“Call Me CEO” is your master-class on innovation, creativity, leadership, and finding YOUR perfect balance between motherhood and entrepreneurship.

Have you ever wondered how you could surround yourself with like-minded people to help your business and personal life grow? In this episode, Camille welcomes Samantha Tradelius, the co-founder of Commercial Coverage Insurance Agency, the award-winning founder of The Sparkle Foundation, the author of Impact, and the host of the InspiHER’d podcast, where she champions women and helps give them a voice.

Samantha shares her journey from working in insurance to co-founding her own company and now helping other women reach their goals in business. She gives her advice on how to network and market your service to others to help build real-life connections that can help you expand your growth.

What is the importance of having a tribe of supportive women in business?

Women in business have come a long way in the past couple of decades but we still have hurdles to overcome. The concept of a supportive tribe of women can be very beneficial for those striving to reach their business goals. Having strong relationships with other women who understand the individual journey can be incredibly empowering as well as motivational. When everyone is looking out for each other, it’s easy to stay optimistic, grow confidently, and work together when needed instead of competing against each other. Think of having an inspiring group that you can turn to when times get tough – now that’s what we call true sisterhood!

If you’re interested in growing your network and are looking for ways to expand your business, tune into this episode to hear Samantha’s advice on how you too can find like-minded people where you can all grow together.

Resources:

Interested in becoming a virtual assistant? Join the 60 Days to VA Course:
www.camillewalker.co/VA

Access the 5-day email sequence to help you discover your purpose:
www.callmeceopodcast.com

Listen to InspiHER’d:
www.samanthatradelius.com/podcast

Purchase Impact:
www.samanthatradelius.com/shop/impact-the-book

Check out SparkleBiz:
www.sparklebiz.org

Samantha’s Favorites:

Favorite InspiHER’D episode with Moms Demand Action:
www.inspiherd.podbean.com/e/change-only-happens-because-we-make-it-moms-demand-action-s-helen-and-janet/

Favorite business development books:

Good to Great:
www.amazon.com/Good-Great-Some-Companies-Others-ebook/dp/B0058DRUV6

Raving Fans:
www.amazon.com/Raving-Fans-Revolutionary-Approach-Customer/dp/0739309536

Connect with Samantha:

Follow Samantha on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-tradelius

Follow Samantha on Instagram: www.instagram.com/samanthatradelius/

Visit her website at: www.samanthatradelius.com/

Connect with Camille Walker:

Follow Camille on Instagram: www.instagram.com/CamilleWalker.co

Follow Call Me CEO on Instagram: www.instagram.com/callmeceopodcast

SAMANTHA TRADELIUS [0:00]

Get yourself a good group of entrepreneurial girlfriends because there, you can swap stories. You can have an idea about something that you might not even be thinking about, but they’ve been there. They've done that and they’re really willing to help you.

[MUSIC]

CAMILLE WALKER [0:20]

So, you want to make an impact. You’re thinking about starting a business sharing your voice? How do women do it that handle motherhood, family, and still chase after those dreams? We’ll listen each week as we dive into the stories of women who know. This is Call Me CEO.

[MUSIC]

I’ve always believed the mindset that women are so much stronger when we band together. And many times in media, we are meant to believe or told to believe that we are meant to fight each other or compete against each other and that is just not the case.

That’s why I love bringing in people like Samantha Tradelius, who is our guest today, who is all about championing women. She has programs not only to help them build business, but also how we can network together and how we can support single mothers in need. So, hop onto this conversation because you will find too how you can help rally around the women around you to not only build your business, but to help lift everyone up.

Welcome back everyone to another episode of Call Me CEO. This is your host, Camile Walker. Today, we are talking about women, the sisterhood and sistership. I don't know what word was going to come up just now, but it’s about sisterhood, you guys.

And I’m so excited because Samantha Tradelius is here with us today and she is a champion of women. That was the word. I was going to say champion and sistership and it came out sister something. But we are so excited because we are going to talk about all the things today.

And Samantha, you heard a little bit more of her formal bio before this. But man, you guys, she has built a company, the Commercial Coverage Insurance Company, built it to 8 figures. She also is the author of Stories of Change Makers and the host of InspiHER’d. That is all about championing women.

And I couldn’t think of anyone better to come on and talk to us about how when you surround yourself with women that believe in you and in themselves, we literally can change the world. So, Samantha, thank you so much for being on the show today.

SAMANTHA [2:29]

Yes, hello. We, as women, can do so much together. And I love that you have a platform to share the stories of us girls.

CAMILLE [2:36]

Yes. There are so many amazing stories that need to be shared and heard all over the world. I cannot wait for our audience to hear about you and how you got started. So, please introduce yourself.

SAMANTHA [2:48]

Yes. I’m Samantha Tradelius. I have many hats as you’ve discussed. The starting point of my life was in insurance, which is not the most glamorous sexiest industry. But it has been one that I've been very successful in and I’m very grateful for.

And that started off as a young woman working at my family's licensing school in Encino, California and one of the teachers not showing up for work one day and me going in there at age 17 teaching insurance class to a whole bunch of people, not knowing anything about anything, but I know enough to know this put food on my family’s table.

So, hey, let’s figure this out, which then parlayed into me learning how to sell insurance, and then opening up my own agency with my father when I was 23 years old, which then was selling home and auto insurance and smiling and dialing and building a book of business, which then I, organically if you will, met my husband who had just literally opened up commercial coverage in his basement.

It was him and himself in San Francisco. And that was almost 20 years ago that we met and he had his peacock feathers up and was Mr. Bigshot. What it really was was him and a Gateway computer. So, together, we built an incredible business over the years of selling commercial property insurance and done a lot with it all over the US, primarily in San Francisco area, Bay Area, but really had a lot of fun with it. And so, that’s my work side of me. And then, of course, I am an executive director and founder of a non-profit, which I’m sure we’ll tap into later on.

CAMILLE [4:29]

Yeah. So, let’s talk a little bit about this is so interesting to me because I will tell you from doing over 130 of these interviews, I kid you not, it is the women who still step up into the, I knew nothing about anything, but I had this opportunity and I stood up and I did it. What was that moment like for you knowing that you were in that spot and just deciding to step into it? What did it take from you and what was your thought process? Do you remember?

SAMANTHA [4:56]

Yeah. I was terrified because when it was with teaching insurance, in the state of California, if you wanted to get your insurance license, as you still do now, you have to do so many hours of licensing.

And so, there were literally probably 75 people in this room and I was working at the office at the time. And I knew okay, these people are what honestly pays the bills and puts food on the family’s table. So, I don’t know. I just grabbed a book and went in and opened it up. And I knew enough to talk the talk because I hear people talking. And I made it two or three hours until they could figure it out and get somebody in there.

But I realized that was something I could do and I enjoyed doing it. It was actually what I put myself through college doing was teaching exam preps and teaching people how to take their insurance test, which over the years, I probably got 5,000-8,000 people through their exam, which is a lot of insurance.

CAMILLE [5:49]

Wow, that’s incredible. Now, you built this business. First, you partnered with your dad, and then you built the business with your husband. Is this still considered a family business? Are you still working it with your dad or is that now a separate entity?

SAMANTHA [6:03]

So, as we’ll talk about I’m sure motherhood and life changes, I had started the agency Strickler Insurance with my father and we sold small personal lines and small commercial. And then, of course, I fell in love and met my husband who happened to live in San Francisco and I lived in LA. And so, those weekends turned into weeks and somebody had to move.

And so, I ended up moving to San Francisco and selling my business portion of my stock or whatever of the company to my brother, who then assumed my role within Strickler Insurance. And it is still thriving today as is the school. They’re both still going on and I’m still involved with both.

And then, I had some kids. I had two girls so that took a little bit of time. And then, my husband and I, he’s the yin to my yang and vice versa. So, he’s the sales guy. He walks in the room. He’s Mr. Charismatic and I’ve always been really good with the details and the people and the backend of things. And so, together we’ve been a really great team.

And I’m not as super active in the agency anymore. I still do trades act and sell insurance like I still do when we were doing our warm-up, that as much as I try to get away from it, I just can’t. I have some fantastic clients and many of them are women that I’ve watched their business from that introductory phone call with, “Hey, I need to get insurance for my space,” to “Hey, now, I’m making millions of dollars and how cool is this?”

And that journey is something that I really admire. And I’m so glad to be a part of it. And so, that’s why I can’t really get out of it, I think because I love my clients so much. But yeah, still involved, but not as much as I used to be. And it’s definitely one of those things it’s like riding a bike. Once you’re in it, you could always do it and you're always in it. So, it is that right now.

CAMILLE [7:49]

Yeah. There’s a lot of service-based businesses that many of our listeners maybe have done or are interested or thinking about, whether it’s insurance or real estate or coaching or whatever the business might be. One of the biggest hurdles I think is building that book of business. And as women and oftentimes traditionally the first part of my career, I was in the finance business and I was a mortgage broker predominantly with me. And I think as women, it can be hard to be put into the bros club and wondering where you fit in. What were some steps that you took when you were first starting out and really not sure where to begin? Did you find alliances to build your business?

SAMANTHA [8:31]

Great question because both of those industries, as I like to say, are very pale and stale. Insurance is the worst. I would walk into a meeting and I would be the only woman and I’d be a young woman. And I’d have my heels and my blonde hair. And lots of people would be like, “Is your dad coming or is your boss coming?” And I’m like, “No, I am the boss.”

I think when I started, it was so hard because you just don’t have the confidence and obviously the knowledge that you gain 25 years later where I can walk in now and not even think about it. I know the answers, but it was really surrounding myself with the types of clients that I wanted to be around. And I joined a lot of different networking groups when I started originally and just got to understand business and the different types of businesses.

And then, when I moved to San Francisco, I did not know anyone except for my husband and I was just like a fish out of water. And I happened to come across a group of women that had a networking group called skirts. And skirts, it had an acronym and it was sharing knowledge information together.

And once a month, these women would meet and they were all from different walks of the world, all business owners or had to hunt their own dinner, if you will. And we would meet and we would talk about business, talk about life, talk about what was going on in our personal and professional live. And through the years, these relationships that were formed were so unbelievable in their growth for I think all of us.

And so, I think the best piece of advice I could get through any woman’s mind is get yourself a good group of entrepreneurial girlfriends because there, you can swap stories. You can have an idea about something that you might not even be thinking about, but they’ve been there. They’ve done that and they’re really willing to help you. And I don’t think, I know a lot of my success is based solely on the women that I’ve been able to surround myself with and I still do today. We still bounce some ideas all the time and doing a lot of business together.

CAMILLE [10:28]

Yeah. I love that for many reasons because I think first of all, you had to put yourself out there and find the group, find the resources. I know that there are places that you can search online, whether that’s Facebook groups or even your chamber of commerce or different things like that. What would your suggestion be for someone starting out scratch where to find a group like this?

SAMANTHA [10:53]

There’s so many of them. The chambers are actually really great because a lot of them have within their business little groups, they have a women-owned or women entrepreneurial group. There’s also many different cities that have different ladies’ groups, whether they’re the Polka Dots or they’re LeTips or BNI groups.

That’s honestly where I started and I did breakfast every single month, one once a month. It was like at 6:30 in the morning. And that was really how I started my business was making relationships with people that would feed me business and vice versa. And I also think too surrounding yourself with the types of people that you want to do business or would be good referral partners.

And so, in our world, we really like to focus on commercial property. So, who is dealing with commercial property? That’s commercial property real estate agents. That’s commercial property lenders. That’s property managers. And so, those were the spaces that we chose to play in because those were the people that we could speak the same language. They needed what we had. We could refer them clients as well. So, that was really a way that we built our business and it was very successful. Because again, we’re all sifting around the same pain points as the industry or whatever it is.

CAMILLE [12:10]

Yeah. Now, you bring up pain points. What would you say is a time that you learned from a rough time in your business, a pain point? And what advice would you give for someone who is going through a time like that?

SAMANTHA [12:22]

I think that there are so many different pain points. And not even pain points, more like growth points. Because if it was super easy, everybody would be doing it. I could tell you times I’ve had people steal. I’ve had people take clients, take money. Horrible, really challenging employees or losing a deal because I didn’t know what I was doing or I wasn’t fighting hard enough or I wasn’t giving myself enough energy because I thought I wasn’t worth it. And some dude comes in and wins, not because his quote’s better, but because he had a better swagger. And I was like I got to learn a little bit better.

And I think learning how to be strong and how to not take things so personally because I’m a very social person, but I’m also a very logical person. So, for me, if someone doesn’t like me or I get a feeling like the energy’s off, it messes with me a little bit, my logical business brain is like, this isn’t about you, Samantha. This is business. This isn’t personal. Let’s just get it done. So, I think those little lessons have been incredibly hard. And not to say I’ve got it all figured out, girl, because I do not.

CAMILLE [13:30]

Yeah. That’s so interesting talking about the swagger. I think that that is something that sometimes women have to work harder for is that natural, like you were talking about with your husband where it was just him and the computer, but the way that he acted, it was that perception that he had this big book of business or maybe lots of employees, I don’t know. But what is that swagger and how have you been able to develop that as a woman in your field?

SAMANTHA [13:57]

I talk about this a lot and I think it really boils down to understanding your worth and putting your feet in the ground and saying, I am worth it and here is why and bringing to the table your services.

So, in insurance, you’re selling a product. But at the end of the day, the guy down the street might have one that’s a little less expensive or he may have a little bit of a different sales pitch. My whole approach was always like, “I’m not here to sell you the cheapest insurance. I’m here to cover you in case something happens and is the right insurance.” So, I’m going to be a coverage person, not a price person.

Granted everybody comes to you for price, but the idea of a good sales person is somebody who knows their stuff. They’re able to really educate the client. And again, nobody knows anything about insurance because nobody wants to know anything about insurance until they need to know.

And so, really my worth is my knowledge base and what I can bring to the table and also having key relationships with my underwriter. So, I work a lot middle market. I’m a broker. So, I have access to every carrier under the sun, but I also work with a lot of wholesalers and middle market stuff.

So, I could pick up the phone. I’ve been doing this for 20 years and get magic to happen. Where when I was 5 years into it, I wouldn’t have been able to do that. And so, I think that part of me having a little bit of confidence, knowing what I know because I’ve built these relationships I think is really helpful. And also being a nice person too in the industry goes a long way. And I think people forget that sometimes.

CAMILLE [15:30]

Yeah. Speaking of nice person, I think you are the one of the nicest. Speaking of your foundation that you’ve built, it’s called the Sparkle Foundation to help single mothers. Tell us about that.

SAMANTHA [15:42]

Yes. So, my grandmother was a single mother in the 1950s. And she was the total inspiration for what is occurring now. So, when I was 23 selling insurance with my dad, I wanted to do something good for the world and started researching charities and trying to figure out what I was getting into.

And what I was finding was a lot of these places were not super transparent with the way that money was spent and it was really annoying. Even at a young age, I didn't have any money, but the little money I did have, I wanted to make sure it went to help somebody, not buy somebody lunch. So, what I was finding was not what I wanted.

So, as with anything, I’m like, I’ll just do it myself. So, I heard about this program with the post office and it was a Dear Santa program. And so, what happened was kids would write letters to Santa and it would go into the main postal distribution center. And you could go give them your ID, they take your fingerprints to make sure you weren't a psycho, and you could pick two or three families or whatever you wanted to help.

So, the first year, I went in there, I did two families. And then, every single year, it grew and grew and grew until 2015. I had 17 families we were buying gifts for. I had raised $37,000 just me. And basically, what I would do is get to know what they wanted. Shoes, bikes, t-shirts, food, whatever the case may be. And then, I would go back to my clients, my friends, my family,, anyone with a pulse and say, “Yo, this is what I need. Let’s do this.” And we would buy it, wrap it, and then go deliver it.

And so, this was year after year, it was growing and growing. They were always single moms, just this subconscious thing, which I didn’t realize until later on right before my grandmother’s death. I was doing it because of her and the stories I would hear when I was young about the way that my dad was brought up, my aunt was brought up, and her being the single mom working three jobs and being totally on her own.

And it was such an underserved community and I knew we could be impactful. So, yeah, in 2015, I filled all these papers, decided it would be maybe a little bit effective if I was a legit non-profit, not like I needed another job. Because at that point, I had the full-on insurance gig, 2 kids, a husband. LIfe was full enough, but I thought if I could do more and serve more, then it made sense.

So, I did it. I got the paperwork out. It took 6 months to get it done. It was such a big process. And Sparkle was born. 7 years later, here we are and I think we had brought in $1.8 million over the last 7 years and given 100% all back out to the community, which is pretty amazing.

CAMILLE [18:24]

Wow, oh my gosh. That is so cool. Wow, that is so inspirational to think about what one person can do, and then taking it to that next level and being committed to giving back. That’s really inspirational.

SAMANTHA [18:39]

Thank you. It makes me feel good.

CAMILLE [18:40]

Yeah. I want to hear about the book that you recently wrote called Stories of Change Makers. What inspired you to do that?

SAMANTHA [18:48]

I turned 40 in 2020, the COVID era. So, of course, we’re all sitting at home trying to figure out who we are and what we’re going to do with our lives. So, turning 40 was this major moment and really I was looking at reflecting because I had all kinds of time. And thinking about who I am is only based upon all these wonderful women in my life.

And so, these women who are so impactful in my upbringing, whether it was my mom, my grandmother, women I sparkle with, women that I look up to as my mentors. And so, it started off as this thing for women’s month on Facebook like today, I just post women that are impactful and it was like a picture of them and a little blurb.

And so, as I started doing this about 2 weeks into it, I was like, I think this could be a book. And so, that’s what I did. I turned my little 30 days of stories into a hard copy book called Impact and it’s the stories of change makers and everyday women that are doing big-time things.

CAMILLE [19:52]

That’s amazing. Now, with all of these different projects that you’ve done through your life, there’s a big thread here of sisterhood and women supporting other people and making change. What would you say if someone was listening to this and wanting to maybe find a tribe of women outside of business, but their own support system? What has been really helpful for you in maintaining those relationships?

SAMANTHA [20:17]

Making the effort. Taking the time to text someone and say, “Hey, how are you?” or “Hey, would you like to grab coffee?” Women, we operate so differently and we operate in this way of it’s about relationship and nurturing.

And so, when I go into a business situation, I’m not going in to close a deal. I’m going in to get to know somebody and understand who they are and what their needs are. And this is the same for Sparkle or anything I really do, it’s either we build and we grow based off of relationships. So, it’s not that you’re looking for friends or connections, you’re just really looking to put yourself out there and find like-minded people.

And believe me, they’re attracted to you as you are them. And so, if it’s somebody that you admire, you think is great, I just went to this event up in Vancouver couple weeks ago and this woman, she was a keynote speaker and she’s big deal CEO of this Canadian jewelry company and she is magnificent.

And probably 20 years ago, I would've never walked up to her and introduced myself and said, “Hey, how are you, blah, blah, blah?” But one of her lines was that she gave everybody a pair of earrings, and then they gave everybody another pair of earrings to give to another woman. And she asked everybody to #followyoursparkle. And I thought, I got to meet this woman.

So, I walked right up to her and I handed her my business card and I said, “I don’t know who you are or I don’t know anything about what’s here in Canada, but I’m loving it and I love you and I just wanted to come and introduce myself.” And so, the moral of the story is don’t be afraid to go introduce yourself and just say hi. Because guess what? You may be fostering and growing a great new relationship that you might not even realize.

CAMILLE [22:02]

Yeah, I agree with that. I think that there's a lot of power in that bravery, just like you stood up in that class and starting teaching. So much of our connection takes that moment of bravery to just step into I think it’s the fear of rejection of what could happen. What’s the worst that could happen?

Maybe it’s not a lifelong friend, but I’ve never had somebody come up to me and introduce themselves or extend a hand of friendship and thought, how dare they? No, you’re always thinking how flattering and I would love to get to know you better and it’s always a wonderful thing to have that brought out to you. So, I think that that is such a good reminder that beautiful things can grow from simple introductions like that.

SAMANTHA [22:46]

And women, we love to help each other. I get asked a lot. Other people reach out to me and say, “Hey, what do I do to start a non-profit or what do you think I should do or what do you think about this?” And I’m so excited to get to share what I think about it or what I would do or if I could do it differently now, I’ve already earned my tiger stripes, so let me share with you how to not make the same mistakes I did. That’s the beauty of women. We’re excited to do that for each other.

CAMILLE [23:14]

Yeah. Now, you’re a mother of two girls, ages 10 and 12, which are such formative years. They all are, but you’re really getting into that tween, teen age. What is it that you hope your girls learn from watching you and what you’re building?

SAMANTHA [23:30]

Great question. If they don’t break me, what I hope that they develop, no. It’s an amazing time and it’s such an important time because you’re really watching them become these little beings that I think when we were growing up, I remember my mom being always super involved with my life, but not at the level I think that parents are now. We were outside until dark. We weren’t thriving all around, doing all this crazy stuff because it just was a different time.

But I really make it a point to include my girls in every single thing I do. So, whether it’s stuffing backpacks from the back-to-school drive or wrapping gifts or going shopping or this here, my daughter who’s 12 is now old enough to help me with some of the computer work. So, I had her printing off spreadsheets and inputting information and responding to emails.

And I think not only is it teaching them about obviously doing good feels good, but also what it takes to run a business because even though it is a non-profit, it’s still a business. And I run it as such, even though I don’t get paid. It’s my unpaid job. But still there’s emails and this and that and checks and all these different things that have to happen.

And so, for them, I think it’s a really great legacy that they’ll be able to keep going if they choose to because as I was with my parents working in the office and could learn how to sell insurance and teach insurance class, they’ll be able to hopefully parlay that. Maybe continue on with the non-profit if they desire. I don’t know.

CAMILLE [24:58]

Yeah. I think that that is a perfect way in involving your children in something that you’re passionate about. I think that more often than not as a mom who is running a business from home or where you’re doing all this non-profit and all these different pieces that you’re doing, if they see the why and they’re a part of the process and they get to see the magic that comes from what you’re building, I think that those are life lessons that they’ll take with them throughout their entire lives. That is such an incredible example.

SAMANTHA [25:27]

100%. And my mom was a nurse in the operating room. And my mom hustled. She worked hard. She took graveyard call so that she could be home for us when we got home from school. And there would be days she wouldn’t sleep for 36 hours, but she’d still show up for the brownie meeting.

And so, I think so much of who I am is because of watching my mom and my dad. They were both really hard working entrepreneurs and individuals. And so, we don’t think that they watch us, but they totally watch us and they really observe and I think that’s how they will move hopefully when they get to be of age and have to be a grownup.

CAMILLE [26:05]

Yeah. That’s so true. This has been such a wonderful experience, interviewing you. I’m going to give you a couple fire rapid questions to share a little bit about more of what you do. So, first question, what is your favorite episode that you have done on your podcast so far, InspiHER’d?

SAMANTHA [26:24]

It’s interesting. There’s a lot of them, but one of them I really liked, which is just absolutely so important, is we interviewed the Moms Demand Action women that are about gun violence and mothers prevention. And it’s so timely because we just yet again had another situation. And the point being that even little you can make a difference and how we can all really stand up and power change.

And I’m really enjoying talking to these change makers and these women who are involved in different pursuits because we really do make a difference when we stand up and band arms. And I always go back to those episodes. I really love them because I feel like they inspire one person to get out there and do a little something.

CAMILLE [27:11]

Yeah. I got to listen to that. You’ll have to let us know what episode that is. We’ll make sure to put that in the notes. What is your favorite book for business development?

SAMANTHA [27:22]

Good to great.

CAMILLE [27:23]

Love that one. Why do you love it?

SAMANTHA [27:25]

I don’t know. I just think it’s an interesting approach and I think that it really sets the stage for the mindset that you want to have. Another one I really love is Raving Fans. Have you ever read that one?

CAMILLE [27:38]

I’ve heard about it. I haven’t read that one.

SAMANTHA [27:41]

It’s an easy read. We have to make all of our staff before they come on read it. The premise is basically knowing what you’re good at, knowing what your customers wants, and then also giving them that plus one added experience, which is such an easy win all the time. So, I’m actually going to say Raving Fans over Good to Great, now that I think about it.

CAMILLE [28:01]

Okay. All right. We’ll make sure to link to that too. What is your favorite thing to do with your family when it’s off hours?

SAMANTHA [28:08]

Go to the beach. And I’m such a beach girl.

CAMILLE [28:10]

I am so jealous, you guys. I just saw 12 inches of snow yesterday. So, I’m like, give me the beach. That’s so fun. What is your favorite place that you’ve ever been to in the world?

SAMANTHA [28:20]

Paris.

CAMILLE [28:23]

Why?

SAMANTHA [28:23]

It’s magic.

CAMILLE [28:24]

I’ve never been.

SAMANTHA [28:27]

I just went. I’m 42 years old and I just went this last year in September. And I was like, why have I never been here before? It is everything you think it is times 10. It’s just unbelievable. It’s breathtaking.

CAMILLE [28:40]

That’s amazing. What’s your favorite bit of advice that you’ve ever received from your mother?

SAMANTHA [28:45]

Always be able to stand on your own two feet, yeah.

CAMILLE [28:50]

That’s very telling of what you’ve just told us about her.

SAMANTHA [28:55]

Yeah, you always need to be able to take care of yourself.

CAMILLE [28:57]

Yeah, okay. Last question, what is your favorite song and why?

SAMANTHA [29:03]

You’re All I Need To Get By by Aretha Franklin. And I love it because at different times, it can mean different things. It can mean that you just need a little hope or you need a little faith or you need a little love or you need to push a little harder. But Aretha, just she’s something else. So, that’s always on my playlist and it comes on all the time when I need it.

CAMILLE [29:26]

I love it. I’m going to check that one out for sure. This has been so much fun. Thank you for being on the show today and please tell our audience where they can find more of you.

SAMANTHA [29:34]

Yes. I think if you just go to my website, it’s www.samanthatradelius.com, you can find out about the book, the podcast. I also have a little blog that I pst about female she-brands that I love. So, it’s just another way to support women and yeah, that’s probably the best place.

CAMILLE [29:50]

That’s awesome. Thank you so much for championing women. I feel like you are doing so many incredible things and I can’t wait to learn more about you.

SAMANTHA [29:58]

You’re amazing. Thanks for having me.

CAMILLE [30:01]

You bet.

[MUSIC]

CAMILLE [30:06]

I would love to hear more about your SparkleBiz Loan Program that you have specifically set up for women.

SAMANTHA [30:12]

Yes. So, in addition to our holiday gift drive and our other gifting experiences, the microloan program is specific to single moms. And the idea being that you are a woman that is in some need of operating capital. So, our loans are $5,000-$15,000. They are interest-free paid back within 18-36 months. And in addition to the money, you get mentorship.

So, we funded our first one in 2021 and we had a woman that we took on who needed some help with operating systems and business acumen backend stuff. She was really awesome. She was successful, but really needed a little bit of push. So, we were able to give her $10,000. And with that, we were able to plug a whole bunch of holes with her for systems and accounting and all the different things.

She was able to open a second location and hire six women and provide jobs in her community. And I think we have two more payments, and then we’ll be paid up on that loan and ready to fund out, I think probably maybe May, June of this year, 2023. We’ll be looking for our next recipient.

So, if you know someone that may be interested, you can go to www.sparklebiz.org and you can apply right then and there. We ask for a little bit of a story. We’re really looking for someone that has a business idea that’s either operating or we’re not looking to create your business plan. We want you to come to us with a business plan. And we want to learn a little bit about what you need the money for.

And we’re not your traditional lender in the sense. We’re not looking for credit or any of that kind of stuff. We’re really going off your grit. We’re going to look into some stuff, but the bigger decider is do you have what it takes to get to the next level and how can we help you get there?

CAMILLE [32:03]

That is so cool. What an awesome opportunity. We’ll make sure to link to that below so that if you’re interested or you know someone who might be, you can snag this opportunity and create new businesses for women. I love that so much.

SAMANTHA [32:14]

Yes.

[MUSIC]

CAMILLE [32:16]

Thank you so much for listening to this episode. If you have any questions, please reach out to me @callmeceopodcast on Instagram. And please leave a 5-star rating and review. Anytime you share this podcast, it will help us to grow and help more women to grow their businesses. I appreciate you and I will see you next week.

Hey, CEOs. Thank you so much for spending your time with me. If you found this episode inspiring or helpful, please let me know in a comment and a 5-star review. You could have the chance of being a featured review on an upcoming episode. Continue the conversation on Instagram @callmeceopodcast. And remember, you are the boss!

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