How Powerful Women Actually Elevate: Build Influence, Power & Leverage ft. Regina Quartey

Summary

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Episode Overview

Podcast: To My Sisters
Hosts: Courtney Daniella Jesse & Renée Imafidon
Episode: How Powerful Women Actually Elevate: Build Influence, Power & Leverage ft. Regina Quartey
Date: May 10, 2026
Guest: Regina Quartey

This episode revolves around how women—especially women of color—can build true influence, leverage, and power both online and offline. The hosts, Courtney and Renée, are joined by entrepreneur and branding expert Regina Quartey, who shares her extraordinary personal journey and actionable insights on personal branding, authentic networking, faith, and the critical “five key roles” that propel women’s growth and elevation.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Regina’s Story of Resilience and Elevation

Timestamps: 04:26–11:45

• Regina shares how her mother—herself a high-achieving woman—struggled with mental health challenges, resulting in Regina spending her childhood in and out of foster care (“By the time I was 11, I'd been to 17 different schools.” – Regina, 04:26).
• Despite instability, her mother instilled resilience and the ability to self-teach.
• Regina describes the contrast of finding “unconditional love in a very uncomfortable way” within her British foster family, noting how they pushed her beyond cultural limitations and into disciplines such as horse riding and tap dancing (08:09).
• She reflects on the deep desire to “fit in” but ultimately realizing she was called to stand out for God’s glory:

  “God has given me an unconventional life for me to stand out and to stand out for his glory. So this desire to fit in is not even what—this is not God's plan.”
  (Regina, 10:23)

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2. Building Authentic Influence—Offline and Beyond

Timestamps: 11:45–17:01

• Regina recounts her journey of intentionally building relationships and leverage, not through traditional privilege, but by being curious and putting herself where she could stand out.
• Example: Volunteering with the Holocaust Educational Trust at age 16, which led her to an influential network.
• An early experience: Sitting beside Martin Luther King Jr. III at an anti-racism event (13:11).
• She highlights the importance of “looking for opportunities to stand out, not fit in”:

  “Instead of looking to fit in, I'm looking to stand out—and looking to stand out to learn.”
  (Regina, 15:14)

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3. The Five Key Roles That Elevate Women

Timestamps: 17:01–19:23

Regina introduces her five pivotal roles for personal and professional growth:

• Coach – Someone who helps you reach your specific goals.
• Sponsor – Someone who advocates for you in your absence and helps you break barriers.
• Mentor – Guides with lived experience.
• Connector – Expands your network, introduces you to opportunities.
• Educator – Offers expertise to help you refine your craft.

“Some people might have a really big digital platform, but in real life, they have no leverage. And building leverage takes time.”
(Regina, 18:23)

Regina stresses that true leverage and influence are rooted in real relationships, not follower counts.

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4. Making Yourself “Worth the Investment”

Timestamps: 19:23–22:46

• Courtney raises the common challenge of getting mentors and sponsors “interested” when one hasn’t yet established themselves.
• Regina’s advice:

  “You always have something to offer. It's just whether you're able to articulate it and whether you're able to sell it.” (20:29)
  The key is knowing your God-given value and being able to meet others at a point of vulnerability.

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5. Rethinking Networking: Transactional vs. Authentic

Timestamps: 22:46–26:17

• Regina addresses women’s discomfort with perceived transactional networking; she insists it’s sometimes necessary:

  “Sometimes it has to be transactional. Sometimes as women, we’re too emotional about a networking event or an opportunity. Sometimes business is business and that's why sometimes it’s the men getting opportunities because they are able to see it that way.”
  (Regina, 22:46)

• While some connections will be strategic, others can grow deeper. She encourages showing up (even when awkward), broadening the types of events attended, and being open to both comfort and challenge zones.

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6. A Heart of Service in Network-Building

Timestamps: 26:17–27:04

• Courtney notes a pattern: Regina often asks, “What do you need?”—whether to powerful women or those less experienced.

  “From the smallest thing, right? Somebody can walk into a room looking really flustered... your quick question to them is, what do you need? Are you okay? What's going on?”
  (Courtney, 27:06)

• This genuine service-oriented approach builds trust and unlocks true reciprocity.

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7. Why Black Women Need Strong Personal Brands

Timestamps: 29:35–33:17

• Regina describes how personal branding allowed her to land pivotal opportunities, especially when traditional “gatekeepers” wouldn’t open doors.
• She underscores the particular importance for black women, who, despite higher education, often face greater career barriers:

  “I truly believe that entrepreneurship and personal branding is a black woman's freedom. When we do really invest and package ourselves, no one can compete.”
  (Regina, 32:38)

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8. Faith’s Role in Personal Branding

Timestamps: 33:17–36:16

• Regina argues personal branding should be authentic to your core, including your faith:

  “If I am a Christian, I cannot have a personal brand without mentioning the name of Jesus Christ. That means I’m being disingenuous.”
  (Regina, 34:12)

• She shares stories of how her public faith posts have touched atheists and former colleagues, leading some to Christianity.
• Courtney relates:

  “A good name is worth more than riches... That good name, in our modern world, is personal brand.”
  (Courtney, 36:16)

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9. Community, Suffering, and the Deeper Value of Branding

Timestamps: 37:32–39:13

• Regina emphasizes that genuine branding is built not just on success, but on suffering, community, and vulnerability.

  “In the suffering, in community, we find strength and we rise. If you don’t have that at the core, your personal brand is just a poster, not a brand.”
  (Regina, 38:34)

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10. Final Words to Listeners: “To My Sisters…”

Timestamps: 39:51–40:16

Regina closes with a heartfelt message:

“To my sisters. In your suffering, in the secret sufferings where you feel alone, find that secret place. Because in that secret place... you're going to find everything that you're meant to represent in life. I promise you.”
(Regina, 39:51)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On standing out:
  “God has given me an unconventional life for me to stand out and to stand out for his glory.”
  (Regina, 10:23)

• On networking:
  “Some people might have a really big digital platform, but in real life, they have no leverage.”
  (Regina, 18:23)

• On offering value:
  “You always have something to offer. It's just whether you're able to articulate it and whether you're able to sell it.”
  (Regina, 20:29)

• On authenticity:
  “Personal branding is not supposed to be a fake facade of perfection. It’s an accurate reflection of who you really are.”
  (Regina, 34:04)

• On community and pain:
  “In the suffering, in community, we find strength and we rise.”
  (Regina, 38:34)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Regina shares her background: 04:26–11:45
• Building networks and influence: 11:45–17:01
• Five key roles for elevation: 17:01–19:23
• How to be “worth the investment”: 19:23–22:46
• Transactional vs. authentic networking: 22:46–26:17
• Heart of service in networking: 26:17–27:04
• Personal branding for black women: 29:35–33:17
• Faith and authenticity in branding: 33:17–36:16
• Community, suffering and branding: 37:32–39:13
• Final reflection: “To my sisters…” 39:51–40:16

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Summary

This deeply personal, practical, and inspiring episode highlights the non-linear, often difficult, but ultimately empowering journeys of women who build true leverage, influence, and lasting impact. Regina Quartey’s story shows the power of resilience and authenticity in both life and branding. The episode provides a blueprint for cultivating relationships (not just “followers”), boldly integrating one’s values into public life, and lifting as you climb—so that, as Regina says, “when we really invest and package ourselves, no one can compete.”

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Transcript

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[Regina Corte]

Honey, you need to know how to trade yourself.

[Renee Maffador]

One of the reasons that people can sometimes feel a bit awkward about networking and building your network is that it can feel very transactional.

[Regina Corte]

Sometimes it has to be transactional. Sometimes business is business.

[Courtney Daniela]

How does one effectively build a brand for themselves offline?

[Regina Corte]

I always decided I'm going to look for opportunities where I stand out. I would actually buy books that sometimes I didn't actually read, so I could just have it open in a tube and hope that somebody caught it and said, oh, what do you think about that book? So I could start a conversation.

[Courtney Daniela]

In the world. People go based off of identifying markers. Are you worth my time?

[Regina Corte]

So there are five key rules that I always talk about.

[Courtney Daniela]

Those five key characters in your life are so important. All of those people, they don't want to connect with you until they identify that you're someone of value already.

[Regina Corte]

God kindly put me in a home of excellence, and they never made me feel excluded, even though I was black and they were white.

[Renee Maffador]

What does authentic networking look like? And how do women in particular start to navigate that?

[Regina Corte]

I don't need to fit in. I just need to be myself.

[Courtney Daniela]

Hello and welcome to the to My Sisters podcast. I'm Courtney.

[Renee Maffador]

I'm Renee.

[Regina Corte]

And I'm Regina.

[Renee Maffador]

And we are your online sisters and hosts of the 2 My Sisters podcast.

[Courtney Daniela]

We are all about promoting the wellness, growth and development of a community of sisters around the world.

[Renee Maffador]

And in today's podcast episode, we are joined by the phenomenal, the wonderful, the fantastic. I could just run out of all the adjectives to describe that. Regina.

[Courtney Daniela]

A real heavy weight. Come on,

[Renee Maffador]

Regina, you are an incredible woman.

[Courtney Daniela]

Oh, my gosh.

[Regina Corte]

As are you.

[Renee Maffador]

We that, like, I don't even think I have the words to describe how much of an incredible human being you are, how lucky we are to have you as a woman in our lives, how much of a pioneer you are, and how much of a kind soul you are as well. You have been so loving, so Giving so, so much of a sister to us, especially in this journey that we have been going on of glowing and growing. And it's an absolute pleasure to. To bring you to the sisterhood, to share you with our sisters, to dive into your story. Not only are you an incredible human, but you've done some incredible things. You are an entrepreneur very much in her own right. You are the brand builder, you are a wife, you are a mother. You are all the things. And yet you continue to be such a superstar in real life. And that is really what we're going to be talking about in podcast.

[Courtney Daniela]

No, but it has to be said. It has to be said like we will connect. Well, I guess we've been connected for a while, but we really connected recently. Yeah. And in the short two weeks of you being in our lives, so transformed, transformed, transform. Literally, like the connection has been crazy. But also the elevation in that short time, I think is very representative of who you are in that, you know, we are doing a rebrand, as the girls know, season seven. We wanted to come bigger, harder, better number of perfection. And God had to send somebody to perfect us because I think there is something so powerful about what you do. And we'll get into it, as Renee said, with the brand box, which is what made this whole production possible. If you've been loving the visuals, the looks, everything, it is because of this woman right here and your eye for excellence, but also your ability to elevate people. And I think it's really interesting because when we think about your life and your story and it'll be great for you to tell us, there have been elevations, leaps and bounds. So I think you'll be interested to hear where you started.

[Renee Maffador]

Exactly.

[Regina Corte]

I think I got excellence from my mother. My mother, by the time she was 30 years old, she was the commercial director for Iberia Airlines Africa. But mental health got her. She suffered with bipolar and schizophrenia. And when she separated from my father, she raised me by herself. She moved to London and raised me about two years into parenting me. She just couldn't really do anymore. So from the age of two to seven, I was in and out of foster care. And that was really difficult. That was really difficult. And to constantly be in homes where actually you didn't even feel wanted, you felt like a disturbance, a nuisance, and there was so much inconsistency. By the time I was 11, I'd been to 17 different schools. My education is very all over the place. But something my mother did instill in me was the ability to self teach. The ability to go over something over and over again. And as a four year old I spoke four or five languages, which is something she gained from being in the airline industry. So she was, she was the mother that I needed, even in her brokenness. And it's made me so strong and I would say, yeah, that's kind of like the beginning of my journey.

[Renee Maffador]

Wow, that's so good. That's such a statement. Somebody that I think as, as Courtney mentioned, you have such a capacity to elevate and shape and change and I think that's such, it's a wonderful thing that's followed you throughout the rest of your life. So it would be interesting to hear a little bit more about your backstory. So from 11 onwards, woman that you are today, what did that continual elevation look like?

[Regina Corte]

So I'll probably actually step a little bit back because something I missed was that even in my mom's suffering she was, she had a masters, she was still trying to work and she was pursuing an mba. And I remember being about five years old and being sneaked into my mum's university and you know, the kind of desks in university and she would get there in the, into the auditorium early so that the lecturers didn't see me there and I would hide underneath by her feet, not a peak, not making a sound, listening and just being quiet because she didn't have childcare and she was trying to better herself until one day I sneezed and I remember them saying, how long have you been here for? And I said, I've been here since September.

[Renee Maffador]

Kins always write you out.

[Regina Corte]

But unfortunately that got my mom in trouble and through her struggle with pursuing, trying to better our lives, her mental health, child care, I ended up going into long term foster care at 8 years old. And that's where I met the fogies. And that's probably the first place where I feel, I genuinely felt unconditional love in just a very uncomfortable way.

[Courtney Daniela]

Is that your foster family?

[Regina Corte]

Yeah, they were foster family. I was only with them for just under two years. They were a very posh British family. I think all the children were writers. Today, a few of them are editors of some of Britain's greatest magazines. One was a Prime Minister's former speechwriter. So God kindly put me in a home of excellence and they never made me feel excluded, even though I was black and they were white. So that was something that was very pivotal because they taught me how to ride a bike, they taught me how to horse ride, they. I would do tap dancing, literally Everything that all the things that maybe traditionally a black girl wouldn't do, I did. And I did end up getting adopted at 11 years old. And they literally put you in a magazine and they say pose. So when people ask me when is my first photo shoot, I said, if we're sticking a magazine, but I have to elevate, right? So, yeah, so I had to elevate. So I would say that being in an environment where I didn't really focus enough, but still trying to fit in over and over again made me realize that no, God has created me for a reason. And whatever my brand is, I have to make that my own. Empowered by his holy spirit.

[Courtney Daniela]

That's so beautiful. I mean, hearing that part of your story and your journey, I cannot imagine what it's like to be in foster care and then to be placed in an adoptive family. And what. I can only imagine that maybe there are things that you picked up, ways that you saw yourself, ways that you saw the world that may have been positive and some may have been negative. What were some of the things that you kind of picked up from that part of your life, which I guess as you got older, you realize, oh, I need to confront this thing. Or actually maybe this part has also helped me become who I am.

[Regina Corte]

The desire to. That does, the deep desire to fit in. I don't think it's a bad desire, but I had to question why I had it because God has given me an unconventional life for me to stand out and to stand out for his glory. So this desire to fit in is not even what. This is not God's plan. And I'm not standing out in a pompous, stuck up way. I'm literally standing out in the face of this is my life. And this is why God is real.

[Courtney Daniela]

That's beautiful.

[Regina Corte]

That's beautiful.

[Courtney Daniela]

That is all you have.

[Renee Maffador]

I think it's really interesting just speaking about standing out, right? And conversations that we've been having just in general around this whole idea of visibility and branding and standing out and you needing to be in front of a camera or, you know, in a place where the world can see you, to feel like you're really standing out and making your mark. So, Regina, as somebody who's been able to. To build a brand, build relationships that really actually stand the test of time and build significant leverage offline in a world where it feels like visibility is the in thing, how did you start to cultivate those relationships? How did you cultivate that sense of self that exists offline?

[Regina Corte]

It probably started off probably from university. I, in fact, before university, when I was 16 years old, I became. I was very hypersensitive to the concept of a network. And I realized that I didn't have one. My adopted parents didn't have one in a sense of advantage in our world. So for me, I said, well, who does? And in honesty, I said, jewish people do. If I'm observing politicians, if I'm looking at Hollywood, if I'm looking at fashion, if I'm. All these industries, they've hacked, they've. They've hacked something.

[Courtney Daniela]

Yeah.

[Regina Corte]

So what can I learn from them? What can I learn about them? So that's when I said, okay, I'm going to do a level history. And I had like the Holocaust. I had the civil rights movement, had a few different subjects. And as part of the Holocaust, we got to go to Auschwitz with the Holocaust Educational Trust. And through volunteering with them for seven years, which that followed, I acquired the most incredible network. From news broadcasters to Hollywood directors, to the head of BBC Television at the time. So for me, it was actually sometimes just by being curious, you can meet the most powerful people. And then what that did is that led me to be headhunted as a PA for a labor lobbyist at the time. And he used to sponsor the Kick it out of racism event in FIFA, I think it was, and that was being hosted by Martin Luther King Jr. III. So I was here, 21 years old. I was asked to organize the event because it was his responsibility and he didn't have a team. And Martin Luther King Jr. III is like, well, this is an anti racism event and I'm the only black man on the table or black person on the table. Bring me someone to be my buddy. He said, regina, you have to take my chair. I said, me, I'm just organizing an event. He said, no, Martin Luther King Jr. III needs a black person next to him right now. So I sat there. So here I am, 21 years old, on the table with Gordon Brown, former Prime minister Yvette Cooper, Ed Balls and Martin Luther King Jr. III. And they're asking me all these questions and I'm like, I have no idea why I'm here. Then that desire to fit in, I don't need to fit in. I just need to be myself. So going on through that, I. I always decided I'm going to look for opportunities where I stand out.

[Courtney Daniela]

Yeah.

[Regina Corte]

First year of university, I went to China for four months. Learned Mandarin. I worked for a humanitarian aid agency that was rescuing babies from one child policy. I Also taught strange communities, English and Mandarin. Very random. I didn't fit in, but somehow I felt at home. Then working in the eu, then working in the un, then having a global network of friends, then saying, you know what? Where do I think the world's going? Going into tech, I learned how to code and then went on to do my masters. So for me, I think I've always started to pursue things which are like, why are you doing that? Instead of looking to fit in, I'm looking to stand out. And looking to stand out to learn, to build curiosity in what I'm doing. In going to tech, I was then able to transition into working in government, where I was the head of digital strategy for Brexit, advising Theresa May. So these are all things where it's like, how did all these things happen? I pushed against the grain. I went. I would get onto the tube and I'd literally say, I would actually buy books that sometimes I didn't actually read. So I could just have it open in a tube and hope that somebody caught it and said, oh, what do you think about that book? So I could start a conversation. And I'm telling you, some of my closest, most senior clients, friends, mentors, sponsors I met in the most random of circumstances.

[Courtney Daniela]

That's so good. That is so good. And I really want to dive a bit more into that. Right. How does one effectively build a brand for themselves offline? Because we talk about personal branding, we're all interpersonal branding, where we built very solid personal brands, but oftentimes we go to the digital first. Right? So it's, let me get my headshots, let me all the amazing things which we love and are important, but what are. What is the actual strategy for building a solid offline personal brand?

[Regina Corte]

So first I think about what are the things that support you as an individual to develop? Glowing gray. So there are five key roles that I always talk about. The coach, someone that helps you to reach your goals as an individual. A sponsor. Somebody that helps you to break that glass, concrete, bamboo ceiling, to really and advocates for you when you're not around, when you're not in the room. And they tend to be someone that has an advantage, a seniority, a leverage. The next, I'd say, is a mentor, somebody who has walked the walk and is guiding you through relational advice through that journey. The next is a connector, somebody who helps you expand your network and to leverage those new relationships that you're building. And the last one would be an educator. So somebody that has a subject matter expertise that you want to refine and develop yourself in. So that's almost you as a. What do I need from a people perspective, then I'd say it's also about what is your brand vision, what is your tone of voice, what are your ambitions? I think it's very important in a digital world to really develop actual relationships and actual connections and actual leverage. Some people might have a really big digital platform, but in real life they have no leverage. And building leverage takes time. And building leverage, sometimes even being online can be a deterrence. So I think it depends on the network that you're trying to build, the industry you're trying to build that in. And I just chose the route of really trying to learn what happens behind the scenes of whether I was working in politics, whether I was working in corporate and now also working personal branding. I'm working on actually making relationships with the CMO of an organization opposed to the influencer supporter or the influencer agent. Because for me, I think, let's think long term, let's think strategic, and let's think big. Because for me, if all my social media was to be deleted tomorrow, I have all my leverage. It makes no difference to my life.

[Courtney Daniela]

I do have a question on the back of that. Sorry to. I do, because I think what you said was absolutely awesome and those five key characters in your life are so important to you, elevating and growing. But what I've noticed is that sometimes those, the connector, the coach, the mentor, all of those people, they don't want to connect with you until they identify that you're someone of value already. Right. So how does someone who feels like, okay, I need to get connected with the person who's going to take me to that next level, whether it be a mentor, a sponsor, whoever. But I feel like people won't take interest in me if I don't have an established personal brand or already. And so how do you actually build something that's worth investing in for these people to pour in their time into you? Because, let's be real. As much as we believe, we obviously as believers believe in the intrinsic value of people, and we carry that in how we interact with people in the world. People go based off of identifying markers. Are you worth my time? Right. So how do you make yourself appear like, actually, no, I'm worth your time, I'm worth your investment.

[Regina Corte]

One of my first mentors that I met, Haynes Pipper Malm Grahn, she used to be the economics advisor to George W. Bush. I met her in Victoria Station, where I Was working in Vodafone for my first two months as a graduate. And the first lesson she taught me was, honey, you need to know how to trade yourself. And as a woman that's in trade and economics, she said, you always have something to offer. It's just whether you're able to articulate it and whether you're able to sell it. Whether I was an 18 year old with no degree or a 32 year old with quite a career, I am inspirational and I'm an inspiration because I am willing to observe people in a way that I can meet them at their point of vulnerability. And that's one of my superpowers. And I can do that with Gordon Brown or I can do that with my neighbor next door. And that has always been something I've been able to offer because it was given to me by God. So I start from, what has God given you?

[Renee Maffador]

Yeah, that's so. That's so beautiful and really important. I think additionally to that, one of the reasons that people can sometimes feel a bit awkward about networking and building your network is that it can feel very transactional. Right? And nobody likes to feel used and nobody likes to feel as though the connections that we make are purely about what can I gain from this interaction. So for women that sometimes run away from networking, or women that sometimes feel a bit uneasy about the whole process of exchanging value or building those meaningful connections, how do they practically go about building a connection or a relationship with somebody that may be in an industry that they're interested in or even just connecting with their peers? I think, or one of the faux pas of being in such a digital world is that we're so hyperconnected, or rather we're hyper visible, but we're not really connected on a human level. And sometimes that can be very, very difficult for people to do authentically. So what does authentic networking look like and how do women in particular start to navigate that?

[Regina Corte]

So I'm going to answer that, but I'm going to flip it on its head first. Sometimes it has to be transactional. Sometimes as women, we're too emotional about a networking event or an opportunity. Sometimes business is business and that's why sometimes it's the men getting opportunities because they're able to see in that way. And I think sometimes we have to see it that way in order to build what we're trying to build. Some mentors are not mentoring you because they care about your development. They might want to be mentor you out of association because of whatever that is. And you know what that's okay because you use me, I use you. That's sometimes the world we're in. On the flip side of what you're saying, I think to continue the vein of don't be so emotional, go open minded, I also think praying for connections, if that is also on a deeper level something that you need as an individual. I really need depth in my relationships and I do pray for those opportunities to really connect with someone on that level. However, I think we need to be able to sometimes just remove the emotion and say, okay, I'm just going to put myself out there. I'm not going to overthink it. Yeah, I'm not going to try and plan it. I'm literally and, and it's baby steps, right? I remember when I used to go to networking events and my first few I went there, I took a glass of champagne or wine or whatever they had and I didn't speak to anyone.

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[Regina Corte]

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[Courtney Daniela]

You just like that.

[Regina Corte]

But I showed up until and then I was like okay, I'm gonna go to this one because it's a bit familiar. I'm seeing familiar faces until one person said came up to me and started talking to me. So I just think sometimes you just have to show up even when it's awkward. I think then it's the element of looking for opportunities that will bring you out of your comfort zone and also looking for opportunities that will make you feel comfortable. Like it's okay to look for that as well. Looking for opportunities to be strategic and think about, okay, where is my career heading? And also looking for those events where it's a bit random as well. I just think giving yourself a diversification of opportunity is always something that's advantageous.

[Courtney Daniela]

I love that. I love that. And I think on that point of, like, authentic networking, I think when you go into networking with a heart of service, you'll be a lot more successful in every relationship you're trying to build. And in that. In that vein of service, I think you have such a great heart of servitude. Even as strategic as you are about relationship building, as you know, corporately minded as you are, government minded as you are, I think you're very, very good at still coming in with a genuine heart of, what do you need? That's a question I've heard you ask me and other women around me several times, sometimes even in a day where it's, what do you need? How can I help? What can I be there?

[Regina Corte]

I don't even realize I asked that.

[Courtney Daniela]

Oh, you ask it all the time. All the time. From the smallest thing, right? Somebody can walk into a room looking really flustered. And as much as you are the executive, you're the top name on the roster. Your quick question to them is, what do you need? Like, are you okay? What's going on? I think there's something so exquisite about that, right? Where as successful as you are, as much as you hold the mba, you hold the accolades that you have, you can still be a woman in a room who is willing to serve in any capacity. And I think that's so strategic because it also opens up anyone's heart to you, right? It's okay, well, now what do you need? Because you've been there for me in my time of need. What do you need can I now give you? And you now have access into people's hearts. And I think that's such a strategic thing, but it comes from such a deep, authentic place of, I just want to serve people. I just want to help people. And so, having seen you operate in this space, I want to talk about the way you are serving women now, which is around the personal branding space. And you recently tagged us in a post on LinkedIn when somebody was talking about, you know, if you had to get on a plane and sit in between the personal branding superstars, where would you sit? And it's all these white women. And you were like, you know, I'd love to see someone of color here. Tag, tag, tag, tag, tag. You could have Courtney and they won't. And I think the, the challenging thing about it is when people think about personal branding and some of the women who have built the most effective personal brands will become the biggest personalities they still think about. White women, right? I was watching a video from one of my favorite influencers and content creators and she was talking about how she DMed other creators to ask them what's their favorite wrest recipes or desserts. And all the people she was asking were white women. And I was like, it's so interesting, like how so many people exist in these echo chambers. But what I love about you in this season is you're using all your gifts and your talents and your network to serve women by helping them, especially women of color, black women in particular, to build solid, world renowned personal brands. And I want to hear more of that. Why did you feel like that was important for you to do now at this stage of your career where the 32, wife, mother, but also you're working corporate at one of the world's leading marketing agencies, right? What made you want to start a business in this at this point? Why is it important for black women to have a personal brand for you?

[Regina Corte]

Did I originally started it for myself because I used my personal brand that I was building to get, I use my external brand to get internal opportunities. So when I wanted to get into mergers and acquisitions, when I used to work at Big four, I was trying to get all the internal opportunities. I was talking to the right partners and they were like, no, you don't have a corporate finance background. So I did all my research, I added all the, all the finance, all the finance courses to my mba. And I came back to them and said, look, I've done these proposals, I've done these essays, I've done this research. They said, no, you don't have a corporate finance background. So I started blasting on LinkedIn everything that I knew about mergers and acquisitions, what's happened in the market, what leaders should be thinking about. And I was, clients were just coming to me directly. So the partners were like, well, since they're coming to directly, would you like to lead corporate development for our consulting business? No interview. So when I realized that power as a black woman, I said, I have to share this. This is not just for me. This is not about Regina being so amazing. Whatever I have, I'm going to give whatever I have. So when I first started executive and brand box, I was really trying to not get just black women. I think my, I was think. I guess it's that that mindset that, I mean, diversity is good. Right? Don't get me wrong. But I feel like, I mean, I grew up, I had Indian foster carers, I had British foster carers, I had foster carers from everywhere. So I know how to be comfortable anywhere. That wasn't my issue, but I think it is different. And I did my MBA research about how black women are the bottom of the barrel, but why are we the most educated? So for me, I said, as I was meeting more and more women, God is bringing more women into my life that were kind of in their mid career and had the same story. Excellent, Overqualified, articulate, but beaten up from the outside in from the corporate world. And I just said, I've had enough. The corporate world, that linear career, that is a lie for a lot of us. It does not have to be our story. And I truly believe that entrepreneurship and personal branding is a black woman's freedom. And so for me, I said, I'm gonna make. I'm gonna free us. I'm gonna free us. Because when we do really invest and package ourselves, no one can compete. I mean, it's not competition, but no one can compete. I mean, look at us. Well, since you suggested. Since you suggested. So, yeah, I say that to say that. And seeing the difference I'm seeing, I'm seeing businesses built, I'm seeing partnerships being formed, I'm seeing products being designed, all from the willingness to invest in ourselves.

[Renee Maffador]

That's your fault. That's so powerful. And I love that you mentioned the power of personal branding.

[Courtney Daniela]

Right.

[Renee Maffador]

It's not just about being visible, but also the power that it carries. And one thing that you've actually spoken so powerfully about throughout this episode is your faith and how your faith has informed a lot of your journey. And I would be interested to know what's your thoughts on how faith informs your personal brand? Because often faith can be one of those things where we kind of feel a little bit uncomfortable about incorporating into our personal brand or speaking comfortably about, whether it be in person or online, or just incorporating any kind of faith element into the personal brand can sometimes feel like a risk. So for you, but also for a lot of the individuals that you, you know, you work with, how does faith inform personal branding?

[Regina Corte]

Everything Personal branding is not supposed to be a fake facade of perfection.

[Courtney Daniela]

Yeah.

[Regina Corte]

Is actually meant to be. An accurate reflection of who you really are. So for me, if I am a Christian, I cannot have a personal brand without mentioning the name of Jesus Christ. Is that means I'm being disingenuous that means I'm being inauthentic. That means I'm not giving credit to where credit is due. That means I might be ashamed to be a Christian. So for me, I'm always blasting LinkedIn about Jesus, and those are my most popular posts. The Muslims love it, the atheists love it. Everybody loves it. And it's because it's real. Yeah. The gospel is real.

[Courtney Daniela]

Yeah.

[Regina Corte]

And even my. I actually got a message last night from my. A friend that I met back in China, and that must have been about 13 years ago. He was an atheist at the time. And she messaged me about how much she's in Australia, but how much watching my journey makes her believe in God. I had a boss from government, and this was in 2017, so nine years ago, he was an atheist. He messaged me recently saying that not only is he a Christian, but he's planted a church.

[Courtney Daniela]

Wow.

[Regina Corte]

Wow.

[Renee Maffador]

That's serious. Yeah, that's serious.

[Regina Corte]

He's blunted a church. And I share this to say that, you know, God in his kindness, he brought some of those stories around full circle. But you don't know. You don't know. And it's our job as Christians to give literally every person we come in contact with an opportunity. They may not want it, which is fine. Free will. It's our job to give everyone an opportunity. So me, I use my brand to give people opportunities to know Jesus.

[Courtney Daniela]

That's good. That's so good. And even when you ask that, I think what comes to mind is that scripture that says, you know, a good name is worth more than riches. Yeah. I think that good name in our modern world is personal brand. You know, what do people say about you when you are not there? What do people think about you when they hear your name? When you say Renee Maffador, when you say Courtney Daniela, when you say Regina Quartet, what do you actually think about that person? And that is worse, more than riches. And I think when you said, if social media was to crumble, today I have a strong personal brand enough to have leverage. Right. That's the power of a good name. Yeah. That even if you say my name offline, it still carries weight. And that weight isn't followers. That weight is true influence. And I think if people can harness that truth and that reality, that when you build a good name, not just online, not just a popular name, because people can be popular and be known for nonsense. Right. When you actually build a good name of good reputation, that's when true success can follow you. And it's not just success in terms of money. It's success as in people encountering God, his love, his heart, his power through your story and through your character. And I think you embody that story so well.

[Regina Corte]

And also through suffering. When I worked through, for, when I volunteered with the Holocaust Educational Trust, I. A lot of the Holocaust survivors actually believed in Jesus. And we would talk about Jesus and how he's moved in our life. And I'll never forget one man who unfortunately has passed away. Joseph. And he said that because I asked him, I said, how are you guys so successful? And he said, one thing that happened during the Holocaust was that the suffering and the pain and the turmoil enabled us to find community. You ladies have created a community, and that community has not always been built on success and smiles. You have suffered.

[Courtney Daniela]

And sometimes our pain connects us.

[Regina Corte]

And I think that's the beauty of God and I think that's the beauty of sisterhood, that you guys have created a space where we can actually sometimes suffer together. But in the suffering, in community, we find strength and we rise. And I think that's really important. When you think about personal branding, what underpins that? It has to be more. Otherwise, it's not real. It's just a personal poster. It's not a brand. It's not really what you represent.

[Courtney Daniela]

That's good.

[Renee Maffador]

Oh, Regine, that's so beautiful. Honestly, Regima, we adore you and we will always take the opportunity to express to you that we adore you. As we conclude our episode with you, we love to leave our community with a little tidbit, a little something something for them to kind of go away, mull over, think on whatever advice, whatever thing may be on your heart to share. And we typically start it with two my sisters. So we'd love for you to share something direct to the camera, starting with. To my sisters.

[Regina Corte]

To my sisters. In your suffering, in the secret sufferings where you feel alone, find that secret place. Because in that secret place, whether you believe in God or not, you're going to find everything that you're meant to represent in life. I promise you.

[Renee Maffador]

That gave me chills. That gave me chills.

[Courtney Daniela]

Oh, honestly, Regina, where can we find you?

[Regina Corte]

Where can we support, like, where can we.

[Renee Maffador]

The girls give it to us, all the socials, everything.

[Regina Corte]

I'm just so basic, babe. And I'm not. I'm not. I'm not a Renee. I'm not a quarter. But yeah. So Regina Corte, underscore. On Instagram, Instagram, my business, we are executive and on LinkedIn, probably where I'm most active, I am Regina Corte.

[Courtney Daniela]

That's right. We love it. And honestly, Regina, thank you not just for coming on and sharing your story, but for being such a destiny helper in this season of our lives. Genuinely, the words cannot express how grateful we are to you for opening a door that, by God's grace, will never be closed. I think it's a door to a new level for us. A new level in thinking and a new level in being. And genuinely, you have. You have challenged us to operate at a new level. And I think when women expose you to that, you can never say thank you enough for that. Like, if. If this is all we got from you in our lifetime, it would be enough. It would actually be enough. So thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you, guys. Oh, honestly, sisters, as you can tell, we've had a serious run of women on the podcast, and if you would love more of this, then I need you to subscribe. I need you to subscribe to our YouTube channel here at To My Sisters to make sure that you never miss an episode or a conversation from us. And you can also follow us across all our social media platforms at To My Sisterhood to really get looped into what we're doing here as a community.

[Renee Maffador]

And whilst you're at it, make sure you sign up to follow our mailing list wwysisters.com so you never miss a weekly drop of glowing and growing tips. Sisters, we love you. We adore you. We hope and pray you have an excellent week.

[Courtney Daniela]

And as always, keep glowing and growing.

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[Regina Corte]

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