OWN YOUR BRAND SHOW with Victoria Odekomaya

From Losing Her Voice to Leading the Nation: Thresette Brigg’s Story | Epi 62

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Ever felt like your purpose and your career were at war with each other? In this powerful episode of the Own Your Brand Show, host Victoria Odekomaya sits down with Thresette Briggs—founder of Performance 3 and National Board Chair-Elect for NAWBO—to talk about faith, resilience, and what it really takes to build a purpose-driven business.

Thresette shares how losing her physical voice nearly cost her everything—and how that moment became the spark that launched a thriving leadership development firm. From the realities of burnout to redefining what “success” truly means, this episode is a raw, inspiring look at the hidden side of entrepreneurship.

Whether you’re a woman entrepreneur, a professional seeking more meaning, or simply someone feeling stuck, this conversation will remind you that your voice matters—and that your story isn’t over yet.

👉 Boss Ladies Magazine:
Want to see powerful stories of women in business, or get featured or sponsor an upcoming issue? View Boss Ladies Magazine and explore opportunities here.

✨ Learn More & Connect with Thresette’s World:

👉 NAWBO Resources & Membership:

👉 Upcoming Events:

  • July 21-22: WE Succeed: IndyStrong — Thresette will be facilitating a panel at the Great Lakes Women’s Business Council event. Check out details and register here.
  • July 23: Diversity Roundtable of Central Indiana (DRTCI) – Thresette will be presenting on using your voice with intent, impact, and influence. DRTCI Event Link.

👉 Thresette’s Book Feature:
Check out Sacred Promise: An Anthology — featuring Thresette’s powerful chapter about her voice journey. Compiled by Dr. Tererai Trent and endorsed by Elizabeth Gilbert, it was even included in the swag bags at the Emmy Awards!

ABOUT

Victoria Odekomaya is a Nigerian American entrepreneur, speaker, and content marketing strategist on a mission to help business owners grow their business, brand, and legacy through the power of storytelling and strategic content marketing.

She’s the founder of LiMStudios, a full-service creative agency and state-of-the-art content studio in Indianapolis where strategy and storytelling come together through high-quality content production and marketing implementation. She’s also the creator of Boss Ladies Magazine and host of The Own Your Brand Show, a video podcast to help business owners grow their business, brand, and legacy through strategic content marketing and authentic conversations about the entrepreneurial journey.

Each week, Victoria breaks down practical content marketing strategies in her solo “Own Your Brand” episodes and sits down with entrepreneurs in her Behind the Brand series to uncover the stories, struggles, and systems behind their success. Because when we get real about the wins AND the struggles, we realize we're not alone and that's when real transformation happens.

Follow her journey through LiMStudios, Boss Ladies Magazine, and The Own Your Brand Show and join the movement to amplify voices, build legacy, and make impact.

📩 For sponsorship or business inquiries:
mtr.bio/limstudios | hello@thelimstudios.com | Text 260-777-7211

Thresette:

I was like let me rub up against you and get some of that secret sauce. And so the secret sauce I found out was not so easy.

Victoria:

If you could just pick life into us right now, what would you say?

Thresette:

The biggest thing I would say to do is to have courage, and if there is someone or something you've been wanting to do and you think I can't do it and you got to figure out how you overcome them so you can do it, because mindset is everything. One of my friends who read it said tell me what that meant. And I said, not quite ready to share that.

Victoria:

Yet it's in the next book, the book yeah, hello, and welcome to another episode of the Own your Brand Show. I'm your girl, victoria Odeko-Meyer, and on this podcast we share real stories that would help you grow personally, as well as strategies to help you show up confidently, build your brand and turn your visibility into real business growth. Today I have a very special guest and we've already kind of started talking before. Then we realized the camera was not on, so, like, let's turn it on. But this is so important to me, precious to me for many reasons. This lady is a true inspiration to me.

Victoria:

I had the privilege to photograph her for the edition of the Boss Ladies magazine, which you can get a copy of. We'll put the link in the description below. But she's actually doing the things that seem far-fetched to me and, I think, to many other people too. I'm going to let her tell our story, but without much ado. Let's get into the story and let's. I'm hoping that you learned something that would inspire you to keep going, even when it's when it's when the journey is tough. So let's get into it. Hi, ms Treseda Briggs, how are you doing?

Thresette:

today I'm doing well. Thank you very much, victoria. It is an honor to be here and I definitely appreciate being in the book. It's Boss Ladies. I mean, wow, boss Ladies, novo Indies. So I love it, I love it.

Victoria:

Thank you, thank you for coming because, like we were talking, like this is reality for me, because you are, I can touch you. You know, you are the chief performance officer of your business, performance 3, but you are also you've gone through, you've earned a lot of accolades, a lot of things over the years. We're going to talk a lot about it, one that I know personally now you are the national board chair elect for National NABO National, which for me is like, oh my God, like you know and you were, you know, a previous president of NABO Indy as well but that's just a few of the things that you have done Right and again, like I said, for me it feels like my dreams is possible because of people like you. So I want to first of all say thank you, you know, for staying the cause and for showing that it's possible for me and other people out there that may be going through and doing things and sometimes not seeing the end in sight. So I appreciate you.

Thresette:

Oh well, thank you very much. And again, I appreciate you too, because I can touch you both, and I think that's so important for us to reach back and touch people that have have helped us by pushing us to inspire people, and then those that soldiers we've stayed on, stood on to help us. I mean, we, we just don't get to where we are alone, yeah, and so, and it's not a good place to be on that Island by yourself- yeah.

Thresette:

So communities like Nabo Right Are certainly part of my growth and I am highly appreciative of all the women and all the things that NABO has helped me to do for my personal and professional growth.

Victoria:

Wow, okay, so let's start from the beginning. So can you just like introduce yourself for people that may not know who you are?

Thresette:

There's probably a lot of people that don't. Well, yes, of course I am Tracetta Briggs. I am the founder and chief performance officer of Performance 3. It is a national leadership development firm and we build high performing leaders because we believe every leader can be high performing with the right culture and the right opportunity assessments, training, facilitation, coaching and consulting services for different types of venues like conferences, strategic planning, learning series, leadership meeting, retreats and other types of things that make sense to develop the leaders in a high-performing way in organizations.

Victoria:

Wow, so how long have you had your business?

Thresette:

I just passed my 15th year on May 10th of this year. Congratulations, thank you very much. I celebrated this year. In the past I celebrated a little more. This year I celebrated by having a posting and sending it to everybody that I believe has been support to me, and just putting it out there and saying how grateful I am. Out there and saying how grateful I am Because, again, you don't get to where you are without having great clients, great supporters, a great community, a great family that supports you and all of those things.

Victoria:

That is amazing. I cannot wait to celebrate 15 years. It goes by very fast. So, before you started your business, like what were you doing? And just kind of tell us the story about how you translated, how did you even know you wanted to start this business?

Thresette:

Sure, Well, you know, the spark, I believe, started when I was young and my dad was an entrepreneur. He first worked in an aircraft factory in the city of Wichita, kansas. Oh, wow, yeah, put that up Because I feel like sometimes I'm the only one representing Wichita Kansas I know I'm not, it just feels like it sometimes in Indiana, which is you know where I've been for so many years. My dad, he was in an aircraft factory as a worker there for 12 years and on the side he was doing his business landscaping and architecture and so after 12 years, when he was ready, he launched his business full time. So my brother and sister and I got an opportunity to work with him in the summers and kind of see a few things. Now we didn't get paid, we got room and board, but you know, I saw a lot of things and I think at that time it didn't resonate so much as I got older and my dad continued in his business and he became not only a business owner, then a community leader and he was living his dream. He was very passionate about it and I saw some things shift in him that were, in my young self, very important to see, you know, and that shift was that I'm doing something that I want to do, I'm doing something that I'm passionate about, I am owning my purpose, and so that, I think, was what started my spark. Yeah, and so that, I think, was what what started my spark.

Thresette:

Now, I didn't start off in business, obviously. I went into, I went to college, I went to corporate America, and I was there for 20 years before I really started feeling like I could probably do that, and reconnecting with what my dad did. The reality, though, victoria, is, sometimes we have to deal with some head trash than we have about certain things, because, though my dad was a business owner, and I think he was successful and I think he was living his dream and I saw a lot of things, I also know that my dad died early, and I heard him say some things that made me believe I don't know that it was what it was made me believe that the stress and the pressure of having a business is part of what took him to an early early death early grave, and so that was in my head about what it meant to be an entrepreneur.

Thresette:

That is too much stress, it's too much to do. You know you can't do it. Even though he had a partner, you know that wasn't successful and that was a split there. So what does this really mean? So I had to deal with that piece and I realized that if I am going to do this, I have to reconcile that and I have to understand that, yes, I can do this in the way that it works for me. I can balance my life. I can make sure that I'm not burning myself out. I can make sure that I'm not necessarily stressing myself in a way that's going to do that to me.

Victoria:

Right.

Thresette:

So that doesn't mean I'm stressed, it's not for the faint of heart. You and I know, yeah, being a business owner. If you're called to do it, though, it's one of the best things you could ever do, right.

Victoria:

Wow, so. So when you started your business, I'm even curious about the name too. Like, how did you come up with the name? And like, what was that? Like you've? You had that thought. Like I think I can do it. You've dealt with the head trash, so what? What happened next? Well, what?

Thresette:

happened next is that I did get an opportunity to corporate. I was in corporate for 20 years or so. I did get an opportunity to go out because there was changes happening in that business and I got a severance package left and I decided to go out on my own the first time. Ok, oh, ok, ok. And then I got a big client, big global client. I worked with them for a year. I was able to help them turn their business around through a big transformation where they were going to get cut off by their parent company if they didn't perform well within a year. Oh, wow. So I was able to be part of helping to establish a team that did that. We were successful, we got awards and they asked me to come on board as an employee.

Victoria:

Oh, I see.

Thresette:

At the time, it seemed like the right thing to do. In hindsight, I should have stayed a consultant, because when I started working with them, I became an employee again and the opportunities for me were not necessarily what I was seeing down the road as part of my mission and vision and purpose. And so I left there and then went to another company where I was in charge of 40 sites across the US and some international. It was another turnaround situation. It was about getting back to performance, health. It was about building leaders. It was about all the things that I love doing, and, of course, you don't do everything you love doing. You do some other things.

Thresette:

I was getting to do a lot of what I loved. Other things I was getting to do a lot of what I loved, and two years about two years into that year and a half into that is where I started to feel that again that I wanted to go out on my own. Also, at the time, I started having a challenge with my physical voice Wow, okay. And so that's a whole nother story which we can come back to in just a little bit. The reality is is that that led me to leave corporate America again and start my own business. Now. Here's the key about the name. The first time I just named it my initials TKB Consulting because I needed a name.

Victoria:

Right, okay.

Thresette:

When I went out again, I wanted it to be more meaningful and purposeful, because I really the story that I'm going to tell you in a little bit.

Thresette:

I really wanted it to be something that was a legacy, that was part of what I was here for, and so I really really took six months to name it. Wow, the performance is all about building high performance and helping people to define what does it mean to you and where can you really make that happen. So that's why it's the right opportunity and the right culture that we believe in, because they have to match, and so it was about high performance. The three is really based on my faith and we know the power of the three, and if you believe in that faith and I'm not, you know this this is my faith, yes, and I respect other faiths.

Thresette:

This is just what I believe. Those three helped me to do what I do. And so Performance 3 was the only logical name I could come up with.

Victoria:

That is incredible. I love that. Ok, let's talk about the voice thing. Yes, I love that. Okay, let's talk about the voice thing yes, so tell me what happened.

Thresette:

Well about. Oh gosh. I'd been in the job about a year and a half or so and I began to have a lot of problems with my voice. It started sounding really weird. It was gravelly, I was coughing. I was not able to catch my breath, it was difficult to breathe, there were a lot of problems and I began to go to the doctor and get treated for what they thought was asthma.

Thresette:

Okay, oh wow, Well, a year and a half into that, it was not working. I was still having this thing. They were getting worse. Wow, so I had been through the out that time in the hospital emergency room, in fact about three times, because I was. You know it was, it was critical.

Thresette:

I didn't breathe and I didn't know what was going to happen. The last time I was in the hospital for that reason, my son he flew over the house. My husband happened to be somewhere where I couldn't reach him. My son, oldest son, flew over there house my husband happened to be somewhere where I couldn't reach him. My son, oldest son, flew over there. He took me to the hospital and in the hospital I relied on my faith and I asked to give me my voice back. Yes, and I said, if I do that, if you do that, I'll give it to you. I love that.

Thresette:

And so two weeks after that, I met someone who said hey, you know what are you having a problem with? And I told him Now, I wasn't that vulnerable to tell people all of what I was going through. She was kind of a friend and I just poured my heart out to her and I told her. And she said well, have you ever thought about checking with an allergy specialist? And I said, no, I hadn't. It was being treated as asthma. I thought that's what it was. She said, well, check that out.

Thresette:

I went to the specialist and you, know, Victoria, I found out I had about close to 60 allergies that were not being treated. Wow, what was happening is that my vocal cords were inflamed. They were so bad off that I couldn't get air in and out. It was not only causing me to cough and have problems with breathing and talking, it was causing me a problem with with my voice and the way it sounded. Wow, it was really harsh and I it wasn't recognizable to me. Wow. So after they figured out what the allergies were, I also had to go to speech therapy to help do exercises to get my voice back and go through the healing process of my vocal cords. That were I mean, they were damaged.

Thresette:

So within that year is when I started totally shifting what I was doing. Why I was doing it? Because I tell you when you, when you have something that you believe you are going to lose, that you took for granted and that other people have told you is a gift, because you know you're in corporate america and people tell you oh, you do this well and you talk well and you present, you're like oh, thanks yeah you don't really think about it, though, until you're about to lose it, right, and so, when I almost lost my voice, I began to think about what a gift it was to me, to the world and to the people I would impact in this world.

Thresette:

Wow, I was also a young mother way back, and I had to use my voice then, as a young mother, to advocate for myself and to do the things that I wanted to do in my career.

Victoria:

Wow.

Thresette:

So if I was going to help people that I felt were the people I was here to help, I was going to need my voice. And so that is the story about why I do what I do because I did not feel that I could use my voice the way I needed to in corporate America, and that was a driving factor in the reason I left corporate America the second time.

Victoria:

Isn't that interesting that we're talking about your voice now and now. It's like the connection between not being able to use your voice in corporate America but then using your voice, which is mainly what you do in your business. Like, just, I'm just thinking about the connection in my head. Like I felt like maybe God was and I'm a Christian, so we, we do Christian on this channel.

Thresette:

like we talk about.

Victoria:

God. So like I feel like maybe God was just trying to push you in the right direction. So like, okay, go start. This thing is put it on your heart from way back when, and maybe, maybe it's a way to get your attention to, like you know. And then you like talk like Lord. If you give me back this voice, I'm gonna do what you want me to do. You know, and then you like talked like Lord. If you give me back this voice, I'm going to do what you want me to do. Did you feel like that in?

Thresette:

any way. I absolutely did, because I felt like that was a wake up call for me.

Victoria:

Yeah.

Thresette:

That I had been using my voice and I had been doing things for the places I worked. I've been doing what they needed me to do with my voice. I had been just doing what I was doing and it didn't really have a purpose behind it. And so, as I thought about how I would use my voice, who needed me in this world to help them? And whether you have a voice, a physical voice that you don't like so much, whether you have a physical voice that you don't get to use, whether you feel like you've been silenced, whether you feel like whatever use, whether you feel like you've been silenced, whether you feel like whatever, your voice is important.

Thresette:

And there are some people who are physically unable to talk. They still have a voice, and so how can they use their voice with intent, impact and influence in a way that really serves the people that need to hear that on the platforms they have? In fact, on the 22nd of July, I will be doing a presentation for the Diversity Roundtable of Central Indiana around leadership and using your voice with intent, impact and influence. And I've done that in past because that voice story resonates with people, and I've done that in past because that voice story resonates with people and I think that's important, especially now where a lot of people, whatever their ideology, is not going there. Right, not not saying what they believe is right or wrong. I have my beliefs. I'm not saying what is right or wrong for theirs. I'm saying that if you're going to use your voice, you need to use it intently, you need to use it on the right platforms and you need to determine what that voice actually means to you. That's amazing.

Victoria:

So I'm curious. I know you said that in the beginning you had to deal with like your dad passing early because of work. Was there any time that you thought that, oh my God, now I'm about to like start my business. Now my voice, you know, like any. Did that bring any fear to your mind?

Thresette:

It really did. It really did, and that was. There was a point where, when I got to a certain age the age my dad passed away I was like six months after that I was like I made it. Six months after that, I was like I made it. I'm in business and I made it past that age. So I thank you, you know, thank you God, for allowing that and that I had the community support, the people around me, to help me do it.

Victoria:

Yeah.

Thresette:

So it was. It was really powerful for me to have reached that milestone.

Victoria:

Yeah, so I want to go back to the whole voice thing that you were saying and and that resonates with me, because I also believe that we're here for a reason. We're put here for a reason. God has deposited something specific into each and every one of us, and then we have a duty to share that with the world. And how can we share that without using our voices? As a matter of fact, I believe that we are the answer prayers to others too, in terms of, like, it's all we're praying to God. Like Lord, I need help with leadership, I need to learn how to be a leader. Well, if you're not using your voice to you know, teach and train and all that like, we are not letting God use us to answer that person's prayers. So I am a big advocate for using our voices, standing up for what we believe in, showing up boldly and confidently. So thank you again for that. You mentioned the conference. We're going to put all the details in there. If you're in Indiana, you walk. Is it open? Is it an open conference?

Thresette:

It is a presentation and, yes, I do believe it's open to non-members as well?

Victoria:

Is it something that would also be streamed live where people can join in, or do you know?

Thresette:

Now I have a link and I believe it's a presentation where you just register and then you would probably get the link to join. All right, absolutely.

Victoria:

We'll put all of the details in there so that people can get the opportunity to. But I kind of want to go back to so when you started your business, things kind of like tell us about that journey in the very beginning, like, oh my goodness, was it like rough. Or was it like, yeah, I've got because you have like role models, so, like your dad, you saw your dad, you saw him doing successful business. Like what was it like for?

Thresette:

you in the beginning. Well, in the beginning, yes, rough is an understatement. I think those first two years I mean extremely rough. I was trying to be everywhere and do everything and figure this all out. And what communities am I in or should be in, who do I talk to? Who do I need to meet? All those things come into play when you start a business. It can be very overwhelming to meet all those things coming to play when you start a business, so it can be very overwhelming, it is.

Thresette:

And about that second year I think, I was extremely overwhelmed and burnt out and I started thinking, okay, dad did this and I thought I had this in my DNA, but I don't got this in my DNA apparently. So this is hard. Let me figure out something. And instead of deciding, okay, I'm going to go back into corporate America, which I did not want to do because I don't. I don't condone corporate America. I think it's fine for a lot of people. It just I didn't think was a place for me to truly live out my purpose in what I was here to do. So I said, okay, instead, I'm going to talk to people, ask them what their secret sauce was. I was like you. I was like, let me rub up against you and get some of that secret sauce.

Thresette:

And so the secret sauce I found out was not so easy. It was the people I thought were rocking it out and just going, you know, like this, like a rocket. It was really like this. You know, all over the place, you know, like spaghetti thing, right, we, we. Something great happens in this down here and it goes up and down.

Thresette:

They told me what their real stories were, and their real stories were about grit and the real stories were about grit, perseverance, failure, triumph, success, the right people giving them a break All those things were mixed in and we hear a lot about businesses that fail within the first five years. That businesses fail within the first five years, Often that's because the people quit. It's not because and there's all sorts of reasons why people leave a business, and I'm not saying they should or shouldn't, I'm saying that it isn't definite that if your business doesn't succeed in the first five years, that it's not going to.

Thresette:

Right, I see what you mean. Yeah, you have to really understand what you need to keep doing and stay focused and stay intentional, right. And so I talked to people and they told me all that A lot of them were in NABO. That's why I say I stand on a lot of shoulders and if I started trying to name names I'm sure I would leave somebody out, so I won't do that.

Thresette:

A lot of women in NABO, women in other organizations like the Great Lakes Women's Business Council, people in the community who were gracious enough to meet with me, and so I really took that and it inspired me to keep going. And so I'm happy to say that 15 years later, I'm still here and I don't feel the same way I did at two years. And why is that? That's for a couple of different reasons. One is because I understand that I need to understand my strengths and my gifts and use them where I need to be using them, and not trying to be everywhere and doing everything that I think I need to do. I needed to get clear on what I did need to do and then find ways to do that and how I can have the most impact through those gifts and strengths.

Victoria:

Wow, okay. So there's a part in your article here that I want to read, because I'm hearing you say that again, and it's really the intention. You're very intentional. And then he says my goal has always been to use my strengths with intention, which is what you just talked about now, and every opportunity I say yes to needs to align with the mission I've been called to serve. See, this resonates a lot with me because, it is true, small business owners especially when you're in the beginning we wear so many different hats, and I know that in some cases we have to, because it's not like we have a ton of money, right, so we have to be the marketer with everything. But there's something to be said for identifying what your strengths are and focusing on that with intention, which I think is what you're trying to say here.

Thresette:

That's absolutely it. You know you really need to understand what your gifts and strengths are and then figure out what are the best places for me to use them, because, to your point, you don't have a lot of money and you're trying to do a lot of things. What are those things you really need to do because of your gifts and strengths and that will help you stop doing too much? Yeah, as my little granddaughter says, we do too much.

Thresette:

We do too much. Sometimes we're just all over the place trying to do things. What is it that we really? Are we saying no to the good so we can say yes to the great, you know? Are we making sure that we are not suffering from FOMO? Because I don't have fear of missing out if I'm over here doing what I'm supposed to do. It's a disservice for me to be over there doing something that somebody else is gifted to do when I should be over here. It's a waste of time and the real, real, real, real big factor about intention and focus is that time is so valuable. Dollars might be renewable, Time is not. You don't get any more time, so you have to be careful about where you spend your time, and is that time maximizing your gifts and strengths and are you able to do the things that you are here to do with that time? So are you burning out? Are you burning out trying to do other things that everybody else did?

Thresette:

Now, and I have, you know, stories about that. In my past I had a client that I was doing something for Great client, great place. It just wasn't necessarily something that I was totally gifted and stripped to do. I guess I could do it and it was maybe part of my gifts because you know I could do it and I'd done it before and done it in corporate America. It just wasn't what I wanted to do, nor it wasn't a gift that I found out I really had. It was just something I did. So I just really had to have that conversation with them about. I don't think this is something that I need to be doing for you. I think probably someone else could do this and I can recommend somebody for you if you'd like.

Thresette:

But, I think that it might be more effective if I help you find somebody else who really, really wants to do that, because that's not what I'm passionate about.

Victoria:

Okay, so I know that some people are probably listening and thinking, well, I need the money, which is like a reality for some people. So I'm just trying to think, if you can think back to like in your early years, where maybe you didn't have the choice to pick and choose as much like how, what are some of the things that you did on?

Thresette:

if you can share with us, how we can, you know, stay true to like our strengths and, instead of spreading ourselves through things, that's a really good point, because when you're hungry and you know you got a sale so you can eat, it is difficult to turn down some things.

Thresette:

I would encourage people to really focus on the long term, because if you're doing a lot of different things just for the money, you can damage yourself long term because people don't really understand what you do, yeah, and it looks like you're trying to be a jack of all trades, and is that really where you want to be? And so when you look at what you do, say yes to because you need the money is that something that sort of aligns with a gift or that you could justify it being part of your services that you provide? So you kind of try to make sure that it's somewhat aligned. So, for example, if you, let's say, you had an opportunity to work and I'm just going to a simple example I love to cook, I love to bake, mostly bake Just because I love doing that, if somebody had an opportunity for me to run their baking business or be part should.

Victoria:

I yeah, I'd say yeah. Well wait, Someone can argue that you have leadership skills and you teach leadership. Maybe you could put it.

Thresette:

Well, I mean let me say it this way because that's a great point I could teach the people in that donut or baking shop to be great leaders and build a business. But should I be the one baking? Yeah, should I become the chef? Oh yeah, the baking chef, right? No, I shouldn't, just because I love to. So that's yes. You're right. Clarifying that is important because it could align in the leadership way, right?

Victoria:

Okay, that's good to know.

Victoria:

So I am in a journey right now where I'm trying to revisit what my goals are in life.

Victoria:

I've been going through a lot of programs where I'm learning to be about, like, work on the business instead of working in the business, because those are two different things I've learned, but then it gets to a bigger picture of, like, okay, what are my true goals in life?

Victoria:

And I'm saying this because you mentioned how you have to see how that aligns with your vision, your purpose in life, right? So I'm at the point where I'm trying to figure out what exactly is my. I think I know what my purpose is, but I'm still trying to, like, make sure that I am still in alignment with that. So that way, all the opportunities that come to me right now, I can look at you through that lens to say, okay, is this part of my goals? And because I don't want to overwork myself, I want to stay true to myself and live a life that is, quote unquote, balanced. Because I know maybe there's no balance out there, but, like, I still want to enjoy life and be around people that I love, right. So for me and anybody else that might be in the situation here, like what kind of advice can you offer to like in terms of like figuring out what those goals are?

Thresette:

well, I think you kind of said it in a way you you want to look through that lens. First of all, you have to start with what are my gifts, what are my strengths, and you have to identify what they are, not what you think they are. You have to do some sort of assessment or gifts assessment or or some sort of assessment that helps hone you in on what those are, and there's plenty out there, right? So that's something that you know that I help people do. I had to help myself do it. And then you always want to keep a mindset of being open to development, whether it's something big or something small.

Thresette:

Each year. If I'm going to be in leadership development, I need to practice what I do. I need to do something each year that is going to develop me. Now, either that's something small, like class here, there I might just talk to somebody that can help me develop or have me think about my leadership development, or I might do something bigger, like some of the programs that I've had an opportunity to be involved in that are cohorts of leadership development programs that I've had an opportunity to be involved in, that are cohorts of leadership development programs that I participated in. So I would say make sure that you know what your strengths and gifts are first, and then you can start aligning your actions with that.

Thresette:

If we don't have a baseline or a place to start, how do we know if we're progressing? We are just doing things that we think work. We don't know for sure because we don't have anything to measure that against, because we didn't have a baseline. So you must establish your own baseline by defining what your gifts and strengths are, by something credible, not just what you think.

Victoria:

That's good, thank you, and I just realized that I just I just got free consultation. Well, I want to switch to talking, which I appreciate, thank you. I want to go into. We said multiple times about how you have stood on the shoulders of others, and I know that not only have you done, that there's so many of us standing on your shoulders as well, because I know for a fact that you pay forward. So let's talk a little bit about your involvement, like how do you, even how did you, decide to join any of these organizations? Now and then, I want to kind of take it on to, like you know, the leadership roles that you've, you know, I assumed over the years.

Thresette:

Oh, absolutely. Well, it was aligned with what we just talked about regarding gifts and strengths, and where can I probably best use these? So I chose NABO. Because of what NABO is? It's all about helping to. You know the mission. It's all about helping women to grow and develop and get into spheres of political influence and power and all those things that we do. So it is very important to make sure that you get into a community that you think is going to help you do that, and then you research it. Be strategic about making sure that's where you need to be. So you visit, you look at the programming, you look at the leadership, you look at the mission. You determine does this align with what I see as my purpose and does it align with my gifts and strengths and is this a place I could really add value to?

Victoria:

Not just what you can get from it.

Thresette:

Yes because I mean, you could be a shirt wearer, you could say I'm in it, I like to be meaningful and purposeful and give something back, because you know that's just how I was raised and that's how my parents were and that's the environment I grew up in.

Thresette:

So I looked at it that way. What organizations would help best position me to use my gifts and strands, give back and to to learn everything I can? Now I'm I'm a learner, I love to learn, yes, and, and it's about development. So if I don't, if I don't get somewhere where I can learn to develop, I kind of think I'm wasting my time Right.

Victoria:

I feel like everything's going to really wrap. Oh my God, you found your calling for sure. Everything's going to really wrap, oh my God.

Thresette:

You found your calling for sure. So I was like again back to that time thing. Yeah, so it was, and I really loved how the women in Nabo helped me to be in a community that got it. They understood what I was going through because they're living it.

Victoria:

Yes.

Thresette:

They're either just starting their business or they've been in business a long time and they've had a lot of successes and failures and ups and downs, and they're able to help you with that. They're able to help you shortcut some of the things you need to do because they know no, you don't need to go talk to them, you need to go talk to them and they help you really do that. So it was those kinds of things that helped me know and they help you really do that. So it was those kinds of things that helped me know. Yes, this is the place for me, and that was the same for the other organizations that I decided to be in. I did my research. I made sure there was something I felt I could contribute to. I made sure it was something else I could do that was valuable and meaningful and helping me to leave that legacy that is so important to me.

Victoria:

Yes, Wow, all right. So I know you have a book. Can you tell us a little bit about that book, sacred Promise? So you are a part of this book called Sacred Promise, correct? Can you tell us a little bit about your involvement in and then also what the book is about?

Thresette:

Sure, Well, the opportunity to be involved in Sacred Promise and Anthology came at a time where I was really struggling to finish my individual book and have time to do it and to do it well, and I was like I'm never going to get this book written and it just was just tugging at me. And so about that time I got a contact from Tara Rye Trent, who compiled the book, and she's you know, look her up, right. She, like I said she, she's doing great things. And she said, would you be interested in being a part of this book? And I said, ah, this must be. You know, this is one of those God things. So I said, yes, I would be, I would be open to looking at that. And so it worked out.

Thresette:

And so she took us through a process, workshops and a process of learning how to tell our story, what to think about. There was even a point where I was struggling, victoria, with thinking about how much do I share? How much do I share? And she said, think about who you're going to help and what you want to share for your audience. And that helped me to determine I need to share more, because I didn't want to speak at it from a third person. I feel like that's impersonal. That may apply and be good for some books. It's just not what I wanted to do or workable for my situation.

Thresette:

So, I dug deep and I decided to share a lot of my story. There was one piece of my story that I did not share. Oh, okay, I wasn't quite ready to share. Okay, it still worked out. The book worked out. I say something in there that one of my friends who read it said tell me what that meant. And I said not quite ready to share that. Yet it's in the next book. The book it's 30 or 35 other women. We have like 5,000 pages and we tell our story. And what happens when you have only that limited amount of space to share your story is that you really get very focused and concise about what you want to share. And it forced you to do that Because, as a speaker, as a facilitator, trainer, et cetera, I know that it is harder to do a five-minute speech than it is a 50-minute speech.

Victoria:

Oh yeah, Okay, because you have to be more concise and your words have to make an impact.

Thresette:

So what are the words you choose for that? Five minutes versus the 50 minutes, and so whittling that down, narrowing that down to 5,000 words, was really powerful, and the learning we did, where we you know how do you start a story and how do you do the crescendo, and you know the ending and all of that. It was just so powerful, and so I certainly I want to gift you one of those books as well. Thank you, I will get that to well. Thank you, I will get that to you, thank you.

Thresette:

But it is definitely one of the best things I think I ever did and I'm looking forward to finishing my individual story that we'll share more. Yes, as soon as possible.

Victoria:

Well, I will definitely be asking you about that because I'm very intrigued by the things that you do. We didn't quite get to that yet and I would love to like how did you decide to? I know you were Nabo Indy president, then how did you?

Thresette:

what made you want to be part of national Well, and for the record I want to clarify, I was Nabo Indy vice president, oh, vice, okay.

Thresette:

Then I got the opportunity to be on the national board and so I sort of jumped into that because it was just an opportunity to have the impact that I felt was important for me to have at that time.

Thresette:

And so from the vice president role in Nabo Indy to the role as a director on the Nabo national board. Now the way I did that is that I was already involved in doing things with National, because NABO is a big organization with lots of members and you have the opportunity to do things locally and you have the opportunity to do things nationally. So you want to experience all of that. So I had already been experiencing that. I had been going to different conferences, I had been doing lunch and learns nationally for all the members, I served on the national nominating committee and I did other things. And so when the opportunity came up, I was kind of nudged and said, hey, do you, is that something you think you might be interested in applying for? And I thought about it and thought about it and so I did and it worked out that I was selected for.

Victoria:

I'm so happy, like because, like I think, for me it's like I like said that before, but it's like, first of all, we're from Indiana. I mean nothing against Indiana, but it's like small town. You know what I mean. I'm originally from Kansas.

Thresette:

So you know, I'm doing things that I never thought I would get to do. I mean never in my life.

Victoria:

You're such an inspiration, like, because, like I mean, I'm from Nigeria and like I know, my parents had big dreams for me coming here. But, like you know, I now have big dreams too. But like I remember, when we were doing the state of Nabo and you know you came up and you know I was like, oh my.

Thresette:

God, I want to do that too, and you should aspire to that, because that is what we are. Not only the women that are on the Nabo National Board are some of the most powerful, wonderful, humble, beautiful women that I have ever met. You know the way they embraced me and helped me and how we've helped each other, and we are there to serve our membership, and so if people want to know how they can get engaged, we're there to help them figure that out. Now there are other protocols, of course. We have our local leaders. We have our chapter leadership council who helps different chapters. They have assigned chapters that they help with different things leadership development and other things. And then we have other venues, things leadership development and other things and then we have other venues.

Thresette:

Anybody in NABO can come and talk to one of the NABO board members. We are not out of reach and we want you to. We want you to connect with us and we want to help you figure out how to navigate through NABO in a way that works for you, because our goal is to be inclusive and to help all members feel like they belong and have the opportunity to grow and develop their business. That is what we want our members to have.

Victoria:

Wow. So I have to say, like, just sitting with you and talking to you, I have learned a few things about being intentional, about using your voice and just being like having that focus, and I love the piece about you that you know you also bring God into it. It seems like it's the foundation of everything that you do. So I'm sitting down here thinking for, like some people out there that it might be like well, you know, maybe I don't have it together, or whatever it is Like, can you just, can you just like just pick a word to inspire or encourage or motivate them? And I mean include that too. You know you've already inspired me, but I I feel like I'm definitely going to be getting your book, you know, and if you haven't seen the magazine, please pick up a copy or what read online. We have the digital version to read a little bit of our story, and I'm definitely going to be looking out for your, your full individual book too, because I cannot wait to hear the story.

Victoria:

Um, but you have been an inspiration for me. But I just want you to please share, if you want to like, just directly and just share with us, like from your half of women that are still struggling, that that don't know how to navigate these things. Maybe they don't even have people in their circle that they can lean on. They don don't have a NALBO or Great Lakes Women Council. They're just trying to figure it out and sometimes it just looks like I'm just doing, I'm running and running, but it's not really going anywhere. If you could just pick life into us right now, what would you say? Wow.

Thresette:

Well, that is a very powerful question, so I hope I do it justice. I think if I were, the biggest thing I would say to do is to have courage. And if there is someone or something you've been wanting to do and you think I can't do it, there's two parts of this. One is you've got to address those barriers what are they? And you've got to figure out how you overcome them so you can do it, because mindset is everything in business and, I believe, in life. The second thing is that you want to overcome those barriers in a way that allows you to reach out to that person, that individual, that application, that award, that whatever it is that you've been wanting to do but haven't done it because you think I just can't do it.

Thresette:

I would say those are two key things and then, after you've addressed your barriers and after you reach out, you sit down and list out every wonderful thing about yourself that you can think of. And if you can't think of anything, think of something somebody told you Be your own inspiration. Because there's two different things about inspiration and motivation. One is motivation is somebody gives it to you and hopefully you have it that day. Inspiration is burning from the inside.

Thresette:

And I'd also say willingness and commitment are important to understand the distinction between them, because willingness is about great idea oh, that's a great idea. Commit is I'm committed to doing everything I need to do to make this happen. And so, being a Wichita, kansas raised, branching out of Wichita, going out, still having those thoughts like, oh, can I really do this? And sometimes shrinking back because I didn't think I could, I had to come over, overcome all of this, I'm here to tell you it's doable and you can do it. All the things you think you're struggling with now yeah, I was probably there and there was somebody else there, so you're not alone and reach out if you want to. I mean, I'm happy to chat with you.

Victoria:

Oh, thank you.

Thresette:

You're very welcome.

Victoria:

That was so powerful. I appreciate that so much. Thank you.

Thresette:

You're very welcome. It was absolute pleasure.

Victoria:

Thank you. Did you want to add anything else?

Thresette:

I think, just in addition to the link that we're going to share about the Diversity Roundtable of Central Indiana event on the 22nd, there is also an event that is happening with the Great Lakes Women's Business Council on the 22nd. The evening of the 21st is a reception. 22nd is an all day thing, okay. So I would say, look that up and I can give you the link for that. And, of course, last but not least, I'm going to give a shout out to NABO. Naboorg N-A-W-B-Oorg. Look at it, subscribe to the newsletter, learn about what you can get from NABO and what you can give to NABO, and then just be a part of what we're doing. We are here to help women business owners, small business owners and everybody that is trying to do something in the business owner realm.

Victoria:

Yeah, that's so powerful. Thank you so much. I'll put all the links to NABO, the events, in the description. And also thank you so much, because I did hear you say you can reach out. So we can reach out, you can, and I, and I absolutely mean that. Thank you, I appreciate that so much. I don't even think I can add anything else, but I what I wanted to just close out with is that I hope you've been inspired and to take action. Believe in yourself, because I think it really starts with that. You know, and if you, uh, whatever you believe, I'm a child of God and just rest on that. You know what God has put on the inside of you too, because that matters as well. Well, until next time, um, Stay tuned.

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Victoria Odekomaya

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