EmpowerHER Business Podcast

Crucial Mistakes Black Women Entrepreneurs Should Avoid

Many women start businesses with passion—but the wrong business structure and messy finances can cost you thousands. In this powerful finance roundtable, we break down the money moves every woman entrepreneur needs to make in 2026.Host Linette Cottrell sits down with three powerhouse women in finance—Monique Vassall, Rhonda Brown, and Nikki Moteng—to talk about choosing the right business structure, avoiding costly financial mistakes, and claiming tax deductions many women business owners miss.In this episode, we discuss:How to know when it’s time to move from side hustle to CEOThe business structures every entrepreneur should understand in 2026Tax deductions women business owners commonly leave on the tableHow disorganized financials quietly cost small businesses thousandsSimple systems that help you run your business like a true CEOIf you’re in your first five years of business, this conversation could save you money, stress, and major headaches down the road.👉 Follow the podcast and share it with a sister who needs this conversation.We’re on a mission to help Black women make it through the first five years in business—and thrive far beyond them.#BlackWomenEntrepreneurs  #WomenInBusiness #SmallBusinessFinance#BusinessStructure #SideHustleToCEO #EntrepreneurMoney #TaxTipsForEntrepreneurs #BusinessTaxDeductions #WomenEntrepreneurship #CEOLevelThinking #FinancialLiteracy #SmallBusinessTaxes #WomenInFinance #EmpowerHERPodcast #BusinessGrowthTips #MoneyMoves2026 #EntrepreneurMindset #BuildGenerationalWealthSupport the show✨ Support the Podcast ✨  Become an EmpowerHER Insider for $10/month → HERE🌐 Visit website: www.empowerherbusiness.us 📧 For speaking & sponsorships: linette@empowerherbusiness.us  📱 Connect on Instagram: HERE @empowerher_biz Together, we’re helping women entrepreneurs thrive beyond Year Five!

PINCH Pt.5: When Success No Longer Feels Right

What if the discomfort you’ve been feeling is actually guiding you somewhere new?Sometimes the pinch isn’t a problem to fix—it’s an invitation to shift.In PINCH Part 5 of The Soul Spa on the EmpowerHER Business Podcast, Linette closes this reflective mini-series by exploring what happens after we notice the pinch. For many Black women entrepreneurs in their first five years of business, the tension, fatigue, or misalignment we feel isn’t failure—it’s feedback. It’s the moment where life asks us to adjust, evolve, and trust the next version of our path.This gentle pause invites you to release the pressure to “push through” and instead listen to what your body, business, and spirit may be asking of you now. When we honor the signals instead of ignoring them, the next step becomes clearer—and more aligned.In this Soul Spa PINCH Part 5 episode, you’ll experience:A closing reflection on what the “pinch” has been teaching youInsight into how discomfort can guide growth and alignmentA grounding moment to reconnect with your inner guidancePermission to shift direction without shame or starting overEncouragement to trust the evolution of your business and lifeThis episode is part of The Soul Spa — short solo pauses you can return to whenever you need a moment of grounding.#EmpowerHERBusinessPodcast #SoulSpa #PinchSeries #EntrepreneurGrowth #BlackWomenEntrepreneurs #BlackWomenInBusiness #WomenInBusiness #BusinessMindset #MindfulEntrepreneur #EntrepreneurWellbeing #NervousSystemSupport #AlignedBusiness #PersonalGrowthJourney #BusinessEvolution #WomenEntrepreneurs #ClarityAndCalm #HolisticEntrepreneurship #TrustTheProcess #PurposeDrivenBusiness #SustainableSuccessSupport the show✨ Support the Podcast ✨ Become an EmpowerHER Insider for $10/month → HERE🌐 Visit website: www.empowerherbusiness.us 📧 For speaking & sponsorships: linette@empowerherbusiness.us 📱 Connect on Instagram: HERE @empowerher_biz Together, we’re helping women entrepreneurs thrive beyond Year Five!

PINCH Pt.4: Overwhelmed? Your Systems May Be the Problem

What if your exhaustion isn’t a discipline problem—but a systems problem?Relief begins when your business works with you, not against you.In PINCH Part 4 of The Soul Spa on the EmpowerHER Business Podcast, Linette explores how the quiet tension many Black women entrepreneurs feel is often rooted in misaligned systems. If your workflows, expectations, and structures weren’t designed with your full humanity in mind, of course they feel heavy. Sustainable success requires holistic integration—systems that support your nervous system, your capacity, and your real life.This reflective pause invites you to rethink how you design your business. Relief doesn’t come from pushing harder. It comes from creating structures that honor the human behind the brand.In this Soul Spa PINCH Part 4 episode, you’ll experience:A reframe of burnout as a systems misalignment issueInsight into holistic business design for real human capacityA grounding check-in around where your systems feel heavyPermission to redesign structures that no longer fitEncouragement to build sustainable, relief-centered successThis episode is part of The Soul Spa — short solo pauses you can return to whenever you need a moment of grounding.#EmpowerHERBusinessPodcast #SoulSpa #PinchSeries #BusinessSystems #HolisticBusiness #BlackWomenEntrepreneurs #BlackWomenInBusiness #WomenInBusiness #SustainableSuccess #EntrepreneurWellbeing #NervousSystemSupport #BurnoutPrevention #MindfulEntrepreneur #AlignedBusiness #SystemDesign #WomenEntrepreneurs #BusinessClarity #ReliefOverBurnout #HolisticEntrepreneurship #WorkWithYourBodySupport the show✨ Support the Podcast ✨  Become an EmpowerHER Insider for $10/month → HERE🌐 Visit website: www.empowerherbusiness.us 📧 For speaking & sponsorships: linette@empowerherbusiness.us  📱 Connect on Instagram: HERE @empowerher_biz Together, we’re helping women entrepreneurs thrive beyond Year Five!

Business Growth After Crisis | Melva LaJoy's CEO Story

What do you do when you lose 98% of your income overnight?Melva LaJoy chose to dress for the job she was praying for — and rebuilt bigger than ever.In this powerful episode of the EmpowerHER Business Podcast, host Linette Cottrell sits down with Melva LaJoy, founder of LaJoy Creative — a comprehensive events management agency based in Washington, D.C. and New York, servicing clients globally. With 18 years in business, Melva shares her journey from educator to nonprofit leader to visionary CEO. She opens up about rebranding in 2019, losing nearly everything in 2020, being closed for 18 months, and how discipline, faith, and mindset helped her business double year after year from 2022–2024 — including 58% growth last year alone.In this episode, you’ll learn:How to pivot when your business income drops almost overnightThe mindset shift that helped her survive an 18-month shutdownWhy “dressing for work” changed everything during uncertaintyThe power of rebranding and long-term vision in scaling sustainablyWhat it really takes to stay in business for 18 years as a Black woman entrepreneur👉 Follow the podcast and share it with a sister who needs this conversation. We’re on a mission to help Black women make it through the first five years in business — and thrive far beyond them.#BlackWomenInBusiness #WomenEntrepreneurs #EntrepreneurJourney #BusinessGrowth #EventPlannerLife #EventManagement #CEOStory #BusinessResilience #WomenInLeadership #FaithAndBusiness #StartupToScale #SmallBusinessOwner #EmpowerHERPodcast  #BusinessMindset #RebrandYourBusiness #BlackWomenCEO #EntrepreneurMotivation #FirstFiveYearsSupport the show✨ Support the Podcast ✨  Become an EmpowerHER Insider for $10/month → HERE🌐 Visit website: www.empowerherbusiness.us 📧 For speaking & sponsorships: linette@empowerherbusiness.us  📱 Connect on Instagram: HERE @empowerher_biz Together, we’re helping women entrepreneurs thrive beyond Year Five!

PINCH Pt.3 – You Are Worthy Without Overworking

Have you tied your worth to how much you produce, achieve, or prove? This Soul Spa moment gently untangles worthiness from overworking.In PINCH Part 3 of The Soul Spa on the EmpowerHER Business Podcast, Linette explores the quiet “pinch” around worthiness many Black women entrepreneurs carry—especially in the first five years of business. The pressure to outperform, overdeliver, and constantly validate your value can create chronic stress in your body and business. But your worth was never meant to be earned through exhaustion.This reflective pause helps you notice where you may be striving for validation instead of operating from inherent worth. You’ll be invited to soften performance-based identity and reconnect with the truth that you are already enough.In this Soul Spa PINCH Part 3 episode, you’ll experience:A compassionate reframe of worthiness beyond productivityInsight into how overworking becomes a trauma-informed patternA nervous system check-in around pressure and provingPermission to release performance-based validationA grounding reset to anchor into inherent self-worth This episode is part of The Soul Spa — short solo pauses you can return to whenever you need a moment of grounding. #EmpowerHERBusinessPodcast #SoulSpa #PinchSeries #Worthiness #BlackWomenEntrepreneurs #BlackWomenInBusiness #WomenInBusiness #EntrepreneurMindset #OverworkingCulture #BurnoutRecovery #NervousSystemHealing #SelfWorthJourney #MindfulEntrepreneur #HealingInBusiness #WomenEntrepreneurs #GroundingPractice #HolisticEntrepreneurship #ClarityAndCalm #EmotionalWellbeing #SustainableSuccessSupport the show✨ Support the Podcast ✨  Become an EmpowerHER Insider for $10/month → HERE🌐 Visit website: www.empowerherbusiness.us 📧 For speaking & sponsorships: linette@empowerherbusiness.us  📱 Connect on Instagram: HERE @empowerher_biz Together, we’re helping women entrepreneurs thrive beyond Year Five!