Is Upstate New York the New Silicon Beach? 3 Founders on How Moving From the City to the Country Benefited Their Biz
Entrepreneurs are flocking to this incubator haven.
Upstate New York has always been a haven for creatives, and when COVID hit in 2020, many founders relocated from New York City to upstate out of necessity, desire, or both. Below are profiles of three entrepreneurs—Trinity Mouzon Wofford, the founder of Golde, Eliza Blank, the founder The Sill, and Hillary France, the founder of The Wylde—who made the move from the city to the country last year. Read on to discover how the change impacted these founders and their businesses.
Trinity Mouzon Wofford, Founder of Golde
Saratoga Springs, New York
During the summer of 2020, when COVID was surging, Trinity and her fiancé Issey, the cofounder of Golde, spent the summer in Saratoga Springs to gain some relief and safety from the intense situation in N.Y.C. They were going back and forth from Saratoga to Brooklyn, a three-and-a-half-hour ride each way, when Trinity had the realization that, for the time being, it made sense to return full-time to upstate New York to live and run their business.
On one ride down from Saratoga during late summer, she remembers thinking to herself that she needed to go back; that perhaps running her superfood health and beauty startup, Golde, and paying rent in Brooklyn for too little space was not benefiting the growth of her business nor her own personal growth. On top of these challenges, Trinity and Issey are in an interracial relationship and, in the city, tensions were becoming palpable during the summer of 2020 in response to the BLM movement and the upcoming election. In a way, she felt as though the systems of the city were starting to fail her and she needed to actively change her surroundings for the benefit of herself, her family, and her business.
Trinity grew up in Saratoga Springs. In fact, four generations of Trinity’s family have lived in the same house that she returned to, where her mother still lives. Returning to the house that her ancestors had lived in for generations felt very natural and provided a safe space to gain a fresh perspective. It’s allowed her to go deeper into outlets such as gardening and plant care, which, in her own words, have allowed for more creativity. Not surprisingly Golde has benefited from this positive energy and change.
During this past year, Golde has been lucky. The business hasn’t been negatively affected, and has, in fact, thrived. In January, Golde launched in Target, and one of the brand’s two new products scheduled for release in 2021, Shroom Shield, has launched. The team has always been remote so no adjustments were needed in order to keep the business running smoothly. The lack of pressure to be everywhere and do everything, something that anyone who lives in a big city can relate to, has allowed her to realize that she can’t predict the future. She can only think a few steps ahead, and for the first time, she is living in the moment and is fully enjoying it and the lack of pressure this brings.
Eliza Blank, Founder The Sill
Stone Ridge, New York
It’s a similar story for Eliza. Coincidentally, both she and her husband Steve grew up in more rural areas of Massachusetts, so the desire to feel the grass under their feet has always been there. She found herself at NYU for university, and although she loved the city, she always missed nature. It’s this love of nature that inspired her to start The Sill, an online plant nursery that delivers botanicals right to your doorstep. It also inspired her to buy her first home in Stone Ridge, situated in the Catskills, in 2015.
The paths to starting The Sill—as well as finding a house in upstate New York—were not straightforward ones. Eliza found raising money for The Sill to be challenging. Venture capitalists often want fast growth at all costs, and Eliza was committed to making sure her foundational economics worked, which, for her, meant slower growth with her eye on profitability from day one. After an arduous raise, she is confident they found the right investors for The Sill, and these investors have been by her side navigating the most difficult year yet. As was the case for most businesses, March 2020 was a very dark time. All five of The Sill’s stores were closed and the distribution center in California was forced to shut down. The bright spot is that sales didn’t suffer. As it turns out, people look to plants for emotional support, and since people could not be together, they found connection in giving small gifts of kindness in the form of plants to each other.
In 2015, when buying their house upstate, Eliza realized that their mortgage would be less expensive than their rent in the city. Little did they know that five years later this house would become their permanent residence, sanctuary, and office for over a year. The past 18 months have led her to question if the social convention of the office is necessary. Does the team even need a five-day workweek? Eliza has started to hire permanently remote team members as far away as Hawaii and the business’s headquarters are now fully remote. For Eliza, she firmly believes that the space and closeness to nature their home provided them mitigated the extreme pressure and stress she experienced during COVID as a leader and also as an Asian American woman. Her home upstate became an oasis from what the world had become, or perhaps further revealed, that we live during a time of extreme unrest and racism.
When asked what’s next for her and her business, Eliza responds that she wants to live a life well-lived. She wants her two-and-a-half-year-old daughter to have the space to play and become independent. For the business, she wants to further realize the broad ways in which nature can be infused into our homes and what the brand essence of The Sill is, and how it can evolve to fit into this new space that we have all found ourselves living in. For Eliza’s family, they will go back to the city for a year in the fall and see how it feels. For right now, the country has allowed her to have creative breakthroughs and reimagine how The Sill can further help us maintain our well-being within our home as we spend more time there than ever before.
Hillary France, Founder of The Wylde
Hudson, New York
Hillary had always thought she would make the gradual move from spending weekends in Hudson, New York to living there full time. What she could not have predicted was that this move would happen as abruptly as it did in March 2020. For seven years, through her company Brand Assembly, Hillary had been running trade events for some of the most enviable fashion brands. Her business had been thriving, and then, within the first month of COVID, the Brand Assembly’s trade show business was almost obliterated.
She saw an 80% drop in activity and she soon found herself in the position of having to reimagine her whole business model. She immediately gave up her office, attempted to pivot but was unable to make it work, and slowly drained her resources. She had to accept that perhaps this almost fully offline and in-person event business was not an operation that could survive a pandemic. Not surprisingly, for the last year, her trade show business has been on hiatus (and the good news is that they are set to return in October of 2021), however, the backend operations piece called The Faculty is still fully functioning. This situation could have fully devastated Hillary, but instead, it pushed her to finally pursue a dream she had always had: to create a space for brands and community to convene in one place in Hudson. At that point, she had nothing to lose so she packed her bags, gave up her N.Y.C. apartment, and moved to her weekend house in Hudson to create what is now called The Wylde.
Hillary had spent nine years going back and forth to Hudson and saw an opportunity for a retail annex in this quickly growing city. In fact, Hudson was recently ranked the #1 metro area in terms of the biggest change in net migration. With the influx of people to the area, she figured there was more of an opportunity than ever to create a space where people could feel a sense of community and continue to be inspired by fashion and conversation. On April 17, 2021, Hillary launched the Wylde’s first outdoor market Summer Saturdays with a selection of handpicked vendors across apparel, accessories, vintage, and apothecary. Local N.Y. brands like M.Patmos, Hudson Hemp, and Lail Design are featured within the market while the permanent retail store that opened on April 30th launched brands like Rachel Comey, Dôen, Mondo Mondo, and more.
Is The Wylde solely an upstate dream? In Hillary’s mind, it’s not. When taking the Amtrak train down to the city she has daydreams of opening The Wylde up in another emerging market if she finds success in Hudson. Rather than feeling consumed by the fashion space she feels excited about how fashion, culture and even coffee (a Wylde cafe is slated to open in August 2021) can bring people together to create community and meaning. This evolution of the business more truly reflects the changes she has felt personally this past year and the community that she had always sought to be a more permanent member of.
Melissa Grillo Aruz, Founder of Aruz Ventures
About the author: Melissa Grillo Aruz has been an active part of the New York startup ecosystem for the past 20 years having senior roles at Forerunner Ventures, Gilt Groupe, and more. She currently runs her own marketing and talent consulting business under www.aruzventures.net where she helps commerce companies scale their business. She currently splits her time between upstate New York and Brooklyn. Instagram and Twitter @melgrilloaruz.
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These Founders Are Bringing Fair Labor Practices, Artisanal Jobs, and Economic Development to Tunisia
Alia Mahmoud and Lamia Hatira are investing in their “tiny but mighty Mediterranean country.”
You asked for more content around business finances, so we’re delivering. Welcome to Money Matters where we give you an inside look at the pocketbooks of CEOs and entrepreneurs. In this series, you’ll learn what successful women in business spend on office spaces and employee salaries, how they knew it was time to hire someone to manage their finances, and their best advice for talking about money.
Photo: Courtesy of Fouta Harissa
When Alia Mahmoud and Lamia Hatira met, they felt an immediate kinship. “We each have a Tunisian father and an American mother and our lives were sort of mirror images,” says Mahmoud. “Lamia was born and raised in Tunis and spent time in Seattle growing up, while I grew up in New York City and spent summers in Mahdia, Tunisia,” she elaborates. Although both women live abroad today—Mahmoud in Miami and Hatira in São Paulo—their families still live in Tunisia, and the textile brand Mahmoud and Hatira founded, Fouta Harissa, is their way of investing in their “tiny but mighty Mediterranean country,” Mahmoud tells Create & Cultivate. But they’re not just investing capital, they’re investing in fair labor practices for the country’s artisanal community.
By working with Tunisian artisans to craft high-quality, hand-loomed textiles, the brand is dedicated to preserving artisanal weaving in Tunisia while also contributing to the country’s economic development. “Unfortunately, Tunisian artisans are generally undervalued and underpaid as the custodians of our cultural heritage,” explains Mahmoud. “We want to change that by bringing the world a modern take on handmade artisanal products that also support fair labor practices, use sustainably sourced materials, and contribute to economic development in Tunisia,” she notes. Not only that but each of the artisans they work with is employed in a full-time position at the brand’s partner workshop and paid an above-market rate that exceeds the living wage.
Ahead, Create & Cultivate asks the co-founders all about how they self-funded the socially-driven brand, why they recommend hiring an accountant ASAP, and what money mistake has taught them the biggest lesson.
How did you fund Fouta Harissa? What were the challenges and what would you change? Would you recommend your route to other entrepreneurs?
Lamia Hatira: We started with a small friends-and-family investment of $20,000 which helped us start our entities in both Brazil and the U.S.A. We are definitely still working on a small budget. It’s challenging because you don’t have the resources to do everything you want to do right off the bat, but it’s also kind of wonderful because you learn what really matters for your business and how to make the most of what you have.
Each experience is definitely unique, but if you have an opportunity to get seed investment from friends and family at the initial stages, embrace it. Just make sure you’re on the same page with your investors about how active a role they will play and get in writing in your operating agreement.
The most important thing is to do what you’re comfortable with. We knew we weren’t ready to take out a huge loan or ask for a larger amount at the beginning because we didn’t want to owe anyone money or give away too much equity before we knew more about the intricacies of our business.
Three years later, we are now ready to take on more investment because of everything we’ve learned and because we know what works and doesn't work for Fouta Harissa at this stage.
What was your first big expense as business owners and how should small business owners prepare for that now?
Alia: Legal fees to register our business and write an operating agreement, as well as placing our first major product orders with our manufacturer were definitely our first big expenses. I would advise taking the time to build a business plan in order to price out these early costs to the best of your ability, from there figure out where that money is coming from. A great way to generate some early cash flow is to do a friends-and-family sale before your product launches officially. This can help you raise some money and generate buzz.
Lamia: Beyond your most basic costs, make sure to include the other expenses that will ensure that your first customers get the experience you want them to have when they receive their product. This not only includes the product itself and its shipping, but the packaging, the marketing, the communications—they add up.
What are your top three biggest business expenses every month?
Alia: Beyond paying for production, our biggest monthly expenses include the shipping costs to send our Foutas to customers, digital ads on Facebook and Instagram, and investing in regular digital marketing and PR.
Do you pay yourselves, and if so, how did you know what to pay yourselves?
Lamia: Not yet! We’re working on it.
Would you recommend other small business owners pay themselves?
Alia: Absolutely. When it’s your business, you’ll work harder than you’ve ever worked on anything else before. Your time is valuable. Your effort is valuable. Build it in from the beginning. One thing we didn’t take into consideration, that we wish we had, is the employee taxes a business incurs in order to draw a salary. Even as founders! So until you’re making enough profit to distribute in those early years, build a small salary into your costs plus taxes.
How did you know you were ready to hire and what advice can you share on preparing for this stage of your business?
Lamia: You don’t have to go from being a founding team to hiring a staff of full-time employees. We work with a lot of brilliant people, mostly as independent contractors. At this early stage in our business, it gives us the flexibility we need to try new things, learn, and try again. We’re so grateful to the talented people who believe in Fouta Harissa enough to devote their time to growing this business with us.
I think you know when you’re ready when you realize you don’t know how to do everything, and that’s okay! We’re still in the process of learning exactly what our strengths are as co-founders and when and where it makes the most sense to invest in a new skill versus finding an expert who can help. We look forward to the day when we can have full-time staff on the team.
Did you hire an accountant, and if so, would you recommend hiring an accountant to other small business owners?
Alia: 100%. We recommend hiring an accountant as one of the first things you do. They can even advise you when you’re registering your business. We asked around and got recommendations from other female business owners until we found ours.
What are some of the tools or programs you use to stay on top of your business finances?
Alia: Quickbooks has been a lifesaver. It’s a worthwhile investment and makes your accountant’s life a lot easier come tax time. We also use Square for offline payments and inventory tracking. And of course, Excel—a classic—where all the planning and projections happen.
Where do you think is the most important area for a business owner to focus their financial energy on and why?
Lamia: I’d say focus your energy on product quality and your people. Your product has to be the best possible thing you can put out into the world. At the end of the day, if you don’t have a great product, you don’t have a business. Just as importantly, invest in relationships. They are everything, especially at the beginning. You might not always be able to pay everyone you want to but be creative. Find ways to uplift them, involve them in decisions, consult them, and barter with them.
Do you think women should talk about money and business more?
Alia: Definitely. We’re always worried about speaking up because we think everyone else has it all figured out. When you’re a small startup, you think there’s no way others have made the same mistakes that you have. But if we can talk about it more openly, with no shame or pretense, then we can really support each other to make the best and most savvy money decisions.
The reality is, without good finances, there is no good business, and some of us can really use all the help we can get.
Do you have a financial mentor, and do you think business owners should have one?
Lamia: We have two. One on the more day-to-day financial management who helps us build spreadsheets, come up with pricing strategies, and analyze reports; and another one who advises more on visionary planning and fundraising. Both are women and both are total badasses.
Business owners definitely need a financial mentor, or more. Find as many quality mentors who care about you as possible, and cultivate those relationships.
What is the biggest money mistake you’ve made and learned from along the way?
Alia: Underestimating the cost of digital marketing. As an e-commerce brand, we definitely did not anticipate the challenge of competing with companies putting in $10,000+ into social media advertising every month. When you’re just starting out with limited budgets for digital ads, it can be hard to compete. This became even more acute during the pandemic because everyone became an e-commerce brand and doubled down on digital. My advice would be, plan for a bigger budget for ads early on or find creative ways to not rely on them like collaborations, partnerships with brick and mortar stores, and investments into your most loyal customer base to encourage repeat buys.
What is your best piece of financial advice for new entrepreneurs?
Alia: Whatever price you’ve determined for your product, double it. Seriously, there are so many costs you don’t even know exist, beyond your COGS, when you launch a new product. All of those should be built into your MSRP. And do as solid a financial plan as you can.
Anything else to add?
Lamia: If finance is your thing, use it to your full advantage and help others out. If financial matters don’t come naturally to you, make sure you learn the basics of your business finances to always know what’s going on, and surround yourself with people who know what they’re doing and who you can learn from.
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5 Women in Beer Who Are Inspiring Us to Crack Open a Cold One on Instagram
Grab that bottle opener.
Photo: Kampus Production for Pexels
Welcome to 5 for 5, where we spotlight 5 women in 5 minutes or less.
It’s no secret that craft beer has a diversity problem. According to a recent survey conducted by the Brewers Association, only about 7.5% of brewers are women and a staggering 88% of brewery owners are white. Ahead, we’re spotlighting five women in beer who are inspiring us to crack open a cold one on Instagram.
1. Beny Ashburn
As the co-founder of Crowns & Hops Brewing Company, a Black-owned craft beer brand and brewery based in Inglewood, California, Beny Ashburn is out here proving that Black people love beer (which just so happens to be the name of one of the brewery’s signature beers).
2. Jessica Martínez
Shortly after winning the first-ever amateur brewers competition she entered, Jessica Martínez launched her own microbrewery, Malteza Cervecería, in Mexico City. Follow the brewer on Instagram to find out which refreshing craft brews she’s currently sipping on.
3. Hannah Gohde
The head brewer at Naked Brewing, a craft brewery located in Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania, Hannah Gohde is a self-proclaimed #lipstickbrewer. On Instagram, she shares a behind-the-scenes view of what it’s like to brew beer from start to (sometimes) messy finish.
4. Brienne Allan
In addition to being a production manager at Notch Brewing in Salem, Massachusetts, Brienne Allan is using her platform to call attention to what it’s like to be a woman in craft beer, bringing the #MeToo movement to the craft beer industry. Something that’s, quite frankly, long overdue.
5. Alisa Bowens-Mercado
Noticing a lack of craft lagers on the market, Alisa Bowens-Mercado founded Rhythm Brewing Co., a New Haven, Connecticut-based beer company specializing in unfiltered lagers, which is something of an homage to her grandmothers, who were both beer drinkers.
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5 Travel Founders Who Are Giving Us Serious OOO FOMO on Instagram
Put that PTO to good use.
Photo: Spencer Davis from Pexels
Welcome to 5 for 5, where we spotlight 5 women in 5 minutes or less.
We don’t know about you, but we’re currently daydreaming about signing out of Slack, setting our OOO emails, and getting far, far away from our WFH desk situations. Ahead are five travel founders who are seriously fueling our OOO FOMO and inspiring us to submit a PTO request, stat.
1. Katalina Mayorga
As the co-founder of El Camino Travel, an off-the-beaten-path travel company, and Casa Violeta, a private villa located in Granada, Nicaragua, it’s no surprise that Katalina Mayorga’s feed is filled with beautiful beaches, colorful streets, and unreal sunsets.
2. Marta Tucci
Travel photographer, writer, and co-founder of Naya Traveler, a travel company specializing in tailor-made journeys to destinations spanning Spain, Morocco, Argentina, and more, Marta Tucci documents her travels to everywhere from Bahia to Bali and Kashmir.
3. Cheraé Robinson
Cheraé Robinson, the founder of Tastemaker Africa, a platform that connect travelers with a range of unique tours and experiences created and hosted by artists, creators, and makers, shares swoon-worthy snaps from Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Cape Verde, and more.
4. Achiraya Thamparipattra
The co-founder of Hivesters, an award-winning travel social enterprise created to preserve and help Thai culture flourish, Achiraya Thamparipattra often posts photos from her adventures in Phuket, Ayutthaya, Phang Nga, and more destinations throughout Thailand.
5. Phaka Dludla Hlazo
As the founder of Zulu Nomad, Phaka Dludla Hlazo is providing curated experiences in East and Southern Africa. Her IG feed is an enviable travel bucket list, featuring photos from UNESCO World Heritage site Maloti-Drakensberg Park in South Africa, Stone Town of Zanzibar, and more.
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Why Being Laid Off Turned Out to Be the Very Best Thing for These Founders
“We’ll forever be grateful for losing our jobs.”
Photo: Courtesy of The Hive
We don’t know that anyone really wants to be fired from a job, no matter how unfulfilling it might be. What we know for sure is that our career plans never included layoffs while we were having babies for the first time but what felt, at the time, mildly catastrophic, turned out to be for the very best.
We both met in the fall of 2017 shortly after welcoming our first children. Kristin had a daughter, Stella, and I had a son named Finn, and together, we bonded over this new chapter of our lives. We had no idea what we were doing (spoiler alert: we still don’t) and quickly bonded over the terror we felt becoming new moms. This new world felt unexpectedly scary, very overwhelming, and if we’re being honest, lonely, so it felt reassuring and comforting to have someone to lean on in such a similar phase of life. We’d meet up a few times a week for walks or drinks, and compare notes on feeding and nap schedules, growth charts, diapers, and eventually, our professional futures.
Kristin had been laid off from her role with a prestigious spinning brand while pregnant and knew that staying home full time with her daughter wasn’t part of her long-term plan. She hadn’t figured out the next step when we met but her entrepreneurial spirit was running wild with ideas and working for herself in some capacity was the dream. As for me, I headed back to a role in public relations that I loved after an (unpaid) four-month maternity leave. Like so many moms before me, I headed back to my desk so conflicted: feeling empowered by bringing home a paycheck but guilty for leaving my child in someone else’s care. Regardless of those feelings, I buckled down and got to work, despite my boss hiring someone for my exact role while I was on leave. I shook my insecurity off, showed up every day to prove myself, but despite my best efforts, it wasn’t enough for my boss, who fired me for “poor performance” exactly two months after returning to work.
Even now, three years later, I shudder remembering that feeling of inadequacy. On top of not fitting back into my pre-pregnancy clothes, losing my hair from a huge postpartum shed, and struggling to juggle pumping and working and being a great mom and wife and daughter, I was also unemployed. It sucked.
“Looking back, our respective job losses were stepping stones into a different and more satisfying career path, and for that, we’ll forever be grateful.”
I quickly jumped back in the saddle and began freelancing for clients in need of PR, and would still frequently meet up with Kristin and our kids. At this stage, our children were older and much squigglier than their newborn selves, so our usual go-to spots around our hometown of Hoboken, NJ, became impossible for us to visit. It felt like the town we loved so much had overnight become a place where we didn’t quite fit in. We were either at a spot meant for kids that didn’t fulfill our needs or at a coffee shop or restaurant that wasn’t accommodating to young children.
“I wish there was somewhere for us that would also be engaging for our kids,” Kristin said one day. I remember agreeing (while struggling to contain my baby, Finn, and sip my coffee), and suddenly, both our wheels were turning. We couldn’t stop thinking about this place: a shop that was designed for adults with great retail products, awesome food and drinks, and a place for children that would allow for their caregiver to take a break. It sounded too good to be true, but as we began looking into this business model, we found tremendous inspiration across the world. These cafes existed and were wildly popular internationally, from what we could tell from reviews. We fantasized about a space like this in Hoboken, New Jersey and started with a Pinterest board, which gave way to a business plan, and us cold-calling the owners of businesses we admire so we could ask them questions about their own experiences.
As we progressed in our planning, we kept coming back to one question, which helped quell our fears about opening a new business: If someone else opened this exact business tomorrow, how would we feel? And our answer was always the same: We’d be devastated. There was forever a worry that we wouldn’t make it, of course. Having had no experience in the coffee industry, there was the risk that we wouldn’t know enough to be successful, but there’s Google, there are the peers who become allies, there are other business owners who want to help you when you don’t know the answer. Failure isn’t an option when you put in the work and have people supporting you along the way.
We filed official paperwork to launch our LLC, sunk our savings into a joint account, secured a small business loan, and signed a lease on our space, months before anyone knew about COVID-19. The pandemic delayed our opening and, if we’re being honest, terrified us into thinking no one would ever give us a chance, but six months after opening, our shop is alive and well. The Hive officially opened in November 2020, almost exactly one year after we first signed our lease. It’s exactly what we dreamed it would be: a welcoming place for adults to get great coffee and food, a place to discover new brands and cool products, and a safe space for their littles to play. We opened in the midst of a global pandemic and have altered our model slightly by removing the majority of our seating and rather than allowing anyone to play in the designated playspace, we’ve introduced private reservations to allow us control over volume and to sanitize everything between each booking. Despite the challenges and delays we faced, we’re immensely proud to say that we’ve been profitable every month since opening our doors.
Looking back, our respective job losses were stepping stones into a different and more satisfying career path, and for that, we’ll forever be grateful. In fact, having the security of a job and a paycheck likely would have been more than enough of a reason for us not to take the leap into pursuing our dream. We may never forget that feeling of being told our jobs were eliminated (because let’s be serious, being fired sucks!), but the road we’ve paved so far is brighter, friendlier, and a whole lot more fulfilling and for that, we’ll forever be grateful for losing our jobs.
About the Founders: Before launching The Hive, Catherine Willhoit spent fourteen years working in public relations, specializing in the beauty industry, working for large companies like Dermalogica and IT Cosmetics, along with small, indie brands, to tell their stories and spread consumer awareness. After having her first son in 2017, she began reevaluating what mattered in her career and very slowly made the transition from PR into the coffee and retail space. The Hive is her first brick-and-mortar business and when she’s not at the shop, you can find Catherine outside whenever possible, taking hikes with her kids, long walks with her dog, or taking day trips to one of New Jersey’s many beautiful beaches. Catherine currently lives in Jersey City with her husband, Kevin, their sons, Finley and Miles, and their rescue pup, Egan.
Having spent over a decade working in retail merchandising for brands like Abercrombie & Fitch, Victoria’s Secret, and SoulCycle, The Hive is very much a fusion of Kristin Karotkin’s professional and creative passions. Her happy place has always been in the kitchen baking and playing hostess for family and friends, with a fondness for celebrating moments, both big and small. Having grown up in New York and going to Cornell for her undergraduate degree and NYU for her MBA, Kristin spent her summers growing up at the Jersey Shore with her family and currently lives in Hoboken, NJ with her husband, Sam, and two kids, Stella and Harry.
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"For Years, I Struggled With Mom Guilt"—These 3 Things Helped Me Pursue My Passion Guilt-Free
And “balance” isn’t one of them.
“You can be a mother and have a successful career or business, but you have to let go of perfectionism.”
—Tanya Dalton, Productivity Expert, Bestselling Author, and Speaker
The perfect mom always picks her kids up from school. The perfect mom always bakes homemade cookies for the class bake sale. The perfect mom never misses her kid’s game.
Chances are you’ve said a version of one of these sentences to yourself at one time or another. Perhaps it’s a regular occurrence, plaguing your thoughts with intense feelings of guilt with every move you make.
I have been there. In fact, at my breaking point, I found myself turning around in circles in my kitchen, unsure of where to begin on my mile-long to-do list—a to-do list that I believed would make me into a failure of a mother if I did not check off every single box. Needless to say, overwhelmed and guilt-ridden, I crumbled to my kitchen floor. It was in that moment I realized there had to be a better way. I realized I loved my children more than anything, but I would not be of any value to them if I was unhappy.
I had to remind myself that going after my own passions did not make me a terrible mother. And I am here to tell you it doesn’t make you one either.
In reflecting back on the day I sat on my kitchen floor 10 years ago, there are three major shifts I made in my life that changed the way I think forever. By doing so, I was finally able to relinquish the hefty side helping of guilt and shame that came with my favorite role in life: mother to my two children. Learning to finally let go of those feelings, and give myself the freedom to pursue other roles in my life—like business owner and CEO—has made me an even more present mother.
You can be a mother and have a successful career or business, but you have to let go of perfectionism. Perfection is the monster I’ve grappled with my entire life, and no matter what, I have always lost. Perfect does not exist, and the sooner you realize it, the sooner you can get out there living your life. In fact, I challenge you to stop using the word “perfect” in your life. Yes, things can be “ideal,” but if you are waiting around for perfection, then I hope you’re ready to wait for quite a long time.
Here are the three steps I took to get to where I am today. I hope by sharing these, many of you will decide it is time to do the work and kick “mom guilt” to the curb for good. Because you only have one life to live and it's yours.
#1: I uncovered the limiting beliefs I had that were holding me back.
We all have limiting beliefs that hold us back. Some common ones I hear are: “I will never be a morning person. I just cannot start my day early like some people.” Or maybe it’s something like: “I’m so bad with numbers, so there is no way I can handle the finances for my business.” Okay, now just add on being a mother to those statements and you can see how these beliefs really just begin carrying on a life of their own…
“I will never be a morning person. I just cannot start my day early like some people...and maybe if I actually could I would have time to pack lunch for my kids every day like a good mom should.”
See where I am going with this? Out of nowhere, we made up a rule in our own head that does not even exist in the real world! As I like to say, we have to stop telling ourselves these old stories.
If you are having trouble uncovering what your limiting beliefs are, allow me to share the “fifth why” exercise, something I use with both the women I coach, as well as my own kids!
The first step is to focus on the areas of your life that feel challenging right now—there is no wrong answer here. Don’t think, just write your thoughts down. Start by looking at the painful parts of your past—the things you regret or perhaps feel remorse for not doing. Where are the places where shame blooms and grows, the parts of your past you don’t want to repeat?
As a next step, you’re going to start the fifth why exercise, and yes, it is as easy as it sounds. Like any three-year-old you’ve been around recently, it really is as simple as asking yourself “why” until you uncover the true meaning behind your limiting belief. As an example, let’s say you wrote down “I am afraid to start my own business.” The next question would be, you guessed it: Why? From there, I find it is usually right around the fifth why that you get to the true root feeling, such as, “I am afraid to fail.” “I am afraid my family will go broke.”
After doing this exercise, I think you will find that your limiting beliefs aren’t as scary as you think they are when you put them down on paper and get them out of your head. Only when you acknowledge that they exist can you actively make choices to disrupt those patterns and make strides in the direction you really want to move. After all, the first step to overcoming our limiting beliefs is to first recognize what they even are!
#2: I got really clear on my core values so that setting boundaries and saying “no” became easy.
What you value in life needs to be the North Star of your business or career. Every single move you make in your career should be in alignment with your guiding values.
Once you get clear on your values, it is amazing how much easier the word “no” becomes, a word that used to trigger that feeling of guilt inside of me, which is the theme of this article.
For example, one of my core values is family, which is a deciding factor in each and every business decision my husband and I make for our company. If I am invited to speak at an event that conflicts with a family event or doesn’t really resonate with the message I am trying to bring to the world, then the answer really becomes crystal clear: No.
#3: I permanently removed the idea of “balance” from my life because balance is bogus.
Here’s a secret many productivity experts won’t tell you: balance does not exist. Trying to achieve balance will inevitably lead to you feeling like a failure. It is all about achieving harmony and leaning into what I like to call “counterbalance.” There is never going to be a time in your life where you can perfectly balance all of the important roles you carry. Remember, we are avoiding the word “perfect” because it too does not exist.
Instead, I encourage you to lean into your different priorities when the time comes. If I have a huge launch to prepare for at work, then I make a point to tell my family that mom is going to be focused on work for the week. But that doesn’t mean the following week won’t look completely different. There are weeks where my entire focus is college trips with my son or volleyball games for my daughter. In fact, last week I went on a much-needed vacation with my family and did not turn my phone off of airplane mode for 10 glorious days. Why? Because the priority I was leaning into for those 10 full days was my family. Nothing else.
If I had “balanced” then my kids would have risked waking up to mom sitting at the breakfast table, beautiful beach scenery and fresh air be damned, clutching her cell phone and furiously typing, wasting away the precious moments we have left before my son goes off to college and begins his future.
Balance is bull. Let’s achieve harmony together. I know we can.
About the author: Tanya Dalton is a nationally recognized productivity expert, best-selling author, and speaker. Tanya serves as a growth strategist for female leaders in the corporate and entrepreneurial sectors. Her 12-month mentorship program, The Intentional CEO, helps entrepreneurs grow thriving businesses and thriving personal lives. Tanya is also the founder and CEO of inkWELL Press Productivity Co., a company that provides tools that work as catalysts to help women do less while achieving maximum success.
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I Got 20 Female Entrepreneurs Together and *This* Is Their Biggest Problem
Here’s how to fix it.
Photo: ColorJoy Stock by Christina Jones Photography
At an entrepreneurial meetup I hosted recently, I asked everyone to think of a high-end offer for their audience. Most of the women in the room had never offered anything at a premium price, but I was shocked when someone started telling the group about her experience doing so. “I run a successful, high-end seven-figure company, and have for over a decade, but every time I finish the year, I’m disappointed with profit margins hardly over 30%,” one entrepreneur told us.
She went on to explain that she charged a lot, but would also sometimes tell her clients that they didn’t need to pay for that month’s work or she would offer to do certain expensive tasks for free. Woah. High-end, but still scraping by? Not okay. But she’s not the only one. According to this study, self-employed men earn 28% more than self-employed women. Why is this? In my experience, it’s usually because women don’t charge enough for their services or they try to be too generous, which then leaves them with measly profit margins.
By and large, the #1 problem female entrepreneurs have is asking for an amount that not only covers costs but also leaves them with a healthy 70% profit margin. Here are three things you can do to reverse this and make more money in business.
1. Fire some clients.
If you have a client who doesn't want to pay what you're worth, don't hold on to them. Lovingly let them go. This will create space for more clients to come in that will gladly pay whatever rate you charge. And the secret truth is that the highest-paying clients are the easiest to work with, but you can’t serve them if you’re too busy with clients who don’t value you or your work. Trust that there’s more where that came from, set your boundaries, let difficult clients go, and focus on attracting higher-end clients that love you.
2. Overcompensate for costs.
If you think you need to charge $5,000 to cover costs and turn a profit, my advice is to double that. When you price an offering, putting in a buffer amount allows wiggle room for you to cover any extra time or expenses spent on a project. It’ll also ensure that if you need to hire help or invest in new material you won’t go in the red. This is especially important for product-based or project-based businesses that go off of cost estimates. Overestimate costs so that you can a) make more money and b) overdeliver on your service.
3. Charge a premium price.
To me, premium means anything above $1,000 a month. If you're charging a premium, you can take on fewer clients, do better work with them, but not suffer the loss of profit. You can have multiple tiers of offers to serve your client base, but having at least one premium offer is such a game-changer when it comes to scaling your business. Raise your rates and watch the magic happen as you work less and earn more.
I don’t know about you, but I’m done seeing women settling for “enough.” Setting the bar high for yourself and your business means you aren’t just a newbie in your field, you’re an expert. What naturally follows is increased profits and better clients.
“If you have a client who doesn't want to pay what you're worth, don't hold on to them.”
—Kimberly Lucht, Business Coach
About the author: Kimberly Lucht is a business coach who helps women make their first six figures doing what they love. She’s been featured in Money, Business Insider, Well + Good, Greatist, Create & Cultivate, and more.
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4 Ways Failure Led Me to Become a Solopreneur
When wrong turns ultimately lead to the right path.
“Had I ‘succeeded’ in my past endeavors, I’d probably be sitting in a corporate office racking my brain over some superfluous comment my boss made in our morning meeting.”
-Sarah Lempa, Writer, Entrepreneur, and Creative Media Strategist
I used to crack jokes about being the black sheep of my business school in college. Mingling with corporate recruiters, relentless internship hunting, networking events that were more awkward than an eighth-grade dance—none of them were quite my forte. “What am I even doing here?” I’d ask friends with a sheepish grin, in between classes where I wrestled to keep my focus. Under the jokes, however, there was a gnawing fear that I wasn’t good enough.
Me and failure? Oh, yeah. We go way back.
We’re old pals, really. Between wiping tears on the sleeve of my Ann Taylor suit (that I loathed) after career fairs and feeling like I got punched after yet another job rejection, we’ve gotten to know each other painfully well. What I didn’t know back then was that failure had a secret agenda the entire time: To align me in a direction congruent with who I really am.
Two-and-a-half years, one self-designed career, and 40+ countries later, I couldn’t be more grateful for my so-called failures. Without them, I’d probably still be taking lunch break naps in my car at an office job. Here’s how each blunder and botch catapulted me into becoming a solopreneur.
1. Each rejection prodded me to try something new.
Early in college, I chased big-name corporate internships. I never received a single offer. Taking everything far too personally at age 19, I’d stew in the sullen sting of failure, agonizing over why I didn’t make the cut.
After moving on to pursue advertising agencies, I was beside myself that I had ever attempted working in corporate America. My personality wasn’t suited for a “normal” office, I thought. I should work somewhere with colorful bean bag chairs, a place where people swear in their emails, I convinced myself. While it was comparatively better, the agency world offered little improvement when it came to freedom. Not even all of the Friday office beers in the world could make up for that. As fate would have it, none of my job prospects materialized anyway.
With each perceived screw-up, I gained insights about what would actually make me happy. It wasn’t freedom within the office—it was freedom from the office. I wanted to travel the world like a crazy vagabond, not spend 97% of the year daydreaming of a meager 10-day vacation. That revelation was scarier than any rejection, as I knew it would be much harder to achieve.
2. I learned exactly what I didn’t want for my career—much faster.
A fancy name tag, gargantuan skyscraper office views, glossy high heels that echoed in hallways... I used to think I needed these things to be successful. It turns out that was only what other people around me wanted at the time. Failure bopped me on the head like a Whack-A-Mole, time and time again, saying you don’t want any of that anyway. I lusted after their approval, mirroring others’ dreams that weren’t suited for me. I can only imagine how much longer this realization would have taken had I not gotten turned down from the start.
In a last-ditch effort to get a job that provided some semblance of freedom, I applied to be a flight attendant. I wanted to try freelancing while flying for a living, hoping I could figure out self-employment while on-the-go. I made it to the third round of the interview process and never got a callback. I sobbed at the news, thinking I had officially lost all chance at freedom in my career. Little did I know that crushing letdown would later lead me to take a leap into freelancing full-time, something I’d later look back on with immense gratitude.
“I wanted to travel the world like a crazy vagabond, not spend 97% of the year daydreaming of a meager 10-day vacation.”
-Sarah Lempa, Writer, Entrepreneur, and Creative Media Strategist
3. It made me a more resilient and courageous person.
Reminiscent of first heartbreak, those initial flops in your professional life can leave you feeling like you got dumped on Valentine’s Day. To make matters even worse, there probably isn’t any leftover chocolate laying around either. I used to put so much emotional stock into each application, meeting, and interview — forming lofty attachments that would only come back to bite me. As the years passed, I eventually learned to peel myself out of the pity zone a bit faster.
Don’t get me wrong: Sometimes I still feel heart-sinking pangs of disappointment when things don’t go how I’d like. I’m only human, after all. The difference nowadays is that mishaps feel less apocalyptic; resilience has taken the stage. I started to accept (and even embrace) the unknown. Risk-taking became commonplace when I realized I wouldn’t get high rewards by staying comfortable. Failure is the devious cousin of risk, and you have to invite ‘em both unless you want your party to be painfully boring.
4. Without other options, failure forced me to try that one “crazy idea.”
Jobless as a fresh graduate, I couldn’t find a single reason to hold back. Without these bumps in the road, I would’ve never hopped on a one-way flight to Vietnam in pursuit of building my own location-independent career. I would have never felt the goosebump-raising thrill of building something that felt so authentically me in all ways. And I certainly wouldn’t have been able to manage the tumultuous roller coaster that comes with paving your own way as a solopreneur.
Had I “succeeded” in my past endeavors, I’d probably be sitting in a corporate office racking my brain over some superfluous comment my boss made in our morning meeting.
Like a friend dishing out tough love after a breakup, failure yanked my hand and swung me exactly where I needed to be. And while we’ve come a long way, this is a lifelong journey.
Photo: Courtesy of Sarah Lempa
About the Author: Sarah Lempa is a writer, entrepreneur, and creative media strategist covering the joys (and challenges) of freelancing, travel, and solopreneurship. Her work has appeared in Business Insider, Fodor’s, and SUITCASE Magazine, among others. Currently based in Indonesia, she’s called multiple countries home and has ventured across 6 continents along the way. When she’s not chipping away at a piece, you’ll find her jamming out to groovy beats or riding a motorcycle. Keep up with her on Instagram @travelempa.
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Jen Rubio—Co-Founder of the Billion-Dollar Start-Up, Away—Covers Inc. Magazine
Going the distance.
The new disruptors.
Jen Rubio, co-founder and creative director of Away says that “When you're starting a business for the first time, you're doing everything for the first time.” It’s a perfunctory explanation as to why startup founders struggle. The ins, the outs, the ups and downs; it’s turbulent. But Rubio along with her co-founder Steph Korey have weathered the storm and come out on top.
The company (which made the Forbe’s 2018 Next Billion-Dollar Startups list) was recently valued at $1.4 billion after raising $100 million. Last year, the company was on track to do $150 million in revenue and was valued at roughly $700 million. So it only makes complete sense that Rubio would be on the cover of Inc. Magazine today.
She shared the exciting news on her Instagram, graciously congratulating the team at Away for the achievement.
“This cover is for @stephkorey, team @away, all of our customers who rolled with us through the airline battery ban and continue to spread the love, everyone who said we couldn’t do it, everyone who said we could obviously do it, my mom, my dad who would’ve driven all over NJ to buy all the copies, and for every single entrepreneur out there—regardless of your background or pedigree or MBA or no MBA—who is busy doing the work and making things happen. Grateful to the wonderful team at @inc and @youfoundchristine. Cover photo by @tawnibannister”
But when Jen and her co-founder, Korey, both former execs at Warby Parker, left to launch Away, they knew that luxury travel accessories needed retooling and they were ready for a bumpy ride. Dedicated to a piece of luggage for the way "people really move" that didn't come with a first class price tag, the first product was a beautiful, high-end minimalist carry-on without the zeros. Away made traveling in style a whole lot easier. Vogue called it, “the perfect carry-on.” Forbes 30 Under 30 took notice. They had accolades in the bag, but they didn't stop there.
Away now offers varied sizes and chic travel accessories. Steph says the goal is to “be a part of the company that’s the first thing anyone thinks of when they have travel needs.” They're changing how we travel, one charged up suitcase at a time.
Read a little about their journey below.
What is the most important step you took this far?
Steph: I made it a point at every step in my career to always look for opportunities to go above and beyond. That mentality really prepares you for all the unexpected challenges that come your way when starting a business.
Jen: Having conviction in an idea and committing to seeing it through all the way.
What keeps you going?
Steph: Coffee? Just kidding, the biggest thing that keeps me going is the excitement for the game changing travel company we're building and the mind-blowing members of the Away team who constantly inspire me.
Jen: Relationships. I'm energized by people and conversations and am at my most creative when I find myself really connecting with those around me.
What is the best piece of "real talk" advice you've received?
Jen: "You will never be great on your own if you don't learn how to work with other people." That snapped me out of my early 20s "I can do it all" hubris and got me thinking about how to be a team player and people manager.
Steph: "Hire slow, fire fast. Better have a hole than an a-hole." - Neil Blumenthal, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Warby Parker
What are some challenges you’ve encountered along the way?
Steph: The list goes on and on. If you push yourself in your career, you're constantly being challenged because you're always taking on things that push your boundaries. I wouldn't have it any other way.
What is your favorite life advice?
Jen: "Ships are safe in harbor, but that's not what ships are built for." Take the risk!
What is a habit or routine you swear by?
Steph: My clothes all look pretty similar to each other: black, white, grey, denim. Taking out the day-to-day thinking about clothes frees up brain space for other things.
Jen: Every night before bed, I think of five things from the day that I'm grateful for. Gratitude is a practice.
International Women’s Day is coming up. It's a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. If you could steer the conversation around International Women’s Day, what would that dialogue be about?
Jen: I'd want to highlight the disparity between the opportunities of women in different places around the world and bring attention the the incredible, resilient women I've met in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Haiti, etc. and their stories.
Steph: That the goal should be to one day stop celebrating it because men and women are so equal across the whole world that there would be no need.
What does female empowerment mean to you?
Steph: Historically, women haven't always had the same legal rights as men. It's really in the last generation that it became socially acceptable for women to have the same career potential. To me, female empowerment means reminding women that if any person can do something, so can they.
Jen: Being open, honest, and vulnerable with the women I call my friends, and as a result, encouraging each other to do better and enjoy the process.
What do you do to support other women, either professionally or personally?
Steph: I treat them the same as men, both personally and professionally. The whole point here is that people are people, so when it comes to hiring, promotions, or supporting your friends, everyone should get the same great support.
Jen: I try to be active in mentorship, panels, and discussions that help women, and while doing so, try to be as transparent as possible about my own experiences.
This article is part of our Create & Cultivate 100 List created in collaboration with KEDS, you can view the full Entrepreneur List Here. This post was originally published on January 23, 2017, and has since been updated.
We Need to Talk: I Earn More Than My Partner
Talking double standards, gender dilemmas, and female breadwinners.
The wage gap is a battle that’s yet to be won, but there are many women who are bringing home more bacon than their significant others.
Married women are more likely than ever before to out-earn their husbands. According to a Pew study in 1960 just about 4% of married women were the primary provider in their family, whereas in 2013 that percentage increased by 20%. Rising education and employment levels contribute to this stat.
Despite the upswing in changes, the same study found that 74% of adults say that the increase in working women, particularly working mothers, has made it harder to raise children and harder for marriages to succeed.
So, we need to talk. We chatted anonymously with three women who are primary household breadwinners in various life stages about how they and their partners really feel about earning less.
A single mom in a relationship.
A married woman with two kids.
And a VP living with her fiancé.
Does earning more than your significant other affect your relationship?
Single mom: It comes in waves, honestly. There are some days when I can tell he’s uncomfortable with my success or that I don’t “need” him in the traditional sense.
Married woman: At this point, no. But I wasn’t always earning more so that power switch was difficult to get used to. That’s not to say money equals power, but for a long time the person in charge of the bank account was the one making all the decisions. In most cases, that was a man. Banks wouldn’t even loan women money or let them sign for their own credit cards in the ‘70s. I don’t know why we expect this not to be difficult for men. They’ve been told and conditioned to behave one way— and there is a shift among Millennials, sure, but change is uncomfortable. If you watched your parents behave one way or the other it’s hard to break from that mindset.
VP: This is tough because he’s also successful. When I was dating there were men who wanted a woman in a more traditional role. Logical or not, there are men who want to wear those proverbial pants. I get it, I like wearing the pants too. But I’d like to think that part of the reason we’re getting married is because he values my work ethic and my success. I’d like to think it affects my relationship in a positive way. He supports me and values me.
Do you think men in general are uncomfortable with a female breadwinner?
Married woman: Yes. Like I said before this is slow shift. A long rolling after-shock. Things are moving and shaking, but in the process books are going to fall off the shelves and jars in the pantry will break. Nothing changes without a little— or a lot — of discomfort.
Single mom: In general I don't think people want to be in relationships where there is a power play happening. I can only speak to my relationship but my boyfriend doesn’t believe that income reflects power in a relationship. I agree with him and at the same time I can’t help but wonder— if I’m being REALLY honest— he would feel the same way if he made more money. Money is weird. It makes men and women act weird. I don’t know any other way to explain it.
VP: We’re slowly moving out of the mindset that men are the providers and women are caregivers. There is no longer a “traditional” role. I don’t even know what that would look like— and that's confusing to people. Men and women. Confusion and uncomfortable generally go hand-in-hand. We’re all testing out new models and there’s no one person to point to and say, "they did it right!" And when we do point to a couple that “did it right,” it’s usually someone’s grandparents who have been married for 50 years and held very “traditional” roles. Which, again, is confusing, because most people don’t want what their grandparents had.
"There is no longer a 'traditional' role and that's confusing to people."
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Who pays when you go out to dinner? Or when you want to go on a vacation your partner can’t afford?
Single mom: We pay for what we can afford. And if one of us is uncomfortable, we say something. Communication is more important than who earns what. That’s a really annoying PC answer, but it’s also the truth. If we go out to dinner 10 nights and I’ve paid for 9 because I can afford it, I’ll say something. I expect an effort to be made on his part in ways that he can contribute. There are ways to support someone that are not financial. When one person isn’t making an effort, that’s a bigger problem than what’s in your bank account.
Married woman: I think it’s different when you’re married. Most successful couples have clearly defined financial roles and decide how they are going to split finances. My parents never fought about money because they had independent accounts and one account they contributed to that was a percentage of their earnings, not a lump sum. There’s no tit for tat in marriage and when there is, you’re probably getting divorced. You need to throw this notion of fair out the window. Be fair with your heart if you want your love to last.
VP: At the end of the day, if dinner is my suggestion or I’m taking him on a date, I pay. And vice versa. Does it work out to be an even split? No and I’m OK with that. MOST of the time. My love for him isn’t based in dollars. That doesn’t mean that emotions and money never get crossed. Somewhere at the intersection of the two there are arguments, feelings that get hurt, resentments. To pretend they are independent of each other would be over-simplifying.
Do you think women think of their income as “theirs,” where men have to think of their income as “ours?”
Married woman: Yes. There is a double standard 100%. Since women still earn less on the man’s dollar and are just now in the last decade or so occupying positions always held by men, I think there is this need to hoard or hold onto their income. We didn’t always have the opportunity to make money, so there’s an innate desire to keep it. Is that right? I don’t know. Women still feel the need to protect themselves.
VP: These are hard questions because I have to be honest about my relationship to gender roles. I want to be breadwinner. I like it. At the same time, I still like a man to open my door and take me on a date, and I don’t know, plunge the toilet. Men are expected to share more than women and I think women like it that way, without always reciprocating.
"I want to be the breadwinner, and at the same time, have the man to take me on a date."
Single mom: Ah. What’s yours is mine, and what’s mine is mine. Yeah, there’s definitely some of that going on. I’ve talked to many of my friends about this, who are also higher or relatively equal earners. There are mixed feelings. Nothing is ever going to be an equal down-the-middle split. If anything, I think we should take this as a lesson that shifting roles are hard for both genders and perhaps be a little less angry when it doesn’t come easy. That’s not a particularly feminist thing to say.
Do you feel more in control in the relationship because you earn more money?
Single mom: I feel more in control of my own life. I feel able and competent which, in turn, creates a real confidence in me that I think is attractive to certain men. I don’t need to be in control of someone else, but I do like being in control of my own life. Knowing that if we broke up, I’d still be OK, able to pay my rent, feed my kid, go on small vacations. I don’t have a ton of expendable income, but I do fine on my own. I think that is empowering, more so than having “control” over another person. I don’t feel better than him because I earn more, I simply feel good about myself.
"I don’t feel better than him because I earn more, I simply feel good about myself."
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VP: I don’t think I’ve ever admitted this out loud but, yes. I’m sure that has to do with the relationship dynamics I witnessed between my parents. I had a stay-at-home mom and as much of a job as that is, you don’t earn anything. You’re essentially paid by your husband to take care of the kids and the home. For lack of a better term, you’re a kept woman. I was never going to be for keeping, and for better or worse, money is a part of that.
Married woman: If I was younger I might feel that way, but marriage is give and take, push and pull, and I know at any point the tables could turn. I would never want him to make me feel lesser than because I lost my job, or got fired, or who knows, life is messy. Money is complicated. Gender roles are complicated. Relationships and marriage, even more complicated. Put it all in a pot and there are good days and fucking god-awful ones. Sometimes that has to do with the all mighty dollar, but if you think you’re in control because you have more money, you should be single.
Do you make more than your partners? Sound-off in the comments below and join the convo.
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These Women Keep Us Smiling on a Daily Basis
A catalyst for happiness.
A catalyst for happiness.
Naomi Hirabayshi and Marah Lidey co-founders and co-CEOs of Shine met while working at DoSomething.Org. Spurned perhaps by the company name as well as a mutual desire to “provide an accessible solution to wellbeing," the duo developed a daily text messaging service to address our shadowy negative thoughts. Instead of letting them lurk in the dark corners, Naomi and Marah wanted to normalize the struggle, the day-to-day hustle of life.
With a background in advertising, where she “built an understanding of the value of an impression” and “how much people will pay for exposure,” Naomi was able to convert that information while at DoSomething. Calling it “the most formative step” in her career, prior to starting Shine, Naomi built “an expertise in the power of messaging to reach people around issues they care about.” As the Director of Mobile Products & Messaging at the company, Marah likewise lead a team to create engaging digital experiences to encourage young people to make an impact on their community. She also oversaw and lead the creation of the organization’s mobile apps.
Naomi says, “In our friendship we were able to process work and life goals together because of the shared trust, admiration, and accessibility. What’s amazing is that our dynamic was both the catalyst for the product, and our dynamic was also the perfect breeding ground to become co-founders.”
Shine became the way for the the co-founders to scale the support they offered each other through a product. It also became a way to provide an accessible solution for wellbeing services.
At the beginning of this year Marah and Naomi launched a new campaign, called #ResolutionRealTalk. In celebration of the New Year, #ResolutionRealTalk works to remind people to practice self-compassion around 2017 goals. The co-CEOs explain that 80% of New Year resolutions fail by the second week of February. Self-compassion is one of the primary ways to stay on track. “Our goals often aren’t sustainable,” explains Marah. “Change is hard overnight, and when we set unrealistic, binary milestones for ourselves and subsequently struggle to reach them in a short timeframe, we crash and burn.” With a record number of millennial women leaving their jobs, Naomi and Marah want to prevent the work-and-burn crisis that is affecting their generation.
“The things that are the hardest are hard, because they’re worth it.”
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Along this journey Naomi says her kindness was often perceived as weakness, but knows that often “the things that are the hardest are hard, because they’re worth it.” Acknowledging that Mindy Kaling's message of ‘Why not me?', really resonated with her, "as a woman, a woman of color, and an entrepreneur.”
In their personal lives most everything is currently taking a backseat to Shine. With the goal of making their messaging service “the largest platform for millennials and well-being,” they admit to being “all in on Shine.”
With 93% of users reporting that they are more confident and have seen an uptick in daily happiness and mental health, the future looks brights (and female) with Shine.
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Create & Cultivate 100: Food: Candace Nelson
THE INNOVATOR.
THE INNOVATOR.
Candace Nelson has figured out the recipe for success.
It's pizza, cupcakes, and a cupcake ATM. The founder and pastry chef of Sprinkles Cupcakes, the world's first cupcake bakery, legit started a cupcake craze in 2005. Barbra Streisand sent Sprinkles to Oprah. Jimmy Kimmel saw the cupcakes on Oprah's show, and stood in line for 45 minutes to buy $80 worth of them. In 2012, a pregnancy craving inspired the company’s first cupcake ATM in Beverly Hills. It was 24-hour access to freshly baked red velvet.
But with over 20 Sprinkles locations under her chef's apron, Candace decided to test her hand at another comfort carb: pizza. She's a woman after our own hearts.
Pizzana launched in L.A.'s Brentwood neighborhood, with Daniele Uditi as chef and Candace as executive pastry chef, and once again, people lined up. People, including L.A.'s most notable food critic Jonathan Gold, who willingly waited in line for hours. In June 2017, the critic bylined the article, "Jonathan Gold willingly waits in line for hours at Pizzana, where Neapolitan pizza goes L.A." Enough written.
Her successes are many, her recipes superb. Though we have to wonder how does she find time to do it all? We really can't tell-- though it may have something to do with the fact that she doesn't have to wait in line for her own food.
More from Candace below.
Name: Candace Nelson
Instagram Handle: @candacenelson
Business Instagram Handle: @pizzana_la
In 2005 you created a cupcake craze. It's been over ten years of lines out the door now. What do you think is your secret sauce for success?
Innovation! We innovated 13 years ago by creating the world’s first cupcake bakery, and by elevating the cupcake itself. And we have continued to delight, surprise and innovate along the way with Sprinkles ice cream, the Cupcake ATM, whisper word programs and more.
And yet, Sprinkles came about after you lost your job. Where do your drive and passion come from?
Well, I’m a Taurus, so I’m very stubborn and determined. But really, I think challenges are often opportunities in disguise. I would never have quit my high paying job to attend pastry school, but when the bottom dropped out of the internet world in 2000, I was forced to consider what I really wanted to do with my life.
What does it mean to be a "cupcake expert?"
I think experience and training is the key to creating an expert in any field. Between the 13 years of founding and running Sprinkles and the 100+ episodes of judging Cupcake Wars on Food Network, I have quite a bit of both. I also have a new dessert competition show coming out on Netflix this year. Yes, more “expertise!"
Is there a specific smell from your childhood that brings up a great memory for you?
The smell of Toll House chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven!
What's something about the pastry biz that surprised you? And you think most other people would be surprised by.
When my husband and I were first starting Sprinkles, we went to a bakery convention in Las Vegas. As we were new to the industry, we figured it was a great place to learn a lot about the services and products available to us — all in one place. We were dismayed to learn that most of the companies there were focused on chemical additives to help extend the shelf life of baked goods. Everyone thought our plan of baking our cupcakes fresh from scratch every day was bound to fail.
Everyone thought our plan of baking our cupcakes fresh from scratch every day was bound to fail.
What is your biggest pet peeve?
I love problem-solvers so it irks me when someone can only see the obstacles in getting something done.
What's something you'd like people to know about your work that they probably don’t?
I am the executive pastry chef at Pizzana, a neo-neapolitan pizzeria in Brentwood. If you haven’t tried the desserts there, please do! Sometimes people fill up so much on our incredible pizza that it’s hard to save room!
What about your career makes you feel the most complete?
I love the fact that I do something that my children can understand and even participate in. They are constantly offering ideas for new cupcake flavors and desserts at Pizzana. It’s a true family business!
I do something that my children can understand and even participate in.
If you had to trade jobs with anyone else in the world, who would it be and why?
A contemporary art advisor. To travel the world looking at and advising on contemporary art, connecting with artists and collectors would be fascinating and exciting.
At what point in your career did you find the confidence to really take charge and become the woman you are today?
That is a generous assessment, however, I consider my career to be a journey with room for growth and learning every step of the way.
What's the best advice you've ever been given? Or your favorite piece of #realtalk?
My friend Reese Witherspoon says that women should embrace ambition and stop shying away from that word. She has inspired me to acknowledge my own ambition and to encourage other women in my life to do the same.
When you hit a big bump in the road, how do you find a new road or a detour?
I think self-compassion is key to any bump in the road. It’s hard to fail, but important to honor the fact that you didn’t take the easy or expected path.
"It’s hard to fail, but important to honor the fact that you didn’t take the easy or expected path."
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What song do you sing in the shower when you’ve had a bad day?
"Free Falling" by Tom Petty.
TO SEE THE FULL CREATE & CULTIVATE FOOD LIST CLICK HERE.
Create & Cultivate 100: Beauty: Kristen Noel Crawley
MOGUL IN THE MAKING.
MOGUL IN THE MAKING.
Kristen Noel Crawley does not crawl. She sprints.
On her resume: beauty columnist, jewelry designer, and entrepreneur. After a trip to Tokyo with Dior, Kristen stumbled upon what would be her next big venture: lip masks.
From her eyes to our lips, she founded KNC Beauty, her now Insta-famous brand with a focus on all natural lip masks. Not only is she CEO to KNC, she's also a mother to two babes, and co-owner of a gallery space (Chicago's RSVP Gallery). She's an open and shut #boss. No jury deliberation.
Try and keep up below.
Name: Kristen Crawley
Instagram Handle: @kristennoelcrawley
Business Instagram Handle: @kncbeauty
What does beauty mean to you?
Feeling comfortable in your own skin, loving yourself and treating yourself right.
Do you remember a moment when you first felt beautiful?
When I was about 11 I plucked out ALL of my eyebrows so that I could look like my mom (it was the style back then) I thought I was so beautiful because I looked like her. She wasn’t too happy about it (laughs).
Where do your drive and passion come from?
Definitely from the strong women in my family! My grandma raised 5 kids on her own. My mom raised two. My sister is an attorney. With examples like that, how could I not have passion and drive?
What made you decide to launch KNC Beauty?
I needed a product like a lip mask so I created it. There were times I didn’t think it would be a good idea but I’m glad I kept pushing and believed in myself.
Did you ever imagine such a massive response to your lip mask?
Not at all! I still at times can’t believe how amazing the response has been. I definitely have to credit my lovely girlfriends that have supported me. I couldn’t have done it without them. It’s proof that when we as women support each other that we can accomplish anything!
"When women support each other we can accomplish anything!"
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What are your biggest fears about running a business?
I think failure, in general, is a fear of mine or people not liking my product.
What's something you'd like people to know about your job that they probably don’t?
In the beginning, it was just my intern and I. Now I have a full team of women- sales director, creative team, assistant. It’s cook to work with so many ladies.
IYO-- How can we stay original when we are so saturated with other people's work?
Logging off of social media is always inspiring for me. It can get redundant and cloud your mind if you’re not careful. I try to take a weekly and monthly break. It always makes me feel so much better and my creative juices start owing when I’m not being fed other people’s ideas.
What about your career makes you feel the most complete?
Well, I really feel like I’m just starting in the beauty space. I have so many ideas that I can’t wait to get out there. Finding a niche where I can be creative while still making something cool and accessible has been a great accomplishment for me.
If you had to trade jobs with anyone else in the world, who would it be and why?
I’d be a professional equestrian. I loved riding when I was younger and to experience that every day as a job would be the most fun!
At what point in your career did you find the confidence to really take charge and become the woman you are today?
I remember when I was about to put my lip mask out and another company beat me to the punch. I felt so defeated. I talked to my friend about it and she encouraged me to keep pushing and I’m so glad I did. That was a turning point in my confidence that I needed to go after my goals!
What's the best advice you've ever been given? Or your favorite piece of #realtalk?Just do it!
Because if you don’t, someone else will.
When you hit a big bump in the road, how do you find a new road or a detour?
I try to look at all of my options and weigh them out. There is ALWAYS a solution so don’t get frustrated, just get going!
What song do you sing in the shower when you’ve had a bad day?
"Hallelujah" by Jeff Buckley. It fills my soul with happiness.
Photo Credit: @davisfactor
Hair & Makeup: @SmashboxCosmetics @TheGlamApp @TheOuai
TO SEE THE FULL CREATE & CULTIVATE BEAUTY LIST CLICK HERE.
Create & Cultivate 100: Beauty: Alli Webb
THE DISRUPTER.
REVOLUTIONIZED THE BLOWOUT.
A blowout is one of the easiest ways to feel better about yourself.
That is, if you can do it.
Which is exactly what Alli Webb, the blowout brain behind Drybar, the styling only salon first launched in Brentwood in 2010, figured out.
Prior to launching Drybar, Alli had a mobile salon. In 2008, she began a side business called Straight-at-Home, which provided in-home blowouts on a referral basis in LA. She was driving all over town, blow drying her mom friends' hair. Prior to that she was a stay-at-home mom, and the struggle of getting her own hair done, let alone clean, was all too fresh in her mind. Realizing there was a marketplace for women to get an affordable blowout, in an amazing space, and have a great experience to boot, she was on the road toward Drybar. "That was the first baby ah-ha moment when I realized that I needed to expand," she says, "because I would book up really fast." But instead of expand the mobile business, Alli knew it was time for a brick-and-mortar, well-curated experience in order to service more women. "I felt like opening a shop would allow me to create a better experience and I could oversee it better." That feeling was right.
Drybar now services 70+ locations across the United States and Canada, and has a growing product line.
More from Alli below.
When did you realize, we've really got something here?
We knew that there was something really special here. I’d like to tell you that this was my grand plan this whole time to expand this thing as big as it is now but it truly wasn’t. I was up at night doing the math to see what we could do to make the business viable but, it was really early on that we realized we were on to something pretty amazing.
You received helped from your brother to launch the first storefront, was that an easy convo?
You know, people want to support people who they believe in. My brother had been watching my little mobile business on the sidelines, and he was like “Oh this is a good idea, it sounds very interesting.” I feel like I got really lucky. My brother has been very successful in his own right working at Yahoo. I knew nothing about raising money or how any of that works when I first started. There were a lot of conversations and talking him into it, but he came to me and said, "Hey, I’d be willing to put up the majority of the money and you guys will have sweat equity," which was a term I didn’t even know at that time. So, I learned. And my husband, Cameron and I did end up putting in, basically our life savings, which wasn’t very much. Michael put in about $250,000 and we put in about $50,000 which really isn’t even that much, but it was all we had.
How did you begin to bran the company once you had funding?
Look, you need to get it as right as you can in the beginning, because you only get one chance. We all felt so strongly about how to unveil this thing-- with tremendous customer service, amazing branding, and the blow out. It just all came together. We knew what we wanted from a successful business launch. Also aesthetically I didn’t want one person having a blue dryer, one person having a red dryer. There were all these little things that I thought about constantly-- like removing the mirror so that the customer could have that big reveal. My head was deeply wrapped around the whole experience.
How does it feel to have disrupted the industry?
We never thought of it as a disruptive business. I was betting on the fact that there were enough women like me out there, with naturally curly hair, that were already figuring out where to get blow outs. Again, never meant to be disruptive. So when people started to say I changed the industry a year into it, I was like “Oh shit! We did change the industry!"
Growing up, my brother I watched our parents run their own businesses. So we had a, “Let’s start our own business mentality!” But we also thought, “Let’s treat people really good, and do this amazing thing.” That was it. In the back of my mind we hoped it would catch on and we would continue to grow. I don’t think any of us knew how big the opportunities were going to be.
Were you ever nervous or scared?
I remember feeling, nervous and worried that other salon owners would hate me that we did this. We started taking away their blow up business. But we were like, but listen, we’re going to send you color business because women want both and it’s good for everybody.
I remember the first time we met Chris McMillan. He came up to me and told me like what a big fan he was and I almost passed out. He was somebody that I’d grown up admiring.
"If it’s fun it won’t feel like work."
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What do you think is your secret weapon?
I really think it’s kindness. I try to be really nice to everybody all the time no matter who they are or what their situation is. I wish everybody was like that. It’s just so much easier to be nice and I’m shocked when people aren’t. I was raised on the philosophy of treat people how you want to be treated.
What is your day-to-day like?
One of the ten core values of Drybar is "have fun." I really do feel like the people that you work with are almost like your family and they’re the people that you’re with more than anybody else. You have to find them enjoyable or it’s just not worth it. I’m a huge believer in that and I say when I’m at my office that I like there to be a certain amount of silliness and fun-- I think it brings out the best in people. People want to work somewhere fun and you want to be excited to go into your job. I know it's so cliche but if it’s fun it won’t feel like work.
Photo Credit: @davisfactor
Hair & Makeup: @SmashboxCosmetics @TheGlamApp @TheOuai
TO SEE THE FULL CREATE & CULTIVATE BEAUTY LIST CLICK HERE.
Create & Cultivate 100: Entrepreneur: Rachel Zoe
THE MULTI-HYPHENATE HUSTLER.
THE MULTI-HYPHENATE HUSTLER
She's a woman to set your watch to. And she'd tell you which one looks best.
Digitally-forward, socially-savvy, the fashion empire of Rachel Zoe is decidedly a stylish one— but it’s also built on the know-how of the entrepreneur.
Rachel Zoe may have popularized such phrases as "I die," and "Bananas," but the multi-hyphenate who credited launching The Zoe Report as one of her smartest business decisions has so much more knowledge to drop.
From her styling years she learned about people-- patience was part of that and no job or client was ever alike.
At the core of her brand she's always wanted to speak to, empower, and motivate young women. To give them confidence to do whatever they want to do in life. "The mantra of my brand has always been: Provide aspiration and inspiration, and always be accessible. Never be intimidating."
We love it.
More from the entrepreneur below.
From stylist to mogul. What's something about your journey that you've never told anyone?
I don't think people from the outside would realize how many highs and lows come along with owning your own business. Being an entrepreneur can be very challenging in that you only have yourself to rely on.That being said, I'm thankful that I have the most incredible team, and my family and friends have supported me throughout my entire career.
What are the common challenges you've seen among female business owners and entrepreneurs?
I think the biggest challenge is always being in a room full of men and constantly feeling like the odd woman out. It's a challenge to be taken seriously, but I do feel like the future for female entrepreneurs and business leaders is bright.
"The future for female entrepreneurs and business leaders is bright."
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Where do your drive and passion come from?
I have always been driven by my innate love for fashion. I have never looked at my job as work but as a way of life. I have always been motivated by my desire to succeed and to this day, I put 100% into everything I do. My father is a successful entrepreneur and his example of hard work and integrity has made a huge impact on me.
"I put 100% into everything I do."
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Speaking of drive-- when you hit a rough patch or a bump in the road, how have you found new roads?
Working alongside my husband and business partner Rodger (who is a long-time entrepreneur and investment banker), has made bumps in the road much easier to navigate. We have such different strengths which makes it helpful to see things from a different perspective. We find new roads together by staying positive, for each other and for the team.
What about your career makes you feel the most complete?
In the first phase of my career in styling, it was always my clients telling me they felt beautiful and when I could see their confidence soar. As an entrepreneur, being surrounded by and collaborating with incredible women in leadership positions is truly fulfilling. Between my friends and my team, we stay true to the motto of women supporting women.
If you had to trade jobs with anyone else in the world, who would it be and why?
My friend and mentor, Natalie Massenet. I admire the career she has carved out for herself as a self-made entrepreneur who changed the way people shop. In her new role, at Farfetch, she continues to be a leader as she takes on new and exciting endeavors.
What song do you sing in the shower when you’ve had a bad day?
I make it a habit to not sing in the shower, but I do play music as a stress release and its always mellow, classic rock. Fleetwood Mac, Beatles, Bob Dylan, and The Rolling Stones are my favorite go-to's.
Photo Credit: @davisfactor
Hair & Makeup: @SmashboxCosmetics @TheGlamApp @TheOuai
TO SEE THE FULL CREATE & CULTIVATE ENTREPRENEUR LIST CLICK HERE.
Create & Cultivate 100: Entrepreneur: Brit Morin
THE MILLENNIAL'S MARTHA.
THE MILLENNIAL'S MARTHA.
She might not have a show with Snoop Dogg, but Brit Morin, the founder and CEO of Brit + CO, has become the Martha Stewart for Millennials. In 2011 when she launched the Brit + Co platform, she wanted to work, but she also wanted to create. Now with an engaged community of over 130 million user, the media platform produces hundreds of pieces of content every month to grow up with their rapidly growing base.
Brit started in tech, first at Apple, which transitioned to a job a Google. But the more she found herself staring at a screen she looked deeper into her own soul. She wanted to create. That she did.
“I don’t think women brag about themselves enough,” Morin told us at last year's Create & Cultivate SXSW. That’s a habit we should all embrace more."
It's why she put her name in the company title. "I want people know I'm real about this. I'm a real person. When you Tweet me, I'm gonna Tweet you back. When you Instagram I'm gonna Instagram you back. It's not a brand just trying to be a brand."
But boy, has she built a brand. And one to brag about at that.
More from Brit below.
You really brought DIY digital. Why’d you go down that path and why was it important to you?
When I was first considering the type of company I wanted to start, I was doing a lot of DIYs for my upcoming wedding. At the same time, Pinterest was gaining popularity and I noticed that my friends who were pinning projects were also the ones saying, “I don’t know how you’re making all of these things, I’m not creative.” I realized there’s a gap between the creative confidence we have as kids as compared to what we have as adults, and I wanted to help bridge that. While younger generations are deeply immersed in the digital, they also crave experiences and want to “do”. I wanted to create a company that connects digital and analog, and acts as a 360 degree creative brand for women.
What have you found to be some of the hardest parts of entrepreneurship?
Learning to not take things personally is the biggest lesson I have learned. This can be particularly difficult when you attach your name and face to your company like I have. Initially it’s something I really struggled with, but I’ve learned to focus on the positive and take each failure as a learning. By focusing on our mission of inspiring and empowering women via creativity, I’m able to keep growing Brit + Co, even through the chaos.
How do you deal with feeling of imposter syndrome... How did I get to this table or in this meeting?
Imposter syndrome is something that women in particular really struggle with. Steve Jobs once said, “Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you and you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use.” I started Brit + Co at 25 years old and I’m still learning every day, but I try not to get caught up in the fact that I am a young leader and focus on the fact that I have a fresh perspective.
"I am a young leader and I have a fresh perspective."
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We both have audiences that we encourage to go and create their own. Sometimes that means they are creating a competitive product. Can we talk about that and what it means to support other women and support female business owners?
I’m a big believer of the idea that “empowered women empower women.” At Brit + Co our entire mission is focused around helping our audience live their best lives. In addition to empowering our audience, we support and are supported by so many amazing women. For example, Mila Kunis is an advisor to Brit + Co, and our #CreateGood event hosted speakers like Allison Williams and Randi Zuckerberg. I also personally try to pay it forward by providing advice and support to as many women as possible. There is power in numbers and if we work together, we can achieve so much more.
There is power in numbers and if we work together, we can achieve so much more.
SF tech space is notoriously male-dominated. Do you see yourself as a woman in tech? You’re in that world, in SF… have you ever felt like you were treated differently as a woman?
I see myself as a person in tech, but I would like to be recognized more for my success in business than my gender. I’ve definitely faced challenges as a woman in the industry but I think that’s mostly because venture capital is so male-dominated, and many investors fundamentally don’t understand and can’t relate to the company I am building. In instances like these, I try to focus on something all investors can understand, which is data. Figures like revenue growth, audience expansion, and increased engagement are universal.
When you find yourself come up against a roadblock or a bump in the road, how do you find new roads?
I come up against roadblocks every day, so my mantra is just to keep moving. We’re lucky to be at a point where we have a ton of inbound interest and no shortage of opportunities, but I think it’s important to create your own path, not just go down the road you are led. I try to stay informed on what’s happening outside of the Brit + Co bubble and to continue to keep my vision for the company fresh and inspired.
What would you call your superpower?
This is unconventional, but I’d have to say switching gears! I have literally gone from talking about entertaining tips on the Today Show to IPOs on Fox Business, and from meetings on the creative concept around our next immersive, experiential event, to our strategy around growing the engineering team. And of course, there’s the ultimate switch of CEO to mom as soon as I get home everyday. With so few free hours, I have no time to waste!
TO SEE THE FULL CREATE & CULTIVATE ENTREPRENEUR LIST CLICK HERE.
Create & Cultivate 100: Entrepreneur: Erica Chidi
THE COMMUNITY BUILDER.
THE COMMUNITY BUILDER.
Name: Erica Chidi
Instagram Handle: @ThisIsLoom @ericachidi
If who a company follows on Instagram is any indication of what they're about, we're absolutely digging Loom, the pathways to pregnancy, parenting, and reproductive empowerment from doula turned founder Erica Chidi. From I Love My Baby, But mom, Whitney Eve Port to the artist and activist Zoe Buckman to Rihanna to female-founded, sexual wellness co, Get Maude to plant-based feminine care line The Honey Pot… it goes on. It's all about women's wellness, reproductive health, and family.
For Loom, which opened last October in Los Angeles, these things are intrinsically linked. In a profile on the LA Times, Erica described the 2,000-square-foot space as a “progressive, contemporary, inclusive approach” to wellness. Loom holds classes and counseling sessions for anyone invested and interested more in learning about reproductive health. It's an inclusive space where any vag talk is fair game.
And we’re not the only ones taking notice. Chidi just raised a $3 million seed round to build a digital platform for reproductive education making her one of the rare Black women to have raised more than $1 million in venture capital. In her Instagram announcement, Chidi wrote “we’re building a world where women can understand and thrive in their bodies at every stage of their lives.”
Whether you are reproductively curious, pregnant, or new-to-parenting, Erica wants you to come to build your community, access resources, and demystify the next chapter with a little guidance. As they say, it takes a village.
More from Erica below.
From doula to business owner, what has been the most surprising aspect of your career path?
How slash-y it's been. Prior to going to college, I went to culinary school. Then I graduated from college with a bachelor’s in Visual Art History and Media and Communications. From there started off working at a contemporary art gallery and from there moved into public relations. At times I found myself confused by all of the different avenues and skills I was picking up. However, all of those skills and experiences ended up having synergy and supporting my growth. Having the ability to communicate made me into a great health educator. Having a culinary background allowed me to think consciously about food and nutrition and its importance to pregnant people and anyone trying to improve their reproductive health. And lastly, my appreciation of art and design uniquely lent itself to creating LOOM because I knew that inviting aesthetics and environment would help people get excited about their reproductive health and wellness.
What was the turning point that convinced you, it's time to take matters into my own hands? Loom needs to exist.
I think the turning point for me happened in my first year as a practicing doula. I looked at the pregnancy, parenting, and reproductive health education industry and looked around and realized there was inertia. There had been very little innovation and didn't reflect what I or other people like me would want. It still felt hyper-feminine, dogmatic, essentialist, and polarizing. There wasn't a fresh, moderate, evidenced-based, and inclusive brand that brought together a lot more untraditional modalities and yet worked side-by-side with the medical community to give people better overall outcomes in their pregnancy, their parenting, their reproductive health experience.
What are the common challenges you've seen among female business owners and entrepreneurs?
Burnout. We all try to juggle being good. Good at a partnership, leadership, friendship, etc. And we tend to forget to nurture ourselves.
What are some of the common challenges you've talked to mothers (and those preparing for motherhood) about?
Pushing back on perfection, making ample room for mistakes, and learning to ask for help early and often.
Where do your drive and passion come from?
I would say it comes from my parents. My parents are both immigrants, they're from Nigeria. My dad came here to studied medicine and became a doctor and my mom went to nursing school. They came over in the seventies and both came from villages where there was no electricity. My parents always encouraged me to work really hard and they worked hard, and so I do feel like that ethic comes from them in terms of my drive. I'm passionate about helping people feel confident about their bodies and be able to effectively advocate for their health and wellbeing.
You do you. How have you championed this concept in other women and for yourself?
It's about looking forward and allowing yourself to be inspired by what other people are creating and at the same time not distracted by anything that doesn't inspire you. Give negativity little to no oxygen.
What are your biggest fears about running a business?
Failing at it. Have to close our doors and letting people down.
What's something you'd like people to know about your job that they probably don’t?
Being a doula requires you to be on call 24/7, it's actually a very monastic lifestyle. You go to bed early, you try to eat healthily in order to keep your immune system in good shape, that way you are ready to go to a birth at any time. Doulas are definitely calming and supportive in the moment but in order to do that my lifestyle is very measured.
What about your career that makes you feel the most complete?
Helping people feel empowered, seen, and less alone.
If you had to trade jobs with anyone else in the world, who would it be and why?
I'd trade jobs with Nicu nurse. They are incredible people and work closely with families that are dealing with the hardest possibilities and are some of the most empathic people I know. I'd love the chance to support families in that way
At what point in your career did you find the confidence to really take charge and become the woman you are today?
There isn't a specific moment. I think confidence is always being reinforced hour-by-hour sometimes. It's a long-term process and accepting that has helped me realize that even if I don't feel confident now, I can build it down the line.
What's the best advice you've ever been given? Or your favorite piece of #realtalk?
Don't be afraid to seek pleasure and feel good about it.
What song do you sing in the shower when you’ve had a bad day?
New Edition - "Can You Stand The Rain."
Photo Credit: @davisfactor
Hair & Makeup: @SmashboxCosmetics @TheGlamApp @TheOuai
TO SEE THE FULL CREATE & CULTIVATE ENTREPRENEUR LIST CLICK HERE.
Create & Cultivate 100: Entrepreneur: Allison Statter & Sherry Jhawar
THE BTS BOSSES.
THE BTS BOSSES.
Behind-the-scenes of every famous face and brand deal are incredibly important women, many of whom intentionally shy away from the spotlight. They take the phone calls. Make the deals (or walk away from them). Come up with ideas and branding. They get shit done.
Such is the case of Allison Statter and Sherry Jhawar, founders of Blended Strategy Group. Never heard of it? There's a reason for that. And #sorrynotsorry for blowing your cover ladies. Both are incredible strategists and entrepreneurs. Allison spent 16 years building her career in the entertainment industry. When she met her business partner Sherry Jhawar, the former Global Head of Marketing for Eos Products, there was instant biz chemistry. Together they founded Blended Strategy Group.
Providing comprehensive commercial, marketing and branding consultation to their clients, Allison and Sherry cut out the middle man-- talent agencies and red tape, instead making a direct connections between the brand and the client. They're like the BitCoin of client/brand relations. As Sherry says, it's important to the founders to "provide a pathway and megaphone for small brands to be heard in this insider’s world."
More below.
Blended Strategy arrived on the scene at what we think is the perfect time. People are over-managed. There are so many cooks in the kitchen. Why was it important for each of you to streamline brand and talent management?
Sherry: When I worked internally in marketing at the brand, I found that Hollywood is such an “insider’s world.” If you do not know the right people and have the right level of “cache,” you do not get very far. Naturally, if you work at a big brand with a big checkbook, everyone will take your call…but they also then try and take advantage of you because they assume you do not know any different. It is important to me that we not only provide a pathway and megaphone for small brands to be heard in this insider’s world, but also an unbiased and knowledgeable negotiating representative for the larger brands – all the while, providing the right strategy to all our clients. On the talent side, I found that many times the dots were not well connected between talent’s various partnerships – the partnerships were kept in silos vs being connected so they could amplify each other and the talent.
Allison: When I worked internally at the management company, my biggest challenge was working with the brands on the best way to activate with my talent and how to best leverage them to get them fully engaged. As we all know, there are so many different ways for brands to engage with talent nowadays. Because of that we think it is not just important, but very helpful for brands to have us on board to help them navigate through the entire process so they enter the partnership with talent on a positive note and then continue to work with them in a way the talent feels excited which in return gets them more engaged. With our expertise in both brand management and talent management, we are very valuable to brands.
Navigating partnerships is no easy feat. A co-founder relationship is no exception. How did you know you would work as co-founders?
Sherry: I know this sounds hokey, but before Allison and I decided to start this business together, I felt like there was a force that kept pushing us together (at the time, I was at eos and I worked with her on talent she managed) and I truly felt there is something bigger in business for us to together. I lived in NYC and flew to LA to spend 2 days with her to try and learn as much as I could about her! It is funny in retrospect, but honestly, in those 2 days, I learned that the core Allison and I were very similar people in our work ethic, passion for business, devotion, and closeness to our families and friends, and more. All of those qualities in Allison, along with our very clear complimentary skill sets and knowledge bases, are what made me confident to take the leap of faith and start Blended Strategy with her. In the end, it truly is a leap of faith – no matter how much “research” you do to ensure it will be a good partnership, you truly do not know until you are in it. We are 2.5 years in and still learning about each other! Like any relationship, the key is trying to find time to communicate and not get lost in the shuffle of all the day-to-day hustle.
Allison: For me, I always knew I wanted to have my own business one day, but I also knew I never wanted to do it alone. I am someone who needs my partner riding alongside me, in the weeds with me, encouraging me…. Sherry is that person. In all honesty, I didn’t know we would work as partners but I was so drawn to her that I didn’t really care, I just assumed we would figure it out and that is what we have done. For me, it was that I saw a good person who shares similar life and family values as me. That is at the core of our partnership. We love each other on a personal level first and then all of the professional aspects of our relationship come second to that. It's like a marriage, I know I need her in my life no matter what, I love her, I am so grateful for her, so all of the hurdles we encounter we just work hard to get over them. Not having Sherry as my ride or die is not an option.
Where do each of your respective drives and passion come from?
Sherry: My parents and older brother all worked incredibly hard as I grew up and are all great role models in work ethic and I always want to make them all proud. Many of my close friends are all marketers too and we fuel each other’s careers too. Honestly, I truly love seeing great and unexpected (but thoughtful) marketing come to life, and being able to do that for both our talent clients and brand clients is incredibly rewarding and fun. I love pop culture and I love products and brands– so to have a job that encompasses both, is a dream come true. I mean what other job is it part of work to watch Stranger Things and trawl Instagram!
Allison: I get it from my parents. They are both incredibly hard workers and are both self-made. They grew up in middle-class families and have worked their entire lives and made an impact on me. For me, it's about following in their footsteps and making them proud…. Plain and simple!
Relationships are a huge part of your business. How does someone with no connections begin to build those important relationships?
Sherry: I am huge proponent and fan of LinkedIn and reaching out to people on there. If you write to someone with a thoughtful and personalized message, you would be surprised how many people will write you back. Most people do not take the leap of faith to do this and it is a great platform! Additionally, it was interesting, when I first landed in here 2.5 years ago and started this business with Allison, I didn’t know many people in this industry. The few people I did know, I worked hard to foster those relationships and with new people that I met, I invested time to get to know the people and truly connect. If you are knowledgeable, honest and hardworking, people will gravitate to you and build trust in you. I feel lucky in many of the new relationships I have made in this business, as they are people I would never have gotten to know in my prior career.
"If you are knowledgeable, honest and hardworking, people will gravitate to you and build trust in you."
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Allison: Networking is key. Don’t stop networking. Leverage your friends' relationships, don’t be afraid to ask for introductions. I used to think I needed to do it all myself and then I realized that the support and the introductions are the most helpful when building relationships. I also think being consistent and honest is important. Once you get one person to trust you and build that relationship you have a strong foundation to work off of. One day you will wake up and be grateful you asked for the intros and that you hustled to network because you will have your own incredible network and people will be coming to you asking for help. Always return the favor!
How do you hold onto them?
Sherry: It is important to make time to see these key relationships on a someone consistent basis to stay connected. Sending interesting articles or news to the person is also a great way to stay connected. It takes work, but with the relationships that are worth fostering and holding on to, making them a priority is critical.
Allison: Make an effort to check in with them frequently, see them for lunch or drinks, drop them a “just saying hi” email and ask how they are. These small gestures go a long way.
Sherry, you are the former Global Head of Marketing for eos Products. I remember the moment when that lip balm became everything. It remains the brand's most ubiquitous product. When you're talking to celebs and influencers specifically about product dev and the strategy around it, do you suggest creating something that is niche and specific and expand from there? What are your marketing secrets?
Sherry: Yes, the ubiquitous eos Sphere (or Egg Shaped Lip Balm as many call it) is something special that I am so proud to have been a part of creating, launching and building. As for my marketing secrets, you need to hire Blended Strategy to get those! Haha! Just Kidding! In all seriousness, while eos created a truly unique product it actually wasn’t a niche category – lip balm is a huge category and we created a new approach to the category that was cool, beauty-oriented and fun vs functional. That is the key thing in product development – how are you going to address a category need in a unique and differentiated way. It can be through innovative packaging or it can be by a new approach to communicating the benefits of the products. One of our brand clients, OLLY vitamins reinvented the vitamin category by calling out the end benefit you get from taking the vitamins vs the ingredients. People do not know what various ingredients actually do, but they do know how they want to feel after they take them – was crazy that no other brands were communicating their product message that way. Also, another thing both Allison and I tell clients who want to start brands is that they should start with a focused and small assortment – not launch 40 skus at once, but 3-10 skus and build from there.
Start with a focused and small assortment – not launch 40 skus at once.
Sherry, what is your favorite thing about working with Allison? And Allison, same to you.
Sherry: Allison is one of the most open people I have ever met. There are no walls, no layers of the onion to peel back – just an open and honest approach to things. It is incredibly rare and incredibly refreshing. It is because of that, that I trust her immensely.
Allison: Sherry is the hardest working woman I have ever met. Her passion comes out in everything she does and it is truly incredible, it inspires me. She makes me want to do better every day. Her commitment not just to our business as a whole, but down to the details of our work is something I am so grateful for. I love every day that I get to work next to her. RIDE OR DIE!
What are your biggest fears about running a business?
Sherry: Disappointing my business partner and the team who works with us and relies on us.
Allison: Letting Sherry down, letting my family down and of course letting our team down.
What would you each respectively consider the biggest challenges facing young female entrepreneurs?
Sherry: As far as we have come in elevating females, most industries still have males at the top. Beauty for example – all these rising female-founded beauty brands from Anastasia Beverly Hills to Ouai Haircare to Glossier to many many more. But still, the top people at all the big beauty conglomerates are men. So being taken seriously as women entrepreneurs is still something that continues to evolve – but progress has been made and will continue to be made!
Allison: While it is clear women are now being taken seriously and have an incredible runway to start businesses, I still think we are faced with living in a man's world. Why does it have to be such a big thing that there is a boom of badass women right now… why can't we just be part of the overall story that we sit next to men and have the same abilities as them? I think that we are still being put in this bubble is a challenge.
"Why does it have to be such a big thing that there is a boom of badass women right now?"
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What about your respective careers makes you each feel the most complete?
Sherry: Coming to work every day and seeing a team that enjoys coming to work, is proud of what they do, and feels they learn from me and Allison. It is a priceless feeling that fuels me every day. Also doesn’t hurt when we get an email from a prospective brand or talent client saying they have heard good things about Blended Strategy! Love that in just 2.5 years our name is getting out there as a viable option for both brands and talent to utilize for marketing and branding services!
Allison: For me, it's two-fold. There is the part about walking into our office every morning knowing that Sherry and I built our business from the ground up and its ours. That fuels me everyday and I still walk in and pinch myself and feel incredibly lucky and blessed. The second piece is seeing our team and how much work and effort they put into our business. Both of those things combined complete it all for me!
To both: If you had to trade jobs with anyone else in the world, who would it be and why?
Sherry: Ellen! She makes people laugh, interviews people from all walks of life and seems to have fun doing it! Seems pretty fun to talk to people and ask them who their favorite muppet is!
Allison: Anyone in the Royal Family….. first and foremost because I love all of the philanthropic work they do. It is really inspiring. Second, because they are royalty and let's be real, they are fascinating!
At what point in your careers did you find the confidence to really take charge and become the women you are today?
Sherry: I had a moment at eos, where I looked at our advertising creative which I had led the strategy work on, our overall marketing plan, the products themselves, and all the relationships I had built around me, and I realized I was really good at my job and that I was having so much fun doing it too. I had come into my own at that moment and knew I had the trust of the Co-CEOs at eos and everyone around me – and it was an incredible feeling.
Allison: For me, I had worked for dad for 16 years and I needed to get out from under his wing and I also felt like I had done everything I could for him. I had my third son and did a lot of soul-searching about leaving my kids everyday and being a working mom. It had to really be worth it for me and so I took a leap of faith and left the job security I had working for my dad to start BSG. Best decision I ever made! And, icing on the cake was how supportive both my mom and dad were.
What's the best advice you've ever been given? Or your favorite piece of #realtalk?
Sherry: The best advice I was given, was being told that the hardest thing as a business gets more successful, is saying no to what might be great opportunities. This is something that one of the Co-CEOs of eos told me and it was beyond helpful to me as eos got extremely successful – we couldn’t do all the great things coming the brand’s way all at once as it would tip over the brand and also stretch the team too thin. And the same is true at Blended Strategy – Allison and I consistently sit together and evaluate the how, the what and the when in growing our business and have had to say no to potentially great opportunities because it just wasn’t the right time for them.
Allison: Best advice I have ever gotten is to be ok not doing it all. I have minor OCD and I need everything to be perfect in life and in business. As a working mom that is impossible. I had a friend tell me it was ok to let 50% be my new 100% and that it’s ok to not do it all. It really has helped me prioritize and balance it all.
When you hit a big bump in the road, how do you find a new road or a detour?
Sherry: I like to talk through things to see if I can get to the solution. I rely on Allison and several of the girls on our team to be sounding boards for me when I hit a bump. I do fully subscribe to the philosophy that things do happen for a reason – so even bumps or disappoints along the way are there to help guide us to the right outcome.
Allison: I rely heavily on Sherry during the bumps. Another reason its nice to have a partner, I don’t feel alone when we have to make hard decisions or we are faced with bumps. Sherry and I really support each other and will sit together and talk through the bump and we get through it and then it becomes a distant memory!
What song do you sing in the shower when you’ve had a bad day?
Sherry: “Where Does the Good Go” by Teagan & Sara. It was the song that Meredith Grey and Cristina Yang “dance it out to” in their last scene together on Grey’s Anatomy. I loved that moment of that friendship and that song just lifts me up.
Allison: “Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey. A classic and my all time favorite!
Photo Credit: @davisfactor
Hair & Makeup: @SmashboxCosmetics @TheGlamApp @TheOuai
TO SEE THE FULL CREATE & CULTIVATE ENTREPRENEUR LIST CLICK HERE.
How Bri Emery Plans to Work More Effectively (Yes, Even Over the Holidays)
Plus what Podcasts she's loving on.
Bri Emery's life is a Design. Love. Fest. She designed it that way. As the Los Angeles-based founder and editor of designlovefest, her lifestyle blog that she says was never supposed to be her day job.
But since her first post in 2009, she's collabed with Target, art director for Benefit Cosmetics, Gap, Nespresso and so many more. She even launched a limited run wine brand in the summer of 2016. Does that make you need a drink?
We checked in with the powerhouse creative to see how she handles the stress of work and holidays. Plus, how she's using her Google Home to stay even more on top of her ish. It's her hands-free assistant that's going to help her cook a turkey. We're into it.
You're so freakin' busy! What’s your trick for staying on top of everything this holiday season?
I’ve learned my lesson not to completely bombard myself with tasks right before the holidays, because then I usually get sick the moment I have some time to relax. I’m staying on top of my to-do list this year and trying to finish up jobs earlier, so that the transition is less abrupt. The holidays are so important to be with the people we love and enjoy our down time.
We spy a Google Home. How did you think it will streamline your life and biz?
I love how it’s there to answer any little question I have. What’s the weather like in a city I’m traveling to for work? What’s on my calendar today? Setting reminders for appointments. It’s always helping me out.
Google has something for everyone on your list. To see our full Google Gift Guide click here.
Ok, so any little question.... What’s was the first question you asked your Google Home?
Hey Google, "How do I cook a turkey!?"
Where are you using your Google Home the most? How is Google Home making your life easier?
I use my Google Home in the kitchen mostly. I'm constantly playing music while I’m cooking, using it for a timer, or asking it questions like "Hey Google, how many teaspoons in an ounce?” It’s like my sous chef!
What else can you do with it? What are your favorite podcasts to listen to on your Google Home?
I’ve been listening to the podcast “Where Should We Begin” with Esther Perel. She gives a peek at relationship counseling and has awesome communication advice. It’s fascinating. I also became obsessed with the crime podcast “Up and Vanished.”
Don't miss out, Friday to Monday Google is offering all kinds of holiday deals.
MORE FROM OUR BLOG
How Kristin Ess Is Streamlining Her Crazy Busy Life This Season
Hands Free Help, all. the. time.
Kristin Ess and her Google Home.
We all get by with a little help from our friends. And this holiday season, you just might want to consider Google Home your BFF. It's hands-free help. You can ask it questions. Tell it to do things. Make it play your favorite jams. Time your turkey so perfectly that your mom-in-law asks you for the recipe. OR. If you're a working BOSS like Kristin Ess who launched her Target line last year and styles the coifs of babes like Lucy Hale and Create & Cultivate keynote Lauren Conrad lives by her schedule.
Find out why the hard-working redhead says she "almost died" of happiness when she found out Google Home can do this...
How do you think your Google Home will streamline your life? Your biz?
I'm used to opening 5-7 apps on my phone first thing in the morning alone-- emails, my schedule, I turn on music/news, read my to-do lists for the day, adjust the temperature in my studio, etc... I always thought it was incredibly convenient to be able to do those things by phone, but the fact that I can now just request these things vocally into "thin air” it allows me to keep moving and truly helps me multitask, which I’m not naturally good at.
What’s your trick for staying on top of everything this holiday season? Can you list 2-3 ways you are juggling the busy season + incorporate google home into one response?
First things first, I almost died when I figured out I can ask her to make me various shopping lists because I have a lot of people to shop for these days, running 3 different business, and I can’t manage the all on one list, so that’s exciting. Second, I love that I can say “Hey Google, how long do I cook a sweet potato?” or “Hey Google, what’s in a hot toddy?” and it tells me the most popular results and/or gives me a recipe. That is incredibly helpful to me when I have people over. I don’t necessarily have time to stop and look it up. Last but certainly not least, I can keep that Michael Buble, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston and Justin Bieber holiday mix flowing like fine wine.
What’s your #1 jam to play while clients are in your chair?
There’s not one jam. It’s just Aretha, Alabama Shakes and Adele all day, every day in my chair.
What’s was the first question you asked your Google Home? Hey Google...
I asked her to play NPR radio. I like to listen to the news while I set up for my day— it gives me interesting topics to discuss with people.
How does your Google Home make your life easier as a hair stylist?
My hands are always busy when I’m in the salon and my assistant is always doing a million things as well, so there’s not a lot of time for using my phone, tablet or computer because you literally need hands to do that! I love being able to vocally set timers for client’s colors, I can ask when my next client is coming, shout out a Google Search (because if you’ve ever been in a salon you know we discuss very random things in the chair sometimes), I can order food, we can verbally order inventory, which is a life changer, and when my client is cold or warm I can adjust the temperature for them. I’m also constantly losing my phone around the studio so it’s really nice that I can ask, "Hey, Google, call my phone for me."
Google has something for everyone on your list. To see our full Google Gift Store Guide click here.
Don't miss out, Friday to Monday Google Store is offering all kinds of holiday deals.
