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Looking for inspiration, insightful advice, and a supportive community to help you navigate your business journey?
The Carolina Women's Collective is your one-stop shop. This biweekly podcast, hosted by Booth Parker, features interviews with a powerful network of female entrepreneurs and business leaders, sharing their inspiring stories, actionable advice, and industry expertise.
Whether you're a entreprenuer just starting out or a seasoned company executive, this show has something for you.
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[00:00:00]
Booth Parker: Today on the Carolina Women's Collective Podcast, we are going to continue on in this season of "how." So I am your host Booth Parker, and today I am joined by my co-founders, Jillian Lister and Silvana Botta. And what we are going to do today is answer the FAQs we get from our members and our subscribers all the time.
Booth Parker: And we are going to give you different hows, there's not always one way to skin a cat, so to speak. Not that I'm gonna be skinning any cats, but I always love that [00:01:00] little phrase. So we are going to give you our hows to our most asked questions. So that being said, welcome Jillian and Silvana. Happy to have you here with me today.
Jillian Lister: We're excited to be back.
Silvana Botta: Thank you for having us.
Booth Parker: So I'm gonna jump right in because we have a good list of questions. So, success is a fairly elusive word. How do you define success and how has that definition evolved over the years?
Silvana Botta: I'll take it away. All right. So early on in my career, working, especially in the corporate world,
Silvana Botta: success was the milestone that I can achieve. So the title, if I was able to conquer an international market, my revenue growth. And for a while that rocked my world, that was my definition of success. But after 25 years [00:02:00] of being an entrepreneur, that has shifted quite a bit. And now my definition of success;
Silvana Botta: it's completely different. It is just how I feel while I'm building something and what I achieve with that. So to me, success is having the freedom to create on my own terms and to lead without sacrificing my values.
Jillian Lister: I can say: similar. When I was in corporate, I was chasing after those titles. I was chasing after those raises, and it's been a whole different type of success or definition of success since journeying into my entrepreneurial
Jillian Lister: journey. And now I feel like my definition of success is, the amount of time I get to spend with my family. I, I think that that has been a huge part of it is, is if [00:03:00] I'm creating this amazing company, I'm not spending 60, 80 hours. I'm, I'm able to have the freedom of doing great work for my clients and building their companies through marketing, but also having the time freedom to be with my family whenever I choose.
Jillian Lister: So I think that is my new definition of success, not those titles or chasing after more and more money. It's, it's time spent with the people that I love the most.
Booth Parker: Awesome. Well, my, my answer to that would be, I know that when I was in like the corporate type role, I let, I guess the expectations of others and what they wanted of me to kind of define success
Booth Parker: for me rather than defining it for myself. And now that I am away from that role and doing other things in my professional life, for me success now is being excited to get up in the morning [00:04:00] and tackle the to-do list I've created for myself of new goals and, and having those things aligned with what brings just peace and contentment to my life.
Booth Parker: And part of that is, you know, spending time with my family. And, it's, it's been interesting to see the joy that a new definition of success can, can bring to you when you get to define it yourself.
Silvana Botta: Definitely.
Jillian Lister: Amen.
Booth Parker: Alright, next, next up. Can you share a pivotal moment or decision that significantly shaped your professional journey and success?
Jillian Lister: Yeah, I will start us out. So back in 2020 when the world was shutting down, I was still at my corporate job. And the same week that the world was shutting down, we got the news that we were being sold to a private equity firm. And I'd been with this company for four years at the time, and everybody, everybody was [00:05:00] going in a lot different directions of like, we're gonna lose our jobs, or, what does this mean?
Jillian Lister: And I, I felt so confused at that time. I really believed in the company's values and their goals, and they promised us nobody was losing their jobs. But, that was a time in my life where I really thought through like, okay, is this where I'm staying or is this, I've always had kind of like the thought of going out on my own
Jillian Lister: in the back of my head and I was like, is this the time? And I was like, I honestly put it in God's hands as I do a lot of things in my life. All things in my life. And I just said, give me some signs if this is, if this is the journey that I'm going down and the next month I, in one week had 10 local businesses call me or email me or text me or tell me through a, a friend, hey, they're looking for some marketing help.
Jillian Lister: Like, would you be able to? And I decided to, to jump, and start my marketing agency and take that [00:06:00] risk. And I'll never forget the conversation I had with their CEO, who's still their CEO today, Berkeley Stafford. He said, Jillian, we're so proud of you. Like if, I just wish that I had, I, I had the courage to when I was your age to go out on my own and start something like you have.
Jillian Lister: You're capable of doing that you're able to do. Like I just always stuck to the corporate life and I love what I do and I love what we're doing, but I just think that's, that's so cool that you get to go start something of your own. And I'm just so proud of you. And that's stuck with me all these years since, and I think that was just a, a huge, a huge moment that really will be with me forever.
Jillian Lister: I also heard from the co-founder of that company. He called me on the phone and he was like. You go kick butt! Like you, I, if I wouldn't have jumped, we wouldn't have been here today and like you, I'm so proud of you. Like, and to have leaders in that company who didn't... they were like, please don't, [00:07:00] like, we don't want you to leave, but we are so proud of your next step.
Jillian Lister: I think that said a lot to me also to make that big change. And they were always like, you're welcome back. Which also was a little cushion if, if something was to go sideways. So I think that was a huge pivotal point in my, my professional journey so far.
Silvana Botta: Well, that's amazing! How do you top that one?
Silvana Botta: For me, it was a really hard question. So I had several moments that they were crucial in my life, but I think I have to address the biggest elephant in the room with me, which is moving to the United States. So, and moving to the United States was a little bit of luck or just faith and, and I had, it wasn't the plan of someone else, it wasn't my plans.
Silvana Botta: I was working, successfully. I liked what I was doing. I loved my company. I was growing fast and furious, and then a [00:08:00] friend said, hey, I'm gonna go and visit my sister in New York City on vacation. I said, okay, that sounds like fun. Do you want to come? I said sure, I'll go with you. And I did. And so I had to ask permission in my company to go on vacation.
Silvana Botta: It was a very quick, 10 day vacation, and I had two long weekends, so really I was missing like two days of work. And my boss told me, you are not coming back, young lady. I was like, oh, what are you talking about? I am coming back. I'm just going on vacation. I'm coming back. So little did I know, I was in New York, went to Boston, and when I'm in Boston, I received a phone call from my former boss saying that the company that I was representing in Argentina was seeking me because they were ready to offer me a job.
Silvana Botta: And so I thought really hard because that meant for me to [00:09:00] leave all my family behind, embrace a new culture, embrace a new language, and, but I said, what else do I have to lose? I was 21, so I was very young and, and truly I didn't have nothing to lose. Worst case scenario, I failed and went back home and I had all my support system, my network built up for me.
Silvana Botta: So. I said yes, and I have never regretted that decision. It was hard. It wasn't easy. I had to build my network. I had to build my tribe, I had to learn English. I'm still learning, but I would have never thought that I would be here today and be with you ladies, allowing me to found this wonderful organization and try to help other women rise and, and just make each one of us [00:10:00] understand that we all go through the same issues in different manner.
Silvana Botta: Every one of us is impacted and every one of us has great stories to tell and moments that really shape us hardly.
Booth Parker: Those are exciting stories. Mine's gonna be a little different. So, I'm not trying to be Debbie Downer, but I would say that my biggest pivotal moment came in the midst of a tragedy.
Booth Parker: And 'cause I thought that I would be in the family company for, you know, that that was gonna be my lifelong career. And, when my dad unexpectedly took his own life, that that, that path quickly, quickly changed. And I knew that not only did I need to leave that behind, but I just needed everything within, my, my wheelhouse to, to change.
Booth Parker: I had a little side business at the time too, and I, I decided to stop doing that. I [00:11:00] just, I needed everything fresh and new, in my, in my life. And so it was a really big, pivotal moment. I guess some days I'm still trying to figure out what I'm gonna do when I grow up, so to speak, because this journey since then has
Booth Parker: allowed me to try new things. I've taught some, I've done consulting. I've, you know, founded this with y'all. And so it's, it's just really been a, an exploratory period. But it's been a lot of fun and, and to me that that is success as well, is, is finding new things that you enjoy and that allow you to give back.
Booth Parker: So that would be, that would be mine. So different paths for all of us, right?
Silvana Botta: For sure.
Booth Parker: Yep. All right. I'm gonna move on to happier talk now. So, so it's important to know your value. And I think women, we are always guilty or not always guilty, but tend to be guilty of [00:12:00] undervaluing ourselves for whatever reason that may be. So,
Booth Parker: going along the thought of value, how has your confidence changed and grown over time and kind of given yourself permission to want more because you know you're worth more?
Silvana Botta: That's a good one. So I have, not really lack confidence. I think I was always a person that believed I can achieve it and I always kind of moved forward with it. And of course, many times I have jumped in that pool and it was absolutely empty. But it's how you get up and keep on going. It's just how you figure things out. How, you need to also be true to yourself.
Silvana Botta: And I think that that's the most important piece of confidence you can acquire, right? You need to be true to yourself and know what you are and not capable [00:13:00] of. And it's okay if you are not capable of doing something, but you need to go and ask the person who knows or, or hire someone else or just consult with someone else and, and move forward.
Silvana Botta: So I think it's just the more you learn, the more experiences you go through, that confidence flourishes even more, and it helps you to keep moving forward. So I think for me it's about honoring the fire that has always been in me and believe, trust it and keep on going.
Booth Parker: Yep. That's good. And you, you definitely had confidence from a young age to step out and go to New York and make all those changes at, at such a young age.
Booth Parker: I mean, I know I didn't have that kind of confidence at that age, because kinda like I was alluded to in the first question, I was really defined by what I thought other people expected of me and kind of people pleasing, which tends to be another trait of [00:14:00] women for for some reason. But you know, for me, now that I have kind of stepped away from that role, I find a lot more confidence because what I'm doing is aligned with, with me and what,
Booth Parker: what's, what's best for me rather than what's best for, someone else. So, short and sweet answer on it, but I think you, you build confidence when you're, when you're doing the right things that are aligned with, with you.
Silvana Botta: And sometimes you is great because it makes you oblivious, right? You don't realize that maybe, you're like, oh my goodness.
Silvana Botta: Because you go back and you think, well, I was working and I was visiting like factories and I was just the only female in the whole thing, and I was a baby on top of that. I was under 20. So going and being and doing this and just oblivious and you push forward and you just need to kind of mimic and mirror whomever is next to you or the system is gonna eat you alive.[00:15:00]
Silvana Botta: Yeah. So you learn. You learn to just keep pushing forward.
Jillian Lister: I think something that's really helped with my confidence, especially since leaving corporate, since I'm a solopreneur, is surrounding myself with this community that we've built. And honestly, I, I go back to this one meeting that me, Booth, and Silvana were having one day and I was telling them about a struggle that I was facing, and they were like, uh-uh, Jillian, no, no, no.
Jillian Lister: Like, you gotta get out of that. Like, no, like, and they were just completely honest with me. Like, you need honest people. They're like, you're better than that. Mm-hmm. Like, they, like you need people in your corner that will be honest with you, that are not sugarcoating it. And I feel like that with my clients as well.
Jillian Lister: Like my clients, I'm like, look, I'm building this relationship with you. I'm, I am being my honest, true self. I need you to tell me like if something is wrong. And I can say wholeheartedly that they do. Like they, we have built such great relationships. So I'm more confident in my work with my clients and then also with the community that I've [00:16:00] surrounded myself with, with my co-founders, but also my friends and colleagues.
Jillian Lister: They just, they, I, I don't, I really don't surround myself with people that, that will not tell me the truth. And I feel like I'm always that friend and like, they're like, they know that they could come to me and tell me, like, I would tell 'em like, their outfit doesn't look good if I, if they want the, the honest opinion, their honest opinion.
Jillian Lister: And I just felt like being my true, authentic self really brings out my confidence and that has helped me through, through my journey so far. So I think thanks guys for, for helping me continue to build my confidence and tell me that that is not where, where I should be and I am meant for more. So thank you for that,
Booth Parker: That that's what, that's what community is for.
Booth Parker: So, perfect. We're doing, we're doing our job.
Booth Parker: So keeping your professional journey kind of aligned with your vision that you've created for yourself,
Booth Parker: sometimes that vision will involve a change or a pivot [00:17:00] into something new, something different, little different path. When you've had to make one of those pivots, how did you know it was time for that change?
Jillian Lister: I'm, I'm a true believer of the gut. Like if my gut just is, is off, like I know that it's, it's time to, to do something different, and
Jillian Lister: I, I felt that way when I was about to have my, my first child right almost two years ago. I was getting a lot of advice from some people and they were like this is the time to hustle. This is the time to grind like your, your company's growing. And I just felt in my gut that was not, that is not what I was being called to do.
Jillian Lister: I had built a, a very strong foundation for my company and I deserved to spend time with my, my brand new child and my husband to start this new dynamic as a family unit. And so I, I took a step back in my company and didn't grow it as, as strong for that, for that period of time as I normally was doing.
Jillian Lister: And [00:18:00] I just, I felt it in my gut. I don't know how else to say it, but I just knew that when I, I, throughout my, my career, I've really, when even back when I was in my first job, I was like, for some reason, I, I had this thought one time. I was like, we do not get time back. And my time is precious. And well, I don't wanna look back when, when I'm older and be like, why did you waste so much time just sitting at a desk and being unhappy?
Jillian Lister: Like you can change your life at any moment. And I tell my husband this, I tell my friends this, like, change your life. You, you're the only one that has that, that power to change it. And anytime I have a gut feeling, I'm like, okay, something needs to change. And you, you are the only person that can change it.
Jillian Lister: So, I, I can get that. That has been like, my value is like knowing that it's it, this is not this, you get one life. And, and are you living a life that you wanna live? I guess would be what I've, I've found along the way [00:19:00] is, I'm not wasting time on doing things that I don't wanna be doing.
Silvana Botta: And in a perfect world, I think it's great when you recognize you can make that change.
Silvana Botta: But sometimes that is done like a closing of a company, right? So that's decided for you. You cannot really do anything but react. So how do you react also is important so you can receive that pivot is coming, is, is happening, but you can stop, you can reassess. Then you can move with clarity because that is what you are in power.
Silvana Botta: That's what you have and that is your strength and how you move forward. So you have control of your next step, basically. But, yes, being honest to oneself is, I think, the best thing to do. And, and I understand that sometimes it is, it's hard because you honestly don't wanna be somewhere. But you cannot [00:20:00] afford to make a change with a gap. So you need to still make time and, and find how you can do that, that change. So you need to go to your network. You need to start expressing, you need to really reach out because usually when people are so burned out, they will just be quiet. And that's the opposite of what you need to do.
Booth Parker: Yeah. Yeah. And for me, my, my big pivot was, you know, leaving the, the company. And for me it was, I could recognize that the way it was going to go forward after my dad had passed was not in alignment with my values, with the people who are going to be making the decisions and be in charge and everything that,
Booth Parker: that I just, I knew I couldn't move forward in a capacity so misaligned with my values of honesty and integrity and, and things [00:21:00] of that nature. And that it, you know, it's kind of like Jillian said, it is your gut, like, you know, when it's not the right fit for you anymore and it's, it's time for something new, even if you don't know what the something new is yet.
Booth Parker: Sometimes you just have to trust the process and, and know that there's something better out there waiting for you, and you can't keep staying in this stagnant place that's, that's bringing you down. So.
Silvana Botta: And, and it starts with those, it it creeps up, right? Because it starts with, oh, I don't wanna go today.
Silvana Botta: Oh, I don't wanna do this. And then like, ah, that bothered me. Or you take the wrong way that something. So everything starts being so negative around you and that you need to really recognize those signs and make a change.
Booth Parker: Yeah, for sure. For sure. And kind of along these lines of like new roles or starting new things, you know, like Jillian starting her own, her own business and all these things.[00:22:00]
Booth Parker: I often get asked, and I know y'all probably do as well, like in that process, did you ever think that you should quit. Like you didn't feel like you knew what you were doing? And then how do you just kind of get the grit to keep pushing on through?
Silvana Botta: Or you quit.
Booth Parker: Yeah. Yeah. Quit or grit, right?
Silvana Botta: That's right.
Silvana Botta: Well, if it really doesn't align with your, your, your vision or, or your core values, sometimes you need to have the courage to step away. But you need to recognize that you're, you are not servicing yourself nor the company that is paying you. So sometimes you have to quit and other times how you push through? Well, you go back to your own values and what is alignment with the company and, and try to see it with their perspective instead of just yours.
Silvana Botta: And maybe ask for clarification [00:23:00] from leadership, you know, and, and say, okay, I don't get it. This is my position. And just you need to speak with clarity and, and be assertive.
Booth Parker: Yeah.
Silvana Botta: So, you know, yeah. That that's what you do. You quit.
Booth Parker: Yeah. Well, and I mean, I was kind of thinking, you know, like when I, for some reason I had this genius idea. When I was in a corporate role, which was demanding and I had a young child. I thought I would start a side business and you know, and it was something else that I wrapped up after the tragedy when I just needed a total life pivot.
Booth Parker: But I realized in hindsight that I did that side business searching for something. You know, some kind of self-fulfillment because I wasn't getting it from the corporate role. And I think sometimes when you are trying to prove a point to yourself, you'll [00:24:00] find that grit to figure things out, so to speak.
Jillian Lister: Yeah, I agree. You'll, there's definitely, they say entrepreneurship is a roller coaster and I, I agree. And so definitely when you get in those, those down parts, you're like, it would be easier to just go work for somebody else and get that paycheck every two weeks. But you really have to dig deep and, and, and, and find that why of like, why, why are you doing this?
Jillian Lister: Like, what are you doing? And I think something that helps me when, when I've thought that before is just realigning with, with my mission, with my vision of the company. And a lot of times it's speaking to, to my mentor, who's done it, done it before me and she really can mentor me in the way.
Jillian Lister: And tell me which direction that I, I should be heading or avoiding and, and [00:25:00] kind of looking at her career. And I think that's really helped me on the times that I'm like, this is hard. This is real hard. It would be easier to quit, but I am not giving up. And so really, again, going back to a few questions before, like really surrounding yourself with a strong community that you can, if, if you're feeling those, those feelings, like you can go to.
Jillian Lister: Also, you just gotta get out in nature sometimes. Sometimes I am always stuck inside in my computer and I'm like, I need to go touch grass. As weird as that sounds, I'm like, I need to, need to hear the tree, hear the trees rustling and the birds chirping, and I need to, I need to get back grounded. And normally not that woo woo, but like, sometimes you get those winter blues and like you're just like, what are we even doing here?
Jillian Lister: And yeah, so I, sometimes it's all in your head and you need to kind of step away from it a little bit and, and really reanalyze where you're at. So that would [00:26:00] be what I normally do if, if it, if I've ever felt that way.
Silvana Botta: And also the impact. Right? And, and in those moments, what is gonna be impacted?
Silvana Botta: Yes. So, okay, if I make this step in this direction, what's gonna happen? And, and sometimes that is the best grounding mechanism, right? Like, like put that perspective and, and shape it into reality.
Jillian Lister: Definitely. For sure.
Booth Parker: Yeah. And in all of these roles we've done, all three of us have, at some point or another,
Booth Parker: been in charge of a team. And a lot of people when they're, you know, entrepreneurs starting out, they have to build a team and everything. That is, that can be a frightening thing. So I have often been asked, 'cause my team, the accounting office, I think we had close to 40 women at one time. So that's, that's a pretty big group.
Booth Parker: I often get asked, you know, what are some creative things you did or how do you build a team culture and things like that? So what are, [00:27:00] what are some tips and hows y'all have for our audience in regards to teams?
Jillian Lister: Yes. So I think that Covid really shifted a lot in the workforce. A lot of people wanted to work remotely and
Jillian Lister: there was just a lot of hype around it. And now we're in 2025 and, and people have started going back to the office more. Then you have hybrid approach. And so what we found in, in, in Set Sail is that we love being together as a team and we loved going to media days and shooting for our clients.
Jillian Lister: And then when there was certain weeks where we didn't have shoots, we were at home by ourselves and things were, we were lonely even though we were on meetings on Zoom, it's just different. So what we started to do was once a week we actually get together as a team and work together all day. One day a week.
Jillian Lister: And we just found like, it, it bleeds so much creativity. So much for our culture. We have fun together and it's really brought a new spark [00:28:00] to the Set Sail culture, just being together. And I feel like a lot of people have, have missed that during, during the whole remote work. Remote work can be great and I like that flexibility, but also being around people.
Jillian Lister: Is, it just, it's, it's a lot different. And then something else that we're going to try this summer that I'm excited to bring to Set Sail that we did at Transportation Impact, where I used to work, was have half day Fridays. So every Friday from Memorial Day to Labor Day, we're gonna take off, so we can enjoy living on the beach a little more.
Jillian Lister: So I'm excited for my team for that.
Silvana Botta: That sounds great.
Jillian Lister: Yeah.
Booth Parker: Yeah. Yeah, I mean, I kind of did something similar, like being in a male dominated industry and then being in charge of the accounting office, which ours was all women. I think along the way, we had one or two men come through. They didn't always last super long in an office of 40 women.
Booth Parker: But, um, you know, I think you have to be in tune with what your [00:29:00] team needs. And, you know, that team had been managed by men in the past and they didn't know what a group of women were really looking for. And so I think being in tune with what your team needs, not necessarily what the corporate world says a team needs or, or things like that.
Booth Parker: And kind of like you doing the half day Fridays, like in the summer, I instituted four tens for the office. We still had coverage every day the way we did the schedule. But it allowed all these women, and almost all of them were moms. Numerous ones were single moms, or they were military wives, so they were single moms for, you know, periods of time.
Booth Parker: And it allowed them to have three days, a week with their children in the summer when their kids were outta school. And it also helped them, you know, with daycare calls and stuff. And so I think being in tune with what your team needs and making that work for the business [00:30:00] to bring up morale, um, in general is, is something you need to look at.
Silvana Botta: For sure.
Silvana Botta: And I think for me, the most challenging team that I was around, it was when we had our restaurant. Especially, we, we had up to 80 plus people at one point. After Covid, that was pretty much reduced in half. But you have different needs, different life stages. Different personalities. And working in stressful situations.
Silvana Botta: And even when we're, you're just flipping a burger, you know, it's like the most important burger in the entire world. So how you keep peace and motivation around all that is very interesting to navigate. I had to really change my leadership style several times until I found the one that worked the best on those situations.
Silvana Botta: And then, I think my help was to have a little bit of that [00:31:00] corporate background and said, okay, what does corporate do that I really, really like and I can implement in here that I think is gonna be impactful? And so we tried to do that as well. And sometimes where the little rewards of taking the leadership group to
Silvana Botta: just a development class and have a whole weekend as a team and get to know each other better. Other times it would be like the Christmas parties with entire, community. And for us, since we had different cultures too, try to respect certain holidays and make it all inclusive and take advantage of those days and make everybody stay home,
Silvana Botta: and not to open. And the one that to me was universal and only happens in United States is Thanksgiving. So Thanksgiving for sure, everybody had to be home with their families. So little things like that. And the everyday talk, we, we had daily meetings with the [00:32:00] staff to understand what the special was, to understand, to see what was happening.
Silvana Botta: And you can really be in touch with those employees. And you can see the demeanor, right? Like, oh. This one is really quiet today. What happened? So I go outside and have to talk and solve that issue and move forward. So the one thing I do miss the most of not having the restaurant is that aspect, the social aspect. The the living, the being there to be able to communicate and move forward.
Silvana Botta: I do it in a different capacity, but not as much as I like to do it.
Booth Parker: Really good story. I, you know, the restaurant industry, I, I worked in a little bit in college and high school. And so it's, it's a unique industry and your team is definitely really important there. So, I'm gonna switch gears just a little bit because I know we all three get this question a lot.
Booth Parker: What are some time [00:33:00] management strategies that are effective for you?
Jillian Lister: Something that I've found is blocking off my Monday and my Friday and only really taking meetings on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, so I'm not driving around. Of course something comes up like I make certain I, I will take something on Monday or Friday, but when I block those, it sets me up for the week because I can really focus on
Jillian Lister: setting my task list for the week on Monday, getting anything that needs to get over to my team so that they can have a successful week on Monday. And I have some, some set meetings with my husband who's also our COO. And then I have also a standing meeting, just internal meetings is fine via Zoom, with another internal team member.
Jillian Lister: And so that just sets, sets our week up for success is, is blocking off that Monday and really not being everywhere for our clients or for anything else that could come up. And then on Fridays I [00:34:00] try to, to kind of, wrap up my week and set myself up success for the, for the next upcoming week.
Jillian Lister: And I just found like that, that time management strategy has really worked well. And then Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, I am all over the place. So, I really, I really, think that has, has helped. Because we are a very busy company. I'm very blessed to be very busy. But you, you gotta also keep up with the inbox.
Jillian Lister: I'm a very, I'm, I'm the type of person that has to have less than, less than 10, 10 emails in my inbox at all times, or I, I start freaking out. So that Monday and Friday really helped to ground me and my workload.
Silvana Botta: I try to prioritize items so I know that I have certain things that I do need to accomplish and when, and certain free time, so time allocation, right?
Silvana Botta: So you do time blocking. I do a time allocation to certain tasks. I do have flexibility in mind, so I might do a list of what I [00:35:00] need to accomplish on that day. That, and some of them are, doesn't matter when, as long as I get it done, but I know it's on that day. So I put 'em on like bullet points in my calendar and I, I have trained my kids really well, so we have a, a shared calendar that they, each one of us, has a different color.
Silvana Botta: So whatever is there, we know what it is. The one I cannot train yet is my husband, so sometimes, oh, yeah, yeah, Silvana would be happy to help you with that. But I cannot do it today. Why? So did you look at the calendar? No. That is why, honey, because I happen not to be in here and need to be elsewhere.
Silvana Botta: So, but yes, prioritizing items, having that time block. And I, I am really good at it just because when the kids were little, I couldn't work in a regular time just because of my choosing. And I used to work at 11 o'clock at night until I got it done and sometimes [00:36:00] was two, three o'clock in the morning and I would get up and take 'em to school the next morning.
Silvana Botta: That was fine. Now I have a different, I have a more normal timing, so I was in restaurant timing before. Now I just have kind of nine to five timing, and I do enjoy that. I try to really block a specific time when I know my kids are home to not do anything on those special days and have time with the family.
Silvana Botta: And I try to take some day off for my husband and I. So that's, that's how I manage my time.
Booth Parker: Yeah, I mean my, my time management has, you know, it, it changes with the season of life, but you know, when I was in the corporate situation, it was pretty easy because you were dictated to when you had to be at the office and you, you had to build your calendar around that.
Booth Parker: And that also, you know, it's kind of like Silvana saying your husband will volunteer you to do things. Like you, you couldn't allow those things to happen when you had that, that corporate schedule because it [00:37:00] just didn't fit and everyone knew that. And so even if someone asked, you had a really easy no. And so for me, the time management has actually been more difficult, in the season of life outside of
Booth Parker: the corporate schedule. Because you know, once, once people see flexibility in your, in your schedule, you're gonna get a lot more asks. And it's been a learning curve for me saying no, and I've had to go back to building out my calendar for the week. I love the time blocking and, and y'all mentioned that too, but, you know, I block out things and, and that dictates what else I can add to my calendar because time with my family gets time blocked on that calendar now, especially baseball season for me.
Booth Parker: So spring is really busy. And just like you said, the prioritizing and knowing, you know, what is the most [00:38:00] important tasks for you to get done. And another thing that I've started to do is make sure that my daily to-do list is realistic because we are all really bad about putting too much on that to-do list.
Booth Parker: And when we don't get it done, we feel like we have failed in some capacity. And knowing that that to-do list will fit into your time allotment for the day has been really key in changing actually my productivity and my motivation for, for the next day and not feeling like I'm, I'm behind on things.
Booth Parker: And speaking of family, we all just kind of alluded to having family time and everything. How do you keep your vision and growth for your professional life aligned with the changing family dynamics and seasons of life?
Silvana Botta: Hmm. I think I became more selfish now. No, really! [00:39:00] So I made the decision of stop
Silvana Botta: the corporate world. I wanted to spend time with my kids. I wanted to raise my kids. I wanted to be a present mom. So I did. And you know, I volunteered and I was involved with school activities and anything and everything. And I even was the mom that will carry four or five other kids with me and take 'em to the park, and play. To the beach or whatever was given, because I would go at night and work at night in the family business.
Silvana Botta: Now that they are growing and I have just my youngest one is a high schooler, is a junior in high school, those priorities shift. So even when they have a busier social calendar and activities, they are old enough to understand that mom still is young and has future and has dreams as as much as they do.
Silvana Botta: So that's why I block it and say, okay, this is all we have, but [00:40:00] these days or this commitments, I will not move and you need to understand that I'm not gonna be present. Of course, if there's an emergency, I will be, but in a normal just because they couldn't plan anything better, I will not show up. So I think that that's how I am managing now.
Silvana Botta: I do communicate with them what I wanna do. So, it is, it is better. Everybody's on the same page. You know, I, I would love to even be, a forever learner. To be closer to a school to keep on learning and keep being, around those bright minds. And I love to hear their stories and their stages.
Silvana Botta: But I also need to listen to what I want. So we are split, we're moms, we're wives, we're daughters, you know, we are sisters. And everybody around us will pull and tell us how they're gonna dictate our lives. and I'm the youngest, so for sure,
Silvana Botta: and coming from that culture, that is my male brother [00:41:00] happens to be the oldest. So, I need to do what he says and, and it's not true. Start respecting your timing and tell him, hey, my time is valuable as well. And I have, I still have dreams that I wanna fulfill and everybody will understand that. So I think that's how I try to manage it.
Jillian Lister: Yeah, so we had a lot of of shifts. In the last two years of our life. We had, we had two boys back to back, 12 months, nine days apart. And running business, it's been challenging. And last June, right before our second child was born, we decided that it was time for Pat to join the family business. And, and that was something that I had always envisioned and wanted.
Jillian Lister: We just didn't know when it was gonna happen. And it felt like the perfect time because we saw how much time was taken away with him [00:42:00] driving to work with him, having to do after work things, having to do stuff on the weekends. And that was just something that we wanted to control more of. And so we decided to, to bring him into the family business and, and restructure so that
Jillian Lister: we could have that time with our children. And we're very, very blessed to be able to do that. And, that's, that was just a, a non-negotiable for us. And I was gonna do anything in my power to get that extra client, to bring him home, to, to make sure that his salary was, was the same or, or, or more to bring him home.
Jillian Lister: And, I think just having some goals in your life. And my next goal is to be able to take my children to school every day, and to make sure that I'm, I'm at their, their baseball games one day. Like I think that that is, is definitely a future goal. And to build a company that allows not only me to do that, but also my team to do that as they,
Jillian Lister: [00:43:00] they begin to have families, I think is very important. So I think, that just having a vision of, of what, what life you wanna live, and making sure that you're growing a business or you're in, in a business working for somebody else that values those same things, I think has been, something that I would say has definitely changed by, having two, two little boys.
Booth Parker: Yeah. And I think, you know, being able to know that, know what's the priority in your family and the time that it needs. And, you know, it's, I always call it different seasons of life. And for me being, I mentioned the baseball. Springs are busy. But, you know, my son is getting ready to graduate from high school and go off to college.
Booth Parker: And so for this season of life, I, I stepped away. I let some, you know, client things go and, and stepped away from being so busy with that. It doesn't mean that, once, you know, I'm an empty nester that I won't go back to it or that I'm not building, you know, [00:44:00] ideas and stuff to, to move on with. But I think knowing, you know, when it's the right time to pause or slow down in your professional capacity so that you don't have any regrets, with that time that you'll never get back with your family.
Booth Parker: And then knowing when is the right time to kind of put the, put the pedal down and go after professional things for a while and let that be your priority. And I think a lot of people feel like they can't ever pause that they have to keep that pedal down all the time. And, and I think that's when regrets happen down the road.
Booth Parker: You know, Jillian, you really alluded to time and you know, you can't, you can't get that, that time back. There is, there is time to build things with career later. And you know, not everybody wants to hear that. You know, it's the instant gratification kind of world, but you really have to know what your family priorities are and, and work everything around [00:45:00] that.
Booth Parker: At least, at least for me, I do. 'Cause that's definitely my priority. So,
Booth Parker: all right. And since we're almost outta time, we have to answer the question that we get asked a lot, and that is why. And how did the Carolina Women's Collective get started and what was like our kind of, our vision, our mission, and making sure we kept that focus? So, y'all take it away first.
Silvana Botta: We were, we were in an organization. Booth and I were board members of an organization that was putting on an event tailored for women. And the leadership was a woman and the organization lost the leadership and the assistant administrator as well. So, Jillian was the contract person for the organization and we had a [00:46:00] decision to make.
Silvana Botta: We were gonna let that die or we were gonna push forward with it. So when we tried to talk to the organization, the men who were gonna be in charge were gonna be the ones that decided the fate of this women event. So I, we kind of sent an email to each other and I said, I don't feel good about this.
Silvana Botta: We didn't, we truly didn't feel good. So, talk about gut feeling and trying to do the right thing. So conversations were taking place and, and different approach to try to really amicably work on it. And unfortunately, sometimes the ego of men get in the way. So, we three as strong minded women decided that can do this on our own and we can [00:47:00] craft
Silvana Botta: something from experience to our audience. So it's not just an event to put out, but we want to bring real content, real matters and real issues that we face as women in business. You can be working in corporate, being a leader, being a solopreneur. The three of us have done something similar, and if not, at this stage in our life, we have someone in our network that we can connect you with and consult with and push forward.
Silvana Botta: So, it really is passion, conviction and love because it takes a lot of effort and energy and, and we are doing this as our side hustle, right? So we're doing it because we are determined that there's a need and we really wanna bring the heart of our organization to [00:48:00] our audience. And, and if we can impact one person, just one person,
Silvana Botta: I know it fulfills our hearts because everybody deserves to to be heard, to be encouraged, and to have a community where they feel safe.
Jillian Lister: Yes, definitely. I would, I would add on to that: we, we just felt our community deserved more than men dictating where it would go for a bunch of women. The community that we built was just so precious.
Jillian Lister: And just it, it just was so fulfilling and so, so much was coming out of it and thriving. We just couldn't let it, let it go to be determined by men. So that is, yeah, I just felt like we just love that, that community that we, that we built and we, we knew that we needed to serve our community, continuing to serve it in different ways.
Jillian Lister: And so that's where the [00:49:00] CWC was, was born. And we are just so excited about this community that we've built. And it would be, it would be nothing without everybody that shows up to every power hour and believes in themselves and wants more out of their career and their personal life, professional life and just wants people to, to pour into them and them pour into other people and just uplift them.
Jillian Lister: And not only inspire them, but also give them the how of how they came through, came through obstacles in their, in their careers, and I just, I, I'm, I'm just so grateful for, for what we've created and the future of the CWC. So that's what I wanted to add as well.
Booth Parker: Yeah, I just, when we got started, you know, working together on things, we, we knew from experience what, what women were looking for and what kind [00:50:00] of support and avenues that they needed.
Booth Parker: And we have very diverse backgrounds. And so I think that they, kind of, all three come together very, very, very well, with our experiences and knowledge. And, and yeah, it was just, you know, after working in an industry that was male dominated, and I saw for years how out of touch that upper level male management was with the women within the organization.
Booth Parker: And then to be told you, yeah, you can keep doing what you're doing, but it's gonna be under the, the guidance of this group of men running the show. And, and it was almost the hypocrisy, you know, like, this is why we need this, as, you know, like. So they kind of basically right there like justified the whole need for the organization.
Booth Parker: And so it's been so fun for the three of us to truly [00:51:00] steer this in the direction of what women are telling us they need and what we've learned from our own experiences over the years. I truly believe that we've brought in a lot of experts in other ways, and it's truly creating a, a, a mentorship for, for women.
Booth Parker: And I think a lot of young women who don't have any experience, they really, they really need that. Because they're, they're not at a level where they can lead yet. And so, having this outlet is, is just essential for, you know, mental health, mental, emotional, and all that health with, with women's careers.
Booth Parker: So it's been such an honor to be on this journey with, with y'all for the last year. I feel like we've really accomplished a lot and built a great community and it continues to grow. And I have to say, I'm so excited for this year's summit on October 23rd at the all new Coral Bay Club. I think it's going to be another amazing [00:52:00] event for women.
Booth Parker: So what else do y'all have to say before we sign off?
Silvana Botta: Well, thank you for inviting us to the podcast.
Booth Parker: Yeah. Well it is ours, even though I kind of own it.
Jillian Lister: Yes. all of the, all of the guests that we've had on the podcast so far are just so inspiring. I've learned so much and I've really, I've really enjoyed this, this season of the how. And I hope our how today helps a lot of you guys out there
Jillian Lister: as we continue to grow this community. And, we just, we just love and we're very passionate about building those connections, building the collaboration and education that women are needing
Jillian Lister: in 2025 and beyond.
Silvana Botta: And if you got inspired, and wanna share your house with us, just tell us at carolina women's collective com.
Silvana Botta: Right. Yeah. I love that. Just tag us, or send this [00:53:00] podcast to another person that you know that will benefit from this one.
Booth Parker: Definitely. For sure.
Booth Parker: Share the love. That's what it's all about.
Silvana Botta: That's right.
Jillian Lister: Love it.
Booth Parker: Alright, bye for now.