I’m so happy to have Kimberly Riggins as the Women Branching Out interviewee today.

Kimberly is a body image expert and creator of The Art of Eating Chocolate Naked, a movement that challenges women all across the world to accept and love themselves just as they are. She’s the author of the book “Love Your Naked Ass.” You can visit www.eatchocolatenaked.com to receive her free Mirror Mantra and Body Love Kit.

Q: Tell us about The Art of Eating Chocolate Naked. Who do you love to help, and why?

The Art of Eating Chocolate Naked is actually a metaphor. Although I do enjoy eating chocolate in the buff and often recommend this to my readers and clients because of the profound effect it has on your life, this movement is really about reigniting your senses, dropping your self-defeating behaviors and learning to accept and love yourself for who you are right NOW.

I wholeheartedly believe the path to happiness and pleasure starts with loving yourself from the inside out. I have learned, through my own personal journey, that in order to live a fulfilling life, you MUST let go of the guilt, shame and hang-ups you have around your body, food and relationships and most importantly you have to practice being present every single day.

Obviously, I am completely inspired to help women because I know what it feels like to harbor low self-esteem, crazy body image issues and dull, lifeless relationships. On the flip side, I also know what it takes to shift that completely around and fall madly in love with yourself and your life regardless if you’ve reached your “destination.”

The truth is, as Ralph Waldo Emerson eloquently said, “Life is a journey, not a destination.”

Q: You recently published your first book, Love Your Naked Ass, 80 Gentle Ways to Transform Your Life, Restore Your Serenity & Rediscover Happiness. Can you share one of your tips from the book with us?

Wow. I have so many tips I would love to share. In fact, if anyone would like to get a taste of Love Your Naked Ass, you can get your hands on a FREE excerpt by going here.

One of my favorite tips that I share in my book that has absolutely changed the course of my own life involves learning to become your very own best friend.

I think it’s imperative that you learn everything about yourself first before venturing into a relationship. Become your own best friend and learn to love being in your own company before inviting anyone else in.

Spend one on one time getting to know YOU. What are your likes, dislikes, personal and professional boundaries, values? What makes you angry, excited, and happy? What turns you on? Turns you off? What gives you pleasure? Brings you joy?

I know this may sound strange but if you can’t meet your own needs and wants, and you do not have clear boundaries, you will never find true happiness. You will always be looking for others to provide you with that “missing piece” when truthfully; it’s not their job. It’s yours!

So how do you become your own best friend? The fastest, most effective to do this is to schedule what I call, “ME Dates.”

A “Me Date” is when you take yourself out and participate in something enjoyable without having to rely on another to keep you company.

Take yourself out to that 5-star restaurant you have been dying to try, take in that movie you desperately have been yearning to see, go to that little coffee shop and enjoy a latte (guilt free) while devouring your favorite book or magazine, hike in the park while inhaling nature, or grab your bike and helmet and hit the trails.

Honestly, it’s irrelevant what you choose to do. The point is to get to know yourself, like you would your best friend. Love her. Talk to her. And most importantly, learn to have to fun with her.

Q: Tell us about the process of writing and publishing your book. What do you wish you’d know when you started? What did you learn about yourself in the process?

Writing and publishing a book is definitely an adventure. There are so many different avenues you can take to get your work into print.

There are also so many questions you have to ask yourself before you take on this kind of endeavor.

Why are you writing this? Who are you writing this for? What is your goal? Do you want the sole rights to your book? Do you want to self-publish or look for a publishing house? Do you want an agent? An editor? A designer? Help with formatting? Do you want it in hardback? Paperback? Kindle? Do you have a time frame in mind? How will you market it? Who will you market it to? The list questions could go on and on.

I honestly didn’t have any expectations going into this. I knew there would be a huge learning curve and I was up for challenge. I actually found the whole process fascinating.

This entire experience taught me that I have the power to do anything. If there is a will, there is always a way.

Q: You have an ongoing interview series with so many awesome women called “Love Your Naked Ass Warrior Series.” What have you learned from those interviews?

The Love Your Naked Ass Warrior Series features fierce female luminaries who dare to defy the social norm in unconventional ways in order to inspire and empower the world one woman at a time.

Honestly, the series has exceeded my own expectations. Initially, my goal was to provide content for my readers, as well as to help these amazing women spread their message. But it has definitely morphed into so much more…

Listening to their stories, reading their books, taking some of their programs has helped me figure out who I want to be and has definitely played a part in how I show up in the world.

Q: Who are your business role models? and why?

My business role models are women entrepreneurs who run their business around their children. I am in awe what they can accomplish while raising a family. They inspire me and give me the strength to keep moving forward. (I currently am building my business around a 3 year old…not an easy feat.)

Q: As a mom how do you think women can best model self-acceptance and healthy body images for their daughters (and sons)?

Learning to truly love yourself is the best gift and lesson you can give/teach your children. Your children watch your every move so be conscious how you treat yourself.

Q: When you are eating chocolate naked (or not), what are your favorites?

Lately I have been devouring homemade chocolate. Yes, I make my own.

The last batch consisted of raw coconut butter, raw cacao powder, pure maple syrup, dash of sea salt, hemp seeds, raw golden berries and chopped hazelnuts.

If I am buying chocolate, my current favorites include Sweet Riot, Dagoba, Endangered Species, NewTree, Good Cacao Superfood Chocolate, and Vosges.

Kimberly Riggins is a body image expert, negative self-talk warrior and a transformational catalyst who inspires women to let go of their body hang-ups and kick their inner critical bitch to the curb. She is the author of the book, “Love Your Naked Ass” and the creator of The Art of Eating Chocolate Naked, a movement that challenges women all across the world to accept and love themselves just as they are. Her primary mission: To have each and every woman she meets be able to look at themselves in the mirror and smile back at what they see. You can find her on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

Leave a comment for Kimberly below and share this post with someone who could benefit from Kimberly’s message today. Thanks!

Today I’m thrilled to feature a Q & A interview with business coach, world traveler, and fellow Missourian Jennifer Peek. Her blog features tons of excellent business resources served up each week in the Groovy Grab Bag.

Jennifer combines 20+ years of corporate experience with a passion for serving creative solopreneurs to help her clients create businesses that support their life goals. She’s consciously structured her own businesses to support her family’s love of travel and adventure.

Here’s Jennifer…

Q: Tell us about your coaching business, Find Your New Groove. Who do you love to help, and why?

I love working with creative businesses, usually solo business owners, to help them get a structured business foundation in place so they can more easily bring their creative juices to the world.

The biggest thing I’ve seen hang up the more right-brained geniuses is that they have so much going on that they can’t focus on what needs to be done to build their business. As a result, most of them are not making enough money, and they are burning out.

They may try taking courses to fill in the gaps but that is a struggle itself because their minds just don’t work like that.

They need just a little direction, a simple plan that fits their thinking style and a dash of strategic pixie dust to take off like a rocket.

Q: What was the biggest challenge(s) you faced when making the transition from more than 20 years working in corporate American to the entrepreneurial world?

Not having a staff – LOL! Seriously, I had a team of 12-15 people that worked for me. That allowed me to do several things: focus my strengths on what I did really well and have them do the same. It is amazing how much difference this makes.

As an entrepreneur, you have to make the decisions about who does what, what gets done first and what is costs in time and money nearly every day in different contexts than in the corporate world. It’s not better or worse – it was just an adjustment.

The second big thing is relationships. I worked for a Fortune 50 company with about 40,000 employees. That means that nearly all of my professional relationships were inside the company. I didn’t have an extensive professional network when I left, so I’ve had to build that up. Fortunately, it hasn’t been difficult, but it still takes time.

Q: Along with Find Your New Groove, you are also a partner in a commercial real estate company, with your husband. What are your favorite aspects of running your own businesses?

Getting to make the rules! The biggest one really is related to that. My husband’s job is very demanding, and he travels frequently, in the US and globally, for that. Even as a senior manager in the corporate world, I was the go-to parent for the kids’ sports, school activities, etc. I still am, so having the flexibility to manage the family aspect is really important. We had consciously planned for me to make this move back when the kids were still in diapers (they are 9 and 12 now).

A close second place is the variety of what I get to do every day, every week, every month. I am multi-passionate and cannot have just one thing going at a time. It’s why I had the role I did in corporate and why I do what I do now. Of course, there can be a curse to having too many ideas too!

Q:In your coaching practice, you emphasize the importance of creating businesses that work for us. How can women who are just starting to build a business keeping focus on their bigger life/family goals, when there’s so much work to do?

It’s going to sound like a broken record, but you just have to decide what is important to you and build on that.

For example, leading weekend retreats or seminars might be one of the big things that you want to have in your business – whether because you love it or because that’s where the money is for you right now. AND you have two little kids at home. That will tear some people apart – and they will feel like they have to choose. Seminar or kids. Kids or seminar. Either way, there will be this piece of them that suffers.

Unless they make a different choice. There are lots of possibilities on how to make that work if you look at it from the “how do I make this work” view instead of the “either/or” view. Those options might depend on the kids’ ages, but let’s say they are 3 and 5. You could…

• Incorporate them into the seminar in places. Everyone loves to get a peek at people’s private lives, and kids are usually fun. If your seminar is uber-serious, this may not work, but even then, you need a humor break or some light-hearted portions.

• Hire a nanny, bring a spouse, friend or family member to watch the kids. Make it exciting for them – not “it sucks that Mom has to work.” You’d be surprised how affordable it can be – and the kids get a weekend vacation in the process. How awesome for them to get a new experience AND to get to see their mom doing what she loves.

• Leave the kids at home with a nanny, spouse, friend, etc. Again, it can be affordable and they can still have fun while being in surroundings they know.

• Create a kid-friendly watch area as part of the seminar. Who knows how many people attending have the same issue – or are even not coming because of that? My gym has a child watch area with games and staff. I can guarantee you that more people join and come because of that…it is full of kids for all of the hours that it is open.

Those are just some quick examples and a little corner of what I help the business owners I work with uncover. I am a master at seeing lots of possibilities that will work and helping my clients find the ones that fit them best.

Q: You’re making your businesses work with your family’s love of travel. What’s your secret?

There are three big things: technology, flexibility and the drive to make it happen.

Here’s the big thing: you have to set up your business from the outset with the end in mind.

You have to be willing to take the leap of knowing what you want to create instead of just taking the first path that appears in front of you.

For me, that means that I have created my business to largely be virtual and to have a one-day intensive that works best in that environment. I do have local clients that I meet with in person, but it is still in the one-day intensive model.

I see way too many people think small and short-term then get stuck in a business that they don’t really like. They went into it thinking they would change it once it made money, got big enough, whatever.

Now they don’t know how to change it without losing what they’ve built even though it’s not what they really want. To use a construction adage, it is easier to build a new house than to completely remodel an old one, so do it your way the first time.

From the flexibility side, it means that there are some way early hours and some way late hours. That’s OK with me because I am consciously choosing that trade-off. Sometimes, it is having the kids go get ice cream in the hotel lobby so I can do a quick video. Sometimes, it is getting things done in advance or scheduling them in such a way that it works with the travel, the internet access and the time zone differences (those were big ones for our Australia trip at the end of 2011). The combination of my Midwest work ethic and my love of what I do in my business help, too.

Q: What’s the next travel adventure for you?

It’s going to be hard to top the 3-week holiday to Australia in December and January. We also just got back from our annual ski trip to Copper Mountain. We are doing a week-long RV trip up to Niagara Falls at the end of May, and then a two-week RV trip to Florida over Christmas 2012. We have a couple of other ones throughout the year, but those two are the longest.

Q: On your blog you do such a great job of sharing books and online resources for women entrepreneurs. What books do you recommend women entrepreneurs keep on their shelves?

Wow. It’s going to hard to narrow that down. First and foremost, Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. I first read this twenty years ago, and I still re-read it today. It has had the biggest impact on all areas of my life, hands down.

Second, The Four-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss. He may irritate you or you may find him a little arrogant. I find him entertaining, but most of all I like that he makes you really think about what you want and how to start considering the possibilities instead of the impossibilities – whether you aim to work 4 hours a week or not.

Third, Crush It! by Gary Vaynerchuk. It is about finding your passion, picking a medium that works for you and working your butt off to make it happen.

Beyond that, just about anything by Seth Godin or Richard Branson. Finally, favorite fiction authors: I am partial to cozy mysteries. You have to have something light-hearted to get out of your own head at times.

Q: What did 8 year old Jennifer say she wanted to be when she grew up?

Hmmm…probably a scientist. I love problem-solving and figuring out how things work. I just don’t have the patience for the length of those experiments and scientific studies. Plus, I am so intrigued by business in general that I couldn’t just sit in a lab while the deals were being made outside of it. Fortunately, I didn’t really know all of that when I was 8 so I could dream about finding a new star or making some other great discovery.

Q: Is there anything else you’d like us to know about you and your biz?

Here is me and what I do in my business in a nutshell…

Through my 20+ years in the corporate world, I learned lots of things about myself – namely, that I am not the pocket-protector and green eye shade kind of business person. I am structured and creative. I am facts and figures along with endless possibilities. I am a CPA and MBA that loves colored mind-maps and bubble charts. I am able to take the most complex business issue and make it sound like your mom’s favorite cake recipe – with icing. I am creative ingenuity balanced by my Fortune 50 practicality and corporate firepower. I am a firefighting, problem-solving maven who loves, loves the mechanics of business and the beauty of creative businesses.

I am the strategic pixie for your creative business. I am your business brain on amped-up green juice + smoothies. I am the structure you crave without all the boring business baggage.

and I have to ask…Jayhawks or Tigers?

This is bad timing considering the recent upset that busted lots of NCAA tourney brackets…but M-I-Z…Z-O-U!

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Jennifer Peek takes stuffy corporate know-how + entrepreneurial experience = a very groovy methodology for creative biz design. She provides left-brained strategic pixie dust for right-brained businesses through her innovative CATALYST sessions. CATALYST is a one-day strategy, business planning + creative business think tank, designed to help you propel your business while keeping a sense of humor and fun about it. Get the full scoop on CATALYST here. (http://findyournewgroove.com/creative-business-consulting-coaching-catalyst) You can find Jennifer on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Google+: Jennifer Peek.

How are you structuring your business to support your LIFE? Leave a comment below!