The Invisible Collapse:
What’s breaking in business right now and what women are being called to build instead
Ask the Experts brings together a rotating panel of trusted VCBW experts to offer guidance in their respective specialties.
Before the event, the community submits questions ranging from business and operations to mindset, leadership, wellness, and beyond.
During the event, experts provide grounded, practical perspectives and share real-life experience to support your growth. This event is interactive, educational, and shaped directly by the community’s needs.
What the panel is speaking on:
BUSINESS MODELS THAT NO LONGER WORK
What’s breaking:
Hustle-based growth models
Constant content pressure
Undervalued offers / underpricing
Overcomplicated funnels and strategies
“Do more to make more” thinking
LEADERSHIP IDENTITY SHIFTS
What’s breaking:
Leading from proving energy
People-pleasing in business decisions
Over-identifying with roles (coach, service provider, etc.)
Performing confidence instead of embodying it
NERVOUS SYSTEM + CAPACITY REALITY
What’s breaking:
Running businesses in chronic stress
Ignoring capacity limits
Normalizing burnout cycles
Building faster than the body can hold
VISIBILITY, MARKETING, AND TRUST SHIFT
What’s breaking:
Over-saturation of content
Inauthentic messaging
“Say what sells” instead of what’s true
Algorithm-chasing behavior
Event Flow
Pre-Event | Question Submission
Event Opening | Introductions
Expert Panel | Answers, Insight & Real Conversation
Closing | Takeaways & Community Dialogue
Free to Community
Event Host: Tawney Noriega
Founder of Ventura County Business Women
Tawney Noriega is a passionate community builder and advocate for personal and professional empowerment. With a warm, authentic approach, Tawney blends inner work with practical business strategies to create meaningful connections and opportunities for growth. As a Manifestor with a 6/2 profile, she thrives on inspiring others to embrace their unique strengths and align with their highest potential. Tawney’s leadership is grounded in fostering collaboration, innovation, and resilience, making her events a space where women can connect, share, and thrive together.
Guest Expert: JJ Flizanes
Founder of Empowerment Strategists
I’m an Empowerment Strategist, business coach, and the founder of the Empowering Minds Network, where I help purpose-driven leaders build businesses around their zones of genius and amplify their message in ways that create meaningful impact. As the creator of the Rewiring Your Core Wound Patterns program and director of Invisible Fitness, my work bridges personal transformation and business strategy, helping people uncover not only the practical blocks to growth, but also the emotional patterns that may be limiting their success. I specialize in helping business leaders align their message, mission, and visibility with who they truly are, so they can lead authentically, expand their influence, and create businesses that are both profitable and deeply fulfilling. My approach attends to the whole person—mindset, emotional healing, strategy, and purpose—because sustainable success comes from empowering lives, not just building businesses.
Guest Expert: Raini Steffen
Founder of Raini & Associates, Inc / Resourceful Raini
Raini Steffen is a Life Transition Strategist, real estate professional, interior designer, and founder of Resourceful Raini, where she helps women navigate major life and business shifts with clarity, confidence, and practical systems. After more than 30 years of living independently and rebuilding through multiple personal and professional disruptions, Raini brings a no-nonsense, real-world perspective to what it actually takes to move forward when life—or business—stops making sense. Through her POWER framework, speaking, and coaching programs, Raini works with women who are done overthinking and ready to make clear, confident decisions about their next chapter. Her work focuses on helping clients move from overwhelmed to operational—rebuilding their lives, homes, and businesses in a way that actually fits who they are now. She blends strategy, lived experience, and a refreshingly honest voice to help women stop waiting for the “right moment” and start building what works.
