In this episode of the Bombshell Business Podcast, host Amber Hurdle removes the“fluff” from self-care and breaks down why professionals like you, who want to perform at peak, can implement actionable strategies to manage your self-care process. You cannot uphold your personal brand if you don’t build environments around you to support that. “Self-care” is merely the creation of environments to support your best self. It’s not fluffy or indulgent. In 2020 a global pandemic, social injustice, economic conditions, isolation, job insecurity, and more knocked us all on our tails. So to recover from the traumas and exhaustion it’s essential to tend to the mental, physical, emotional and spiritual aspects of your life to make 2021 a transformational year. Book a Free Consultation to Explore One to One Coaching Strong people who perform at their best. Make 2021 a transformational year. Book a free no-pressure, maybe even get turned down, consultation at or email  or email .&nbsp; Links and Mentioned Resources  &nbsp;

86: How to Practice Self Care Like You Survived 2020

When many people think “leader,” they think big, bold personality--large and in charge. The truth is extroverted leaders are not the only stars of business success, and we have more and more successful “quiet leaders” to look to as examples such as Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos or iconic world-changers like Rosa Parks. In fact, researchers from Chicago-based consultancy firm, ghSmart, spent 10 years creating a database, called the  Upon analyzing their data, their findings included that over half of the CEOs who performed the best were introverts.&nbsp; So let’s explore the behaviors that don’t always get fanfare, but can add incredible value through subtle, yet effective influence. Supportive Leaders “Quiet leaders” often lead with a supportive style as opposed to an authoritative style. Not ones to demand respect, these leaders humbly take a collaborative approach to decision making and execution. They are at their most influential when the people they lead feel heard, involved, and invested in the outcome. They influence through shared vision and team buy in. In fact, that is a pretty powerful way to focus people and processes towards success. Introspective Leaders Other leaders might take an even more unpretentious, reserved approach. Being known for being insightful, reflective, and candid, they think things through before acting. As reflective individuals who simply need a little time and space to decide on the next steps, their imaginative contributions often surprise those who otherwise perceive them as quiet. They are at their most influential when their sincere interest in a thoughtful plan and outcome is realized and others can look to them for stable, strategic outcomes. All Leaders Can Be Visible Leaders It is okay to not be the most social of leaders, however, be cautious of appearing overly private in an environment where transparency is celebrated. Close your door to get work done when it really matters, while also committing to being a highly visible leader by making the rounds, be it greeting your in-person team first thing in the morning, or checking in regularly on Zoom, Slack, or other digital communication tools used by remote teams. A reclusive or isolated leader does not inspire followers, so keep the end in that thoughtful mind of yours, and add visibility to your leadership strategy.&nbsp; The endgame for leadership is influence. While there are many paths to influencing others, it’s important to own your unique way as part of your personal brand, and then position it as a valuable resource to the organization or effort for which you lead.&nbsp; Take My Quiz to Learn About Your Leadership Personality Take this brief personality quiz to quickly define your distinct value, then leverage your results to position yourself as an influential leader who makes things happen.&nbsp; Find out what makes you great, and what you might need to "bubble wrap" to fortify your more fragile traits that may hold you back. (AKA the things that simply aren't your jam.) Don't overthink any question...just go with your first instinct. After just a few short questions you will receive powerful insight into how you show up at your best as a leader, and you will even receive a downloadable PDF of your results! You can take it for FREE here:

87: How Quiet Leaders Can Also Be Wildly Influential

Today I break down the concept of a Bombshell Business Woman, and share the step-by-step process of fully embracing your inner Bombshell before we rebrand this podcast to the Velvet Machete Leadership Podcast. As many of you know, I literally wrote the book on the matter, The Bombshell Business Woman: How to Become a Bold, Brave, Female Entrepreneur, which is available on , Books-a-Million, Barnes and Noble, Target, Walmart, wherever you shop for your books. And it’s also on Audible, and yes...I read it myself! Yet the concepts are transferable to women in larger organizations and this book has been used in corporations, women’s book studies, and professional women’s groups across the country. So if you like what you hear in this episode, that is where you go to go deeper. And the bonuses are still available at . Bonuses like a free workbook that goes along with the original book, daily affirmations, a devotional, and a book club guide with different ways to conduct your book club experience like one time versus multiple sessions or in-person versus virtual. We even created a  and a  and ! We cover the foundational concepts, as well as the three areas of focus for any businesswoman: the internal employee experience, the external customer experience, and the company’s financial experience. Tune in to find out more! Links and Mentioned Resources Book a Free Consultation to Explore One to One Coaching We still have one or two VIP coaching spots open. I only take a small handful of professionals at a time and it has to be a right fit, which is why we first do quick consultations. It’s not for me to sell you like you might have experienced before. My consultations are truly to understand what you want out of your career and life, if you are truly ready to go after it, and if I’m the right person to walk alongside you. So if you are serious about doing the work to get where you want to go, book a free no-pressure consultation.&nbsp; ​ &nbsp; If we are a match, I'll go to the mat for you. If we aren't a match, I'll be the first to say so!

88: How to Become A Powerful Businesswoman

Learn my proprietary method I use to help absolutely any leader who is willing to become more influential and hear all about the rebranding of the podcast that is kicked off in this week’s episode! So, importantly, who is this podcast for? Leaders: *Who want to develop a compelling personal brand *Who want to spend less time recruiting and more energy motivating top talent through a compelling employer brand *Who want to differentiate their brand from the competition *Who have a personal brand under a shared brand such as real estate or direct marketing leaders *Are job seekers searching who want stand out in a crowded job market *And ultimately, leaders who want to become more confident, compassionate, and influential. What is Velvet Machete? Let me break it down: The Machete cuts to the chase. It communicates in a direct way, capturing attention. But the Velvet wraps your message and your influence in a way that is appealing to your unique audience. I want to teach you how to wield your Velvet Machete so you can step up your leadership and be trusted to lead your team, your peers and even flawlessly manage up in your organization or the business that you own, especially in these uncertain times. What is My Velvet Machete Brand Strategy? My overall Velvet Machete Brand Strategy breaks brand success into three parts: personal brands, employer brands and business brands. You see, when leaders leverage their personal brands to uphold their company’s employer brand through communication, engagement and infusing the company’s culture into every aspect of operations, customers then enjoy a strengthened brand experience, true to the heart and soul of the organization. It takes all three pieces working together for a company to find longstanding success. What is a Velvet Machete Leader? Velvet Machete Leaders are confident, compassionate, and therefore influential. They have a balance fo the velvet and the machete, and they are critical in sustaining healthy organizations. With Velvet Machete® Leadership you will gain the confidence that comes with understanding your personal brand and its impact on engagement, cooperation, and the bottom line. What are the Velvet Machete Leadership Journey Pillars? The 5 pillars of the Velvet Machete Leadership journey are: 1-Build Your Personal Brand: In this step you confidently define and position your value, internally to grow within your company or externally to grow your market share. 2- Build Supportive Environments: This is where you create systems and structures that uniquely support your efforts. If you have been in my world for any time, this is the step where we identify what needs to be bubble wrapped. 3-Master Your Communication: This is the step that connects the “me” to the “we.” The first two steps are all about you. But communication connects you to others. So on this stop of the journey you speak with authority while listening with intent to drive results. Once you master your communication you can move on to step 4: 4- Master Your Engagement- You will see and harvest the greatness in others while rallying support. And finally: 5- Build Your Influence: Guide and focus people and processes towards success. Want to know the fun thing? You are always on the journey. You never arrive. Yes, you may become masterful in one area over another, but we are always learning, always becoming, always dipping in and out of each stop on the journey to strengthen ourselves as leaders. What will we cover on the podcast moving forward? As a listener of the Velvet Machete® Leadership podcast you will gain the confidence that comes with understanding your personal brand and its impact on engagement, cooperation and the bottom line. We will cover the five pillars with our expert guests, and we will expand on them to address branding, marketing, and sales principles, both internally from a team perspective and externally from a customer perspective. And I have some AWESOME guests...

How Absolutely Anyone Can Become Influential

I often say that professionals who want to build a strong personal brand need to attend “You University.” But how do you do that? And how can you shorten the learning curve?&nbsp; My go-to answer to quickly develop self-awareness is to take personality assessments, and my go-to assessment for personal branding is the Fascinate® Test discovered by Sally Hogshead. While we will explore all kinds of assessments on this podcast with expert guests, I just so happen to be an expert in this assessment as a long-time senior advisor with How to Fascinate. We cover the science of Fascinate, the 7 Advantages, how your Advantages work together, and how to recognize and celebrate Advantages in others.&nbsp; To take the test and follow along, visit  Then, tune in! Links and Mentioned Resources: Take the Fascinate Test:  To discuss bringing the How to Fascinate system to your organization, visit  To subscribe to our newsletter and never miss an episode and stay up to date with the latest visit  To book a discovery call to find out (with no pressure) if I’m the right personal branding, leadership, or business branding coach for you, visit . To learn more about the awesome Sally Hogshead, visit . *Some of these links may be affiliate links that allows me to earn a small commission, but does not change your cost, nor does it sway my full endorsement of the resource.

Build Your Personal Brand with the Fascinate® Test Personality Assessment (Ep 90)

Amber Hurdle is the CEO of Amber Hurdle Consulting, a multi-award-winning talent optimization firm that pioneers using both science and marketing principles to strengthen brands from the inside out. She personally understands what it takes to accelerate success as a former teen mom who evolved into a powerhouse business woman, having worked with international celebrities, executives and Fortune 100 companies alike, connecting people strategies to business strategies.