Incomia

Pro tip: Have friends who send you emails that go something like this: I represent the company putting on one of the biggest pickleball tournaments in the country. Would you like to fly out to Atlantic City, New Jersey, get taught to play by an all-time great and enter the tournament the next day? Though I had never played, I of course said yes. I always say yes. In the past few years, I have tried surfing, rock climbing, ice climbing, a dozen other new-to-me activities and, now, pickleball . Early in my career, I decided against specializing in writing about one subject. Instead, I chase other people’s passions. I find people who love doing interesting things and ask them to teach me. I do it because it’s fun, because it suits my personality and because it allows me to live a well-rounded life. I have found there is much more to it than even all that. Being a generalist is a good, albeit unconventional, career-development strategy, though I’d be lying if I said I did it because of t...

Now this is how you fix a drink. Just add one part tequila, one part entrepreneur and one part country star. Mix it up in Texas. And voila, Lone River premium brewed beverages are ready to make their mark on the world of refreshing canned cocktails.  Lone River founder Katie Beal Brown and fellow Texan native Miranda Lambert have just announced a multiyear partnership , not just to promote the brand , but to promote the dreams of other small businesses with like-minded women at the helm.  “Miranda Lambert is the kind of person who makes me proud to be a Texan. Through her iconic career in country music and beyond, she’s played such an important part in modernizing the ideals of the American West,” Beal Brown says. “She sent me a note describing our partnership as ‘right and real’ and I had the exact same feeling. She is the embodiment of the trailblazing spirit that built our business, and it is a dream to have the opportunity to see our brand through her eyes.” Beal...

When she was 18, Kim Gravel read a book she credits with changing her entire mindset: The Magic of Believing by Claude Bristol . Decades later, and with a wide range of business and life experiences to draw upon, Gravel’s first book is out this month—one she says could be a “beautiful companion” to the classic guide that first inspired her. In Collecting Confidence , Gravel shares lessons she’s learned from her public successes—including building an empire that spans hosting several QVC shows and episodes as well as a podcast , launching beauty businesses and mentoring young women—and private failures or challenges. More than anything, however, she wants readers to come away feeling empowered. “Don’t look at your life as a basket full of mistakes or a basket full of hardships, look at your life as just this plentiful harvest of opportunity ,” Gravel says. “I promise you, if you shift the way you look at it, everything in your life will shift.” We talked with Gravel about why fin...

In this final episode of their financial literacy foundation series, hosts Julien and Kiersten Saunders dive into the world of net worth—what it is, how it’s calculated and the savvy habits you need to boost it.  It’s time to debunk the myth that income is the primary measure of success and explain why net worth provides a more holistic picture of financial health. Get ready to level up your financial game and conquer the world of net worth like a pro! Oftentimes, it’s not just about earning a high income , but also about managing your expenses , investments and debts wisely. Net worth is a moving target that fluctuates, so it’s not meant to be managed impulsively. It requires a strategic approach and a long-term mindset. When all is said and done, the number one recommendation made is that in order to improve your net worth, you must reduce debt and increase income.  Kiersten urges listeners to ask themselves a crucial question before making any financial decisions: “...

Have you ever had a bad day or a run of bad luck and had a friend or loved one tell you to “just think positively” or “everything happens for a reason”? If the answer is yes, you’ve likely experienced toxic positivity. While staying positive is essential to reaching your goals, pushing aside or suppressing negative feelings can make things worse in the long run. As it applies to money, toxic positivity may even hurt your finances more to assume that everything will work out without any effort from you.  In fact, if you try to get out of a tough financial spot with good thoughts alone, you may actually wind up in a worse situation.  The difference between toxic positivity and resilience We’re often told that you must think positively before creating good in your life. While a certain level of positivity and belief is necessary, if all you do is wait around and think happy thoughts, you won’t make progress. According to Psychology Today , toxic positivity is avoiding or supp...

Have you ever felt exhausted and stressed at the end of a day, without a good reason why? As it turns out, there’s a reason for this. Microstresses are small moments and interactions that fly under the radar of our fight-or-flight response and affect our body just as regular stress does . However, unlike stress, we don’t always know how to identify, talk about or push back against these moments . Instead, we let them build up and, in turn, experience heightened levels of stress in the long-term . Rob Cross and Karen Dillon conducted myriad interviews for their new book, The Microstress Effect , and found that “the stress we create inevitably boomerangs back on us in a different form, and so the less you create, the less you have coming back,” according to Cross. Identifying and changing how we process these moments takes effort, but it’s entirely possible. However, you have to be careful—trying to identify and change experiences that cause microstresses in every area of your life is ...

Sustainability is no longer simply a buzzword executives trot out. Implementing sustainable business practices now that create a better future is increasingly critical amid worsening environmental conditions , as well as heightened employee expectations . But to do good, you must still do well —the bottom line and remaining profitable still drive business decisions. Here are a few steps you can take as a business owner to reap big rewards and positively contribute to the future of our planet. Why sustainable business practices should be imperative Shawn Finnegan, a St. Louis-based sustainability expert with a M.S. in environmental sustainability, says businesses have impacted society and the surrounding environment in positive and negative ways for hundreds of years.  “However, in the past couple of decades, changes in the environment are now having a serious impact on how businesses operate,” Finnegan says. “Similarly, society’s expectations of business are also changing. Pro...

In this episode of rich & REGULAR , Julien and Kiersten Saunders are delivering the life insurance low-down. They mull over the purpose of life insurance and perform a cost-benefit analysis on the two types of policies, term and whole-life, while offering their two cents on which one to invest in. They also answer significant questions, like who qualifies for life insurance, which of the two types is best and what lifestyle factors will increase your premium. Life insurance companies and commission-based salespeople can prey on the fears and insecurities of their clients, so the Saunders offer some typical marketing tricks and misleading names salespeople use, cautioning that life insurance isn’t investing or a preexisting cash asset to count on; in fact, one should hope they don’t have to use it. The cost of premiums may lead some people to exclude insurance altogether if they don’t know the big picture, so Julien and Kiersten let listeners know what to look for, and whether or...

In every workplace, the dance between employers and employees is delicate. This tenuous relationship has been made even more so since the COVID-19 pandemic . While employers aren’t the sole architects of employee happiness, they undoubtedly hold influence over it . They can cultivate a positive work culture , provide fair wages and benefits, promote open communication and lay the groundwork for professional growth opportunities. But, as employees demand higher standards , it begs the question: Is it an employer’s job to keep their employees happy ? Nathan Iverson, Ph.D., an associate professor of psychology and M.S. program director in industrial-organizational psychology at California Baptist University, says the question of employee happiness is grounded in philosophical and psychological debates.  “For many of these debates, truth lies somewhere between the two polar perspectives,” Iverson says. “In the case of psychological debates, it is often half and half.” Samara Elkins...

Rachel Glass has always had an entrepreneurial spirit, but only recently has she gotten a chance to put it to use. After graduating from business school in 2006, Glass worked in hedge fund fundraising for about 10 years. It was a financially secure job, one which allowed her to have a relatively entrepreneurial role even in the financial sector. But after having her second daughter, the reality of feeling like she wasn’t in a job she truly loved began to weigh on her. Wanting to create her own business so she could spend more time with her family , Glass returned to an idea she’d held onto since college. And so, GLOSSLAB was born. The company itself wasn’t a new idea, but Glass expanded on an existing formula to fill a void she had noticed. The hygiene- and efficiency-focused, membership-based nail salon is one of a kind, as is its design and branding. For Glass, it’s important that each salon feels the same no matter where it’s located, so the same tools and collage wall exist in e...

If you’ve ever had to pull out a credit card to deal with a dentist or emergency vet bill, you likely know the pain of wondering how you’ll pay for an unexpected expense. Or maybe you unexpectedly lost your job and finding a new one is taking longer than expected. Having an emergency fund can significantly reduce your money worries.  Emergency funds are straightforward, but knowing a few tricks can help you maximize your savings and ensure every penny is there when you need it. What is an emergency fund? An emergency fund is a safety net of money for unexpected expenses. It is generally kept in an account that is easier to access than traditional investments like stocks or bonds but is more challenging to get to than your everyday checking or savings account.  An emergency fund can help you get out of an immediate financial situation, like an unexpected car repair or medical bill, or can help you cover your day-to-day expenses if you’re laid off, ill, or injured and unabl...

Is the American Dream attainable if you’re from a small country town? The immediate answer seems to be no, and yet, Kountry Wayne—comedian, author and entrepreneur—did not grow up in a place where dreams come true. Instead, he was raised in Millen, Georgia. It’s a town where poverty, limited resources and the “country boy” stigma can make or break you. But on the road to success, being from the country was just one of many obstacles. At age 11, Kountry Wayne (then Wayne Colley) lost his mother. Several years later, as a high school graduate and young father, his uncle “hired him as a professional drug dealer,” according to one of his stand-up performances . That led to frequent run-ins with the police, and eventually a court hearing that could have sent him to jail for a long time. But Kountry Wayne always had a lifeline. He used his comedic gift to charm a straight-faced judge into letting him go so he could take care of his family. He also left the street life behind, opting to thr...

Gone are the days when new employees received a list of the company holidays during onboarding and a packet with information about how to sign up for health care and retirement benefits. Employers are now providing a broader suite of benefits and are increasingly recognizing the importance of financial wellness programs for employees. Amid high inflation the need for such benefits has become even more apparent. Human resource leaders have observed cash-strapped employees reducing retirement contributions and talking about how money-related stress has negatively affected their work lives, according to a 2022 financial benefits study conducted by Morgan Stanley at Work. And 85% of these HR leaders reported that financial wellness benefits are more important than even a year ago, the study found. In fact, 54% of employers currently offer financial wellness programs, based on responses to an annual survey conducted by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI). Such benefits ca...