Local to Legend Emily Steele

In this week’s podcast episode, Emily chats with Ciara Landroma, an entrepreneur, coach and van-lifer who finally said yes to her dreams and shed the expectations of other people a year ago to set off on her own adventure traveling the country, working on the road, and supporting women with finding financial freedom. She joins Emily to chat more about letting go of goals that weren’t really hers to begin with, selling it all and living in a van, and her new found love for content creation.
A corporate, ladder-climbing professional got to the top and didn’t like anything she saw. So, she said goodbye to it all and drove away. Literally. Ciara Ladroma moves with a purpose to share how life can be absolutely delicious when you start to choose yourself. Ciara lives full-time in her campervan as she works and plays as a 100% digital nomad with her partner and their dog. Ciara creates wealth for Women, Queer Folx, BIPOC through budget & business coaching, as well as, a curator of multi-media content that inspires viewers to choose themselves and choose joy. 
 Tune in for topics like:
Shifting from a work-first mindset to finding joyThe collection of moments that led to a radical shift in Ciara’s lifeWhy a month long challenge turned into 3 years of sober livingPivoting to focus on content creationThe question we should be asking ourselves regularlyNavigating others’ opinions of your decisionsThe Daily Moment programLinks from the episode:
The Daily Moment programCiara’s websiteCiara’s InstagramThe Megan Ciara Show InstagramFollow me (Emily Steele) (Love Local) on Instagram for a little business + a little life, and a whole lot of positive energy!

In this week’s podcast episode, Emily chats with Tobi Parks, an entertainment and intellectual property attorney, majority owner and CEO of xBk, a Des Moines-based music venue, and Board Vice President for the National Independent Venue Association Foundation.
Listen in as Tobi & Emily chat through Tobi’s experiences in the music world, both as an artist and on the business side. Tobi shares how her journey led her from rural Missouri to New York City and details her decade in the city working for Sony Music, touring with bands, marrying her wife and having children. Ultimately, a desire for a better city to raise kids and be closer to family led Tobi and her family to Des Moines, Iowa, where she immediately immersed herself in the music scene.
Tobi walks listeners through her experience opening up xBk in the Drake neighborhood, her vision, the obstacles she had to overcome and what’s next for her (hint: it may just be right next door and involve cocktails). 
Tune in for topics like:
Tobi’s background and music experienceMoving to NYC and spending a decade in the music industry thereThe trip that made Tobi change her mind about Des MoinesThe vision for xBkWhy the Drake neighborhood was chosen for a music venueWhat’s next for Tobi & xBkLinks from the episode:
xBk websitexBk InstagramxBk FacebookFollow me (Emily Steele) (Love Local) on Instagram for a little business + a little life, and a whole lot of positive energy!

In this week’s podcast episode, Emily chats with Sue Honkamp, founder of Real Food 4 Kids, a brand dedicated to offering food education and hands-on cooking classes for kids and teens. Sue is passionate about getting kids involved in the kitchen and teaching them how to create wholesome, tasty meals for themselves and others.
Listen in as Sue & Emily talk about Sue’s background at Oscar Meyer that led to a career shift and motivation to investigate the foods she and her family were consuming and the ingredients inside. Sue shares more about how she started her business, her pivots during the pandemic and all she has planned for the future, including new summer camps and cooking courses for teens.
Tune in for topics like:
Sue’s experience as a brand manager at Oscar MeyerWhy Sue was motivated to create her own food when her daughter required a feeding tubeThe one thing Sue hopes kids take away from her cooking classesHow to encourage your kids to try new foodsSue’s latest launch: Real Food 4 LifeKey takeaways from 6 years in businessLinks from the episode:
Real Food 4 Life Teens Cooking CourseReal Food 4 Kids websiteReal Food 4 Kids FacebookReal Food 4 Kids InstagramFollow me (Emily Steele) (Love Local) on Instagram for a little business + a little life, and a whole lot of positive energy!

In this week’s podcast episode, Emily chats with Grace Rigdon, co-founder and COO of Deetz. Deetz is an app that you can use to see what’s happening around you right now in your very own community. As a fellow tech co-founder on a mission to support local businesses in every community they’re in, Emily and Grace dive into Grace’s journey into the startup space, her first business that led to Deetz, and how Deetz supports its users and small business subscribers.
Tune in for topics like:
Grace’s focus and ambitions as she started collegeHow Grace started her first business by stumbling into an entrepreneurship classWhat joining a tech startup company looks likeWhat Deetz is and how it worksLinks from the episode:
Deetz app Deetz plans and pricingFind a credit union to partner with by visiting the Iowa Credit Union FoundationFollow me (Emily Steele) (Love Local) on Instagram for a little business + a little life, and a whole lot of positive energy!

In this week’s podcast episode, Emily chats with Jackie Reses and Lauren Weinberg, co-authors of new release, Self-Made Boss, a book designed to give small business owners an essential survival guide with stories and experiences from business owners and advice from industry experts. Whether you’ve been in business for 30 years or have been noodling on a new idea, this book will offer you tangible, actionable advice you can implement right away.
Jackie & Lauren join Emily to discuss their experiences working with small business owners everywhere that led to the creation of Self-Made Boss. Jackie & Lauren scoured the marketplace for books that gave small business owners a holistic approach to running their business, but found very few. So they decided to write their own. They compiled stories and advice from business owners and experts, distilling them down into bite-size educational pieces that allowed readers to gain a new perspective on all aspects of running a small business from marketing to hiring to operations to taxes and beyond. Their writing style is approachable, offering pragmatic advice for anyone who picks up a copy.
Listen to the episode to learn more about what you can expect from picking up a copy of Self-Made Boss and the journey Jackie & Lauren undertook to write it! 
Find Self-Made Boss at your local bookstore, Amazon, or wherever you find your books.
About The Authors:
Jackie Reses
Jackie Reses is the Chief Executive Officer of Luna Financial Group, a fintech building banking-related financial infrastructure for tech and crypto companies and the Chair of the Economic Advisory Council of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.  Previously, she was the Executive Chairperson of Square Financial Services and Capital Lead and Head of the People Team at Square.  She has been named one of Forbes “Self Made Women,” Fast Company’s “Most Creative People in Business” and American Banker’s  “Most Powerful Woman in Finance.”  She has held leadership positions at Yahoo! and was a Partner at Apax Partners Worldwide, one of the largest private equity firms in the world.  Reses serves on the board of directors of Endeavor, Affirm, and Nubank.   
Lauren Weinberg
Lauren Weinberg is the Chief Marketing Officer of Square, where she leads global Marketing and Communications for the $100B company that provides business solutions for millions of small business owners all over the world.  She has been named on Forbes “CMO Next,” Brand Innovators “Top Women in Marketing,” and Fintech Hub’s “30 Most Influential Fintech Marketers.” Weinberg has held leadership roles at Yahoo!, MTV, and AOL.  She is an Adweek Executive Mentor and advises early stage startups.
Tune in for topics like:
Lauren & Jackie’s backgrounds and how they ended up at SquareThe inspiration behind the bookWhat’s inside and how to read Self-Made Boss Who they had in mind when writing the bookWhat Jackie & Lauren hope readers take awayLinks from the episode:
Self-Made Boss websiteDownload your free excerpt hereBuy Self-Made Boss hereFind a credit union to partner with by visiting the Iowa Credit Union FoundationFollow me (Emily Steele) (Love Local) on Instagram for a little business + a little life, and a whole lot of positive energy!

In this week’s podcast episode, Emily chats with Lisa Even, founder of Even Connection and corporate culture junkie turned entrepreneur. Lisa joins to share more about her one million interview mission, upcoming conference, and how she’s striving to build more connection opportunities in the world.
Lisa founded Even Connection in 2019 after years of building strong team cultures in the medical and financial industries. She decided it was time to take her expertise to more people so she opened up the virtual doors of Even Connection with the goal of helping people create positive ripple effects at work and beyond. 
Now her offerings have expanded to include:
- Speaking (keynotes, conferences, retreats, breakout sessions, teams and departments)
- Coaching (1x1) with people who want to create a greater ripple effect at work and beyond
- Wave Workshops - work with teams on engagement, motivation, culture, and communication
- Connection Conferences - one-day connection conferences, Rising Tides, for leaders and entrepreneurs who want to be inspired, connected, and impactful.
Listen in as Lisa shares more about building her online business and the mission she’s on to interview one million souls. The next Rising Tide conference is coming up on April 28th in Des Moines, Iowa. Emily will be speaking! If you’re interested in attending, find the link to grab your ticket below.
Tune in for topics like:
Questions Lisa asks in every one million interviewThe Rising Tides ConferenceWhy you should read the Go GiverCreating roles and responsibilities in hiringWhy knowing where your strengths lie is crucial to your successLinks from the episode:
Even Connection websiteLisa Instagram InstagramEven Connection FacebookLisa LinkedInBuy a ticket for the April 28th Rising Tides ConferenceFind a credit union to partner with by visiting the Iowa Credit Union FoundationFollow me (Emily Steele) (Love Local) on Instagram for a little business + a little life, and a whole lot of positive energy!