Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Let's welcome talk Welcome, Talk Wealthy to Me. I'm Michelle Taylor,
founder of Women and Well and Well from breaking money
myths to building wealth and achieving financial freedom. We're here
to empower you to create your own past path Talk wealth. Now,
join the conversation, and let's change the way women think
and feel about money. Are you ready? Welcome to Talk
(00:27):
Wealthy to Me and are live from Mallard Hall Estate Series.
In this episode, I sit down with briel Coderman. She
is an INK five thousand and ten X speaker, publicity expert,
personal brand designer, and advocate for domestic violence survivors. She
helps entrepreneurs craft powerful personal brands, scale to seven figures,
(00:48):
and share their stories in major media outlets. In this episode,
we learn that your story is your most powerful asset.
Brielle reveals how women can leverage their personal narratives to
build influence, impact, and income. Hi, everybody, Welcome to the
Talk Wealthy to Me podcast. I'm Michelle Taylor, your host,
and I am so excited to have with me today
(01:11):
somebody who I consider a dear friend but also an
expert that you're going to learn so much from. Brielle.
Nice to have you here with us.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
So honored to be here. Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
You're welcome. So I know so much about your story,
and I think that that's the big takeaway is the story.
So Brielle is, in my opinion, my go to pr
fairy godmother who knows the importance of telling a story
and makes you feel empowered to tell yours. So tell
(01:43):
everybody about Brielle.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Well, thank you.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
So I am a publicity expert for more than fifteen years.
I'm a personal brand strategist and designer, and I'm the
founder of the Influential Leader Agency and also the president
and of CEO School. I am a world champion equestrian,
I'm a mom of three amazing children, married to the
love of my life, and I live on a horse
(02:08):
farm in Kentucky. So, I mean, there's so much to
talk about.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
There is so much to talk about, and you make
it all look so easy, which I think you is
the goal for all of us. But one of the
things that I remember so well when we first really
started talking is the way that you're able to put
people at ease and pull their story out of them
(02:34):
when they don't know what the story is.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
So thank you.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
You're welcome. And I think that it's so important for
us as women in general to do better at having
conversations and telling our stories to each other, to the
other women in our lives, because you just never know
what the impact will be.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
That's absolutely right, absolutely so, And it doesn't matter.
Speaker 3 (02:59):
The good the bad, then different, you know, like those
stories in the middle.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
We need to be sharing more and more and more.
Speaker 3 (03:06):
So. I've been married to my husband for almost six years.
Many many years ago, I am a survivor of attempted
murder and domestic violence, and the entire trajectory of my
life changed in a moment, and I spent many years
playing small, and I spent many years hiding behind that
(03:26):
story and playing small professionally. Any person who survives any
sort of abuse, there comes a lot of shame with
that experience. And so my biggest fear was I'm educated,
I'm successful, I've done all of these things. I don't
want to be stigmatized. I don't want to be labeled
(03:48):
as a survivor of domestic violence when I am so
much more than that. And so I let that experience
keep me small for a really long time, and I
let those fears take over, and that story owned me
for a very long time. But it wasn't until I
started sharing my own story that women around me, women
in my community, women that I knew, came forward and
(04:11):
shared that they had been in similar experiences, and that
to me was a There was a major shift in
my business because I finally found the courage to start
sharing that story. And when I did, out of the
woodwork came all of these women who had experienced difficult things,
(04:32):
and I recognized exactly what you said, Women are not
sharing their stories enough. It's difficult for us sometimes to
take ownership of these experiences that we may have been
conditioned to believe are not things that we should share about,
not things that we should talk about, things that we
(04:53):
should keep to ourselves, especially experiences where there is some
sort of stigma attached to that, or something that may
be makes you look less than. And so I think
for most of us, we've been conditioned to believe we
share the happy, we share the shiny, and I was
definitely in that position. But I will say when I
(05:15):
made that transition and I started sharing my story, none
of these horrible things that I had crafted in my
mind actually happened. I thought people were going to judge
me and label me and not take me seriously. And
you know, I had this whole list of fears associated
with it. But what actually happened was everyone leaned in
(05:36):
and I recognized that there were other people in my
world who had experienced similar things. I started doing a
ton of research. I realized that it's more common. You know,
more than thirty four percent of all women will experience
domestic violence in their lifetime. There's a multitude of things.
People go through divorces, they lose their job, they go
(05:58):
through an abusive situation, there's we all it's part of
the human experience.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
That's right, that's right.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
And so I have, through the Influential Leader Agency, I
give people, and primarily women, but we give men and
women a stage. We give them access to the world
stage to share their story, whether that's a positive story
or a story of overcoming.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
Because one of the best things that you say is
you know what I'm going to say. I mean, I
don't know your story belongs as much to you as
it does to the people that need to hear it.
Oh my god. And the first time you said that
to me, I had chills because I've been in a
(06:41):
relationship that was not healthy, and you know it goes
back and same thing with talking about money. We are
I have many terrible decisions that I've made around finances
that you know, and I, before I met you, I
used to think, oh my goodness, here I am advising
(07:02):
so many women and business owners. I can't let them
know that I did the craziest, silliest things right because
it makes me lose credibility. But you teach me and
other women to understand that those are non traditional credibility
mark credibility markers that because I've come out on the
(07:25):
other side of it, well, of course that can help
someone else.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
That's right, because the experience gives you credibility. We can
all go to school and we can get the education,
and we can have the degrees and the certifications and
all of that. However, all of those things coupled together,
if you've never been in those shoes and you've never
experienced that, it doesn't necessarily equate to the same level
of credibility. So when you can share with us and
(07:48):
say you know I was in this position, I know
that if you've made poor financial choices in the past
you can overcome.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
I share my.
Speaker 3 (07:57):
Story because you're exactly right, and I do say the
last line of my tedex talk, your story belongs just
as much to those that need to hear it as
it does to you.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
And it's the truth. There are people who need to
hear that.
Speaker 3 (08:07):
And so we can sit and we can set with
our shame that we're feeling about these stories, or we
can embrace it and recognize that we're all human and
this is part of the human experience and we can
share it in a way that creates connection and actually
inspires so many people.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
I love it. So, ladies, the biggest thing I have
can hope that you get from this is that your story,
the good, the bad, the ugly, the middle, stories that
you think are the mundane, there's somebody out there that
wants to hear that story and that will take something
from it that could change their lives.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
That's right.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
So tell your stories. And now I love the conversations
we've had about women and wealth and money and and
for you, I've always loved the story of your come
up in and you know, you were raised and had
an amazing childhood. You got to do a lot of
(09:08):
great things and I remember you saying to me once
that you were put in the right situations because your
parents wanted to set you up for this abundant, successful life.
So you were hobnobbing, if you will, in the equestrian
world and with the schools that you were going to.
But then when you were on your own, you flew
(09:29):
the nest. Then you were like, Okay, how do I
do this on my own? Yeah? And I think so
many people because as parents, all we want is to
give our kids and set them up for lives that
are better than ours. And I know when you said that,
I'm like, man, am I doing that? I want to
make sure that we're not missing the moments of teaching
and encouraging to the little people that are looking at
(09:52):
us needing that guidance.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (09:55):
So, I mean I recognize one hundred percent. For sure,
the most challenge time for me in my life, most
challenging like time period outside of experiencing Big T trauma,
was when I transitioned from university to like adulthood.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
You know, on your own, you've got like.
Speaker 3 (10:17):
Responsibilities, you have rent or maybe even a mortgage, or
you have a car payment. And you know, I had
all of those things, So I wanted nice things. I'd
been around nice things, experienced that the majority of my life,
and I recognized that my parents worked very very hard
to give me those types of opportunities, and I still
(10:40):
didn't one, I didn't realize how expensive it was. I
didn't because I had had the financial support of my parents,
So I didn't realize how expensive it was to go
out to dinner, or to go out to lunch or
any of those things. And I also know that I
didn't know how to make money. I knew it was important,
and I I knew that I wanted it and I
(11:01):
wanted to be able to make money, but I didn't
really know how to make money because I had not
necessarily been out like in the workforce, actively in the
workforce until that point.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
So what are you doing differently now as a mama?
Speaker 3 (11:17):
So this is a conversation that we have a lot
with my children, and this is something that I share
with them. You know, my daughter, specifically, she's seventeen years old.
Speaker 2 (11:26):
When I was that.
Speaker 3 (11:27):
Age, there were very few women who were extremely successful
as leaders in the business space. When I saw women
who were extremely successful financially, they were models or actors,
or singers. This was in the nineties, you know, so
there weren't really these women leaders out there. So I
(11:49):
think it's really awesome that kids now have the opportunity,
both boys and girls have the opportunity to see women
who are in the forefront of the business world making
massive impact, making a lot of money, creating a lot
of opportunity. And that's one huge difference from when I
was that age to now. And my daughter has been
(12:11):
working since she was fourteen years old, So it's not
that I think having them have a job at a
young age is the solution. But we have active conversations
a lot about it's awesome to want money, but you
have to also understand how to make money.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
Well and how to make money work for you when
she get it, and we're just not having those conversations enough.
And you're right having somebody that you can look at
and say, Okay, she's done this right and it's something
I can do, because let's face it, not everybody just
because you want to be a model or a singer
or an actress doesn't mean that you've got the god
(12:48):
given talents to do so well.
Speaker 2 (12:49):
And I think it's a different world now.
Speaker 3 (12:50):
Yeah, you know. I mean back then that was like
I said, no, there weren't Sarah Blakeley is to look
up to. There weren't these women who are out there
doing big things in the business space. It was women
who had financial freedom and abundance and wealth. It was
created through a very different journey. And so now I
(13:12):
do feel like we're really lucky that.
Speaker 2 (13:14):
I think it's really great for my sons too.
Speaker 3 (13:16):
I have two sons, and I think it's great for
them to see women leaders as well. So, you know,
we have a lot of active conversations about money. My
kids have investment accounts, they have savings accounts, and they
are actively you know, they have chores, they have lots
of different things that they do so that they can
know how to make money as well.
Speaker 1 (13:36):
I love that. And okay, so if you could talk
to Brielle at seventeen twenty one, what do you think
that girl needed to hear to feel empowered about money
that you may be telling somebody listening.
Speaker 2 (13:53):
She needed to hear that money isn't everything.
Speaker 3 (14:00):
Money is important, but it's all going to work out.
Because I at that young age, I put so much
pressure on myself right out of college, like I said,
that was such a challenging time for me. I felt
like I was confused, I was lost. I felt like,
you know, maybe even I don't know if I was
(14:21):
ordering on a little depressed or something. But I was
working full time job for the first time, which I
was really excited to do, to go out and work,
but I also felt like I needed to create income.
So I ended up taking a job that I didn't
love right out of school, and so I didn't understand
(14:42):
the balance that I needed my own happiness, the importance
of that, and how that all positively affects your ability
to create wealth.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
Well, And I think that what you're doing for your
daughter now is so special. So you both have a
love of horsemanship and you it's amazing what you guys
are able to do together in that space. And you've
shared your daughter wants to focus on that as her
(15:13):
lifelong passion. And she's a junior in high school. Junior
in high school, and she already knows that she wants
to be an entrepreneur. Oh yes, And.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
She's been an entrepreneur many times over already.
Speaker 3 (15:23):
She had a cupcake business, she makes macaron She has
a macaron business. Before that, she had a slime business.
So she's been an entrepreneur since way back.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
And that's amazing though, because there is a component of
that that I think you're born with. I agree, so
she obviously got that from you, but also I think
that it's interesting that she's had you as an example
to show her the way and look at what she's
doing now. Yeah, I mean, as a parent, that's all
you can ever hope for.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
That's right now. I'm super proud of her.
Speaker 3 (15:55):
And you know, in Boston, my son who's thirteen, I mean,
he's been asking. So when Whitley was fourteen and she
got her first job, he was ten, and so he's
been begging since he was ten years.
Speaker 2 (16:07):
Old, when can I When can I work? Or when
can I do this?
Speaker 3 (16:10):
And you know, so he's always looking for creative ways
to start a business or create an online company.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
That's what he's trying to do right now.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
So it's like, I am a huge obviously a huge
believer in entrepreneurship, not just for myself, but I help
so many incredible people do amazing things in the world
and not just make big financial impacts, but make impacts
beyond that. Uh, and my children see that and they
experience it. And I'm sure it's the same in your
(16:38):
home when mommy and daddy are both entrepreneurs and founders
and super passionate about the work that they do. You know,
you have conversations at the dinner table sometimes about revenue,
and you know, just like really interesting and engaging conversations.
And I don't ever feel like that's something I want
(16:59):
to she old the kids from. I want them to
understand the decisions that we make and the conversations that
we have, and understand how empowering entrepreneurship can be both
financially and from an impact perspective.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
Well, and you never know what they're picking up right.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
Right, Oh, of course it's everything.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
Wild that you're like, oh my gosh, you don't listen
to me when I want you to and you're in
front of me, but you remember this conversation. So I
think exposing them to those kind of conversations and thoughts
is so important. It is. And with that, I mean
being a thought leader in your space is something that
(17:42):
you are a master at helping people identify and create.
You're welcome. So the women that are listening, where should
someone start that, They think, Hey, I've got this passion
and I know that I have a story to share.
Where do they even start?
Speaker 2 (18:01):
Well, So one, it's really important that you start your
own thought leadership as early as possible. So the worst
thing that I see happen, which is exactly what I did,
is that you build your business and you don't pay
any attention to your own personal brand or your own
thought leadership. Your heads down building the company, building the business,
(18:24):
and then you look up and you realize, oh my gosh.
To get to the level that I really want to get,
people have to know who I am and what I
stand for. And so.
Speaker 3 (18:34):
That is my number one piece of advice. Start early,
as early as possible, and focus so narrow your topics
of conversation. When you're sharing stories, you don't have to
share all of the details. You can share small snippets
and you can create connection and inspire action, because that's
what a story should do. And we have this fabulous
(18:55):
opportunity through our screens to reach people all over the
world through social media and publicity. And once you get
your stories really really dialed in, and you can really
clearly and succinctly communicate who you are, what you do,
and what you stand for. Then start amplifying your brand.
Amplify it through social media, go after media opportunities, even
if it's local and regional media. I think a lot
(19:17):
of times people discount local and regional media, but sometimes
they can be the most powerful tools organic one hundred percent,
because people are.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
Seeing you out in the community and you're going to
get quick recognition there, more so than on a national
stage where it's a flooded market.
Speaker 2 (19:35):
It is.
Speaker 3 (19:36):
And think about it too, from a pitching perspective, Good
Morning America is getting a lot more pitches than your
regional morning talk show. And so if you can come
to your regional morning talk show, there's a reason why
your newsworthy because you have a connection to that location.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
Yeah, and you know it's so easy to forget that.
The found building the strong foundation. You can't build the
roof before you build that. And I think that that
needs to start in a space that you've got the
most natural support. And yeah, it starts small. Don't think
(20:16):
that you have to shoot for the moon and hope
for the best. That's right, have some strategy, start where
your feet are and let your good story spread.
Speaker 3 (20:30):
And take you where you want to go, and take
you where you want to go. So and I think
you know step number one. So start early. Keep your
areas of your topics of conversation as narrow as possible.
People tell me all the time, I want to be
a speaker. Well that's fabulous, but what are you going
to speak about? You know what you're going to speak about.
You have basically one topic that you talk about. But
(20:52):
I can tell you there's a lot of people who
are speaking about a lot of different things. Now, if
I'm going to hire somebody to speak about women in wealth,
I want to come to the very best. I don't
want to come to somebody who talks about women in
wealth and who talks about, you know, traveling, and who
also talks about building businesses.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
And some other niche.
Speaker 3 (21:10):
And you know, like you have to focus and choose
your niche and stay in that spot, and then pursuing
your thought leadership becomes so much simpler. So staying narrow,
starting early, and then thinking about what is it ultimately
that you want to create. I cannot help you develop
a strategy unless we know where you ultimately want to go.
(21:33):
If we know where we're starting and where we're finishing,
then we can build a strategy all day long, but
that if we don't know where we're going, it's almost.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
Impossible there, right, that's right.
Speaker 1 (21:44):
Well, okay, so with that in mind, what is next
for you and what you're building?
Speaker 3 (21:48):
Well, the Influential Leader Agency is an organization. We've just
gone through a rebrand over this past year. It's been
real Cutterman Media historically for many many years. Our team
is dialed in. We have an incredible team, which you've experienced.
We have so many fabulous clients that we serve all
(22:12):
over the world. And I'm going back to my roots.
So this is honestly, this is the first time I'm
saying this in public.
Speaker 2 (22:21):
This is fun. So I'm going back to my roots.
Speaker 3 (22:22):
So when I first got into the PR world, I
got into this space by ghost authoring books. And I
was ghost authoring subject matter expert books and I was
working with one of the largest PR firms in Boston
which also had a publishing imprint. And I told Paige,
who was the owner, I said, I can pitch these
(22:44):
people because I'm a secondary expert. I already know all
of their content because I'm writing their book and their voice.
And so I was getting all of these incredible opportunities,
and then I really shifted into more of the pitching space.
So before the end of the year, and I don't
have a very firm date yet, but we will be
launching our own publishing imprint.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
Oh my gosh, that is so bigness.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
It is, it's big news.
Speaker 1 (23:09):
Well, thanks for sharing.
Speaker 3 (23:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
Here, first, I have absolutely well and everybody has a
story to tell.
Speaker 3 (23:15):
That's right, and everybody deserves the opportunity to share that story.
And I also want to say this, you don't Your
story doesn't have to be filled with drama and trauma
in order to make an impact in order to be
inspirational and help someone, And you don't have.
Speaker 2 (23:29):
To share every detail.
Speaker 3 (23:30):
So a lot of times people are scared about that,
they get really caught up, and the reality is you
can share enough to make a really significant difference in
a way that feels.
Speaker 1 (23:43):
Safe and feels authentic. Absolutely, so well, that's so exciting.
So if anyone is listening and they're thinking, okay, I
feel like I've got a good idea around my story
and my messaging and I do feel like I am
a thought leader. When is the right time for somebody
to partner with someone like you that they need to
(24:07):
take them to the next level.
Speaker 3 (24:09):
So we work best with people who are in transition.
So that person that you just mentioned, whether they are
a person who has been in corporate for many, many
years and they're making the transition and they're thinking, I
know my story has value. I know I want to
go do this and create a consulting firm or write
my book. Finally, we work really well with those people.
We work really well with the entrepreneurs who have gotten
(24:29):
to a certain level and they're like, you know what,
I want to get to that multi seven figures or
I want to finally hit seven figures or whatever that
pie in the sky vision is for them, you know
where they're ultimately going. So when people are in transition,
we work very very well with them. And that's when
thought leadership becomes super important. And I know you've heard
(24:50):
me say a million times. We can talk about our
ideas and theories and concepts all day, but until you
give actionable strategies and you're able to break it down,
there's really no thought leader there. So we're asking people
to think about something in a different way, but we
have to give them language around that so that they
can first start to speak and think about it differently
before they can actually feel differently well.
Speaker 1 (25:11):
And the little tactical things that you bring to the
table are game changers, and they are You're welcome. Very
It's like, oh, yeah, that makes a ton of sense.
But truly, it's about surrounding yourself with people that are
more well versed or smarter in an area that you're not.
(25:31):
And I think this is a perfect example. You can
be screaming your story from the rooftops, but it's there's
an art to it, and understanding how this world works
can change your life if you have the right people
at the table.
Speaker 3 (25:47):
And if you are out there and you have been
going on podcasts and you are not getting any inquiries
and no one is reaching out to you wanting to
work with you or to take a step closer to you,
hop on your email list, or whatever your ask is,
the chances are you're not on the right podcasts or
you're not telling the right stories.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
Great advice, Well, we.
Speaker 2 (26:08):
Hear a lot.
Speaker 3 (26:09):
Go get visible. You need to be visible, but what
does that mean? Well, and it takes a lot of
work to be able to be visible in a way
that actually creates a result.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
Well, especially being visible to the right people, you know.
And that's where nowadays and I think so much is
changed and how people are getting their information. Podcasts have
changed the trajectory of all of that. And it's not
just getting on a podcast, it's the strategy behind it.
And that's where you can be a thought leadership all day.
(26:39):
But unless you have a team that really is putting
the strategy in place, you're very likely spitting your wheels.
Speaker 3 (26:44):
Absolutely, absolutely, And time is such a you know, sweet commodity. Yeah,
so always being sure that we're guarding our time. We're
very solution oriented, We're very strategic about those solutions, making
sure we're or that if you do want to expand
your audience, we're not just expanding it in front of
(27:05):
random people. You have to be really thoughtful about where
you're showing up and how you're showing up.
Speaker 1 (27:10):
Well, you are the very best at what you do.
Thank you, You're welcome, and I am so thankful that
we got to sit down and spend some time together.
And for anybody that wants to learn more and follow
along on this new venture and also just possibly become
a client, where should they find you?
Speaker 3 (27:32):
Well, So Instagram is always the best place if you
go to at Brielle Cottererman. I know it'll be in
the show notes, but it's b r I E L
E and it's Cotderman co O T T E R
M A N and follow us.
Speaker 2 (27:46):
Send me a message and.
Speaker 3 (27:48):
Just say talk Wealthy to Me, which I love is
the best podcast name ever.
Speaker 2 (27:53):
But send me a DM.
Speaker 3 (27:54):
Talk Wealthy to Me and we'll send over a really
awesome resource, a resource with lots of different ways to
take a step closer to us, but then also some
incredible resources about personal brand building and amplification.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
I love that all of you. Please. I can't say
enough about the work that Briella is doing. And I
know nowadays it is critical to have these important conversations,
and if you're having them, let's get you in front
of the right people to change the way that they
perceive something and make a bigger impact. With that being said,
(28:31):
and as we wrap up, thank you so much for
spending time with both me and a very good friend
of mine. And as always, like, follow, share, subscribe, and
let's change the way women think and feel about money together.