Lay the Course Podcast

Kim Fischer is the founder of 13 Emeralds Marketing with an MA in digital marketing. She helps business owners optimize their SEO so they can achieve long-term results with ease. Kim’s goal is to help business owners gain more clients, grow their businesses, and give them the ease of having leads come to them. In this episode, you will hear: Kim’s course of her entrepreneurial journey SEO tips for...

Shara Ruffin is an independently licensed clinical social worker, a board-certified tele-mental health provider, and a former psychotherapist from Philadelphia, PA. She specializes in grief, personality disorders, family trauma, compassion fatigue, military counseling, mindfulness meditation, ADHD, and anxiety. Joined by our host Kelsey Stine, Shara discusses what fostering mental health in the wo...

Quinn Driscoll, CPA/ABV is a money management coach for small business owners. As the founder of Value Gal, she teaches successful business owners how to follow a money management system so they can stop feeling confused, anxious, or broke. In this episode, you will hear: The peace of mind that comes with having a clear view of your finances Balancing your growing business and paying yourself Quin...

Yong-Soo Chung is a serial entrepreneur bootstrapping his business from $0 to $20m in just over 8 years. Now, he's on a mission to help founders & creators build an audience, create irresistible product offers, and grow their businesses sustainably. In this episode, you will hear: A successful mindset behind a career shift Clear steps to mapping your success  Yong-Soo’s journey to becoming...

Lizzie Mattson left the human services field in 2018 in search of better boundaries and a healthier work-life balance. Today, she is the founder of Wildfeather Co., a boutique Instagram marketing agency that focuses on intentional strategy and beautifully designed organic content. In this episode, you will hear: How a process can help build consistency in your content creation Important pillars of...

After finding that her values in life didn't connect with the social media tech industry she was working in, Izzy Waite decided to ditch the normal 9-5 to pursue a passion-filled career aiming to help driven entrepreneurs get seen and heard. Izzy joined our host Kelsey Stine for a conversation diving into the details of her work as a brand designer. In this episode you will hear: The power of...

With a decade of experience in People Operations within the corporate world, Kira La Forgia is no stranger to the sensitive issues involved in the human side of running a business. There’s a lot to learn from hiring, onboarding, training, and managing the performance of over 500 employees for a multimillion-dollar business. She joined host Kelsey Stine to discuss the strategy behind growing your t...

Ellen Pustejovsky is a Black Hills based entrepreneur, content creator, creative director, portrait specialist, and landscape artist who is passionate about sharing ways on building a lifestyle by design. She believes that a life lived simply is a life worth living, and she helps clients create simple yet effective high-quality branded content.  In this episode you will hear: Ellen’s path to...

After spending 10 years in corporate America helping build multimillion-dollar businesses as the "go-to numbers girl," Octavia Connor decided to ditch the 9 to 5 in 2011 and build her dream business instead. Her passion led to the birth of Say Yes To Profits, a virtual CFO firm that helps businesses have more money, more profits, and pay less taxes. She joined host Kelsey Stine to talk about all t...

Sarah Greener is passionate about businesses – mostly small ones. For the  past 7 years, Sarah has been helping busy, stressed, and overworked business  owners transform their businesses and reignite the passion they had when they  started out. Sarah enjoys providing actionable insights to audiences of all sizes to help  them in immediate ways to strike a necessary balance and...

Adriana Monique Alvarez is the CEO and Founder of AMA Publishing. She teaches women how to start highly profitable publishing companies and has written How to Start a Six Figure Publishing Company (available on Amazon). She’s a USA Today bestselling author and her most recent book, The Younger Self Letters, debuted at #1 on bestseller lists internationally. In this episode you will hear: What insp...

Vickie Leuenberger is a nomad freelancer currently living in the Caribbean on a yellow sailboat. She is passionate about teamwork, the human mind, and making every day special and fun. Vickie is trained in neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), pedagogy, body language, and more.  She collaborates with other entrepreneurs, hosts retreats and workshops, and assists clients in addressing their dail...

Monique Allen, Founder, CEO, & Creative Director of the Garden Continuum, is a master creator, interactive employer, published author, and fierce industry advocate. Over the last three decades, Monique watched as the growing commercialization and commoditization of the landscaping trade undermined the benefits of its increased accessibility to those looking to improve their land and their ment...

In 2014 Catherine Greseth was hired as the first Executive Director of the Workforce Diversity Network of the Black Hills. An organization that educates businesses on hiring and retaining people that are, or have, become disabled. Through these efforts, Rapid City, South Dakota, is now ranked 3 in the Nation for the employment of people with disabilities. Catherine received the 2018 - 2019, South...

Catherine Manangu is the owner/operator of Chu Sweet, a specialty Bakery in Box Elder South Dakota. Catherine was born and raised in the Philippines, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in International Hospitality Management with a specialization in Cruise Line Operations in Culinary Arts. After moving to America with her family, and meeting her husband, she and her husband moved to Rapid City...

Ciara Stockeland has owned and operated businesses since her early teens. As a serial entrepreneur, her business mindset and tenacity led her to open her first store, Mama Mia, a high-end maternity store located in Fargo, ND in 2006. Shortly after, she developed and opened MODE, a designer outlet store located next to Mama Mia. In 2008, Ciara chose to merge her two concepts into MODE and developed...

Molly Goin is a licensed massage therapist who started her practice in 2020. After a year in business, she shares with us what it was like to establish a new practice and become a full-time business owner, and the way she has built community care into her work from day one. In this episode, you’ll hear: How a curious mindset helps Molly operate from a place of confidence versus a place of insecuri...

As owner and creative director for Tout Advertising, Tracy provides strategic media planning, negotiates media acquisitions, determines marketing endeavors, oversees design and production, and ensures brand integrity. She is passionate about supporting locally owned businesses, and in addition to this has launched and run 3 magazines during her career, spanning over a decade of successful publishi...

Kristin Burke is a goal achievement coach who collaborates with women, entrepreneurs, and leaders to help them maximize their potential and achieve their definitions of success. After gaining over a decade of experience in a Fortune 200 firm, Kristin set out on her own to launch a coaching practice. She is passionate about advancing women professionally and holds a curiosity for work-life integrat...

Bridgett has been working with fabrics since a young age, originally taught in the art of sewing by her mother. As she grew older she pursued a degree in Fashion Design at Kent State University. After graduating, she returned back to Rapid City, where she met her future husband, Stephan, and together they started the Seraphim Theatrical Entertainment Company. Through this company, they have create...

A member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe and a South Dakota resident, Fabiana was introduced to soccer at a young age in Vermillion, SD. She immediately fell in love with the sport and she has described herself as “In it for life”. Fabiana continued on through high school and college, and the game took her internationally where she saw and was inspired by how soccer is approached in other countries. Th...

Rebecca Stucke is an instructor and the owner of The Yoga Studio, Rapid City’s oldest yoga studio which just celebrated its 21st year in business. Rebecca fulfilled a years’ long dream of owning the Yoga Studio and purchased it in January of 2020.  Just months after purchasing the studio, she navigated her first year as a business owner during a global pandemic. One of her students' shares, “...

Jenell Alward, along with her husband David, is the owner and head artist of Swish ‘n Flick Entertainment: an entertainment provider for face painting, balloon arrangements, balloon installations and more for every occasion. Jenell’s love for face painting sparked in her years in the theater department in high school, and she has taken this love and started a business that has grown exponentially...

Madison Reeves is a 20-year-old entrepreneur, up-and-coming author, and business owner. She is a full-time real estate agent in the Black Hills of South Dakota, focusing on helping buyers, sellers and investors build wealth through real estate. She is also a productivity coach for real estate agents. She shares with us her passion and her “why” that has taken her to a place of success at only 20....

Sara Jamison is an entrepreneur and owner of Terra Shepherd Boutique– a boutique in Sioux Falls South Dakota that focuses on slow and sustainable fashion. Sara opened Terra Shepherd Boutique in downtown Sioux Falls in May of 2019 with the goal of taking the legwork out of finding clothing and goods for everyday living that are good for the planet and the people who make them. Everything in her sto...