On this episode of Mastering Business Skills, hosts Sharon Savage and Erin Alli welcome Sue Anderson, founder of Wild Woods Retreat and Farm and host of Entrepreneurs Gone Wild. Sue shares how stepping away from the hustle and reconnecting with nature can help entrepreneurs reduce overwhelm, restore clarity, and build healthier rhythms in business and life.

The conversation explores how many business owners become trapped in constant productivity mode, using every moment to work, consume content, or stay available. Sue explains why that pattern can leave people depleted and how simple practices like getting morning sunlight, grounding outdoors, and spending quiet time away from screens can create meaningful change.

Sue also shares the story behind her retreat, including how nature, stillness, and “sit spots” became central to her mission. She describes how everyday moments outdoors can feel surprisingly hard at first, but eventually become the very thing that helps people reset and reconnect with themselves.

Connect with Sue:

• Website: Wild Woods Retreat
• Blog: Entrepreneurs Gone Wild
• LinkedIn: Susan Anderson

In this episode of Mastering Business Skills, Erin and Sharon talk with Jennifer Cresswell, founder of ThoughtGro, about building a business that is scalable, sellable, and sustainable. Jennifer shares how business owners can create more time, more money, and more freedom by strengthening communication, improving operations, and planning for growth with the end in mind.

They also discuss why many business challenges are really communication issues, how to identify weak spots in your business, and why documentation, delegation, and succession planning matter more than most owners realize.

Jennifer also shares insight into her work as a fractional Chief of Staff and offers practical advice for business owners who want to grow with more clarity and confidence.

• LinkedIn- Jennifer Cresswell
• Website- ThoughtGro

In this episode of Mastering Business Skills, Sharon and Erin talk with writer, developmental editor, and flower farmer Diane Riis, owner of Earth and Soul Women, a holistic project that includes a legacy flower farm, live and virtual women’s circles, retreats, and classes on writing, intuition, and creativity. Diane shares how she weaves EFT tapping, guided meditation, and ritual with practical business and writing work to help women connect to “belly wisdom,” regulate their nervous systems, and trust their own inner guidance—on the page and in their businesses.​

Diane explains why she sees intuition as a compass and AI as a tool, and how she uses AI as a supportive “intern” while fiercely protecting her voice and integrity as a writer. She, Sharon, and Erin unpack the “AI voice” we’re all starting to recognize, the danger of outsourcing your authenticity to trends, and why your lived examples and energetic presence can never be replicated by technology.​

• How intuition shows up through your body, dreams, and daily signals—and why everyone has access to it (not just the “naturally intuitive”).​

• Simple nervous system tools Diane uses with clients: grounding through the feet, hand-on-heart, tapping, and breath patterns that calm the amygdala.​

• How to “run AI through your intuition” so it supports your work without flattening your voice or values.​

• Why spaciousness, quiet, and “a room of one’s own” are essential for deep thinking, writing, and business decisions.​​

• Website: EarthandSoulWomen.com (classes, retreats, Dark Moon Circle, and more)​

• Email: diane@earthandsoulwomen.com

• Instagram: Your Vintage Blooms​

• and many more opportunities on her site​

In this conversation, Erin and Sharon share candid stories about their first mentors, including the intimidation, the breakthroughs, and the deep confidence that grew from being supported by someone a few steps ahead. They talk about how mentors have shown up as coaches, clients, and peers over the years, often becoming friends who help them think through ideas and navigate challenges.​

They also explore why it is so important to see others in your industry as complementary, not competitive, and how that mindset opens the door to collaboration, referrals, and mutual mentorship. Erin and Sharon explain how this plays out in their own relationship—each leaning into their strengths, delegating what they don’t enjoy, and supporting each other’s businesses over time.​

The episode then shifts into a behind-the-scenes look at their Virtual Skills Master membership and how it is intentionally built around one-on-one mentorship instead of group calls. Members get private 30-minute calls each month with Erin, Sharon, or both, plus unlimited email and Voxer access, making it feel like having mentors in your back pocket whenever you get stuck.​

They highlight why this style of support is especially powerful for introverts and solopreneurs who may feel anxious or overlooked on group coaching calls. Instead of competing for minutes on a crowded Zoom, members get personalized guidance, screen shares, and space to ask “simple” questions without worrying about what anyone else thinks.​

The conversation wraps up with a reminder that mentorship evolves as your business grows—you may outgrow one mentor and need a new one who matches the next level you’re aiming for. Erin and Sharon encourage listeners to seek out mentors in different forms, from paid programs to local coffee dates, and to take full advantage of any mentorship opportunities available to them.

Connect With the Hosts:

LinkedIn:

• Erin Alli
• Sharon Savage

Websites:

• Essential Assistance
• Virtual Assistant Sharon
• Virtual Skills Master

In this episode of Mastering Business Skills, hosts Sharon Savage and Erin Alli sit down with Humza Adam, founder and CEO of H-Factor Solutions, a revenue growth acceleration firm specializing in B2B sales training, sales and marketing strategy, and high-value sales systems. Humza shares how he’s helped organizations generate over $5B in revenue, and how small and mid-sized businesses can use the same strategic thinking, systems, and skills to sell more effectively and sustainably.

• The “revenue triangle”: Strategy, systems, and talent
• ICP and UVP: The foundation of a sales system
• Client acquisition, metrics, and “sharpening the saw”
• Anti-fragile sales systems

• Website: H Factor Solutions
• LinkedIn: Humza Adam
• Course on building amazing sales presentations (60% off for podcast listeners)

In this episode of Mastering Business Skills, hosts Sharon Savage and Erin Alli talk with Debra Angilletta, a former Wall Street trader turned fractional CFO, about how to turn “cash chaos” into cash clarity using simple systems that make profit predictable. Debra shares how to uncover hidden profit leaks, manage cashflow intentionally, and implement practical money management habits that help small business owners pay themselves more and grow sustainably.

• How Debra went from Wall Street to a fractional CFO
• Hidden profit leaks you probably have
• Simple systems to use for predictable profit
• How to do your 30-minute profit check
• Mastering cashflow at each growth stage

• Website: Next Level CEO
• LinkedIn: Debra Angilletta

In this episode of Mastering Business Skills, hosts Sharon Savage and Erin Alli sit down with author, speaker, and small-business champion Shawna Suckow. They talk about how small businesses can stand out, show up more human, and attract their exact right customers in today’s noisy marketplace by moving away from stiff “performative professionalism”. How instead using real stories, personality, and values to connect with their audience. Shawna shares practical and simple exercises to identify what truly makes you memorable, explains her “brandships zone” of being differentiated, trustworthy, and unforgettable, offers real-world examples and mindset shifts that help you lean into your authentic voice, and shares when and how to pivot your marketing, especially when old tactics stop working, while also touching on choosing one or two aligned platforms, showing up consistently, and her own journey from reluctant speaker to CSP and author of Small Is Your Superpower.

Highlights

• Why sounding “professional” is actually making you forgettable
• Choosing the right platforms (without burning out)
• When and how to pivot your marketing
• Small is your superpower

Connect with Shawna

Website: The Buyer Insider

Book: Small Is Your Superpower

LinkedIn: Shawna Suckow

In this episode of Mastering Business Skills, Nicole shares how she grew Empower Virtually from a one‑woman operation in 2023 into a thriving global VA agency that matches business owners with executive and administrative support across sectors like coaching, law, and healthcare. She explains how being overbooked with a client waitlist led her to build a team, and how her natural “matchmaker” skill helps her pair the right VA with the right client so owners can stay in their zone of genius.​

Nicole discusses the realities of building a business as a military spouse living in the UK, including the challenges of moving overseas and needing a career that could travel with her. She also talks candidly about balancing toddlers at home, an unpredictable military schedule, and running a growing agency by working in focused pockets of time and accepting that some seasons are simply harder than others.

• Business owners who feel overwhelmed and know they need to delegate but are unsure what to hand off first.​

• Fractional leaders and service providers looking to streamline operations with executive and admin support so they can focus on higher‑value work.​

• Entrepreneurs balancing business growth with family life, especially parents and military spouses navigating unpredictable schedules and limited work windows.

• Website: Empower Virtually ​

• LinkedIn: Nicole Bryan