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In our Take 5 series, sponsored by Verizon, we ask women in business about unexpected challenges, their inspirations, recent wins, and how the free Verizon Small Business Digital Ready Program has helped propel their business forward. Here, we meet Therise Edwards, founder/CEO of Teshley Solutions, an education consultancy firm that helps students and families navigate the complexities of the education system K through 12.

What is an unexpected business challenge that you faced and how did you overcome it?

I wouldn't call myself a FAFSA (Free Application for Student Aid) expert, but I ended up having to know a lot more about it than I ever anticipated. FAFSA is what administers Pell Grants, which is what a lot of colleges base their financial aid on. I knew about the application changes, and some were excellent, but they made a series of critical errors and a lot of parents were scrambling. It was not my intent to have this as my area of focus; it just became a necessity.

What's a recent small win for your business?

Recent small wins are my collaborations. I formed partnerships with one organization that focuses on students with special needs. I hosted a webinar with the executive director of that organization. I formed a partnership with members from an insurance company on planning and paying for college. That was my first corporate sponsorship. And I've got a series of events coming out because others actually reached out to me. One of them I met through another networking platform, but I got to that platform from one of the sessions that I did with Verizon Small Business Digital Ready Program.

How did you start to collaborate with external partners?

Just changing my strategies and my approach, and just being more secure and more emphatic in making connections. It ends up being this continual cycle.

Is there a woman in business that you admire or that you look up to?

I have two. Leontyne Anglin, who runs a nonprofit called Beyond Expectations. She works with a small pool of students, but she just gives them enormous exposure and opportunity. She's brilliant with collaborating with individuals and businesses and really bringing the students what they need. And then the other on a bigger scale is Cate Luzio, founder and CEO of Luminary, who taught her Business Plan Bootcamp through the Verizon Small Business Digital Ready Program. She is just a dynamo. She is just so supportive of women entrepreneurs. She's awesome.

How did the Verizon Small Business Digital Ready Program help propel your business forward?

All of the collaborations and partnerships with the exception of one all came from joining the Verizon Small Business Digital Ready Program. I’ve taken all of the free classes and the one on projections and pricing, something every entrepreneur struggles with, was very helpful. There have been so many of them. Sometimes you're completely ignorant in a category so you take the class and it's like, okay, that's good to have. But then sometimes you sign up for it and it's like, oh, yeah, I did know 90 percent of that, but this other 10 percent is going to be very, very helpful.

Learn more about the free Verizon Small Business Digital Ready Program and Teshley Solutions.

Illustration by Daniela Jordan-Villaveces

In our Take 5 series, sponsored by Verizon, we ask women in business about unexpected challenges, their inspirations, recent wins, and how the free Verizon Small Business Digital Ready Program has helped propel their business forward. Here, we meet Rita Suzanne, a marketing strategist for health and wellness businesses who learned to network, connect with other entrepreneurs, and build her business online and IRL.

What's an unexpected business challenge that you've had to face and how did you overcome it?

The hardest thing for me was my sister passed away and I ended up taking custody of my nieces. I ended up being a single mom of four kids. This is the thing that transitioned my whole entire life. I stopped doing web design and started my podcast Mom Owned and Operated. I wanted to reconnect with other moms and figure out how they were able to run their businesses and raise a family and take care of themselves because I wasn't able to do all three at the same time. Through that journey, I realized that I really needed to connect with other people and how important it was for my business. It helped me to create that community that I was yearning for that I didn't realize that I needed.

What's a recent small win for your business?

For me, the win was just pivoting back to something that I actually wanted to do. Also, I’ve started to say no to things that I no longer want to do.

Who is a woman in business that you look up to and why?

I have always admired and looked up to Amy Porterfield [author of Two Weeks Notice]. I listened to her all the time when I was starting out. I think that she's amazing and I love her stuff. She just seems like a very genuine person.

Is there a resource that has made an impact on you as an entrepreneur?

I listen to a lot of audio books. One of my favorites that has been huge for me is You Are A Badass by Jen Sincero. I was told when I first started my business, by a friend who was a business coach, that I have a mindset problem. Ten years ago, I had no idea even what “mindset” was. Sincero’s book helped me to see what she meant by “mindset” and helped me adjust that mindset and fix some of the things that I didn't realize were broken.

How has the Verizon Small Business Digital Ready Program helped propel your business forward?

There are a lot of things that I have loved about it. There are local networking and training opportunities, and that has been great, and the online training is very valuable. It's a great resource. I find that marketing needs a three-tiered approach, meaning you need to network it locally, socially, and then also have a very comprehensive online approach to your marketing. One of the Verizon Small Business trainings that I took was all about taking advantage of your local resources. I found that to be extremely valuable because often people think they need to just focus on social media. I don't think that people focus enough on their local community.

Learn more about the free Verizon Small Business Digital Ready Program and Rita Suzanne.

Illustration by Daniela Jordan-Villaveces

I can totally understand falling for a costar. One scene gazing into each other's eyes, and (as the kids say), I'd be asking, "What are we?" Zendaya & Tom Holland and Ashley Park & Paul Forman both met on the sets of their most famous projects (Spider-Man and Emily in Paris, in case you were wondering), and this year's biggest movie event also features a brand new celebrity couple: Ariana Grande & Ethan Slater.

The co-stars made headlines when they ended their respective marriages and started dating each other, and Ethan Slater finally spoke out on the response to their relationship. Here's what he had to say, and the latest news on this couple.

• Ariana Grande & Ethan Slater met on the set of Wicked, in theaters November 22.
• The couple made headlines when they started dating the same month they separated from their respective spouses.
• In a recent interview, Ethan Slater reveals the reaction to their relationship was "really hard."

Ariana Grande & Ethan Slater's Full Relationship Timeline

Jerod Harris/Getty Images for CinemaCon

Late 2022 — Ariana Grande & Ethan Slater Meet While Filming Wicked

After Ariana and Ethan were both cast in Jon M. Chu's Wicked, the movie began filming in early December. Ariana Grande was cast as Glinda, while Ethan Slater got the role of Boq, one of Glinda's Shiz University classmates.

March 27, 2023 — Ariana Grande & Ethan Slater Were "All Over Each Other"

Ariana and Ethan reportedly could get enough of each other at Michelle Yeoh's Oscars party. A source told The Daily Mail later that summer that "They were seen making out at a pub in Hampstead, and they were all over each other at Michelle Yeoh's Oscar party."

Aliah Anderson/Getty Images

July 2023 — Ariana Grande & Ethan Slater Split From Their Partners And Start Dating

News of Ariana's split from her then-husband Dalton Gomez broke on July 17, while TMZ also reported Ethan filed for divorce from his wife at the time, Lilly Jay, on July 26. (Ariana and Dalton ended up filing for divorce in September).

After People reported Ariana and Ethan were now in a relationship of their own, Lilly told Page Six that “[Ariana’s] the story, really. Not a girl’s girl. My family is just collateral damage.” However, other sources claim Lilly and Ethan had been separated for a couple months before his relationship with Ariana started.

August 2, 2023 — Ethan Slater & Ariana Grande Are Moving Fast

Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater reportedly fell head over heels so quickly, their friends were telling them to pump the breaks. “Ariana’s been told it’s too soon to go public with him and to take things slower,” said an Us Weekly insider at the time. “She’s very aware of how she’s perceived by her fans, and she’s trying to be mature. [But] if it were up to her, she’d be seen with him tomorrow.”

Elsa/Getty Images

September 4, 2023 — Ariana Grande & Ethan Slater Are Learning How To Balance Their Relationship

Sources told People at the beginning of September that the costars and couple are trying to figure out how to balance their relationship with their celebrity.

“While this entire situation has been blown out of proportion, it’s much different than what has been portrayed in public,” a friend of the couple says. “They are just trying to navigate their new relationship in private."

Another reemphasizes that Ariana and Ethan only started dating after they were separated from their spouses, while a third adds, “They are doing their best to balance the fact that they are in the public eye with the desire to be respectful to all parties involved.”

September 2023 — Ethan Slater & Ariana Grande Go To Disney World

Surrounded by their friends and family, the Wicked movie stars headed for a day at the happiest place on earth. "They went with a big group of friends as well her mom and brother," a source told People. The source also said they're "really happy and really good for each other. All of her friends love him."

Cindy Ord/Getty Images

October 31, 2023 — Ariana Grande Supports Ethan Slater's Spamalot

Ariana Grande showed up to support her boyfriend for Spamalot's opening night at Broadway's St. James Theater.

December 23, 2023 — Ariana Grande & Ethan Slater Grab Dinner In New York City

To celebrate the holidays, Ariana and Ethan headed out to a nice Italian dinner, reportedly with Ari's dad Ed Butera. "They love to support each other in their work," a source told People. "When she’s done with work, Ariana loves going to the theater when she can."

Considering she's a musical girlie, and has been on Broadway herself, I totally believe Ariana heads to the theatre whenever she gets a chance!

December 28, 2023 — Ariana Grande Says She Feels "Deeply Misunderstood"

“I’ve never felt more at the mercy of and in acceptance of what life was screaming to teach me,” Ariana Grande said in an Instagram story. “I have never felt more pride or joy or love while simultaneously feeling so deeply misunderstood by people who don’t know me, who piece whispers together and make what they want out of me and their assumptions of my life.”

A source also told People that the popstar is “serious with Ethan. She loves being with him."

Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

January 12, 2024 — Ariana Grande Releases "Yes, And?"

In a line heard 'round the world, Ariana Grande's "Yes, And?" (the lead single from her Eternal Sunshine album) begs the question, "Why do you care so much whose d—k I ride?" The song doesn't mention Ethan by name, but there's a lot of room to infer.Although, when the album releases in March, Ariana also talks about a new "interaction" on “Intro (End of the World)," and wonders "if he’s judgin’ me like I am right now."

September 30, 2024 — Ariana Grande Defends Ethan Slater

In a Vanity Fair cover story, Ariana opened up about the reaction to her relationship with Ethan Slater, revealing that “the most disappointing part was to see so many people believe the worst version of [the story]."

“There couldn’t be a less accurate depiction of a human being than the one that the tabloids spread about him,” she says. “No one on this earth tries harder or spreads themselves thinner to be there for the people that he loves and cares about. There is no one on this earth with a better heart...I’m 31 years old and I’m not a perfect person, but I am definitely deeply good, and I’m proud of who I’m becoming. I will never let disreputable evil tabloids ruin my life or my perception of what is real and good.”

Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for Lucille Lortel Theatre

October 30, 2024 — Ethan Slater Finally Speaks Out About His Relationship With Ariana Grande

Almost two years after meeting Ariana Grande, Ethan Slater finally opened up about their relationship in a new interview with GQ. “Obviously, it was a really super big year and I think there was something that was really difficult about things in your private life being commented on and looked at by the public," he says. "There were a lot of big changes in private lives that were really happening, so it’s really hard to see people who don’t know anything about what’s happening commenting on it and speculating, and then getting things wrong about the people you love. So just to address that part of it, that feels really hard."

But the clouds also came with silver linings. “Of course, it was an amazing year and a really beautiful thing, and I’m just really excited," he continues. "I’m just really, really proud of Ari and the work she’s done on this. She’s poured herself into it. I’m really proud that I got to be there for that part of it, and I’m really excited to be there for this next step of it when the world gets to see the amazing thing that she did.”

Check back here for the latest news on this Ariana Grande & Ethan Slater's relationship! Read up on Taylor Swift & Travis Kelce while you're at it ;).