Welcome back to Superheroes in Heels! I’m Kimberley Borgens, your host, and in this episode, I want to invite you on a deeper journey beyond the strategies and tools we normally discuss for building your business. Today, I’m talking about something most people hardly ever mention—but it’s truly the difference between women who find lasting success and those who feel like they’re constantly pushing uphill.

This week, my voice may be a little rough around the edges thanks to laryngitis, but the message is stronger than ever. I’m shining a light on the invisible assets we often take for granted—the trust we create, the reputation we protect, the industry goodwill we nurture, the equity in our personal brand, and the relationships and loyalty we build along the way. These are the intangible elements that don’t show up on a traditional balance sheet but absolutely determine how far and how fast you grow.

I’ll be sharing honest questions to help you evaluate your own invisible assets, from how people refer to you when you’re not in the room to whether you leave others feeling uplifted or drained after every interaction. We’ll talk about why women, in particular, often overlook the power of investing in themselves, their presence, and their personal legacy, instead of only focusing on building up skills or chasing the next big opportunity.

I want you to consider: Are you compounding your invisible assets or letting them leak away unnoticed? Are you showing up in ways that make people remember you and open doors before you even knock? Throughout this episode, I’ll give you practical steps for building trust, protecting your reputation, staying connected, and creating those micro moments of excellence that add up to huge opportunities over time.

So grab your favorite heels—or just your sense of purpose—and join me as we break barriers, challenge the status quo, and discover how to unleash powerful, multidimensional leadership from the inside out. Let’s rise together and become the superheroes we’re meant to be—in business and beyond!

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Superheroes in Heels is all about fiercely empowering women in business—especially in male-dominated industries. Each episode is a celebration of resilience, competence, and a little sass, and we’re just getting started.

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Until next time, keep showing up, standing tall, and wearing those heels like the superhero you are.

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Welcome to Superheroes in Heels, the podcast where powerful women rise, lead, and own the room. I'm Kimberley Borgens, your host, fellow trailblazer, and unapologetic advocate for women in the world of business. With over 30 years of experience building success in a male dominant industry, I'm here to empower you to do the same. Each week, you'll hear bold conversations with inspiring guests who embody strength, resilience, a little dash of sass, and a little bit of grace. Together, we'll challenge the status quo, break through barriers, unlock your confidence, and unleash your inner superhero. You ready? Let's go. Hello, friends. Welcome back to Superheroes and Heels.

I know it doesn't sound like me, Kimberly Borgens, your host, but. But, you know, when you have a commitment to do your podcast, even if you have laryngitis, you just keep going. So today is that day. So here, you know, it's Brios. We don't just talk about business. We talk about who we're becoming while building business. And today I'm going deeper with that strategy, deeper with, you know, the. The visibility tactics, the things that we want to do to grow our business, the sales, all of that.

I'm going to dig in just a little bit deeper on the invisible assets that we have as business owners, business leaders. Those invisible assets, they're things you can't even see. I. The. They're the things that you can't always measure, the things that really nobody teaches you about, but the things that absolutely determine how far, how fast, how sustainable you grow in your business and be. Because I just wanted to talk to you about something that. That I don't think a lot of other people talk about. You know, I say that often, but, you know, you can have the best offer in the world.

You can have the best product in the world. You can. You can have what everybody needs to grow business. But if you don't have trust and you don't have reputation and you don't have, you know, reputational equity is what I would say, then you're just pushing yourself uphill. If you don't have these assets, what happens is you get kind of stuck in, you know, trying to do the right thing. So today I wanted to unpack, you know, the things about what are those invisible assets? And why women specifically need to understand them. You know, how to identify what you already have as an invisible asset, and, you know, how you can intentionally build your assets to compound over time. Right.

So think about what are your invisible assets? A lot of times, you know, you hear it as. They're not, they're the non tangible elements of your business. And the tangible stuffs are your products, your services. The, the, the money that's coming in, that's all the tangible things. But the intangible stuff is the stuff that only you can do. It's what your soul brought out. It's the things that, you know, bring your business to light because you're the person who's bringing it to life. And I really wanted to share that with you because I think a lot of times people don't understand it.

And if you're not building these intangible elements in your business, then you're missing out on opportunities and then you're really just forcing business. You're being pushy. People don't want to work with you. And that's not what we're here for. We're here to build business. We're here to, to, to experience the things that are going to make us in business be successful. So things like trust capital. Do the people trust you? Do they trust what you're, what you're saying? Do they trust how you're going to react and respond? I know in the security business, my clients have to trust that we're going to take care of their property.

They also have to trust that if there's a problem, that we're going to handle it. They have to trust that we're picking the right people to work their locations. And if for some reason something goes wrong, they have to trust that we're going to take care of it and remove the wrong people. Right. And get the next person who's better as they grow, then we have to also grow our people in security as well. So that's, that's having trust capital. So think about for yourself what could be some things that your clients can trust you for. What's the trust capital that you have? What about industry goodwill, right? Are you bad mouthing other people who are similar to you? Or are you leveling up the industry and helping other people level up as well? Look, I know I have competition out in the world.

In the world of security, in the world of consulting, coaching, whatever. I know there's competition. But I also know that if I stay confident by always learning more and more about my industry, if I'm not bad mouthing my competition in any way, I don't have to like my competition, but I, I like having competition because people see what other people do. And so having goodwill, if I have a competitor that needs some support We've worked with many other security companies who say, hey, we're short staffed. Can we contract with you? Or we've worked with security companies who say, hey, we're going out of business. Would you like to, you know, have this information, you know, things like that? Or we, we'll say, hey, this is in your area. So I just want to point that out. That's called industry goodwill.

Always improving, always making it better. It's kind of like the Japanese kaizen, right? We're always improving, making it better, doing a lot to increase the standard of our industry and increase the goodwill. How about other intangible things? Could be your personal brand equity, or what do you have that makes you stand out? I have superheroes in heels. It's a little bit different. Right, I get it. That's part of my personal brand. I have all kinds of things in the security realm. That's our personal brand.

People. We've been around for 34 years. And so people know us. They know our, our delta and our patches that are on our uniforms and on our patrol vehicles. And, you know, we have brand equity because we've been around and we've sustained a lot throughout the years with our clients. And, you know, and, and just in the industry itself, about your reputation, that's also an intangible. You know, the reputation that you have, do you respond quickly to you, are you on time to meetings? Do you look professional, like people know? Do you answer the phone with kids screaming in the background? Right. Let somebody go onto voicemail and then call them where it's quiet and say, thank you so much for your patience.

I, you know, I was busy in another meeting. They don't have to know that that meeting was with a screaming child. Okay? But your reputation, you call them back quickly. You got things handled. Your reputation is how do you stand up. You make sure that your, your team looks good, that they're, they're speaking. Good for you. You know, look, I, over the years, I've had to terminate employees because they don't speak well on my client's property.

And that's part of my reputation. And so some people, unfortunately, they're not a good fit. Maybe they're a great fit for security somewhere off in a corner where nobody sees them, but they're not a public person. And they just didn't work out in my industry because it's part of my reputation to be respectful, not use profanity. Right. And, and that's a big deal for us. Your relationships, the people that you meet, the People that are in your community, the people that you reply back to, the people that you get back to quickly. Those relationships, you nurture them, you build them.

That's your intangible asset, your connections, right? If. If you've seen, like, that movie Devil Wears Prada, right? Miranda Priestly in the show, like her, everything is about her reputation. And she's not going to let you and your lack of fashion sense, right. Damage her reputation. Well, think about for you. What is your reputation and what are those relationships built? She's built relationships with people from all over the place. I know that it's Anna Wintour. I actually followed her, watched her master class.

She's a brilliant business leader. And that's, you know, Anna Wintour, and. And that's who Amanda Priestly was kind of cast after the. The movies about. But it's because of the relationships that Anna built throughout her life that the Met Gala is. Is as successful as it is each and every time. So what is. What are your relationships doing? What is your reputation saying about you? What's the credibility that you have? You know, what is it.

How is it that people talk about you when you're not in the room? I think that a lot of people don't realize that's an asset. If people are talking about you like, oh, you know, she causes trouble all the time. Oh, have you. Did you see how she talks to our clients? Or did you see how she talks to people? You know what? She didn't give money back, and she. She didn't solve the problem. You know, people talk, and I know it sucks, but it's still the truth. I have heard things about coaches for years and years and years, but I don't sit in that space of gossip. People will tell me.

I guess I'm just trusting they'll tell me, oh, she does this, and, oh, she did that, and she did this. And I was like, oh, wow, okay, I'm not talking about them, right? So here's the truth that most people miss is these assets they compound faster than money when it's done right. When you have these assets, people want to pay you, but more importantly, they want to invite you. They want to invite you into the rooms, they want to invite you into their groups. They want to invite you into the things in life. And when you're not there, they're checking in on you. They're saying, hey, I. I missed you at this particular event, right? Because they.

Those relationships, that reputation, all of that. I know right now I have a reputation for travel. Kimberly, you're all over the place. I hear that often. So I think that it's important to say that people are watching whether you realize it or not. And when. What are people saying about you? When you have them on your team? They refer to you. They refer you without even people asking, oh, have you met so and so? Oh, did you connect with so and so? Did you hear about this event? You know, you want to meet.

Really? She's going to be speaking over here, right? These are the things that you want other people to be saying about you. Doors open without you having to knock. Who's in for that? I know I am. Right. Opportunities come when you've already been pre. You know, when you've already been pre sold to somebody because somebody liked your reputation. Somebody already knows who you are, and it's important that they say, oh, well, you need to meet. Kimberly, I got a phone call just yesterday.

I do happen to be out of town, and I have laryngitis, but I had a phone call yesterday from a gal who said, hey, Kimberly, I have a slot on my live radio show that I'd love for you to fill. Somebody cancel. Can you come in and cover it? And I said, well, I'm having a little bit of problems with my laryngitis. That's number one. She said, yeah, I'm hearing that now. Then I said, in number two, I happen to be out of town. She said, dang it. So, you know, we're scheduling for another day where I'll go and do that.

I just wasn't the quick backup for her at this time. But you know what I did, I said, but I can get you a hold of a few other people. And I'm going to introduce her to at least five other ladies that she can have on her show. Right. So that's an opportunity for me. But I also get to bless because of these other ladies who have a good reputation, who are reliable, who are consistent, who are out there with their. With their assets, building their relationship in their community, showing people that business is important for them. And I don't know about you, but that's powerful.

I believe that is so powerful. And I think that men understand this a little bit more than women do. Right. But for women, it's even more powerful when somebody is dropping your name, because it doesn't happen nearly as many times as it should. Right. Men will introduce other men, but we want them to introduce us as well, because many of us are building in spaces that we're underestimated. Right. We have to prove ourselves or we're transitioning to a higher leadership authority and in that transition kind of pisses some people off.

So think about for yourself, what are some of these invisible assets that you have? They become your silent advocates. People are watching whether you realize it or not, and I know I've said it previously, is look, where are you leading people? You're either leading them to heaven or you're not. Right? You're leading them on the right path or you're leaving them behind and not leading them. So can we have an honest moment here on this is why do women overlook these assets so often? How about most women are taught to invest in skills, right? I say it all the time. It's better to have the skills ahead of time to be able to say yes to the opportunities, right? It's best to have the right skills when you know, having those certifications, learning the strategies and having content creation, these are all skills that women are taught to invest in, right? We, if we have the skills ahead of time, we can step into just about anything. But here's what most women are not taught. We're not taught to invest in ourselves, right? We're not taught to invest in how we're perceived as, as business owners. We're not taught to invest on how to be remembered when we walk into a room.

We're not taught how to make people feel when they meet you or when they see you in a room, when you walk in in your full glory, owning your role and having command presence. We're not taught that in any business school that I know of. Unless you go to the police academy or the fire academy or the military, right? So there's a disconnection there and we over focus on what we can produce and we under invest in how we're experienced by people around us. And I really want us to, to step into that a little bit. If you, if you think about what your assets are, think about the assets that I talked about. Are there any of those assets that you want to step into, right. That you think that you need to improve on or that you just need to pay attention to and realize that it is an asset? You can come over to the Hive Hangout, go to kimberlyborgans.com that's K I M B E R L E Y B O R g e n s.com so think about that is, you know, what are these assets and how can you improve on them and how can people start to experience you a different way? You know, having a little bit more of those assets up front and present with every touch point that you're offering, you want to feel intentional. You want it to feel professional.

You want it to feel empowering, right? Because you're. You're building these invisible assets, whether you realize it or not. And you want to make sure that what you're building is consistent and active and, you know, unforgettable. What happens a lot of time for women is we're not paying attention to it, so we're more often inconsistent, right? Reactive and forgettable. You're one of many when you're doing the opposite, right? When you're. When you're doing those kinds of things, being inconsistent, reactive, or forgettable, it's kind of like withdrawing from a bank account and depleting it. You're not being invited back to the business parties. What you want to do is make sure that you can get those people to show up, that all those things are happening for you.

So let's identify your current invis, and let's make this actionable for you. So ask yourself, what do people consistently say about me? Let me repeat that. What do people consistently say about you? Are you known as reliable? Are you known as bold? Are you known as hard to reach? Disorganized, Maybe late? If they're not saying what you want them to say, you have to ask yourself, what could you shift? How about this one? Okay, who refers me when I'm not in the room? Who are those people that are referring you? That's the trust capital that I was talking about. That's it working. If no one's referring you, that's an awareness for you. You have some work to do there. Number three, ask yourself, where do I have goodwill built up? Is it with your past clients or colleagues? Collaborations? Do you have testimonials? Are you staying in contact with your best past clients? If not, that's a little bit of work you could start doing. Number four, do people feel better after interacting with you, or do they feel drained? So ask yourself, do people feel better interacting with me or do they feel drained? That last one, that's brand equity in real time.

If you can walk out of the room and somebody feels like they learned something or they felt better, or they felt like, wow, she really listened. Look at your history. Every job that you've been a part of, every client, every conversation, check that out. You're either either been depositing or withdrawing from the relationships, from those connections, from those opportunities. If you realize that you don't have these assets built up where you want them to be, don't worry, because there's still time to make some shifts, but shifts don't just happen without awareness. So take a deep breath, right? There's still time. We're not done yet. So how can you build on these invisible assets? Well, first off, now that you're aware of some of them, right, you have to shift into ownership, because this is where leaders separate themselves.

You have to build the invisible assets on purpose, do what you say you're going to do every single time. But trust is built in consistency, not intensity. So being consistent, do what you say you're going to do every single time. Most people don't want to hear this, but you don't build trust in big, flashy moments, right? You build it in the quiet, often invisible moments where no one's applauding you. This is where reputation is either built or slowly eroded. Hey, and it's not about perfection. I don't. I don't want you to hear that.

It's about predictability. Can people count on you? You know, without even wondering, is she going to be there? Is she going to show up? All right, is my. Are they going to have enough handouts for people? Are they going to, you know, have the right security? You know, if they're asking those questions, then they don't trust you yet. So if you are prepared and you get people the stuff that they need in advance, guess what? They build more trust. Because someone trusts you. They're not asking, can she do it? Will she actually follow through? They know they can trust you. They know that you will follow through. And that's extremely important.

Let's say you tell someone, I'll introduce you to my content, or I'll check that for you. Or maybe it's, let's connect next week. And then you forget. And maybe you. You feel like, you know, it's a small, tiny little thing, but to them, it could create doubt, right? And doubt kills for trust way faster than failure. Because now they're thinking, is she busy or she's just not dependable? Do what you're going to say. Do what you're going to do. Do what you say you're going to do.

And number two, leave people better than you found them. This is not transactional, ladies. This is transformational. Most people are operating transactionally and they don't even realize it. They're focused on the sale, the outcome, the next stop, the KPI. But leaders who build real invisible assets, they focus on impact. They leave behind. In every interaction, they want to know that they left a good mark when they left.

And that means every time someone experiences you, they leave more confident, they leave more clear, they leave more supported. They. They feel more seen, feel more heard. Not because it's your job, but because it's who you are as a leader. Transactional leadership, they assign tasks, they review performance, and they move on. You want to keep staying connected. Transformational leadership. You ask, you know, where do you need to succeed? What do you need to do to succeed? Where do you feel stuck? How can I support your growth? Not just somebody's output, but what's their growth? And then you actually follow through.

And then they feel invested, valued, loyal. And loyalty, that's an invisible asset. You can't buy transactions, close deals. Transformation builds legacies. Number three, protect your reputation like it's currency, because it is. One sloppy interaction can undo months of goodwill. Notice who your, who your clients are and who you're doing business with. It matters.

And be known for something specific. Right? Generalists fade. Authority sticks. What you do, think about it. You want your name to trigger somebody in somebody's mind that they go, oh, you gotta, you gotta get a hold of Kimberly, you gotta get a hold of Delta. You got to get a hold of. Be a legacy. You've got to get a hold of.

Because when somebody hears exactly what it is that you do, they want to make sure that they know that you can do it. Number five, follow up and stay connected with relationships. These are your assets, but only if maintained. Look, I know it gets frustrating sometimes. I sent out 75 cards for New Year's, I got five interactions back, okay? I'm still doing my part. Doesn't mean everybody else is doing their part. When I pick up the phone and call and I was talking to somebody, hey, did you happen to get. Oh, yeah, I did.

Thank you so much for that. Right? It was just. They were busy. They weren't being consistent. They weren't building that relationship at that time. But you are. And you do. And number six, create micro moments of excellence.

Look, this is my jam sometimes, right? It could be a guest experience, it could be brand touch points, the things that are the moments. Little tiny micro moments. I talked about micro brav bravery previously. So micro moments of excellence, what can you do? You know, it's those little follow up emails. I had somebody who cracked me up because look, she, she. I told her that, hey, I found this and I sent her this picture and it was kind of comical and, and we found these, these pennies, a bag of pennies while digging up on a piece of property. And I reached out to Somebody and she said, oh, bad pennies. I was like, oh, no, I don't think so.

These are. These are not bad pennies. These are pennies that are going to create more income. This is. I asked for more income. I just happened to get it in pennies this time, right? And then I went on to find other penny quotes to send to her at random times to remind her that finding old, dirty pennies are not a bad thing. And it's just kind of a little tiny thing that connected them. So I just want you to know it's the little things.

So personalized message, remembering little details. That's how the equity is built. So here's. Here's what I want you to walk away with. You already have invisible assets. I've named off quite a few. I've given you some. Some examples, some ideas, some things that you could do to improve on your invisible assets.

The question is, are you willing to grow them more or are you just going to leak them? Are you just going to ignore them? Are you not going to acknowledge them? Because women who win long term, they're not chasing every opportunity, right? They've built so much trust, they've built so much credibility, build so much presence. And when the right opportunities find them, that's power, that's legacy, and that's leadership. So today, take inventory and then decide how am I going to show up in a way that compounds my assets, not just converts it to sales. So if this episode hits you a little bit, if you're like, oh, I didn't think of those things, share it with another woman. Share it on your social, add it to Facebook and give it to a woman who's ready to stop chasing and start compounding. If you're not building your leadership, your presence, and your power, who will join me over at the Hive Hangout? Because I don't just teach strategy over there. We're building women who carry authority everywhere they go. I'm so excited that you took the time to listen today.

Be blessed.

Thanks for tuning in to Superheroes and Heels with Kimberley Borgens. If you're walking away feeling a little braver, a little bolder, and a whole lot more powerful, mission accomplished. Be sure to subscribe to the show and leave a review. It helps us to reach more women who are ready to unleash their power and lead with confidence. And if you do leave a review, you might just hear your name in an upcoming episode. If today's conversation lit a fire in you, share it with your network and join us inside the hive society at Kimberleyborgens.com, where powerful women gather to break barriers and rise together. Until next time, keep showing up, standing strong and heels or not, keep embracing your inner superhero.