Exclusive Report: We Polled 400 Working Women & This Is What We Found Out
You'll never guess their #1 priority.
We spend our days around hard-working, motivated women. But we wanted to know how they really felt about their careers, their futures, the state of the world-- all of it.
So with the help of Buzz MG, we surveyed over 400 working women. We talked social, savings, and the every day hustle. One of the biggest takeaways was the 83% of the women surveyed said that they want to own their own business. Entrepreneurship is ON THE RISE (and hey ladies, the highest wave floats all boats).
If this sounds like you, check out our new video series for branding and building your own side hustle.
Here our some of our favorite takeaways. You can download the full report below!
graphic credit: Chloe White
Knowing your audience is key. Deep dive into the full report featuring 5 full pages of stats and info including: work habits, career status, media preferences, wants and goals, saving abilities, and political leanings.
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Create & Cultivate Beauty 100: Marianna Hewitt & Lauren Gores Ireland
MORE THAN SKIN DEEP.
MORE THAN SKIN DEEP.
The glow up is everything. Which, is something that Marianna Hewitt and Lauren Gores Ireland know a bit about.
As bloggers, the Summer Friday co-founders @laurengores + @marianna_hewitt have tried, tested, masked and mud bathed, just about every product on the market. And yet, even with all that beauty bag swag, bins and boxes full of every type of treatment, they were still in search of a skin care routine with good-for-you ingredients that gave their skin an immediate selfie-worthy glow. Like a Lumee in a bottle, baby.
As such, they've launched Summer Fridays believing that women deserve "it." They deserve to feel confident in clear, beautiful skin. Plus a little glow never hurt anyone.
Shine bright and learn more about the friends and co-founders below.
Names: Marianna Hewitt & Lauren Gores Ireland
Instagram Handles: @marianna_hewitt + @laurengores
Business Instagram Handle: @summerfridays
The launch of Summer Fridays is very exciting! How did to come to be? And tell us the goods! What's it all about?
Marianna: We have literally tried every product t there and had never found the perfect mask, so we decided to make one for ourselves. We're a line of luxe facial masks with good for you ingredients with super fast results, because who wants to wait 6 weeks to see if a product is working or not?
Lauren: We wanted to create something that could make you look and feel great- from home or a hotel room or even mid-flight. We are big believers in taking care of your skin first. We started with masks because we found they’re a super- fast game-changer for beautiful skin. And to be honest, there wasn’t anything out there that we truly loved.
Why was it time for each of you to launch your own line?
Marianna: My readers really come to me for advice on what to buy or use and skincare is the first step in your beauty routine so I knew I wanted to create a product that made women feel more confident so that they could go makeup free or so their makeup could look even better with great skin as a base.
Lauren: The remarkable part of social media is being able to connect directly with my followers. We wanted to support our amazing community and give them what they have been asking for: clean and effective skincare products that build confidence. We are doing this with our community as much as we are doing it for them.
How did you know the other was the right business partner?
Marianna: We mirrored each others lives --two Libras, from the Midwest, who went to school for Broadcast Journalism who grew up wanting to be Oprah. We started our blogs at the same time and through our years of friendship, we always related through our goals and aspirations. So we joined together after knowing each other for so long and it has been an amazing partnership.
Lauren: Marianna is not only impressively creative, but she is also strategic. She knows exactly how to create something that will resonate with her massive following. I wanted to work alongside her because she brings magic and meaning to everything she touches.
What's most exciting to each of you about the launch?
Marianna: I'm so used to doing things instantly posting content online so I'm really excited for my audience to see what we've been working on since 2016.
Lauren: We are so proud of this product and so passionate about this project. We are so excited to finally share it with the people who inspired us and who have gifted us with the incredible opportunity to do what we love.
Respectively, what does beauty mean to you?
Marianna: Feeling confident in your skin.
Lauren: To me, beauty is confidence. Confidence stems from so many elements of my life, but certainly feeling good in the skin I’m in is a huge part of it. We want our masks to make others feel confident in their own skin.
"Beauty means feeling confident in your skin."
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Again respectively, do you remember a moment when you first felt beautiful?
Marianna: When my skin looks good, I feel my best. I feel like I am glowing and confident and when I feel confident I can take on anything that comes my way.
Lauren: I’m really grateful that I have a mother who made me feel beautiful through instilling self- confidence. That’s really stayed with me as I’ve become a new mother myself. Even with no makeup and very little sleep, I’m reminded every day when I look at my son experiencing the world for the first time that happiness is what makes me most beautiful.
Even with no makeup and very little sleep, I’m reminded every day when I look at my son experiencing the world for the first time that happiness is what makes me most beautiful.
Marianna, you share so much with the world! What's something you'd like people to know about your career and day-to-day that they probably don’t?
It isn't as glamorous as it looks on Instagram.
Lauren, in your opinion, how can we stay original when we are so saturated by other people's work?
I think a lot of what is important to people now is to evolve and develop. My brand has changed as i have personally changed and I’ve found that my audience is responsive to that genuine growth.
What are your biggest fears about running a business?
Lauren: I think there is always some fear in taking risks and that’s a natural part of starting a new business. The biggest fear stems from not taking those risks and limiting ourselves because of that.
What about your individual careers make you feel the most complete?
Marianna: When I meet a reader or follower who has taken something I've shown or taught them to affect their lives in a positive way. That could be a product that makes them feel good, an outfit they got for a first date or life advice that made them take a risk that they were afraid to.
Lauren: What makes me the happiest in my career is when I know that what I’m creating is giving people a moment of joy in their own lives. Our world can often feel chaotic and I relish the moments that I can offer some solace even in the smallest way.
Our world can often feel chaotic and I relish the moments that I can offer some solace even in the smallest way.
What about doing this together adds to that feeling?
Marianna: We both have the same goals in mind for our company. We have Summer Fridays and our consumer at top of mind, so we work together really well to always stick to that goal. We know that our brand will build a community of women and give confidence through skincare.
Lauren: We really trust each other, and we are open to making changes. It’s really important to have a partner who is flexible. One of our top goals is to create an inclusive community around Summer Fridays that can grow and develop as we do.
If you had to trade jobs with anyone else in the world, who would it be and why?
Both: Oprah!
At what point in your careers did you find the confidence to really take charge and become the women you are today?
Lauren: I think that’s an ongoing process. It’s a journey and a challenge, and by finding things I am passionate about I aim to be continuously inspired to continue. There are days you feel completely con dent and days that you question everything, but the important part is to keep trying.
"The important part is to keep trying."
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Marianna: I think its something I have always known. Being from Ohio, I had big goals and aspirations that many people in my town did not. I think it was something I was born with and was going to work hard to achieve it.
What's the best advice you've ever been given? Or your favorite piece of #realtalk?
Marianna: Be nice. It sounds simple but often people really forget.
Lauren: My dad always told me, “Most of the time you regret the things you didn’t do, not the things you did. Keep on doing.”
When you hit a big bump in the road, how do you find a new road or a detour?
Marianna: Sometimes a detour is supposed to lead you in a better direction, so I am a roll with the punches kind of girl and just go with the ow instead of against it.
Lauren: When I feel frustrated that something is no longer working, I’ll take some time (whether it’s days, weeks, or months) to pause and process. I try to look at things from a new perspective and understand that things are constantly changing. Old habits that were once successful may not always work and I have to be open to change.
"Old habits that were once successful may not always work."
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What song do you each sing in the shower when you’ve had a bad day?
Marianna: Baby It's Cold Outside!
Lauren: Mariah Carey!
TO SEE THE FULL CREATE & CULTIVATE BEAUTY 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.
This Millennial Female Firefighter Is the Only Woman on Her Crew
And you thought your job was hard.
Over the past few months wildfires have burned hundreds of thousands of acres in California. Families are losing their homes and everything they've ever owned. Animals are scared. (Shoutout to the LA hometown hero who rescued the baby bunny.) And the Santa Ana winds are making headlines again for blowing embers and flames up and down the coast.
But when wildfires strike, 25-year-old Bailey McDade, a “granola geek turned badass of the brush fire” hikes toward the flames. "I was a good kid. I loved to play outside," the firefighter says of her youth. "Always barefoot, always running around in the woods. And always playing sports. I feel like that's a huge part of my career choice. It feels like I'm still on a sports team." After studying Wildlife Science at Virginia Tech and serving with AmeriCorps, Bailey followed her love of environmental biology all the way down to Belize and back up to the Yukon studying wildcats. Her continued interest in everything outdoors led to her current role as a wildland firefighter, noting that on her worst day, she “wants to be sitting on a log in the woods somewhere.”
"I never get to talk to anybody about my job," she tells us when we speak. Which, makes sense considering during fire season Bailey can work up to 160+ hours. "My job can be a lot of different things," she explains. There's no typical "day in the life."
"Some days it's going to the station and waiting for a call, but for large fires, which we get sent to all over the country," she says, "it's typically about 200 hours per assignment, or 14 day stretches." #Hero.
She eats on the fire lines. Sleeps on the fire lines. "The job is all about being flexible. You wake up, you breakfast and then you get your assignment. I could be on a fire line, or cutting down dead trees and brush. Doing structure protection or putting up sprinkler systems around houses. Or we could be standing right in the flames."
When she’s face-to-face with the flames—close enough to feel the heat on her face and in her lungs—her pants, shirt, and face shroud made with flame-resistant plastic fabric help keep her protected as she stands waste-high in the heart of the fire.
Contrary to city firefighters, as a wildland firefighter Bailey says she doesn't wear much. "Everything that we use we have to carry on our backs," she explains. She Bailey and her team wear specialized fire gear. "It kind of just looks like cargo pants and a button down shirt. It feels like cloth, but it's a fire-resistant plastic blend." Everything needs to be durable enough to withstand 200 hours, 14 days straight. Part of the reason the gear is different is because she and her team are hiking into the fire. "We can spend a full day hiking," she says. "We sleep in it, we eat in it. We live in it for weeks at a time. Every pound counts when you're hiking straight up a mountain. We don't have the luxury of going back to our trucks very often. We might have to walk ten miles in our gear."
Which, isn't a bad thing for the self-described "antsy" woman. "I love to be active," she says. "Sometimes with fire we say there's a hurry up and wait mentality. You may not be doing anything that you think is a big deal that day, but it's part of a much bigger operation. You might be digging a trench for 14 days straight and not feeling like you're doing anything, but that might save a community." She says, "My hardest days are when I'm sedentary."
An environmental biologist turned badass of the brushfire, Bailey is currently the only woman on her crew. "There are other women on other crews, but I'm the only one on mine," she shares. "I can't say that I feel the difference. We all pack the same weight, wear the same gear, and do the same job. I sometimes have to remind myself that women in this field and in general, we don't have to prove anything. These guys are like my brothers. They've been there for me through hard times. Those guys are willing to carry me out of a forest."
They've even nicknamed her. "The guys on my crew call me Fern Gully, but it's all in good fun."
"I sometimes have to remind myself that women don't have to prove anything."
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Bailey is willing to make the same sacrifices for her team. "I'm working with a lot of people who are like me. And I'm working with a lot of people who intentionally chose this job. Nobody accidentally becomes a firefighter. We're all in sleeping bags on the ground, sleeping next to each other under the stars. We eat sitting in the dirt. We're there for a very serious job, but sometimes it's really fun to be around other people who also enjoy this lifestyle.
And as for her solo female status? "Somebody is always going to be able to do more pull-ups than me, or hike faster," she admits. "But I'm also going to be faster and stronger than someone else. At the end of the day we hike into fires together, we fight them together, and we hike out together."
If you want to help the 200,000+ people in California affected by the wildfires we're listing several ways to help below.
Ready Ventura County has set up a texting service. Text UWVC to 41444 and 100% of your donation will go directly to those impacted by the fires.
The American Red Cross is looking for volunteers to help evacuees.
The Los Angeles County Animal Care Foundation is accepting donations through its website.
The Humane Society of Ventura County is also accepting donations.
There are a number of verified fundraisers on GoFundMe where you can donate to relief efforts.