Marsha Guerrier is one of those people who manages to effortlessly get it all done. As a multihyphenate businesswoman, Marsha organizes her life around four main pillars: mindset, marketing, money and media. And for these reasons and so many others, it was a pleasure to welcome her this week into In The Suite.
Marsha is a bestselling author, speaker, business coach, and CEO of HerSuiteSpot. And for the past twenty years, Marsha has had a full-time career in Financial Technology, working for Fortune 500 companies and start-ups.
It was in her senior exec roles in corporate environments that allowed Marsha to harness her special talent for nurturing younger women of color. What she observed from both friends and the women she mentored was that many got caught up in a hamster wheel of sorts. They wanted to progress in their careers or businesses but instead they often got stuck, trying anything to see what would stick. Wanting to create a space to support women, she created the HerRise Conference, formerly called The Women on the Rise Forum & Expo.
The conference – this year taking place virtually on October 9th and 10th – is geared towards advancing women of color leaders, entrepreneurs, executives and their allies in their careers and businesses. In the HerRise conference, Marsha found a way to merge the things she loved: event planning and helping educate and train women. This year, HerRise will be giving out $20K in micro grants to inspire budding entrepreneurs to keep pushing forward towards their dreams.
It’s clear that Marsha brings forth this desire to pay it forward in everything she touches. She started the Yva Jourdan Foundation to better operationalize the non-profit work she has been doing for years. However, Marsha advises that others dig into their own “why” before they start a non-profit organization, ensuring they understand how they’ll be able to continue properly funding it.
This sort of advising is exactly what one would expect from Marsha, who does private and group business coaching through HerSuiteSpot to ensure other women get the information they need to thrive. In her podcast, Marsha doles out this advice through “tips of the day.”
One of these tips is around approaching new media for your business. She encourages to not overthink the type of media exposure you get for your business but instead to use things like podcasts and blogs to start getting your name out. And if you desire to produce your own media content and feel it’s too daunting, it’s about finding a schedule you’re comfortable with. As Marsha tells us, start removing the pressure of producing daily content and have fun with it!
Finding the joy in the process is what Marsha seems to bring forth in everything she does. Take a listen to the episode and take the below three steps so you can tap into your own joyful business experience.
- Reflect on the Four Ms. Marsha has organized her life around mindset, marketing, money and media – something I think we can all benefit from. Think about each of these categories as related to your professional and personal lives. What are the areas that you think you’re doing well in and what are the ones that deserve some more of your attention? Write down three immediate steps you can take this week to fill these gaps.
- Put Yourself Out There. What do you want to be known for? No matter what stage your business is in, it can benefit from media exposure. Make a shortlist of podcasts and blogs that you think you may be a fit for and pitch them. Don’t be afraid to start putting yourself out there.
- Give with Positive Energy. Instead of just writing a check to a cause you don’t care about, tap into Marsha’s contagious giving spirit and spend some time thinking about the things that light you up. Who and what do you think need support and what foundations and non-profits are out there that can help reach that intended audience? And, of course, check out the Yva Foundation, which as an ally or women of color in business, is a cause I know will align with many of our listeners.
Show Notes
Today we’re excited to welcome Marsha Guerrier into In the Suite. Marsha is a multi-hyphenate businesswoman who, while having a full-time career in Financial Technology, also manages to be a bestselling author, speaker, business coach, and CEO of HerSuiteSpot.
For the past seven years, Marsha has produced the HerRise Conference, formerly called The Women on the Rise Forum & Expo. She created the conference after observing friends and women she mentored who wanted to progress in their careers but became stuck as they figured out how. The conference – this year taking place virtually on October 9th and 10th – is thus geared towards advancing women of color leaders, entrepreneurs, executives and their allies in their careers and businesses.
Marsha organizes her life around four main pillars: mindset, marketing, money and media. In our discussion, Marsha speaks to how she continues to do this through all of the many things and people she touches, including the non-profit she runs, the Yva Jourdan Foundation.
Join the conversation to hear about:
- Marsha’s tip of the day for In The Suite listeners (4:45)
- How you can experiment with new media forms for your business (6:57)
- The impetus of Marsha starting HerSuiteSpot (8:52)
- Why giving away micro grants to budding entrepreneurs can be life-changing (17:50)
- The answer to whether you should start your own foundation (25:15)
- The secret to how Marsha is also a three-times bestselling author (29:42)
- How Marsha went from a corporate job in high school to working in fast food to being a multihyphenate businesswoman (34:55)
- A day in the life of Marsha Guerrier (38:34)
- How Marsha champions her superpower and gets it all done (42:47)
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