She started with virtual assistant services after suddenly losing her job and needing to figure out how to support herself. She knew administrative work, so she turned those skills into a service people would pay for.

It worked.

She also hated it.

So she started asking a better question: What do my clients actually need?

That question eventually moved her from virtual assistance into social media management and then into the storytelling and video work that became DVirtual Media. The business kept evolving, but Dercyni didn’t simply jump from one thing she disliked into something she enjoyed more. Each pivot still had to solve a problem someone was willing to pay her to solve.

In this episode of The She Can Work Podcast, Tiara talks with Dercyni about what business evolution actually looks like when the old version of the company is still bringing in money.

They talk about why Dercyni stopped chasing trends and virality in favor of storytelling, why knowing who you are can be harder than following what everyone else is doing, and what it takes to hold onto your convictions when another business model appears easier or more popular.

They also get into one of the hardest parts of growth: pricing.

Dercyni shares how she learned to raise her prices after gathering evidence about the value of her work, why losing clients after a price increase doesn’t automatically mean the increase was wrong, and how a higher price point forced DVirtual Media to change its messaging, networking, and approach to finding clients.

That lesson became painfully real in December 2025, when contracts ended, new pricing went into effect, and DVirtual Media nearly lost its entire client base.

For a moment, Dercyni wondered whether they had gotten it wrong.

Instead of returning to pricing that could no longer support the business, she chose to realign the company, keep refining the message, and continue building toward the model they believed could actually work long term.

Today, that conviction is also changing the clients Dercyni is willing to accept. She talks candidly about resisting the temptation to take quick money from people who want an outdated package because saying yes would simply rebuild the exact capacity problem the company was trying to escape.

Tiara and Dercyni also talk about leadership, imposter syndrome, the strange amount of faith required to build something before you have perfect proof that it will work, and how Dercyni has translated her values and standards into a growing team.

It’s a conversation about storytelling and content.

But even more, it’s a conversation about becoming the kind of business owner who can recognize when the company needs to change — and having enough conviction to let it.

Connect with Dercyni Ruiz

Kompel Media (formerly DVirtual Media)
Website | https://kompelmedia.com/
Instagram | @kompelmedia

You build it.

In this episode of The She Can Work Podcast, Tiara sits down with Tracie Jae, the Quiet Rebel, for a deeply human conversation about knowing yourself, asking better questions, making decisions that remember the people affected by them, and finding the courage to bring an idea into the world before you know exactly where it will lead.

Tracie describes herself as someone who helps decision-makers remember that there are humans on the other side of their decisions—and helps humans tell their stories.

But getting there required her to first spend enough time with herself to understand who she was.

Tracie shares what she learned after seasons of marriage, motherhood, transition, and beginning again—including the uncomfortable process of separating who she actually was from who she had been told she was supposed to be.

That journey eventually informed HUMAN, her decision-making framework built around five principles: Honest, Urgent, Meaningful, Accountable, and Nuanced.

And now that work is evolving into HUMAN. Stories., storytelling platform designed to give ordinary human beings a place to tell stories without having to become polished speakers, experts, or performers first.

Together, Tiara and Tracie explore what it means to build businesses and lead organizations without leaving humanity behind, and what happens when an idea stops feeling like an interesting possibility and starts feeling like an assignment.

About Tracie Jae

Tracie Jae, the Founder of The Quiet Rebel, helps decision-makers remember that there are human beings on the other side of their decisions and creates spaces where people can tell their stories more fully.

Her work is grounded in curiosity, connection, courageous conversation, and a belief that humanity belongs at the center of the decisions we make—in business, leadership, relationships, and community.

Tracie is the creator of the HUMAN framework, a decision-making approach built around five questions and principles:

Honest — What really happened?
Urgent — What matters most right now?
Meaningful — How can we make a positive impact here?
Accountable — Who needs to own this?
Nuanced — What else might we be missing?

She is also the creator of HUMAN. Stories., a storytelling platform built around a simple invitation:

Fully human. Aloud. Together.

Through her work, Tracie is creating more spaces for people to ask better questions, understand one another more deeply, and tell stories that might otherwise never reach the stage.

Connect With Tracie

Website | https://thequietrebel.org

LinkedIn | https://linkedin.com/in/traciejae

Instagram | https://instagram.com/thequietrebelllc

But eventually, somebody has to do the math.

In this episode of The She Can Work Podcast, Tiara sits down with Chase Sloan, founder of The Chasing Real Estate Group and Houston-based real estate consultant, for a candid conversation about real estate, ownership, wealth building, and what it actually takes to move from surviving financially to building something that lasts.

Chase’s mission is unapologetic... increase the net worth of Black America by helping people use strategic real estate ownership and business ownership to build wealth.

And she isn’t interested in selling people a fantasy.

Chase talks about what she had to learn about money herself, including why saving alone wasn’t changing her financial trajectory, why she started paying herself first, and how buying her first home ultimately created exponentially more wealth than years of simply working and saving.

Together, Tiara and Chase challenge some of the narratives that keep people stuck, waiting for the “perfect” time to buy, believing homeownership automatically means giving up convenience, assuming experiences and ownership have to compete, or making financial decisions based on what feels easiest today without considering what those choices could cost 10 or 20 years from now.

This is a conversation about real estate, but even more, it’s about strategy.

About Chase Sloan

Chase Sloan is the founder of The Chasing Real Estate Group and a Houston-based real estate consultant helping first-time homebuyers build wealth and second-time homebuyers create cash flow through strategic real estate ownership.

Her work is grounded in a larger mission to advance Black homeownership, strengthen communities, and help more families move from working for money to making money work for them.

Chase is also the creator of Abundantly Thinking VIP, a private membership community for high achievers who want to strengthen their approach to money, ownership, wealth, and abundance.

Through education, honest conversations, and deeply personalized guidance, Chase helps clients think beyond a single transaction and begin making decisions about real estate through the lens of long-term stability, leverage, cash flow, and legacy.

Connect with Chase Sloan

Instagram
Personal | https://www.instagram.com/chase_sloan/
The Chasing Real Estate Group | https://www.instagram.com/thechasingrealestategroup/

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/fromtherealtor
https://www.facebook.com/ChasingRealEstate

LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/chasesloan/

Abundantly Thinking VIP | https://bit.ly/AbundantlyThinkingVIP

In this episode of The She Can Work Podcast, Tiara sits down with Dr. Shontoria Walker, Founder and Executive Director of Education PowerED 501(c)(3), to talk about what it really looks like to use data as a tool for better decisions, stronger programs, sustainable growth, and measurable impact.

Shontoria has experienced She Can Work from both sides: first as a founder building her own organization inside the Core Program, and now as the leader helping She Can Work build its data and impact practice. That journey gives her a unique perspective on what happens when organizations move beyond simply collecting information and begin listening, responding, and adjusting based on what the data is actually telling them.

Together, Tiara and Shontoria unpack why impact measurement is much deeper than “doing surveys,” how qualitative and quantitative data work together, and why strong leaders need enough humility to change course when the evidence calls for it.

They also talk about the business case for better data: stronger programming, clearer decision-making, more compelling funding applications, better partnerships, increased referrals, and the ability to prove that the outcomes you promise are actually happening.

About Dr. Shontoria Walker

Dr. Shontoria Walker is the Founder and Executive Director of Education PowerED, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit helping mission-driven programs and small business ecosystems use data, evaluation, and storytelling to demonstrate impact and support sustainable growth.

With more than a decade of experience in education research, program evaluation, and leadership development, Shontoria specializes in translating complex data into meaningful narratives that elevate community voices and inform strategic decision-making.

Through Education PowerED’s expanding Data & Impact Services, she works with nonprofits and entrepreneurial programs to better capture outcomes, leadership growth, and economic impact through storytelling grounded in real data.

In addition to her nonprofit leadership, Shontoria is a national literacy expert and higher education instructor. Her work is rooted in equity, access, and a simple belief: data should empower communities—not just measure them.

Connect with Dr. Shontoria Walker

Education PowerED
https://www.educationpowered.org

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/educationpowered/

Shontoria is also a co-author of Culture to the Max, a resource exploring how intentional culture, leadership, and systems can transform organizations and communities. The framework also informs Education PowerED’s approach to culturally responsive data collection, community-centered research, and impact work.

In this episode of The She Can Work Podcast, Tiara sits down with Jane Msumba, award-winning pharmacist, health coach, mental imagery training practitioner, and founder of Inner Glow Clinic, for a conversation about the science behind sustainable behavior change.

Jane’s work started with a realization from both her clinical experience and her own life: most of us already know what we’re “supposed” to do. Eat better. Move more. Rest. Be consistent. The problem often isn’t a lack of information. It’s that knowing what to do doesn’t automatically change what we do.

Jane explains why fighting yourself, relying on willpower, or approaching change from a place of shame can make lasting habits even harder to build. Instead, she uses mental imagery and future-self connection to help people change the way they see themselves first—and allow their habits to follow.

Together, Tiara and Jane talk about the power of self-awareness, the role of identity in discipline, why simple habits are often more effective than dramatic lifestyle overhauls, and what can happen when we stop treating ourselves like the problem.

About Jane Msumba

Jane Msumba is an award-winning pharmacist, health coach, mental imagery training practitioner, and founder of Inner Glow Clinic.

After years working in clinical pharmacy, Jane recognized a gap in healthcare: people often know what they should do to improve their health, habits, and productivity, but struggle to sustain the change. Her work focuses on the role identity plays in closing that gap.

Blending her medical background with training in mental imagery and identity-led behavior change, Jane helps women reconnect with their future selves, strengthen intrinsic motivation, and turn intention into sustainable action through her signature Inner Glow Method™.

She is also the creator of the Future Self Identity Reset Workbook and Inner Glow Lessons.

Connect with Jane

Website: https://www.innerglowclinic.co
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/innerglowclinic

Free Resource

Download Jane’s Future Self Identity Reset Workbook:
https://divine-snow-74242.myflodesk.com/welcomegift

Key Topics

• The importance of selling your product early
• Learning from customer feedback and data
• Deciding when to outsource manufacturing
• Building business systems and operations
• Leadership evolution from founder to CEO

Guest Info

Nikki Jack

Founder, Coco Elan

Shop @ https://cocoelanco.com/

Follow @ https://www.instagram.com/shopcocoelan/

Keywords

entrepreneurship, beauty brand, product development, business scaling, natural deodorant, manufacturing, sales, leadership, business strategy