906 Alicia Berberich:

Wings of Inspired Business podcast EP906 – Alicia Berberich

Melinda Wittstock:

Coming up on Wings of Inspired Business:

Alicia Berberich:

A lot of times we have this negative voice going on in our head and we’re not even aware that it’s playing on a loop like 24/7 and can really take you down. So, gaining that awareness is critical. And then to acknowledge the voice. And anytime you’re dealing with that negative voice in your head, it’s talking to you at an emotional level.

Alicia Berberich:

You really need to approach it on an emotional level and not a logical level, adding loving kindness so that when you feel that fear, acknowledging it, saying, yeah, I understand this is scary and we can do it together. so that you can befriend that negative voice in your head, or the inner critic, whatever you want to call it, and then step forward with courage.

Melinda Wittstock:

Entrepreneurship is an inner game, and it requires working the refs in your own head, often to move past self-imposed barriers. Alicia Berberich has been connecting women to each other to help them grow their businesses since 1992 with San Francisco’s Women in Business Roundtable, and coaching women to harness the power of manifesting and overcoming negative self-talk. Today she shares her “DESIGNED” method for manifesting goals, emphasizing gratitude, inspired action, and aligning your energy.

Melinda Wittstock:

Hi, I’m Melinda Wittstock and welcome to Wings of Inspired Business, where we share the inspiring entrepreneurial journeys, epiphanies, and practical advice from successful female founders … so you have everything you need at your fingertips to build the business and life of your dreams. I’m all about paying it forward as a five-time serial entrepreneur, so I started this podcast to catalyze an ecosystem where women entrepreneurs mentor, promote, buy from, and invest in each other. Because together we’re stronger, and we all soar higher when we fly together and lift as we climb.

Melinda Wittstock:

Today we meet an inspiring entrepreneur who was early to recognize the transformational power of inclusive, collaborative, and supportive networking groups to empower women entrepreneurs.  Alicia Berberich has been bringing women in business together for some 30 years now, and these days she is focused on coaching female founders and executives to break through any subconscious upper limits and manifest success.

Melinda Wittstock:

Alicia will be here in a moment, and first: We are entering into what at best can be described as uncertain times in our country, times where women’s hard-earned rights and freedoms are under attack, with several high-profile cabinet nominees having even said they don’t believe women should have the right to vote. In times like these it is even more important that women in business support each other in every way we can, and I’m building a community of female founders and investors over on Bluesky, the new social network where you control your own algorithms, communities and data. Please join me there – you can find me at melindawittstock.bsky.social.

Melinda Wittstock:

Today we talk about the transformational power of women supporting women, what it means in practice, and how our collective and collaborative action can help us all get the capital, coaching, and communities we need to grow our businesses.

Melinda Wittstock:

Alicia Berberich works with women entrepreneurs to help us overcome the negative self-talk that can keep us playing small and practical steps for how we can all manifest abundance in all areas of our lives. She shares her DESIGNED system for realizing your dreams, and what it takes to build a support system and achieve financial confidence. Plus, you’ll hear why women in the 50s, 60s and 70s are primed to crush it in business.

Melinda Wittstock:

Let’s put on our wings with the inspiring Alicia Berberich and be sure to download the podcast app Podopolo so we can keep the conversation going after the episode.

[INTERVIEW]

Melinda Wittstock:

Alicia, welcome to Wings.

Alicia Berberich:

Oh, glad to be here.

Melinda Wittstock:

You know, since 1992, you’ve been bringing women together, the whole theme of this podcast. When we fly together, we soar higher. So, in the way back machine, 1992, what made you, in San Francisco think, we have to bring women together?

Alicia Berberich:

Yeah, it was amazing at the time because women were such an important part of business, and yet they had only small little groups of networking situations to help each other, and they weren’t really included in, like, the bigger dialogue. And I was going around to all the little groups trying to connect with women and bring people together. So, I thought instead of having small groups for accountants and lawyers and entrepreneurs, that we should bring all of the different groups together so that we could network with each other and overlay on that corporate women who were also trying to connect and find different connections in the community. I worked with the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce to build the Women in Business Roundtable, and it turned out to be their most successful program at the time, because usually the chamber meetings were 20 or 30 people, but at the Women in Business Roundtable, we got over 250 women that came to network and hear different speakers and really to build a community. One of the really fun things we did was establish a mentorship program, too.

Melinda Wittstock:

So, from where you started to where we are now, kind of on a scale, are women really stepping up to help each other? I mean, beyond the ‘you go, girl’, you know, how can we buy from each other, how can we promote each other, and how can we invest in each other? Do you see any change in that time?

Alicia Berberich:

I have seen a lot of change, especially in the San Francisco Bay area, because there’s so many different women’s organizations that are coming up to help women connect with each other for, like, the women who have been successful, really reaching to help the women who are just trying to get started. We have a different group called How Women Lead with Julie Castro Abrams, where she’s really working hard to connect women at all different levels, not only to connect them, but to train them so they’re capable, so that they can really get a position at the table, on those board tables, and getting the training and getting the confidence to know that you can do it. One of the key issues I find with women is that they have the opportunity, but they’re too nervous to step up unless, unless they meet all of the qualifications that are required. Like when men are applying for jobs, they only need to have like 60% of the skills that are asked for and women are looking to have 97%. But really the goal is to step into a higher role where you don’t know everything, but you’re going to learn it along the way. So just be confident in your ability to learn and grow and fill the space as opposed to knowing everything right in the beginning.

Melinda Wittstock:

Well, this is especially true of entrepreneurship because it’s impossible on an entrepreneurial trajectory to know everything when you start exactly. You, you are, no matter how much you know about your industry or your innovation or all the, your best laid plans, there’s always something that’s going to change all of that and so many things beyond your control.

Alicia Berberich:

Exactly.

Melinda Wittstock:

What I’ve found, Alicia, is that women are actually naturally very good at relationship, you know, at networking, whatnot. But in a business context, I found over the years, and women are so focused on that thing, improving their credentials, learning their competency, knowing everything, that it’s kind of like they fall into the trap, of heads down, focusing all of that, but meanwhile they’ve actually neglected that when the men are on the golf course or wherever they are, you know, socializing.

Alicia Berberich:

Exactly. It’s so frustrating. And it’s one thing that I’ve tried to preach all the time. It’s like, who you know that’s going to help you to get to where you want to go as opposed to what you know. And women always think like, with my clients, I see it all the time. It’s like, well, before I start my business, I need to get a master’s degree or a PhD in this because we know how to do school, we’re comfortable with school, but that’s really not going to help you in the long run. What you really need to do is step into the void of the unknown and see what happens. Learn and grow from there and reach out to the people that you know who can help you and ask for different connections that you have for help and who can help you with what you’re doing.

Alicia Berberich:

And what’s going to make the difference? You don’t need another set of initials after your name. You need to take action on what you really want to do and move forward.

Melinda Wittstock:

And so, hopefully you’re hiring your weaknesses and not a bunch of mini me’s. I think a lot of women end up get stuck at the solopreneur stage, a little too cautious to hire too quickly, seeing that as an expense rather than an investment, and trying to do it all and then burning out.

Melinda Wittstock:

What’s the mindset shift that has to happen there?

Alicia Berberich:

It’s really a big mindset shift, and I’m so happy that you labeled it as such, because a lot of times when women are hiring or thinking about growing their business, they’re trying to watch the nickels and pennies as opposed to looking at the big picture. And they hire B and C people instead of really going and paying a little more to get the A person that can really help them grow and thrive at a higher level. So, it’s really knowing how to invest in the people that you hire who can really move you up and to not keep you at that low level because you don’t want to spend all your time training the new employee. You want the new person to be able to step in and take over right away and move you forward, because that’s what’s going to free you up, free up your time and energy so that you can take your business to the next level.

Melinda Wittstock:

Oh, 100%. Going back in time, men have been doing this and have been doing business for a lot longer, so they’re very used to saying, hey, I got this deal, you want to come in? Or this opportunity is happening. Or just like they have an ease about talking about money and talking about opportunity and bringing each other into the opportunity. It just sort of happens naturally, whereas it doesn’t seem like that kind of conversation is natural for women. Why is that?

Alicia Berberich:

You know, I think that for the men, it comes from playing that team sports where they were talking and signaling each other in different ways. And women haven’t had that team sport abilities until more recently with Title 9. But I think women are learning that. But money is something that we just really don’t like to discuss, and we put it off too much, and it’s just to be easy and accepting things. I think opening the money dialogue makes a huge shift and difference in our growth and trajectory. If we can learn to talk with ease about money and. And seeing money for what it is as an object, that’s going to get us to where we go. We put too much emotional and psychological energy into something that it’s just a tool that we use to get to where we want to go.

Alicia Berberich:

You’re not cheap when thinking of getting a computer to work with, because that’s a tool that you’re going to use and you’re going to really depend upon that, the computer to take you where you want to go. And money is just like that. It’s just another tool that’s going to take you to where you want to go. And you don’t need to have all the emotional baggage attached to it that we tend to have.

Melinda Wittstock:

It feels like there’s a lot of deprogramming that has to go on. For women generally, do you see any difference generationally, in terms of women? Like, are younger women more confident about this than older women, or is it just kind of pernicious across the generations?

Alicia Berberich:

I guess it’s in the environment you grow up in. I think with my kids are in their 20s and they’re much more comfortable with money than I ever was. They’re more comfortable in earning it, asking for it, spending it, understanding the whole big scene of it. So, with them and their peers, I can see that they’re starting from a different place than I started, which is what we want, right? We want the next generations to, you know, have the benefits that we didn’t have and then figure out where their own particular areas of struggle are going to be. But I do see that it’s getting easier for women because we’ve talked about it more, and there’s more successful women, role models that they can look at and understand.

Melinda Wittstock:

Well, I think the more that we succeed publicly, you know, the more it just shows that there’s a path. And yet we do see a lot of women who are very successful sometimes really being kind of taken down or sort of hated. And some of that energy is coming from other women. I don’t really understand that what’s going on there.

Alicia Berberich:

Yeah, that is really painful to witness when you see women not supporting each other or actually being caustic towards each other. And I think it has to do with envy and not knowing how to deal with those negative feelings and really wanting that for themselves. So, they’re projecting or mirroring their own desires and feeling not good enough. So that’s their negative inner critic that’s really jumping out.

Melinda Wittstock:

Yeah. Because I think that’s one of the things to me that’s a scarcity mindset, right?

Alicia Berberich:

And the more women get out there and prove that they can do it, the more there’s going to be space for other women to do that.

Melinda Wittstock:

Exactly.

Alicia Berberich:

As they have more confidence in what they’re doing.

Melinda Wittstock:

Less than 3% of women business owners make it to more than a million dollars in annual revenue or that the statistic for women who are qualified for venture capital money, in other words, they could be a scalable billion dollar plus business. Even of those qualified for that kind of investment, the number is still 2%, roughly. And it hasn’t moved in 30 years, right?

Alicia Berberich:

Yeah, exactly.

Melinda Wittstock:

So, there’s all these really deep structural kind of issues. And then you see women getting smaller check sizes than men at different stages of like a seed round or an A round. I really think the way through that is to figure out how to change that model. But I think it really means that women do actually have to support each other, like write checks for each other and that kind of thing.

Alicia Berberich:

I do see so many more positive groups coming up, positive groups of women coming together to support other women in their businesses. In my local area, we have that Impact 100, and it’s supposed to be 100 women, you know, creating funds for businesses in our local area, but actually we have, you know, over 500 women who are in the group. So, we’ve really created a nice nest egg that we’re able to give to the community. And also, with How Women Lead, they have How Women Invest. And it’s again, women coming together and pooling their money to create a bigger pool of resources that they give just to other women entrepreneurs. Because we’ve had such a dead end going the traditional routes, you know, we’re really harnessing our own creativity in coming up with new ways and of getting funding and supporting other women who are coming up with ideas.

Alicia Berberich:

So, while there are the negative examples, there are also the very positive examples of, of women doing things differently and seeing that change. Yeah, of course it is still at a small level. We needed to grow more but, but, but it is moving forward, it is changing.

Melinda Wittstock:

I remember raising money for one of my previous startups and I was meeting with a whole bunch of really high net worth women, right, and they were like writing massive checks to charity with no problem, but even a small amount to a startup that was maybe solving the same social impact issue as the charity, I got told by more than I can count, oh, my husband does that side of the table. Yeah, these are powerful women. I mean very successful. I was like stunned.

It’s like solving the same thing and you’re going to get a return. Like why?

Alicia Berberich:

It was such a new concept for them that they didn’t think of it. So, it’s like breaking more boundaries so that they can think differently.

Melinda Wittstock:

It comes back to the money and being comfortable with making investment decisions. And like something you said right at the beginning of our conversation where we think that we have to be experts at everything right before we can start.

Alicia Berberich:

Right.

Melinda Wittstock:

Plays too in women as investors. Because, oh like I can’t invest in an AI company because I don’t know every single detail about AI, it’s sort of like going to like if I went to a medical doctor and the doctor diagnosed me with something, my reaction would not be I have to go get my medical degree, my PhD before I can evaluate your advice. You know what I mean? Because I think that’s what hold us back. Like, I think we have to feel like we have to know everything.

Alicia Berberich:

Exactly.

Melinda Wittstock:

Whereas men are kind of like, okay, is your market big enough? Are you good? Do you know what you’re doing? Do you have the right expertise? Okay, I trust you. Go for it. Like, let me help.

Alicia Berberich:

What you said is so important because it’s like they trust them. So, it’s actually on an energetic level that they, you know, if they feel like they can connect with this person and understand the person, then they’re willing to invest with them. But it’s more of a gut thing then looking at all the numbers and analyzing everything. It’s like, this guy seems good and can do big things, and I believe in him.

Melinda Wittstock:

So, like, anything, it’s a real process. Every day, it’s almost like there’s a new group of women getting together to help, and everybody is sort of saying the right things and the structures need to catch up.

Melinda Wittstock:

The main reason I started this podcast, was because I wanted to catalyze this ecosystem where women did actually show up and help each other. So, my pay it forward has probably created millions of dollars of revenue over the years just promoting other women’s products. The more we can be the change we want to see. So, I want to get into the coaching side of what you do because you’re really big on manifesting. I love conversations about manifesting.

Melinda Wittstock:

Talk to me a little bit about that, the manifesting side of what you do and how you help people do that.

Alicia Berberich:

Yeah, I love talking to people about manifesting because they have. It’s, you know, it’s in their power. They have the power and the brain capacity to do it. But then understanding the big picture and the Secret is one thing that sort of sets me off. Because the, in the Secret they gave the idea that you could just visualize something and really think about it really hard. And then it’s going to come to fruition, like just your energy from thinking about it. And it’s really not that way because you, you do do the visualization and thinking about it. But then you also have to take the inspired action to move forward and move forward with intention to make it happen.

Alicia Berberich:

I use the acronym of designed to help you with your manifesting. So, you start out with the desire of being really clear on what it is you want and then aligning your energy. The E word is for the energy. Aligning your energy with what it is you desire and then overcoming. The S stands for saboteurs and overcoming the saboteurs, your own limiting beliefs of what’s holding you back. And then also that would be the internal saboteurs. And then you have external saboteurs which are things in your environment that are impacting you or friends or family that are holding you back because of their own beliefs that you’re signing unconsciously signing up for and then take. The eye is for the inspired action that you take to move forward with what it is you want to manifest.

Alicia Berberich:

And the G is for harnessing the power of gratitude. And I’m going to give you a real secret on the gratitude statement in a minute. But then the last one is the N which is navigating the process and looking for signs and signals along the way. And the biggest thing that keeps people from achieving their goals, manifesting their desires is because they get some other little goal that’s easier to achieve that distracts them. It’s like the bright shiny object syndrome. They get distracted along the way. So, they don’t achieve the big things they want because they’re so busy doing little things along the way. But what I really want to share with your listeners about gratitude statements that can be so poignant in achieving their desires is that you can feel grateful for something that you don’t even have yet.

Alicia Berberich:

So, say you’re trying to obtain these, this million-dollar investment in your company. If you take that desire and bring it into the present and say like I’m so grateful that I have this wonderful investment of a million dollars, and then tie onto that on the back end a because statement. So, there’s this emotional connection with it because that’s where the power comes in. The emotional connection. So, I’m so grateful that I found this investor that he’s investing a million dollars in my company because now I can bring my product that’s going to help people achieve greater success with their use of AI or whatever it is. So, you have the present tense of the I am, and then the emotional bond of the because, the reason why. And it’s taking the future desire that you’re going to be grateful for as opposed to just what you’ve already achieved up to now. And that is what really gives you.

Melinda Wittstock:

Gratitude is a very, very powerful thing. And I like what you said about not just being grateful for things in the past, but being grateful for what’s coming. One of the things you said though, too, and in, and I’ll say it in different words, but like, who are you being that would receive what you’re manifesting? Right. Getting alignment there. So, you’ve got a couple different parts of that, because we all have these kind of saboteurs, whether we know it or not, deeply in our subconscious. And like, getting rid of those is not easy.

Melinda Wittstock:

It’s not like, oh, okay, yeah, I’m going to say goodbye to them all today. And they’re gone.

Alicia Berberich:

Hey, it’s a process, the lingering thorn in our side.

Melinda Wittstock:

And especially if you have pretty deep ones, right? Because every time something happens that reminds you of it, you can get pulled into that spiral yet again and not even know that that’s going on. All that’s kind of roiling under the surface without you even being aware necessarily that that’s all happening. So that, to me, that’s the thorny part of, of how you get past, say, present circumstance, not let your present circumstance define you and be the person who would be receiving the $10 million in funding or whatever, while at the same time, you know, oh, my God, is there something going on behind, underneath the surface that I don’t even know about? What are the icebergs?

Alicia Berberich:

Yeah, because you said such an important word as that’s especially important for women and that is to receive. Like, women are so used to giving and giving and giving that they don’t have the. The presence to receive and to accept the receiving. And they deal with feeling not good enough or not worthy or whatever. But just to be able to have the mindset and the emotional space to receive is really going to move the needle forward. Men just figured, oh, yeah, I deserve this. They come with these big egos.

Alicia Berberich:

It’s a non-issue that they’ll be able to raise the money. And women, they, because they’re coming from a different place of constantly giving, they don’t have the space for receiving. And that shift is going to really make a difference when you understand that once you are open to receiving, then things come to you.

Melinda Wittstock:

Yeah, that’s, that’s huge I started working on some years ago because I noticed that it was hard to receive a compliment. You know, when someone just says something like, oh, hey, your hair looks great or I love that top you have. And, and you find yourself diminishing it like, oh, this whole thing, you know, whatever.

Alicia Berberich:

Right, exactly, exactly.

Melinda Wittstock:

Instead of just like, oh, thank you. So, in a way, in a weird way, it’s almost like you’re dissing the person who’s complimenting you.

Alicia Berberich:

We’re told we’re not supposed to stand out. You know, we’re blending in. But just this, just from this lack of ability to receive is really, we feel like we have to deflect the compliments that come to us and then, and then it becomes a way of being and then you don’t realize that you’re doing it in, in other areas. So that’s why it’s hard. One of the reasons, one of the many reasons it’s hard to get the money that you need when you’re an entrepreneur because you’re, you’re so used to deflecting and not receiving and that changing your energy and changing your mindset around that can really make a huge difference.

Melinda Wittstock:

Very, very true. So, let’s talk about these saboteurs, right? You mentioned the people around you is very important as well. As an entrepreneur, it’s really vital that you have people around you who really, really have your back. And it may not be your family, your family may love you and your friends, but they may have their own fears and their own issues, you know, around what you’re doing. They, and they may be acting out of genuine concern and, and love for you.

Melinda Wittstock:

And yet they can be saying things that really set you back. So, talk to me a little bit about the types of people you need around you to succeed in entrepreneurship.

Alicia Berberich:

Yeah, exactly. And, you know, Jim Rome said, you know, you become like the five people you hang around with. And the problem with friends and family is they’ve known you over time, so they see you in a different light. They see you from the light of your past as opposed to looking at the potential future of what you want to create. I think it’s really important for people to have people who are already doing what they want to do and who are successful to connect with those people and to feel their energy and to see their way of being in the world, so you have something to emulate as opposed to the people from your past who see you in an old way. So having those mastermind groups, having those. A mentor or something that can help you and seeing, like, reading about biographies of, you know, Sarah Blakely and other people who have been really successful and how they’ve done it really helps get you in the mindset of something that can move you forward.

Alicia Berberich:

And it’s exactly what you said. It’s like your friends, they don’t mean to keep you small, but they’re just used to seeing you in a different way and they’re trying to protect you, and they don’t want you to get hurt, so they don’t want you to build up these high hopes to just get shot down. But that’s, you know, that’s mostly about them as opposed to about you.

Melinda Wittstock:

So, everybody’s projecting on everybody else, I mean.

Alicia Berberich:

Exactly, exactly.

Melinda Wittstock:

Right. Sometimes I wonder, is it all a simulation…

Alicia Berberich:

Right, exactly. Computer game.

Melinda Wittstock:

Then you have all these inner, you know, inner thoughts or the, you know, what I call bully voice, whether it’s imposter syndrome, whether it’s all the things and all the ways we’re our own worst critics all the time. And I think that’s just humanity. And so, all this stuff is coming from our subconscious. We’re getting confirmation of what’s in our subconscious because we attract that energy to us. So, if you really believe something, you kind of look at your life and you see.

Alicia Berberich:

Right, exactly.

Melinda Wittstock:

So, it reinforces that. So how do you break that cycle?

Alicia Berberich:

It is easier said and done. But I really, you know, to be aware of what’s going on is the first critical step, because a lot of times we have this negative voice going on in our head and we’re not even aware that it’s playing on a loop like 24/7 and can really take you down. So, gaining that awareness is critical. And then to acknowledge the voice. And then here’s the really trick of the situation is especially like with imposter syndrome, or anytime you’re dealing with that negative voice in your head, it’s talking to you at an emotional level. People have been trying to deal with that on a logical level, saying, oh, that’s not true.

Alicia Berberich:

You really need to approach it on an emotional level and not a logical level. So, what I work with my clients on is really adding loving kindness so that when you feel that fear, acknowledging it, saying, yeah, I understand this is scary and we can do it together. I need your support to help me move forward. So really adding the loving kindness to your inner dialogue so that you can befriend that negative voice in your head, or the inner critic, whatever you want to call it, and then step forward with courage.

Alicia Berberich:

So, moving for taking the action steps even though you’re feeling the fear, but take the action steps to move forward in spite of that. And that’s really going to make the difference, really befriending that negative voice.

Melinda Wittstock:

That’s a really interesting point because I think the temptation, especially with the awareness, is like, oh, no, I’m not allowed to feel that. So, we don’t acknowledge it. And sometimes it’s like stacking plates.

Alicia Berberich:

Right, exactly.

Melinda Wittstock:

So, is it really that this energy just, you know, this negative energy has to pass through you? Is that a way of looking at it?

Alicia Berberich:

Well, but you can really get stuck in the loop because it’s playing constantly in the back of your mind, and you need to make an abrupt change. So that’s why doing something the opposite, like adding the loving kindness really is the big shift maker.

Melinda Wittstock:

That’s so funny. I’m thinking about the Seinfeld episode. I don’t know if you ever saw that years ago, but like Opposite Day.

Alicia Berberich:

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Melinda Wittstock:

And everything started to kind of work.

Alicia Berberich:

Exactly, you need to go at it with loving kindness. They’re like, why would add loving kindness to something that’s mean to me. It’s like dealing with mean girls. Girls are mean because of their own insecurities and lack. They are seeking control, and so they act out in these really hostile ways. But actually, it’s just that they’re scared of not being accepted, scared of not being good enough. So, they need that loving kindness to get over the mean factor.

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Melinda Wittstock:

And we’re back with Alicia Berberich, executive coach helping women entrepreneurs reach their full potential.

[INTERVIEW CONTINUES]

Melinda Wittstock:

So, when you talk about manifesting in the context of business, mindset is the most critical component to, to walk through all the challenges, the ups and downs, the roller coaster of entrepreneurship. So, there’s increasing recognition of that. But there are some people who are kind of dismissive. Like they think you’re like a ‘woo woo’ or lightweight or something like that. Is it something you have to kind of keep private or is it something that you can…

Alicia Berberich:

I think the more people talk about it, the more it becomes normalized. The same thing with the negative voice in your head, that imposter syndrome. The more you can talk about it and verbalize it, then the more you can overcome it. And with manifesting, the more people who are talking about how they use it and achieve their goals, then the more other people are going to say, oh, it’s like that’s their secret sauce. Like I need to try that too, right? Let everyone else have this secret power that they’re using. And, you know, it’s just like harnessing the energy of your internal self, connecting with the universe. So, you know, bring it on, baby, bring it out.

Melinda Wittstock:

You know, it’s interesting on this podcast, right, I talk to entrepreneurs of all generations. You know, you know, young women start, you know, in their 20s and 30s, and then women in their 40s who are balancing their business with young kids. I, I remember I did that. I actually launched the business. My daughter was 6 weeks old. I, look, I don’t even know how I did it, right? But like, I did.

Alicia Berberich:

Very impressive.

Melinda Wittstock:

And then, and then into their 50s and 60s. Now, I think 50s and 60s is a particularly powerful time for women as entrepreneurs. I think our, like, entrepreneur clock is different from men. I think we’re really almost at the height of our powers in our 50s and 60s. And the only reason I think that is just the evidence of more than 900 interviews on this podcast and all the women in my own lived experience, right? Because it’s sort of like our energy level, but our wisdom and our confidence, everything starts to align more at that time. Do you think that’s true? Do you think women are kind of entering into their superpowers by the time they’re in their 50s and 60s?

Alicia Berberich:

I absolutely believe that because, A, we’ve already had our kids if we’re going to do that, and the kids are leaving. So, you have this empty nest. So that frees up time and energy. And also, you’re going through your own menopause body changes. So, you’re the energy that was going through your body every month and dealing with that is now released. So, you have exponentially more energy for thinking, for creativity, for really creating the life that you want. It’s such a pivot. It’s like really our apex time when we really can create masterful things.

Melinda Wittstock:

You know, I think this is true, and I think this is part of the puzzle. Say, just even on the venture funding, where a lot of venture firms, they literally have a thesis that is pattern recognition. Kara Swisher the other day called it ‘mirror recognition’ because they basically are looking for themselves in the mirror when they invest.

Alicia Berberich:

Yeah.

Melinda Wittstock:

So, a guy who’s dropped out of MIT, Harvard, Stanford, wearing a hoodie, you know, okay. And in inventing something in a garage is kind of the thing because that’s worked in the past, but that is not women’s stories. Women don’t fit that at all.

Alicia Berberich:

Exactly.

Melinda Wittstock:

So, if women are coming into their power as like, best time they could be entrepreneurs to say, you know, late 40s, 50s and 60s and whatnot. But the whole venture world is, oh, no, you’ve got to invest in somebody when they’re, you know, 25. I think of myself at 25. I was doing amazing things.

Melinda Wittstock:

There was nothing I couldn’t do at that age. But I just know so much more now. Like, I’m just a much better executive and a much better leader. It’s like night and day. How can we kind of educate men in this continuum as well as get the confidence, like, our life is not over at 50, it’s kind of beginning, you know.

Alicia Berberich:

That’s a hard game changer because men, you know, they’re looking at the older woman sort of in their mother role. So, it depends upon what their mother was doing, whether they are going to see that as something that’s even possible. I mean, if you can’t get money from them at 50, getting money from them when you’re 70 is going to be just exponentially harder. So that’s why I really feel the power of women coming together to support women, to supply the venture capital. Funding is really going to be pivotal for that.

Melinda Wittstock:

I remember my Aunt Bea, who was Canada’s first female stockbroker, you know, early 70s. But she, you know, she had to make her own market. She went to, you know, women who were divorced or widowed and taught them about investing. She became the top producer in her very large firm with 100 women clients.

Alicia Berberich:

That’s such a good role model for you. I love that.

Melinda Wittstock:

And she had the best car. She had this big life. And she was productive into her 80s, you know, and so, it can be done, right?

Alicia Berberich:

Yeah, yeah, exactly. It can be done.

Melinda Wittstock:

And so, what’s next for you? Tell me a little bit about your clients and who you work with and where they’re at. What’s the before and what’s the after?

Alicia Berberich:

It’s just exactly this type of woman, the woman from their 50s to their 70s who’s trying to figure out their next steps. That’s exactly who I work with. To help them really connect with their core values and uncover their hidden strengths in their stories, to really help them with that and then create a vision. So, we have this strong foundation of what they have to offer and then figuring out where they want to focus their energy going forward. So really just combing, teasing out all of the things they have to offer because a lot of times, you know, they’ve been just taking care of their kids and, and being a stay-at-home mom and now they’re really ready to break out and are not exactly sure how to direct their energies to move forward. So, I really help focus them on a path that’s really meant for them to fulfill their real purpose and calling. I firmly believe everyone here has a purpose and a calling that they need to meet.

Alicia Berberich:

And for women, we get connected with it so much later because we do have the responsibility of, you know, bringing on the next generation. And then once we’ve succeeded in that, then it’s time to really figure out what our higher calling is here. What I do is help women go from, you know, unclear to having a mission that they’re really ready to deliver on.

Melinda Wittstock:

Well, it’s very, very important work. Alicia, thank you. I just want to ask you one more manifestation question before we go. What’s the biggest thing that you’ve ever manifested in terms of your own journey?

Alicia Berberich:

The one thing all, all my childhood, many years, I really wanted to live in Paris and. But I don’t really speak French or anything and. But just finally I decided that it was going to happen, and I manifested, and I took my three kids and my husband, and we moved it to live in Paris for two years. And it was just a huge shift for all of us, but it was something I really wanted to do. And so that was in my mind that’s my biggest manifestation. And it was having that clear vision and then taking the inspired actions and really being grateful for the time there. I mean, I even had to bring my mother with me because she wasn’t able to live alone. So, it was quite a, quite an endeavor.

Melinda Wittstock:

Daring to dream big. If you think that you’re unworthy in some way or undeserving, you can have these dreams but like cancel yourself out of them before you even take a first step to get there. So, like just daring to actually dream, you know?

Alicia Berberich:

Right, exactly.

Melinda Wittstock:

It’s a big part of that. Well, Paris is a lovely city. I used to live in London years ago in my 20s and so I used to get to Paris quite often. So totally understand the pull there.

Alicia Berberich:

Yeah.

Melinda Wittstock:

So, if people listening to this podcast are interested in working with you and learning more about you. What’s the best way? How should they find you?

Alicia Berberich:

I have a website. It’s aliciaberberich.com or you can follow me on Instagram, which is Alicia Berberich.

Melinda Wittstock:

Wonderful. Well, Alicia, thank you so much for putting on your wings today and flying with us.

Alicia Berberich:

Thank you. It’s been a great flight.

[INTERVIEW ENDS]

Melinda Wittstock:

Alicia Berberich is a visionary leader and executive coach connecting women in business.

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