Speaker, Trainer, and award-winning entrepreneur - these are just a few words that describe Cameka Smith, Founder of The BOSS Network, a community of professional and entrepreneurial women who support each other through conversation, online engagement, and event-based networking. Accolades include top 50 Website for Entrepreneurs (Inc. Magazine), 10 Best Career Sites for Women (Forbes.com) and one of 9 Twitter Accounts to Enhance Your College Experience (BlackEnterprise.com). www.thebossnetwork.org

Shifting through seasons is a part of every Christian's faith walk. Listen this week as I chatted with my great girlfriend Cameka Smith, founder of The Boss Network, about the shifts of life and business and how to ride with God every step of the way. Listen today and share with a great girlfriend!

From "layoff to boss!" The power of a positive mindset is everything. In this episode I have a conversation with Cameka Smith, Founder of The BOSS Network. Under Cameka’s leadership, The BOSS Network has become one of the fastest-growing women business communities, garnering several accolades such as a Top 50 Website for Entrepreneurs (Inc. Magazine), 10 Best Career Sites for Women (Forbes.com) and one of 9 Twitter Accounts to Enhance Your College Experience (BlackEnterprise.com). Cameka shares how due to a layoff from a position she was propelled into unexpected territory that lead to business success for a decade now. You want to tune in!

Support, encouragement, and connections are some of the key components needed to achieve a higher level of success in your career or business. That’s exactly what The Boss Network provides.

In this episode, founder Cameka Smith shares her story of how The Boss Network came to be and why it’s important to find a community of people that align with your values, vision, and goals.

You’ll find out what the habits of highly successful bosses do!

She shares her biggest lessons from building her brand as well as 3 must have traits to get from where you are to where you want to be. Lastly, you’ll hear what a business coach has done for Camekas business and how long it should take you to see success. 

What was your biggest a-ha or take-a-way from this episode? Let me know by leaving a comment below!

Enjoying this podcast? Spread the love…hit the “Share” button!

• 03:17 – Why Cameka loves her work
• 05:05 – What is The Boss Network?
• 07:30 – Camekas BIG vision for The Boss Network
• 09:50 – Challenges and lessons learned along the way
• 13:01 – Investing in support and asking for help
• 17:22 – Building your brand and building trust
• 20:04 – Best habits of successful people
• 21:49 – “In order for me to be successful I have to manage my time and be productive and not just busy” – @iamCameka
• 23:20 – Do you need a business coach?
• 28:54 – How long does it take in order to see success?

"When building your network or social following, focus on quality not quantity" - Cameka Smith

Speaker, trainer and award-winning entrepreneur - these are just a few words that describe Cameka Smith, Founder of The BOSS Network, a community of professional and entrepreneurial women who support each other through conversation, online engagement and event-based networking. Working towards one simple goal, BOSS® is “Bringing Out Successful Sisters” to promote and encourage the small business spirit and professional development of women.

Under Cameka’s leadership, The BOSS Network has become one of the fastest-growing women business communities, garnering several accolades such as a Top 50 Website for Entrepreneurs (Inc. Magazine), 10 Best Career Sites for Women (Forbes.com) and one of 9 Twitter Accounts to Enhance Your College Experience (BlackEnterprise.com). In recognition of her achievements, Cameka was listed in Jet Magazine as a 40 under 40 Entrepreneur, named one of the Top 40 Chicago Game Changers by Ariel Investments, The Network Journal listed her one of their 2016, 40 under 40 Business Leaders, and she was presented with a Rising Brand Star award by the Adweek in 2017.

In today's conversation, Cameka and I discuss the power of networking and building relationships. She shares why she launched her business, and how she developed a business strategy to monetize her brand and grow her business.

• TheBossNetwork.org
• Instagram: @iamcameka @thebossnetwork
• Twitter: @iamcameka @thebossnetwork
• Facebook: /iamcameka /thebossnetwork

• Dr. Cozette White
• In the Morning: Lyrics of Love and Laughter
• Crucial Conversations by Stephen Covey
• The Tipping Point by Malco
• Build Your Biz Relationships: "7 Steps To Grow Your Professional Network"

• Who are some of the women in your life that you're grateful to have around you and those who have really inspired you?
• What would people who you know today find surprising about you as a teenager growing up in Chicago?
• What did you have to give up to glow up? Did you have to shift your mindset, let go of people?
• What are some of the lessons you've learned about building relationships?
• How important is networking and social media to building and nurturing these relationships and an individual's personal brand?

• I am grateful for my mom and those who came before us. Because of them we are who we are.
• Our dreams and visions are tied to other people’s dreams and visions
• Cameka Smith used the power of relationships and networking to build The BOSS Network, a community of professional and entrepreneurial women who support each other.
• Find those who are looking for the same thing you’re looking for and build the solution
• Cameka Smith talks about building the business strategy to monetize the brand and grow her business
• Your business vision and desire to help people cannot be sustained without a forward-looking strategy
• If you’re gonna be in business, you gotta know your “why?” or you’ll be very easily deterred and distracted by everything else that is going on around you.
• The “why?” of The BOSS Network is to give women of color a platform to showcase their talents and their gifts and give them resources and opportunities to help them expose their brands.
• You have to build relationships and not just your rolodex
• BOSS stands for "Bringing Out Successful Sisters," and its mission is to promote and encourage the small business spirit in women
• When building your network or social following, focus on quality not quantity
• Here’s great networking advice from BOSS Network’s founder, Cameka Smith: Do your research before you get into the room, so you can drive the conversation and have something of substance to talk about.
• We must be sure we are operating with good character in our professional relationships to build authentic connections
• Social media is the great connector. It allows you to connect with an audience that you would have never otherwise met
• Connect the dots on all your media platforms
• Leadership does not always mean being out front, but it means serving in a capacity where your work impacts more than just yourself
• I operate from a servant leadership standpoint: looking for ways to serve my clients, my tribe, and give women in my network access and resources
• Great leaders are people who have crafted, molded and created their own table to have that conversation, then taking that information back to their communities
• Collaboration is so key: you can reach new audiences by collaborating with people in your industry or even other industries

Go out and serve other people. Serve someone who can't give you anything in return.  

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It’s not everyday that I cross paths with a woman on my journey who hasn’t allowed feelings of unworthiness to hold her back from rocking those dreams that have been calling to them in some way shape or form.

So it was such an awesome experience to dig in with this week’s guest, Cameka Smith, and really dive into what it is that has allowed her to never let fear or doubt stand in the way of her divine life’s purpose.

Cameka is the epitome of a BOSS; a business development mentor, founder of The Boss Network, one heck of an inspiring speaker and a lifetime entrepreneur. Her faith and her vision have driven her to change lives in a deeply connected and massive way, and believe me when I say, friends, she is just getting started.

Get ready to feel enlivened and recharged with this week’s episode and to learn how to step into and own the role of boss and CEO in your own life, whatever way that means for you.

• How to navigate fear and doubt so you can pursue your dreams

• How to discern if entrepreneurship is right for you

• How Cameka used her life’s circumstances to build herself up and stay motivated

• How to find mentors in your industry

• The importance of quality over quantity

• How do you know that it is time for you to launch your own business?

• What is the best way for someone to reach out to mentors and people in the industry you want to learn from?

• What kind of support do you have in your life to create balance and get what you need?

• What is a defining moment on your entrepreneurial journey where you felt you were exactly where you were meant to be?

• What are your daily non negotiables?

• “I have come to realize that there is not one person in the world that is more worthy than me, or I’m more worthy than them. We are all worthy of all the abundance and all of the greatness that God has in store for us.”

• “Wherever you are, there’s always room to grow.”

• “I wanted to believe in me more than anyone else believed in me.”

• “Don’t get caught up in what other people are doing, because that’s the easiest way to set yourself up for failure.”

• “The best way to step out there is to volunteer. You serve your way to success.”

• “If you’re in the room, that means you belong there.

• “What comes from the heart reaches the heart.”

• “This is the year of the womanhood, it is our time...we don’t have to be anything but us.”

Find out more about Cameka Smith at www.thebossnetwork.org or on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. You can also reach her on her personal Twitter account here.

In today's episode, we are thrilled to have guest LovHER Cameka Smith, Owner and Founder of the nationally acclaimed BOSS Network.  Who better to discuss the age old question of how can we find balance between being a Boss and having a fulfilling personal life than someone who is a Boss and surrounded by Boss women every single day?  As women we often feel as though we have to sacrifice success in one area for the rewards in another and even feel guilty if one part of our lives is performing better than the other.  Is it even possible to have both and if so, what are some of the ways to get there?  Join us as we delve into this topic in hopes that you would walk away with something to add to your arsenal as we all pursue bliss in both our careers and personal lives.

Here's to BLISS!

-Kelli Fisher and Tana Gilmore, The Matchmaking DUO!

Music by:  Sharla K.

All of us need support. Black Women entrepreneurs especially need to know the importance of connecting with others on the journey to success. Rosetta’s guest today is Cameka Smith, the visionary and founder of an amazing brand, "The Boss Network" which has been featured in Black Enterprise, INC, and listed in Forbes as one of the Top 10 websites to visit for career and entrepreneurial women. In this conversation, Cameka shares why becoming a member of a business network for women is so vital and how you can take the first steps to make it a reality for you.

Women face some specific challenges when it comes to building their own entrepreneurial endeavors. It’s almost impossible to walk that path alone - yet some of you still are. Why? There are so many women walking the same path as you who can be of help and encouragement. Today’s guest, Cameka Smith created BOSS Network to help women like you build your business more successfully and with less of the emotional angst and frustration that is typical to walking the path of an entrepreneur alone. You’ve got to listen to this episode as she makes her case for building connections that can fuel your personal and business health.

Cameka Smith has discovered that networking is not about the quantity of connections you make, but about the quality of connections you make. It’s like building relationships in any other area of life, you’ve got to find the people you click with and work at nurturing and investing in those relationships. When you have that kind of personal commitment to others you are willing to do anything to help them and they are willing to anything to help you. It’s a win-win - and you both get a new friend in the process. Find out more about how Cameka has learned this lesson and how she suggests you go about forging those kinds of connections, on this episode of Happy Black Woman.

Rosetta loves to get jewels of wisdom from the successful Black Women Entrepreneurs she hosts on the podcast and when she asked Cameka Smith what she does to stay productive and on task, she gave an answer that was a bit outside the normal responses Rosetta receives. She said that she’s learned that she has to put herself on the to-do list in order to ensure that she’s getting the care, rest, exercise, and whatever else SHE needs to be healthy. In her mind, if she’s not healthy, there’s no way she’ll be able to serve clients and run her business in a healthy way. Find out more about why Cameka says every woman needs to put herself on the to-do list, on this episode.

One of the biggest joys of being an entrepreneur is that you don’t have to follow someone else’s outline for your life or your business. You get to decide how things will look and work. In other words, there’s no right way to be an entrepreneur. It’s YOUR journey and you get to figure out what works best for you given your unique personality and gift-mix - and you get to apply it in the way that fits your lifestyle best. Cameka Smith shares a ton of insight on this topic on this episode, so do what you can to make the time to listen.

• [0:29] Rosetta’s introduction of her guest, Cameka Smith.
• [3:50] The things that prompted Cameka to build BOSS Network.
• [7:30] The size and scope of the BOSS Network and how it benefits its members.
• [12:10] The events BOSS Network does for women entrepreneurs.
• [16:05] How Black Women entrepreneurs can leverage in-person events.
• [25:00] The vital necessity of self-care and putting yourself first.
• [31:30] The one tip Cameka gives to women wanting to step out to start something big.

• The BOSS Network
• Cameka on Twitter and Instagram
• BOOK: Click: The Magic of Instant Connections

Cameka is a go-getter, connector, socialite and lover of God who turned her lemons into lemonade. She believes that your net-worth is a direct result of your network and has provided a platform for women of color to connect, grow and prosper in their businesses and careers. Cameka is walking in her purpose with grace and style inspiring observers along the way.

She is the visionary and founder of an amazing brand "The Boss Network" which has been featured in Black Enterprise, INC, and listed in Forbes as one of the Top 10 websites to visit for career and entrepreneurial women. If you're not a member of The Boss Network... what are you waiting for? Please visit www.thebossnetwork.org to join and connect with over 100,000 bosses making moves professionally.

Fun Fact: Cameka likes to watch comedies, drink red wine and eat tacos!