CHATS with GiGi

Hosted by GiGi Diaz

Business Entrepreneurship EducationInterviews guests

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174

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Aug 2026

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About the show

CHATSwithGiGi is a casual (sometimes heated) conversation between journalist GiGi Diaz and her guests; covering everything from entertainment to political, to social topics and more. New episodes each Thursday. Follow on IG @CHATSwithGiGiPodcast

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60 recent

August 13, 2026Episode 18146 min

#181 It Costs Money to Make Money. The Hidden Cost of How Money Moves in Your Business with Nikki Piedra

You watch your revenue like a hawk. The sales, the percentage bump, the next launch. And the whole time, money you already earned is leaking out the back of your business through fees you stopped noticing years ago. In this episode, GiGi sits down with Nicole "Nikki" Piedra, a serial entrepreneur who built and sold a multimillion-dollar handmade wedding business before moving into payment processing. Nikki pulls back the curtain on the part of business almost no one audits: junk fees, statement fees, PCI fees, and the slow bleed of transaction costs that chips away at everything you work to bring in. One small switch made a single school an extra $8,000 a month they already had. We get into how that happens, why running your business on Zelle is keeping you small, and why it is never your job to decide how a client chooses to pay you. In this episode: The real cost of doing business, and the fees you've been trained to accept as "just how it is" The difference between a cash discount and passing the fee to the client, and how to do either without losing the sale Why your payment setup is a trust signal, and how Zelle, missing invoices, and a tangled software stack make you look smaller than you are About Nicole Piedra Nikki is a serial entrepreneur who spent eight years building a handmade, personalized wedding-gift business from an Etsy shop into a multimillion-dollar operation with a full team and warehouse. After selling it, she stepped into the payments world alongside her husband, bringing the relationship-first, nurture-first approach the industry was missing. She works with business owners across many industries to plug the leaks in how they get paid, and treats every client like a partner, because when you win, she wins. A few moments worth the listen: Nikki on merchant fees: if someone handed you back $100 today, and again tomorrow, and again the next second, you'd take it every time. That is what cleaning up your fees actually is. GiGi on getting out of your client's wallet: people pay with an Amex for the points, with cash because of old money trauma, with a card because they want to spread it out. Their financial life is theirs. It is not yours to manage. Nikki on Zelle: it was built for splitting a pizza or paying back a friend for concert tickets, not for running a business. No buyer protection, no seller protection, no paper trail. Come meet Nikki in person This conversation is a preview. The full, interactive experience happens live at Move, Breathe, Grow™ 2026 on September 19th in Miami at the Rusty Pelican. You'll leave the same day with things you can put into your business and your life right away. Grab your ticket before they're gone (they sell out every year): www.seizinghappy.com/mbg

August 6, 20261 hr 20 min

#180 Love, Law & Legacy: Navigating Prenups, Co-Parenting, and Protecting What You've Built with Annette Sanchez

In this powerful episode of the Chats with GiGi podcast, host GiGi sits down with family law attorney and entrepreneur Annette Sanchez to talk about the one thing most women business owners never prepare for — protecting their personal and professional assets in marriage, separation, and co-parenting. Annette brings a rare combination of legal expertise and heart-centered advocacy to her practice. From her early days as a DCF prosecutor to building a firm focused on minimizing conflict and maximizing family wellbeing, Annette shares why she believes the best time to call a family attorney is before things fall apart.In this episode, you'll hear: Why Annette believes you should consult a family attorney the moment someone proposes — not when you're in crisis The difference between a prenup, a postnup, and a strategy session — and why every woman CEO needs to know all three How co-parenting done right can actually free up your bandwidth as a business owner The emotional maturity required to be a great co-parent — and how to get there Annette's co-parenting toolkit and how it gives clients real scripts and frameworks for navigating difficult conversations Why your business, your body, and your children's mental health are all connected to the health of your co-parenting relationship A real-life example of extraordinary co-parenting from Gigi's own blended family Connect with Annette Sanchez: [Link to co-parenting toolkit] [Annette's firm website] Join us in person at Move, Breathe, Grow — September 19th at The Rusty Pelican, Miami — where Annette will be speaking live The marriage is finished, but the family continues. — That's the philosophy Annette brings to every case, and it just might change the way you think about all of it.

July 30, 202640 min

#177 Kirsten Franklin on Becoming the Person Your Next Level Requires

Plenty of business owners are great at the service they deliver, then freeze the moment the work shifts to running the business behind it. Those are two separate jobs, and Kirsten Franklin has built her career in the space between them. In this episode, GiGi talks with Kirsten, a former attorney who built a title company across three states in her 20s, lost all of it in the 2008 crash, and rebuilt from nothing as a single mom with a nine-month-old and millions in debt. She now coaches elite athletes, CEOs, and top performers, more than 3,000 people so far, and her work starts a layer below strategy, with the mindset and identity underneath it. They get into what it means to run your business as its problem-solver, how letting go of control can make you a more disciplined operator, and what's going on when you tell yourself you're afraid of the unknown. In this episode: What it means to be the solutions developer inside your own business, and why that reframe shrinks every road bump that hits you How hiring at 70% capacity buys you a more disciplined business, and the discipline it asks from you first The lie hiding inside "fear of the unknown," and the identity shift that turns years of reading and workshops into who you are About Kirsten Franklin Kirsten is a former attorney who built a title company across three states in her 20s, lost it when the 2008 market crashed, and rebuilt from the ground up as a single mom carrying a nine-month-old and millions in debt. That season taught her to embody the personal-development work she had spent years collecting, and it reshaped how she sees resilience, empathy, and capacity. Today she coaches elite performers, CEOs, and pro athletes, people who already look successful from the outside and want their next level, on the mindset and identity shifts that get them there. She also spent several years as a board president of a foundation serving youth in the largest public housing project in North America. She's the creator of the MVP Method. A few moments worth the listen: Kirsten on the hard days: there is no such thing as a problem, only a challenge, and as an entrepreneur you are a solutions developer who sometimes has to jerry-rig things together to make them work. Kirsten on fear: you don't fear the unknown, you fear everything you think you know could go wrong, which makes it the fake known. Kirsten on the real work: it's the state of becoming, and the version of you standing here right now has to die a little so the next one can step in. Kirsten on capacity, in her Kabbalistic framing: you can't pour a waterfall into a leaky vessel, so the work is vessel repair and vessel expansion. Come meet Kirsten in person This is one conversation in the Chats with GiGi series leading up to the flagship event. The full experience, including the V and the P of Kirsten's MVP Method (she hands you the M, mastery of your mindset, right on the episode), happens live at Move, Breathe, Grow™ 2026 on September 19th in Miami. Grab your ticket at seizinghappy.com/mbg Help the show grow If it lit you up, rate and review the show and pass it to a business bestie who needs it, since sharing is how the Seizing Happy® tribe keeps growing. Come say hi on Instagram @seizinghappy, or explore the latest courses and programs at seizinghappy.com.

May 7, 202628 min

#172 The Performing Paradox: Why Successful Women Entrepreneurs Quit Support at the Worst Possible Time

The Performing Paradox: Why Quitting Support After Success Is Risky GiGi Diaz shares a client story about receiving a non-renewal message after helping the client move from near closing her business to landing huge clients, hiring new team members, and achieving her highest revenue; the client left because she felt too busy and not fully present for sessions. GiGi explains this pattern as the “performing paradox,” where people abandon the support structures that created their growth because success gets misread as completion, creating a “capacity gap” between business growth and personal capacity. She cites research on maintenance therapy (Dr. Ellen Frank), elite sports support teams, Anders Ericsson’s work on structured feedback, and Larry Greiner’s growth-phase crises to show why support matters most during peak performance and integration after crisis. She offers three signals and three self-check questions, and points listeners to a five-minute diagnostic in the show notes. 00:00 Client Nonrenewal Sting 00:49 From Crisis to Breakthrough 01:51 Why She Quit Support04:23 The Performing Paradox 10:01 Therapy Maintenance Evidence 12:35 Elite Sports Support Teams 14:44 Business Growth Phases 17:10 Capacity Gap Explained 18:33 Three Warning Signals 23:29 Coaching Beyond Rescue Mode 26:07 Self Check and Next Steps 27:58 Wrap Up and Where to Connect Diagnose what part of your business is causing the leak: https://seizinghappy.com/diagnosis

April 30, 202620 min

#171 Building a Business Like a Woman The End of Either Or Thinking

You've been told you can't have it all. Or maybe you've been told you can, but no one ever showed you how to actually hold it all together. This episode is GiGi's answer to that gap. GiGi breaks down what it really means to build a business as a woman. One that doesn't ask you to sacrifice your family for your ambition or your ambition for your family. This is the integration revolution: where strategy meets softness, and where your business is designed around your life, not the other way around. In this episode, GiGi covers: Why the traditional masculine business structure creates guilt, disconnection, and burnout for women, and what to do instead The three pillars of a Feminine Business Blueprint: intuitive strategy, ease-based structure, and integrated success How your 28-day cycle shapes the way you think, create, and produce, and why that's a superpower, not a liability The difference between balancing life and business vs. fully integrating them (and why that distinction matters) How to batch content by energy, sell from the heart, and simplify your systems without losing profitability If your business is feeling stagnant, it’s always one of three reasons. Find out which is affecting you in this 5min diagnosis: https://www.seizinghappy.com/Clarity-Kickstart-Assessment Learn more about Simple Business System™ - www.seizinghappy.com/sbs Use the code CHATS for a $200 savings ;) Not ready for a whole business restructure but still seeking support? Check out the Seizing Happy Hybrid Community with weekly live coaching by GiGi Diaz, workshops, and a beautiful community or Legacy Makers like you. www.seizinghappy.com/community

April 23, 202620 min

# 170 The AI Bubble Just Popped — Here's What It Means For Your Business

The data is in. Consumer enthusiasm for AI has dropped from 60% to 26% in a single year. 41% of Americans are actively trying to cut back on screen time. And if you've been using AI to run your marketing without questioning it, this episode is for you. GiGi Diaz, certified coach with over 20 years in business and media, breaks down exactly where AI is working against your brand and where it genuinely belongs in your business. In this episode, GiGi covers: Why using AI to write your copy and create your content is costing you sales. The "false competence" trap. The gut-check exercise: read your last AI-written email as if a stranger sent it to you. The 80/20 rule for AI in your business and the four areas where it actually earns its place. How to use AI for data analysis, transcription, admin, and repetitive tasks without handing over your genius. If your business is feeling stagnant, it’s always one of three reasons. Find out which is affecting you in this 5min diagnosis: https://www.seizinghappy.com/Clarity-Kickstart-Assessment Learn more about Simple Business System™ - www.seizinghappy.com/sbs Use the code CHATS for a $200 savings ;) Not ready for a whole business restructure but still seeking support? Check out the Seizing Happy Hybrid Community with weekly live coaching by GiGi Diaz, workshops, and a beautiful community or Legacy Makers like you. www.seizinghappy.com/community

February 19, 202636 min

#169 Adding a New Income Stream Without Heavy Lifting

What if adding income didn’t mean adding hours? In this Case Studies Series episode, GiGi talks with a Simple Business System™ client who used what she already knew to create a new stream of income—without breaking what was working or overloading her schedule. This conversation shows what strategic expansion actually looks like when it’s built with clarity, intention, and real-life capacity in mind; exactly what we teach inside Simple Business System™ The next cohort of SBS goes live in just a few days. Use the code CHATS to save $200 when you sign up for Simple Business System today. https://www.seizinghappy.com/sbs

February 12, 20261 hr 14 min

#168 The Confidence Shift That Changed Everything in Her Business (Series: Part 2 of 3)

This episode is part 2 of a 3 part Client Case Study Series, where GiGi shares real conversations with women who have gone through the Simple Business System™ and reshaped how they run their businesses. You’ll hear from Coach Iris and how SBS helped expand her business once clarity replaced chaos, and structure created more freedom. No hype. No pressure. If you’ve been craving simplicity without sacrificing growth, this one is for you. The next cohort of SBS goes live in just a few days. Use the code CHATS to save $200 when you sign up for Simple Business System today. https://www.seizinghappy.com/sbs

February 5, 202638 min

#167 The Behind-the-Scenes of a Sustainable Business Shift (Series: Part 1 of 3)

In this Client Case Study Series episode, GiGi sits down with a Simple Business System™ client Coach Nay, to talk about the real shifts that happened once her business was simplified—clearer messaging, stronger decisions, and a structure that supported her actual capacity. This conversation isn’t about doing more. It’s about removing what wasn’t necessary and building a business that feels steady, sustainable, and aligned with real life. If your business has been feeling heavier than it should, this episode will land. The next cohort of SBS goes live in just a few days. Use the code CHATS to save $200 when you sign up for Simple Business System today. https://www.seizinghappy.com/sbs

January 21, 202649 min

#165 Breaking the Money Taboo: Aileen Martinez’s Guide to Financial Confidence

Join us as Aileen Martinez shares her journey to financial empowerment and the lessons she’s learned along the way. Discover practical tips for building wealth, overcoming money challenges, and developing a confident mindset around finances. Aileen’s inspiring story and actionable advice will motivate you to take control of your financial future and break through barriers to success. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to level up your money game, this episode offers valuable insights for anyone ready to achieve financial stability and growth. Connect with Aileen: www.riseupbookkeeping.com Grab your Sacred & Strategic Book Bundle here: https://www.seizinghappy.com/sacred-strategic-presale-book-bundle Use the code CHATS to save $200 when you sign up for Simple Business System today. https://www.seizinghappy.com/sbs If you're not ready for a full business structure reset but still want weekly coaching with me? Monthly workshops, a powerful community of fellow Legacy Makers like you, are waiting for you inside the Seizing Happy® Hybrid Community https://bit.ly/SeizingHappyTribe , and I'll see you live, Thursday for Office Hours.