She Talks
MAGAZINE
“DON’T WAIT FOR
OPPORTUNITY,
CREATE IT!”
FEBRUARY 2026
VOL 3 | ISSUE 2
CAMERA-SHY
TO CAMERA-
READY
AUTHOR STARLA
FORTUNATO
DISCUSSES VISABILITY
ISN’T VANITY
LEADING FROM ALIGNMENT, EI, AND
SUSTAINABLE STRENGTH
REBUILDING
THE WOMAN
WHO LEADS
STACEY
LAUREN
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SYDNEY | FEB 26, 2026
CONTRIBUTORS
Editor-in-Chief
DR. JULIE DUCHARME
Cover Layout and
Magazine Design
DR. JOSHUA DUCHARME
Contributing Writers
JOANNE BROOKS
SONIA BESTULIC
WENDY M WATSON
STARLA FORTUNATO
GABRIELLA POMARE
AMANDA TAYLOR
FRANCES PRATT
CORY FISK
KAREN PERKS
VIRGINIA WILSEK
DR. JULIE DUCHARME
LISA E KIRKWOOD
CAMERA-SHY TO CAMERA-READY
TABLE OF CONTENTS
THE PERMISSION YOU'RE WAITING FOR IS
COSTING YOU WEALTH
SELF-REVERENCE: THE NEW RESILIENCE FOR
WOMEN ON PURPOSE
17
35
12
24
34
REBUILDING THE WOMAN WHO LEADS
THE ENTREPRENEUR'S DILEMMA: WHEN
GENEROSITY BECOMES YOUR BUSINESS
MODEL (BY ACCIDENT)
LEADING YOUR FAMILY'S FINANCIAL LEGACY WITH
HEART AND STRATEGY
LEADING WITH HEART: WHY THE BEST SALES
STRATEGY IS A STORY OF LOVE
38
FEATURE - STACEY LAUREN
26
THERE’S MORE THAN ONE APPROACH
41
FROM IDENTITY CRISIS TO A
BILLION-DOLLAR IMPACT
LEADING WHEN LIFE BREAKS YOU
47
YOUR HEALTH ISN’T A QUIZ SHOW
50
HOW SELF-LOVE CHANGED THE WAY I LEAD
55
EAST WINDS, WEST WINDS: BRIDGING DIVERSE
CULTURES THROUGH COMMON OBSERVANCES
58
FROM THE EDITOR
Founder, Lead and Empower Her She Talks
Dear She Talks Family,
February invites us into conversations about love—but in leadership, love is rarely soft or simple.
Real leadership love looks like empathy with boundaries.
Compassion paired with courage.
Connection without the need for approval.
This month’s theme, Love & Leadership: Leading with Heart—Connection, Compassion & Influence, is an
invitation to redefine what powerful leadership truly looks like. Not leadership rooted in ego or perfection,
but leadership grounded in emotional intelligence, self-awareness, and the bravery to lead as a whole
human being.
Many women are taught—explicitly or subtly—that to lead well, we must choose between being respected or
being liked, between ambition or relationships, between softness or strength. But the women featured in
this issue prove something different: the most influential leaders are those who know how to lead with heart
and hold the line.
Inside these pages, you’ll find stories that explore what it means to lead with empathy without losing
authority, how boundaries protect both our mission and our relationships, and why emotional intelligence is
not a weakness—but a strategic advantage. You’ll hear from women navigating love, partnership,
motherhood, marriage, grief, loss, and healing—while still answering the call to lead.
Leadership does not happen in a vacuum. Our personal lives shape how we show up in boardrooms, on
stages, in our homes, and within our communities. When we do the work of healing relational patterns,
practicing self-love, and protecting our hearts from compassion fatigue, we don’t become less effective
leaders—we become truer ones.
As She Talks continues to grow as a global platform and sisterhood, this issue is a reminder that influence
doesn’t come from hardening ourselves—it comes from knowing who we are, what we stand for, and how to
lead with intention.
My hope is that this issue meets you exactly where you are. That it affirms your strength, honors your
tenderness, and challenges you to lead in a way that is both grounded and bold.
Because when women lead with heart, the impact reaches far beyond themselves.
With gratitude and belief in every one of you,
Global Experience
www.leadandempowerher.com
March 7, 2026
San Diego, CA
Get Tickets @
Join Us
@ the
Global Voices • Collective Power • One Epic Day
TO CAMERA-READY
By Starla Fortunato
Photography by Starla Fortunato
o you dread having your photo taken? You’re not alone. After more than 30 years behind
the lens and over 3,000 portraits, I can tell you this with certainty: there is no such thing as
an unphotogenic person. There are only people who have never been photographed in the
right light.
Why Visibility Is a Leadership Skill — Not a Vanity Play
CAMERA-SHY
Camera shyness has nothing to do with age, weight, or how you look. It’s learned — built from bad
snapshots, harsh lighting, rushed sessions, and years of seeing yourself misrepresented.
Today, your image isn’t decoration. It’s your handshake, your credibility, your first conversation with the
world. When you hide behind outdated photos — or no photo at all — your message disappears with you. In
a crowded marketplace, poor imagery quietly places you last in line.
Confidence doesn’t come before the camera.
It comes because you finally allow yourself to be seen.
SHE TALKS | 8
HIRE A PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER
Photo Credit: Starla Fortunato
In this age of selfies and social media, visibility is vital to our brand. Who would have thought we’d
need professional photos to establish ourselves as authorities in our industries? This can be a real
problem for your business if you dread having your photo taken. Here are four proven tips to finally
take the impressive photos you need and will love.
1.
A professional photographer will partner with you
and have a plan in place to help you step into your
best light on your shoot day. All of us need
guidance and direction. Even with their experience
in front of the camera, A-list Actors need Directors
to guide them on set, and so do you. We’re not
meant to do this alone.
LOVE HOW YOU FEEL IN YOUR CLOTHES
2.
Choose two to three outfits you feel fabulous in to
give your self-esteem a boost. Be sure to clean and
accessorize your wardrobe from head to toe well
in advance of your photo shoot. If you have gained
or lost weight, gently meet yourself where you are
and shop for new clothes that fit your body.
Ask your photographer for a wardrobe stylist
referral if you’re having a difficult time.
Photo Credit: Starla Fortunato
SHE TALKS | 9
11
RELAX ON CAMERA WITH ONE QUESTION
3.
When your photographer points the camera at you, look into the lens and silently ask," how can I be of
service?" It’s a wonderful question connecting us to our mastery -- taking us out of fear and into our
“why”.
DON'T HOLD YOUR BREATH
4.
Do you hold your breath when someone points the camera at you?
You’re not alone. Many people from celebrities to business owners
hold their breath when I pick up my camera.
I ask my clients to gently inhale, exhale and repeat. If we are
breathing, we are staying present, and this establishes an authentic
energetic connection to our audience and opens our world to new
possibilities.
You got this. The world craves the real you. Fascinate them, that’s
why you’re here.
YOUR INVITATION
Join me and the She Talks Team for an elevated Group Brand Shoot
Day — created for leaders ready to step into iconic visibility.
March 5 — San Diego (She Talks Brand Shoot Day)
March 12 — Los Angeles (Group Brand Shoot Day)
Watch the behind-the-scenes video:
https://youtu.be/2midGuwOVFw
Ready to elevate your brand presence?
starla@starlafortunato.com| starlafortunato.com | @starlainla
Photo Credit: Starla Fortunato
Your strength has a story.
And it deserves to be told.
The She Talks Anthology:
Strength Edition is a
collaborative book
featuring women who
have risen through
challenge, resilience, and
unwavering belief in
themselves.
If your story includes
courage, growth, grit, or
transformation—this is
your invitation.
Submissions now open
Add your chapter. Own your strength.
REBUILDING
THE WOMAN
WHO LEADS
By Gabriella Pomare
I didn’t rebuild my life in one brave moment.
I rebuilt it in hundreds of quiet ones.
In the year my marriage ended, I was still running a law firm,
raising a small child, supporting clients in crisis, and publicly
speaking about co-parenting - all while privately renegotiating
who I was becoming. On the outside, I looked composed and
capable. Inside, everything was shifting: my identity, my
relationships, my nervous system, my understanding of
strength.
That season taught me that resilience isn’t about pushing
harder. It’s about learning how to regulate, repair and rebuild
consciously rather than surviving unconsciously.
Much of what later became The Collaborative Co-Parent was
born from that lived experience - not theory, but real-time
emotional work: learning how to pause instead of react, how to
hold boundaries without guilt, how to communicate without
defensiveness, and how to lead a life that could actually sustain
me.
Tip: If you’re navigating change, grief or reinvention, notice
where you are operating on autopilot. Ask yourself: What am I
protecting? What am I avoiding? What actually needs
rebuilding rather than fixing?
THE INNER WORK BEHIND
OUTER LEADERSHIP
In family law, I sit daily inside the emotional architecture of
people’s lives - fear, anger, grief, hope and rebuilding. It
becomes impossible not to see how unexamined emotional
patterns shape conflict, leadership and decision-making.
We don’t lead from strategy alone.
We lead from our nervous systems.
From our attachment histories.
From our relationship with control, safety and worth.
After separation, I had to unlearn over-functioning - the reflex
to carry everything for everyone. I learned to practise the Four
Pillars I now teach: Listen, Pause, Reflect, Respond. Not just in
co-parenting, but in leadership, parenting, partnerships and
self-leadership.
True authority comes from steadiness, not reactivity.
Tip: Before responding in a difficult conversation or decision,
pause long enough for your body to settle. Ask: Am I regulated
or reactive? Am I responding from clarity or protection?
SHE TALKS | 13
Motherhood refined this lesson further.
When you’re raising children while building a
business, healing emotionally, and nurturing
relationships, capacity eventually meets reality. I
often describe learning which balls are glass and
which are rubber - what cannot be dropped without
consequence, and what can bounce.
Presence with my children.
My health and nervous system.
My integrity and alignment.
These are glass.
Perfectionism, proving, people-pleasing and over-
delivering had to become rubber.
This discernment reshaped how I lead teams,
structure work, choose commitments and protect
energy. Boundaries became a form of respect rather
than restriction. Rest became a leadership strategy
rather than indulgence.
Tip: Write down the five areas of your life that truly
cannot fracture without cost. Protect them fiercely.
Let the rest become flexible.
LEARNING WHICH BALLS
ARE GLASS
Rebuilding also meant confronting how I attach,
accommodate, avoid and repair. Healing relational
patterns changes how we negotiate power,
communicate under pressure, receive support and
trust ourselves in leadership.
Blending a family while running a firm forced
emotional maturity in real time - conscious
communication, repair after rupture, humility and
flexibility. I learned that safety isn’t created through
perfection or niceness, but through consistency,
boundaries and emotional literacy.
The same principles that stabilise co-parenting
relationships stabilise teams and cultures.
Being liked is fleeting.
Being trusted is durable.
Tip: Notice where you soften truth to preserve
harmony. Ask: Is this creating short-term comfort or
long-term respect?
REWRITING RELATIONSHIP
PATTERNS
SHE TALKS | 14
LEADING WITH A REGULATED
NERVOUS SYSTEM
Women are often rewarded for carrying emotional
load - absorbing tension, managing relationships,
holding everything together. Over time this becomes
compassion fatigue, quiet burnout and nervous
system depletion.
I learned that protecting your heart is part of
leadership. Regulation is not disengagement - it’s
sustainability. You can be deeply compassionate
without becoming emotionally porous. You can lead
with empathy without losing authority.
Your nervous system sets the tone for every room
you enter - boardrooms, kitchens and conversations
alike.
Tip: Build one daily nervous system reset into your
routine — walking, breathwork, stillness, movement,
sunlight. Regulation compounds.
BECOMING THE WOMAN WHO
LEADS
Self-love changed the way I lead because it changed
what I tolerate, internally and externally. It taught me
to trust my instincts, honour my limits and release
identities built on proving rather than purpose.
Rebuilding after heartbreak refined my leadership,
boundaries and voice. It taught me that resilience is
not hardening - it’s integration. Strength is not
pushing- it’s presence. Authority is not dominance,
it’s grounded clarity.
Modern leadership is no longer about doing
everything. It’s about leading from alignment,
emotional intelligence and sustainable strength.
We are not here to merely survive our lives.
We are here to rebuild them consciously - and lead
from the women we become in the process.
CONNECT WITH GABRIELLA
https://www.instagram.com/thegabriellapomare
www.thecollaborativeco-parent.com.au
SHE TALKS | 15
SCALE UP
BUSINESS INTENSIVE
Join business guru Dr. Julie Ducharme and her specialist team of experts for a life-changing
experience designed to unlock your business's true potential. Spend a full day uncovering the
core reasons your business isn’t scaling as expected, identifying the unseen obstacles
holding your business back.
Many small businesses face unseen challenges—problems they don’t even realize exist.
When time and cash flow are tight, it’s clear that something needs to shift.
With Dr. Ducharme's proven method EMPOWER she and her team will take you step by step
through her revolutionizing process she has used on hundreds of companies to bring them
back to life and find their authentic path in the world of business.
Sign up
@DrJulieDucharme.com
THE ENTREPRENEUR'S
DILEMMA
THE ENTREPRENEUR'S
DILEMMA
WHEN GENEROSITY BECOMES YOUR BUSINESS MODEL (BY ACCIDENT)
ou didn't set out to give your business away for free.
You set out to be generous, collaborative,
relationship-focused.
By Joanne Brooks
Why women business owners give away what they should be selling—
and how to build reciprocity without guilt
To build a reputation as someone who shows up, adds
value, and genuinely helps.
And it worked.
People love working with you.
They recommend you.
They reach out constantly.
But somewhere along the way, something shifted.
The "quick question" emails turned into hour-long
consultations.
The "can I pick your brain?" coffees became
recurring strategy sessions.
The collaboration opportunities started feeling
suspiciously one-sided.
The speaking invitations came with "we don't
have budget" more often than actual fees.
And now, when you look at your calendar, you see
a pattern you never intended to create:
Your expertise has become infrastructure that
everyone else's business runs on—for free.
SHE TALKS | 17
According to McKinsey's Women in the Workplace 2024 report
(https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/diversity-and-
inclusion/women-in-the-workplace), women consistently
provide more uncompensated emotional, strategic, and
relational labour than men—and are rarely recognised or
rewarded for it.
But while corporate women can at least point to performance
reviews and organisational hierarchies, women entrepreneurs
face a more complex dynamic:
We're told that generosity is good marketing.
That giving freely builds our brand.
That "providing value upfront" is how you attract clients.
That collaboration over competition is the enlightened way to
do business.
And all of that is true—until it becomes the entire business
model.
Until the line between "building relationships" and "working for
free" disappears completely.
Phase 1:
The
Generous
Beginning
THE GENEROSITY
TRAP
HOW IT HAPPENS: THE FOUR PHASES OF INVISIBLE EXTRACTION
You're building your business. Establishing credibility. Creating
connections.
Someone reaches out: "I'd love to learn more about what you
do."
You meet for coffee. You share insights. You offer suggestions.
It feels good. Relationship-building. Smart networking.
SHE TALKS | 18
Phase 2:
The Pattern
Forms
Phase 3:
The
Expectation
Sets
Phase 4:
The
Resentment
Builds
They follow up. More questions. "Could you just look at this quickly?"
You do, because:
It only takes 20 minutes
You want to be helpful
You don't want to seem transactional
They might become a paying client eventually
Everyone says you should "provide value" to build trust
Now they reach out regularly.
They've told their network about you.
More people are asking for "quick calls" and "brain-picking sessions."
You're being recommended as "so helpful" and "so generous."
But no one's actually paying you.
Your calendar is full.
Your energy is depleted.
Your bank account hasn't grown proportionally to your reputation.
And you start to feel it—that quiet bitterness that arrives when generosity is
met with entitlement rather than reciprocity.
You wonder: How did I get here?
The costs aren't just financial—though those are real
enough.
According to research, the average consultant gives
away approximately 15-20 hours per month in unpaid
"brain-picking" sessions, discovery calls, and informal
consultations.
At even a modest consulting rate of $200/hour, that's
$3,000-$4,000 per month in uncompensated expertise.
$36,000-$48,000 annually.
But the real costs run deeper:
THE HIDDEN COSTS
SHE TALKS | 19
Energy depletion: Every hour spent on
unpaid work is an hour you can't spend on
revenue-generating activities, strategic
thinking, or personal restoration.
Positioning problems: When you
consistently give your best thinking away for
free, you train the market to expect it.
Pivoting to paid work becomes exponentially
harder.
Intellectual property erosion: Your
frameworks, methodologies, and strategies—
the proprietary systems you've spent years
developing—get adopted, taught, and
profited from by others. Without attribution.
Without compensation.
Opportunity cost: While you're saying yes to
everyone else's requests, you're saying no to
your own business development, product
creation, and strategic partnerships.
Resentment: The quiet corrosion that
happens when you realise you've built a
business that runs on your exhaustion rather
than your expertise.
2. Women face real penalties for
"transactional" behaviour
Research from Lean In
(https://leanin.org/women-in-the-workplace)
consistently shows that women who negotiate
for themselves are perceived as less likeable
and less hireable than men who do the exact
same thing.
For women entrepreneurs, reputation is
currency. Being perceived as "money-focused,"
"not collaborative," or "difficult to work with"
can cost referrals, partnerships, and
opportunities.
3. We're solving for the wrong problem
The issue isn't that you're too generous.
It's that you haven't designed reciprocity into
your business model.
You're waiting for people to volunteer to pay
you, when what you actually need is a system
that makes value exchange clear, consistent,
and non-negotiable.
WHY "JUST SAY NO"
DOESN'T WORK
The standard advice—"just set boundaries,"
"learn to say no," "charge what you're
worth"—is maddeningly simplistic.
Because here's what that advice ignores:
1. Timing matters more than assertiveness
Saying no after you've established a pattern
of saying yes feels abrupt. Like you're pulling
back support people have come to rely on.
The problem isn't lack of boundaries—it's
that we miss the moment when clarity is
required.
Before the favour becomes an expectation.
Before the one-time consultation becomes a
recurring pattern.
CIRCLE 3™: THE
ENTREPRENEURIAL
CLARITY FILTER
Before you say yes to any request—whether it's a
"collaboration opportunity," a speaking invitation, a
"quick question," or a "brain-picking" coffee—run it
through this three-question filter:
1. Does this expand my circle, or shrink it?
True collaboration is circular. Value flows in multiple
directions.
Ask:
Will this relationship create genuine reciprocity?
Will this lead to paid work, meaningful partnerships, or
strategic visibility?
Or am I being asked to build someone else's platform,
credibility, or business for free?
SHE TALKS | 20