In this episode of Owning Your Legacy, we sit down with Mara Smith, founder of Inspiro Tequila, to talk about what it really looks like to start over and build something meaningful on your own terms.

After stepping away from her career for 16 years to raise her family, Mara re-entered the workforce with no traditional roadmap, no network, and plenty of self-doubt. What followed was not a return to what she once knew, but a bold pivot into entrepreneurship.

From her background in law and corporate strategy to launching Inspiro Tequila in a male-dominated industry, Mara shares the mindset shifts, risks, and decisions that shaped her journey. This conversation explores confidence, imposter syndrome, motherhood as leadership training, and why being an outsider can be a powerful advantage.

This is not just a founder story. It is a story about reinvention, purpose, and building a legacy that extends beyond business.

In this episode, we cover:

✔ Mara Smith’s journey from stay-at-home mom to founder of Inspiro Tequila
✔ Reinventing your career after time away from the workforce
✔ How motherhood builds leadership, resilience, and adaptability
✔ Navigating imposter syndrome and earning credibility in a new industry
✔ Why being an outsider can drive innovation
✔ Building a purpose-driven brand in a competitive market
✔ The importance of community, mentorship, and showing up

If this conversation resonates, share it with someone who is thinking about starting over. #MaraSmith #InspiroTequila #OwningYourLegacy #WomenInBusiness #Entrepreneurship #CareerPivot #Leadership #PersonalGrowth #FounderStory

If you enjoyed the episode please share it with others, and rate, review, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. To learn more about me and how I am Owning My Legacy, you can find me on Instagram @LauretteRondenet and online at lauretterondenet.com.

In this episode of Owning Your Legacy, host Laurette Rondenet sits down with Katrina Markoff, founder of Violet Flame Chocolate and the original creator of the globally renowned chocolate brand Vosges Haut-Chocolat.

Katrina shares the remarkable journey that took her from studying chemistry and psychology at Vanderbilt to culinary training in Paris and eventually building one of the most innovative chocolate companies in the world. Her entrepreneurial path was guided by creativity, curiosity, and a willingness to follow intuition even when it meant taking risks others would not.

But success did not come without challenges.

After years of building her company, Katrina experienced profound personal and professional setbacks and ultimately lost control of the business she created. Rather than giving up, she chose to rebuild.

Now, as the founder of Violet Flame Chocolate, Katrina is creating a new vision for chocolate. Her new venture blends luxury craftsmanship, ritual, and creativity while encouraging people to reconnect with their inner voice and imagination.

This conversation explores entrepreneurship, resilience, intuition, and the power of starting again.

📲 Like, comment, and subscribe for more conversations about leadership, entrepreneurship, and legacy.

In this episode:
✅ The rise of Vosges Haut-Chocolat
✅ What it feels like to lose the company you built
✅ How intuition shapes entrepreneurial decisions
✅ The inspiration behind Violet Flame Chocolate
✅ Rebuilding identity, creativity, and purpose after adversity

Credits
IG: @rishi.productions
IG: @gosiasimprint

If you enjoyed the episode please share it with others, and rate, review, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. To learn more about me and how I am Owning My Legacy, you can find me on Instagram @LauretteRondenet and online at lauretterondenet.com.

In this episode of Owning Your Legacy, host Laurette Rondenet sits down with Dr. Gertrude Lyons, author of Rewrite the Mother Code, for a transformative conversation on motherhood, identity, intuition, and the hidden cultural narratives that shape women’s lives.

Dr. Lyons shares her personal awakening, from navigating fertility through a holistic lens to questioning deeply ingrained expectations around pregnancy, birth, and what it truly means to be a “good mother.” Together, they unpack the invisible “mother codes” that drive guilt, self-sacrifice, perfectionism, and burnout.

This episode explores how women can rewrite outdated narratives and reclaim their power by integrating both masculine and feminine values, balancing productivity with process, structure with intuition, and achievement with self-nurturing.

Dr. Lyons also discusses:

✅ Why self-mothering is essential, not selfish
✅ The myth of putting yourself last to be a “good mom”
✅ How guilt is culturally conditioned
✅ Feminine leadership in work and family life
✅ The importance of community, modeling, and support
✅ Rewriting your own personal Mother Code

Whether you are raising children, building a career, leading a team, or nurturing a vision, this conversation will challenge you to examine the codes you are living by, and decide which ones need to be rewritten.

🌐 Learn more about Dr. Gertrude Lyons: https://www.drgertrudelyons.com/

🎧 Listen to the Rewrite the Mother Code Podcast: https://www.drgertrudelyons.com/podcast

📲 Follow Dr. Gertrude Lyons on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drgertrudelyons/

🎧 Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major platforms
📲 Like, comment, and subscribe for conversations on leadership, love, and legacy

Video and Photo Credits:
IG: @rishi.productions
IG: @gosiasimprint

#RewriteTheMotherCode #DrGertrudeLyons #Motherhood #FeminineLeadership #WomenInLeadership #IntentionalParenting #SelfMothering #LeadershipDevelopment #OwningYourLegacy #PersonalGrowth

If you enjoyed the episode please share it with others, and rate, review, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. To learn more about me and how I am Owning My Legacy, you can find me on Instagram @LauretteRondenet and online at lauretterondenet.com.