By: Casey Blakely

In the corridors of modern entrepreneurship, discussions around branding, positioning, and emotional sales tactics are often seen as the result of recent innovations. However, for all the buzz in boardrooms and business schools, there exists an older, more enduring model—one that has withstood empires, recessions, and societal stigmas. Long before venture capitalists focused on unicorn social positioning or motivational speakers advocated for six-figure weekends, the foundations of high-stakes commerce were already being quietly refined in the margins of society. That model is based on what is sometimes called a “secret” profession.

To some, this comparison may seem unusual. To Madam Nselaa Ward, Juris Doctor, it is simply accurate.

As a former “secret” worker, turned former attorney, and now business architect, Madam Ward has built her career on an unconventional premise: that this secret profession contains some of the world’s oldest and most enduring business principles. Today, she serves as Managing Partner at Ni’ Nava & Associates, a firm that not only consults with entrepreneurs but actively partners with them to build businesses. Her clients, many of whom are speakers, thought leaders, and underrepresented founders, learn not only how to sell but how to influence.

What sets Madam Ward apart is not only her professional experience but also her personal journey. As a former “secret” worker who transitioned into law and, later, high-level business strategy, she brings a unique understanding of two worlds that rarely intersect in public conversations. However, in her view, these worlds should.

This “secret” work, she suggests, serves as an intensive lesson in economics, value creation, and psychological marketing. It is an industry that has long understood supply and demand on a profound level. Successful figures in this field don’t just offer services; they offer transformation, emotional connection, and elevation. Their currency isn’t necessarily product, it’s influence.

You can discover more about this “secret” work in her TEDx Talk. In her widely discussed TEDx talk titled, Finding Unapologetic Self-Worth in Shame, & Secrets, Madam Ward shares her personal story and the lessons she has derived from it. The strategies employed by enduring figures in “secret” economy work closely mirror the tactics used by elite brands and top executives. From luxury pricing to demand created through social positioning, the similarities are not accidental, they are structural.

The first business lesson, she explains, is understanding desire as an economic force. In the underground economy, the most successful professionals learned early that clients do not simply pay for features; they pay for feelings, stories, and social positioning. Entrepreneurs who overlook this emotional aspect of business may find themselves struggling with pricing, visibility, or perceived value.

Madam Ward advises her clients to move beyond transactional thinking and toward transformational offerings. Instead of leading with deliverables, they are encouraged to lead with outcomes. What will the client feel, become, or command after the transaction? That is the true product.

Pricing is another area where this “secret” work sometimes diverges from traditional business models. In an industry where value is often determined by perception, professionals have long understood the psychological dimensions of worth. Rates are set not only based on time or labor but also by scarcity, positioning, and energy exchange. This is a lesson many entrepreneurs, particularly women and marginalized founders, find challenging to adopt.

Madam Ward works closely with her clients to help them overcome their fear of pricing and view it as a form of power negotiation. In her world, price is not simply a reflection of cost but of confidence. People, she argues, tend to find the money for what they truly desire. The moment a business owner stops apologizing for their value, their audience is less likely to question it.

Perhaps most importantly, this “secret” profession offers a tutorial in positioning, something that luxury brands like Apple, Chanel, and Tesla have mastered. These companies do not chase customers, they engineer longing. They control access, create mystique, and focus on exclusivity rather than visibility. So did the courtesans and madams of previous eras, who understood that desirability is often more significant than mere exposure. Exclusivity, rather than wide reach, is what often drives success.

Madam Nselaa Ward, business architect and founder of Ni’ Nava & Associates. Her unconventional book’s philosophy redefines shame as a strategic advantage.

Madam Ward’s firm, Ni’ Nava & Associates, is based on these principles. Her approach is not a standard blueprint but a collaborative experience. Clients do not walk away with a checklist; they become part of a co-command structure, where strategy is developed in real-time alongside her team. This immersive experience is designed to move business owners beyond mere survival and into a place of sovereignty.

The outcome is a new class of entrepreneurs, those who don’t just aim for success but aspire to be untouchable in their influence. For them, traditional business formulas may no longer suffice. They are creating businesses rooted in lived experience, sacred authority, and the power of narrative.

At the heart of it all is the philosophy in her book,  which sees shame not as a liability but as a powerful lever. Madam Ward’s framework draws from the prostitute archetype, a concept popularized by Jungian psychology and expanded by Carolyn Myss. This idea posits that power is often negotiated rather than seized, and those who learn to negotiate from a place of truth rather than trauma unlock a very different kind of success.

This is not empowerment as a catchy slogan, it is empowerment as infrastructure.

Her book goes into greater depth, offering a reclamation of the very systems once used to shame marginalized groups. It recognizes that these same systems also contain the potential for liberation. This is not just a business partnership, it is a movement.

For Madam Ward, one of the most harmful myths in business is the belief that shame can simply be hidden, silenced, or bypassed. In reality, it must be alchemized. Her clients learn that healing is not separate from strategy; it is an integral part of it.

In a marketplace crowded with formulas and frameworks, Madam Nselaa Ward offers something distinct: a new language for power, rooted in the secrets of an age-old profession.

Further reading: Thrive Global – How Rejection Led to Business Success

Published by Jeremy S.