Meet leaders who built businesses on their own terms
by Tina Kapp-Kailea
For years, there has been an unspoken blueprint for building a successful business. Follow the system, play the game, and don’t deviate too far from what works. There is a moment when following the rules stops working and we can be called to question everything we know.
The women featured here did that and chose a different path. They challenged conventional thinking, trusted their instincts, and have built businesses that reflect not just a plan or a strategy, but personal truth, values, and come from lived experience.
1. Shoshanna Raven – Life Coach, Movement Maker, Mother, and Author
Shoshanna Raven is an 8-figure life coach, movement maker, mother, and author redefining what wealth, leadership, and joy look like for modern women. As the founder of Living Brave, she has built a global movement rooted in liberated expression, feminine leadership, and unapologetic self-trust.
Her work began in 2019 with a single moment of raw vulnerability that ignited a worldwide community. Since then, Shoshanna has supported over 10,000 clients and helped generate hundreds of millions in client revenue, while creating her signature BRAVE AF Micro-Movement Method for multi-passionate leaders who refuse to be boxed in.
Through her work and her book The Limit Does Not Exist, she challenges traditional ideas of success, showing women how to turn vulnerability into power and build lives and businesses that are both deeply aligned and wildly expansive. She represents a new era of leadership, one that values authenticity, creativity, and the courage to live and lead beyond limits.
2. Jessica Kane – CEO & 4x Founder
Jessica Kane is a four-time founder and entrepreneur building businesses that centre confidence, connection, and women’s leadership. Across fashion, media, product, and technology, her work is united by one core mission: helping women trust themselves and show up more boldly.
She first gained recognition for scaling a plus-size fashion brand and magazine that shifted the conversation around representation. Today, as the founder of Geniechat, she is rethinking how founders manage relationships, creating a platform designed to reduce overwhelm and support meaningful, trust-based connections. Through trainings and conversations, she teaches women to grow businesses through referrals and authentic relationships rather than pressure or burnout.
Jessica’s approach is grounded in integrity, prioritising transparency, collaboration, and long-term connection. Across her ventures, she creates spaces where women feel seen, capable, and supported.
Her work proves that when women believe they belong, they not just grow businesses, they step fully into leadership on their own terms.
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3. Alicia Ann Wade – Franchise – Coaching
Alicia Ann Wade is a multi award winning author, TEDx speaker, and founder of The Gratitude Method™, a global movement redefining leadership through wellbeing, resilience, and human connection. Known as Dr Gratitude, she blends positive psychology with lived experience to create practical, scalable tools that support both personal and professional growth.
After losing everything twice, Alicia committed to a year of daily gratitude, a decision that became the foundation for multiple purpose driven businesses, education pathways, and community initiatives. Her work bridges the gap between wellbeing and leadership, embedding gratitude as a practical tool within organisations, communities, and entrepreneurial spaces.
As the founder of Women’s Walk & Talk, she has built a grassroots movement supporting connection and mental health for over a thousand women. Alicia leads with integrity, modelling resilience, transparency, and values-led leadership, empowering others to build confidence, autonomy, and purpose-driven success while proving meaningful impact and sustainable business can coexist.
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4. Leah Williams – Entrepreneur & Marketing Business Owner
Leah Williams is a marketing strategist and founder of LW Haus of Marketing, known for building brands that stand out through meaningful, results driven storytelling. With over 15 years of experience, she combines creativity and strategy to help businesses grow in ways that feel both authentic and sustainable.
Leah’s work is grounded in a genuine commitment to the people she serves. She leads with honesty, integrity, and a strong sense of responsibility, focusing on long-term success rather than quick wins. Beyond her own business, she is deeply invested in supporting other women and entrepreneurs, regularly mentoring, hosting trainings, and creating opportunities for others to grow.
As a speaker and community builder, Leah has shared her knowledge across events and workshops, helping new business owners gain confidence in marketing and branding. She believes success is something to be shared, not kept. Leah represents a model of leadership where ambition and generosity coexist, building her own vision while actively lifting others along the way.
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5. Chellie Phillips – PR/ Speaker/ Author/ Corporate Trainer
Chellie Phillips is a speaker, trainer, and culture-building strategist with more than 30 years of experience in the electric cooperative industry. Known for her practical, people first approach, she has spent her career strengthening communication, building trust, and helping organisations create cultures where both employees and communities thrive.
What sets Chellie apart is her depth of real world experience. She has led through crisis, navigated complex environments, and understands leadership beyond theory. Today, she equips leaders at every level with the tools, confidence, and clarity to lead with purpose, regardless of title.
Through her speaking, training, and development programmes, Chellie breaks down traditional hierarchies, helping individuals recognise that leadership is demonstrated through behaviour, not position. Her work creates lasting impact by empowering people to communicate effectively, step into leadership roles, and contribute meaningfully to their organisations.
Her influence extends beyond the workplace, strengthening the communities these organisations serve through connection, accountability, and shared purpose.
