Meet Rebecca Bender

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Rebecca Bender. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Rebecca below.

Hi Rebecca, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?

I got it from my mama. LOL No, but really. I come from a line of women who have always been hard workers. My grandmother taught swim lessons to children up until she was 80 years old. My mother built her own career for decades. My aunts were school teachers and nurses. Watching them all work hard and find passion in the things they love, gave me great examples to look at.

I also knew that everything I lived through couldn’t have been for nothing so finding the purpose and turning that into a business that would help other women like me became a passion that ignited the work ethic in me to go after it!

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I love what I do! I have several juggling plates. I am an entrepreneur, author, speaker and producer. My main career is as a subject matter expert on human trafficking. I am the CEO & Founder of Rebecca Bender Initiative. We have two programs: Equip where we train community professionals on how to identify, investigate and prosecute trafficking. We’ve trained over 143,000 professionals including FBI, HSI, undercover cops, medical professionals, social workers and more. Our second program is Elevate Academy – the largest online school in the world for survivors of human trafficking to get job ready after escape. Year to date we’ve assisted over 1600 survivors of trafficking in career exploration, professional development, life planning and more. My side hustles are writing and speaking – so I’ve done conferences on leadership and entrepreneurship as well as I’ve written a couple books. I also am a TV producer and have several projects in development. I also work with prosecuting attorneys during trials by reviewing evidence and testifying at cases. Never a dull moment!

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

1. Courage – just do it. Sometimes we have no clue what the blueprint is, other times we do. Either way, just do the next best thing. Jump in, go through that open door and see where it leads.
2. Educate Yourself – learn your craft. Read a business book, join a speakers course, listen to a branding podcast, get a mentor, network and ask questions. Learn, learn, learn about the things you are interested in.
3. Pivot – I heard the former Attorney General during 9-11 once say “the best leaders make course corrections along the way.” This is so crucial, learn the art of improv. As things in life change, doors shut, tech goes out, a launch had less people than expected, whatever it is, run with it, go with it, assess and course correct even just a few degrees if needed.

Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?

I have high seasons where things are going really well and there is momentum and I have had seasons where things feel stagnate or just fall apart. In those moments of shut doors or loss, the only thing I could do was write on a post it “by this time next year, things will be different.” I put that post it on everything – my laptop, bathroom mirror. I had to remind myself daily that this too would pass. What lessons can I learn, what areas can I grow, what new connections need to be made? It can be overwhelming when areas of life aren’t turning out like you planned, hoped, imagined or built towards. Don’t let it stop you. Keep going, keep waiting on the perfect timing, keep growing in between. You got this!

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Image Credits

Bethany Sellers

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