Ep. 3 Building Beyond Barriers with Brooke Skinner Ricketts

In this inspiring episode, Amanda Nizzere sits down with Brooke Skinner Ricketts, the powerhouse CEO of Beyond Barriers—a career acceleration platform helping professionals advance with clarity and confidence. Brooke shares her winding path from aspiring documentary filmmaker to C-suite executive, and how a pandemic-era soul search led her to take the leap into entrepreneurship.

From launching brands and leading IPOs to empowering thousands of professionals through community and career "fitness," Brooke offers honest insights into what it takes to grow, build, and take bold action. They discuss everything from career pivots and burnout to mentorship, board seats, and boundary-setting.

Whether you're a fractional executive, an entrepreneur, or simply someone considering your next big leap—this conversation is full of golden nuggets.

Resources & Links:

• 💼 Beyond Barriers
• 🔗 Connect with Amanda Nizzere & explore more episodes at https://www.femalefractionals.com/

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Don’t forget to like, follow, rate, and share to help us grow the Female Fractionals community.

Transcript

Amanda: [00:00:00] Welcome to Female Fractionals, the biweekly podcast for successful female fractional executives and those ready to take the leap. In each episode, I'll bring you actionable lessons and inspiration through interviews with thriving fractional leaders and experts. Let's dive in. Welcome to today's episode of Female Fractionals.

I'm your host, Amanda Nazz. I am so excited to introduce you to today's guest, Brooke Skinner. Ricketts, CEO of Beyond Barriers, a career acceleration platform with the mission to give every professional the tools they need to realize their full potential. At Beyond Barriers, Brooke helps companies retain and accelerate future leaders moving beyond skills training and competency-based programming to help professionals advance with clarity and confidence.

In her role at Beyond Barriers, Brooke provides emerging leaders with step-by-step development [00:01:00] strategies, practical connections, tactics, and a framework for propelling their careers further faster with a strong track record of optimizing businesses for growth and effectiveness, and implementing forward thinking business building strategies.

Brooks work has enabled the success of dozens of Fortune 200 brands. Her career is impressive. Take a listen before joining Beyond Barriers Labs in 2022, Skinner Rickett served as Chief Experience Officer for cars. In this position, she led all marketing and product functions. She helped lead the successful spinoff IPO to turnaround and record breaking growth of cars.com, achieving double digit growth for 25 consecutive months.

Prior to cars, Brooke served as Vice President of Brand and Design at Unicorn FinTech Company, avant and is head of brand strategy at Twitter, where she delivered revenue driving creative ideas for Fortune 200 clients. Prior to, [00:02:00] she was Senior Vice President of Brand Strategy at Digitas LBI from 2011 until 2014.

She launched her career at Doe Anderson and Price Weber in Louisville, Kentucky. In addition to her work at Beyond Barriers, Brooke serves on the boards of OneCare Media, the Mather Group, the University of Phoenix, and Chicago Cubs Charities. Ms. Skinner Rickets is an avid marathon runner and lives in Wilmette, Illinois with her wife, Laura, and their three kids.

I am so excited for this conversation, and without further ado, let's jump in. Hi, Brooke. Welcome to Female Fractionals. I'm so excited to have you. 

Brooke: Hey Amanda, I'm so happy to be here. Thanks for the invitation. Of 

Amanda: course. Thank you so much for taking the time. You have such an impressive background. So many things going on.

I know that our listeners are gonna learn so much from you today, but I would love to have you just share a bit about your journey and what brought you [00:03:00] here today and like how you took the leap from, dare I say, like a more established brand to. A more unproven entity. I think that there's a real parallel to the fractional world and some of the people that may be listening that are thinking about taking the leap.

Brooke: Yeah. Yeah. Well, I mean, I'll start with, I have an amazing mentor who I, I moved to Chicago to work with, her name's Ellen Ker. She's retired, but uh, is still a dear friend and she used to always say, leap and the net will find you. Um, which I love, just as kind of a. Grounding for, for leaps. Um, it turned out in, when we worked together, she was often holding the net, which was also very helpful for me.

But, um, but I love that when I, you know, when I think about taking risks, um, my journey has been, uh, a winding road. I will tell you that I never imagined I would be in corporate America, let alone in the C-Suite or director. I thought it was gonna be a documentary filmmaker. I was doing some [00:04:00] film work after college.

Work was really slow. I was waitressing doing all sorts of things, and I went in for a job interview for a writing job, and it was with a recruiter. I had never experienced that kind of interview process before. And he looked at me and he said, uh, this is a technical writing job and you'll be extremely bored by it.

And I was like, okay. He said, but I think I have something else for you. And I said, okay, what is it? And he said, account planning. And he said, I don't know what that is. And he said, I don't really either, but I'm pretty sure you'd be good at it. Um, and he was right. Uh, this was my like first agency, first corporate.

Um, it was an amazing job. I was responsible for understanding the consumer's perspective in the mix and bringing that to bear with creative development. Um, and so started my. Corporate career, uh, which, uh, it turned out, um, I really enjoyed solving problems. I really enjoy unlocking growth. I really enjoyed people management once I got there.

And so it was [00:05:00] kind of a progressive, pretty quick growth, um, toward global roles, toward leadership roles. Um, I spent time both on the agency side. I did some time at Twitter post IPO, so media platform, uh, startup Unicorn. And then most recently, uh, I was the Chief Marketing and experience officer@cars.com, uh, which is now Cars commerce.

Um, I. And I spent almost seven amazing years there. The job was a total turnaround. So reinvigorate the marketing machine and then take the company public and then manage an activist investor, then onboard a board. Uh, and then the last thing that I did was re-platform a 20-year-old website, which most of these experiences I would not have pursued.

But they're all incredibly valuable experiences that, uh. That I draw on every day. Um, in the midst of working with cars, I had an incredible experience. I love the people there. And during deep Covid, my wife and I would spend [00:06:00] Wednesday nights, um, like with the baby monitors, sort of like jerry rigged to the intercom system so that we could go to like a remote part of the house and eat sushi together and talk about like what were we gonna do, how could we, uh, engage in more purposeful work and kind of what was our plan?

Um, which I think a lot of people had that. Covid soul search experience. Um. We came out of it really saying, we wanna focus on equity. We wanna focus on, um, uh, making the world, making our world and the world a better place. And I really came out with this kind of intuitive, knowing that it was time for me to build something, right.

I had been renovating and watering and weeding companies and teams, you know, for, for a really long time. Uh, one I was tired and two, uh, it was time. So, um. You know, I, I was interviewing and we were, we were kinda looking at lots of different things and Laura said, I don't think, you know, I don't think you're gonna find what you're looking for.

I think you're either gonna have to buy or build something. And so, uh, we ended up [00:07:00] totally by coincidence running into some friends who had started working this idea of beyond barriers and, um. We decided to partner up and, and go, go at it together. So that's, that's the short version. I would say like COVI, uh, was an accelerant, which it's interesting.

Um, I was talking to someone else who described it that way, right? Um, it sort of gave us license to take some risks or think about things differently because circumstances were so different, right? There was no way to be. Business as usual 'cause it wasn't business as usual. So, um, I took that opportunity.

I, you know, I think the other thing that I would say is, um, you know, going back to that leap in the net, we'll find you. That has absolutely been my experience. Um, and I've taken a lot of different leaps and a lot of different zigs and zags in my career. Um. And, and almost always whether failure or success, right.

The, the, it's all cumulative, right? Um, and there's, there's growth in every single experience if you let yourself experience it. [00:08:00] 

Amanda: Yeah, I think that's amazing. I think it's. So inspiring that so many people were having those conversations during Covid, but to actually take action against those conversations is another thing.

Right? So I just find that to be so inspiring. And what, and then the fact that you ended up meeting up with two other friends that this ended up. Resulting in a women owned company that is inspiring and empowering other women. It is just like hello dream organization, right? I mean, it's fantastic. So, um, I think we all know that many women entrepreneurs really helped fuel the economic growth post COVID.

It's just so empowering. I think it's amazing and I think that's what we're starting to see even now in whatever this. World is that we find ourselves in, as we were talking before we hit record, is that [00:09:00] things are starting to, to turn around. And I think the micro economy is a big piece of that as well, and it's driven a lot by women.

Um, that being said, can you share a little bit in general around what Beyond Barriers does and how you are supporting women and what they're coming to you for and when? 

Brooke: The focus of the work is to help people accelerate their careers, and sometimes this looks like getting unstuck. Sometimes This looks like, um, creating space for the navigational skills, uh, that, that help folks get to next.

Um, the operating insight is that ambitious people almost never get. Stuck because of ability or like desire. It's very often a gap in what we call navigational skills. So how do I position myself for success? How do I navigate this environment? How do I advocate for myself? How do I leverage my community, right?

In real ways? Um, and you know, having come from an experience where I was managing [00:10:00] a team of 200 plus and I needed them all to be here. Uh, and I had no bandwidth and they were operating here and I had zero bandwidth to get them here myself. Like I was really looking for a scaled solution, uh, to help not only to help individuals take the wheel of their career, which is what every leader wants and needs, right?

Um, but also deliver company results at scale. And so that's, that's what we designed. Um, the people that we work with, uh. Almost always are at some sort of inflection point, right? So there's this, there's this point mid-career where we lose a lot of people. Um, and again, they, they drop out or they go on a glide path or they, they find something else.

And this is, you can see this in almost every corporation's data. Um. And, and it's usually because they're relying on what got them here to get themselves there, right? And so there are certainly systemic things that needs to change, but if A plus B, we'll C, we're changing B. So that C changes while also advocating for a changing as well.

Um, so we're working with [00:11:00] groups of up to a hundred folks at a time. Um, and walking them through what we call our career fitness platform. And the focus of this is, again, you know, we walk through that. We, we have a metric that we developed with Columbia University. Um, one of the reasons we knew we were onto something was because everyone's CEO down to college graduate started out with really low scores.

Uh, and so we said, okay, these are, these are things that everybody wants to work on. So it's clarity, courage, commitment, conviction, and community follows a 12 week, um. A 12 week experience. Um, and we meet in cohort once a week. There. It's supported by an app, uh, that provides asynchronous learning. Um, and, and the experience is really transformative, both for the individual as well as for the company.

Um, because people go from saying, should I speak up into a meeting? To, what am I gonna say? We, you literally see people sit up straighter, right? People take. People go throughout the process of the 12 weeks, people plan to take that leap and then they leap. And it's [00:12:00] really, the, the time engaged is actually really important because we call it career fitness because, um, you can't go to one CrossFit class and be in shape forever.

Right? And that's often how we treat professional development. We're gonna go to this really inspiring offsite, right? And then everything will change. Well, what happened to me every time I did that was I'd be inspired for two weeks and then two weeks later I was doing things the way that I was, right?

And so. So you have this intensive bootcamp like experience, and then you join our community of over 2000 ambitious professionals around the world. Um, and you have the opportunity to connect and engage and, um, so that, that's, that's what we're doing, uh, transforming careers and transforming companies. 

Amanda: One of the topics that we had talked about previously when we were having discussions is.

Beyond barriers members, as, as we would imagine that they would, is self-care and boundary setting. And as they're going through these moments of change, which, you know, there's a, a range of them, people love to [00:13:00] have a good to-do list. I think women especially love to have a good to-do list, but for some reason we're fine being at the bottom of our own to-do list.

You have a lot going on. You are an entrepreneur, you have a family, you have board roles. Do you have any guidance on how we could answer this age old question of boundary setting and prevent people from getting to the point of burnout and help prioritize ourselves? 

Brooke: Yeah. Um, I do not have the answer, um, but I can, I can share my experience.

I think, uh, like most of the things we talk about in Beyond Barriers, this is a practice, right? Like, it's like yoga and golf. I. Like, I don't think you ever master these things. I think you, you know, because life changes around you, right? And, um, and needs of different people or stakeholders shift around you.

And so, um, I a, a couple things that, that we talk about that, that really work for me, um, are, you know, we [00:14:00] super simple, but are like, what are the three things I'm trying to accomplish today? This week, this month, and this year. Right. And, and then be vigilant about running whatever I'm doing through that.

And if they're not contributing to that, or if they're not like an urgent need, then, then I try not to do them. Um, it's. Easier said than done. Um, I, I get really excited about shiny new things, right? And I go, I go down rabbit holes and I want to, and I'm, I am not the world's most organized person. Um, so for me that is not the answer.

Um, but I do think getting clear on what I'm trying to accomplish, and then, and that's why we, by the way, we start with Clarity One, because it's the hardest. 'cause we. We end up the last person on our list. So Clarity asks you, you know, what do you wanna be known for? What do you wanna accomplish? You know, what, how, how do you wanna take the wheel in a really compelling way?

And then we run everything else through that, right? So we, when we, it's all, it's all cumulative. And so that, that piece of just [00:15:00] what am I trying to accomplish? And then holding myself accountable. Um, and the other thing in terms of boundary setting that. Um, that I do really actively is seek out accountability partners, right?

So I have friends who know me really, really well, who know what I struggle with, and I ask them to like, stay current with me on, are you taking care of yourself? Are you, you know, did you go outside today? Did you? And um, earlier in my career, I had the most amazing executive assistant who I would get home from like a global trip at like six in the morning.

And she would literally put on my calendar, like, go home and brush your teeth right. Which was, which sounds ridiculous, but I totally knew, like I would've just gone straight into the office. Right. But she was like, like, you actually have to take a beat. You're not gonna be, and we, we all know this intuitively, right?

Um, and sometimes it takes that kind of pedantic reminder, you know, in order to get yourself there. So I think, you know, the idea that it's a practice that nobody's perfect or like really exceptional at this, um, and I [00:16:00] think particularly ambitious. Successful people, right? We're more likely to have imposter syndrome, we're more likely to be likely to have anxiety.

And ironically, the more successful you get, the higher you raise your own bar, right? So this, I think this is just a constant, um. Individual pursuit. Um, the, the, the second thing I'll say that, that I've been saying a lot lately is just focusing on controlling the controllables. Right. Um, and particularly right now when there are so many uncontrollables, right?

Yeah. Um, no, like in every possible sense, um, thinking, you know, grounding myself in that has been really helpful too. So 

Amanda: I really love. What you said in the beginning, a I love an accountability partner. Somebody that knows you well enough personally to make sure that you're taking care of yourself. Like to the deepest core of, have you gotten outside?

Are you taking time for yourself? When was the last time you got a massage? [00:17:00] Like some of those, like really. Extra things that they know you need as a person and then the person that knows you well enough professionally to put something legitimately in your calendar. Like, I know you just got off of a flight.

I'm time blocking. Time for you is amazing, but I love the, what are the three things that I need to get done? Today, this week, and this year. What? What was it? Can you say that one more time? Yeah. 

Brooke: So today, this week, this month, and this year. 

Amanda: Okay. So I love that because I feel like a lot of people that are starting out, there are so many things to get done and there's so much information coming at you.

It's like you have to set up the LLC. Are you gonna go the S-corp route? You have to get your invoices out. You have multiple proposals going, you know, you have to. Post on LinkedIn, and some people are saying twice and some people are saying every day, and you have to write the content for that. There's so, and then you have to obviously deliver client work.

So having that as a framework is just sounds amazing because it's something that you [00:18:00] can write down and hold yourself. Accountable for. I think that is definitely something I'm gonna take away from this conversation because my to-do list is out of control and um, I think that's just an amazing tip. I guess if some, if you were to give someone advice, looking back to your first year at, of launching, what is one takeaway on the positive and one takeaway that you would say, if I could go back and do this over again, I would do this different.

Brooke: Yeah. Um. So I think, um, on the positive, like starting something your own endeavor is, uh, for me it was creative in exactly the way that I needed and in such a different way than managing a large organization or even sitting on the board of a large organization or a small organization. Um, so that piece was really gratifying and really fulfilling, like the making of this.

Like what are we offering? How are we offering it? Right? And so that piece was really exciting. [00:19:00] Um. We all knew we were gonna hit a point where it was gonna turn from that creativity to managing the growth. Right? Which is what I've done a lot of in my career and I love doing that. I would say that shift, uh, is a little bit jarring when it happens, you know, because you're in this sort of like imagination and test and learn and you know, sort of fail forward and then you just have to grind, right?

You just have to prove out. This beautiful thing that you've built, uh, is sustainable and is, you know, has product market fit, all of those pieces. So that, that was a really interesting experience. Um, I think on the things I wish I had done differently, and this, this applies to like all of my life, but, uh, is a pretty, I think a recent aha, which is, and I think I saw it like on Instagram or something, but just because you can doesn't mean you should, right?

Mm-hmm. And I think in particular, you know, when we think about. How women are often wired to take on non-pro promotable work. How we [00:20:00] are, you know, we were all taught to be super helpful. How we were all taught to drive impact versus, you know, growth and learning, right? So that, like that is something that has guided me and I think coming into this entrepreneurial, where the, like it's, there were just a couple of us, right?

And we. We had to do it all getting ruthless. One of our core values is respectfully ruthless, right? We had to get ruthless with ourselves and each other about what we were doing and why, right? Because the, the time was our asset, right? But it was also our liability and is continues to be like in any startup, right?

The, the risk is that someone's gonna do it better, faster, you know? Um, so, uh, so I think 

Amanda: those two things, uh, for sure. That's great. One other question as I, that I'm thinking of as I'm speaking with you is so many women that I talk to that are thinking about jumping into fractional work or any entrepreneurial work, I feel like so many of them are interested in joining boards as [00:21:00] well.

Do you have advice for women that are interested in joining boards? 

Brooke: Absolutely. Um, so I had a board, I have a board member, a mentor. Her name is, uh, Kathy Halligan. Uh, she is. A lovely, incredible person. And I met her at, uh, lesbians Food Tech and she gave a presentation about joining boards, and I pulled her aside and I said, um, can we go to coffee and can you like break this down for me?

Um, and so I share this, this with everybody. And because what she said happened exactly the way that she said it was. That happened. So the first thing she said was, tell everybody, right. Um, if, if this is something that you're interested in, start talking about it and to people who you think may help you and to think people who you think may not help you.

Um, I take every recruiter call, not because I'm always looking for a job because I wanna listen and then see if I can help them and then let them know I'm interested in board work. Right. And if anything comes up or is there someone in your firm I could talk to? Um. Uh, I think, you know, a lot of people start with, uh, nonprofit boards and I would [00:22:00] say, you know, it's good experience, but really the best part about that is you get exposure to other people who are on corporate boards, right?

So when you're thinking about which nonprofit, obviously think about like something that you're passionate about, but also target people, right? That you wanna get in front of. Um, and so what Kathy told me was you start talking about it and then about a year and a half later you'll get a call for your first board and you won't get that one.

Totally, this is exactly what happened. Um, and then you'll get your call and then you'll get another call, maybe another couple calls, and you'll get one. And then once you get one, the others will follow, which has totally been my experience. Um. I think there are a lot of misconceptions about boards. Um, I think people think it's like a cake job that, you know, you get an extra paycheck to do.

Um, I mean, I will share, like I have been through bankruptcies, I have been through CEO transitions, I have been through, I. Like some really, really gnarly stuff with the board work that I've done. And sometimes it is a glide path until it's not. And you just have to be prepared for if and when one of [00:23:00] those situations come up, you kind of have to clear your decks.

And I had one of those situations come up really early in our startup journey, and it was so disruptive and so hard. I ended up working like, you know, 4 million hours a day because I had to continue to move the startup forward while also do a lot of. Legal stuff that was really uncomfortable and hard.

So I think the other piece is to really think about like, who are the other people, uh, on the board? And are these people that you wanna spend time with? Are these people that you can learn from? Um, are you gonna get as much as you give? Right? Um, because you're gonna be spending a lot of time with these people, right?

And, um. You're gonna be doing really hard things with these people. So I think those two things are, are common misconceptions and really important to understand going into it. Um, the other thing I just always tell people not to do is not like, don't join a board. Just to have board experience. Be like, this is something where you should really be choosy.

Um, they're, and, and a lot of people get early board experience by advising, you know, early [00:24:00] stage startups for equity only. Right. And, and I think that's all good. Um. But getting really clear about what's the role, what do they expect of you. Um, and then the last thing that I'll say is, uh, it is really different than being an operator.

Um, and I like my board work makes me a better operator, but. You know, being really good at what you do in the C-suite or in SVP role does not necessarily mean you're gonna be a great board member. And so I think the other piece for a lot of first time board members is we like gun in and we're like, I've got so many answers.

But you're not there to, to have the answers. You're there to ask the smart questions that are gonna push the team to go really hard. And I think my experience onboarding the cars board and working with these like. Just incredible board leaders who I led. I had the biggest budget in the company, so I was always on the agenda and I got pushed really hard and I learned so much from that about, about the role.

So I think that's the other piece is if you can get exposure within your own company, [00:25:00] um, do it my, 

Amanda: yep. That is critical. Critical. One more question and then we'll jump into Rapid fire. You've spoken so favorably as. Is so important about mentors. A couple of times throughout the discussion, given our audience, our people that are fractionals and are now kind of out on their own, having likely been in a corporate.

Scenario where they've either had a mentor or have been a mentor to others. How do you view the role of having a mentor or being a mentor when you're out on your own? Are you mentoring others now? Like kind of, can you just talk about your, your view of mentorship now that you're kind of out on your own, for lack of a better term?

Yeah. 

Brooke: Yeah, it's a, it's a great question and we actually, we go through this as part of the, the experience. Um, I think one thing that I didn't, and I have always collected mentors, like in [00:26:00] probably a, a kind of annoying way, right? I would like crab coattails and never let go. Um, and, and then I've tried to, you know, give as much as I've gotten as well.

Um. Uh, one of the things that, and we know women are over mentored and under sponsored. Um, we know that, um, we have a hard time asking for, for what we need and what we want, and we know this 'cause one of, one of our CS is community. We assumed going in that women, the. Group that we initially started working with would, um, score through the roof on community because we are such great community builders.

Um, in fact, the question that we ask around community is how are you leveraging your community and are you leveraging community? So most of us are surrounded by amazing people who we would do anything for. But when we ask, when's the last time you asked your network for health? Help we get really, really quiet, right?

And so what I would say about mentorship is like, it's really important that you're strategic with both your asks and your offers, right? And so when it comes to ask, we encourage everybody to get, like almost use the star method, right? Like get really clear and specific [00:27:00] about. Hey, Amanda, you know, I know that you've done a ton of work in consulting and I'm trying to learn more about that to build my business.

Can you spend 20 minutes with me over the course, you know, or, or can we, can we do three 20 minute sessions over the next 60 days with the objective of me understanding A, B, C, D, uh, and maybe you connecting me, you know, if you think it's right to, you know, these four people, right? So what I've done. I've made it really easy for you to say yes or no, right?

Because you can come back and say, I don't have the bandwidth. I'm not the right person. I don't actually know those people. Right? Uh, or I'm done with consulting. So, uh, we can talk about something else if you want, right? But I think that's the most important thing. 'cause usually the people you're seeking out as a mentor are the time is their most valuable asset, right?

So structure it and frame it. And then the same goes for people who ask you to be their mentor, right? So if you think it's gonna be generative again, run it through that. Is this gonna serve? One of my top threes, right? Is this gonna, is this gonna help me accomplish what I'm trying to accomplish? [00:28:00] Um, do it right.

If it's not, and you can't define it, maybe say, you know what? Now's not the time for me. I've got a full plate. Um, here are a couple other people I'd be happy to introduce you to. Or just now's not the time for me, right? Like, no is a complete sentence. And, and that's okay. We also encourage people not to take it personally when people say no.

Um, just because you can doesn't mean you should. 

Amanda: I love it. I love the women are over mentored and under sponsored. That is a golden nugget. 

Brooke: Well, the data be, I think we have six times more mentors and then like we're, you know, a million times less likely to have a sponsor and, and that shows up in the data about the roles that we play.

So 

Amanda: it's amazing. Not good, but amazing. That's such another important. Point of change that I think the next generation is going to likely be pushing or hopefully be pushing hard against. So, okay. I always like to end every interview with some rapid fire questions, so [00:29:00] you have given me license to ask you anything I want, which is so fun because most guests do not let me do that.

So these are meant to be answered in. One word or one sentence or less, so. Okay. I, um, have several of them highlighted. Um, okay. Most unusual place you've taken a client call, uh, the mother's room or the, the parent. The, the parents' 

Brooke: room, right? The, uh, yeah. 

Amanda: First job that taught you something valuable. Uh, summer camp counselor.

Best investment you've made in yourself.

Brooke: Uh, it's like telling that I can't think of one. Oh, I know. Uh, I play tennis once a week. Um, that's a great one, 

Amanda: and I hope your accountability partner checks in on you. And if you haven't played, then she makes you do a [00:30:00] makeup session. 

Brooke: They play with me actually. Okay. 

Amanda: So perfect. 

Brooke: I started out doing it on my own and then I pulled in.

I actually started out doing it with my wife and then anyway, uh, but then now I have two friends and we hold each other accountable. Yeah. And it's like the best Friday afternoon release, so. Perfect. 

Amanda: Okay. Three apps you can't live without. 

Brooke: Um, so New York Times is one that I go to more than I would like to admit.

Um, the Googles this, I'll call it just the Google Suite, right? I use it all, all day long. Um, and then, uh, I also do, uh, I guess podcast. The podcast app, right? Like I'm an avid podcast listener and I find I find a lot, um, a lot of insight there. 

Amanda: Okay. Favorite way to celebrate a win? 

Brooke: Um, I'm a big virtual high fiver.

Uh, um, and then I usually try, you know, this is also part of, we ask people to come up with a rewards catalog, right? Things [00:31:00] big and small. Um, so, but a lot of times I celebrate a win with like stepping away from the barbecue. So like I'll go on an hour long walk and just sort of let it soak in. 

Amanda: Nice. I love that.

Okay. Sauna or cold plunge. Sauna. Okay. Two more. Go-to comfort food. Oh, um, York. Peppermint Patties. Frozen or just straight out of the bag? Yeah. Peppermint. Okay. Most adventurous thing you've ever eaten. 

Brooke: Uh, I ate Guinea pig in Ecuador. On a trip there. Yeah, it was 

Amanda: verdict, 

Brooke: I mean fine. Like kind of meaty, kind of griz gritty, you know, it wasn't, wasn't the best thing I've ever eaten, but it was 

Amanda: first and last time you ate Guinea pig.

Okay, great. Well this was awesome. If people wanna learn more about Beyond [00:32:00] Barriers, how can they do that? 

Brooke: Thank you. Uh, our website is go beyond barriers.com. You can reach me, also the company on LinkedIn. Um, and I'm really, I am very responsive and would love to connect with anyone who's interested. So.

Amanda: Great. I will also link to it on the website and in the show notes. So thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you so much. 

Brooke: Oh, totally. My pleasure, Amanda. I'm so glad you're doing what you're doing. Um, and can't wait. I hope we can help each other more as the, as the days go on, so thanks.

Thank you. 

Amanda: As always, please remember to like, comment, share, and follow. Help us spread the word about female fractionals. Thanks for listening.