Ep. 241 - Nadine Vogel is the CEO of Springboard Global Enterprises, which is home to Springboard Consulting, Disability Mama, The WIP Group and The Springboard Foundation, which is an affiliated charity. Springboard Consulting works with corporations around the world to mainstream people with disabilities in the global workforce, workplace, and marketplace. In this episode, Nadine explains how she became passionate about people with disabilities and started a business about them after a longstanding corporate career. Listen in to learn how to prepare your business with the right tools to welcome people with disabilities that arose from covid-19. You will also learn how to hire smart and trust your intuition to avoid making many mistakes as a new entrepreneur.
Key Takeaways:
- How to choose a business niche by being different, passionate, and an expert in it
- Evaluate your stronghold in corporate and apply it when you transition into business
- Learn to rely on your intuition to avoid making mistakes as a new entrepreneur
- How to hire, manage, and be accommodating to disabled employees within your business
- The power of having a strong and consistent team to help grow your business
- The importance of recognizing and accommodating mental health disabilities in the workplace
"We have to start equating and understanding that health, whether it’s physical or mental, is still health.”- Nadine Vogel
In this episode you will learn:
Nadine’s background and why she transitioned from corporate to entrepreneurship [2:02]
Her mission of mainstreaming the disabled in the global workforce, workplace, and marketplace [4:35]
Why we need to think about the Covid disabilities and what they mean to business owners [5:42]
How to properly prepare and accommodate post-covid disabilities at the workplace [7:53]
The importance of having a niche when starting a business to excel in it [10:17]
The mistakes Nadine made as a new entrepreneur and how she learned through trial and error [13:19]
The formula she uses to interview and hire the best people in her business [18:32]
The challenges and successes she’s encountered in her entrepreneurial journey [20:34]
Why she wishes to have eliminated her fears and trusted her intuition a lot sooner [22:17]
How to manage a disabled employee plus the importance of positive thinking for entrepreneurs [23:30]
We need to get rid of excuses when hiring and being accommodating to disabled people [29:24]
How to recognize and accommodate mental health disabilities within the workplace [34:04]
Some actions on entrepreneurship and disability that you need to take away [40:41]
CAREER
Springboard Consulting LLC is considered a global expert on successfully marketing to people with disabilities and their families in the consumer space.
Their comprehensive services, which are based on years of research, experience and success, provide today’s corporate leaders the tools they need to better serve the world’s largest and fastest-growing minority group in the world.
People with disabilities, including veterans with disabilities, mature workers who develop age-related disabilities, and parents who have children and other dependents and family members with special needs are included.
Springboard is a world-class company that empowers today’s leading organizations to become both an employer and suppliers of choice for the disability community.
Their services allow their clients to meet their accessibility, workforce, and workplace goals, mitigate the risk of litigation, expand market share and generate increased, sustainable revenue from an untapped market.
Springboard is also the producer of the Disability Matters Awards Banquet and Conference which honors those companies that are making great strides in the areas of workforce, workplace, and marketplace initiatives as it pertains to this large, loyal segment of the population.
Prior to founding Springboard, Nadine held a variety of executive positions in both Corporate America and the non-profit sectors.
She is the author of “DIVE IN, Springboard into the Profitability, Productivity and Potential of the Special Needs Workforce,” a highly acclaimed must-read business book.
She is a regular contributor to many professional, industry and consumer publications. Nadine is also a member of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. In 2019, she became the subject of published cases for both the Harvard Kennedy School and the Harvard Business School where she also serves as a guest lecturer. She has also joined forces with the Universita Europea di Roma in Italy, to develop and deliver executive curriculum on Disability. Nadine is also recognized as a powerful informational, motivational, and inspirational speaker, delivering keynote presentations around the world. Nadine currently serves Host of three ground-breaking television programs: Inclusion at Work on Bloomberg TV and The Nosh and Talk & Tea with G & Me on RVN TV which also airs on Roku and Apple TV.
AWARDS
Recognized for her civic and professional activities and global thought leadership, Nadine has received numerous awards and accolades from around the globe:
- 2015 Winner of the DANDI Award in Entrepreneurship for demonstrating an outstanding commitment towards creating a more diverse and inclusive world
- 2015 Brava Award Winner
- One of Smart CEO’s powerhouse female business leaders
- 2015 Humanitarian Award Honoree from the American Conference on Diversity
- 2013 First Star Recipient of Diversity Woman Magazine’s “Stars Who Mean Business Peer Award”
- MEA Magazine as one of the 2013 “25 Influential Women in Business”
- The Garden State Woman Education Foundation as the recipient of the Garden State Woman of the Year 2012 Diversity award
- Diversity Journal as a 2012 Diversity Leader Award recipient; as one of Diversity MBA’s 2011 Top 100 under 50 Executive Leaders
- 2011 recipient of the American Association for Affirmative Action Edward M. Kennedy Community Service Award
- Inaugural M2Moms 2010 MomFirst Award, “One Mom’s Idea That Made a Difference”
- YAI, Business Advisory Council, for the 2010 Advocacy Award
- NJ BIZ Magazine’s for the 2008 Best 50 Women in Business Award
- Count Me In, 2008 Make Mine a Million $ Business Program Award
- 2007 Howard L. Green Humanitarian Award from the NJ Broadcasters Association
- The College of Charleston’s 2003 Distinguished Alumni Award; for the Voices Award 2003 – individuals who have made a difference in the community
- Golden Gate University’s 2002 Alumni Community Service Award
- Fast Company Magazine’s 2002 debut list of “Fast 50” innovators — individuals whose achievements helped change their companies or society
- Working Mother Magazine’s Mothers We Love Top 25 List in 2000 and the magazine’s 2000 Mothering That Works Award
- Numerous elections to a variety of editions to Who’s Who
Vogel has been featured on NBC News, CNNfn, Lifetime Live on the Lifetime Channel, Good Day NY and Oxygen Television’s Pure Oxygen program. She is a Board member of the Low Country Autism Consortium, the founder and past president of the board of SNAP, Special Needs Advocate for Parents, a member of the College of Charleston’s Department of Communications Professional Advisory Council, a founding Board member of the Society for Diversity, a multi-year member of the SHRM Workplace Diversity Special Expertise Panel, WBENC, Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, WPO, Women’s Presidents Organization, a member of the National Speakers Association and the Global Speakers Federation. In 2014, Nadine earned “The Certified Speaking Professional” (CSP) designation which recognizes competency in platform excellence, established business practices and success and is held by less than ten percent of professional speakers worldwide. And in 2015, Nadine earned The “CSPGlobal” designation for her demonstrated sustainability as a global presenter, her mastery of the global speaking competencies, and favorable reviews by global clients and peers.
HER BOOK
NAN MCKAY AND DONNA MILLER COLLABORATE!
JOIN PURSE POWER!
Donna Miller is the founder and CEO of Purse Power, Let's Share the Journey. Purse Power promotes women-led, women-owned businesses by providing a Google extension that allows everyone who visits your website to locate nearby businesses.
Let's Share the Journey holds calls at 10 AM Central every Friday to learn from national leaders to share expertise, ideas, and support. One week a month features Zoom Room networking. We support Donna's endeavor and have provided the speaker calls in a podcast format. Please join her on Friday mornings! You can register for the calls here.