She Scaled to 10 Cities Without Investors or an MBA, With Meghan Fialkoff

She Scaled to 10 Cities Without Investors or an MBA, With Meghan Fialkoff

You don't need an MBA, outside investors, or a masculine leadership style to build a nationally expanding events and membership company — you need relentless execution, real relationships, and the conviction to trust what you already know. Meghan Fialkoff is the Co-Founder and COO of Modern Day Wife, a global membership and lifestyle company for women. Before MDW, she spent nearly two decades running a drug prevention nonprofit where she produced over 2,000 events and trained 5,000+ NYPD officers. In this conversation with host Rachel Bernier-Green, Meghan gets real about launching an events company during COVID, building community through 200+ Zoom calls before entering a new city, managing finances per event instead of per month, the moment she stopped shrinking as a founder, and how she built a team that genuinely cares. Key Takeaways: * Why MDW limits to one event per city per year (and how scarcity drives demand) * The per-event P&L system on QuickBooks that replaced monthly reporting * How established city revenues subsidize new market launches * Why Meghan unfollowed almost everyone on social media * When bootstrapping becomes leverage for strategic partnership * The leadership philosophy behind a team that carries the mission About Meghan: Meghan Fialkoff is a visionary leader, entrepreneur, and humanitarian, deeply committed to creating impact across both the lifestyle and nonprofit sectors. Raised in New York and now based in Los Angeles, Meghan is the Co-Founder and COO of Modern Day Wife, a dynamic, global lifestyle brand. Under her leadership, the brand has produced over 50 international luxury events and expanded into a family of sub-brands, including Modern Day Beauty, Modern Day Wellness, and Modern Day Mama. In the nonprofit space, Meghan serves as the Executive Director of the Americas Chapter of the Foundation for a Drug-Free World. Under her stewardship, the chapter expanded throughout New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, and into Central America—where she co-directs chapters in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, El Salvador and Guatemala. She has co-produced over 2,000 community outreach events and led impactful programs that include partnerships with Miss New York, Miss Connecticut, Miss Teen Ohio, Miss Delaware, Miss Louisiana, the NJ Attorney General, and the NY Senate Task Force on Heroin & Opioid Abuse. Follow Meghan: * Website: themoderndaywife.com [themoderndaywife.com] * Instagram: www.instagram.com/themoderndaywife [www.instagram.com/themoderndaywife] - www.instagram.com/meghanfialkoff/ [www.instagram.com/meghanfialkoff/] * LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/meghan-fialkoff [linkedin.com/in/meghan-fialkoff] * Podcast: creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/the-modern-day-wife [creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/the-modern-day-wife] Resources Mentioned: * Asana (project management): asana.com [asana.com] * QuickBooks (financial tracking by event): quickbooks.com [quickbooks.com] * MailChimp (newsletters): mailchimp.com [mailchimp.com] * Mail Meteor (bulk email): mailmeteor.com [mailmeteor.com] * Calendly (appointment scheduling): calendly.com [calendly.com] Follow the Host, Rachel Bernier-Green: * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelberniergreen/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelberniergreen/] * Website: www.instagram.com/jointhryvo/ [https://feeds.captivate.fm/profit-purpose-shift/www.instagram.com/jointhryvo/] * Instagram: www.instagram.com/jointhryvo/ [https://feeds.captivate.fm/profit-purpose-shift/www.instagram.com/jointhryvo/] * LinkedIn (Company): www.linkedin.com/company/jointhryvo/ [https://feeds.captivate.fm/profit-purpose-shift/www.linkedin.com/company/jointhryvo/] * Twitter/X: x.com/jointhryvo [https://feeds.captivate.fm/profit-purpose-shift/x.com/jointhryvo] * Facebook: www.facebook.com/jointhryvo [https://feeds.captivate.fm/profit-purpose-shift/www.facebook.com/jointhryvo] * Tiktok: www.tiktok.com/@jointhryvo [https://feeds.captivate.fm/profit-purpose-shift/www.tiktok.com/@jointhryvo] Listening Links: * Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0kmrlBqo4QHftlfmqo2Q32 [https://open.spotify.com/show/0kmrlBqo4QHftlfmqo2Q32] * Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-purpose-profit-shift/id1829627732 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-purpose-profit-shift/id1829627732] * Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PurposeProfitShift [https://www.youtube.com/@PurposeProfitShift] ---------------------------- If this episode resonated with you, subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a fellow business owner who needs to hear this!

Use AI to Run Everything (No Tech Background), With Francine Gregory

In this episode of The Purpose Profit Shift, host Rachel Bernier-Green sits down with Francine Gregory, a Sacramento-based entrepreneur, speaker, and coach who co-founded BizChicks.net to help women over 50 turn their experience into profitable businesses. Francine shares how surviving the 2008 real estate crash taught her the value of staying for your clients, why the most expensive business programs are often the most confusing, and how she uses AI assistants as a digital chief of staff to manage four brands without burning out. Chapters: * 9:20 Surviving the 2008 Real Estate Crash * 12:36 Systems, Mindset, and the CEO Shift * 16:33 AI as Your Digital Chief of Staff * 23:03 Why Women Over 50 Are Underestimated * 30:28 Faith, Simplicity, and Revenue Key Topics: * Building profitable businesses that are fun to run * AI tools and digital assistants for non-technical entrepreneurs * Why women over 50 are entrepreneurship's best-kept secret * Simple systems vs. overcomplicated business programs * The mindset shift from employee/hobby to CEO * Surviving economic downturns through purpose-driven resilience * Making it easy for people to pay you About Francine: Francine Gregory is a Sacramento-based entrepreneur, speaker, and coach who helps purpose-driven leaders simplify their thinking, streamline their systems, and activate their God-given genius. She equips small business owners, entrepreneurs, and ministries with practical tech and AI workflows that save time and reduce chaos—so they can focus on what matters most. Francine is the co-founder of BizChicks.net [http://bizchicks.net/] and founder of F. Gregory Consulting and Kingdom Thinkers. With a background in television production and marketing, she’s known for making the complicated simple and turning ideas into organized, profitable action. Connect with Francine: * 60-minute audit call + 2-page written roadmap delivered within 48 business hours - Booking link: https://tidycal.com/fgregoryconsulting/business-ministry-audit [https://tidycal.com/fgregoryconsulting/business-ministry-audit] * Instagram: https://instagram.com/bizchicksnet * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bizchicks.net * Instagram: https://instagram.com/francinegregory * X: https://x.com/francinegregory * YouTube: https://youtube.com/@francinegregory Resources Mentioned: * BizChicks.net https://bizchicks.net [https://bizchicks.net] * Francine Gregory website https://francinegregory.com [https://francinegregory.com] * $497 Business/Ministry Systems Audit + AI Roadmap https://tidycal.com/fgregoryconsulting/business-ministry-audit [https://tidycal.com/fgregoryconsulting/business-ministry-audit] * Free Beginner AI Workshop https://stan.store/BizChicks/p/beginners-guide-to-ai [https://stan.store/BizChicks/p/beginners-guide-to-ai] Follow the Host, Rachel Bernier-Green * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelberniergreen/ * Website: https://www.instagram.com/jointhryvo/ * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jointhryvo/ * LinkedIn (Company): https://www.linkedin.com/company/jointhryvo/ * Twitter/X: https://www.x.com/jointhryvo * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jointhryvo * Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jointhryvo Listen on Your Favorite Platform: * Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0kmrlBqo4QHftlfmqo2Q32?si=4bd2e0e655864a26&nd=1&dlsi=37cbc85018304f35 [https://open.spotify.com/show/0kmrlBqo4QHftlfmqo2Q32?si=4bd2e0e655864a26&nd=1&dlsi=37cbc85018304f35] * Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-purpose-profit-shift/id1829627732 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-purpose-profit-shift/id1829627732] * YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PurposeProfitShift [https://www.youtube.com/@PurposeProfitShift] If this episode resonated with you, subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a fellow business owner who needs to hear this.

I Abandoned Myself for 20 Years and Called It Leadership, With Kelli Reese

Kelli Reese spent 17 years in natural foods, eventually running a $34 million cooperative, before her body forced her to stop. In this episode, she shares why she left everything behind, what she discovered about the real roots of imposter syndrome, and how she built a purpose-driven coaching practice that sustains her the way she sustains her clients. Chapters: * 0:22 Kelli's career overview and health crisis * 4:20 From Bakery to Boardroom: the Brooklyn origin story * 9:57 The Seduction of Being Needed * 13:15 When the Body Shouts: tumors, kidney depletion, adrenal fatigue * 17:02 Dismantling Everything at Once * 27:01 The $150K Wrong Question Trap * 35:30 What's Really Under Imposter Syndrome * 40:06 Values-Aligned Pricing That Sustains * 49:59 Stillness as a Leadership Superpower * 53:07 What's next: Sacred Soul Journeys, retreats, and group programs KEY TOPICS * Leaving high-achievement careers to reconnect with purpose * Survival patterns vs. soul alignment in leadership * Why imposter syndrome is often unhealed childhood wounds * Building accessible, values-aligned pricing models * Stillness and self-awareness as leadership skills About Kelli: Kelli Reese is a coach and author who spent seventeen years in the natural foods industry holding senior management roles in retail organizations, including serving as CEO of a multimillion-dollar operation. After leaving her career and a long-term marriage, Kelli founded Lead With Soul, where she works with leaders, founders, and creatives navigating transitions that don’t come with clear answers. She is the author of The Destiny Roadmap and The Relationship Roadmap. Her work focuses on helping people who are caught between what they’ve built and what they actually want. Her approach isn’t about forcing clarity or hustling through doubt. It’s about slowing down, untangling the mess, and making decisions you can stand behind. She lives in the Sierra Nevada mountains with her partner and their rescue dog and spends her free time hiking, baking bread, and treasure hunting in second hand stores. Connect with Kelli Reese: * https://www.instagram.com/kelli.reese * https://www.facebook.com/kelli.reese.coach * https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellireese/ * New Projects: * - Ongoing, 1:1 mentorship through Lead With Soul * - Digital offerings include The Breakup Roadmap: https://www.kellireese.com/the-breakup-roadmap/ [https://www.kellireese.com/the-breakup-roadmap/] * - Contributing author to the anthology Plot Twist: Stories of Unexpected Transformation Resources Mentioned: * Lead With Soul https://www.kellireese.com [https://www.kellireese.com] * The Destiny Roadmap (book) * The Relationship Roadmap (book) * The Breakup Roadmap (digital) https://www.kellireese.com/the-breakup-roadmap/ [https://www.kellireese.com/the-breakup-roadmap/] * Plot Twist anthology (upcoming) FOLLOW THE HOST, RACHEL BERNIER-GREEN * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelberniergreen/ * Website: https://www.instagram.com/jointhryvo/ * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jointhryvo/ * LinkedIn (Company): https://www.linkedin.com/company/jointhryvo/ * Twitter/X: https://www.x.com/jointhryvo * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jointhryvo * Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jointhryvo LISTEN ON YOUR FAVORITE PLATFORM * Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0kmrlBqo4QHftlfmqo2Q32?si=4bd2e0e655864a26&nd=1&dlsi=37cbc85018304f35 [https://open.spotify.com/show/0kmrlBqo4QHftlfmqo2Q32?si=4bd2e0e655864a26&nd=1&dlsi=37cbc85018304f35] * Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-purpose-profit-shift/id1829627732 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-purpose-profit-shift/id1829627732] * YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PurposeProfitShift [https://www.youtube.com/@PurposeProfitShift] If this episode resonated with you, subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a fellow business owner who needs to hear this.

She Turned Grief Into a $2M Investment Movement, With Natalie Levy

Natalie Levy left Wall Street, lost her mother and cousin to suicide, and built She's Independent Investments, a women-first angel group that's closing the power gap in impact investing. In this episode, she gets radically honest about the cost of masking, values-aligned returns exceeding 20X, and why giving money and investing it are completely different acts of power. CHAPTERS: * 00:06:54 — The Mask on Wall Street: What it costs women to conform in male-dominated finance. * 00:14:48 — Grief as the Catalyst: How losing her mother and cousin Z to suicide gave Natalie clarity. * 00:23:34 — Birthing She's Independent: How community demand organically built a women-first investment group. * 00:29:18 — Democratizing the Cap Table: The member-led model, Investment Observers, and real deal flow access. * 00:41:33 — Values-Aligned Returns: Why resilient founders outperform and how Natalie evaluates deals. * 00:47:44 — Cash is Queen: The Book: Why accessibility matters and the first step for aspiring investors. KEY TOPICS: - The physical and psychological cost of masking identity in corporate finance - How grief and loss catalyzed a purpose-driven career pivot - Democratizing angel investing through a member-led, women-first model - The Investment Observer pathway for non-accredited investors - Values-aligned investing and the data on underrepresented founder resilience - Why the distinction between giving and investing matters for women's financial power Guest ABOUT NATALIE: Natalie spent years navigating male-dominated environments from the classrooms in engineering school and advanced mathematics coursework to derivatives trading on Wall Street to tech sales and investing. She spent years in search of a workplace culture that inspired and supported her, and witnessed countless individuals (often, women) lacking fulfillment who were working too hard while failing to reach the professional roles they had earned. Following the loss of her mother to suicide at the beginning of 2019 she made a life and career transition to honor the loss she experienced and the journey she experienced.Natalie launched She’s Independent to create a space in the world to support and celebrate women stepping into private investing and money flows.She’s Independent exists to offer a real path to access and equity. The investment community is a space offering real belonging and promoting impactful capital allocations together. So that we can live in a world that invests in, supports, and celebrates women. Resources Mentioned: * Cash is Queen: A Conscious Journey in Angel Investing by Natalie Levy * She's Independent Investments — https://shesindependent.com [https://shesindependent.com] * She's Independent Events — https://lu.ma/shesindependentevents [https://lu.ma/shesindependentevents] * Venture Deals by Brad Feld and Jason Mendelssohn Connect with Natalie Levy: * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/shesindependent/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/shesindependent/] * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shesindependent_/ [https://www.instagram.com/shesindependent_/] * YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ShesIndependent [https://www.youtube.com/@ShesIndependent] * https://lu.ma/shesindependentevents [https://lu.ma/shesindependentevents] Follow the Host, Rachel Bernier-Green: * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelberniergreen/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelberniergreen/] * Website: www.instagram.com/jointhryvo/ [https://feeds.captivate.fm/profit-purpose-shift/www.instagram.com/jointhryvo/] * Instagram: www.instagram.com/jointhryvo/ [https://feeds.captivate.fm/profit-purpose-shift/www.instagram.com/jointhryvo/] * LinkedIn (Company): www.linkedin.com/company/jointhryvo/ [https://feeds.captivate.fm/profit-purpose-shift/www.linkedin.com/company/jointhryvo/] * Twitter/X: x.com/jointhryvo [https://feeds.captivate.fm/profit-purpose-shift/x.com/jointhryvo] * Facebook: www.facebook.com/jointhryvo [https://feeds.captivate.fm/profit-purpose-shift/www.facebook.com/jointhryvo] * Tiktok: www.tiktok.com/@jointhryvo [https://feeds.captivate.fm/profit-purpose-shift/www.tiktok.com/@jointhryvo] Listening Links: * Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0kmrlBqo4QHftlfmqo2Q32 [https://open.spotify.com/show/0kmrlBqo4QHftlfmqo2Q32] * Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-purpose-profit-shift/id1829627732 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-purpose-profit-shift/id1829627732] * Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PurposeProfitShift [https://www.youtube.com/@PurposeProfitShift] ---------------------------- If this episode resonated with you, subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a fellow business owner who needs to hear this!

Survival Mode Is Silently Killing Your Business, With Anna Wojtowicz

Anna Wojtowicz built a multi-six-figure business while operating in survival mode, a reality she only recognized when her body finally shut down. In this episode of The Purpose Profit Shift, she shares her journey from working with legacy brands to experiencing a state of functional freeze. She outlines the framework she developed to help ambitious women rebuild their success based on wholeness rather than survival. Anna now assists women in shifting their ambition's fuel source from survival to wholeness through her Release, Revive, Root methodology. CHAPTERS * 00:00 The Immigrant Wiring * 07:35 When the Fuel Runs Out * 12:24 Functional Freeze and Grief * 19:56 The Radical Sabbatical * 26:06 Release, Revive, Root * 32:02 Pricing, Panic, and Nervous Systems * 38:06 Untangling Success from Survival * 49:20 What Comes Next KEY TOPICS * Survival mode disguised as high performance * Generational trauma and its impact on entrepreneurship * Nervous system regulation as a business skill * Values-aligned KPIs (regulation, intuition, alignment) * The Release, Revive, Root methodology * Functional freeze in high-achieving women * Pricing confidence and embodied decision-making * Identity recalibration after burnout GUEST BIO Anna Wojtowicz is a high-performance healer, intuitive channeler, and thought leader behind The New Paradigm of Success™ — Ambition Rooted in Wholeness. She works with ambitious, high-achieving women who built success in survival mode and are ready to recalibrate how they hold power — so they lead with regulation, intuition, and wholeness in life and leadership. Anna’s work goes beneath mindset and strategy to the internal operating system behind ambition. Through nervous system regulation, identity recalibration, and intuitive intelligence, she helps women shift the fuel source of their ambition from survival into wholeness. With over a decade in marketing — including early experience with Teen Vogue, Vogue, Martha Stewart, and The Smithsonian and her own journey through success without fulfillment, grief, and reinvention, Anna bridges business strategy with practical soul alignment. This work isn’t about lowering ambition, goals or profit — it’s about recalibrating how power is held so it looks and feels fully you. CONNECT WITH ANNA: * Instagram https://www.instagram.com/annawojtowicz_/?hl=en [https://www.instagram.com/annawojtowicz_/?hl=en] * Tik Tok http://goog_662726588/https://www.tiktok.com/@_annawojtowicz [https://www.tiktok.com/@_annawojtowicz] * Website https://theawcreative.com/ [https://theawcreative.com/] * Work with Anna https://forms.gle/vr5jcnXzfqc1VAPG9 [https://forms.gle/vr5jcnXzfqc1VAPG9] RESOURCES MENTIONED * The AW Creative https://theawcreative.com/ [https://theawcreative.com/] * The Limitless Podcast www.youtube.com/@theawcreativeanna * Root & Release 60-Min Activation (Free) https://theawcreative.com/root-and-release [https://theawcreative.com/root-and-release] FOLLOW THE HOST, RACHEL BERNIER-GREEN * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelberniergreen/ * Website: https://www.instagram.com/jointhryvo/ * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jointhryvo/ * LinkedIn (Company): https://www.linkedin.com/company/jointhryvo/ * Twitter/X: https://www.x.com/jointhryvo * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jointhryvo * Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jointhryvo LISTEN ON YOUR FAVORITE PLATFORM * Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0kmrlBqo4QHftlfmqo2Q32?si=4bd2e0e655864a26&nd=1&dlsi=37cbc85018304f35 [https://open.spotify.com/show/0kmrlBqo4QHftlfmqo2Q32?si=4bd2e0e655864a26&nd=1&dlsi=37cbc85018304f35] * Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-purpose-profit-shift/id1829627732 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-purpose-profit-shift/id1829627732] * YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PurposeProfitShift [https://www.youtube.com/@PurposeProfitShift] ---------------------------- If this episode resonated with you, subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a fellow business owner who needs to hear this!