For Women Who Are Unapologetically Ambitious and Fiercely Informed

This week, all of the applause goes to the Epstein Survivors. They refused to stay silent despite death threats, ridicule and shaming. I watched them today as they stood on the steps of the Capitol and read their sentences, while showing the photos of themselves at the age when Epstein and Maxwell pulled them into their web. We applaud the sheer tenacity, strength, and unbreakable resilience of each and every one of the Epstein survivors who stood together and demanded accountability—not just for themselves, but for the more than 1,000 victims of Epstein and every other woman whose stories have yet to be heard. These women showed us what real power looks like: not silence, not shame, but solidarity. By showing up, speaking out, and refusing to be erased, they reminded all of us that monumental change doesn’t happen quietly or alone. It happens when women lock arms, raise their voices, and make it impossible for the world to look away.

With Love & Lady Business,
JJ

In today’s edition:
— The Most Dangerous Phrase in Business
— When The System Leaves Us Out, We Build Our Own with Lisa Myers

The Most Dangerous Phrase in Business

If there’s one phrase that drives me crazy in negotiation, it’s this: “We’ve been doing it this way for 20 years.” That’s not tradition, that’s a trap. Put it this way, the IPHONE hasn't even been around for 20 years yet - and look how that has changed everything. This phrase is like nails on a chalkboard, and anyone who says it should stop cold. This is a patriarchal mindset that kept institutions silent for decades, the same old-guard thinking that allowed powerful men like Epstein to operate unchecked, and the same complacency the survivors are now fighting to dismantle.

When systems cling to “the way it’s always been,” what they’re really protecting is power, not progress, not safety, not people. And this is your warning: don’t let that thinking creep into your business, your leadership, or your decisions or your misogyny will be showing.

How to Make Sure You Don’t Get Stuck in the Same Trap:

1. Question everything — especially the “normal.”
If a process, policy, or partnership only exists because “it’s been that way forever,” it’s already outdated. Ask why, and keep asking until the truth shows itself.

2. Don’t let comfort masquerade as stability.
Old systems love to tell you that change is risky. But the real risk is staying loyal to routines that no longer serve you, your team, or the people who depend on your leadership.

3. Build with transparency and courage, not nostalgia.
The survivors demanding the release of the Epstein files are showing us that real change comes from refusing to accept the old rules. Your business deserves that same courage. Reinvent the structure. Rewrite the standards. Don’t inherit broken systems; replace them.

CTA: 
If we’re not careful, we can become the very gatekeepers we once needed protection from. So check your habits. Check your instincts. Check the story you’re still telling yourself. Because “the way it’s always been” is not a legacy, it’s a limitation. And we are done with that shit.

“My product is to empower women to lead their best lives while achieving their parenting goals.”

As luck would have it, I interviewed someone who refused to do just that. Listen to this new episode of Takin' Care of Lady Business®, S3Ep139: When the System Leaves Us Out, We Build Our Own with Lisa Myers, founder and CEO of Ceres Chill.  What is Ceres Chill? It's a way to pump breast milk right into a cooler that stays cool for hours. No more walking through the office with bags of milk in hand. She was definitely done doing it the same ole way and said, fuck waiting for “permission,” because the memo never came. Lisa takes us through her breaking-point moment—law-firm partner, new mom, pumping at 3 a.m.—and the shift she made when the system simply didn’t work for her. She didn’t ask to fit in. She built something that works: Ceres Chill, a company grounded in the reality of working-parent life, designed so nothing else has to be sacrificed for the sake of “success.” So if you ever feel left behind or overlooked, let this one remind you: you build the rules you’re playing by next.

Key Takeaways:
 — Success is creating something that helps women live and lead on their own terms
— You don’t need permission to start
— Talking about what you’ve built isn’t showing off — it’s showing what’s possible
— Community is the real engine of success
— Disruption starts with one woman saying, “This isn’t good enough.”

Lady Bits:

👀: Please tell me you've seen All's Fair? Hate it? I don't. I love when women can be seen in their power in business and their multidimensional lives. The fashion - questionable choices for a negotiation - what's the point? But when we see it, we can be it.  

👀: Watch this new PSA from the Epstein survivors PSA - I dare you not to feel or cry. All such heroes! 

📖: Looking for a book that redefines how we think of becoming a mother?  Being a single mom by choice myself, I know I have so thank you Ruthie Ackerman for writing this one: The Mother Code by Ruthie Ackerman

💰:  Thought men dominated all asset classes? Guess Again and read who are The New Power Buyers of the Art World? Gen Z Women

😳: One class, however, still remains - Male Hosts Dominate the World of Podcasting

Hi, I’m JJ.

Since starting the Justice Dept, we have increased women's wealth by over $100MM in just over 5 years. Want to know what inspires me to do this work, other than making women money? My clients' surprised reaction when we manage to get them much better terms for themselves and their companies, whether via talent agreements, employment, severance, partnerships, asset sales or investments. They often admit that they never thought they could get that result. Not even hoped. This blows my mind. As we know at The Justice Dept. you are all worth everything you ask for and more. Reach out and we’ll show you how!
x TJD