Breakthrough

After being laid off from middle management, Dale Gantous’ colleague showed up at her door with business cards that had her named as President of a non-existent company entitled InGenius. Dale decided to take the leap and InGenius, a successful consulting business, was formed serving giants such as Nortel. But with the dot com burst, Dale and InGenius had to pivot- and fast. Through perseverance (and several iterations,) InGenius was there to answer a need in the marketplace, developing a premier software for the call center industry. The leap paid off and by working with clients such as LinkedIn, Expedia, Gap, Bank of New York Mellon, and VMware, InGenius grew to eight figures. Tune in to this week’s Breakthrough to hear Dale discuss her 23 year journey in business, advice on selling a company, and not only how to get to seven figures but what it takes to get to eight.

The question of ‘where am I from?’ is one that can be answered by most groups except for African descendants looking to accurately trace their roots. With only $1,200 and a database of DNA lineages, AfricanAncestry.com grew to seven figures tracing African lineages. They use genetics to help people reliably trace their roots back to their ancestor’s tribes. On this week’s episode of Breakthrough, Sara Roach Lewis talks to Dr. Gina Paige, co-founder of AfricanAncestry.com, about her 17 years in business, how Black Panther’s Chadwick Boseman tripled the businesses’ revenues, and how staying true to her values of being a black owned company grew the business to seven figures. Dr. Paige has worked with- and revealed the roots of- the world’s leading icons, including Oprah Winfrey, John Legend, Spike Lee, Condoleezza Rice, and the King family. AfricanAncestry.com proves that when you follow your calling and you listen to your market, you can solve a problem that changes lives.

In this special live broadcast episode of Breakthrough, Sara and her panel of guests will talk about coronavirus and how to manage the uncertainty for your business, support your team, and listen to the latest public health directives.

Dr. Suzanne Simpson started HRSG in order to remove the pain from business’ important HR processes. In order to remove the pain from growing your business, she joins Sara Roach Lewis on a new episode of Breakthrough to talk about the lumps and bumps she’s experienced over the last thirty years as she grew from solopreneur to seven figure international success. Dr. Simpson, President, CEO and founder of Human Resource Systems Group Ltd., doesn’t sugar coat what it takes to grow. What happens when it’s questioned whether you’re the right one to be the CEO of the company you started? What happens when a concussion forces you to improvise a backup plan that takes years to recover from? And how does your daughter's book entitled Mommy’s At The Office All The Time play out over the years? Tune in as Dr. Simpson shares important lessons guaranteed to apply to you wherever you are on your path to seven figures.

When you can predict human behavior, you can predict the future and grow to seven figures. Meet Polly. Polly is an AI tool whose job is population research via social media. If you want to know what the population is truly thinking and feeling, the way to get that data has moved online. But Polly is for more than just increasing website clicks. Think how long it took for the population to adopt anti-smoking and drunk driving messages. With targeted messages and Polly’s data, change takes years, not generations. Behind Polly is cofounder and CEO Erin Kelly of Advanced Symbolics and she joins Sara Roach Lewis on this week’s episode of Breakthrough to talk about the sacrifices that are required when growing from a startup to a global business, being in the male dominated tech and AI space, and how parenting fits in when the airplane is your second home.

This week on Breakthrough we answer listener’s questions. How do you pick a rock star team? How do you minimize growing pains? How do you squeeze the most productivity out of your day? How do you set yourself apart and build trust? All these questions - and more - are answered on this week’s episode of Breakthrough. Join me, your host Sara Roach Lewis, business strategist and coach, and Karla Jo Helms, owner of JoTo PR Disruptors, as we dive deeper into what it really takes to get to a million dollars in revenue.

On this week’s episode of Breakthrough, we’re doing things a little differently. Eve Rodsky, New York Times bestselling author of Fair Play, a Game-Changing Solution for When You Have Too Much to Do (and More Life to Live), joins Sara Roach Lewis to talk about a 21st century solution to an age old problem. The Mental load, the second shift, emotional labour, invisible work. Whatever you call it, women carry the brunt of it and Eve argues that it keeps you from the seven figure business you work so damn hard for. Take a listen as Eve debunks every myth from women’s innate talent at wiping butts to the fact that society values men’s time as diamonds and women’s time as sand. Let’s apply the same long term thinking and planning that corporations do to the most essential organization in our lives - our households, and change society one marriage at a time.

Is Your Business A Vitamin Or A Pain Killer? When Kimberly Lewis, co founder of CurlMix, organic products for curly hair, realized she was selling a vitamin and not the solution to her customers’ pain, she stopped in her tracks and pivoted with lightning speed. Leaving product, marketing and money spent behind to give her customers what they told her they wanted paid off quickly. On this week’s episode of Breakthrough, join Sara Roach Lewis as she talks with the millennial entrepreneur about turning her business on its head and how in less than five years she scaled to a $12 million valuation- with $5.5 million in sales last year alone. Kimberly is transparent about the sacrifices that are required when seeking funding, turning down an offer from Shark Tank, her billion dollar plans and the free in-house genius who helped make it all happen.

Starting with just $300, Bobbie Racette built a seven-figure business in under three years. Even more impressive than her revenue is the massive social impact of her award-winning business, Virtual Gurus. Join Sara Roach Lewis on Breakthrough as she talks with Bobbie about building a business with a mandate to do good and paying employees a fair wage in an industry that is typically a race to the bottom. They talk about Bobbie’s unwavering commitment to hiring marginalized people and using innovative technology to match entrepreneurs with their perfect Virtual Assistant. Virtual Gurus is proof positive that with clear mentorship and a social purpose, businesses and lives can thrive.

Being a woman in a male dominated industry created its own set of challenges for this week’s ambitious entrepreneur, Kathy Robertson. Kathy is the owner of Robertson Wealth Advisory Group, providing financial advice to her clients as they transition through major life events. Her advice to other women entrepreneurs entering the field? When you’re faced with closed doors, you need to build your own door. Join Breakthrough’s Sara Roach Lewis as she talks with Kathy about her client centric approach because in order to grow a seven figure wealth advisory firm, you have to go beyond the numbers.

Attention crafters and makers! How would you scale your business to seven-figures if you didn’t have access to the digital tools we use to reach a global audience? On this week’s episode of Breakthrough, Sara Roach Lewis talks to Jennifer Ridgway, owner of Moonsnail Soapworks and Luna Eclectic Emporium. They manufacture over 60 unique body products from the east coast of Canada. She joins Sara to talk about her 25 year journey from crafting soaps to give as Christmas gifts to a seven-figure retail business. Like every entrepreneur's path, Jennifer’s was not without its own set of issues. From finding lenders who would support women in business, to dealing with seasonal retail cash flow issues, Jennifer has worked through it all with an ego-free attitude that doesn’t compromise on who she is. Jennifer talks about how empowering her employees to take charge has led to innovation and how letting go of wearing all the hats (and aprons) allowed her to scale.

Who said artists have to starve? This episode of Breakthrough features Michelle Sakhai, visual artist, primordial sound meditation instructor with the Chopra Center and certified Reiki Master. Michelle discusses the power of letting her creations go into the world and the necessity of bringing a business edge to creative work. She shares how her exposure to the art world from an early age instilled a thriving artist mentality that has brought her business to seven-figures. Michelle talks to Sara Roach Lewis about how an awakening triggered a leap to a new style in her work, leading her to exhibit her work globally and align organically with her ideal clients and collectors.

Have you ever spent time stressing over a necessary evil in your business and wishing it would just go away? Our latest Breakthrough guest turned her irritation into several massive businesses. Monica Eaton-Cardone is the co-founder of Chargebacks911, a division of Global Risk Technologies, which manages over 200 million global transactions each month. Fed up of being penalized in her online retail space for “chargebacks” (forced transactions that occur when a customer contacts their bank for help, rather than the retailer), Monica dove into this unfamiliar world to create the software needed to help her predict chargeback risk and mitigate fraud. Chargebacks911 started as a joke, but in mere weeks, Monica was flooded with media requests and calls from banks seeking advice on chargebacks. Tune in to hear Monica share with Sara Roach-Lewis her strategies for working in a super-fast industry and how growing up on a ranch instilled skills she continues to use in the boardroom.

Breakthrough Season 1 is a wrap! Over the last 3 months, we’ve been fortunate to speak with 12 ambitious women who’ve all achieved more than a millions dollars in annual revenues in their business. What trailblazers, since less than 2% of women entrepreneurs achieve this milestone. We hope their stories motivate you to break through the million-dollar ceiling—let’s smash the stat to welcome other women into the seven-figure club! Tune in to our most recent episode, where Sara Roach-Lewis talks with 3 loyal listeners about the first season of Breakthrough. Get a warm beverage and join Sara—as well as Frances Gertsch (Stewart Travel Group), Maureen Hanley (Navigate Food Safety Solutions), and Sarah Bennetto O’Brien (The Handpie Company)—as they reflect on the learnings and the actions that we all can do as we climb our way to a million and beyond. Warning: Side effects of this episode include higher energy, added inspiration, and a desire to re-listen to previous Breakthrough podcasts.

In the latest episode of Breakthrough, we meet Katherine Fleischman, founder and CEO of Do Tell PR, a boutique PR firm based in Miami, Florida. Katherine started her business straight out of grad school and invested her 20s growing and stabilizing both her PR firm and her work processes. From working out of her bedroom office for a year to now bringing in seven-figure revenues, Katherine opens up about what it meant to create a business during a time when her peers were focused on other priorities. Tune in to hear host Sara Roach-Lewis chat with Katherine about being a remote worker—the challenges, the perks, and the realities in a 24/7 social media world. Is working in PR the equivalent of being a “professional stalker”? What role does PR play in business? How important is building relationships in business? And how do you turn yourself off when you work in an industry that never sleeps? All these things are covered in this episode of Breakthrough—don’t miss it!

In this Breakthrough episode, Sara Roach-Lewis introduces us to Jessica Higgins, an investor, author, and owner of both an award-winning marketing agency, and an advisory firm. Jessica has staff and offices worldwide and has consulted with seven Fortune 100 companies, so she knows her stuff. This ambitious go-getter, who considers “no” to mean “not right now”, doesn’t hold back sharing about navigating male spaces in business. Her values-led style of leadership drives every business decision she makes, and it’s paying off—she hit the seven-figure mark after just two years in business! Tune in to hear practical advice for how women entrepreneurs can level the playing field. By choosing yourself always, Jessica believes women can create their own paths to success. So, if you’re curious how to not only get in the room with businessmen, but also get your voice heard once you are there, this is the episode for you.

Sherry Deutschmann used to feel inferior for only having a high school education, but this seven-figure earner now realizes the value of something more important than credentials -- empathy. In this episode of Breakthrough, host Sara Roach Lewis chats with Sherry about her journey, from not being able to afford electricity to becoming a multi-millionaire. Using only filing cabinets she bought from Goodwill, Sherry founded LetterLogic, a company she grew to 40 million dollars in annual revenues and over 50 staff before selling in 2016. Recognized as a White House Champion of Change by President Obama, Sherry now runs BrainTrust, which helps women reach that first pivotal milestone: the first million-dollar mark. A longtime advocate for employee rights and fair living wages, Sherry truly believes that if you put your staff first, you will be rewarded. Tune in to hear the story of this remarkable ambitious woman and get ready to start telling your clients they don’t actually come first!

In this episode of Breakthrough, host Sara Roach Lewis talks with seven-figure earner Tammy Roach (yes, there is a family connection!) about her bold ambition to become Prince Edward Island’s first woman to own a car dealership. In fact, her dealership, Charlottetown Mitsubishi, is only one of a handful of women-owned dealerships across Canada. Tune in to hear how Tammy raised the multi-million dollar capital she needed to purchase the dealership in just three days and how her strategy for securing these high investors stemmed from positive self-talk. Tammy also shares with Sara what it’s like to not only work in a traditionally male-dominated space, but to also own that space, and how her dealership benefits from bringing more women into the showroom. Tammy has doubled her staff in less than a year in operation and is Breakthrough’s fastest seven-figure earner to date, so she is a true ambitious one. Listen in and be inspired by her journey getting behind the driver’s seat!

Our latest Breakthrough guest is Trivinia Barber, founder of Priority VA. An on-line staffing company, Priority VA, helps entrepreneurs scale and grow their teams quickly. In this episode, host Sara Roach-Lewis asks Trivinia how she grew her solo enterprise into a multiple seven- figure business where she manages 80+ virtual assistants and 6 staff. Tune in to hear this expert networker and entrepreneur speak candidly about outsourcing—how she’s learned to outsource even the tasks she’s really good at to benefit her business and why she believes in outsourcing outcomes over tasks. Trivinia, who admits to being adverse to risk, has ingeniously found a way to outsource risk in her business! This host of the podcast “The Diary of a Doer” doesn’t hold back when speaking to Sara about the highs and lows of entrepreneurship in a way that is inspiring, honest, and just plain refreshing.

Karla Jo Helms loves to disrupt. The founder of an anti-public relations agency in Tampa Bay, Florida, she works with businesses who are “disruptively innovative.” In this episode of Breakthrough, host Sara Roach-Lewis speaks with Karla Jo about what an anti-PR agency is and how her business, JoTo PR Disruptors, branched away from traditional public relations. Karla Jo has created a successful business based on implementing crisis management strategies into public relations in an innovative way, and she speaks with Sara about how to crisis manage your own business. Passionate about trends, graphs, analytics, and numbers in general, Karla Jo shares with Sara how PR can be measured against a company’s revenue. Tune in to hear how planning for the barriers you’ll likely encounter as a business owner can bring freedom to your business.