The Foureva Podcast

How to completely disrupt your industry and build a brand w/ Rhonda Noordyk

• Foureva Media • Season 2 • Episode 60

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Want to reinvent your brand, scale your business, and create a bold voice in a crowded market? In this episode, Jamar Jones sits down with divorce advocate, entrepreneur, and podcast host Rhonda Noordyk to explore personal branding, reinvention, and helping women find their voice through the divorce process.

Rhonda is a national leader in divorce financial advocacy. Over the last 10 years, she’s helped hundreds of women navigate complex divorce cases with clarity and strategy—transforming overwhelm into empowerment. She’s also the founder of a top 1% podcast, Disrupting Divorce, and the author of Bold Beginnings, an interactive journal designed to help women rebuild confidence during one of life’s most difficult transitions.

In this episode, you’ll learn:
✅ Why Rhonda chose to go “all in” on personal branding after a decade in business
✅ The unexpected power of niching down—even when it feels risky
✅ How she scaled her one-on-one services into a signature program serving 100+ women in one year
✅ The bold mindset shift that helped her show up as the true face of her business
✅ How podcasting and public speaking built a national client base
✅ The rebrand strategy that took her business from burnout to bold clarity

Rhonda also shares vulnerable lessons on leadership, navigating burnout, and the lawsuit that nearly derailed her business—but ultimately fueled her evolution.

🚀 If you’re a coach, consultant, or advocate building a service-based business, this episode is packed with game-changing takeaways.
🔔 Don’t forget to LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, and turn on notifications for more expert conversations on branding, business growth, leadership, and building your voice in today’s market!

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Speaker 1:

Oh, the whole website needs to be done. Okay, great, you know, but we made some really strategic moves in that process and I have had the best team that I have had in implementing. They're all talking, they're all strategic, they're all tech, they're you know, they're doing the things that they need to be doing to make sure that all of our systems are running and everything's getting rebranded and all the fun. You know all the stuff're not doing everything yourself?

Speaker 3:

is that what you're saying that is what I'm saying everybody give it up for ronda norton, everybody, hey, what's going on. Hi, how are you?

Speaker 1:

doing I'm good. You're doing good, I'm good.

Speaker 2:

What's on your mind today?

Speaker 1:

I'm glad to be here. Yeah, it's just been kind of a crazy week but a really good week, and so, yeah, it's Friday afternoon and I'm glad to be here.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so what has the week been like for you? What's a?

Speaker 4:

week in the life of.

Speaker 2:

Rhonda.

Speaker 1:

So this week was awesome. I had a couple of really interesting meetings and yet really gave me the opportunity to really showcase what value I bring to my clients, and so I shared this story on social media. But on Monday I was part of a settlement conference. So I work with women that are going through divorce and I'm in the meeting and the attorney basically said, oh hey, you know, we don't want Brenda to talk, so she can be in the meeting via Zoom, but like we're going to mute her and I didn't even say anything, like I didn't even say anything at that point, right, and at the end of the day he, the client said no, you need to unmute her. Like I've hired her to help me and I appreciate what she's going to contribute.

Speaker 1:

And so this case, this divorce case, had been pending for about two years, pretty highly litigated, and in two and a half hours we got it done. We got the husband to agree to 33% greater support payment than what he was offering, and it was fun. I mean, I think about some of the stuff that we're working on with the rebranding, and I know Pat Miller was here or is in the house. He's in the house, he's hiding down, he just reclined all the way back.

Speaker 1:

He is chilling. But to Pat and I had coffee probably two or three months ago sitting outside at a coffee shop and he's like hey, rhonda, I think you need to go all in on divorce advocacy. And I was like, oh, I know what that means it means. Rebranding that means like. And I was like, oh, I know what that means it means. Rebranding, that means like. And I'm like you're not wrong. And so I'm driving home and I'm like, okay, I got to just like get my head around this. And he was right.

Speaker 1:

And so we have really gone all in on advocating for women. We're rebranding. We're going to New York next week to really yeah, it's serving as an opportunity to kick off the brand. We're going bold on our colors. And it's been interesting going through that process of a rebrand because this year is my 10th year in business and, at the end of the day, I just was ready Like I didn't realize how much I needed to really become more, like I didn't realize how much I needed to to really become more, even more authentic, more confident, more assertive, more whatever uh, to really be able to impact my clients. And, uh, it's been fun.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, are you liking the ride so far? Good, good, good. What was, if you had to describe it into one sentence? Why was it time for a rebrand Like what was it? What was the trigger point? That?

Speaker 1:

was like okay, this is it. The market was getting saturated and I felt like I was starting to sound like everybody else.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

Yeah. If I have to to sound like everybody else. Yeah, yeah, if I have to keep it to one sentence.

Speaker 2:

That was just a challenge.

Speaker 3:

A fun challenge, as we're doing this.

Speaker 1:

He's like I know how much you can talk. I'm going to listen and tell you. Just keep it to one sentence.

Speaker 2:

Okay, yeah, I mean the market. I feel like, depending on the space that you're in, it could be very saturated, no matter what industry you're in. But we all have that unique story to share and the more that we dive deeper into our own uniqueness, the market kind of becomes like I don't care what it is.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and I think I had to get extra clear on that because, again, when I started my business 10 years ago, nobody was doing I mean, I was the only person and you're like, oh, that's a pretty bold statement, yeah, cause I had done the research Like nobody was doing the work that I was doing with women in the divorce space the way that I was doing it. Nobody had a center, no way to physical location. The only place I could find that was even somewhat similar was in Australia. So I mean, you know, so I was used to being the only person, which was a unique situation, because most of the time when people are getting into doing something and they're like, oh yeah, there's already, you know, x amount of people doing what I'm doing, but it was a unique thing and I'm pretty competitive and I didn't want, like I wanted, to be.

Speaker 3:

You're very the more I get to know you. You're very competitive.

Speaker 1:

I'm very competitive Primarily, and I mean I could say it's just with myself, but that would be lying Cause. I mean I'm just competitive across the board and I didn't want to be you know, I didn't want to be diluted with everybody else. Like I'm reading their stuff, you know, seeing stuff online, I'm like, oh, that sounds no, like um, so we had when we first started the business it was more of like a supportive like kind of feel. Then, of course, pat uh says hey, I think we need to go all in on the branding of, you know, the test piece and the strategy. And I was like, oh yeah, that speaks to me. Yes, and now we're going all in on the advocacy piece.

Speaker 1:

And so over that 10 years, really, this is the third rebrand that we've done. I think the other thing for me that I was noticing was energetically. I was just feeling like frustrated, burnt out. I needed to find a way to infuse some energy into the work that I was doing. And the rebrand nobody wants to go through a rebrand because you're like, oh my gosh all the stuff.

Speaker 2:

Exhausting.

Speaker 1:

All the logo and apparel that now I'm like oh that's. You know, what do you do with it? You can't even send it to Goodwill.

Speaker 3:

Goodwill throw it out Get clothes out of pajamas.

Speaker 1:

I deserve a big hole. So yeah, it was just kind of an interesting situation with that, but I think I'm really excited. I wouldn't say that I've never been this excited, but I'm more clear and more excited, I think, about where we're headed than I have been maybe ever in my business.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, do you think it was necessary? Like could you have avoided the rebrand? Do you think it was necessary? Like could you have avoided the?

Speaker 1:

rebrand. So it's interesting because I went into the rebrand thinking, okay, we're going to play it safe, we'll make the colors that we have a little more bold and we'll, you know, yeah, we'll maybe do the tagline of, like you know the advocacy piece and you know just kind of, and the more that we got into it. So part of that process was going back and interviewing current and past clients and seeing, okay, what was it about the work that you did with Rhonda, what was it about your experience? And what we started to hear we mean the branding team that I hired to do it was they've really felt like, hey, she gave me a voice, she helped me show up and know what to be asking, and so it really wasn't. It wasn't like, hey, we're looking at the financial stuff, although that's important.

Speaker 1:

Really, the takeaway was, um, I feel more confident and I feel like I can speak up, and so that became part of the rebranding, with this whole concept of like giving them a voice. Um, and I've experienced that. I think anytime you're in a space where you are a leader, I always feel like I take a lot of the headwinds for some of this stuff. So I've experienced to some degree what they're experiencing with their attorneys, like when the attorney was like, oh, we're going to mute her, no, you're not going to mute. You know like or oh, we're going to, we're not going to give her authorization to be in the meeting, we're going to, you know like. So they start to do that stuff to me that because I'm the person who's kind of protecting the client or the representation, you know, of that voice.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, you can't be silenced no never give me silence.

Speaker 1:

So it was. It was an interesting, you know, it was an interesting exercise and we came out of it saying I just don't think that, you know, changing the color and changing the logo and whatever is going to do it like, it ended up going from a refresh to an entire rebrand yeah and then you're like cha-ching, cha-ching, you know.

Speaker 1:

You're like, oh, the dollars, oh, the whole website needs to be done. Okay, great, you know. But, um, we made some really strategic moves in that process and I have the best team that I have had in implementing. They're all talking, they're all strategic, they're all tech, they're doing the things that they need to be doing to make sure that all of our systems are running and everything's getting rebranded and all the fun, all the stuff.

Speaker 2:

So you're not doing everything yourself? Is that what you're saying?

Speaker 1:

That is what I'm saying.

Speaker 3:

Because, as a business owner, it's really hard to delegate.

Speaker 1:

It is hard to delegate and I think you know it's hard early on for two reasons. One, you often don't have the capital to be able to hire somebody, so you're like, oh yeah, great, I can get it for what Sure. Great, I can get it for what Sure. Sounds good, you know. But as time goes on, you have the, you know you hopefully have the revenue if you're, if you're doing things correctly, to be able to reinvest in your business and get the right people. And for me, you know, I always want to look at okay, you know, how much more is it right to have that right person and you're usually paying a little bit more for that. But we also have to look at the whole picture and say I'm also saving time, money and energy on the back end because I'm not having to deal with headaches and things aren't working properly.

Speaker 2:

Exactly.

Speaker 1:

So that's been.

Speaker 2:

So how many team members have you gone through in 10 years?

Speaker 1:

Hmm, I would say probably six, so not too bad. All were independent contractors, it's a lot lower than one. Yeah, I mean I a six to 10, maybe I mean.

Speaker 4:

I don't know.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, well, six, we'll say six. I mean, at the end of the day, most of them were independent contractors, which was great. You know, I've had done the employee thing. That was a total headache. Um actually resulted in a in a lawsuit, um, so that sucked the energy. Um it was. I was in a, probably one of the darkest places I had been in my business, because I think for me, one of the things that I really value is integrity, and when somebody signs an agreement or does something and they don't follow through, that shakes me right and you can't control what people are doing.

Speaker 1:

But then you're like, okay, how is this? You know, right, that's the justice part that I get to fight for my clients. But you know, you go through these iterations. I mean, now you, looking back over the last 10 years, I would I always say 95% of my day and time, and week and month and year is great, and then you have that 5% of headache, right, um, and I've certainly had the challenges over the years. I mean, there have been plenty of times when I'm like we're bagging this thing. You know, two years ago I was like I'm burnt out.

Speaker 1:

Either I figure out a way to scale or I'm done and I'll go do something else, and at that time I had the opportunity to kind of look at, okay, how could I scale this? And what I ended up doing was taking my one-on-one services and creating a program, taking the skills that I learned in, you know, creating curriculum in higher education and teaching, and then my business skills, and create a curriculum that walked people through my signature bridge method over a six-month period, and it's been really amazing because that allowed me the first year. So we launched it in January of 2022.

Speaker 2:

Okay.

Speaker 1:

No 2023. January of 2023, the first year we had over 100 women that went through that program and they were getting very similar results as some of the clients as the one-on-ones.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, okay.

Speaker 1:

On some level when you got super complicated ones. Yes, they need that one-on-one. My system was working. I mean, we were working a client in Iowa. She went through my six-month program, which was a hybrid of some content, some live calls, you know some coaching that happens on there, and she got a $300,000 better outcome because of my program. It was 100 times ROI and you're like, okay, that sounds crazy. Yeah, yeah, I'm like okay, that sounds crazy.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah, I came down like did I really do the math? Like it's not that hard, but like that seems crazy. And it was. It was win after win. Speaking of wins let's clap it up for that.

Speaker 3:

Let's clap it up.

Speaker 2:

That's a win. That's a win.

Speaker 1:

No, that's amazing. That's amazing. And now you're able to really take your business in a way where you don't have to go one-to-one on everything and you can go one-to has challenged me and really brought out the impact in ways that I don't know that I have experienced before. I mean, we looked at you know, okay, when you do mediation, what's the time and the money and the energy that is saved? And we talked about that, but it hit me differently.

Speaker 4:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

And when we look at the numbers, they're me differently, yeah. And when we look at the numbers, are big numbers, you know big, very big numbers Like shoot, yeah, it's the opportunity to have that level of impact is something that I've always wanted, yeah, and so it's really cool to be stepping, you know, into that.

Speaker 3:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

And really seeing it in a fresh way, I guess yeah.

Speaker 2:

And so it's really cool to be stepping into that and really seeing it in a fresh way. I guess, where you're the face, you're the brand. How do you feel about that now, and what was the hardest thing to get you to switch that mindset? Maybe you're not even 100% sold.

Speaker 1:

Who knows? I think I am sold. I think I am sold on it. It was hard because I think there's this aspect of I don't want to be too much in front, like I want to. I want to lead, I want to be visible, but but oh, I don't know if I want to go that. You know that far and I think it's fear right at the end of the day, if we're honest about it. But I've spent a lot of time over the last 10 years building my name, like you know, whether it's my podcast, whether it's podcast interviews and articles, and nobody really was, you know, googling my company name. They were Googling me and and as much as I wanted there to be a team and I wanted there to be, at the end of the day it's me.

Speaker 3:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

Like you know I think we we talked a little bit about this Like there's certain things you can duplicate. Um, I can teach or delegate the technical aspects, some of the number crunching, but I can't duplicate the tenacity and the? Um energy and the commitment and the relentless like pursuit for justice for my clients. I just can't.

Speaker 3:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

And maybe come close. But you know, I've just decided, hey, we're going to go out, and now that I have the ability to scale the business, because we're doing a program that I can facilitate, I feel much better about that. So, yeah, so we kind of I guess, kind of came full circle. The first URL I bought was, of course, my name, and then we're like, okay, well, maybe we'll go to women's financial wellness center, which was, you know, my, my previous name, because there was a center. Yeah, there was a physical location. You know, it was awesome and I still have an office, but I don't have that center anymore. And so, you know, really was awesome and I still have an office, but I don't have that center anymore. And so, you know, really being able to dial in and be flexible, and I think it's also playing into I love speaking.

Speaker 1:

I mean, I've been speaking on some form or fashion right since I was 11. Amazing mentors and people that poured into me and taught me how to write, you know, speeches and move people and get them to cry and laugh, and all the things in a short period of time. And I realized in that moment, at 11 years old, with a, you know, audience of adults that I could move them. And I wanted to move them for something good. I wanted them to get behind a message that would make the world better. And I just remember thinking, wow, this is powerful. Like how do I tap into that? And then I continued. You know, high school, college and beyond speaking, when I started in the financial industry, even got into this work, initially I was like I'm only doing it if I can do presentations. And they're like you want to do public speaking? Yeah, yeah, have at it. Here's your first presentation and if you can learn that by Tuesday you're on, you know, okay, great.

Speaker 1:

So I mean it's been pretty cool. And I think I had a friend who said to me recently like Rhonda, people want to know what you think. But people want to know what you think. And that was hard for me to hear because I think at the end of the day, after doing a lot of soul searching and some of the work that I was doing with my book, you realize for a long time, particularly growing up, nobody really wanted to know what I thought. I mean I might tell them anyways, but they weren't asking Whether they asked for it or not?

Speaker 1:

What do you think they weren't asking me? And so you get kind of conditioned like well, do they really want to know what I think? Like that's vulnerable.

Speaker 2:

Yeah yeah. Speaking is amazing, though, like just the impact that you can have in people's lives. A lot of times, too, I'm learning that it's just usually a couple of sentences that just really hits them at the right time, the right moment. You could just say something in a certain way that it just hits them totally different and that's what activates change in them. And speaking is tough, though it's tough to do, and I know you've spoken for hundreds of people before, and so how do you, how do you approach? Maybe speaking for a smaller group versus speaking for a larger group?

Speaker 1:

It's a good question. I mean, I think, at the end of the day, one thing that I will say is I prepare the same regardless, so the preparation is the same. I think, from my perspective, the energy that you bring is a little different. I remember this was probably I don't even know six or seven years ago, when I was speaking for a larger group and the person that was speaking before me was just flat, like flat energy, and my friends that were sitting at this table at the conference were like listen, girl, you got to bring the energy up in here or people are going to be leaving. I'm like, oh my gosh. So I mean you just got to bring even more energy.

Speaker 2:

Bring more than what you think. Bring more than what you think, because it's just different when people are like watching you versus whatever you think is going on in your own head.

Speaker 1:

That's right, that's right. Well, and I called it audible with myself because at the end of this presentation, I was like, okay, I want everybody to stand up.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

And I said I want you to repeat after me. It was this whole legacy thing. I don't even know what I said. I totally made it up on the fly, but everybody was standing and the energy in that room had gone from like blah, blah to oh my gosh, let's go. We want to leave a legacy. You know moving forward and it was pretty cool, but again, I mean, part of that comes with, you know, the experience of feeling comfortable, yeah, and doing some of those things that aren't scripted.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and the only way that that's going to happen is like just getting the reps.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

Just going in front of the stage. I remember the first time, so I was a hip hop artist. For anybody that doesn't know that, I was a hip hop artist for a long time and my first or like my, no, it was maybe my third performance. I was performing at this church and I went in front of like a good group of people and I was with my guy plex, and, um, the sound cut out. So like we were like right in it, sound cut out, everything shut off, and I just and I think I was maybe how old was I? I had to be like 17, 18 years old and I just darted out the church.

Speaker 3:

Like I went as fast as possible for the exit door. Like no lie. Just hit the exit door, gone Outside like full on, and then my guy. I look behind me, I'm like he's running with me. He was like he didn't want to have the embarrassment by himself. So what's worse, like your guy just darts out the door or you just sit there and you're like what do I do now? So he was like I gotta go outside the door. I love that.

Speaker 2:

So then we ran all the way to the mcdonald's, to the mickey d's, and then we had um a manager at the time named babs, and then she came out and she was furious with us and was like you'll get back in there.

Speaker 3:

I don't care what happens. You gotta finish the show. I don't care what happens, and so we just had our heads down.

Speaker 2:

It was the most embarrassing thing like going back in there and trying to restart the song and, at that time too, like the music we were making it was we weren't even doing this stuff, you know I mean, it was a total different side of who I am today, um we'll just say that but, uh, but it's definitely something you got to get the reps in and I I share that story because a lot of people struggle with going on the stage and and just trying to command the stage and and also being in the in the like, comfortable in their own skin on the stage, and I think it's something you have to do and you have to get the reps and you have to have those moments. Don't dart off stage, don't do that, don't run into a mickey d's. But you but you got to be able to kind of take the uh, the l's. You know, like it's not every stage setup is going to be perfect and you just got to go and deliver your best thing. So, um, I think that's really, that's just really important, really really important.

Speaker 2:

And as far as speaking goes, your podcast. So little do people know that Rhonda has a top 1% podcast and she's been grinding and working this podcast. So how did you build it up to what it is today with that? How many episodes have you done?

Speaker 1:

Um uh 190.

Speaker 2:

Just 190. That's it 190 conversations happening. Uh, how did you, how did you build it up? And also, what made you start the podcast but also continue it, because most podcasts fail after a couple episodes and people are like, ah, this is too much work, yeah, or screw this. No one wants to hear from me or I'm not getting any downloads and they give up.

Speaker 1:

Yeah. So it's interesting because the podcast actually I, my bachelor's degree is in communication, so I always loved, kind of thought I would go into like TV-ish, like you know, always wanted to kind of do yeah, do that.

Speaker 2:

and like a host or just producer yeah, like um anchor whatever okay like.

Speaker 1:

That was kind of like.

Speaker 3:

Rhonda, the weather yeah.

Speaker 1:

I'm like why do you want to be a meteorologist? Because I want to be on TV like um can have real quick.

Speaker 2:

Can we have your best weather impression? Just really quick.

Speaker 1:

It's raining, it's raining.

Speaker 1:

So the podcast was something that I really felt like would allow me to be able to address things related to the divorce process in a way that could just be authentic, right, and I really was like I'm only doing this if I can, you know, just be honest, and I want people to be able to see my personality, I want them to be able to hear my, my heart for you know what they're going through, and I want it to be fun, like it doesn't have to be all serious all the time. And, um, so I had some really great friends were like listen, you just need to, you just need to do it. So I ended up finding somebody to help with the production piece of it and we I remember, like sitting in my office recording the four record record, like, oh my gosh, just record the four episodes to get a baseline. Um, I didn't really know what to expect. I mean, as you and I have been talking like do're, like, do you realize? Like how many? I have no point of reference, I just do my thing.

Speaker 1:

And so what happened was people were starting to listen from Texas and California and New York and they're reaching out like, hey, can you help me? And I'm like, yes, yes, I can. And so, long story short. We ended up, yeah, just continuing. And I think the thing about the podcast which will be interesting with the rebrand and I'm sure you and I will have a conversation about this is I've been interviewing, I love doing the interview, I love being able to infuse my you know and just have these really dynamic conversations. But I think that, with where we're headed, there's going to be a need for some solo episodes as well.

Speaker 2:

And, yeah, people want to hear from you they do. Yeah as well. I mean, guests are awesome.

Speaker 1:

Yeah and don't. I mean don't get me wrong Like I'm chiming in, you know what I mean Like I'm like, okay, yes, and let me just you know. So it's a really good conversation, um, but yeah, I mean we just committed, I don't know. I mean, thankfully, too, I've got a team that does you know all the behind the scenes stuff, so we record it and here you go and make it happen.

Speaker 2:

yeah, um, but yeah, it's, it's been fun, I mean was there a point in the podcast that you wanted to quit?

Speaker 1:

I don't think so okay I mean, I mean maybe before I started, I mean I remember, like I remember, because I remember we queued up the four sessions Right and all of a sudden I'm like I'm on the roller coaster and this thing I can't get off the ride.

Speaker 1:

Like I'm already queued up, like people are either going to like it or they're going to hate it. But I'm not going to just be telling people just what they want to hear. I want to tell them what I'm seeing behind the scenes. I want to tell them some examples of stuff that's not good and I want to challenge the paradigm because it's not working. And I think people have really appreciated that refreshing approach and it certainly has helped my business. I mean, people listen my discovery calls. I say, hey, it's Rhonda. They're like, oh my gosh, I can't believe I'm talking to you and I'm like.

Speaker 1:

Hey, what's up? You know like, so it's made the business building so much easier. And I always said, you know, I don't want to be like hey, there's this you know podcast persona, and then there's the Rhonda over here. I'm like no, I'm the, I'm it, like you, I, I'm, I don't know the same on the podcast as I am in other areas of my life and I wanted it to be that way.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, a lot of people struggle with that Just the confidence and like just showing up once again, just being in their own skin, and they kind of put this facade on. I always say people put a mask on and they try to emulate something else that they know that they're not on the podcast. It's very interesting that you never wanted to quit, because most people, even if you have some levels of success like I mean 190 episodes you would think that like episode 30, you're like at like episode 30, you're like, eh, I mean it's cool, get a couple calls, but you know, like is it really worth it because it's very time consuming. You know to actually, you know produce the episodes, push them out, promote them, you know, and let people know that you have a podcast as well, um, but for you to stick through it and I think that's the number one, really the number one thing that I tell people is like consistency is it just beats out every other thing that could possibly happen to you.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

Like, if you just never stop.

Speaker 1:

That's right. I think that's key.

Speaker 2:

You can never lose, actually.

Speaker 1:

I think that's key, and that's key you can never lose. Actually, I think that's key and that's like I don't know. I mean, I think that consistency is certainly so. It is it's just so important and you just commit to it. You just commit and you do it, and um, so yeah, I mean, that's been one area that really I don't think I've ever really wanted to quit, probably because I kind of felt like, hey, I'm finally like getting to do the like interviews, you know, yeah, yeah, finally like getting to be the the communications, yeah, yeah so, yeah, it's, it's served me well and really, I mean, we rebranded the podcast title about a year ago and it's now called disrupting divorce, which probably, um, yeah, it was a good move.

Speaker 1:

I mean, I think, at the end of the day, that that has shaken things up but, but I also, right, Think it's attracting the right people, Like the people that listen and you had asked me this question, uh, recently were like, okay, well, who's not your, you know who are not your people right or who are who's not a good fit.

Speaker 1:

And I said it's the people that you know. They think everything's going to be fine and they don't want an advocate until then. Those aren't my people. And the same thing with the podcast I mean it's like, but it's a great free resource for people and it is definitely helping build the brand, for sure.

Speaker 2:

And that's good too, that you mentioned that, because I think for a lot of the audience listening live in person, but also once this gets posted, you know your thing doesn't have to be for everybody. It definitely does not have to be for everybody, and making sure that you figure out who it's for and who it's not for is actually really important, because a lot of times people start a podcast, or they or they want to do it, they want to be a keynote speaker, and then they put their presentation together and like, oh, this is for everybody, and you know, or I start a business and anybody can buy, and it's like can they really anybody?

Speaker 2:

you want anybody, I don't want anybody, some people I don't want to work with um or just not a good fit, and so just lasering in on, like who you actually serve is just it's really important. I think when you start anything you know, from a podcast to your speaking, uh, your book, you know, um we'll talk about that in a second and then also your business, like I think it's just so, so important to make sure you're you're lasered in on that and then the more that you can actually repel the people that you don't want to talk to, the easier it is for the people that are the people you want to talk to be like, yeah, like, that's me Well and kind of along those lines.

Speaker 1:

I think you know, when you first start your business right, you're like, okay, I need to figure out where I'm starting right, and so you need people in the door so you can. And then you kind of maybe hone in and you niche down, and then and we all know what they say about that like, oh, the riches are in the niches, okay. But then you know you're niched down. But now, as your business goes on, I'm finding that I'm niching even further and I found some, some. I don't know. My emotional response to that as of recent was like, oh, okay, is that going to work? Am I getting too narrow, you know? And so like those challenges, those fears, it's, it was, it's been interesting, but I'm super glad we're doing it because um we're really dialing in on um even further our ideal clients.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, for sure, and so let's let's talk a little bit about your book.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

Why did you want to release a book and tell us a little bit about also? Well, well, actually, first let me reverse the question. So I just thought about in real time. Let me reverse the questions. First. Tell us about your book what it's about and and what can people really walk away after reading it, and also what made you actually say hey, now's the time that I want to release this book okay.

Speaker 1:

So the book is. It's really intended to be an interactive journal. It's simple, right? I love acronyms, so I took the word confidence and I dialed each of those letters in with an aspect of helping women develop their confidence and I originally started. This book was like 10 chapters long and it was just way too heavy and just ridiculousness. Like that's too much right.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah just way too heavy and just ridiculousness, like that's too much right, yeah, yeah. So, knowing my ideal client and saying, hey, listen that my ideal client is busy, she's overwhelmed, she's going through divorce, she needs something that, in bite-sized pieces, she can read something and then answer a question and think and ponder, um, and so, yeah, so basically, um, it's yeah, small book that women can throw in their purse and you know, they're waiting in the car line with the kids and they're thinking through stuff and the impact and the feedback that we've had on the book.

Speaker 1:

I mean it's making an impact and I think sometimes we overcomplicate. I mean it's simple, it's a simple book and yet it's powerful and I think we're asking the right questions. It's powerful and I think we're asking the right questions and the first part of the book is, you know, probably the first time I've shared some stories around the financial aspect and some of the things that I think have allowed my clients to realize that I understand a lot of the financial fears or struggles that they're having. And that's just a snapshot. Like Bold Beginnings is the book. And I think there's just a snapshot like bold beginnings is the book, and I think there'll be bold endings and bold I mean I think there's going to be a series of these because the format's easy, in a sense of it's easily digestible for people that are in really stressful situations.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and why was the time you know for like in your business? Why did you decide to write a book now, though, and release this Like as far as business wise?

Speaker 1:

there's never a good time. That's the problem.

Speaker 3:

Ain't that the truth? I just saw somebody post something about that. They're like they were, like they had a picture of them writing the book.

Speaker 2:

And then they said, like when is a good time to write a book? And it's like never.

Speaker 1:

So like a book and it's like never. So it's never like this has been like literally. I've been working on something related to this end goal yeah for probably three years and um.

Speaker 1:

so it just was like you just have to commit to doing it and um, and then you know, in looking at where we're headed with really wanting to have, you know, the podcast and the book and all the things, it's like let's just do it, um. So I don't know that it was as well kind of thought out on the timeline, although now that we kind of got it moving, we were going to release it in April of this year and then with the rebrand and some of the things is that kind of took shape. I'm like, and my 10 year anniversary for starting my business this month, we decided we bumped it back. So it was kind of a part of this like hey, it's 10 years and we're celebrating that with this next milestone.

Speaker 2:

And next week it's going to be on a billboard in Times Square.

Speaker 1:

I'm so excited Like I can't even tell you I'm so excited. It's interesting because I had already been kind of considering heading to New York because we've got some really great attorneys and mediators and private investigators we work with and they're in New York City and have a good amount of clients there too. And so a couple of them said, hey, do you ever come to New York? I'm like, oh yeah, no, I haven't. But I said I want to and they're like, well, let's kind of coordinate that.

Speaker 1:

So then, when you and I were talking and you're like, hey, we're doing this retreat in New York. I'm like, seriously, okay, let's have divine timing, so yeah. So I've got some really good meetings set up and I'm at our hotel. I'm just going to have. I invited a couple of people to stop by like a little happy hour or whatever and get to meet them.

Speaker 1:

But, um, I'm excited about you know, being able to meet some of these folks in person and, um, but also the media piece, I mean, that's really, um, I'm looking forward to it.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it's going to be fun. It's going to be fun, hopefully. Hopefully, people don't get too rowdy. That's what I'm hoping for, like there's been some scenarios I mean, most times it's good, but you never know.

Speaker 2:

Sometimes people don't know how to act. You know it's like they, they get out of their comfort zone and their normal environment and they get into like this space now, like I'm in this like world, like all the time so, but for some people they're like oh, oh man like this, is it Like, I'm letting loose, I'm letting loose, I'm like ah, I don't know about that.

Speaker 2:

I don't know about that. Um, no, I think you're. You doing all these amazing things from your business, your book, podcast, speaking, um, and really just doubling down on your brand. Um, it's absolutely amazing. No-transcript. Why is personal branding so important to you now?

Speaker 1:

I feel like it is an authentic extension of me, right, like I just feel like I don't know. I feel like it's given clarity, I feel like it's given momentum and energy. It's giving us the I don't want to say roadmap, but I mean it's really serving as a foundation for all the other things and I mean I have always known that personal brand is important, but I don't again. I think you have to get to a point where you're like okay, now I really see the value in it and I'm ready to step into you know that next phase.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and and what has it done so far for for your business? Just like doubling down on your personal brand, who you are? Um like, what shifts have you noticed?

Speaker 1:

Oh, it's been fun. So, um, like even within some of my programs or my meetings with my clients, or whatever, I said, hey, listen, I'm going to say a bold statement. And the bold statement is you need to. You should not be going into any mediations without me. And in the past I would say you know, hey, I think this is really important. And yet, you know what, if you want me in there, let me know. And now I'm like, uh, I don't want you going in there without me, because I know the value that I bring to those situations, not only in the midst of it, um, but also the results.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

And I know that's one of the things that you and I are working on of, just like you know dialing that in. But, um, yeah, it's, it's definitely me, and I don't, I mean, I would say I don't know if confidence is the right word, cause I mean, I don't, I don't feel like I wasn't confident before, but I feel like it's, I feel more willing to be bold in in my thought process, like I might think something and not say it.

Speaker 1:

And now I'm thinking it and I'm saying it, so that's probably maybe the bridge.

Speaker 2:

And I'll just expand on that slightly is when people learn how to take their authentic self and then also weave that in into their marketing, the copy their voice, their brand voice, and just really gain that confidence in themselves of like no, this is, this is who I am. And then that goes into the content, it becomes more relatable and it becomes more humanized and people see that and they, they react to that. Um, but oftentimes, like a lot of companies and businesses play it too safe as far as in their marketing, you know they're, they're like tiptoeing, and then we've all seen it like. Then you start seeing like these sterile brands and they're like there's no life to it, there's no flavor, there's no like. I don't even know which side like to that you're even leaning on because you're so in the middle and then you just become mush.

Speaker 2:

Like, and it's just like, I mean, you're just not relatable. And then people can't even tap into your brand. And then you're trying to like do all these brand things and no one cares, no one cares, no one cares. So the more that you can tap into and this also goes to if people are building, you know there's a personal brand but also for if they just want their brand itself. Maybe they don't want to be the face, but their brand needs some kind of life Well then, for instance, like Nike, they're, you know there's not like the CEO of Nike. That's everywhere and I don't even know who the CEO of Nike is.

Speaker 3:

I don't even know who that is. But what?

Speaker 2:

they do is they still have life in the brand and they utilize other people to show the lifestyle of it. So you have athletes and fashion and all these other things. There's still people, but people can still relate to it. So they're now selling lifestyle. Or hey, don't you want to be like Mike, or don't you want to be like this? And then there's it's still you have to humanize your stuff to some degree. You have to if you want to really have people care about your brand and what you're and what you're doing.

Speaker 2:

So I just wanted to expand on that because it's it's often a piece that a lot of businesses miss and even like large companies I've worked with, they just don't get it. But then they're like trying to do these community activations and all sorts of stuff. But then they're trying to do these community activations and all sorts of stuff, no one cares. No one cares Because you haven't done the due diligence in your own brand to even have people care about it. So it's something I'm extra passionate about. If you can't tell, okay. So we got to have a Q&A real quick. Okay, see, I'm on time.

Speaker 3:

This is not usually the case.

Speaker 2:

My mom yells at me all the time for being late, for being late. So I'm on time. So we've got to have a Q and a for 15 minutes. We're going to open up to the audience here, um, to ask questions to Rhonda, but also you could ask questions to me and I got some freebies. So raise your hand or shout it out, do something and ask some questions, anything on your business. But if you ask your questions, please state your name and then why you're here. Any questions in the audience as people ponder, they're pondering. People See, people got to think. They think real deep, michael. What's up man?

Speaker 4:

Outside of your space. Rhonda, how do you describe what you do to those of us that don't understand how the law works? There's a role that you're playing Help me understand it but not in terms of what it actually is in your sphere.

Speaker 1:

Put in something that I might be able to actually get.

Speaker 1:

Yeah. So I think a lot of times people think that the legal aspect is the main thing, right, and so they're contemplating or they're going through divorce, and I know that it's something that a lot of people don't necessarily want to talk about. I even started my business, which was I had women that were reaching out. Hey, I'm contemplating, I'm going through divorce, I don't know what to be asking, I don't feel like anybody's advocating for me and I'm feeling bullied into making these decisions. And so I the whole premise of my business started by me asking women that were in that spot like, hey, what's working? What is it? What do you need? Like man, I need somebody to walk me through this, like I don't even know the process. And so, while I'm focused on the financial stuff, I'm really walking women in particular through the process. Hey, here's what we need to do first, and then this, and then this and then this, and here's why it matters.

Speaker 1:

So like, for example, this morning I was on a call with a client in Kansas and I am also very strategic in, you know, I don't want to just do work to do work for them Like, what are we doing? What's the end game, what's the goal? And so the attorney was on the call and I'm like, oh, this is going to be fun. I've never met him before. He's like, who is this chick? You know? Like he wasn't even looking at me, it was like taking notes. You know, like I'm like, okay, this is going to be fun. And I said, okay, so help me understand, like how you approach the situation and you know what's your attitude or approach about these couple of things. And it kind of gave me some insight on how he was going to operate. And then I said, well, can I make a suggestion? I said, typically, because he's like we need a forensic accountant. I'm like, okay, can I share with you something? I said, and here's why I want to share with you, because it works and he goes, sure. I said I think we need to hire the private investigator first, and here's why. And then I map it and he's like, ooh, I like that. He's like that's really good. And so I got his buy-in and I think you know it's just rounding that out Like you've got the legal perspective, I can bring the financial perspective and then we always hope that they're working with, you know, a therapist or whatever on the emotional perspective. So we've got this real holistic approach.

Speaker 1:

But I think the other piece of it is a lot of what I've seen trend wise is people moving from. You know, hey, we don't want to advocate because we don't want to rock the boat and we don't want to be too bold, so we're going to go over here and just like play nicey-nicey and everybody gets along, and you know, that's all sounds good, but it isn't working most of the time. And so, yeah, that's kind of what I would say about that is just walking them through the process, giving them the questions to be asking, connecting them with the right people that are really going to, at the end of the day, move the needle. And I always say too I've told you this. I'm like, let's just be clear, I work with women, I advocate for women. I don't hate men. Like I'm not going in there, like let's just take them out. People Like let's go, girl. No.

Speaker 3:

Well, that's good.

Speaker 1:

Right, I mean, that's not it, but unfortunately a lot of the women that I'm working with, they don't have a voice. Nobody's actually advocating for them, yeah, and they think that the attorney's going to and it's just a miss.

Speaker 2:

Thank you, yeah, michael come down and get your goodies. What did I do? You get a book and a candle, genuinely curious yeah, there you go, my man, I'm excited Smells like success yeah.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2:

I love that. Awesome, awesome, any other. Actually, real quick, michael, can you just state your name? Everybody knows you're Michael now and just what you do.

Speaker 4:

Sure Michael Rampolla, with Spirity of Strategists and a Coach. We help other people do better what they love to do.

Speaker 2:

Awesome man, so straightforward, I can't see anybody's face so precise Because y'all are like lounging.

Speaker 3:

They're in lounge chairs.

Speaker 2:

Any other questions? Any other questions? Anything pondering in your mind?

Speaker 4:

Yes, so I guess I'm Ryan. I work at Podcast Sound. My question to you is is mediation something that is only pre-divorce or for people who have legal obligations afterwards? Is there some kind of outlet of mediation for them to be able to negotiate terms with children, drop off times, all the random things that come up if they are not able to communicate super well?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah, the communication piece is a big deal right, so, and a lot of the terms around mediation, basically, I mean it's like think of it like, hey, we're having a conversation, right. So people can either be doing mediation before they officially decide what direction they're going to go, they can do it while they're going through the process as a method to be able to come to a resolution. Or there are times like you were asking if you can do the mediation at the end, and a lot of times it's okay finding a third party that can get either two people, either virtually or in person, in a room and say, okay, let's hash this out. Here's what the law says about this, you know. So when I'm doing the mediations, of course I'm not an attorney, I'm doing the financial stuff, but, like I'm in the room, you know if we're talking about financial stuff, I'm in there with the client and their attorney and then often the mediator.

Speaker 1:

So there's a lot of different variations on how that can work, but in Wisconsin in particular, yeah, I mean you could hire somebody to help kind of post-divorce with post-divorce issues or whatever. On getting everybody on the same page. Once the financial stuff is done, though, that ship has kind of sailed, except for, like, child support related conversations. So whatever you decide, right for the financials. That's why I feel like we got one chance to get it right, because when it's done, it's done Like don't call me when you've signed on the dotted line.

Speaker 1:

Like hey can you help me? No, I can't, and don't even let me look at it because I'm going to be irritated. But the kid-related stuff, for any time that there's still minor kids, yeah, I mean reaching out to an attorney who can help with mediation. Post-divorce is certainly an option for people, but I try to stay in my lane with the financial stuff. But there is a little bit of overlap, for sure.

Speaker 2:

Cool, great question. All right, ryan, I'm going to get your book.

Speaker 1:

And your candle.

Speaker 3:

And your candle. You can light it at night you know, whatever you want to do.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, no problem. No problem, problem. All right, make sure we got time for maybe one or two more ish, one more real quick. Anybody going once going?

Speaker 3:

twice any questions Real quick. Anybody Going once Going twice. Any questions Last many questions.

Speaker 2:

People are really thinking. People are really thinking. Or maybe you're just giving so much insight where all their questions are already answered.

Speaker 1:

I'm sure you have additional questions. You can give yourself a candle.

Speaker 3:

I can give myself a candle. I can give myself a candle. I'm like at least do it for the candle, At least Does it smell good.

Speaker 2:

Come on, man, Come on. Well, thank you so much for being on the podcast. This is absolutely amazing. Every time I talk to you, I learn a little bit more, a little bit more about you, and I know for a fact that you've definitely helped somebody you know, as far as us listening, watching, of how to grow their business, how to understand a little bit more, maybe about brand media and marketing. I think your whole story of just reinventing yourself and the rebrand is really interesting, because a lot of business owners are going through these things and it's really good to get insight about somebody who's actually actively doing it and see why they were doing it as well. So if you want to shout out real quick just where people can find you, how can they get connected?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, absolutely so. Instagram at Rhonda Nordheik or my website wwwcdivorcecom.

Speaker 2:

Cool, cool. And then what's your main social platform that you're on?

Speaker 1:

I mean, where my clients are is usually Facebook and Instagram.

Speaker 2:

Mm-hmm, mm-hmm, all right that you're on, I mean where my clients are is usually Facebook and Instagram. All right. Well, if you want to get in contact with Rhonda, facebook and Instagram is the place to go. Hit her up. And, for everybody watching and listening, please like, comment and subscribe to the podcast. We're everywhere you can get podcasts. And don't forget to share this with somebody. Don't be stingy. Don't be stingy. Share this. Share this with somebody that needs to hear it and some you know, as it's going to inspire, educate and really be a great resource for for somebody. And also don't forget you can change your circle. You could definitely change your life. So we'll catch you guys on the next episode. I'm Jamar Jones. Peace. Don't forget to like, comment and subscribe. And don't forget to hit that notification bell for more amazing content that we're going to be putting out. And don't forget you can change your circle to change your life. Outro Music.

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