlearn them and we can let the brands know when their techniques and tactics are not ok.Lena explains why the sense of urgency is so problematic and Cam shares an example of how together with Nai they are working on unlearning this in the FCA.Plus they discuss learning ethical marketing practices, why Lena restructured her entire business model, the power of modelling what we want to see mirrored in the world and the relationship between boundaries and generosity.Lena also shares a bit about CEO Rising and her experiences being both a student and on the advisory board for FCA. Find out more at https://www.ceorising.coDo you want to learn how to integrate an inclusive feminist praxis into your work, business, yourself and your everyday life and get Certified in Feminist Coach Theory? Then we invite you to join our Certification Training. We are now accepting enrolments for our March 2021 intake. If this feels right to you then we would love to have you and see in you in our community. Go to feministcoachacademycourses.comRemember, you can also support our work via Patreon. When you become a Patron you are supporting our vision for creating a new standard for all helping professionals and entrepreneurs, and making it more inclusive and feminist, which is what we so badly need. Your support contributes to business expenses and paying our faculty and advisory board members and to hopefully start having employees in the near future and hiring other people full time to come and work for us and grow our academy even more. Go to Patreon.com/FeministCoachAcademyThe Feminist Coach Academy podcast is proudly supported by Perk Digital, helping professional and entrepreneurial women amplify their message, build their body of work and leave a legacy through podcasts. For more information about how podcasts can help you build your brand, visit https://perkdigital.com.au

Money, money, money! It's uncomfortable and necessary to talk about. This week, I'm bringing back a conversation with my former business coach Lena West to dive straight into the most-uncomfortable parts of the money conversation, including: why we show up the way we do around money, what's beyond the "charge what you're worth" mantra, how to deal with money discomfort (and why it probably won't go away!), why striving to just be nice is bullshit, what happens when the people in your life aren't supportive of your endeavors, how to know what to charge, and SO MUCH MORE!  Lena is all heart and no bullshit and will shake up your beliefs around money in the best way! Enjoy, enjoy!  What She Said: "The amount of money is not the point. It's about what is non-negotiable for you and standing in that."  "Getting to 5, 6, 7-figures in your business isn't a walk in the park." "The money has to have a meaning; otherwise it's just some arbitrary nonsense." "Don't share dreams with people who don't have any... share your dreams with dreamers and doers."   Those Timestamps: 03:49 - Women & Money: Valuing ourselves and money discomfort 13:28 - Why you need to charge and not give it for FREE  20:34 - How to price your worth 26:12 - Practical tips to deal with money discomfort 31:25 - About that 7-figure 'promise land' Show Notes: Connect with Lena: Site | Instagram Becoming by Michelle Obama

Money, money, money! It's uncomfortable and necessary to talk about. This week, I'm bringing back a conversation with my former business coach Lena West to dive straight into the most-uncomfortable parts of the money conversation, including: why we show up the way we do around money, what's beyond the "charge what you're worth" mantra, how to deal with money discomfort (and why it probably won't go away!), why striving to just be nice is bullshit, what happens when the people in your life aren't supportive of your endeavors, how to know what to charge, and SO MUCH MORE!  Lena is all heart and no bullshit and will shake up your beliefs around money in the best way! Enjoy, enjoy!  What She Said: "The amount of money is not the point. It's about what is non-negotiable for you and standing in that."  "Getting to 5, 6, 7-figures in your business isn't a walk in the park." "The money has to have a meaning; otherwise it's just some arbitrary nonsense." "Don't share dreams with people who don't have any... share your dreams with dreamers and doers."   Those Timestamps: 03:49 - Women & Money: Valuing ourselves and money discomfort 13:28 - Why you need to charge and not give it for FREE  20:34 - How to price your worth 26:12 - Practical tips to deal with money discomfort 31:25 - About that 7-figure 'promise land' Show Notes: Connect with Lena: Site | Instagram Becoming by Michelle Obama

In Episode #030 of CrisisCast 2020 | Abigail Rose Clarke I connected with health behavior expert Abigail Rose Clarke through Lena West (episode 17) and I immediately knew she would give a unique perspective from her home in Mexico. It’s normal that I’d ask guests to close windows for sound quality reasons… but in this case, I wasn’t able to because Abigail has no windows where she lives! So all the pleasant animal sounds in this show are real and of course, none were harmed in the making of this podcast. Our conversation covers COVID-19, global protests, history, pleasure, and her work as helping people have better relationships with their bodies through her ‘Embodied Life Method’. “A revolution must be an evolution” - Grace Lee Boggs My Guest: Abigail Rose Clarke is a somatic educator focusing on strategic, tangible, embodied methods to create lasting change in our personal and communal lives, rippling out from individual to systemic change. By helping people truly inhabit their own skin and blood and guts and bones she offers a way to re-enter into a true relationship with the world.   Abigail holds a degree in Health Behavior from Smith College and focused her undergraduate work on the use of mind-body modalities in the treatment of anxiety disorders as classified by the DSM-V. Her work focuses on the class and race access barriers to wellness, and the ways wellness and the wellness industry are inherently political, even as the body transcends politics. In 2014 Abigail began developing The Embodied Life Method™. In courses and workshops throughout the United States and online, Abigail teaches embodiment as a practice and a responsibility. As the world shakes and burns and floods we are tasked with remaining present to the world as it is, which requires we remain present to ourselves as we are. Only when we are willing to be present with the world and ourselves and one another does the way forward become possible. There isn’t a single binary in your body. Nature knows no hierarchy. When we remember that we have more in common with the stones and trees and mossy woods than we do with steel buildings and supremacies of any kind, we live into the future. This is The Embodied Life Method™   Discover… How COVID has impacted life in Mexico • Why we should put healing at the focus of how we’re living now • Thoughts on post-COVID education • What ‘The Embodied Life Method’ is • How governments are changing • Why relationships with the world start inside Connect with Abigail Abigail Rose Clarke.com Abigail Rose Clarke on Facebook Abigail on Instagram Feeling Pod-Curious? Maybe it’s time to start your own Podcast? Discover the 7 steps we use to help publish over 2000 podcasts each month! Pod-Star is a free guide that will help you to get clear on how podcasting can help you, even if you… Aren’t a ‘No. 1 best selling author' You Don’t much like the sound of your own voice You Find the idea of the tech and recording process daunting Get Pod-Star Now  

Join the waitlist for Dream Biz Training CampFollow Lauren on InstagramCheck out Lauren’s websiteFollow me on InstagramResources we mention in this episode:Lena West on Raise Your Hand Say Yes w/ Tiffany HanGet Rich Lucky BitchOvercoming UnderearningYou Are a Badass at Making MoneyUntamed

In Episode #017 of CrisisCast 2020 | Lena West Today on CrisisCast2020… Lena West has been working in the online space for longer than most, but she’s not had the need for her own website for at least 7 years (though that’s about to change). She’s the perfect antidote to pressurized ‘bro marketing’. In this conversation, we talk about her fortuitous repositioning, the importance of self-care, social justice, disability, music, and what business you’re really in. My Guest: Lena West’s razor-sharp business acumen is the well-hewn result of more than a decade of hands-on experience as an award-winning serial entrepreneur, writer, keynote speaker, business strategist, founder, and grantmaker. This truth-telling business advisor, who is often referred to as an “entrepreneur’s secret weapon”, shows womxn entrepreneurs how to discover their inner CEO and build a business that loves them back. Lena is the Founder of CEO Rising®, an online business accelerator and digital media platform that provides ambitious womxn entrepreneurs with the three growth tools they need most: coaching, community, and cash. She is also the visionary behind CEO DNA®, a personalized inventory that uncovers an individual’s specific CEO leadership archetypes and style. Lena’s life and work are driven by what she calls, “the three I’s”: Introspection, Influence, and Independence – skills and values she consistently brings to bear on everything she undertakes. She has written for American Express, Fast Company, and Entrepreneur and has spoken for notable organizations such as American Express, Wharton School of Business, SCORE, National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI), and Syracuse University. An honorary highlight of her career was speaking about womxn’s rights and opportunities in digital media on Capitol Hill and at the United Nations. Lena’s internationally acknowledged expertise has led to winning several business awards, among them: BuzzFeed’s Most Influential Influencers, The Women’s Congress’ Entrepreneurial Champion for Women in Business, and NCWIT’s Entrepreneurial Hero. Her life’s work is to advance the online business landscape for womxn entrepreneurs by pairing reinvented coaching, community, and funding models with increased digital media representation. Also mentioned: Andrea Bocelli: Music For Hope - Live From Duomo di Milano Discover… How Lena is giving more support to those who need her Why hustle and grind is tired Why you must pay attention to yourself Connect with Lena CEO Rising Connect with Lena on LinkedIn Feeling Pod-Curious? 
Maybe it’s time to start your own Podcast? Discover the 7 steps we use to help publish over 2000 podcasts each month!
 'Pod-Star' is a free guide that will help you to get clear on how podcasting can help you, even if you… Aren’t a ‘No. 1 best selling author'
 You Don’t much like the sound of your own voice
 You Find the idea of the tech and recording process daunting
 Get Pod-Star Now

In this raw, unedited, unproduced and unscripted episode of the Feminist Coach Academy podcast, our co-founder Cameron Airen discusses showing up during COVID-19 in your feminist business and life. We will soon be releasing a free resource to assist you with this further. Sign up to our newsletter list at https://www.feministcoachacademy.com/ to ensure you get a copy when it is available. We also currently have a reduced rate on our Feminist Coach Track pilot training. Join us today and get bonus access to our 2 hour office hours call with Advisory Board member Lena West on feminist business and COVID-19 as well: https://www.feministcoachacademy.com/pilot/

Every now and again on the podcast, Mandy, Nic and Naomi want to feature one of the guest mentors from the Gentle Business Mastermind. Throughout the year-long program there are a number of interviews with a variety of experts while mastermind members are on the line, then these calls are stored in the members portal to listen back to the mentor’s wisdom and experience.In this episode, we hear from Naomi’s personal business coach and strategist, Lena West. She has made such an impact on Nai’s life and business that it felt selfish to not share that brilliance with mastermind members. Masterminders loved the first mentor call with Lena so much that we brought her back again in the second year of the mastermind upon popular demand.This episode is an excerpt from the 2019 mentor call with Lena West, a Business Coach for Entrepreneurs who want to do things differently. Lena shares with us some of the ways the online business world can be misleading, unhelpful and even dangerous to those starting out in business, and what to do instead.We discuss why the world needs the introverts, HSPs and empath to be showing up as ourselves in the online world, and the power of doing this collectively (not just individually).Lena also explains how we can look at changing business models so as not to uphold old, patriarchal, hierarchical ways of doing things and why we should be reimagining what CEO means. We discuss doing so while striving for courage over fear-less-ness, and how as CEOs we need to protect our confidence and surround ourselves with people we trust.We hope you found this segment of the interview with Lena as useful and inspiring as we did. If you would like to connect with Lena you can find her work at LenaWest.comIf this conversation stirred up a desire in you to explore what doing business gently might mean to you, you can get direct support, guidance and tools in the Gentle Business Mastermind. It’s an experience that support new entrepreneurs and existing business owners to grow their businesses gently, sustainably and consciously. Along the way you’ll meet an incredible community of guest mentors and other gentle business masterminds from around the globe who you can get support from and offers support in return, while you explore growing your own business in alignment with your heart, vision, values and energy.Registration for the gentle business mastermind is open in Feb-March 2020. You can find out more about it at gentlebusinessmastermind.com where you can also download the free ‘Grow your Business the Gentle Way’ ebook. It’s full of inspiring tips and prompts to help you do business gently in your own way.Thanks for being here, it’s been great sharing this adventure with you. Choose your own adventure in the business world and let’s ditch the hustle together.

Today the incomparable Lena West joins me on the Ready Enough podcast. Lena is a unique blend of coach, techie, marketing whiz, cheerleader, and intuitive guide. She helps women-identified entrepreneurs get real about business growth and what it truly means to show up for yourself and your business. Over the years, I’ve come to count on her honesty, directness, brilliance, depth, hilarity, power, and profound generosity. Lena has done my Imposter Complex work, and in this conversation, we talk about worthiness and mistrust of ease. I’ve witnessed Lena’s ability to SEE a business model bigger than people can see for themselves and we talk about why folx are afraid of that vision. This is part of Lena’s gift in helping folx reclaiming the title of CEO and what that means for them. We also talk about the pain of not feeling yourself surrounded by the right people and Lena shares a fabulous analogy of diminishment being a booty call. And the Imposter Complex being smoked gouda that will forever make me laugh. Find full show notes for this episode here.   More from Lena West: LenaWest.com @lena_west on Instagram   More from Tanya Geisler: tanyageisler.com @tanyageisler on Instagram Take my quiz to learn what Imposter Complex behavior is standing in the way of your unshakable confidence Sign up for my email list  

Let's talk money honey! (And also: yes! It's uncomfortable! But let's talk about it anyway!) This week, I'm joined by business coach Lena West to dive straight into the most-uncomfortable parts of the money conversation, including: why we show up the way we do around money, what's beyond the "charge what you're worth" mantra, how to deal with money discomfort (and why it probably won't go away!), why striving to just be nice is bullshit, what happens when the people in your life aren't supportive of your endeavors, how to know what to charge, and SO MUCH MORE! Really. Lena is all heart and no bullshit and will shake up your beliefs around money in the best way! Enjoy, enjoy! Show Notes: Connect with Tiffany on Insta Get Tiffany's newsletter and stay in the know  Connect with Lena:Site | Instagram Becoming by Michelle Obama

Let's talk money honey! (And also: yes! It's uncomfortable! But let's talk about it anyway!) This week, I'm joined by business coach Lena West to dive straight into the most-uncomfortable parts of the money conversation, including: why we show up the way we do around money, what's beyond the "charge what you're worth" mantra, how to deal with money discomfort (and why it probably won't go away!), why striving to just be nice is bullshit, what happens when the people in your life aren't supportive of your endeavors, how to know what to charge, and SO MUCH MORE! Really. Lena is all heart and no bullshit and will shake up your beliefs around money in the best way! Enjoy, enjoy! Show Notes: Connect with Tiffany on Insta Get Tiffany's newsletter and stay in the know  Connect with Lena:Site | Instagram Becoming by Michelle Obama

So, you've launched a business and it’s your baby. But how do you make the jump from humble business owner to goal-rocking CEO – and is this even possible for everybody? According to Lena West, a formidable business coach for high-performing female entrepreneurs, it’s basically in your DNA – it’s simply up to you to decide what brand of CEO you want to be. Lena blew my mind in this episode by sharing her insights on ALL things business, from how to set your pricing, to failure vs. feedback, and what the last 90 days can tell you about where your business is at. For show notes, links and resources from this episode, come hang in our virtual lounge room at: https://www.sarahjensen.com.au/your-ceo-dna-with-lena-west/

In this episode, Naomi re-shares a short segment of a previous interview with her business coach Lena West. Before listening to the episode you might like to visit https://www.archetypes.com/ to determine your primary archetypes. Lena will explain what her CEO DNA process is - and how knowing your CEO DNA can inform your life, work and attempts to dream for others. Access show notes, links and resources via www.naomiarnold.com/ep19-CEO-DNA-Lena-West.

An award-winning coach for women entrepreneurs, Lena West is the leading expert on how to successfully and sanely grow a business on your own terms.

Let's talk about what it means to step into leadership and own your power with our guest today, Lena West. Lena knows what it means to lead and to be a powerhouse in your field. She shows women entrepreneurs how to discover their inner CEO and leverage that knowledge to build a business that loves them back. I kind of love that. Yay. On the show today. we are talking about leadership and owning your power. I've noticed a disturbing trend that too many business owners and speakers are abdicating their leadership role in their industry in favor for the four hour work week, or in pursuit of their next seven, eight, nine-figure launch. If you're a business owner, you are a leader. If you're a speaker, you are a leader. Let's talk about it.

Lena West shows women entrepreneurs how to discover their inner CEO and leverage that knowledge to build a business that loves them back. In this episode we discuss how this knowledge can also be used to dream for others and create social change.

In this episode of the Teacher Wellbeing podcast, I had a fascinating conversation with business growth coach Lena West about personal leadership and being the CEO of your own life. We talk about what it means to be the CEO of your life, and how you can use the CEO mindset to help support your health and wellbeing. Lena explains why sometimes we need to reevaluate our levels of self-care and shift out of maintenance mode if there is a qualifying event in our life that means we require more. We also cover boundaries, making life changes and new habits incrementally, and why resilience and reframing are so important. Lena also shares a story of a turning point in her life and how a teacher made a big impact on her, which I found a beautiful reminder of the power we all have to impact the people around us. You can connect with Lena via Facebook or email lena@lenawest.com “If your needs aren't taken care of you don't have the reserves to even consider someone else's needs because you're in a deficit.” ~ Lena WestAt the start of this episode I also make a few announcements and reminders, including about the second in the free webinar series I'm running called 'Preventing Burnout: Managing Stress'. It will be on May 8th 2018 at 6pm AEST and you can sign up at www.selfcareforteachers.com.au/webinarFor full show notes, see www.selfcareforteachers.com.au/podcastThis episode is brought to you by Daniela Falecki's Teacher Wellbeing Cards. These 52 card give you simple daily reminders to help better support your wellbeing. You can use them in staff meetings to build positive conversations, or have them in your desk as little pieces of advice to help you through the day. Find these cards and Daniela's other resources at www.teacher-wellbeing.com.au/shop/teacher-wellbeing-cards ​​

In this episode of the Teacher Wellbeing podcast, I had a fascinating conversation with business growth coach Lena West about personal leadership and being the CEO of your own life. We talk about what it means to be the CEO of your life, and how you can use the CEO mindset to help support your health and wellbeing. Lena explains why sometimes we need to reevaluate our levels of self-care and shift out of maintenance mode if there is a qualifying event in our life that means we require more. We also cover boundaries, making life changes and new habits incrementally, and why resilience and reframing are so important. Lena also shares a story of a turning point in her life and how a teacher made a big impact on her, which I found a beautiful reminder of the power we all have to impact the people around us. You can connect with Lena via Facebook or email lena@lenawest.com “If your needs aren’t taken care of you don’t have the reserves to even consider someone else’s needs because you’re in a deficit.” ~ Lena WestAt the start of this episode I also make a few announcements and reminders, including about the second in the free webinar series I'm running called 'Preventing Burnout: Managing Stress'. It will be on May 8th 2018 at 6pm AEST and you can sign up at www.selfcareforteachers.com.au/webinarFor full show notes, see www.selfcareforteachers.com.au/podcastThis episode is brought to you by Daniela Falecki's Teacher Wellbeing Cards. These 52 card give you simple daily reminders to help better support your wellbeing. You can use them in staff meetings to build positive conversations, or have them in your desk as little pieces of advice to help you through the day. Find these cards and Daniela's other resources at www.teacher-wellbeing.com.au/shop/teacher-wellbeing-cards ​​

On this episode of RECLAIM, we dive into the challenges of being a female-identifying entrepreneur with business coach Lena West. Together, we explore topics that ail most entrepreneurs including money, confidence, building relationships, and worthiness.    To grab the show notes including all the information on today’s guest, go to www.ThaisSky.com/podcast/8.   If you like what you heard, it would mean the world to me if you took a moment to leave a review and share this podcast with your community.   Thank you for your generous attention. XO Thais   Socials // Website: www.ThaisSky.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/IamThaisSky Instagram: www.instagram.com/IamThaisSky

Join us LIVE In the Spotlight on Crowdcast, Thursdays at 2pm EST : https://www.crowdcast.io/tanyageisler  This week’s guest is Lena West. Lena is the leading expert on how women entrepreneurs can successfully and sanely grow a business on their own terms. She is also the Founder of Crescent: The Mastermind Experience, the only business growth mastermind program created specifically for women entrepreneurs over 40 and CEO DNA, a custom methodology for helping entrepreneurs determine their most effective business model based on personality, values, strengths, and other self-knowledge factors. Find full episode show notes here.

Lena L. West is the leading expert on how women entrepreneurs can monetize social media. She is also the Founder of InfluenceExpansion.com, the home of the Influence Expansion Academy, the only social media mastermind program created specifically for women entrepreneurs. ⇑ Full Bio   As the CEO & Chief Social Media Strategist of Influence Expansion, Lena L. West has helped thousands of entrepreneurs profit from the power of Social Media and the Internet. A certified technical expert Lena learned about the intricate aspects of computers and networking while consulting with Fortune 500 companies such as IBM, Pitney Bowes, Philips Magnavox, Hyperion Software and MasterCard International. After cutting her ‘technical teeth', she founded xynoMedia (now Influence Expansion) in 1997. Lena is the winner of several business awards, among them: The Network Journal's “40 Under Forty”, AlleyCat News' “25 Women of Silicon Alley”, The Women's Congress' Entrepreneurial Champion for Women in Business and was dubbed an “Entrepreneurial Hero” by NCWIT. She has also been featured on CNN, with Gayle King on CBS This Morning and as the cover story for publications such as The Westchester County Business Journal and Black Enterprise. She writes and speaks regularly about the merits and potential pitfalls of social media by sharing her expertise about social media and business growth via her regular column for the Huffington Post and ChamberofCommerce.com. Lena is also a former columnist for FastCompany.com and Entrepreneur Magazine. She has spoken on Capitol Hill and for organizations such as American Express, Wharton School of Business, SCORE, National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI), Syracuse University and The Learning Annex.  

Lena L. West is the leading expert on how women entrepreneurs can monetize social media. She is also the Founder of InfluenceExpansion.com, the home of the Influence Expansion Academy, the only social media mastermind program created specifically for women entrepreneurs. Lena will be speaking about the myth of the power couple. Can two powerful people coexist in a relationship? Is competition destructive in a relationship? How important is it for a powerful businesswoman to tap into her feminine self with her man? 

"The 2009 Friedman Symposium, a collaborative effort of Robert Friedman and Baruch's History Department, features five speakers on ""How Blogging Empowers Women in Business, Politics and Media."" Julie Des Jardins, a feminist historian and professor at Baruch, jump-started the social gathering by introducing the panel of media specialists who shared their contributions to social media, as well as their blogging knowledge. Jory Des Jardins, the co-founder of blogher.com, a website dedicated to women bloggers, spoke to the audience about the influences of the blogging world toward women. Liza Sabater, a feminist cultural critic and the founder of Culture Kitchen and The Daily Gotham, found a desire for blogging after becoming a mother. She used her skill set to compare experiences with other mothers. Sabater later moved on to politics and broke political boundaries with a personal blog about war casualties. Lena West, social media consultant and CEO of xynoMedia Technology moved the student-dominated audience with her testimony of getting kicked out of college and making her way to success by the influence of technology and social networking. Jennifer Pozner, founder and executive director of Women and Media in News, journalist and media critic, discussed women in media outlets, expressing concern for female voices to be heard through prominent social forums through a journalist's viewpoint. The women concluded the program by answering last minute questions and providing feedback to those seeking a foot in the door to social media. The event takes place on March12, 2009, at the Newman Conference Center, Room 750. [Part I -- 49 min.] Features Julie Des Jardins, Jory Des Jardins, and Liza Sabater [Part II -- 49 min.] Features Lena West, Jennifer Pozner and Q & A session"

"The 2009 Friedman Symposium, a collaborative effort of Robert Friedman and Baruch's History Department, features five speakers on ""How Blogging Empowers Women in Business, Politics and Media."" Julie Des Jardins, a feminist historian and professor at Baruch, jump-started the social gathering by introducing the panel of media specialists who shared their contributions to social media, as well as their blogging knowledge. Jory Des Jardins, the co-founder of blogher.com, a website dedicated to women bloggers, spoke to the audience about the influences of the blogging world toward women. Liza Sabater, a feminist cultural critic and the founder of Culture Kitchen and The Daily Gotham, found a desire for blogging after becoming a mother. She used her skill set to compare experiences with other mothers. Sabater later moved on to politics and broke political boundaries with a personal blog about war casualties. Lena West, social media consultant and CEO of xynoMedia Technology moved the student-dominated audience with her testimony of getting kicked out of college and making her way to success by the influence of technology and social networking. Jennifer Pozner, founder and executive director of Women and Media in News, journalist and media critic, discussed women in media outlets, expressing concern for female voices to be heard through prominent social forums through a journalist's viewpoint. The women concluded the program by answering last minute questions and providing feedback to those seeking a foot in the door to social media. The event takes place on March12, 2009, at the Newman Conference Center, Room 750. [Part I -- 49 min.] Features Julie Des Jardins, Jory Des Jardins, and Liza Sabater [Part II -- 49 min.] Features Lena West, Jennifer Pozner and Q & A session"

"The 2009 Friedman Symposium, a collaborative effort of Robert Friedman and Baruch’s History Department, features five speakers on ""How Blogging Empowers Women in Business, Politics and Media."" Julie Des Jardins, a feminist historian and professor at Baruch, jump-started the social gathering by introducing the panel of media specialists who shared their contributions to social media, as well as their blogging knowledge. Jory Des Jardins, the co-founder of blogher.com, a website dedicated to women bloggers, spoke to the audience about the influences of the blogging world toward women. Liza Sabater, a feminist cultural critic and the founder of Culture Kitchen and The Daily Gotham, found a desire for blogging after becoming a mother. She used her skill set to compare experiences with other mothers. Sabater later moved on to politics and broke political boundaries with a personal blog about war casualties. Lena West, social media consultant and CEO of xynoMedia Technology moved the student-dominated audience with her testimony of getting kicked out of college and making her way to success by the influence of technology and social networking. Jennifer Pozner, founder and executive director of Women and Media in News, journalist and media critic, discussed women in media outlets, expressing concern for female voices to be heard through prominent social forums through a journalist’s viewpoint. The women concluded the program by answering last minute questions and providing feedback to those seeking a foot in the door to social media. The event takes place on March12, 2009, at the Newman Conference Center, Room 750. [Part I -- 49 min.] Features Julie Des Jardins, Jory Des Jardins, and Liza Sabater [Part II -- 49 min.] Features Lena West, Jennifer Pozner and Q & A session"

"The 2009 Friedman Symposium, a collaborative effort of Robert Friedman and Baruch’s History Department, features five speakers on ""How Blogging Empowers Women in Business, Politics and Media."" Julie Des Jardins, a feminist historian and professor at Baruch, jump-started the social gathering by introducing the panel of media specialists who shared their contributions to social media, as well as their blogging knowledge. Jory Des Jardins, the co-founder of blogher.com, a website dedicated to women bloggers, spoke to the audience about the influences of the blogging world toward women. Liza Sabater, a feminist cultural critic and the founder of Culture Kitchen and The Daily Gotham, found a desire for blogging after becoming a mother. She used her skill set to compare experiences with other mothers. Sabater later moved on to politics and broke political boundaries with a personal blog about war casualties. Lena West, social media consultant and CEO of xynoMedia Technology moved the student-dominated audience with her testimony of getting kicked out of college and making her way to success by the influence of technology and social networking. Jennifer Pozner, founder and executive director of Women and Media in News, journalist and media critic, discussed women in media outlets, expressing concern for female voices to be heard through prominent social forums through a journalist’s viewpoint. The women concluded the program by answering last minute questions and providing feedback to those seeking a foot in the door to social media. The event takes place on March12, 2009, at the Newman Conference Center, Room 750. [Part I -- 49 min.] Features Julie Des Jardins, Jory Des Jardins, and Liza Sabater [Part II -- 49 min.] Features Lena West, Jennifer Pozner and Q & A session"

Audio File:  Download MP3Transcript: An Interview with Lena West CEO, xynoMedia Technology Date: November 17, 2008 Lena West: xynoMedia Lee Kennedy: Hi, this is Lee Kennedy, board member for National Center for Women and Information Technology or NCWIT and co-founder of Tricalyx. And this is part of a series of interviews that we are having with fabulous entrepreneurs, women who have started IT companies and a variety of sectors. All of whom have great stories to tell us about being entrepreneurs. And with me is Larry Nelson from w3w3.com. Hi Larry. Larry Nelson: Hi, I'm glad here to be today because the topic that we are discussing is something of high interest for us. w3w3.com, we are an Internet based radio show. We started in 1998 and we really like to look into all of the new areas. And I have a feeling that Lena will really take us into that direction. Lee: We'll great and just to get right to it, we are interviewing Lena West. Lena is the CEO and chief strategist of xynoMedia technology. It is a New York based firm that helps high growth company leverage the power of social media, blogs, podcasts and online communities. She is a real expert in social networking, very active blogger and she is involved in NCWIT entrepreneurial lines and regularly gives back to society. So welcome Lena. Lena West: Thank you so much. Good to be here. Lee: Great. Well, Lena, why don't you take a few minutes and tell us a little bit about xynoMedia. Lena: As you mentioned, we are a social media strategy and development company. And I will favor that fancy terminology for. We hoped companies to just try to make sense of everything that they are hearing about social media and really take it down or not and relate it to the brand and to their company and figure out what is the best way to actually use the tool to meet our business and marketing objective and we take it a step further, we don't just provide the strategy. Once the client determines that "Hey, that's brought them on to podcasts" or "it is better to launch an online community and start a vicinity network." We actually build those plans and tools, so we build online community, so we build blinded blogs. That in essence is what we do. Larry: Well, I tell you what, I'm really curious. I know there are all kinds of cool things out there, soft ware wise, and technology wise. How did you first and when did you first get into technology? Lena: [laughs] Oh boy, this is... Look, it's a cool story that almost involved me getting tossed out of my parents' house, actually [laughs]. You wouldn't know to look at that lovely head shot of me that I was in college when I decided that college just wasn't going to work for me; this is after my parents paid the tuition for the year [laughs]. And I left college and I went to work. I was in a pre law program in school and I actually left college and my parents just part of it, and I went to work at a law firm and that just added insult to the wound. But while I was at the law firm, this was pre Windows days and I know that all the paralegals and secretaries would come to me and they would always ask me to help them find their lost file, because I was the only one who could ever remember the dot.form in the dot command. And I said to myself at that time that this is really a good skill and I was too young to really know what to do with it. But I knew that this technology thing, I am good at it. And to make it shorter, I ended up working as secretary at IBM because I figured I'd rather be a secretary in IBM rather than working in law. Because being in IBM will get me closer to technology and one day something went wrong with my computer and they sent out a technician and it was a woman and I asked her "Hey, how did you get this job?" and she told me "Well, you got to know this, and you got to know that." So I went to this company and I registered to be a consultant and, you know, made a couple of... I was very generous with my experience and took some creative license with experience on my application. One thing led to another, and I started doing technical support. And then I realized there was more money to be made being a consultant. And once I became a consultant, I realized there was more money to be made in the long term being a business owner. And here we have it. Lee: Well, that is a great story. Lena: Yeah, but when I left college, my parents were really not happy. [laughs] Lee: Yeah, I can imagine. Well, you know, you are not the only successful entrepreneur though that's left college. You have got Bill Gates and Michael Dell, that, you are following in their footsteps. Lena: Hey! Lee: So Lena, tell us, it was clear that you liked technology, but why are you an entrepreneur, and what is it about being an entrepreneur that makes you tick? Lena: The reason that I am an entrepreneur, I would say, is bit of a sad story. My grandmother, when I was in that first year of college... my grandmother, she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and she ultimately ended up losing her battle to that that same year that she was diagnosed. My mother is a retired medical professional. And I saw, even how working in the medical field, she couldn't get the time off that she needed to go and visit my grandmother. My grandparents lived in another state. I mean, it was just hard for her to go visit. My mother really struggled with that and, I think, till this day, she had some bad feelings about that. And, she just couldn't spend as much time as she liked because she had a full time job. And even at the age of 18, first year in college, I said to myself... I said, you know, "I am going to build the kind of life and the kind of business where I don't have to worry about whether I am going to work or whether I am going to tend to my family's needs. I am never going to ever have to make that choice. The choice is always going to be up to me, not up to some someone else." And that's really why I became an entrepreneur. Because, I figured, if my family ever needed me, I wanted to be able to pack up my business and go. And that's what I did. Larry: Fantastic. Well, now, here we have almost a lawyer to a techie, and I would guess along the way there has been many people who have a big influence on you, and maybe, even mentored you. Who would be somebody that really was the turning point in your career path? Lena: You know, I would have to say that it was before my career even got started. Although, you know, don't get me wrong, there have been many, many, many women that have just really taken me under their wing and have given me advice - Adrian Lopez, Karen Wilson; I mean you name it. But I would have to say it was... I think it was maybe my ninth grade teacher, social studies teacher, a woman named Barbra Deller. I will never forget. I was always very smart, very intelligent; always did well. I noticed that when I went to my first year in high school, which where I come from it was ninth grade, I noticed that I had really started to take my intelligence for granted, and I started to act out in order to be cool. As a result my grades started to suffer. And I remember Miss Deller pulling me aside one day after class, and she said, "You know, Lena..." She says, "Its OK for you to be smart. Being smart is cool too." And I really thought about that. That impacted me. And so I said, "Yeah, being smart is cool." And I think that was the turning point. I think had she not said that to me...maybe someone would have taken the time to rein me in and say, "Hey, you are too smart to be acting a little nutty like this." But it was then that I thought about, "Wow, you know, I am going to blow up my whole high school deal here because I want to be cool with my friends." Lee: Boy, it's so great to hear stories like that, that teachers have made such an impact on your life. Lena: Oh, yeah. I mean, every time I look back on my life, I think... it was Dr. Phil that says: "You have seven critical decisions in your life." And I think that was one of them, to listen to her and recognize that, "Hey, I am smart. I aced all these tests. I am really good at school, and I don't want to mess that up for myself." Lee: So when we take a look at all the things you have done in your career, what would you look back and say was probably the toughest thing you had to do? Lena: Wow, that's a good question - the toughest thing that I had to do? Probably, I would have to say was take my company and really go full time with it. I ran this company part time for many number of years before I went full time with the company. And it was really hard to take that leap of faith and get out there and say to the world, "I am going to probably eat a lot of Ramen noodles. I am probably not going to be able afford to do a lot of things. But this is my vision and this is what I want." And those were tough times and those were lean times. I mean, I remember them well. Not fondly, but well. Lee: And that's good for people, for our listeners, to hear that because so many people that are just starting their careers or just starting to open up a new business... you know, you hear so many success stories, but a lot of people that have made it had to put in a lot of hard hours and, it didn't come quickly or easily. Lena: It's not easy, because ultimately everything rides on you. And if you are not... I have always had the spirit where I am just like, "Whatever it takes, let's make it happen". And if that's not who you are, then being an entrepreneur may not be for you. There are tough times. I mean there are choices between: Do I pay the electric pay or do I pay my car insurance, so that I can go meet clients. It's really tough. But those tough times, they build character. I know that's cheesy and cliche, but they do. And they make you grateful for the good times that come. If you are doing the work that you love and you are following your heart, and you are passionate about what you do... I mean I would get up every single day and talk to people about social media in the streets for free. Lee: Wow! Larry: Wow. Boy, that's a great segue into our next question here. Right now, if you are sitting face-to-face with someone who said, "I want to be an entrepreneur" what advise would you give them? Lena: Understand that it's not just about the service that you are providing. There is a distinct and huge chasm between understanding the service that you provide and being able to do that task really, really well, or understanding your product and understanding your product really, really well and running a business. Two totally different things. You have to be able to run a business. Lee: That is great advice. Because in the end, if you don't run the business well, it doesn't matter how good your product is. Lena: Well, the business runs... you get behind on your paperwork. Set up your systems, you know, find a good bookkeeper; find a good accountant; find a good lawyer, and really understand the business side of business. Lee: So Lena, probably the toughest question we have, because just being an entrepreneur is all encompassing, it's a 7x24x365 job. How do you bring balance in your personal life and professional life? Lena: You know it's so funny; it's really hard to do that, especially because I work in social media. And I am very, very clear. There is a very clear line for me between my home life and my professional life. And I was just telling someone, I was on a conference call earlier, and I said there are probably eight people in the world who know where I live. And that's on purpose. Because I do want to have a line. And it's difficult when your business is to be social. But, it's a matter of setting priorities. It's a matter of understanding that if you are not well, nothing happens. If you are not happy, the business doesn't move. It's a matter of understanding your own personal energy. I mean, I will give a quick forward example: I am really an introvert. And if you were to meet me, you would say "Wow, she's friendly, she's personable," people seem to like her and people tell me I'm friendly. Lee: Oh get out of here! Lena: But I am really an introvert. I don't' get my energy from spending time with other people. I get my energy from being at home. And when I first learned that, I realized, oh OK, being in groups I like it. But it's a source of stress for who I really am. So I make sure I build in alone time. And I take four vacations a year. Larry: that's fantastic. Lee: I like your schedule. And Larry and I were just saying we are both introverts. So we get it. We both can be outgoing and sociable, but I get drained with too many social activities. Lena: And I take a silent retreat once a year. Every year for my birthday. Lee: Wow. Larry: A Silent retreat. Lena: I am working up my way to two weeks. Wish me luck. Larry: Fantastic. Now I have to say Lena, I know you are heavy in a social media, or should I have said xynoMedia. But nonetheless, let me ask this question, what's next? What are you going to go after in this next round? Lee: What's next for me personally is that I am writing a book. And I would say what's next for the company is we are at the tail end of probably a two and a half year process of rebranding the company. So we are going to be launching a new brand soon. It's going to be very, very exciting. It's something that we've waited a long time for. My team has been absolutely very patient. And we are looking forward to taking the next decade with a new outlook and a fresh perspective. Larry: That's fantastic. And I'm just finished a book also. We are in the final editing stage, hopefully. And it's called "Mastering Change." And that has taken me more than two years, so you mentioned the time frame for your rebranding. Lena: Yeah, I think one of the things that you have to understand as an entrepreneur is that things are going to take the time that they take. Aside from you being complacent, it does you no good to try to rush the schedule. I mean I wanted to rush this rebrand. I really wanted to get it done. And I kept talking about and talking about it. And eventually I got tired hearing myself talk about it so I didn't even mention it anymore it. It was just; it became just a source of stress. And things just take their time. And as long as - my friend said this to me, this is so fabulous and I live by this-as long as you make a measurable amount of progress in a reasonable amount of time, that's it. Larry: Very good. Lee: Thank you Lena. Lena: Get off the treadmill of trying to push and get things done and beat the competition. Things take as long as they are supposed to take. Lee: They do. Larry: That's right. Lee: Well Lena thank you so much for interviewing with us today. We've enjoyed it. Larry: I think this is fantastic. And by the way, this interview will be available not only in the form of a podcast but also go to ncwitt.org or w3w3.com. Listen 24/7 and please pass this interview along to others that you think would be interested. Lena: Great, thanks I appreciate the interview. [music] Transcription by CastingWords Series: Entrepreneurial HeroesInterviewee: Lena WestInterview Summary: From blogging to Facebook, Lena West, CEO of xynoMedia, helps hi-growth companies make sense of everything they're hearing about social media and the best ways to use these online outlets to their advantage. Release Date: November 17, 2008Interview Subject: Lena WestInterviewer(s): Larry Nelson, Lee KennedyDuration: 17:11