Women of Excellence

Women of Excellence/Entrepreneurial Achievements. This is an invitation to BWN members to share the story of their journey as a business owner. What inspired you to breakout on your own.
Candy Barone - CEO & Founder at You Empowered Strong

Candy Barone Great question -- what inspired me to breakout on my own? Well, I guess you could say that I had some inklings of wanting to step out on my own in my late 20s when I was able to see firsthand the impact I could have on our younger generations. I created and facilitated a school-to-work program and was able to work with inner-city kids who experienced things far worse than my own childhood experiences (I grew up in an abusive environment). When I was able to save the life of a young man in my program and help him see other possibilities for himself, I was awakened to a deep sense of purpose that I started to walk into more and more every day.

Over the next many years after that (I am now 41 years old), my journey to reveal my purpose and fully step into that light become more and more clear. Eventually, after fully understanding that I didn’t fit into someone’s else box or version of who they thought I should be, I made the choice to venture on my own. I also recognized that I could impact more than just our youth, and was doing so in various leadership roles throughout my corporate career, coaching and mentoring I did with others on a regular basis and in my everyday interactions with others, and just the passion that continued to grow.

I was ready to make a big move, and with that to live my life with more purpose, passion, and intention. Through the teams I developed and the people who sought me out to help them through various life and career transitions they were experiencing, it became clear the gifts I was given. Once I fully acknowledged those gifts, and the responsibility that came with them, there was no other choice but to walk fully and deliberately into that space. For once you know who you are, what value you offer, and that you are ready to serve others, the rest becomes (and did for me) very clear.

I wanted to create the means to help people move forward is a sustainable and BIG way. To help them stretch out of the comfort zone, let go of the security blanket they carry with them, shed some of their limiting beliefs, biased thinking, and insecurities to help break the cycle of fear we keep handing down from one generation to the next. And, with that to help both the role models for our next generations, but our youth as well.

So, I created You Empowered Strong (YES) -- which is a business designed to help people embrace their inner superhero and learn the tools, skills, and strategies to truly say YES to themselves, destroy the N.O.I.S.E. getting in their way, and create an aligned accountability plan that outlines clear intentional activities to help propel them forward in a BIG way for growth and sustainable success. I do this through several venues: 1x1 coaching, intimate masterminds, corporate training, training to certify coaches, professional speaking engagements, and through my books (readings, book signings, and presentations).

In addition, I recently became a published children's author ("Dream Star") and am in the process of beginning to build my platform to bring the same tools to our kids to help them see what is possible sooner and become truly aligned with their passion and purpose.

I love that I am able to serve as a change agent who advocates empowerment, leadership and social responsibility.