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FXBG Neighbors Podcast
Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast
FXBG Neighbors Podcast
EP #115 Come For The Leaders, Stay For The Grit
Leadership gets real when a community commits to learning together. We bring you a candid conversation with Kirstin Purcell of Handshake in Heels Talent Strategy about Live2Lead Fredericksburg, the one-day event designed for managers, founders, public servants, and anyone hungry for growth. From solopreneurs to government contractors, the room will be packed with people who want practical ideas they can use on Monday, not just motivation for the weekend.
Kirstin shares the simple, memorable theme guiding her talk: bet on yourself. We dig into what that looks like in practice—owning tough decisions, taking smart risks, and staying a sponge even when you think you’ve seen it all. The lineup brings powerful range: local business leaders, a fire service instructor of instructors, and voices with very different backgrounds that challenge how we think about communication, hiring, culture, and resilience. That mix turns theory into tools and helps you borrow proven tactics from fields you might never touch.
What surprised us most was the groundswell of support. From GCubed’s Vernon Green as title sponsor to WFLS and Stafford County Economic Development, the partnerships show how much the region wants consistent, high-quality leadership development. We talk about why Fredericksburg needs this now—industry shifts, new employers, ongoing change—and how this event aims to close the gap between potential and connected opportunity. You’ll hear who should be in the room, why it matters if you’re leading a team or plotting a career pivot, and how to turn one day of learning into momentum that sticks.
Ready to invest in yourself and your community? Save your spot at livetoleadfxbg.com and join us on February 10. If this conversation resonates, subscribe, share with a colleague, and leave a quick review so more local leaders can find the show.
Kirstin Purcell
Handshake in Heels Talent Strategy
kpurcell@handshakeinheels.com
571-422-8353
This is the Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Dori Stewart.
Speaker 1:Welcome back to another episode of the FXBG Neighbors Podcast, where we share the stories of our favorite local brands. I have a special guest joining me today. We've got Kirstin Purcell. She is with Handshake in Heels Talent Strategy, and she is also the co-host of the upcoming event on February 10th, Live 2Lead Fredericksburg. Kirstin, welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 2:Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1:I am really excited about this conversation, and I'm excited to share with my audience what this event is all about. So let's start there. What is Live 2Lead?
Speaker 2:So Live 2Lead is a one-day event for leaders, for aspiring leaders, you know, solopreneurs, all the way up to government contractors, you know, big, big name companies, all in one room to share one purpose, to learn more about leadership, uh continuous education, developing themselves. Um, you know, just a great, great day, uh full of motivation that sparks uh all things leadership.
Speaker 1:I am so excited for this event, and you will be one of the speakers, which I cannot wait for that. And so you've got a limited amount of time on stage. So what's the one thing that you absolutely need people to hear?
Speaker 2:So I without giving away my my don't give away your secrets. Um I would say from my speech, what I would love for for folks to walk away with is to just bet on yourself. That's powerful. Yeah, that's I mean, that's really kind of the a little little teaser there about um you know about my speech. But yeah.
Speaker 1:And you'll be sharing the stage with other speakers. So what are you the most excited about learning from from the other speakers?
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, you are gonna be one of them. Um so I'm excited to hear um hear your speech. Um, you know, you have a very impressive story. Uh so you know, just hearing the different perspectives. Um, we have uh Vernon Green of G Cubed, Jimmy Kingman, um, you know, who is our uh local uh fire marshal and he's the instructor of instructors, um, and you know, Mike McClanahan, myself, and you. Um, I think we all bring different perspectives. Uh, we have different backgrounds, different upbringings, you know, so it brings different elements uh to different stories that are gonna resonate with different people. That's what I'm really excited about. Also, our streamed speakers as well have different messages, different backgrounds, different topics. So it it's gonna, I mean, if you walk away from the event and you have not resonated with any of the speakers, I I don't know if you are truly listening. You know, I mean, there's just such a variety, and it's it's just it's awesome to to hear the different messages and then the different uh deliveries.
Speaker 1:Yeah. It is exciting, the the caliber of the talent in the room. And then also on top of that, the support from the community is just been just kind of mind-blowing. When when all of this started, I had no idea that this many um uh businesses and community leaders would um rally behind this. And that's just been really exciting to see.
Speaker 2:I think that the whole premise from for bringing this to Fredericksburg, um, you know, kind of started, jump started my um business development and you know, my kind of introduction, if you will, to the community and meeting all of the, you know, the key players around and introducing myself to business owners. Um, you know, and it has been, I think it's it's lacked here. Um, you know, I think that this community, especially now and all the changes and things that are happening, and you know, we had the um the government shutdown, we had Doge come in. I mean, just a bunch of things, just a bunch of things that are that have been happening. I think that this is just something that needed to happen. Um, and I felt that because I mean, being originally from Northern Virginia, you you know, throw a pebble and you've got an event, you know, I mean, every day if you want to, you know, in DC and yo, Fredericksburg doesn't have that, but we have so many influential community leaders and impressive stories and grit, and you know, and and that's that's what I was so excited um when partnering with Mike. And I said, we got to bring this here. Uh we've got the pension center, which is a great um, you know, spot, centralized spot. It's big enough um to get everybody in one room. Uh, you know, our community leaders, um, you know, I'm a member of FABA. They've been amazing at um doing introductions. Um, yourself, you know, I mean, you work with so many prominent business owners and um and they have welcomed this event with open arms and sponsored. I mean, we have, you know, it's just, it's been great. It has been great. And um, that's something that um, you know, GCube is very involved in. And Vernon Green, you know, he is as our title sponsor, very much a community man. Um, you know, and so it just it has just taken off. Uh WFLS, uh, you know, they were jumped at the opportunity to um to be able to promote our event and run ads for us. And um, you know, and then the Stafford County Department of Uh Economic Development, you know, they've been key players as well in and helping us and big supporters. So it's it's been great. It's been a good thing. And of course, you you're like one of our you know, number one cheerleader, and um, you know, so it's been a lot of fun watching it all come together.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So who needs to be in this room, Kirstin?
Speaker 2:I would say I anyone that well, so if you think I I think so anyone that is currently a manager, an owner, has employees, um, needs a little spark of motivation, um, is making a big change in their life. Uh I mean, it really anyone. I mean, it's gonna be amazing to hear the feedback after the event on what each person took away from it because it's gonna be very, very, very different. Um because everybody has different lives and different things happening. And, you know, some people are married and some aren't. They're going through a divorce, they have kids, they don't. Um, they're starting a business, they've had a business for 25 years. Um, maybe they're going through a career transition. You know, you just it's just it's gonna be so impactful, I think. I'm just I'm really excited to hear the feedback afterwards. So I would say anyone and everyone that want some kind of motivation, spark, or to learn maybe some new tips and tricks on leadership. Um, I I'm a big advocate of being a sponge. You never know, you don't know what you don't know. Right. And I've said that so many times, and it's true. Always, you always gotta have your learning hat on and be ready to to learn something every single day.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I love it. I love it. So February 10th, yeah. You all heard it, you gotta be there. It's for everyone. Everyone will be able to get something from it. And so to uh buy a ticket, uh live 2leadfxbg.com, and that's the number two. So live 2leadfxbg.com. Kirstin, thank you so much for joining me on the podcast today and sharing Live2Lead with us. Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 2:Um can't wait. Can't wait. I'm so excited.
Speaker:I'll see you there. See ya. Thank you for listening to the Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to FXBG NeighborsPodcast.com.