We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dr. Michelle S. Thomas a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Dr. Michelle S. , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you tell us about an important lesson you learned while working at a prior job?

I spent a lot of years working within the sports and entertainment field. Majority of the time was spent within Human Resources and Finance. My entry into the field was my first lesson in understanding my worth.

I was in Dallas, TX at the time. I had just had my third son and was completely broke. As I was dropping my oldest two off at school I heard a radio ad that stated something about FREE Maverick’s tickets on a first come basis. All that stuck with me was “hurry, tickets go quickly!” So I rushed home and fed the baby (pureed green peas) and asked my mother to watch him while I ran an errand. I raced over to the arena and to my surprise… there was no one there! “Look at God!” I thought as I stood outside of a closed box office. After around 15 minutes a security officer approached and asked if he could help me. Now I was in a t-shirt with green pea spilled across the front, a messy bun (before it was popular) and some flip flops. I said, “I heard the ad on the radio…” Before I could finish he said to follow him. We entered the building, went down to the basement and he pointed me into a door. The receptionist looked up, frown and said “what can I help you with?!?” I repeated “I heard the ad on the radio…” and she interrupted by yelling at a guy in the back, “Harvey your interview is here!” Even though I was COMPLETELY confused, I walked into this interview with my head held high and gave one of the best interviews of my life, landed the job and grew an amazing career.

At that moment I understood that my “worth” wasn’t in my appearance, but in my capabilities. I learned to control my instinctive “micro-biases” and look past the surface of people and base my opportunities strictly on their potential. You see just because I was broke, tired, and completely inappropriately dressed for a professional interview. But they needed what I could offer, I did not shrink, I did not even address the outer and disheveled person that I appeared to be. I focused on the knowledge that I had to fulfill a need. I did not allow anyone to diminish my skills because of my circumstances.

As a multiple business woman I often find myself in rooms and spaces that are “uncomfortable” and at times “bigger than me!” Despite the internal insecurities that may stir up, I ALWAYS walk into those rooms and spaces and OWN my excellence… whether anyone else approves on not. It’s not an arrogance it’s a confidence in understanding that I am capable to expanding my knowledge, expertise, and skillset as long as I know my worth!

Dr. Michelle S. , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Dr. Michelle S. Thomas, Your Business Surgeon is the Executive FOUNDER/ CEO of The Exceptional Woman Enterprise. An Enterprise created to remove the barriers of sustainable growth that often interrupt the potentials of success for many women entrepreneurs, especially women of color. The Exceptional Woman Enterprise consists of RESULT-DRIVEN entities focusing on providing Mastery Level tools of business principles for a clear understanding of each complex level of their entrepreneurial journey.

Dr. Michelle has leveraged her years of collective first-hand experiences with growing profitable businesses to become the reputable author, motivational speaker, and coach she is today. Whether she is public speaking, performing as a conference Keynote speaker, conducting online courses, or offering personal or professional coaching services, Michelle approaches every situation with empathy and offers vetted, executable solutions that were formed from real life experiences rather than in textbooks. This mindful deviation is what has led to Michelle’s impressive track record since the beginning of her career.

She is an 11X Internationally Best-Selling Author, Certified Life/ Relationship/ Business Coach, Motivational speaker, and Multiple Minority Business Owner.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

We were in Cleveland, OH and I was working at a bank. I thought that working there would “normalize” my career and help me to become more like other “successful” moms and wives. One night I was watching the news and caught the story about the first casino coming to Ohio. They warned applicants that they would only receive ONE CALL for an interview. If you missed that call then you missed the opportunity due to the volume of applicants they had.

So I put in 10 applications for various positions and went to sleep. Well at the bank we could not have our phones near our station, so now I’m stressed about how I would NOT miss the call when it happened. Well one week later it happened… the call. I could hear my phone in the back, but had a customer. My heart dropped as it stopped ringing. I literally called off the next day and set off to regain this interview opportunity!

I called EVERY NUMBER I could find. I called so much that day, I think I drove the switchboard operator crazy. She ended up giving the number to the GM of the casino… wait WHAT?!?! So I called and let him a very compelling message of WHY they HAD to give me an opportunity. Well about an hour later I received a call from his Executive Assistant, and her first question was… “How did you get his number!” Long story short she got me an interview in the next group rounds.

I show up for the interview knowing this was my start! I went through the process and they divided us into two rooms. A gentleman walked into our room and politely announced that we did not make the cut and sent us out the building. I sat in my car and cried for exactly 42 minutes. That night I went home and filled out 27 more applications! Within a few weeks the group interviews were over and each department head was delivered the remainder of applications. I received a call from the HR manager and was hired.

I grew within the casino industry for over 8 years, having the opportunity to manage and grow departments within HR, Finance, Operations and F&B. Resilience for me is the ability to preserver through some of the most difficult and even painful circumstances and not give up until you succeed to YOUR idea of success… no one elses! Cry your tears, yell it out, curse the world… but then get back up and SHINE sis!

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Ethics, Integrity and Transparency!

I entered into the business journey determined to maintain those three qualities, no matter the money, opinions nor fame. I want to ensure that every moment of my growth exemplifies excellence and legacy. I work to give it all to my audience, team, clients, and members, while remaining someone that my family can be proud of. Anyone that knows me can tell you how I interact with everyone is truly who I am. I do not try to someone that I’m not.

You know what you get when you are within my ecosystem. I worked hard to build trust and vetted proof of my capabilities. People began to recognize the value of tools and resources that they received from me. Money has never been my driver, legitimacy is. I walk my talk and people respect that.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://michellesthomas.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yourbusinesssurgeon/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/YourBusinessSurgeon
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drmichellesthomas/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdT4h6swxT0MDDhhfZO2aqg
• Other: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdT4h6swxT0MDDhhfZO2aqg https://www.exceptionalwomannetwork.com/ https://sixcessindustries.com/