She Became CEO

E63 | The Networking Mistake Nobody Talks About (And How to Fix It)

Everyone talks about following up after networking events. Fewer people talk about why most of that follow-up goes nowhere — and almost nobody talks about the real opportunity that most business owners walk past every single time. In this episode, I react to networking expert Cass Thompson's five most common networking mistakes. I agree with most of what she says — but I also have some reservations, and I share them honestly. Then I reveal what I think is the biggest missed networking opportunity of all. It has nothing to do with your elevator pitch, your business card, or your LinkedIn profile. It has everything to do with how you walk into the room and who you're actually looking for when you get there. I also share a real example from my own event organizing background that shows exactly how collaboration between business owners can create opportunities none of them could create alone. This is also my second unscripted episode — let me know in the comments if you prefer this format. In this episode: * Cass Thompson's five networking mistakes and my honest reaction to each * Why the standard follow-up advice is harder to execute than it sounds * The one networking opportunity almost nobody is talking about * A real example of what business collaboration could look like in practice * Why your ideal client probably isn't in the networking room — and where the real opportunity is Mentioned in this episode: * Cass Thompson — networking and connections expert and podcaster * She Became CEO podcast — available wherever you listen to podcasts Have you made any of these networking mistakes? Are you planning to approach your next event differently? Leave a comment and let me know. And if you're enjoying the unscripted format, I'd love to hear that too. Follow or subscribe so you don't miss what's coming next.

E62 | What Is Your Podcast's Job? How I Redefined Mine After Trauma and Burnout

Every podcast needs a job. That's what Neil Veglio of B2B Podcasting Insights said in an episode I couldn't stop thinking about. And it made me ask myself a question I had been avoiding: what is the job of mine? In this episode, I'm being honest about something. I started She Became CEO to heal from a complex trauma. That was its job. And for a while, it worked. But somewhere along the way, I got pulled into the mainstream — interviews, pitches, guests — and drifted away from what I actually wanted to say. So I'm course-correcting. More solo episodes. Less scripting. More of my natural voice, unfiltered. I also share why I'm moving away from scripted episodes even though I've worked hard on every script, and who is currently inspiring me to show up more unapologetically — even if she's not someone everyone will like. If you've ever wondered why your content feels too polished to be real, or if you're a podcaster questioning whether your show is doing what it's actually supposed to do — this one is for you. In this episode: * What Neil Veglio's question "what is your podcast's job?" made me realize about mine * Why I started She Became CEO — and how trauma shaped those first 20 episodes * How interviewing guests pulled me away from my original voice * Why I'm shifting to unscripted solo episodes * The podcaster who inspired me to be more unapologetic — and what I'm borrowing from her approach Mentioned in this episode: * B2B Podcasting Insights — Neil Veglio * Shamina Taylor — The Unapologetically Rich podcast * She Became CEO — available wherever you listen to podcasts If this episode resonated, follow the show and leave a comment. It helps more than you know.

E61 | Invisible Value: Monetizing the Skills You Take for Granted in Midlife

What if the most valuable thing you have is the thing you've stopped seeing? This episode started with a breakfast conversation. I had been listening to The Huberman Lab — Scott Galloway was the guest — and I couldn't stop thinking about what he said about the mentorship crisis facing young men today. The statistics are sobering: young men are four times as likely to kill themselves, three times as likely to become addicted, and twelve times as likely to be incarcerated as their female peers. And the single most common turning point? The loss of a male role model. I bring this home with a personal story about my older son and the rowing coach who stepped in when no one else did — teaching not just sport, but life skills, character, and what it means to be part of a tribe. But this episode isn't only about men or mentorship. It's about a blind spot most of us in midlife share: the inability to see the value in what we know, simply because we've always known it. I share my own version of this — how I turned my native Latvian language into a structured, properly priced digital offering while others were trading hours for dollars with no certainty of income. The larger question I'm asking in this episode is one worth sitting with: what did our elders used to do that the modern world forgot to replace? And what happens to a society when the people with the most to give don't realize they have anything to offer? In this episode: * What Scott Galloway and Andrew Huberman said about the male mentorship crisis — and why it matters beyond gender * The rowing coach who built a tribe and changed my son's life * Why the skills most invisible to you are often most valuable to others * The difference between trading time for money and building something with what you already know * Why midlife may be exactly the right time to start — not in spite of your experience, but because of it Resources & mentions: * The Huberman Lab podcast — episode featuring Scott Galloway * Sigil & Sisterhood gatherings — intimate in-person experiences in the Winston-Salem, NC area * ILZE BE LLC — SheBecameCEO.com If this episode resonated, share it with someone in midlife who has more to offer than they realize.

E60 | How I Use Ancient Symbols and Tesla's Numbers to Help Midlife Entrepreneurs Find Clarity

Most of us try to build a business with words. A mission statement. A vision document. A goal-setting template. But what if the most important things you want to build toward do not actually live in language at all? In this episode, I open with something unexpected — a summary of myself generated by an AI after a week of working together. What came back was not just a professional profile. It was a mirror. And it raised a question worth sitting with: what does it mean to be genuinely multifaceted in a world that keeps asking you to pick one thing? From there, I move into territory She Became CEO has never explored before. The neuroscience of how the brain processes symbols differently from words. The oldest continuously used symbol system in Europe — hiding in plain sight in Latvian folk costumes and woven belts since the Iron Age. Tesla's 3, 6, and 9. A birth date that encodes yin and yang and 111. And the ancient practice of sigil work — encoding intention into a personal symbol created by your own hand — as a starting point for building a business from the inside out. This is episode 60. The bridge number. Something has been growing underground. Today it comes above the ground. In this episode: What the AI said about me after one week — and why it matters for anyone who has ever struggled to explain what they do in one sentence. Why symbols activate a broader network in the brain than words do — and what that means for how you set intentions. The Latvian ornamental tradition and why women have been encoding prosperity and protection into geometric symbols since the Iron Age. What a sigil is, where the word comes from, and how to create one using NLP principles. Tesla's numbers, vortex math, and one very interesting birth date. Four in-person experiences I am designing around vision, numbers, colors, and voice — and the larger vision they are building toward. A Midsummer night in North Carolina on June 20th into June 21st — and an invitation to be there. Mentioned or referenced: Tesla's 3, 6, and 9 — vortex math Episode 58 — The Seed Story The Sigil & Sisterhood gathering — coming soon Jāņi — Latvian Midsummer celebration If something in this episode made you feel seen: Reach out directly or stay close via the newsletter — including what is coming this Midsummer. 🔗 shebecameceo.com/podcast-newsletter-subscription/  [https://shebecameceo.com/podcast-newsletter-subscription/] About She Became CEO I am Ilze Berzina — Amen University Certified Brain Health Coach, business mentor, and guide for women navigating midlife transition. I come from a maternal lineage of Latvian women with intuitive gifts and bring thirty years of entrepreneurial experience to every conversation.

E59 | Health, Business, and Becoming Your Own Advocate with Dr. Heather Skeens

This episode brings together two themes that run through this podcast: health and money—and how closely they are connected, especially in the second half of life. I sit down with Dr. Heather Skeens, a physician with a rare combination of expertise in ophthalmology and functional medicine, and the founder behind multiple ventures that aim to rethink how we approach health. In this conversation, we talk about what happens when the traditional healthcare system looks at the body in parts—and what becomes possible when someone chooses to see the whole person instead. Dr. Skeens shares the personal turning point that changed how she practices medicine, and why she believes patients must become active participants in their own care. Her message is simple, but not easy: listen to your body first, ask questions, and do not stop until you understand the “why.” At the same time, she speaks directly to healthcare providers, reminding them that patients often reveal the answers—if someone is willing to listen carefully enough. We also move into entrepreneurship. Dr. Skeens explains how she made the decision to leave a traditional practice model and build something of her own, even without formal business training. Her perspective on risk, independence, and purpose will resonate with anyone in midlife who is questioning whether it is too late—or too complicated—to start over. If you are someone who feels that your energy, clarity, or health is not where it should be… if you have been told everything looks “normal,” but you know it is not… or if you are thinking about building something new but worry your body may not keep up—this conversation will give you a different way to look at both your health and your choices. Dr. Skeens is the author of Unshackled: Why Medicine Is Failing Doctors (and Patients) —and How We Can Break Free, a book written for both patients and physicians, calling for a more human, connected, and root-cause approach to care. You can learn more about her work through her website (BellaSeeBeauty), her company Aligness, and her presence on platforms like YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram. This is a conversation about responsibility, awareness, and possibility—at a stage of life where many people begin to realize that both health and financial freedom require more intentional choices.   Host: Ilze Be Berzina https://ilzebe.com [https://ilzebe.com]  https://shebecameceo.com [https://shebecameceo.com]   Guest: Heather Skeens, MD CFMP Link to Heather Skeen's book "Unshackled: Why Medicine Is Failing Doctors (and Patients) —and How We Can Break Free" on Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/Unshackled-Medicine-Failing-Doctors-Patients/dp/1953183972/ [https://www.amazon.com/Unshackled-Medicine-Failing-Doctors-Patients/dp/1953183972/]  Links to BellaSeeBeauty and Aligness, Heather Skeen's businesses mentioned in this episode: https://bellaseebeauty.com/ [https://bellaseebeauty.com/]  https://alignessq.com/ [https://alignessq.com/]