Chatting with The Experts with Paula Okonneh

Hosted by Paula Okonneh | Coach, Podcaster,Digital Marketer

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Episodes

234

Latest episode

Oct 2026

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EN-US

About the show

Are you a solopreneur, entrepreneur, or small business owner looking to connect with other small business owners ? Are you yearning to know how they became successful at what they do? Then tune into Chatting with Experts podcast as we have all the right answers for you! Here you can listen to successful small business owners like Sonia Stetzler, Bill Franklin, Tesse Akpeki, Leanne Cannon and so many others share tips, advice and strategies on how they built their businesses . Join us on www.ChattingwiththeExperts.com and determine how to become the success that you are.

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60 recent

October 15, 202627 min

Building A Strong Staff

Dr. Josiah Jackson, an educational excellence speaker and author at Jay Limited LLC with 35+ years of experience teaching in public, private, charter, and home school settings, discusses the challenges in the educational system. Dr. Jackson describes ongoing challenges in education including absenteeism, budget deficits, staff and student mental wellbeing, school closures, distance/hybrid learning, and revolving staff, and explains why team cohesion is essential for a successful school year. She highlights the "honeymoon" period at the start of the year and stresses consistent communication, encouragement, balancing strong and struggling staff, and using icebreakers, scenario-based activities, potlucks, and Culture Days to build relationships and celebrate diversity. She also discusses her books Come Get These Kids (written during 2020 school shutdowns) and Show Up With Excellence (focused on respect and dignity). Timestamps: 00:00 Welcome and Topic Intro 01:59 Behind the Scenes in Schools 05:36 Honeymoon Period Explained 08:00 Keeping Staff Motivated 10:02 Rebuilding Dysfunctional Teams 12:29 Listening and Icebreakers 16:02 Culture Day and Celebrations 18:22 Travel and Global Education 20:27 Books and Their Message 24:35 Where to Find Dr Josiah 26:21 Host Wrap Up and Close Get In Touch: If you're interested in connecting with Dr Josiah Jackson, you can reach her via her website (https://drjosiahj.com ), via Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/survivingtheschoolsystem), or via her LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/josiahjackson ). For those interested in sharing their own stories on "Chatting with the Experts," reach out to Paula Okonneh through her website at chattingwiththeexperts.com or connect via LinkedIn.

October 8, 202622 min

The Power of Reinvention

Dr. Tanisha Guy, a nationally recognized thought leader with 26 years in mental health, 21 years teaching, and 17 years in private practice, discusses how setbacks can become the start of the greatest success. Dr. Guy explains pivoting into entrepreneurship coaching after being unexpectedly let go from academia and realizing clinicians aren't trained to be business owners. She shares how learning she had dyslexia (and dyscalculia) helped her understand her brain, complete her dissertation, and reframe neurodivergence as a "superpower" for spotting patterns and strategies. Dr. Guy emphasizes mindset, perception, resilience, and viewing outcomes as teachable moments—"fail fast"—and urges women to act despite imperfection: "do it afraid…done is better than perfect." Timestamps: 00:00 Welcome and Theme 01:48 Meet Dr Tanisha Guy 02:08 Why She Helps Clinicians 04:11 Fired From Dream Job 05:52 Setback to Entrepreneurship 07:21 Dyslexia Diagnosis 10:25 Neurodivergence Superpower 11:51 Mindset and Resilience 13:56 Fail Fast Lessons 15:17 Do It Messy Not Perfect 19:57 Where to Find Her 20:34 Closing and Subscribe Get In Touch: If you're interested in connecting with Dr Tanisha Guy, you can reach her via her website (http://www.DrTanishaGuy.com ), via Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/drtanishaguy/ ), via Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/tanisha.guy.2025 ), or via her LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-tanisha-guy-b612335/). For those interested in sharing their own stories on "Chatting with the Experts," reach out to Paula Okonneh through her website at chattingwiththeexperts.com or connect via LinkedIn. Related offers (affiliate links, Paula may earn a commission at no extra cost to you): Brand Visibility Workshop: https://reseller.turiyahodge.com/boostyourbrandvisibility?am_id=paula5027 Financial Coaching Session with Saran Baker: https://api.leadconnectorhq.com/widget/booking/DAc4BxsjmMXxrAoQ7wbg?am_id=paula7445

October 1, 202628 min

When Life Changes Without Permission

Ronalda Sullivan, founder of Dream Differently, transformational speaker, author, and coach, talks about women facing disruption and possibility. Ronalda shares how unexpected life changes shaped her message, including raising a non-speaking autistic son diagnosed after evaluations at Bethesda Naval Hospital, the end of a 22-year marriage, and decades as a veteran and civil servant. She emphasizes that one painful chapter doesn't define the whole story unless you stop turning the pages, and encourages women not to lose themselves in disruption or the "fog of fear," but to ask what's possible now, feel their emotions, and move forward. She notes her son now lives independently and advises parents to research autism, seek medical evaluation, and obtain a diagnosis to access resources. Timestamps: 00:00 Welcome and Episode Theme 01:32 Meet Ronalda Sullivan 02:41 Dream Differently Mindset 04:20 Autism Diagnosis Shock 10:43 Redefining Communication 13:38 Losing Yourself in Disruption 18:01 Feel Fear Then Act 22:14 Autism Resources for Parents 24:49 Connect and Final Takeaway Get In Touch: If you're interested in connecting with Ronalda Sullivan, you can reach her via her website (http://ronaldasullivan.com ), via Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/ronaldasullivan/ ), via Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/ronalda.sullivan ), or via her LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronalda-sullivan-62b5a1194/ ). For those interested in sharing their own stories on "Chatting with the Experts," reach out to Paula Okonneh through her website at chattingwiththeexperts.com or connect via LinkedIn. Related offers (affiliate links, Paula may earn a commission at no extra cost to you): Brand Visibility Workshop: https://reseller.turiyahodge.com/boostyourbrandvisibility?am_id=paula5027 Financial Coaching Session with Saran Baker: https://api.leadconnectorhq.com/widget/booking/DAc4BxsjmMXxrAoQ7wbg?am_id=paula7445

September 24, 202633 min

Progression vs Perfection

Dr. Helen Holton, a leadership strategist, coach, author, and former Baltimore City Councilwoman, discusses how perfectionism creates "perfection-driven misalignment," the gap between excellence and perfection that pressures leaders, teams, culture, and results. Holton shares her leadership journey, including self-doubt, overworking, feeling unseen, and the need to find one's voice amid conscious and unconscious bias, noting large numbers of women displaced from roles. She frames perfectionism as over-performance, procrastination, fear of mistakes, and difficulty delegating, and urges leaders to focus on strengths awareness using tools like CliftonStrengths, DISC, and Myers-Briggs, emphasizing progress over perfection. Holton promotes her Permission Room workshop for women leaders and highlights three essentials—vulnerability, curiosity, and resilience—plus wellbeing practices to reclaim joy. Timestamps: 00:00 Welcome and Setup 01:34 Meet Dr Helen Holton 02:04 Recovering Perfectionist Story 04:51 Bias and Misalignment 07:12 Cultural Overperformance 09:54 Excellence Over Perfection 12:55 Faith Lens on Perfectionism 16:03 Strengths and Awareness 18:29 Procrastination and Book Journey 22:08 Permission Room Workshop 26:28 Three Leadership Essentials 28:03 Resilience and Wellbeing 30:21 Connect and Closing Get In Touch: If you're interested in connecting with Dr Helen Holton, you can reach her via her website (https://drhelenholton.com), via Instagram (https://instagram.com/drhelenholton), via Substack (https://substack.com/@drhelenholton), or via her LinkedIn (https://linkedin.com/in/drhelenholton). For those interested in sharing their own stories on "Chatting with the Experts," reach out to Paula Okonneh through her website at chattingwiththeexperts.com or connect via LinkedIn. Related offers (affiliate links, Paula may earn a commission at no extra cost to you): Brand Visibility Workshop: https://reseller.turiyahodge.com/boostyourbrandvisibility?am_id=paula5027 Financial Coaching Session with Saran Baker: https://api.leadconnectorhq.com/widget/booking/DAc4BxsjmMXxrAoQ7wbg?am_id=paula7445

September 16, 202633 min

What Every Founder Learns the Hard Way

Gwendolyn V. Arrington, founder and CEO of Arrington Innovative Solutions, talks about scaling businesses by addressing the real bottleneck: the owner. Arrington explains that growth stalls when all execution and approvals run through one person, and advises operating like the larger company you aim to become by delegating, hiring the right people, training, documenting repeatable processes, and empowering teams with trust rather than shifting the bottleneck to approvals. She also discusses her commitment to increasing girls' confidence in STEM through camps, scholarships honoring her aunt Jimmie Nell Perkins, and potential internships, emphasizing the power of exposure and positive impact. Arrington adds that AI is a "friend" that boosts efficiency and communication skills, urging "always be learning" based on her experience from early wireless technology through 5G. Timestamps: 00:00 Welcome and Episode Setup 00:42 Meet Gwendolyn Arrington 02:58 You Are the Bottleneck 04:45 Delegation and Building Trust 05:56 Hire the Right Circle 07:45 Operate Like the Future 10:00 Document Train Empower 13:22 Women in STEM Mission 15:09 Aunt Jimmie Nell Legacy 18:24 Scholarships and STEM Camps 24:47 AI Is Your Friend 28:00 Tech Evolution Lessons 31:01 Connect and Closing Get In Touch: If you're interested in connecting with Gwendolyn Arrington, you can reach her via her website (https://arringtonis.com/), via Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/arrington_innovative_solutions/), or via her LinkedIn (https://linkedin.com/in/gwendolynarrington). For those interested in sharing their own stories on "Chatting with the Experts," reach out to Paula Okonneh through her website at chattingwiththeexperts.com or connect via LinkedIn. Related offers (affiliate links, Paula may earn a commission at no extra cost to you): Brand Visibility Workshop: https://reseller.turiyahodge.com/boostyourbrandvisibility?am_id=paula5027 Financial Coaching Session with Saran Baker: https://api.leadconnectorhq.com/widget/booking/DAc4BxsjmMXxrAoQ7wbg?am_id=paula7445

September 10, 202633 min

Lifestyle Medicine for Kingdom Impact

Dr. Lisa McCoy, a retired board-certified preventive and lifestyle medicine physician, explains lifestyle medicine as a mainstream subspecialty that targets root causes of chronic disease using six researched interventions—stress management, restorative sleep, strong connections with God and others, properly dosed physical activity, a whole-food plant-predominant diet, and avoiding risky substances and distractions—framed as biblically grounded. She shares a case of a Trinidadian woman whose prediabetes-related symptoms improved through dietary diversity, reduced sugar, and exercise, and notes 2025 research showing combined lifestyle interventions improved outcomes in early Alzheimer's compared with usual care. The conversation emphasizes mindset, convictions, and discipline aligned with God's purpose, and provides Dr. McCoy's resources and contact details. Timestamps: 00:00 Welcome and Mission 00:32 Meet Dr Lisa McCoy 01:58 What Lifestyle Medicine Is 05:18 Six Biblical Pillars 07:50 Mindset and Purpose 10:14 Temple Design and Aging 11:59 Serena Prediabetes Turnaround 14:36 Whole Grains and Local Swaps 16:26 Reverse Parables and Gut Health 22:02 Lifestyle Medicine for Alzheimer's 25:47 Daniel and Mission Critical Health 29:43 Connect and Closing Get In Touch: If you're interested in connecting with Dr Lisa McCoy, you can reach her via her website (http://drlisamccoy.org), via Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/Drlisamccoy), via Substack (drlisamccoy.substack.com), or via her LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/drlisamccoy/ ). You can check out her YT channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DrLisaMcCoy For those interested in sharing their own stories on "Chatting with the Experts," reach out to Paula Okonneh through her website at chattingwiththeexperts.com or connect via LinkedIn.

September 2, 202624 min

The Cons Of Being A Strong Woman

Tracye Robinson, a transformational wellness expert, certified naturopath, speaker, and 20-year breast cancer survivor, explores how chronic stress can hide behind capability, resilience, and responsibility. Tracye describes the "invisible burden" strong women carry while juggling roles like executive, entrepreneur, mother, and daughter, often ignoring internal warning signs. She shares her own pre-diagnosis symptoms—migraines, tension headaches, insomnia, anxiety, and digestive issues—and emphasizes listening to the body and addressing root causes. Tracye discusses regulating the nervous system by minimizing cortisol through "micro resets" (brief walks, sunlight, breathing, drinking water) and highlights the importance of boundaries, saying no or later, and emotional release to support long-term health. Timestamps: 00:00 Welcome and Episode Theme 02:04 The Invisible Burden 03:57 How Naturopathy Helps 04:42 Stress Signs Before Diagnosis 04:58 Tracye's Cancer Wake Up Call 07:13 Listen to Your Body 09:04 Micro Resets and Cortisol 12:03 Boundaries and Saying No 15:33 Men Women and Emotions 18:16 Stress and Chronic Illness Link 20:35 Minimize Stress Take Action 22:06 Contact Info and Closing Get In Touch: If you're interested in connecting with Tracye Robinson, you can reach her via her website (https://www.divinelotusgroup.com ), via Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/tracyerobinsonspeaks ), via Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/tracyeLrobinson/ ), or via her LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracyerobinson/ ). You can check out her YT channel: https://www.youtube.com/@tracyerobinsonspeaks For those interested in sharing their own stories on "Chatting with the Experts," reach out to Paula Okonneh through her website at chattingwiththeexperts.com or connect via LinkedIn.

August 26, 202623 min

AI, The Leadership Advantage

Dr. Vicki Wright Hamilton, a business transformation strategist and founder of VWH Consulting with over 35 years of experience in technology, leadership, and organizational change, discusses "From Fear to Fluency: Why Learning AI Is the New Leadership Advantage." Dr. Hamilton argues that fear of AI is understandable. Still, avoidance is risky because AI already shapes how people work and communicate, comparing its evolution to transportation from wagons to self-driving cars. She emphasizes AI as an enabler that replaces tasks, not people, and says leaders must build AI fluency to address workforce disruption, maintain human connection, and "graduate" employees from mundane work through upskilling rather than cutting roles and losing institutional knowledge. She notes many companies chase cost savings without leveraging people, and calls for more listening and application at all organizational levels. Timestamps: 00:00 Welcome and Mission 00:46 Meet Dr Vicki 01:46 Fear of AI 02:50 AI as Enabler 05:29 Fluency for Leaders 06:56 Humans Still Matter 09:47 Tasks Not People 10:48 The Leadership Gap 12:44 Business Value Tradeoffs 16:50 Who Must Listen 19:24 How to Connect 21:48 Host Wrap Up 23:02 Final Thanks Get In Touch: If you're interested in connecting with Dr Vicki Wright Hamilton, you can reach her via her website (http://vickiwrighthamilton.com), via Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/vickiwhamilton/), via Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/vickiwhamilton), or via her LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/vickiwhamilton/ ). For those interested in sharing their own stories on "Chatting with the Experts," reach out to Paula Okonneh through her website at chattingwiththeexperts.com or connect via LinkedIn.

August 20, 202633 min

Navigating Life's Seasons

Tesse Akpeki titled the episode "Every Petal, Dusk, Twilight, Dawn," exploring how "every petal matters" across life's seasons. Tesse explains dusk as darkness, uncertainty, sadness, grief, and traumatic events; twilight as an in-between transition marked by emergence, likened to a butterfly's cocoon where painful growth and protection coexist; and dawn as new beginnings and light. She shares learning to sit with struggle, accept vulnerability, seek help, surrender perfectionism, and trust the process, including grieving her brother Tony's death, pursuing forgiveness, and confronting burnout-related illness while finding "the gift" in hardship. She connects this to her coaching work and founding Future Focus Wellness and Resilience in 2020, emphasizing nonjudgmental support, holding up a mirror, radiating hope, and walking alongside others toward possibility. Timestamps: 00:00 Welcome and Theme 01:55 Why Every Petal Matters 03:33 Entering the Dusk 05:46 Twilight and the Butterfly 11:21 Lessons in the Cocoon 17:02 Finding Clarity and Forgiveness 22:38 Dawn and Future Focus 24:26 Coaching as Hope 29:53 How to Connect with Tesse 31:50 Closing and Next Steps Get In Touch: If you're interested in connecting with Tesse Akpeki, you can reach her via her website (https://www.tesseakpeki.com/ ), via Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/smileytesse_/)or via her LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/tesseakpeki ). For those interested in sharing their own stories on "Chatting with the Experts," reach out to Paula Okonneh through her website at chattingwiththeexperts.com or connect via LinkedIn.

August 6, 202632 min

Women's Strategies to Build Lasting Wealth

Saran T. Baker, a transformational financial coach, international speaker, and author, discusses why high income does not equal wealth and how disciplined money management builds long-term freedom. Baker, a 2025 Maryland Top 100 Women Award recipient, explains shifting from "chaos" (can't handle any obstacle sent) to "calm" (control, abundance, legacy creation, and money mastery) through mindset, pausing under pressure, and creating systematic, automated money "buckets" for emergencies, investing, retirement, and fun. She discusses women's tendency to rescue others financially, the importance of learning to invest and teaching girls early, and key protection planning, such as life insurance at engagement, to prevent widows' poverty. Baker also describes why it can be costly to be poor, citing credit, food deserts, and health impacts, and urges ethical wealth-building and ownership, including buying stock before buying luxury products. Timestamps: 00:00 Welcome and Topic 00:38 Meet Saran Baker 01:39 Top 100 Women Honor 02:42 Income vs Wealth 05:06 Chaos to Calm Mindset 07:58 Automate Your Money Buckets 09:26 Stop Saving Everyone 12:18 Retirement and Self Sufficiency 13:47 Trust Gap and Teach Investing 15:21 Life Insurance Planning 18:06 Costly to Be Poor 23:24 Be the Financial CEO 26:31 Own Stock Not Stuff 29:22 Connect and Closing Get In Touch: If you're interested in connecting with Saran Baker, you can reach her via Facebook ( https://www.facebook.com/CoveredBySaran ), via Instagram ( https://www.instagram.com/therealsaranbaker/ )or via her LinkedIn ( https://www.linkedin.com/company/stb-financial-services-llc/) . If you'd like to attend Saran Baker's Financial Education classes, click here: https://api.leadconnectorhq.com/widget/booking/DAc4BxsjmMXxrAoQ7wbg?am_id=paula7445 For those interested in sharing their own stories on "Chatting with the Experts," reach out to Paula Okonneh through her website at chattingwiththeexperts.com or connect via LinkedIn.