C&J Financial Foundations

Business Spotlight – Ashleigh Pollard Part Two

Katie Paskorz — Tue, 03 Dec 2024 16:10:07 +0000

We last left off with Ashleigh Pollard, CHC, CPT discussing the difficult decision to seek care for her mother, and how it completely transformed their relationship for the better.

Since then, she has been able to fully embrace her work at Start Here Health, with the mission to help as many people as possible create generational health.

✅ Ashleigh’s biggest piece of advice for fellow entrepreneurs:
Get a team.
You have to wear all the hats at first, but as soon as you’re able—delegate some parts of your process.

📚 Book Recommendations:
📕 Atomic Habits by James Clear—tips for breaking bad habits and building new ones
📕 The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry: How to stay emotionally healthy and spiritually alive in the chaos of the modern world by John Mark Corner
—embracing rest, solitude, and a slower paced lifestyle

Please feel free to connect with Ashleigh here on LinkedIn, and on her other platforms as well! ⬇️
Instagram: @start_here_health
Facebook: SHH.StartHereHealth / Ashleigh Wade Pollard

Ashleigh, thank you again for taking the time to share your story and work with C&J Financial Foundations. We wish everyone a strong start to the coming month and an even stronger finish to the year!

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Business Spotlight – Ashleigh Pollard Part One

Katie Paskorz — Tue, 08 Oct 2024 18:30:00 +0000

In Part 1 of our interview with Ashleigh Pollard, CHC, CPT touches on her own health challenges and personal experience caregiving for her mother, that led her down the path towards Start Here Health.

Ashleigh reflects on the pressures she faced, from juggling work and family to managing the demands caring for a mother who battles with dementia. As her mother’s needs became increasingly demanding, Ashleigh made the difficult decision to move her into a care facility, which was emotionally taxing, but ultimately necessary.

Ashleigh admits to ongoing struggles with taking on too much, but is learning to set boundaries and focus on self-care. Despite all of these challenges, she managed to undergo dementia training and continues to develop professionally while caring for her family.

Thank you for sharing such a raw and vulnerable story with our audience. Look out for Part 2 of our interview with Ashleigh coming soon!

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Business Spotlight – Tammy Thompson Part Two

CandJAdmin — Thu, 18 Jul 2024 16:37:54 +0000

We’d like to extend another huge thank you to Tammy Thompson for taking the time out of your busy schedule to share your story with C&J Financial Foundations.

Check out Catapult Greater Pittsburgh on their website https://lnkd.in/gBm-Kzp7, as well as here on Linkedin. Please also connect with Tammy to learn more about the incredibly impactful work she’s doing in Allegheny County and very soon beyond!

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Business Spotlight – Tammy Thompson Part One

CandJAdmin — Mon, 17 Jun 2024 00:23:38 +0000

You can feel the passion emanating from Tammy Thompson, even down to her description of why green is her favorite color. For Tammy, green represents growth and healthy ecosystems, which is what she aims to bring into the world with her work.

Tammy starts by sharing her fascinating attraction to frogs, which started when was a little girl. As Tammy became older, she studied frogs to learn more about why she was so drawn to them. Tammy found that in cultures that revere frogs, they represent peace, health and wellness—as they can only survive in thriving environments and ecosystems. Because of her background where these principles weren’t very present, the frog became a powerful symbol for Tammy, even making its way into the Catapult Greater Pittsburgh logo.

Her first interaction in the non-profit space was in 2008-2009 during the mortgage foreclosure crisis, working with families at risk of losing their homes. She felt the work was too heavy for her as an empath, and wanted to move into the “happy side” of home ownership—focusing on financial education.

Tammy found the financial education curriculum wasn’t resonating with black families within her next role. She started organically sharing her own story of poverty, which alleviated the shame and guilt that often underpins the relationship with money in this community. Her long term, unique approach to working with clients, eventually meant the end of her time within this position, but ultimately led to her tenure at Circles of Greater Pittsburgh.

The turning point for Tammy was the release of the Gender Equity Commission Report in 2019, which essentially revealed that black women would be economically better off anywhere in the country, other than Pittsburgh. From then, Tammy decided to be unapologetic about focusing on black families in the city, leading to her separation from Circles, becoming Catapult Greater Pittsburgh in January of 2021 🐸.

Not even two questions in, and I’m sure you can sense the power of Tammy and the work she’s doing.

Stay tuned for Part 2!

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Business Spotlight – Shannon Parris Part Two

CandJAdmin — Mon, 17 Jun 2024 00:20:57 +0000

Closing out our interview with Shannon Parris, we dive into some of the ‘unpacking’ she’s had to do to grow as a person and entrepreneur. Self-worth was a major piece of this work. She draws into question a very important idea: “how can you sell yourself as a business owner, if you don’t see your own worth?” In order to move her venture forward, this is something she’s confronted head on.

Shannon is paying her work forward to other entrepreneurs by hosting LEAP with Shannon Parris Consulting. Her hope for this ongoing series is to help entrepreneurs feel more literate in the various facets of their business. April 8th, our very own James Carter will be contributing to the financial forecasting segment.

We wrapped up our time discussing the ways Shannon unwinds—one of which includes reading.

Book recommendations:
📚 Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman — a business read
📚 What Happened to You: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing
by Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Perry.— for personal betterment

Shannon also has strict boundaries around closing her computer on Friday, and not opening it again until Monday—preserving weekends for family… Something we could all probably take a note from 😅

You can find Shannon on her website: shannonparris.com, and as Shannon Parris on all social platforms.

We can’t thank you enough for sharing your unique knowledge and experience with us Shannon!

We hope you all have enjoyed March’s spotlight!

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Business Spotlight – Shannon Parris Part One

CandJAdmin — Mon, 17 Jun 2024 00:15:56 +0000

In Part 1 of our interview, Shannon Parris provides a unique perspective as someone with 10 years experience in the non-profit sector.

Shannon earned her degree in psychology, believing she would become a counselor or therapist. However, upon graduation, she couldn’t pin down her ‘why’ for going back to school to fulfill this.

Ultimately, she started selling her handmade jewelry and volunteering at a women’s resale boutique. This volunteering turned into a paid position over the next few years, and became the entry point into Shannon’s work at the intersection of nonprofits and entrepreneurship.

Shannon shares that the most important question someone should address before starting a non-profit is, “What is the unmet need I’m uniquely qualified for?” If there’s another organization in your community that’s already fulfilling that mission, don’t compete—find a way to help them & contribute to it.

We close out Part 1 by discussing some of Shannon’s challenges in her journey—the main one being self-doubt. Being an employee brings structure and security, and Shannon initially had a fear of the potential instability of relying on herself. With time, and working to conquer these thoughts with a coach, Shannon finds herself the happiest she’s ever been in her career.

Stay tuned for the conclusion of this month’s spotlight!

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Business spotlight – Dr. Karen Hall Part Two

CandJAdmin — Sun, 16 Jun 2024 23:52:40 +0000

In Part 2, we start by discussing Dr. Karen Hall‘s experience within Ozanam, Inc. as their Assistant Executive Director. From a young age, their program exposes youth to new experiences and opportunities, to open their eyes to the endless possibilities for their future.

She speaks to the persistance she’s held throughout her career. Even though someone doesn’t answer at the first knock, keep knocking until they say “Who is it? Come in…”

Dr. Hall’s parting words for our listeners:
💡 Find out who you are
💡 What’s important to you
💡 What do you want to leave as your legacy?

Feel free to connect with Dr. Karen Hall here on Linkedin. If you’d like to get in touch regarding potential training opportunities reach out to (412) 860-4767 or urwinning@yahoo.com.

Thank you again Dr. Hall for bringing your passion and energy to our platform. We hope you all enjoyed our Business Spotlight of the Month!

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Business Spotlight – Dr. Karen Hall Part One

CandJAdmin — Fri, 07 Jun 2024 19:03:34 +0000

A consistent thread that Dr. Karen Hall has carried throughout her journey is always being open to listening—how what she’s experiencing can enhance her intellectually, and the opportunities it will provide to share with others.

Unbeknownst to her, Dr. Hall’s speaking engagements with various audiences, like high school athletes, and working with teachers, was the perfect training, that ultimately led her to where she is today.

We dived into how Dr. Hall defines mentorship and sponsorship:
💡Mentorship: someone that you choose to support your advancement or betterment.
💡Sponsorship: People who are putting your name forward in rooms without you even knowing.

Dr. Hall shares that one of her mentors was her fourth grade teacher. A key lesson from her teacher was, “if you’re gonna be a street cleaner, be the BEST street cleaner you can be”. This teaching is one that she carried through her journey as a student, athlete and professional.

We wrapped up Part 1 by discussing Dr. Hall’s core values—the main one being respect. Her approach is to start with openness when getting to know people. You never know how that person could provide a new perspective, or set you on a new path in life.

Dr. Karen Hall sees the world through her athletic lens, respecting her opponent, while still striving to be the best. We’ll follow more of Dr. Hall’s journey in Part 2!

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Business Spotlight – Joe Nardone Part Two

CandJAdmin — Fri, 02 Feb 2024 15:29:57 +0000

Wise words from Part 2 of our interview with Joe Nardone:

What you do from 8-5 keeps the lights on.
What you do from 5-12 will make you wealthy.
What you do after midnight will make you rich ‘in the fullest sense…’

Joe has owned 8-10 businesses within the property management/assessment space as well as the IT field. One may view these as vastly different industries, however Joe takes the stance that any business boils down to a simple principle—solving problems. It begins with applying technology and tools to these problems, which will either improve it (or dial it up!) From there, you’ll have key metrics and findings for further understanding.

He’s made it a point to surround himself with other hard working entrepreneurs. This network has been instrumental in driving himself and wife to further their businesses, and achieve their own vision of success.

Through what many would see as tremendous success, Joe has always felt the importance of paying it forward. In his youth he distinctly remembers making a quarter selling “lucky stones”. That transaction made him promise to never pass a lemonade stand without encouraging that young entrepreneur to continue their pursuits, and affirming the positive impact they’ll have in the world.

It was impossible to fit so much incredible experience and knowledge into just two parts. Joe, we thank you again for sharing your time with us and our network.

Give us a follow and turn on your notifications to see the conclusion to this incredible interview with Joe, as well as others to come!

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Business Spotlight – Joe Nardone Part One

CandJAdmin — Fri, 02 Feb 2024 15:26:34 +0000

“There’s a very big difference between making and earning money. Earning money is one thing. When you make money, you literally are making it from nothing…and that’s the miracle of free enterprise.”

Joe Nardone emphasizes throughout Part 1, that failure is a key component of success. In his opinion, the modern approach of guiding young people into specializations early can inhibit a breadth of understanding and experience necessary to find what they might like and where they can make a valuable contribution.

Joe attributes his faith—believing in ‘someone bigger than him’, and support system as a source of strength to use his failures to propel him to the next leg of his journey.

As a young boy, Joe’s dream was to be a mechanic and own a garage. However, his extensive experience and entrepreneurial journey didn’t ultimately lead him to realize this. We’ll learn a bit more about where his ventures have taken him in Part 2!

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