In this episode of the Sweet but Fearless podcast, co-founder, Mary Sullivan, talks with Anastasia Ristovska, co-founder of Books at Ease and Next Generation Bookkeeping Academy, focusing on the financial foundations every business needs to thrive. Anastasia shares her journey from corporate accountant to building two successful businesses dedicated to empowering small and medium-sized companies, especially in the digital space, with financial control and clarity.

She highlights why leveraging relationships is just as critical as the numbers, and why systems and processes must be in place from the start to avoid costly mistakes down the road. Anastasia also gives us a behind-the-scenes look at her work training international accounting professionals in U.S. business principles and communication skills, helping to fill a growing gap in skilled financial talent.

It’s an inspiring conversation about strategy, structure, and the courage to build something that lasts.

MORE ABOUT ANASTASIA RISTOVSKA:
LinkedIn: Anastasia R.
Website: Books At Ease

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In this episode of the Sweet but Fearless podcast, co-founder Mary Sullivan talks with Tara Landes, Founder of Bellrock. After years of working with small businesses across North America, Tara returned to Vancouver and discovered a gap no one was filling. She didn’t just step into the work she was already great at - she leaned into what she loved most. Rather than wait for the perfect role to appear, she created it, building a business around passion and purpose.

Tara shares how identifying unmet needs, following what lights you up, and defining what truly matters can guide your path. She also explains why influence and persuasion are essential skills for turning ideas into reality and inspiring others along the way.

If you’ve ever felt successful on paper but unfulfilled in practice, Tara’s story is a reminder that fulfillment often comes from leaning into your natural strengths and using them to serve others.

Tara Landes is the Founder of Bellrock. Based in Vancouver, BC, Tara has been working directly with the leaders and managers of North American companies to help them scale and build enterprise value since the turn of the century.

MORE ABOUT TARA LANDES:
LinkedIn: Tara Landes
Website: Bellrock
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ABOUT SWEET BUT FEARLESS:
Website - Sweet but Fearless
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In this episode, we dive into the power of visibility at work, because your accomplishments, skills, and the value you bring won’t speak for themselves. Our guest, Tami Reiss, CEO of Leader Within and Keynote Speaker, shares why being your own cheerleader isn’t just optional, it’s essential. She focuses on the importance of building resilience skills, staying vision-oriented, and ensuring that colleagues and leaders truly understand the impact you make.

Tami also introduces her signature MAP framework - Manifest, Access, Promote- a practical framework for mapping your influence. If you’ve ever struggled to make your hard work visible or to position yourself for the recognition you deserve, this episode will give you the tools to shift from overlooked to unstoppable.

Tami is a leadership speaker and coach who’s as bold as she is practical. She transforms strategy into alignment, presence into power, and ideas into action. Through easy to remember frameworks like L.E.A.D. and M.A.P. it Out, she encourages everyone to leverage influence and not authority to gain momentum for ideas.

MORE ABOUT TAMI REISS:
LinkedIn: Tami Reiss
Website: Leader Within
YouTube: Tami Reiss: Speaker & Author

ABOUT SWEET BUT FEARLESS:
Website - Sweet but Fearless
LinkedIn - Sweet but Fearless