Are You Making Waves in Ocean Conservation? Biossance Is Giving Two $10K Awards to the Next Big Thing in Sustainability
Here’s how to enter or nominate someone you know.
Did you know that there are 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic debris in the ocean? It’s almost too much to comprehend but we must, and fast. If we don’t, by the year 2050, there will be more plastic floating around in the ocean than fish. But don’t let the statistics scare you, be empowered by them, and start to take action. That’s why we partnered with our friends at Biossance—the leaders in clean, sustainable beauty—to celebrate the launch of their Clean Academy Impact Award which aims to support future innovators in ocean conservation.
We’re looking for the next wave of unsung heroes who are actively paving the way to a healthier planet with their actions, both big and small. So, if you, or someone you know, is a champion for sustainability, then let us know how you’ve made an impact and are helping to preserve the world’s oceans and aquatic life.
Finalists will receive an invitation to a future Clean Academy event where two winners will be announced and awarded $10,000 to fund their conservation projects, plus mentorship and support from the Biossance team. Visit CleanAcademy.com/Award for more details and to enter yourself or nominate someone else! Be sure to share this with a friend who’s passionate about marine conservation, too. Submissions are due by July 29, 2020.
Armed with their mission to “make clean beauty the new standard,” Biossance is ushering in a new era of sustainability and driving much-needed innovation in the process. Some companies still make their squalane from shark liver (not cool!), endangering millions of sharks each year. In order to preserve the world’s ocean and aquatic life, Biossance saves 2 million sharks a year by using squalane made ethically and sustainably from 100% renewable sugarcane through biotechnology.
We took a deep dive into this topic and so much more with three powerhouse women—Catherine Gore, president of Biossance; Steph Shep, entrepreneur and co-founder of @FutureEarth; and Katie Matthews, PhD, Chief Scientist of Oceana—for a digital fireside chat titled, Making Waves, Why Banking on Clean Beauty Will Create a Sustainable Future for All to find out how we can turn the tide on pollution to protect our oceans and create a sustainable future for all.
Watch the video and read some of the impactful quotes from the conversation below.
On the importance of squalane…
“Squalane is the marquis ingredient for Biossance. We use it in every single product that we create and it’s already present in our skin—we're all born with it. (Squalene, with an “e,” is naturally produced by the body. Squalane with an “a” comes from 100% plant-based, renewable sugarcane.) I like to think of it this way; hyaluronic acid holds moisture, collagen adds elasticity, and squalane is moisture.”
On creating a sustainable squalane...
“Since around the 16th century, squalene was harvested through the killing of sharks, and that's really unfortunate because about two million shark lives a year were lost.. So Biossance is using clean biotechnology to replicate that exact natural ingredient [from sugarcane] and make it vegan, cruelty-free, sustainable, and even more effective.”
On how they’re simplifying the clean beauty space…
“It's hard for the average consumer to navigate these waters and so that's essentially the genesis for the Biossance Clean Academy and why we partnered with Jonathan Van Ness. He does such a good job of taking complex ideas and distilling them down and into something that‘s easy-to-understand, and you get a couple laughs in there too.”
On advocating for change...“We do go to Washington DC and we do advocate for policy change—it does take some time, but I feel the winds of change happening there. In the meantime, we want to outfit our consumers and the beauty industry at large with all the information that they need to make informed decisions.”
On sharing their sustainable ingredient innovations…
“We share our sustainable ingredients, like squalane, with other brands because a “rising tide lifts all ships” - we want to move the entire industry forward and, why not? What better way to show our commitment to our planet than to give away our best intel back into the industry!”
On partnering with Oceana...“We have been watching Oceana for a while and their level of oceanic preservation and the spotlight they put on specific areas like sharks is absolutely impressive. We feel very honored that they've chosen us to partner with them and we want to create a synergistic halo around this movement—it's only just begun. Our goal is really to become comrades with other skincare brands and be a group of allies really that go on this journey together.”
On the Clean Academy Impact Award…
“This award is really a moment for us to give back and to at the same time help move the conversation forward. It's meant to be a community builder, investing in future generations, and an opportunity to stand behind what we say and we'll continue to do that.”
On growing a platform with purpose...
“I do think that there is a responsibility when you have people who listen to you and can be influenced by you. I don't take that lightly. I hope that if you're following me you can walk away with a seed of information.”
On launching Future Earth...
“We wanted to create a digital climate education platform. I don't know everything, I'm sharing as I learn and I want you to learn with me.”
“We think that education is a catalyst for change. If you can plant a seed with someone, they might pass it on, they might vote differently, they might buy a product that is outside of their normal routine realm. It's those little seeds and they really do add up.”
On affecting change…
“Think global, act local. That’s the motto we try and insert in people’s minds. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, if you’re feeling like you can't make a change, do what you can to affect your family, plant those seeds in your communities because that as consumers, as voters, does have a ripple effect to make a bigger impact.”
On being subject to criticism….“I think that transparency is so important, people respond to that. I think people can have empathy for people who are wanting to do better because we're all just trying to do our best. So, you really just have to put yourself out there and know that you're lending yourself to something bigger than that one moment of criticism on social media or that one story or whatever it is. It's just so much bigger than that and the longevity of what you're fighting for is so much more important.”
On why we need to protect our ocean…
“It covers 71% of our planet. It's home to most of the life on earth. It has the world's largest animals, the largest daily migration of animals, and there are many medical discoveries in there, too.”
“This is the closest that any of us are ever going to get to visiting another planet.”
“The ocean also regulates our climate, it absorbs carbon dioxide, and it supports the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people.”
On working towards sustainable fishing practices...
“We spent a lot of time thinking about what we can do to increase abundance in the world's oceans and done properly the oceans can supply a healthy seafood meal to a billion people every day forever with minimal use of land, of freshwater, of all of these things that are going to come increasingly precious as we think about how climate change.
“We are so passionate about wild-caught fish. Because as you think about climate change, it’s a healthy climate-smart protein source, that's rich with lots of vitamins and micronutrients like vitamins A and D, iron, and zinc. But it doesn't negatively impact terrestrial biodiversity [compared to] farming and vegetarian sources of protein where you have to clear land to do that and, as you know, land is a valuable commodity.”
“If you look at the carbon footprint of animal-based proteins, it’s [wild-caught fish] one of the lowest down there with eggs as probably one of the smartest animal-based proteins that you can eat. So, if you're a consumer, you just need to ask good questions and show that you care about where your food comes from or anything else that you use and if you have informed and proactive consumers that really drives the market to pay closer attention.”
On the importance of sharks to the biodiversity of our oceans…
“At Oceana, we call them charismatic megafauna. They capture people's imagination and they can be used to tell a story about the rest of the ocean.”
“I wish every day was World Ocean Day, and that we all treat every single day as a day to protect our oceans because it is the heartbeat of the planet. I think that that's the ultimate goal—that it is not just one day but 365 of them.”
For more information on the Biossance Clean Academy Impact Award and to register or nominate someone you know for the $10K grant, visit CleanAcademy.com/Award
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How to Build a Brand Through Storytelling on Social Media
Every brand has a voice. Have you found yours?
Photo: Smith House Photography
Storytelling is an art. It’s all about authenticity, relevancy, and transparency. In building Stylebymalvika, my personal platform dedicated to providing style inspiration to the driven dreamers of the world, I’ve noticed that I owe much of my success thus far to being vulnerable, speaking without too many qualms, and delivering on what it is exactly that my audience responds best to that I can provide consistently. Surprisingly, being a bit of a spontaneous creative at heart has worked towards my benefit. In hopes of helping you build your brand on social media, I’m going to share a bit about how I’ve navigated telling my story online.
When I started my platform almost two years ago, I had absolutely no direction, and in many ways, I’m thankful I didn’t. It allowed me to experiment, speak about everything, and understand what worked best for both me and my audience. Everyone told me to “niche myself,” but I couldn’t understand what that meant. I’m a human, after all, and all humans are multifaceted and complex. Naturally, and as a result of merely creating, I slowly began to understand that perhaps a photo of Louboutins with a heart caption wasn’t doing anything for me or my audience.
Get real
Let’s face it: Today, everyone can post a photo of their favorite items, foods, etc. But not everyone is you. Understanding that there’s a very distinct, unique person behind all you put out is what’s most important when trying to find your voice on social media. Whether you’re an individual or a brand trying to craft an image, free yourself of any bounds so that you can slowly discover your value to others based on feedback.
Personally, I have found that my distinct value is in my perspective on fashion. I’m an Indian born and bred in America who is still deeply immersed in the Indian culture and values of quality and craftsmanship, which feed my love for high-end designers. My upbringing has taught me to strive to achieve great things, and thus the “driven” aspect of my value proposition was born. Being real about who you are and where you’re coming from will slowly but surely ensure your value becomes evident as well.
Be transparent
Combining my love for luxury fashion and my drive naturally helped me understand that I was a driven dreamer, and that what I put out there appealed to others who were the same. Still, I’m writing my narrative, and finding what more I can share about myself that will continue to provide value to my audience. I’m sure that in a year’s time, I’ll have a bit of a different value. I firmly believe that being transparent about new dynamics or changes that arise, either in action or perspective, can only strengthen a narrative—that is, if you share the whole process.
Learn from your audience
The thing about social media and building any type of brand image online is being true to who you are, and not overthinking it, especially in the beginning. There will be several learning curves, and you must remember that the journey quite literally is the destination. A huge part of your storytelling journey will be not having too narrow of a scope of communication with your audience—not “over-niching” yourself.
Allow yourself the grace of time and experience, and let your audience play a role in building your brand’s unique image. People enjoy being included in a conversation rather than being spoken at. Don’t just start by telling a story to your viewers and listeners: allow them to have a stake in your story by being the very people who shape it.
About the Author: Malvika Sheth is the founder of popular fashion platform Stylebymalvika, which has appeared on BuzzFeed and in Bella New York Magazine. She has previously collaborated with brands such as Clarins, Reebok, Jimmy Choo, and Lancôme in her journey as a content creator. Check her out on her Instagram and read more about her on her blog.
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This post was originally published on April 27, 2019, and has since been updated.
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C&C Classifieds: Tesla, COS, & Pixi Are Hiring!
We've got a fresh roundup of jobs in copywriting, community management, marketing, & more!
Looking for remote work? We've got a fresh roundup of jobs in copywriting, community management, marketing, & more!
FEATURED JOBS
Community Manager, MotherNation- Washington D.C. or Remote
Jr. Copywriter, Something Massive- Remote
Content Strategist, Abstract- Remote
Account Manager, Prelim- Remote
Growth Marketing Manager, Labelbox- Remote
Creative Director, Avenue 8- San Francisco
LOS ANGELES
Social Media Associate Manager, Pixi
Project Manager, Tesla
Brand Manager, Love Sweat Fitness
Sr. Growth Marketing Manager, Happy Returns
Content Marketing Specialist, ChowNow
Digital Marketing Manager, SoFi
NEW YORK CITY
Digital Marketing Manager, COS
Product Design Lead, Asana
Influencer Marketing Coordinator, Brooklinen
Customer Care Manager, Maisonette
Offline Media Manager, Casper
Marketing Strategist, CVS
REMOTE
Strategic Account Executive, Interfolio
Social Media Manager, Product Hunt
Product Manager, Draftbit
Project Manager, KT Merry Photography
Content Marketing Specialist, Pandable
SEO Strategist, Kinsta
Can You *Really* Check Email Once a Day? Why One CEO Says Yes
An out of office message is key.
Photo: Daria Shevtsova from Pexels
Imagine a world where you only check your email once a day. Sounds pretty great, huh? Unfortunately, being that out of reach would have most employees fired on day one, but for Kate Unsworth, founder and CEO of London tech company Vinaya, a rarely checked inbox is her reality.
In an interview, Unsworth said she reduced her email traffic by 70% last month by turning on a 24/7 out-of-office note and only checking in occasionally. Why so distant? She, like so many of us, previously had a job that required her to read emails from the moment she woke up to the instant she fell asleep at night. After a quarter-life crisis, she got permission from her boss to only check her email twice each day and stay completely offline before and after hours. Yes, a miracle of sorts. And after seeing a huge improvement in her well-being and quality of work, she took it a step further after founding her own company that focuses on improving digital habits through technology.
Sadly, not all of us are currently in a place (yet!) where we can hop into our inbox once each day and only spend a total of five minutes on social media. Of course, a digital detox would be nice, but we also need those paychecks. Luckily, there are a handful of ways to establish digital boundaries to stay sane and still keep your boss happy.
1. Acknowledge you want to put up digital boundaries in the first place.
It seems simple, but if you want to set digital boundaries for yourself, your boss has to be aware, too. And there’s no way that’s happening until you mention it. “First decide what you want to achieve by putting up boundaries, then once you’ve identified the goal, you can find the best boundary. For more efficient, interruption-free periods of work, turn your ‘out of office’ message on your email and messaging, but let people know how they can reach you if it’s an urgent matter. For example, they can give you a call if they need anything. Then if you get a call, you know you have to pick up,” says Cali Yost, CEO and founder of Flex + Strategy Group.
Don’t just say you want boundaries, though—make sure your employer knows why it’s important to you and your well-being.
“It can be stressful setting boundaries because you want to provide as much value as possible for your company, but you can’t sacrifice things you love. Be very clear with yourself on what you can compromise and what in your personal life you are not willing to change,” says Heather R. Ruhman, founder and president of Come Recommended.
2. Establish a regular stopping time.
This is key, especially in the beginning stages of a job. Once you’re in a solid routine of staying at your desk until 9 p.m. every night, it’s going to feel weird if you suddenly start leaving at 6. Since you spend the majority of your time at work, having set start and endpoints is crucial.
“While it may feel great to be needed all the time, it’s not healthy nor productive. Create a set time to cut off all work-related emails, messages, web searches, and phone calls. Your team will respect you more for valuing your personal life, and it will help you shift your mindset from work to home once you’ve established a defined time. It may be best to turn off email push notifications on your phone at your stopping time,” Ruhman says.
3. Download an app or plug-in to help focus on what’s important.
Unsworth says she uses Stay Focused to combine all her social accounts and keep her time spend scrolling through her newsfeed in check. Just think about how many hours you spend each day stalking through Facebook and double-tapping pictures on Instagram—it’s probably more than you think. Having emails to respond to all day can feel suffocating at times, but it’s always good to make sure your digital boundaries are set in and outside of the workplace. Because the last thing you want to do is spend the entire time you’re with friends and family with a phone glued to your face.
An original version of this article appeared on Levo.
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This post was originally published on January 20, 2016, and has since been updated.
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The 5 Steps to Surviving a "No"
Don’t let rejection consume you.
Photo: Create & Cultivate
“No” can be one of the most discouraging words a person will ever hear. These two little letters can mark us with rejection, failure, disappointment, and confusion. Whether it’s in response to a job offer, a business proposal, or a networking coffee date with a leader in the industry that you look up to, here are a few helpful tips for dealing with the big N-O, no matter the circumstances.
Make a classy exit.
Say, “Thank you,” and be appreciative of someone else giving their time to hear you. It’s okay to ask a few questions about why they came to their decision or what you can do to improve for the future but yelling, lashing out, or outlining all the reasons why they are making a terrible mistake is not going to help anyone—especially you.
Choose to be gracious and kind, and you will be remembered for it.
Give yourself a moment.
The last time I was turned down for a job I cried like a baby. I was sitting in my car in the middle of Los Angeles traffic doing the ugly cry. As childish as I felt, I knew I needed to let out the tension. I had poured my heart into the application process, meshed well with the team members I had met, carried very high hopes, and felt like things were going in my favor. My nerves were frazzled by the end of the two-week interview process, and a good cry was what I needed in order to let go. It’s okay to be disappointed and it’s okay to acknowledge your feelings.
Realize it happens to everyone.
Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team. Walt Disney was fired from a newspaper company because “he lacked imagination and had no good ideas.” Oprah was once fired from a television job because she was considered “unfit for TV.”
Every single person—even the highly successful ones—has been turned down at some point in their journey. You’re in great company.
Put in some time.
Take a few hours or set aside a day to make some improvements. Go over any and all feedback you received. Update your resume. Amp up your cover letter. Ask some trusted colleagues for their input.
My husband’s Jiu-Jitsu instructor often says, “You don’t get better by winning, you get better by losing.” There are always areas for improvement, and we often find them in the midst of rejection. Take the feedback and the critiques and use them to your advantage!
Dream about the future.
There are times when you have done it all—you prepared, you rehearsed, you did the research, you have the skills, you know the market—and still you’re turned away. Sometimes there is no explanation. When these moments come and there doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason, I tell myself that I am being protected from something. This thing I was running after must not be the best path for my life, and something better and more fitting must be coming up ahead.
Knowing this, we can find rest and peace in rejection because it protects us from less than the best. And we can dream about things still to come. Move on. Dream on. Go get ‘em.
What strategies have you found helpful when dealing with rejection? Let us know in the comment section below!
This piece originally appeared on Darling Magazine, by Janelle Whitaker.
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This story was originally published on July 31, 2016, and has since been updated.
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Julie Smolyansky on Leading with Resilience and Empathy During the Coronavirus Pandemic and Beyond
“Tough times are where you’re called on to rise.”
“
Trust the process, trust the universe. Trust that all of this is happening not to you but for you.”
—Julie Smolyansky, CEO, Lifeway
It’s safe to say Julie Smolyansky knows a thing or two about leading a company through tough times.
At 27, she unexpectedly became the CEO of her family business after the sudden death of her father—but it wasn’t just any family business. Overnight, she took the helm of Lifeway Foods, and in doing so, became the youngest female CEO of a publicly held, multi-million-dollar company. Despite the personal and professional challenges she faced from the beginning, the business immediately thrived under her leadership. Lifeway’s annual gross sales grew from $12M to $14.8M in her first year as CEO, and since then the company has even exceeded $120M in annual revenue.
She’s been named to Fortune’s 40 Under 40 List, Fortune’s 55 Most Influential Women on Twitter, included on Fast Company’s list of the Most 1000 Creative People in Business, and she was recently named a 2020 Champion of Wellness by VeryWell. Needless to say, we were so excited to hear the oft-lauded CEO speak on the topic of leading with resilience and empathy during the coronavirus pandemic—and beyond—at our Digital Summer Camp. Scroll on for some of the most memorable quotes from Smolyansky’s fireside chat with Create & Cultivate founder and CEO, Jaclyn Johnson.
On stepping into the role of CEO…
“Failure was not going to be an option.”
“I worked really hard. I used the business as a place where I could put my mourning and grieving pain and do something with it.”
“I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it.”
“Tough times are where you’re called on to rise—and you either rise or you don’t. Sink or swim.”
On honing her vision for the company…
“Educating people around gut health has been my mission from day one.”
“You have to tell your story over and over again. You have to tell the marketplace over and over again.”
“We’ve doubled down on advertising and marketing during some of the more troubling moments of crisis like 2008 for example when the economy was flattering, we saw that as an opportunity and we doubled our advertising and that paid off. Some of our biggest growth happened during the recession.”
“We’ve adapted at every point in time and every point in our history.”
“We’re constantly learning and adapting and evolving.”
“What I know for sure is that what everyone wants is health. They want health, they want wellness, they want to feed their families good, nutritious food.”
On scaling a team…
“If I can delegate and let other people take the plan and execute it, it’s much more empowering for them and more fun, and then I can focus on the big picture.”
“It was a slow process of giving up that control because I was so used to doing it all myself.”
“It’s about working on your business, not in your business.”
On her advice for fellow female leaders...
“Even if you’re afraid, speak up. Use your voice. Keep raising your hand.”
“No one gives you power, you just have to take it.”
“If you’re not at the table, you’re the meal.”
“Keep being brave. Bravery is a muscle. It’s like your gut, it’s like your bicep—you keep using it, you keep getting stronger.”
On doing good during COVID-19...
“Lifeway was originally started with this idea to feed people.”
“My family survived war and famine and disease and all sorts of things in the Soviet Union during a painful time in history, so feeding people has always been super important to us.”
“30% of kids in the Chicagoland public school system are food insecure and rely on the school system’s lunch as their one nutritious meal a day—and suddenly they weren’t going to have it overnight.
“We immediately started unlocking and deploying our emergency response plan to reach those communities most impacted.”
“There is no more sacred purpose than to feed people and bring them wellness.”
“We’ve been working 24/7 just to keep food on people’s tables.”
On finding the silver lining through COVID-19...
“This crisis has shown us how vulnerable we are and how in-lock and connected we are to each other. Our safety and security and health depend on each other. We are interlocked with each other.”
“We’re starting to see that we are all really in it together and that we can show up for each other.”
On advice for anyone struggling during COVID...
“Don’t stop. Keep going. Hold your head up high. Find moments of joy for yourself. Trust the process, trust the universe. Trust that all of this is happening not to you but for you.”
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How a Digital Nomad Built a Multi-Million Dollar Business While Working Part-Time—With Just $800 and a Laptop
And how you can too.
Photo: Taryn Elliott from Pexels
Ever since I was little, I remember being told that I had to work hard, get good grades, go to college, get a job, make money, and then I could do what I wanted. Except, I didn’t want that for myself. I didn’t want a 9-to-5 job, counting down the days until my next vacation. I wanted something more.
I just didn’t know how to get it.
For a long time, I was torn between joining the Peace Corps and getting a degree in comparative politics. I even thought about attending law school, but I knew it wasn’t what my soul really longed for. While all of the above would have absolutely satisfied the approval of others, it wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted to travel the world, and I didn’t want to wait years until my bank account made it possible.
During my senior year of college, I started to think about creative ways I could earn money while traveling. Blogging was an option, especially since I already had a website and a logo, so I figured I could trade services for accommodations. However, since both of my parents are financial professionals, I realized that monetizing a travel blog would be challenging (and improbable).
Without a better plan in place, I decided to take the leap anyway. Before I knew it, I bought a one-way ticket to Bali armed with my laptop and $800.
“Success doesn’t happen overnight, but—with hard work—it can happen pretty fast.”
When I first arrived in Bali, I was making $12 an hour as a social media manager. I even worked for free or low-paying positions in return for testimonials, and that hustle paid off. I built a foundation of testimonials and referrals as quickly as possible, and I started to attract more clients. In my first month, I made $5,000.
Except, I was doing it the wrong way. I was working way too hard, I was overloaded with clients, and I’d trapped myself in a self-employed version of the same corporate grind that I sought to escape. Here I was, living in Bali, but I was working so hard that I couldn’t even enjoy it.
I could keep doing what I was doing, sure, building a business trading time for money, or I could take a leap of faith into something new.
I decided to invest in my own business coach, spending $3,600 that I could barely afford on hiring my first mentor, but the investment paid off in a huge way. Soon, I hit my first five-figure month. Then it doubled. Suddenly, I was bringing in $50,000 a month and landing features in Forbes and Business Insider. Within a year, I was a self-made millionaire working less than 15 hours per week from all around the world, and it’s been growing ever since.
And while starting a business definitely has its triumphs and tribulations, here’s what made it possible and how you can do it too.
1. Be very intentional about everything you do.
You need to know why you’re doing what you’re doing. Far too many people get caught up in chasing money or some other arbitrary version of success. What do you want? What actually drives you?
I knew I wanted a business that gave me the freedom to travel the world, so I created a business model that allowed for that. Most businesses choose one of two pricing models, either premium pricing for a few clients or low pricing to serve a massive amount of people.
My business is built on both. By creating multiple streams of income, I can help as many people as possible and hit my income goals without working 80 hours a week. It’s all about being intentional and strategic in choosing what works for you.
2. Never, never never give up.
I moved halfway around the world by myself, so it’s no surprise that I thought about packing my bags, going home, and giving up. Fear started to slowly creep into my life, especially when it came to visibility. I convinced myself that other people would make fun of me for what I was doing, and it was my weakness for the longest time.
At one point, I was ready to quit. I went home for Thanksgiving, and my dad told me to give it six more months. Just six more months. Sure enough, I returned to Bali and my business exploded.
I was ready to let my own limiting beliefs hold me back. I wasn’t sure how I was going to get there, and the unknown can be incredibly scary. However, you’ll never reach your destination in life if you give up.
3. Focus on personal branding and build a community.
Once I started to build up my personal brand, a strong community began to form. I focused on creating a unique, visual brand that allowed me to share my own story so that I was able to stand out and attract the right followers for my business.
Then, I started to establish a presence on social media and connect with my audience on a much deeper level. As a digital nomad, having a strong brand on social media is the reason why I’m able to run my business from all the different countries I travel to. It allows me to establish a global, online presence and continue to attract the right clients regardless of the geographic location.
Plus, there’s no better feeling than having your audience root for you. People want to see you succeed, and you get to witness the direct impact your business has on other people’s lives. That’s incredibly fulfilling.
4. Create content that provides real value.
If you want to connect with your audience in a huge way, then you need to be practicing value-driven marketing. Whether you’re creating podcasts, live streams, long-form blog posts, YouTube videos, Instagram Lives, or something else—what you’re creating doesn’t matter. Just make it valuable.
Remember, everyone’s journey is unique. Some people crave freedom. Others want the ability to spend more time with their families. Maybe you dream of achieving location independence. All of these things are doable, but it all starts with a choice.
And once you know exactly what you want out of life, it becomes way easier to create the business you want around it.
“Once you know exactly what you want out of life, it becomes way easier to create the business you want around it.”
—Sabrina Philipp, International Online Business and Social Media Expert
About the Author: Sabrina Philipp is an international online business and social media expert who has been featured in Forbes, Business Insider, Marie Claire UK, and more. She helps entrepreneurs build intentional, manageable, and profitable businesses so they can experience ultimate personal and financial freedom.
Opting to skip the traditional 9-to-5, Sabrina moved to Bali with $800 to her name. Within a year, she built a thriving million-dollar business from her laptop. Currently traveling the globe with her fiancé Paul, Sabrina has a loyal community of over 100,000 business owners who follow her closely to see where in the world she’ll inspire them from next. You can follow her on Instagram at @sabrinamphilipp.
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How to Cultivate Confidence and Self-Love Inside and Out During the Social Media Age
Some of the biggest forces in beauty share their thoughts.
Photo: Create & Cultivate
Despite the fact that it’s 2020 and the beauty industry has made major strides in ditching unrealistic standards, our appearance and our mental health are still very much intertwined. Of course, in the era of the selfie, it’s no surprise that social media has a lot to do with it.
In recent years, frequent use of social media has been linked to increased feelings of loneliness, depression, anxiety, and envy. In fact, according to a recent survey, 60% of people using social media reported that it has impacted their self-esteem in a negative way.
But there’s good news: Beauty brands like OGX are putting out positive messages and prioritizing not only self-care but also self-love. With their campaign “Uncap the Love,” OGX is inspiring people to remove their self-imposed limits on love and let go of the things that are holding them back.
So, how exactly do you “uncap” your self-love and cultivate confidence inside and out during the social media age?
To help us answer that question, Create & Cultivate along with our friends at OGX brought together a panel of powerhouse women for a candid conversation on uncapping self-confidence and self-love at our recent Digital Summer Camp summit.
Ahead, we’re sharing all the mic-drop moments from the conversation with Jessica Franklin, Kandee Johnson, and Melissa Alatorre. Prepare to write these down.
On tapping into your voice on social media...
“Always talk like you’re talking to your best friend. When you’re your most comfortable, when you’re your quirky, weird, unique, different self, that is going to be the you that people will fall in love with.” - Kandee Johnson
On getting real with your audience…
“Other people are going through it too.” - Jessica Franklin
“From posting my struggles, I realized everyone has them and people want to relate.” - Jessica Franklin
“People can relate and feel like they’re not alone.” - Jessica Franklin
On being vulnerable with your followers...
“As long as my content is helpful, I’m willing to share it, even if it’s embarrassing.” - Melissa Alatorre
“I recently started opening up about my struggles with IBS and the response has just been incredible. I don’t mind sharing something embarrassing as long as it helps someone.” - Melissa Alatorre
On having grace for yourself during COVID-19…
“Go easy on yourself. If you have a day where you’re not productive, that’s okay.” - Kandee Johnson
“It’s okay to feel stuck. It’s okay to feel some type of way about this situation because we’re all going through it together.” - Melissa Alatorre
On monetizing your account without alienating your audience…
“I have to genuinely like and use the product.” - Jessica Franklin
“If you don’t love the product and it’s not a genuine review and something that you would actually use, it’s not going to resonate with your audience.” - Jessica Franklin
On dealing with negative comments…
“You can get thousands of people saying wonderful things to you all day long, and it’s the one awful one that just gets to you.” - Kandee Johnson
“A miserable person—whether they’re upset, stressed out hurt—whatever the content of their heart is, that’s what’s going to spew out of them.” - Kandee Johnson
“If I’m going to reply, it’s going to be a reply with a lot of love. It’s never going to be a snapback or a clap back.” - Kandee Johnson
“It’s usually better to ignore it and leave that alone and go about your day and focus on the people that love you and do have positive things to say.” - Kandee Johnson
“If you’re following me just to be negative and give negative energy to my page, there’s no point. If I can, I’ll just ignore it, block, and just keep moving.” - Jessica Franklin
“You need boundaries on social media because everyone thinks they have privilege and access to you and that they can say whatever they want and that you’re not human.” - Jessica Franklin
“Your platform is like your house, and you wouldn’t invite these people to come into your house and say these disrespectful and rude things.” - Kandee Johnson
On finding the silver lining…
“When you’re at your worst, at your most rock bottom, you have nothing to lose, so you can start any new ideas.” - Kandee Johnson
On cultivating confidence…
“Confidence comes from knowledge.” - Melissa Alatorre
“Knowledge is power and that gives you confidence.” - Melissa Alatorre
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How to Be an Emotionally Intelligent Leader
Real-time feedback is key.
Photo: Create & Cultivate
Being an emotionally intelligent leader means cultivating self-awareness, being able to identify your flaws, and understanding how others perceive you. As an emotionally intelligent leader, you’re transparent and speak the truth to those around you—in fact, you're the first to acknowledge your own mistakes. It also means you are perceptive and allow others to be heard first before responding—all necessary characteristics to leading a strong and productive team.
Does this sound like the kind of leader you want to be? If so, read on to find out how. Ahead, we’re sharing four tips to be an emotionally intelligent leader so you can cultivate a healthy company culture—even if you don’t have an HR department. Psst… looking for more tips for leading a team? Download The HR Bundle and discover an onboarding checklist for new employees, a template for providing performance reviews, a guide for preventing workplace bullying, and more.
Be Open to Exposing Vulnerabilities to Help Better Connect
During 1:1 meetings, focus on feedback and be very open about what you’re struggling with. Oftentimes, people try to hide that, but being open helps everyone feel a little more comfortable sharing.
Include Feelings in the Conversation, Which Can Help People Feel Heard
For example, ask “How are you feeling?” rather than, “How are you doing?” As a leader, be open to sharing when you feel frustrated or overwhelmed.
Give Employees Constant and Real-Time Feedback
After a meeting, share feedback either in person or over Slack. Make it a point to seek feedback by asking, “Do you have any feedback for me?”
Do Not Make Assumptions or Jump to Conclusions
It’s important to be curious and take an inquisitive approach. For example, ask, "Can you clarify what you meant when you said X so I can better understand your intentions?
Ready to take your company’s leadership to the next level?
Add the Create & Cultivate Marketplace The HR Bundle to your cart, or get unlimited access to our entire library of downloads and videos when you join Insiders.
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12 Questions You Should Ask to *Really* Nail Down Your Life Mission
Life with a capital “L.”
Photo: Create & Cultivate
"What’s your overall goal?”
It's the first question I ask any entrepreneur, client, friend, (just about anyone) who is in the midst of a career transition or looking to start or grow a venture. I follow it up with, “Where do you see yourself in five years? 10 years? Life-wise.” The question is basic and BIG.
But answering that question, or at the very least attempting to answer that question, creates clarity; crystal clear or not, it's an important step in the right direction to figuring out Life with a capital "L." And guess what? Your business is part of that Life. So before nailing down a business mission, start with your life goals.
You don’t have to have the destination 100% set (if you do, awesome) but you do need a map so that when you get lost or head down a path less traveled and find yourself in parts unknown (which, is inevitable and healthy) you have a map to consult—to help you redirect and continue on.
Answer these 12 big life questions and you'll find that in the process you'll get further clarity on your business mission as well:
1. Visualize yourself in 10 years. What do you see for yourself? What/who do you see yourself surrounded with? What do you see yourself doing?
2. What do you feel the most fearful of right now?
3. What are you willing to sacrifice to stay true to you? What are you okay saying “no” to?
4. What areas of your life are humming?
5. What areas of your life do you want to make changes in?
6. What do you wish you were doing more of that makes you happy?
7. What kinds of problems do you enjoy solving the most?
8. What about you makes you uniquely you?
9. What are your values?
10. Who are some other people in your life that you admire? Why?
11. What are some commonalities in the people that you are drawn to?
12. What aspects of who you are do people find energizing?
Alison Gilbert is a business coach and consultant. She’s helped over a dozen owners and entrepreneurs grow profitable businesses quickly and efficiently, including such companies as Well+Good, Levo League, Maiyet, and Plum Alley. Prior to building her consultancy, she was hire number four and COO of food media company Tasting Table where she grew it into a forty person team reaching a readership of millions. Visit her site and schedule a free consultation.
Love this story? Pin the below graphic to your Pinterest board.
This story was originally published on April 22, 2019, and has since been updated.
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How Small Businesses Can Create and Maintain Meaningful Connections With Customers While Remote
Staying apart, together.
Photo: Create & Cultivate
Small businesses everywhere are stepping up and doing their part to help flatten the coronavirus curve, temporarily shutting the doors of their brick-and-mortar shops, pivoting to curbside pick-ups, implementing contactless deliveries, and setting up in-store social distancing guidelines to help contain the rapid spread of COVID-19. Of course, by now, we all know that pivoting a brick-and-mortar business strategy to an online one in the midst of an ever-evolving global health crisis is easier said than done.
To help small business owners enhance their online presence and stay connected with their customers remotely during these challenging times, we’ve partnered with Messenger from Facebook to share simple tips for keeping the lines of communication open. Not only is messaging convenient, but it can also help your small business build relationships and inspire trust with customers. In fact, a Facebook-commissioned study found that 69% of people reported that being able to send a message to a business made them feel more confident in the brand.
Ahead, we’re sharing ways to create and maintain meaningful connections with your customers, bring new customers to your virtual storefront, and more. In the coming weeks and months, we’ll be sharing more ways for small business owners to boost their business with Messenger, so be sure to keep an eye on this space for the next installment in the series. (Psst… if you missed the first story in this series, discover three zero-cost ways for businesses to stay connected with customers during COVID-19.)
According to Facebook data, over 90% of Facebook business admins currently use Messenger to connect with their friends and family. In an effort to help small business owners manage all their messages in one place, Messenger recently launched the business inbox feature, which allows you to toggle between your personal and business accounts within the Messenger app. In other words, you don’t need to download and manage multiple apps in order to chat with your loved ones and your customers. (Win win!) ICYMI, Messenger’s business inbox is already available via the Messenger app on iOS and will be coming to Android soon.
According to a Hubspot survey, 90% of customers rate an "immediate" response as important or very important when they have a customer service question. Right now, in the midst of COVID-19, many customers have timely questions about updated store hours, product availability, no-contact delivery and pick-up options, and much more.
Messenger’s new business inbox feature makes it easy and convenient for you to respond quickly and easily to your customer questions, which is imperative when you consider that 60% of customers define "immediate" as 10 minutes or less. You can also choose to receive notifications in the Messenger app to help remind you to get back to customers.
In Messenger’s press release for the new tool, small business owner Matt Volpert of Kern River Outfitters shared his experience with business inbox: “We are currently seeing a 250% increase of messages from guests who need to reschedule their trips due to COVID-19. This makes it difficult for my small team to get back to these guests in a timely fashion. The business inbox in Messenger is a fantastic tool that will help me quickly respond to each and every one of my guests, whether I’m in the office or on the river.”
Pro tip: Messenger’s business inbox tool also complements the Page Manager App, where you can manage your Facebook posts, create ads, and view Page insights to help you make informed decisions as you continue to pivot and adapt your business during this time.
Once you’ve established your business online, of course, attracting potential customers to your virtual storefront is just as crucial to your success as bringing them into your IRL brick-and-mortar location. With Click to Messenger ads, you can reach potential customers virtually while maintaining social distancing measures.
Within the app, you can choose between two ad templates: Start Conversations or Generate Leads. The Start Conversations template provides a menu of prompts within a Messenger thread for a potential customer to choose from to start a conversation with you, while the Generate Leads template offers a question-and-answer style conversation to help you better identify potential customers.
According to a study conducted by Messenger, a small business based in Thailand called Organicwa created a successful Click to Messenger ad campaign when they decided to offer a delivery option during the COVID-19 pandemic. After 30 days, they received 11,000 orders and a 6X increase in return on ad spend with ads that click to Messenger, compared to previous campaigns.
Click here for more information about Organicwa’s successful campaign and here to learn more about getting started with Click to Messenger Ads.
For additional resources, head to the Marketing with Messenger page and Business Resource Hub where you can learn more about our business tools, grants, and other ways to keep your business running during this time.
Are you currently using Messenger for your business? If so, let us know how it helps your business in the comments section below for a chance to be featured in one of our upcoming spotlight posts.
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What We're Reading: The Links the C&C Team Can't Stop Discussing, Pondering, and Slacking Each Other About
A bi-monthly series, sharing the most talked-about links in the C&C Slack channel.
Photo: Create & Cultivate
Introducing What We’re Reading, a bi-monthly series in which we share the most talked-about links from the Create & Cultivate team Slack channel. Scroll on to find out what the C&C team is currently discussing and please feel free to join in on the conversation by sharing your thoughts in the comment section if you’d like. This week, the most-buzzed about topics around the virtual water cooler spanned a historic ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court to protect LGBTQ+ rights in the workplace to a renewed momentum toward finally make Juneteenth a nationally recognized holiday.
When outraged commenters are your employees.
An Essence poll found that nearly half of Black women (45%) say the place where they experience racism most frequently is in the workplace.
Square, Twitter, Nike, Target, and a growing number of companies are observing Juneteenth as a paid holiday for employees.
But too many companies are engaging in “performative allyship.”
Seven months pregnant and furloughed.
Land O’Lakes CEO Beth Ford—and fellow LGBTQ+ business leaders—on the hard work that led up to this week's landmark Supreme Court ruling.
Melinda Gates and MacKenzie Bezos unveil a $30M gender equality initiative.
Bon Appetit’s test kitchen staff is demanding equal pay.
12 ways to get reenergized on your midday break. (We highly recommend #3!)
ICYMI, Kim Kardashian West landed a podcast deal with Spotify.
And a special thank you to our Instagram followers for recommending black women-owned small businesses to add to our ever-growing list. Keep those recs coming!
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10 Diversity & Inclusion Thought Leaders Who Are Transforming The Workplace and Beyond
Follow their lead.
Diversity is so much more than a buzzword but we’re going to let the stats do the talking. According to a recent study, diverse companies produce 19% more revenue than companies that don’t value diversity. In fact, the study found that "increasing the diversity of leadership teams leads to more and better innovation and improved financial performance." And yet, a disheartening study found that white men account for 72% of corporate leadership at 16 of the Fortune 500 Companies.
If we know that diversity increases the bottom line, then why aren’t we seeing more of it from the top down? Unfortunately, women of color still face more obstacles and a steeper path to leadership, from receiving less support from managers to getting promoted more slowly. Because of these workplace challenges, Black women are also more inclined to go out on their own. In fact, Black female-owned businesses make up 21% of all women-owned businesses, making it the largest segment of women-owned businesses after non-minority women.
So, why is progress on diversity so slow? Well, it’s as Juliette Austin, Senior Diversity Equity & Inclusion Strategist at Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation says, it’s going to take more than investing in human capital, progressive hiring practices, or HR policies to achieve true diversity and inclusion. “Inclusion is what makes diversity stick,” says Austin. “Inclusion makes diversity meaningful.” Because diversity isn’t just a “nice to have” it’s integral to our personal and professional development, innovation, and financial performance.
So, today, in honor of Juneteenth— the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States—we are sharing 10 diversity and inclusion thought leaders who are transforming the workplace and beyond. Please follow their lead, do the work, and take anti-racist actions so we can achieve equity and true inclusion for all.
Dr. Akilah Cadet, MPH, Coach, Consultant, Founder, Change Cadet, and Host, Change Cadet Podcast
After experiencing judgment, “isms,” and barriers in the workplace, Dr. Akilah Cadet decided to break down those walls and dismantle the bias that contributed to the inequality that exists for Black women and women of color. So, she launched Change Cadet where she prepares individuals and companies to be “soldiers of change in the workforce” so there can be more women and people of color at the top. This includes services that support diversity, inclusion, equity, and belonging (DEIB) including executive coaching, strategic planning, workshops, and problem-solving.
Cadet is changing the face of the stereotypical leader so that no one will feel how she felt most of her career. Her latest podcast episode title “For White Women” with Adrienne Kimball of The Melanated Soul and Chief Talent Officer at Rubicon Programs will help you gain a “better understanding of the work it will take to undo deep-rooted systems of discrimination and white supremacy and how you can participate.”
Candice Morgan, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Partner, GV (Google Ventures)
With over a decade of experience in diversity strategy and practice, Candice Morgan has been at the forefront of inclusive initiatives that are shaking up Silicon Valley and fixing tech’s major diversity issue. Before her role at GV, Candice Morgan was the Head of Inclusion and Diversity at Pinterest where she led strategy and programs to enhance a diverse and inclusive company including how to bring diversity to tech products. She curated impactful D&I programs such as Pinterest Apprenticeship, Knit Con—candidates from non-traditional tech backgrounds can experience engineering at Pinterest with the opportunity to become a full-time employee—and worked with their product teams to develop features like skin tone ranges to make Pinterest’s search more inclusive. She also headed up the research, advisory, and practices for Catalyst—the leading nonprofit for women in business.
Randi Bryant, Sista-intendent of Inclusivity
After years as a diversity and inclusion strategist, Randi B. was tired of helping corporations simply “check the diversity and inclusion box” or be seen as "doing the right thing without addressing the often-uncomfortable topics of unequal pay, monocultural executive team, survey results, employee conflicts, microaggressions, and more. This is why she went out on her own.
Now, Bryant is focused on spearheading real change. As an author, speaker, and Sista•intendent of Inclusivity she’s cultivating conversations to tackle tough racial, gender, and cultural issues by equipping them with the right tools and resources to foster a real, open dialogue and to create spaces where everyone feels as if they belong.
Minda Harts, Founder, and CEO, The Memo and Best-Selling Author, The Memo: What Women of Color Need To Know To Secure A Seat At The Table
Minda Harts is a popular thought-leader and speaker on leadership, equity, and entrepreneurship that advance women of color. She is also an assistant professor of public service of NYU’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and the founder of The Memo LLC—a career development company providing the tools, access, and community for women of color and the companies they work. She wrote a best-selling book by the same name, The Memo: What Women of Color Need To Know To Secure A Seat At The Table, and she speaks in-depth on these topics in her weekly career podcast Secure the Seat.
Juliette Austin, Senior Diversity Equity & Inclusion Strategist, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Founder, Orisa Tii
As an experienced diversity and inclusion (D&I) consultant, Juliette Austin has one mission: To be a “conscientious change agent and disruptor in increasing representation and belonging in the workplace.” And she’s doing just that by managing and leading D&I initiatives across major global organizations including Ernst & Young, Canon USA, Buzzfeed, and currently at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. A huge part of her role is moving companies from diversity to inclusion.
”Oftentimes organizations treat diversity as a hiring blitz to bring in as many women and black and brown faces as possible,” she told Forbes. “And they may do a really great job at bringing people into the building, but if they are not addressing inclusion, it becomes this revolving door—bringing them in, then spinning them out just as quickly. That's a huge cost for any company, the hiring and rehiring cycle is not cheap. Nor do you create really good brand ambassadors in the end. Inclusion is what makes diversity stick. Inclusion makes diversity meaningful.”
Follow her brand on Instagram.
Ellen McGirt, Senior Editor, Fortune Magazine, Co-Chair, The CEO Initiative
Award-winning journalist, Ellen McGirt has been diversifying the media landscape with her in-depth reporting on race, culture, and leadership. Her Fortune column, raceAhead focuses on racism and allyship. McGirt was formerly a senior writer at Fast Company and Editor at Large for Time Inc. She's also a regular on TV shows such as Good Morning America, NBC Nightly News, CNN, and others.
Watch her TEDx talk on The Importance of Showing Up.
Sign up for her raceAhead newsletter.
Myisha T. Hill, Author, Speaker, Coach, Founder, Check Your Privilege, and Brown Sisters Speak
Myisha is passionate about the mental wellness and empowerment of women. As a mental health activist, speaker, coach, author, and entrepreneur, she works closely with organizations and community groups to take “white people on a self-reflective journey exploring their relationship with power, privilege, and racism.” Her Check Your Privilege platform seeks to move white people beyond passive ally-ship to action-driven co-conspirators. This guided journey (and best-selling book, Check Your Privilege: Live into the Work) aims to deepen awareness around your actions and how they affect the mental health of Black, Brown, Indigenous, People of Color ( BBIPoC).
Download the Check Your Privilege workbook.
Learn more about Brown Sisters Speak.
Avery Francis, CEO and Founder, Build With Bloom and Sunday Showers, Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity Champion
While she is not an anti-racism educator, she is an HR leader, entrepreneur, and diversity, inclusion, and equity champion. Avery has spent her career working with leading startups to navigate the challenging world of talent, hiring and building creative cultures worth being a part of. She is the founder of the Bridge Program, A free code school for women-identified and non-binary people on tech. Formerly the Head of Talent at League and Director of Talent at Rangle.io, Avery specializes in helping the world’s best startups and most talented people grow their teams and their careers. She also shares mini-guides on Instagram on topics such as “9 Ways White People Can Spend Their Privilege” and “Things Not to Say to a Bi-Racial Woman" which “is a reflection of my learning and lived experiences as a Black woman.”
Join Sunday Showers—A Biz Shower.
Dr. Sarah Saska, Co-Founder, and CEO, Feminuity
Dr. Sarah Saska is the co-founder and CEO of Feminuity, a global strategy firm that partners with leading technology startups through to Fortune 500 companies to build diverse teams, develop equitable systems, design inclusive products, and company cultures. She has a Ph.D in Equitable and Ethical Tech from Western University and led pioneering doctoral research at the intersection of diversity, inclusion, and innovation which highlighted the need for companies, namely those in the technology and innovation sector, to embed diversity, equity, and inclusion into the core of their business. In 2018, she spoke on the TEDx stage about why “We’re On the Verge of a Diversity Debt Crisis.”
Follow Dr. Sarah Saska on Instagram.
Download her Indigenous Ally toolkit.
Mini Timmaraju, Executive Director, Diversity & Inclusion, Comcast NBCUniversal
With over 20 years as a professional leader and executive in the government, policy, political campaign, and advocacy space, Mini Timmaraju has an extensive background amplifying diversity and inclusion, gender issues, and community outreach strategies. As the Executive Director on the Diversity and Inclusion team for Comcast NBCUniversal, Timmaraju oversees corporate strategy and key initiatives supporting company-wide goals on diversity and inclusion.
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“Knowledge Is Your Power”—and More Memorable Moments From Our Digital Summer Camp Summit
The campfire was virtual, but our speakers were on fire.
Photo: Create & Cultivate
On Saturday, June 13, we hosted our second digital stay-at-home summit, Summer Camp. Thousands of attendees from all over the world joined us around the virtual campfire for a jam-packed day of networking (Slack was on fire!), learning new skills (hello, content marketing funnels), and listening to inspiring conversations from a diverse range of CEOs, entrepreneurs, content creators, small business owners, and experts in their fields.
We covered everything from launching a product to starting a podcast to jumping onto TikTok with some of the best in the biz. Trinity Mouzon Wofford, Farnoosh Torabi, Melanie Elturk, Brittany Xavier, Brad Goreski and more bosses dropped some serious knowledge throughout the day. If you missed out on the fun (or if you just want to relive the magic), you’re in luck because we captured the most memorable moments for you, so read on!
(Psst… If you’re having serious FOMO, join Create & Cultivate Insiders to get unlimited access to all of our Digital Summer Camp content including video recordings of every panel and workshop download in C&C history.)
How Danielle Fishel Karp Went From Entertainer to Clean-Beauty Entrepreneur
“
I really am behind the keyboard the way it appears that I am. It’s my picture, my name, and my voice—it really is me.”
—Danielle Fishel Karp
Panelist:
Danielle Fishel Karp | Actor, Director, Producer, & Entrepreneur
Moderator:
Sacha Strebe | Editorial Director, Create & Cultivate
On becoming a director...
“I didn't know I wanted to be a director until we went back to Girl Meets World and I realized I felt very, very protective of the kids on the show.”
“Kids relate to me in a way that they wouldn't a director that had never been an actor.”
On launching a transparent beauty brand…
“Authenticity is really important to me. It always has been, so anytime I've partnered with a brand it's either been a product that I really do love or use or it's something that really resonates with me.”
On her relationship with beauty...
“I was never really much into beauty. I'm just not. I have a few products that I love and I use them consistently and unless somebody really says, ‘No stop using that thing, use this,’ I'm going to keep using the same products I know and love. I don't like a lot of change in that regard.”
On launching a beauty brand...
“I didn't ever think I was going to do anything in the hair—or beauty world, for that matter—and then I got pregnant and I went to my first doctor's appointment and I heard my son's heartbeat.”
“All of a sudden, I really understood why women who are thinking of having a child start looking at everything they're consuming and start looking at it from the standpoint of is this good for me? Is this good for my child?”
“I went home and downloaded the Think Dirty app, and for the first time ever, I scanned all of my beauty products.”
“From the ground up, I have been involved in every step of the way.”
On being an entrepreneur...
“Acting and directing is an art form, so everything about them is subjective. It's not that way in business. Things aren't subjective.”
“I think I underestimated how much it really takes energy-wise and time-wise to launch a brand.”
On making a clean but efficacious beauty line...
“If I felt the need and a lack in the space, then other people did too.”“When I was trying to create the line, I wanted something that was as natural as it could possibly be, while also not losing any of the efficacy.”
On misinformation in the beauty world...
“Figure out what your comfort level is. Just because I'm comfortable with a product that falls somewhere on the three to four scale, doesn't mean that you are.”
On launching before COVID-19…
“We had planned five new products for this year. A lot of things have changed in 2020. I'm not sure how many of those products we’re going to be able to roll out now.”
On being close to the customer...
“One of the things I realized very quickly is that I wanted to hear everybody’s feedback, and I really wanted to take their thoughts into consideration because I'm not just making this product for myself.”
“I rely so much on being able to have a direct conversation with consumers about what to do.”
“I respond to a lot of comments and like comments through direct messages.”
"I have personally responded to I don't even know how many emails, so I am as involved as I can be without having to run every single aspect of it myself.”
“I like people to know that I really am behind the keyboard the way it appears that I am. It’s my picture, my name, and my voice—it really is me, and I think that goes a long way.”
Let's Grow: How to Build Your Following While Creating a Dedicated Community
“How can I get the right people who are very entrepreneurial excited about my brand from a very early point? And, hopefully, how can they continue to grow with the company?”
Panelists:
Trinity Mouzon Wofford | Co-Founder and CEO, Golde
Mandy Ansari | Digital Influencer & Entrepreneur
Jera Bean | Social Media Strategist and Creator, The Social Media Saloon
Aysha Harun | Content Creator
Chinae Alexander | Content Creator and Social Entrepreneur
Moderator:
Maxie McCoy | Author of "You're Not Lost"
On the phrase content is king or queen….
“What is going to get me to double-tap? We are all also consuming content as well, even if we are a content creator.” - Mandy Ansari
“Is my content inspiring? Is it empowering? Is it educating and is it entertaining? It doesn't need to be doing all of those, but the more it is doing at one time the better.” - Mandy Ansari
On identifying a need and mapping out a content strategy….
“Businesses need to think of Instagram as a business card. When a friend recommends something, one of the first things we do is go to Instagram. I like that Instagram shows more than just the highlight reel. It shows the journey and the process.” - Jera Bean
On building an engaged online community requires consistency…
“As a content creator, your personal life is your business in a sense, so taking the time to slow down is important to keep that consistency.” - Aysha Harun
“As a creator and as someone that works alone the majority of the time, to admit to themselves that, yes, I do need help.” - Aysha Harun
On building a social media following organically, without putting many resources toward marketing...
“How can I get the right people who are very entrepreneurial excited about my brand from a very early point? And, hopefully, how can they continue to grow with the company?” - Trinity Mouzon Wofford
“Surrounding yourself with those people who believe in it just as much—if not, some days, more than you do—was really my key to getting this far without taking much money.” - Trinity Mouzon Wofford
On growing your community and reaching a wider audience…
“Having a little prescriptive is helpful in moving past criticism.” - Chinae Alexander
“We can show up as humans. I haven't always had a perfect response to people who say rude things. I also have a zero-tolerance policy for it, but that's just how I am as a person. I’m just actually living my truth.” - Chinae Alexander
“My most successful content—and not in likes or comments, but in that it has moved the needle for other people—has been the days where I get up and I’m about to write something and I write it, look at it, and it makes my stomach hurt. It makes my stomach hurt because I’m scared to post it, I’m scared to say it, and I’m like, Oh, God, and I know I got something good. I know I went there, and I’ve never had someone negative attack when I went there. Because of its vulnerability.” - Chinae Alexander
Mental Health Meeting of the Minds: How to Tackle Your Anxiety and Live a Happier Life
“Rejection is objective. Rejection is from the outside. It comes from someone else saying no to you, but rejection is not failure—failure is what we think.”
—Stacy London
Panelists:
Erica Domesek | Founder, P.S. I Made This
Stacy London | Style Expert and New York Times Best-Selling Author
On collaborating...
“It's important, in my adult life, to make sure that the people around me aren't competing but are collaborative and supportive, and I think that we all need that—we need it for life in general, but we certainly need it now.” - Stacy London
On creating connections…
“To really be able to really create connection, I think it requires agency.” - Erica Domesek
On making self-care a priority…
“I just have to go back to the OG reference of when you’re on the airplane and the mask comes down and you put it on yourself before you can put it on anyone else. I just realized that I have to take care of myself before I can take care of other people.” - Erica Domesek
On dreaming big…
“This moment is the moment to dream big, in my opinion. The reason I feel that way is it does a lot to mitigate anxiety and depression—again, if you feel you have agency. Instead of feeling helpless, like the world is happening and there's nothing you can do to stop it, what I love to think about is what it's like to dream big, right now.” - Stacy London
On navigating social media right now...
“Social media has created moments of such anxiety, that is paralyzing—pre-COVID! You can mute people right now.” - Erica Domesek
On achieving personal success…
“Personal success—small, medium and large—is just as important to me.” - Erica Domesek
On handling rejection…
“Rejection is objective. Rejection is from the outside. It comes from someone else saying no to you, but rejection is not failure—failure is what we think.” - Stacy London
“We forget that rejection, for every door closed, means the door that we are supposed to go through remains open.” - Stacy London
On not comparing yourself to others...
“We forget that our scale doesn't have to be somebody else’s, and we forget our own lives because we get so involved in scrolling through other peoples.” - Stacy London
On finding real connections…
“Whether it's your business or your personal life, connection is essential, and it's not just networking to me that's not enough.” - Stacy London
“Real connection, people who you know you can count on regardless of whether you feel like a success or a failure.” - Stacy London
“Those people who see you for who you are—for the good, the bad, and the ugly and they don't turn away and they stick by you—those are the people who you are going to need throughout your life.” - Stacy London
How to Leverage Podcasting to Build Your Brand With Farnoosh Torabi
“
You have to be your biggest fan and your biggest advocate
.”
—Farnoosh Torabi
Panelist:
Farnoosh Torabi | Host of the Webby-Nominated Podcast, “So Money”
Moderator:
Sacha Strebe | Editorial Director, Create & Cultivate
On not needing to do it all…
“As someone who is in charge of your own brand, you have to think about it, I think it's worth experimenting, but you can't do it all.”
“There are a lot of things that I don't do. It feels like I do it all, but there are also so many things I don't do, which are conscious because it doesn't spark joy.”
On talking about money…
“Everybody has a story, and that story ultimately shapes how we relate to money.”
“I wanted to have bigger conversations about money that nobody would give me the bandwidth to have elsewhere because they just didn't think it was interesting, so a podcast gives me the opportunity to expand on topics that you really can't find elsewhere.”
On tapping into your audience…
“You don't know what you don't know so ask your audience, they will tell you.”
“You have to be your biggest fan and your biggest advocate.”
“That's the secret, don't pretend like you have to know the answer, your listeners will tell you what they want.”
On launching a podcast...
“You have to be really clear on your editorial hook, What is the voice? And part of that exercise is listening to a lot of other shows in your category.”
“The key to make this really easy is streamlining as much of the process as possible.”
On staying informed...
“Knowledge is your power. If you have answers to your questions, then you will know where to go next.”
On getting down to business...
“This is not just a passion project, it’s a growth engine for your brand and your business.”
TikTok 101—Everything You Need to Know About This Buzzy New Platform
“Do what you like to do. Don’t feel pressured to do what everyone else is doing.”
—Kiitan Akinniranye
Panelists:
Brittany Xavier | Global Style Influencer
Kiitan Akinniranye | Content Creator & Founder, Atarah Avenue
Blanca Garcia | Beauty & Lifestyle Influencer
Joyce Chun | Creator Marketing, TikTok
Moderator:
Reesa Lake | Partner and Executive Vice President, DBA
On following trends…
“You should pay attention to trends, but don’t let them rule your content creation.” - Kiitan Akinniranye
On jumping onto the platform…
“It’s an outlet for me to express different parts of my personality that I don’t express on Instagram and YouTube.” - Kiitan Akinniranye
On just having fun…
“Just have fun with it—that’s what TikTok’s all about.” - Kiitan Akinniranye
“I think the reason TikTok has taken off is because people are just being themselves, having fun, and not taking it too seriously.” - Kiitan Akinniranye
“Just have fun and don’t think too much about it.” - Blanca Garcia
On staying true to yourself…
“Anyone can tell the difference between someone trying to be someone else versus someone really being their authentic self.” - Joyce Chun
“Do what you like to do. Don’t feel pressured to do what everyone else is doing.” - Kiitan Akinniranye
“It’s really important to stick to what you want to do and show your personality. That way, whatever views a video gets, you’re still proud of that piece of work.” - Brittany Xavier
On creating content…
“The most important thing is that you enjoy what you’re creating.” - Joyce Chun
“No matter what anyone else does, you can have your own unique spin on it.” - Kiitan Akinniranye
“Create content that you enjoy, and most likely, other people will enjoy it as well.” - Kiitan Akinniranye
“When creating my videos, I try to have a take-home value or some resource that they can get from the video.” - Brittany Xavier
On turning TikTok into a revenue stream…
“Start creating content, and the revenue will come.” - Brittany Xavier
On checking metrics…
“I always remind creators that TikTok is a video-based platform. It’s built to democratize content so that anyone who has 0 followers to a million followers can have a chance to be seen no matter their size.” - Joyce Chun
“It really is a quality over quantity game.” - Joyce Chun
“Videos don’t ever expire, so you’ll notice that older ones are continuing to be spread and that’s a good indicator of what other content you can do going into the future.” - Brittany Xavier
“I check watch time to see when people are dropping off and that helps me figure out what I’m doing wrong in a video.” - Kiitan Akinniranye
“I try to take myself out of it, so that I'm not super invested in the outcome because it takes away from how I feel about content creation.” - Kiitan Akinniranye
Uncapping Your Self-Love: A Candid Conversation With Today's Top Beauty and Lifestyle Experts on How to Cultivate Confidence and Self-Love Both Inside and Out During the Social Media Age
“Knowledge is power and that gives you confidence.”
—Melissa Alatorre
Panelists:
Kandee Johnson | Creator, Beauty Authority, & OGXpert
Jessica Franklin | Lifestyle Influencer & OGXpert
Melissa Alatorre | Beauty & Lifestyle Influencer
Moderator:
Jaclyn Johnson | CEO & Founder, Create & Cultivate
On tapping into your voice on social media...
“Always talk like you’re talking to your best friend. When you’re your most comfortable, when you’re your quirky, weird, unique, different self, that is going to be the you that people will fall in love with.” - Kandee Johnson
On getting real with your audience…
“Other people are going through it too.” - Jessica Franklin
“From posting my struggles, I realized everyone has them and people want to relate.” - Jessica Franklin
“People can relate and feel like they’re not alone.” - Jessica Franklin
On being vulnerable with your followers...
“As long as my content is helpful, I’m willing to share it, even if it’s embarrassing.” - Melissa Alatorre
“I recently started opening up about my struggles with IBS and the response has just been incredible. I don’t mind sharing something embarrassing as long as it helps someone.” - Melissa Alatorre
On having grace for yourself during COVID-19…
“Go easy on yourself. If you have a day where you’re not productive, that’s okay.” - Kandee Johnson
“It’s okay to feel stuck. It’s okay to feel some type of way about this situation because we’re all going through it together.” - Melissa Alatorre
On monetizing your account without alienating your audience…
“I have to genuinely like and use the product.” - Jessica Franklin
“If you don’t love the product and it’s not a genuine review and something that you would actually use, it’s not going to resonate with your audience.” - Jessica Franklin
On dealing with negative comments…
“You can get thousands of people saying wonderful things to you all day long, and it’s the one awful one that just gets to you.” - Kandee Johnson
“A miserable person—whether they’re upset, stressed out hurt—whatever the content of their heart is, that’s what’s going to spew out of them.” - Kandee Johnson
“If I’m going to reply, it’s going to be a reply with a lot of love. It’s never going to be a snapback or a clap back.” - Kandee Johnson
“It’s usually better to ignore it and leave that alone and go about your day and focus on the people that love you and do have positive things to say.” - Kandee Johnson
“If you’re following me just to be negative and give negative energy to my page, there’s no point. If I can, I’ll just ignore it, block, and just keep moving.” - Jessica Franklin
“You need boundaries on social media because everyone thinks they have privilege and access to you and that they can say whatever they want and that you’re not human.” - Jessica Franklin
“Your platform is like your house, and you wouldn’t invite these people to come into your house and say these disrespectful and rude things.” - Kandee Johnson
On finding the silver lining…
“When you’re at your worst, at your most rock bottom, you have nothing to lose, so you can start any new ideas.” - Kandee Johnson
On cultivating confidence…
“Confidence comes from knowledge.” - Melissa Alatorre
“Knowledge is power and that gives you confidence.” - Melissa Alatorre
Design Darlings: How These Design Enthusiasts Are Inspiring Millions
“If your heart is pulling you in one direction, go for it.”
—Christina Martinez
Panelists:
Breegan Jane | Interior Designer
Monika Hibbs | Creative Director and Founder, Monika Hibbs
Christina Martinez | Life and Style Blogger, New Darlings
Angela Tafoya | Editorial Director, Lonny
Moderator:
Sacha Strebe| Editorial Director, Create & Cultivate
On diversifying your revenue streams…
“When you chase these passions with purpose, it can lead you to the openings that the universe is trying to create for you, even when the world says, Don't do it, put your energy here.” - Breegan Jane
“My life, and a lot of my goals, come from wanting to empower other people and being an employer.” - Breegan Jane
“It's really important to me to give other girls, women, men, anyone, the opportunity to try something, be good at it, fail at it, enjoy it.” - Breegan Jane
On taking a leap of faith…
“If your heart is pulling you in one direction, go for it.” - Christina Martinez
“It works as long as you are willing to put in the work.” - Christina Martinez
On growing an audience authentically…
“I think the honest voice is really the true voice of what people wanna hear and they wanna hear your story.” - Monika Hibbs
On how content strategy has pivoted…
“What can we offer people right now that feels like it's a definitive resource for what they’re going through?” - Angela Tafoya
“It's not solely providing aspirational content—which we still do, obviously—but thinking about how we can be there for our audience in a way that feels cognizant of what’s going on.” - Angela Tafoya
On staying true to who you are but also building a business that makes money…
“Look at your audience like a friendship. Some of your friends know everything, right? You’ve got that girlfriend you can call that you’re like, This is what's really happening. Then, you have other friends that are parents at school that kind of know your life and don’t know your middle name. And so, where your comfort level is with social media I think you can kind of filter it that way and each friend can be different. FB is different than IG, different than TikTok.” - Breegan Jane
On knowing when it’s time to make your first hire..
“I started to realize that I was missing partnership opportunities in my email because I just couldn't get to them. I realized really quickly that I was actually losing revenue and beating myself up and really working myself down.” - Monika Hibbs
“Once you release and know that you can't do it on your own, that's really where the growth comes in.” - Monika Hibbs
On the best design tip…
“Zero in on how a room makes you feel, even digitally when you’re looking at a space. Really try to dissect what it is that you like about that space.” - Angela Tafoya
Ready, Set, Launch: How to Strategize a Perfect Product Launch
“You have to think very long term on how you want the brand to evolve but also stay the same over the years.”
—Melanie Elturk
Panelists:
Dianna Cohen | Founder and CEO, Crown Affair
Janessa Leone | CEO and Designer, Janessa Leone
Abigail Cook Stone | Founder and CEO, Otherland
Éva Goicochea | Founder & CEO, maude
Cass Dimicco | Founder, Aureum Collective
Melanie Elturk | CEO & Co-Founder, Haute Hijab
Moderator:
Sacha Strebe| Editorial Director, Create & Cultivate
On launching a product...
“Anytime that you're looking to launch a business or a product, it's so important to know in your gut that you cannot be everything to everyone.” - Dianna Cohen
On building communities alongside customer bases…
“More than ever, we are realizing the power of niche audiences and people being genuinely passionate not only as a community member but also as a customer.” - Dianna Cohen
On reaching your target audience…
“I think the best things come out of natural, organic, real relationships with people” - Janessa Leone
On how to match an unmet need…
“The extra verve of the added touch is all about a little bit of extra effort that you put into something that takes it from good to great and elevates the everyday.” - Abigail Cook Stone
On the buying journey…
“We went through a really big exercise on who the audience was and how we speak, look, act, feel.” - Éva Goicochea
On validating and testing your audience…
“It's so important that you really can build an entire persona of what your brand represents—without even showing the product—months before you're about to launch.” - Cass Dimicco
“Your customer and your audience will tell you what's working and what's not.” - Cass Dimicco
On having a clear brand story…
“I know what the product is, I know that there is this highly underserved market, so what’s the brand story going to be around this product?” - Melanie Elturk
“We want this to be a legacy brand and not just spur of the moment, emotional decisions yet these are very important—down to color—that you have to think very long term on how you want the brand to evolve but also stay the same over the years.” - Melanie Elturk
On challenges…
“During challenging times and previous recessions, people do tend to go to brands that they already have an emotional connection with. That being said, in the land and world of new consumer brands, you don't have to scale back if you have not scaled.” - Dianna Cohen
On launching small…
“You want to see how your customers are buying things, so it's helpful to have an edit at first and then be able to iterate upon that.” - Éva Goicochea
“If founders are just trying to get their footing and understand if this is something they want to do, I suggest you really incorporate creative problem solving into every single roadblock that you see in front of you and smash through that to the next one. Use it as an opportunity to learn, to delegate, to outsource.” - Melanie Elturk
On building brand loyalty…
“At the end of the day, that is going to be what your business is: your customers, your community. If you can build that, they will buy whatever you're selling.” - Dianna Cohen
How to Lead With Resilience and Empathy
“Even if you’re afraid, speak up. Use your voice. Keep raising your hand.”
—Julie Smolyansky
Panelist:
Julie Smolyansky | CEO, Lifeway
Moderator:
Jaclyn Johnson | CEO & Founder, Create & Cultivate
On stepping into the role of CEO…
“Failure was not going to be an option.”
“I worked really hard. I used the business as a place where I could put my mourning and grieving pain and do something with it.”
“I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it.”
“Tough times are where you’re called to rise—and you either rise or you don’t. Sink or swim.”
On honing her vision for the company…
“Educating people around gut health has been my mission from day one.”
“You have to tell your story over and over again. You have to tell the marketplace over and over again.”
“We’ve doubled down on advertising and marketing during some of the more troubling moments of crisis like 2008 for example when the economy was flattering, we saw that as an opportunity and we doubled our advertising and that paid off. Some of our biggest growth happened during the recession.”
“We’ve adapted at every point in time and every point in our history.”
“We’re constantly learning and adapting and evolving.”
“What I know for sure is that what everyone wants is health. They want health, they want wellness, they want to feed their families good, nutritious food.”
On scaling a team…
“If I can delegate and let other people take the plan and execute it, it’s much more empowering for them and more fun, and then I can focus on the big picture.”
“It was a slow process of giving up that control because I was so used to doing it all myself.”
“It’s about working on your business, not in your business.”
On her advice for fellow female leaders...
“Even if you’re afraid, speak up. Use your voice. Keep raising your hand.”
“No one gives you power, you just have to take it.”
“If you’re not at the table, you’re the meal.”
“Keep being brave. Bravery is a muscle. It’s like your gut, it’s like your bicep—you keep using it, you keep getting stronger.”
On doing good during COVID-19...
“Lifeway was originally started with this idea to feed people.”
“My family survived war and famine and disease and all sorts of things in the Soviet Union during a painful time in history, so feeding people has always been super important to us.”
“30% of kids in the Chicagoland public school system are food insecure and rely on the school system’s lunch as their one nutritious meal a day—and suddenly they weren’t going to have it overnight.
“We immediately started unlocking and deploying our emergency response plan to reach those communities most impacted.”
“There is no more sacred purpose than to feed people and bring them wellness.”
“We’ve been working 24/7 just to keep food on people’s tables.”
On finding the silver lining through COVID-19...
“This crisis has shown us how vulnerable we are and how in-lock and connected we are to each other. Our safety and security and health depend on each other. We are interlocked with each other.”
“We’re starting to see that we are all really in it together and that we can show up for each other.”
On advice for anyone struggling during COVID...
“Don’t stop. Keep going. Hold your head up high. Find moments of joy for yourself. Trust the process, trust the universe. Trust that all of this is happening not to you but for you.”
Evening Keynote: A Conversation With Brad Goreski & Jaclyn Johnson
“
From my experience, starting at the bottom and learning everything was so valuable.”
—Brad Goreski
Panelist:
Brad Goreski | Celebrity Stylist and TV Personality
Moderator:
Jaclyn Johnson | CEO & Founder, Create & Cultivate
On falling in love with fashion from an early age…
“Fashion was my way of communicating who I was.”
On interning for Vogue and W…
“Interning was the most valuable experience I ever had.”
“From my experience, starting at the bottom and learning everything was so valuable.”
“I learned so much because I was responsible for so much.”
On starring on The Rachel Zoe Project…
“That show was the first of its kind. It was the first time that the curtain had been pulled back on the world of celebrity styling.”
“I almost didn’t take the job because I didn’t want to be on the reality show.”
“People were watching me learn the job.”
On taking the leap to start his own business…
“I got Jessica Alba as my first client, but there were two months where no one was calling, no one was asking me to style them.”
“One of the best pieces of advice I got was, ‘The only way you’re going to have a successful business is if you learn how to delegate.’”
“I literally didn’t make any money for my first two years.”
“Most of my business has been through word of mouth, so it’s always good to be easy to work with and it's always good to be available.”
On earning accolades and taking them in stride...
“In any job, you want to be on some sort of best-dressed list of whatever you do.”
On developing the traits to succeed as a celebrity stylist...
“You have to learn how to work under pressure really fast and you need to be a quick problem solver.”
On overcoming shyness...
“My shyness is overcome because I remember that kid who so desperately wanted to be here. Now that I’m here, I don’t want to squander any opportunity.”
On his best advice for his younger self…
“Continue following your heart no matter if you think it’s going to lead where you think it’s going to lead.”
“Let the script play out the way it was written and not try to interfere with it too much.”
Don’t miss Michelle Pfeiffer, Miranda Kerr, Beatrice Dixon, and More at our Digital Beauty Summit on Saturday, July 25.
MORE ON THE BLOG
16 Female Leaders Share the Most Unexpected Lessons They’ve Learned During COVID
Because there’s no manual for navigating a pandemic.
The word “unprecedented” has been used a lot over the past few months, and rightfully so—living through a pandemic of this scale is not something that we’ve ever done before. There’s no manual for navigating COVID-19, and everyone has been forced to tackle this new reality day by day.
But being stripped of all routines that make us feel like we are in control has revealed some unexpected, and valuable, lessons. For these 16 female leaders, this time has forced them to challenge their business processes, personality traits they thought to be true, how they get work done at home, and more. However, they each adhere to a clear pattern—starting with discomfort or unfamiliarity, followed by acknowledging the friction, and ultimately, leading to an important lesson that will far surpass this temporary season.
Their stories demonstrate that it’s not necessarily the problems we face or even the lessons we learn that are most significant, but rather how we intentionally integrate them into our lives as we inevitably fall back into familiar routines.
Amanda Aldinger
Founder of Antonym, a voice strategy and copywriting studio that conspires with beauty, culture, fashion, and lifestyle brands.
An Unexpected Lesson COVID-19 Has Taught Me: “Four and a half weeks into quarantine, I realized that I'd worked every day, all day, since New York City went into lockdown. My brain and creativity were completely tapped, I was exhausted and ultimately had to admit that the only person holding myself to this insane schedule was me. I set new boundaries with myself and clients, brought on extra support, created fresh weekend routines, and revealed in the new space to think and restore. Happiness, creativity, and energy returned instantly.”
How I’ll Take This Lesson With Me Post-COVID-19: “I've experienced the stressful effects of over-extending myself for years, but have struggled to live at a slower pace while scaling a growing business. This forced slow-down gave me no choice. I have found grace in it and will be nurturing a new pace of life post-COVID.”
Isis Nyong'o
Founder of MumsVillage, a content and ecommerce platform for parents in Kenya.
An Unexpected Lesson COVID-19 Has Taught Me: “I haven't left my house for six weeks and don't feel caged in at all. I'm really surprised by this as I've never been a "homebody"—preferring to step outside at least once a day during weekends.”
How I’ll Take This Lesson With Me Post-COVID-19: “I think I'll spend a lot more time at home as I don't have any desire to go anywhere. It's also given me permission to make all the "coffee chats" and meetings I didn't really want to have but did out of obligation into virtual meetings. That will be much more acceptable now and I'm so appreciative of this change as I can focus on what's important to me in terms of work and personal.”
Jessica Gupta
Founder and CEO of Taavi, a community platform that connects women in hand-selected small groups based on where they are on their pregnancy or parenthood journey.
An Unexpected Lesson COVID-19 Has Taught Me: “I've realized how much strength I get from meaningful conversations with my friends and family. The video chats and phone calls are deeper because we aren't focused on discussing or doing activities, but truly on talking about things that matter most—emotions, values, mental/physical well-being. What surprised me most about this learning is that it isn't profound or novel, but that it was just forgotten because I was always moving a million miles a minute.”
How I’ll Take This Lesson With Me Post-COVID-19: “I'm going to continue the slower pace and focus on what serves me more fully—meaningful conversations.”
Nathalie Molina Niño
CEO of O³, which invests and advocates for women and the planet.
An Unexpected Lesson COVID-19 Has Taught Me: “Everyone who has ever met me would probably place me on the far end of the extreme extrovert spectrum, but it turns out, that might not be true after all. I've had very little human contact in weeks and I'm surprised to report, I don't miss it. Could be I was just traveling too much and needed a break, but relative to other people I know, I seem to be really taking to this quarantine life!”
How I’ll Take This Lesson With Me Post-COVID-19: “I'll take more time to be alone and be better at cultivating and honoring my need for alone time.”
Caitlin Iseler
Founder and CEO of Happyly, which encourages families to spend less time planning and more time experiencing life together by providing active lifestyle inspiration for families across the U.S.
An Unexpected Lesson COVID-19 Has Taught Me: “I am capable of slowing down. As someone who runs hard in all things, it’s been healthy for my family, my business and my well being to slow down. I used to think of slowing down as a weakness but now I see it as a chance to let my brain recharge and address challenges with a level of new found creativity and grace.”
How I’ll Take This Lesson With Me Post-COVID-19: “I’m enjoying quiet time to be more present for myself, which in turn is good for everyone around me. It’s a new part of me that I’m embracing and plan to take with me!”
Wadeeha Jackson
Senior Director of Compliance at Blocx, a payment processing platform that utilizes block chain technology to increase the speed and efficiency in business transactions.
An Unexpected Lesson COVID-19 Has Taught Me: “COVID-19 has shown me that I cannot control everything and I have to manage the anxiety that comes from my inability to control external factors.”
How I’ll Take This Lesson With Me Post-COVID-19: “I will take the importance of being more grounded and focus on managing my internal well-being. Surrendering doesn't mean giving up — merely it's managing how you internalize and manage dealing with the loss of ‘being in control.’”
Jackie Ghedine
Business and Life Coach at The Resting Mind, which works with Gen X women who are at a mid-career crossroads, struggling with weight loss, or navigating their next move.
An Unexpected Lesson COVID-19 Has Taught Me: “My 11-year-old daughter has severe ADHD. Most sixth graders can go and do their work on their own, but unfortunately for my daughter, she will stare at something that needs to get done and it overwhelms her. Every day we break apart everything that needs to get done into small chunks, one step at a time. COVID has been a gift to me. This precious time, seeing how she learns, understanding her struggles first hand and finding ways to help her manage has helped me to reevaluate my expectations, something I hadn't done and couldn't do.”
How I’ll Take This Lesson With Me Post-COVID-19: “I am embedding in my memory, exactly the kinds of actions she takes when trying to do her work—from not being able to retrieve information to forgetting what she was doing four seconds after starting something—all so I can remember exactly what she struggles with every single time she opens a book or looks at a math problem. My expectations will not be how she did on a test and instead, reviewing the work together to ensure she just understands how to solve a problem.”
Nikki Bruno
Founder of The Epic Comeback, which helps high-achieving women in their 30s and 40s stage Epic Comebacks from divorce, illness, or loss.
An Unexpected Lesson COVID-19 Has Taught Me: “I've learned that quarantine conditions bring out massive surges of creativity for me, both personally and professionally. I used to think that creativity flourished with a lot of external stimulation, but it turns out the reduction in mobility and general noise freed up a fountain of ideas in my brain!”
How I’ll Take This Lesson With Me Post-COVID-19: “I'll honor my ideal creative set-up by sequestering myself in cozy places and eliminating distractions.”
Gabriella Ditalia
Founder of Mirror & Lens, which helps clients restore sacred balance by living in the space between their personal truth and the material world.
An Unexpected Lesson COVID-19 Has Taught Me: “I have weathered this experience with leadership and resilience, but in a way I didn't expect. I am philosophical and curious and I have always been able to connect those traits to real life experiences and actions. I built my business to help people wanting to make positive change in uncertain and transitional times in their lives using the tools I've always used to navigate challenging times in my own life. Sometimes uncovering the key to helping others is by learning to see your own unique qualities that are easiest to take for granted.”
How I’ll Take This Lesson With Me Post-COVID-19: “I am much more committed to the values of my business, allowing the strategies to shift and evolve. I know that wisdom is in connection, not in information and I continue to embody that in my work with clients.”
Marta Subko
Founder of subko&co, a boutique digital marketing agency.
An Unexpected Lesson COVID-19 Has Taught Me: “I have always thought that office space is one of the most important factors in building company culture. Also, I’ve always been a firm believer that people tend to be less productive while WFH. To my surprise, I’ve discovered that I and my teammates are very efficient as a fully remote team.”
How I’ll Take This Lesson With Me Post-COVID-19: “Our lease with WeWork is ending in May, and we decided not to extend it and to stay fully remote for the next few months. It’s cheaper, safer, and more productive in many ways. The situation forced me to be more creative as regards how I connect with my teammates so I came up with new ideas on how we can nurture our culture while working apart. Now we have regular weekly check-Ins, Office Vibe Surveys, edu-quizzes, and we even do pilates together via Hangouts once per week.”
Erin Halper
Founder and CEO of The Upside, a community and referral network of consultants and experts.
An Unexpected Lesson COVID-19 Has Taught Me: “I've learned that all businesses need to offer community and all professionals need to feel connected to like-minded people. The Upside was about to launch a membership cycle when COVID hit, forcing us to completely halt any and all well-planned promotions. What surprised me was how little our business was affected by COVID and the subsequent cancelled marketing campaigns, proving that people prioritize community and connections above almost everything else.”
How I’ll Take This Lesson With Me Post-COVID-19: “I'm doubling down on programming that adds value and creates an even stronger community for our members.”
Keira Kotler
Founder and CEO of Everviolet, which designs, engineers, manufactures and sells high-quality lingerie and loungewear for women’s bodies after medical procedures and other life-changing events.
An Unexpected Lesson COVID-19 Has Taught Me: “During this time, I've learned how much I thrive in moments of change. Instead of focusing on potential losses, I am feeling stimulated by the prospect of opportunity and ways of offering myself and my business for the good of others. I've always been an adaptive and giving person, but I'm surprised by how quickly and intuitively pivots and success from pivots are taking place.”
How I’ll Take This Lesson With Me Post-COVID-19: “The pivots I refer to are not just shifts in marketing or communications but actual changes in business practice and focus. I will maintain and expand upon those post-COVID. I've learned how authentic and smart consumers are, and I want to meet them in this place with transparency, benevolence and heart.”
Ellie Hearne
Founder of Pencil or Ink, a leadership communications agency that specializes in remote coaching, team workshops, and culture consulting.
An Unexpected Lesson COVID-19 Has Taught Me: “Leadership isn’t a title or a vocation, it’s present (or absent) in every decision I make—at work and at home. With the distinction between those areas of my life blurred, I'm recognizing that leadership wins look different than they did just a few months ago. For example, considering how to do something vs just what needs to be done is particularly important at the moment. And giving my children what they need to thrive on a given day might not mean a robust home-school curriculum—it might mean screen-time and a snack. And that's ok.”
How I’ll Take This Lesson With Me Post-COVID-19: “Mostly, this has been an exercise in patience, boundary-setting, and considering what matters most—personally and professionally. Those are evergreen.”
Lindsay Tabas
Startup Strategist at Lady Engineer, which helps founders design and sell the right product before spending too much with developers building the wrong one.
An Unexpected Lesson COVID-19 Has Taught Me: “As Vail Resorts closed and, with it, my winter snowboarding hobby that kept me busy, I thought because I was already 100% work-from-home for the better part of six years that I could #KeepItNormal. Each adjustment to daily life and news item brought with it a tiny prick, and as those pricks added up, I learned about sensory processing sensitivity. I always thought I was being careless and ignorant by avoiding the news or turning away from overly anxious people, but it turns out that I'm really a highly sensitive person, and it's a trait that I need to consider before engaging with others.”
How I’ll Take This Lesson With Me Post-COVID-19: “If a highly sensitive person beats herself up because she's being ‘too sensitive’ to daily life, then isn't that an unending circle of negativity? The diagnosis is always the first step, so now I can start setting boundaries with others when I feel my senses are getting overloaded.”
Michal Levison
Founder of Seasoned Moments, which shifts workplace culture and helps leaders build strong teams through food.
An Unexpected Lesson COVID-19 Has Taught Me: “I'm more introverted than I ever imagined. I was never a homebody before COVID-19. Turns out, I'm truly enjoying being at home, with my loved ones, with barely any action. I have been unpacking many of my issues in therapy this year, and I am more quiet and centered internally. I no longer need to run to the loud noise, the big to-do in order to escape my inner turmoil. I am much more at peace.”
How I’ll Take This Lesson With Me Post-COVID-19: “I will definitely make time for myself to be still. I may not ever be able to recreate this unique environment again, but I can certainly make it into a daily ritual of stillness, quietness, and inner reflection.”
Lily Scott
Founder of Lily's Ladle, which crafts frozen bone broths with ingredients sourced from Southern New England.
An Unexpected Lesson COVID-19 Has Taught Me: “As an entrepreneur, I have been trying to think of ways to reinvent the wheel in the retail food business. This is such an old and antiquated market with many middlemen and it's been making me crazy. How to change the food system when I also have to feed my own two young children AND keep my small business afloat, it means I have to depend on this system. COVID-19 has knocked the grocery store business on its head, and I'm seeing beautiful things emerge—local companies created to deliver farm fresh food to local customers, small retail businesses creating online shopping methods and contactless pickup points, and wholesale delivery services pivoting from restaurant supply to home delivery in order to keep employees working and bring good food into homes.”
How I’ll Take This Lesson With Me Post-COVID-19: “I think I'm going to pivot away from grocery store sales and focus more on partnering with grocery delivery services. It cuts out at least one full warehouse of people that touch my product before you buy it. And I'm going to try and get Lily's Ladle on more restaurant and cafe menus—sipping broth is healthy, nutritious, and delicious and supports the immune system. Why not have the opportunity to buy some from our favorite lunch spots?”
About the Author: Dreamers & Doers is a private collective for extraordinary entrepreneurial women supporting one another in achieving audacious dreams.
Up next: 36 Successful Entrepreneurs Share Their #1 Piece of Advice for 2020 Graduates
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12 LGBTQIA+ Founders, Executives, and Leaders Who Are Shaping Major Companies and Shifting Culture in the Process
From Coolhaus to Beautycon to Netflix—and beyond.
Until now, over half (52%) of the people who identify as LGBTQIA+ in the U.S. were living in states where they could be fired, passed over for a promotion, denied training, and harassed in the workplace based on their gender identity or sexual orientation.
On June 15, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court took a long-overdue step in ending these discriminatory practices by ruling that the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, religion, national origin, and sex, also applies to discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. “An employer who fires an individual merely for being gay or transgender defies the law,” Justice Neil M. Gorsuch wrote for the majority in the historic six-to-three ruling.
In honor of this landmark ruling, which also just so happens to coincide with Pride, we’re using our platform to shine a spotlight on LGBTQIA+ entrepreneurs and leaders who are running cool companies and shifting culture in the process. Scroll on to meet just a few of the founders, executives, and leaders who are shaping some of the most influential businesses in our cultural lexicon—like Netflix, Facebook, and Reddit to name drop a few—and paving the way to the boardroom for the young LGBTQIA+ individuals coming up behind them.
Freya Estreller & Natasha Case
Co-Founders, Coolhaus
“When you are a true CEO, you are driving your own dream but you think of the company as a place for all of your employees to accomplish their dreams as well.”
—Natasha Case, CEO & Co-Founder, Coolhaus
It’s safe to say Freya Estreller and Natasha Case have successfully disrupted the freezer aisle. The co-founders of the women-owned, women-run ice cream brand Coolhaus, which is known for its innovative flavors (think street cart churro dough) and “farchitecture” ice cream sandwiches, have built a formidable franchise complete with a fleet of ice cream trucks, two scoop shops, and premium placement in the freezer aisle in over 7,500 grocery stores from Safeway to Whole Foods. Earlier this year, we shined a spotlight on the innovative founders as Create & Cultivate 100 honorees.
Jimena Almendares
Product Executive, Facebook
Jimena Almendares’ résumé is impressive, to put it mildly. Before she landed her current role as product executive at Facebook, she helped shape other major companies like Intuit, OkCupid, and Meetup. While at OkCupid, she led the company through its IPO, and ad Intuit, she led the expansion of Quickbooks into Mexico and set the record for the fastest global launch the company’s history in the process. Not to mention, she’s on the board of Out for Undergrad (O4U), an organization dedicated to helping high-achieving LGBTQ+ undergraduates reach their full potential.
Rachel Tipograph
Founder & CEO, MikMak
“
Invest in your voice. Your ability to be a powerful orator will get you much further than any other skill.”
—Rachel Tipograph Founder & CEO, MikMak
Rachel Tipograph is making marketing cool again. With a client list that includes brands like L’Oreal, Hershey’s, Unilever, and Estée Lauder, the founder of MikMak is leveraging social media for major profits, something the 2017 Create & Cultivate 100 honoree talked about at our recent Digital Money Moves Summit. It’s no wonder the innovative entrepreneur has been honored in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Who Are Changing the World, Marie Claire’s 50 Most Influential Women in America, Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business, and Entrepreneur's 50 Most Daring Entrepreneurs lists. She’s also an angel investor who’s passionate about funding women, POC, and LGBTQIA+ founders.
Jen Wong
COO, Reddit
“We share responsibility for the health and safety of the platform with our communities.”
Jen Wong’s career reads like a dream run on paper. Before joining Reddit, Wong served as president and COO of Time, Inc, where she was the highest-ranking female executive. Before that, she served as PopSugar’s chief business officer and even spent a stint as AOL’s global head of business operations. Under Wong’s leadership, Reddit is reportedly on track to reach $262 million dollars in ad revenue by 2021, which is more than double last year’s revenue.
Photo credit: @onewong
Leanne Pittsford
Founder, Lesbians Who Tech & Allies
“Power doesn’t give up power. You must create urgency around change. It doesn’t happen naturally.”
—Leanne Pittsford, Founder, Lesbians Who Tech & Allies
In 2012, Leanne Pittsford organized a series of happy hour networking events for lesbians in technology. Fast-forward to 2020 and what started as a small gathering of just 30 people has grown into Lesbians Who Tech & Allies, a veritable tech community of 40,000 members with chapters in 40 cities. Since then, the 2019 Create & Cultivate 100 honoree has founded two more companies to help underrepresented people in tech land their dream jobs: Include.io, a mentoring and recruiting platform, and Tech Jobs Tour, a series of networking events across the country to bridge the gap between tech companies and prospective job candidates.
Lydia Polgreen
Head of Content, Gimlet Media
Earlier this year, Lydia Polgreen resigned as HuffPost’s editor in chief—a role she took on when Arianna Huffington, the founder, stepped down—to become head of content at Gimlet Media. In doing so, the seasoned storyteller, who spent nearly 15 years on staff at The New York Times before joining HuffPost, validated what many in media already suspected: podcasting is on the rise. In fact, Spotify paid nearly $340 million in a combined deal to acquire both Gimlet and Anchor, a company that makes easy-to-use tools for producing podcasts, in 2019.
Arlan Hamilton
Founder & Managing Partner, Backstage Capital
“
It started with my mom telling me I deserved to be in any room and shouldn't shrink myself to make someone else feel better about themselves.”
—Arlan Hamilton, Founder & Managing Partner, Backstage Capital
Here are some startling stats: Only 12% of venture capital funds are invested in companies with at least one female founder, according to All Raise. Additionally, of the $425 billion raised in VC funding since 2009, a mere 0.32% went to Latinx female founders and .0006% to startups led by Black women. Arlan Hamilton, the founder and managing partner of the venture capital firm Backstage Capital, is on a mission to tip these statistics in the right direction. Since launching in 2015, Backstage Capital has invested over $7M in 130 companies led by underrepresented founders, according to the company’s website. It’s no wonder we included her on our 2018 Create & Cultivate 100 list.
Emma Mcilroy
CEO, Wildfang
Emma Mcilroy started a feminist revolution in 2013 when she launched her clothing brand, Wildfang—remember this Wild Feminist T-shirt?—dismantling the patriarchy and gender norms in the process. And it seems a lot of people want to join Mcilroy for the ride. Now a multi-million-dollar company, Wildfang is also a global community and a place for women to feel that they can conquer anything.
Denyelle Bruno
CEO, Tender Greens
“It’s easy to get caught up in the game of trying to be like others, but the best copying will result in a less good version of another person.”
—Denyelle Bruno, CEO, Tender Greens
As the CEO of Tender Greens, Denyelle Bruno is at the helm of a casual restaurant chain that serves over seven million customers across 30 locations in California, New York, and Massachusetts and, not to mention, brings in an impressive $100 million in annual revenue. But it’s not just about the bottom line for Bruno. In an industry where the gender gap is getting wider, not narrower, Bruno is leading the charge in gender diversity. In fact, by the end of 2020, Tender Greens achieved gender parity across the company’s restaurant leadership, from executive chefs to sous chefs, which is one of the many reasons we included Bruno on our 2020 Create & Cultivate 100 list.
Angelica Ross
Actor, Writer, Producer, Founder and CEO, TransTech Social Enterprises
You probably know Angelica Ross as Candy Ferocity on Pose, but she’s also a leading figure in the movement for trans and racial equality. When you consider the statistics—72% of trans homicide victims between 2010 and 2016 were black trans women and femmes—it’s easy to see why Ross wants to ensure that these women aren’t reduced to a statistic. As the founder of TransTech Social Enterprises, she’s is working to empower trans and gender-nonconforming people through on-the-job training in leadership and workplace skills. As a powerful speaker, she tours nationally to share her mission with business leaders, educators, and the President of the United States.
Cindy Holland
VP of Original Content, Netflix
As vice president of original content at Netflix, Cindy Holland, who has been with the company since 2002, oversees the production of the streaming giant’s binge-worthy original series and the multi-billion-dollar budget needed to bring that high-quality, programming to the platform’s 182 million subscribers and counting. Under Holland’s watch, Netflix earned 117 Emmy nominations in 2019, 17 Golden Globe nominations in 2020, and has secured deals with the likes of Shonda Rhimes and Janet Mock, who is the first openly trans creator to sign a major deal with Netflix.
Up next: 19 Powerful LGBTQIA+ Leaders on Instagram to Follow and Support Now and Always
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Stop Being Color Blind: The First Important Step in Having Courageous Conversations
Five things to remember when entering a conversation as an ally.
Written by Mita Mallick, Head of Diversity & Inclusion and Cross-Cultural Marketing at Unilever.
“I’m color blind,” a colleague had confidently proclaimed to me several years ago while we were meeting. “I’m color blind, and I don’t see you as any color at all,” she boldly claimed again, sitting right across from me and staring me straight in the eyes. All the while slowly sipping her cup of coffee. I stared blankly at her “First Coffee, Then Slay” boss lady-style mug.
“I just don’t see color.”
Colorblind is the infamous get out of jail card, a free pass, a VIP status, to buy, pass go, and collect your $200 Monopoly-style and to let everyone know there’s no possible way that you see color. Along with phrases like;
“My dentist who I love is Indian.”
“My best friend from fifth grade is Black.”
“My grandchildren are half Asian. I don’t see color. How can I see color?”
“Did I mention my college sweetheart was Colombian? So I can’t possibly be a racist. And I am one of the most evolved, open-minded people you will ever meet. I live in Manhattan, after all.”
When you use the words “I am color blind” you have completely shut down any possibility of having a conversation with me around race. Because I am Brown. As a Brown person, I don’t have the privilege of saying I am color blind. I know when I walk into my workspaces and workplaces my brownness has entered the room before I have even had the chance to sit down and say hello. I wear my brownness every single day of my life.
Like many of you, I am in shock and in pain over the death of George Floyd—a pain compounded by Ahmaud Arbery’s tragic death in Georgia and Amy Cooper’s weaponizing of race in Central Park. As a Diversity and Inclusion leader and as a woman of color, I am trying hard to stand as an ally for the Black community.
Being an ally starts with acknowledging that race matters. And for Black and Brown people, race has defined us since the day we were born. Because for Black and Brown people, being color blind is a privilege we cannot afford.
To understand what’s happening in our country right now—emotions swirling, the flame reignited, the wildfire spreading again across the country—and to learn and understand about institutional racism, you must first see our Black colleagues. You must see that they are Black. Our Black colleagues must be seen and then heard.
Having courageous conversations on race is the first place to start as an ally for the Black community. Here are the 5 things I am reminding myself when entering into a conversation as an ally.
Photo: Retha Ferguson from Pexels
Please just listen. Allow the space for stories to be shared.
In a world that won’t shut up, it’s hard for us to just be present and listen because we want to talk and talk and talk. We just need to listen. Deeply listen to what is being shared. Sometimes when someone is sharing with you, it’s because of a recent racist experience they have had and they trust you to listen. They might be emotional. They may get quiet. Sit in the silence and emotion with them and to say, “I am here, I am here to listen.”
Other times, you might want to check in on how a Black friend or colleague is doing, particularly after a devastating event like the death of George Floyd. In that case, some might want to share how they are feeling; others won’t want to share. Maybe not at the moment, and maybe not ever. The pain and trauma are deep. The important part is that as an ally, you checked in. They know you are standing with them.
“We just need to listen. Deeply listen to what is being shared.”
Please don’t minimize their experience.
“Are you sure that happened? Maybe you misunderstood what she said? She’s the nicest person I ever met.”
“No way that happened.”
“You are joking, right? That’s not even possible!”
Please do not ask questions. Please do not make statements and question the validity of what is being shared. Now is not the time to be an investigative journalist. Accept that they are telling you to be true. Because it is true. Seek to understand and learn from what they are sharing.
“Seek to understand and learn from what they are sharing. ”
Please don’t time insert your own experiences.
Please don’t start telling stories about sexist or racist or homophobic experiences you have had in response to what they shared. After 9/11, it was the first time in my life I started to fear authority. I feared for my brother and my father and all the South Asian men in my life who could, for no reason, be dragged away and deemed a terrorist threat by police. My Black friends reminded me that this was the fear they have lived with all their lives.
Now is not the time to compare and contrast experiences or trying to show you understand their pain. Because if you haven’t lived in their shoes, you don’t.
When there are long periods of silence, and someone is emotional during a conversation, our instinct is to fill up the air to make it less comfortable. I try to stay present, ensure the person sees my eye contact. If this was an in-person conversation and I knew the person well, I would offer a tissue or lightly extend my hand on their hand or shoulder to show I am there for them.
I avoid phrases like “It’s going to be okay” or “It will get better” or “Progress takes time.”
Instead, I focus on phrases like “I am here for you as an ally” and “I am here to listen, there’s no rush, please take your time.” And “I can’t imagine how painful this is for you and thank you for trusting me and sharing” and “Please know you can trust me to share anything you like” and “I haven’t walked in your shoes, and I can’t imagine what pain you are in, and I am working hard to understand and educate myself on experiences that aren’t my own.”
“Now is not the time to compare and contrast experiences or trying to show you understand their pain. Because if you haven’t lived in their shoes, you don’t.”
Please don’t try to problem-solve.
As leaders, we are trained to problem solve. The most difficult part about conversations on race I have found is the non-closure. You have left the conversation feeling like you couldn’t help; you didn’t brainstorm an action plan; you didn’t provide a solution. It was a failed conversation.
If it was so easy to end institutional racism, we would have collectively eliminated racism a long time ago. So it won’t be solved in one courageous conversation. You need to keep engaging. You need to keep learning.
“It won’t be solved in one courageous conversation. You need to keep engaging. You need to keep learning.”
Please do continue to educate yourself.
Courageous conversations on race are an important place to start. When ending any conversation, please thank the person for trusting you to have the conversation. And that you are here for future conversations and that will continue to educate yourself. Please ask them how you can continue to be an ally for them.
Please also know that you cannot continue to emotionally burden every Black person you know to share with you their daily experiences, living, and being impacted by institutions of racism. There is so much content out there to start educating yourself as an ally; please don’t continue to ask all the Black people you know.
When I first started working in Diversity & Inclusion, my husband gifted me the book Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates. I went on to read White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin Diangelo. I am taking free Yale Open Courses and learning about African American History: From Emancipation to the Present. I still have my work to do, and it’s a start.
Please stop being color blind. Please start to see color. Start to see every Black person in your life. Please see them and hear them. Because we need you to start seeing color now. Because I need you as an ally to stand with me for the Black community.
“There is so much content out there to start educating yourself as an ally; please don’t continue to ask all the Black people you know.”
About the Author
Photo: Courtesy of Mita Mallick
Mita Mallick is a corporate change-maker with a track record of transforming businesses and cultures. Mita is a passionate storyteller who believes in the power of diversity to spur creative strategic thinking which can ultimately transform brands.
As the Head of Diversity & Inclusion and Cross-Cultural Marketing at Unilever, Mita’s efforts to build an inclusive culture are being celebrated. Under her leadership, Unilever is gender-balanced at manager level and above. Unilever was named the #1 Company for Working Mothers by Working Mother Media in 2018. Mita also co-created the first of its kind Cultural Immersions series to increase the cultural competency of marketers training over 5,000 marketers to date.
Mita has had an extensive career in the beauty and consumer products goods space. She was one of the chief lieutenants in launching The Vaseline Healing Project in the U.S., signing award-winning actress & activist Viola Davis as the brand’s ambassador to help set the brand back to growth.
Mita was named a Working Mother of the Year by She Runs It and named a Valiente Award Finalist at SXSW for her inspiring work in 2019. Mita has been featured in Forbes and quoted in The New York Times. She received the Inaugural Diversity Innovator Award from the National Association for Female Executives in 2018, and was on the “50 People Under 40 Shaking Up Beauty” Youthquake List by Women’s Wear Daily2017. Mita is also a columnist for Swaay and a contributor for FairyGodBoss and her writing has been published on The Good Men Project, Scary Mommy, The New York Post, and The Riveter.
Mita has a B.A. from Columbia University and a M.B.A. from Duke University.
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10 Tips On How to Be an Ally in the Workplace
“The first step to anti-racism in the workspace is to acknowledge the power of allies.”
Written by Aisha Marshall, VP of branding and digital marketing, and Destinee Dickerson, VP of public relations and digital marketing, Creative Label.
Systemic oppression and racism have thrived within professional spaces for decades. Even as black entrepreneurs who have their own business, we still encounter racism. Dangerously subtle or overt microaggressions have plagued people of color in various professions. It is only now that accountability is slowly seeping into corporate systems, causing a long-overdue shift in how we treat anti-racism within the workplace.
The first step to anti-racism in the workspace is to acknowledge the power of allies. An ally is someone who is not a member of an underrepresented group but who takes action to support that group. It is no longer enough to be passively anti-racist. Posting in solidarity on social media means very little when the racist systems go unconfronted. Trust us, as marketing and public relations professionals, black audiences see right through performative activism. True solidarity comes in the form of action.
Check out the tips below if you are searching for ways to become a better ally at work.
Acknowledge That You Can Be an Ally At Any Level
You do not have to be in high positions of power to make effective change. As a white person, if you feel you cannot affect change as a lower-level employee, you are not aware of the power of your privilege. The first step is to acknowledge that being a good ally means getting honest with yourself about your privilege. To be a good ally, you have to understand that your actions may go against people who look like you in supporting the underrepresented group. At times it will be uncomfortable, but you must remain active and consistent. Allyship is not a noun; it is a verb.
Educate Yourself
American activist Marian Wright Edelman once said, "education is for improving the lives of others and for leaving your community and world better than you found it." If you want to actively support your friends and co-workers of color, take the initiative to educate yourself on their culture, history, and movements. The Racial Equity Tools Glossary is an excellent resource for understanding different terminology and its relation to the movement.
Another step in education is breaking the echo chamber by diversifying employees at all levels, social groups, and personal and professional social media feeds. No, this does not mean enlisting one or two people of color to be peppered tokens within your mostly white circles. It means actively seeking knowledge, listening, and taking notes on others' experiences, even if they make you uncomfortable. If you are looking to expand your knowledge during your social distancing downtime, check out these excellent reading suggestions!
Understand Your Privilege
This one is a biggie! When you have privilege, equality can feel like oppression. It is important to note that when minorities ask white people to acknowledge their privilege, it is not an attack. Reject the victim mentality that hinders you from hearing other sides. Also, be conscious of your guilt and do not insert your personal experiences into a narrative that is not about you. Though your intent may be to show support through empathy, expressing your guilt prioritizes white feelings.
Don't Expect Praise
If you are expecting a pat on the back for standing against racism, don't. This is not about you, and awaiting validation for doing the right thing is the opposite of being an ally. True allyship is valuing impact over attention.
Keep That Same Energy
We live in an age of trends and challenges that often fade quicker than the seasons. It is crucial to be clear that fighting racial injustice is a matter of life and death, not a social media trend. When people go back to posting their "normal content," we need allies to keep the same energy in your home, at work, around your non-Black friends, and around your Black friends. Protests and death should not be the motivating catalyst for you to show your support. Continue to advocate and support Black art, media, charity, schools, business, etc. even AFTER the attention dies down (if it ever does).
Take Action
Research the entities or companies you support or work for and make sure they are aligned with your values. Expand your criteria and standards when job hunting. In addition to inquiring about health care and benefits packages, assess how many non-white positions of power are within the company. If the answer is none, consider speaking out or looking elsewhere. Taking the initiative to ensure you surround yourself with diversity is a significant step.
If you work for or own a company that values community outreach, consider tailoring your programs to Black organizations. If you cannot make monetary donations, donating time and resources can be just as impactful.
Speak Up
We know this can be easier said than done at times, but calling out injustice is necessary. Do not be afraid to check a co-worker or lose a friendship with someone who does not share the same allyship as you. Part of being an ally is knowing that you are contributing to a bigger movement than yourself.
Speaking up does not always have to be confrontational. Often ideas from certain marginalized groups tend to be overlooked or appropriated. If you see this happening, call it out by drawing attention to your Black colleagues' contributions. This approach not only offers credit but highlights your co-workers' value to the team.
Help Open Up Space in the Workplace
There are two ways we suggest supporting diversity in your workplace. One, if you are in HR or in an upper management position, hire a diverse team. What better way to have the representation of all races as part of your staff? Two, if you are an employee working in a predominantly white space, request your management/HR department to start diversifying your workplace.
Show Yourself Grace
Becoming a great ally does not happen overnight. It takes guts, dedication, and a commitment to learning. It is okay to make mistakes or be unsure. The important thing is to allow yourself grace and time to learn more about racism and becoming the best ally you possibly can.
Don't Be Afraid to Have Difficult Conversations
We live in a society that prioritizes white comfort. Drop the notion that the issue of racism is political, it is not. It is a human rights issue. To combat workplace racism, we have to be willing to have difficult conversations. It is all of our jobs to provide safe spaces for these conversations and spaces in which white privilege can be called out, and white people can ask questions. Many people in their hearts may not feel that they are racist, but there are ways in which they operate that are insensitive or at the expense of others. Though some actions may not be intentional, it is essential to acknowledge and understand the negative impact they have on the people around you. Having these conversations is the only way to encourage consistent education around privilege. The education that will spark change.
About the Authors
Aisha Marshall, VP of branding and digital marketing, Creative Label
Creativity and Aisha go hand in hand. Having worked in creative development and its impacts on digital strategy, she has adopted a special niche for finding the most unique visuals for clients. Aisha is an Arizona State alumni, having a BA in Journalism and Mass Communication and a Juris Doctor from ASU’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. Aisha was also a former ASU Spirit Leader, and she still enjoys dancing in her free time.
Destinee Dickerson, VP of public relations and digital marketing, Creative Label
Des has an eye and a passion for production. She has worked behind the scenes of major TV shows and networks such as The Dr.Phil Show, Lifetime, HGTV, and YouTube. Des knows what is visually appealing to an audience. This is why creating successful marketing campaigns and visually appealing digital content is her forte. Podcast and video production is her niche, and she loves being able to bring a client’s vision into an audio/visual reality. When Des isn’t working behind the scenes, she loves kickboxing and photography.
36 Successful Entrepreneurs Share Their #1 Piece of Advice for 2020 Graduates
“Be persistent and don’t give up on your plan.”
The class of 2020 may not get to walk across a stage in their cap and gowns and accept their diplomas due to the current coronavirus pandemic, but their accomplishments are still cause for celebration. Even without the pomp and circumstance of a typical graduation ceremony on school grounds, all the late library study sessions, all the hours spent in the lab, all the unpaid internships deserve to be celebrated virtually.
Needless to say, this year’s graduating class faces a more uncertain future than most, so we asked some of the most successful entrepreneurs, founders, and CEOs we know to divulge their number one piece of advice for 2020 graduates. Ahead, Ariel Kaye, the founder and CEO of Parachute, Priscilla Tsai, the founder and CEO of Cocokind, Nicole Gibbons, the founder of Clare, Katerina Schneider, founder and CEO of Ritual, and more, share their wise words of wisdom for this year’s graduating class.
Ariel Kaye
Founder & CEO, Parachute
“Don’t be afraid to make mistakes! Especially now, give yourself permission to explore a new hobby or dive deep into a passion project. Maybe your artistic pursuits or great idea for a business can be the focus of this summer. If I could go back, I would tell myself that it’s ok to not have it all figured out. And really there isn’t a huge rush to get to the finish line. Enjoy the process.”
Sarah Paiji Yoo
Founder, Blueland
“Success doesn't have to be so rigidly defined. When I was graduating, success seemed to mean achieving a certain title or salary or having a huge recognizable impact on the world. Over time, I've realized that for me, I gauge success and professional happiness with questions like 1) Do I love what I’m working on? 2) Am I still learning and growing? 3) Do the people I’m spending time with continue to energize and push me to be better every day? I've loved getting older, as it's become doing less of what I or others think I should do, and having a much deeper understanding of what excites me and is important to me.”
Nicole Gibbons
Founder, Clare
“Don’t feel pressure to have your entire career road mapped out when you graduate. What you think you’ll be doing 10 or 20 years from now is highly likely not what you’ll end up doing. Your career will most likely be a long, winding journey with many detours. Stay curious, explore all of your interests, learn as much as you can and never lose your curiosity because following your curiosity will end up leading you to you venture down incredible paths you could never even imagined!”
Michelle Cordeiro Grant
Founder & CEO, LIVELY
“My advice is to be open-minded and not get in your own way. Immediately after graduating, I went into a three-month training program with Macy's (then named Federated) to learn every aspect of the process from the creation of the product to delivery, at the end of which I was placed in their lingerie category. I was completely heartbroken because I always dreamt of working in ready-to-wear, but after a couple of weeks, I fell in love with lingerie. I quickly learned that it was this amazing place just for women—it's the first thing you put on in the morning and you look at yourself in the mirror and it's this really powerful and confidence-inducing moment. Long story short is don't close the door on something that wasn't ‘your plan;’ be open-minded and true to yourself about what the actual experience is. I'd also warn against being fearful or playing it safe, which we tend to do a lot as women. Instead of fearing the unknown, which there is plenty of at the moment, fear not trying.”
Eunice Byun
Founder, Material Kitchen
“Don't settle for what you already know, but actively seek out experiences where you have to learn something new in order to succeed. It's easy to want to fall back on what you are good at, especially when you want to impress new bosses or colleagues. Putting yourself in those uncomfortable situations where you have to listen and learn will help you see things differently, build a source of confidence deep within, and ultimately help build empathy as you'll have more perspective than before.”
Jean Brownhill
Founder, Sweeten
“My advice to the graduates of 2020 is one of my favorite quotes from Howard Thurman, ‘Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.’”
Meha Agrawal
Founder & CEO, Silk + Sonder
“My best advice is to let go of self-inflicted pressure to have all the answers sorted out. Your first few years after college are merely an extension to learn, create, fail, and rise again. Remember, your first job will surely not be your last job and you always have the freedom to start something new. Be hungry, be curious, and most importantly, be yourself. Surround yourself by people, problems, and opportunities that energize you, and you will have the chance to carve your own path. Know that you can always tweak your resume to tell the story you want to tell—so always allocate time to gut-check how you're feeling in your career checks and course-correct as needed.”
Sustainable Stylist, Expert, & Consultant
“I think the biggest question to ask yourself, given the current landscape, is how to add real value to a company. Have a clear vision for who you are, the type of community you are looking to build, and who you want to surround yourself with. Find a job that not only keeps you busy but also keeps you feeling fulfilled and stimulated. You may not start out in your dream job, but be an active participant in your career path. No one is going to pave the way for you so you need to want it for yourself!”
Blair Armstrong
Founder, GILDED
“Completing your program and obtaining your degree is a wonderful accomplishment and important milestone. Try not to let the lack of an official commencement ceremony get you down. Celebrate your accomplishment in an unconventional way and look forward. Some things to work on while the world sorts itself out are learning new skills, finding a mentor, and considering volunteer work if you have the time. Be persistent and don’t give up on your plan.”
Chriselle Lim
Co-Founder, BümoBrain
“Your degree got you this far. Focus on building up your network and get as much experience as possible. You might not land your dream job right out of college but remember that your first job doesn't mean that it's your last. We all gotta start somewhere!”
Joan Nguyen
Co-Founder, BümoBrain
“Having worked in education for over 10 years, people actually never ask me where I went to school or what I studied. I think that more than your degree or major, the most underrated skills are people skills. Your ability to use the way you talk to people to get them to believe in you and trust in you and then backing it up by true action is one of the most important skills.”
Ara Katz
Founder, Seed
“Do not be attached to an outcome or any fixed idea of how your life should be. Instead, incessantly question, stay open to the evolution of your ideas, opinions and beliefs and un-think every assumption possible. Seek out those who will challenge you, not just align with you. Live expansively and with an endless curiosity about yourself, our world, and your agency within it. Practice health, honor your body, do not underestimate the importance of words and the power of good writing, and most importantly, be kind.”
Catharine Dockery
Founding Partner, Vice Ventures
“My best advice would be to optimize for future flexibility. Unless you're the sort of person who knows immediately what their five-year plan will look like in five years (I'm not, and wasn't then either!), it makes a ton of sense to focus on building a broad skill set and letting your interests and curiosity drive the way. Coming out of college, I had no idea I'd end up as a venture investor. I'd been an investment banking intern in my junior year and hated it, then joined a sales and trading desk after graduating. At the time, I thought I'd either end up in trading or going back to school to become a psychologist. That sales and trading program truly helped me build skills that I use today, and the last dollars from my bonus ended up going into my first personal venture investment.”
Priscilla Tsai
Founder & CEO, Cocokind
“I graduated during the recession, and the job that I had lined up at Lehman Brothers was no longer there by the time I graduated. I remember my mom telling me that regardless of where I ended up in my first job, even if it wasn't my dream career, the most important thing was to be at a place where I could learn. With that, I reached out to as many companies I could and ended up landing a job that allowed me to do just that. My biggest takeaway from this for recent graduates is to not take learning for granted. You have to know what you don't know and take initiative to build your knowledge base. Don't expect someone to hand this to you. Be hungry and appreciate every learning opportunity you have.”
Ann McFerran
Founder, Glamnetic
“Once you graduate, there is no schedule set by an institution anymore and you’re free to do anything you want. This amount of choice is overwhelming and I went through it as well. I think you should be asking yourself the very hard question of what is your ultimate goal in life, then work backwards from there to see what you need to do to get there. If you don’t have a clear picture of the ultimate goal, try to have a rough idea of the field you want to get into, then narrow it down even more to your desired lifestyle. Ultimately, life is all about learning from experiences. You have to be deeply honest with yourself to find true happiness and success, even if it’s a complete 180 from where you currently are. Don’t be scared! Start with this and commit to work really really hard and you’ll find yourself in your dream career.”
Dianna Cohen
Co-Founder, Crown Affair
"If you have an entrepreneurial spirit, now is a time to test into ideas, and as Phil Knight said: just do it. Send the email to the person you admire. Start the thing you’ve been thinking about in the back of your mind. Great things take time, so start in small ways telling the story or building the universe you want to create. If you’re looking at roles at companies or if the ‘dream’ first job is on hold for a moment, this is the time to say yes to opportunities that might be out of the box. Remember that every experience and relationship can lead to something great down the line, something that you can’t imagine now. Take on the odd project, reach out with a thoughtful email, and offer to collaborate. You never where something will lead. If not now, then when?”
Allison Evans
Co-Founder, Branch Basics
“Use this slow-down to your advantage and take this time to really self-assess. What are my passions? What gets me excited? What am I naturally drawn toward? Don't rush into the next chapter without really making sure it's the right one versus what you/others always expected you to do.”
Lindsey Taylor Wood
Founder & CEO, The Helm
“We are living in uncertain times. In the era of COVID, I’m guessing you’ve heard this a hundred times by now. But not only is it true, it’s also another reason to take a bet on yourself and the ultimate preparation for becoming an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurship is synonymous with uncertainty and every day is a new Rubik’s Cube. At this exact moment, life is giving you the ultimate masterclass in learning how to turn every obstacle into an opportunity. If ever there was a time to swing as big as you can, it’s now. You truly have nothing to lose.”
Kelly Love
Co-Founder, Branch Basics
“I know for sure, setbacks make you stronger. We've faced major challenges as a company (even came close to bankruptcy!) but we never lost our hope, our vision, or our determination. Remember that difficult times are really just opportunities to learn, be creative, and turn hard work into success. Focus on the bigger picture, and know that it will take time and the occasional failure to get there.”
Kristi Knoblich Palmer
Co-Founder, Kiva Confections
“Be prepared to pivot! You can’t force yourself into a career that just isn’t panning out. Think of school as a great place to grow up and gain life experience. Even if you don’t end up pursuing the career you thought you would, you gained incredible value just by being in a learning environment. Follow the opportunity, even if it isn’t in the field you had planned.”
Bethany McDaniel
Founder, Primally Pure
"With fewer job opportunities on the horizon, succeeding in making a living has become more of a necessity for this year's college grads than in years past. Brendon Burchard defines necessity as "the emotional drive that makes great performance a must instead of a preference". Necessity demands action, which can be a blessing and not a curse for those who choose to see it that way. So many great businesses have been born out of past economic downturns (Netflix, Airbnb, and Warby Parker just to name a few!), and my hope for 2020 grads is that they will be motivated by a necessity to succeed within the parameters of the current situation and find creative solutions to voids in today's marketplace."
Ariane Goldman
Founder, HATCH
“So much about business (and life, really) hinges on your ability to deal with the unexpected. Running several has taught me that if you're going to survive you have to figure out a way to adapt to things you can't control without freaking out or being reactionary. It's not easy. Deep breaths help. So does having a strong support system: your team, your family, your friends.“
Emily Bibb
Co-Founder, Curated
"It's a crazy time, but use it to your advantage. Create the 'unforgettable' addition to your resume be it a website or Instagram portfolio. DM the CEO you admire for a virtual coffee as their schedules may be more flexible. Learn the basics for the job you want, such as analytics or SEO. While it might not seem like it now, this time could turn out to be your greatest asset.”
Adiya Dixon Wiggins
Founder, Yubi
“You are graduating in scary, uncertain times. At the risk of sounding cold, lucky you! While canceled internships, delayed start dates and limited job options are frustrating setbacks, they also give you space to focus on creating something new and bigger for yourself and others. There are limitless, interesting problems waiting for you to solve in wonderful ways. Set out passionately in pursuit of solutions and get ready for more success than you ever dreamed possible.”
Genevieve Rudin
Co-Founder, Brass Clothing
"Your first job (and likely your second) will not be your last. Young people take so seriously, to the point of paralyzing themselves and adding stress to their lives, the search for the "perfect" job out of college. The truth is that finding the perfect job is a life-long mission. Learning what you don't like, how to work with others, and what workplace environments jive with your working style is a process. One that will take you through your 20's at the very least. Instead of aiming for the best name in your target industry or the highest salary, go with your gut -- a great boss and rewarding working experience that increases your value and the skills you have to offer is priceless. The big-name firms and lucrative opportunities will follow if you find people and a place that will invest in you early on.”
Lily Galef
Co-Founder, Hilma
"My best advice is, to be honest with yourself about what you enjoy and are good at. I spent a lot of time in my early career pursuing what I thought would be most ‘glamorous’ or ‘cool.' In my mid-twenties I realized that the things I enjoyed doing were not, in fact, glamorous or cool, which was a revolutionary insight that unlocked real growth for me personally and professionally. Look for companies that align with your values, and reach out to them--even if they are not hiring. Ask questions and learn about what it might be like to be a part of that business. If you’re interviewing for a job, ask questions about how an organization thinks about mentorship, and try to find yourself a position where your team will invest in your growth. And if the job you find is not perfect—remember that no job is, and use it to learn as much as you can."
Kendall Bird
CEO & Co-Founder, Frame
“We’re taught in college that the world is filled with endless career opportunities. Then after graduation, you start to realize that your first job is hardly your dream job. This happens to everyone, and my advice to you is to not get discouraged. Try to focus on specific skill sets you are developing and mastering. Whether it’s taking meeting notes, developing processes through excel spreadsheets, or growing the conversational skills needed to deal with customers and clients. These are the skills in your tool kit and on a resume that will get you to your next job or promotion.”
Jess Mulligan
Founder, Winged
“My best advice is to be as relentlessly curious and engaged as possible. There are so many opportunities to learn and network, lean into all of them! You never know if the CEO sitting next to you on that flight might be someone you tap three years down the road for an opportunity. Remember that your education is not even close to being over—it’s only just beginning! Spend everyday asking yourself what makes you want to pop out of bed in the morning. I asked myself that question early on and that self-discovery led me to a career where I can share my passion with the world through natural health supplements and clean beauty products. I wake up every day excited to learn more and help others. Success followed, not because I struggled to push through a work day, but because I had the energy and drive to excel in an industry that reflected the essence of who I am.”
Tai Adaya
Founder, Habit
"Especially in downturn times, it's tempting to go for the 'sure thing' or 'safe career path' but I believe we ultimately always gravitate towards our passions. I initially went into a 'safe' corporate job after graduating from college, but I hated it. I eventually went to work for startup companies in health and consumer products. My side hustles were always in e-commerce and content. I spent a lot of time being afraid of pursuing my passions but kept coming back to them. You have to eventually let go of the fear. Try to take the view that our time on Earth is limited time, is a limited resource. There are no guarantees. What are you going to do with your limited resource?”
Marisa Zupan
CEO, United Sodas
“Never stop asking questions or learning as graduation is just the beginning of your real-world education. You are entering the workforce at a time where we need your generation’s insights, creativity, ideas, and enthusiasm in order to challenge us in the best ways possible. Embrace it. Enter this next phase of your life with courage and hope, taking risks when you can and leaning into the unknown.”
Alix Peabody
Founder & CEO, Bev
“Starting a career is a massive undertaking—but it's one that is built by a series of baby steps one after another. The trick is to simply start walking, and don't stop until you are where you wanted to go, knowing that where you want to go might change. If I could give myself one piece of advice, it would be exactly that, just start. And by continuing to work hard when things seem impossible or get tough, you will learn things not only about your business but about yourself. With every passing day, and every passing year, you will build something more important than the career or the money or the excitement, you will build a foundation in who you are and what you're capable of. That is something no one can ever take away from you. So my advice? Just start.”
Katerina Schneider
Founder & CEO, Ritual
“Don’t get stuck on any one path. Give yourself permission to try things out and find out if they are not for you. And if you do feel like it’s not for you, let go of it quickly. I studied applied mathematics in college, quickly learned I was bad at finance, and now I run a health and wellness company.”
Sarah McDevitt
Founder, Core
“Don’t make decisions based on fear and short-term needs. Be intentional and practical about the work you need to do to achieve your long-term goals. Build your personal life Board of Directors/team of go-to friends or family that know you well and can be a sounding board for big decisions. Go after what you want and try not to compare yourself to others. Celebrate their success and find your own. Resist the pressure from society, family, etc. to choose a certain path if it doesn’t feel right to you. It’s ok to not fully know or understand your dreams and career goals. It’s ok to change your mind and is natural as we learn and grow. It may not always feel like it, but you always have options—choose wisely, or at least recognize things that feel like obligations as choices and you will look upon them more favorably.”
Melanie Travis
Founder & CEO, Andie
“I graduated three months before Lehman Brothers collapsed. With the world in turmoil, I decided to move to Europe and travel. By not rushing into a career path, I left room to explore opportunities, which has paid off in spades. Everything in the world is in flux right now, which creates room for new opportunities to seize. I would encourage recent graduates to look around, don't feel pressured to jump into anything too quickly and make the most of this crazy period. They might end up being the best-prepared class of graduates ever for the world to come!”
Zara Terez Tisch
Founder, Terez
"Growing up, I thought I had my whole life figured out. But life doesn’t always happen exactly the way you expect it will. A few months after I delivered my graduation speech, my boyfriend tragically died while trying to save his friends from drowning at summer camp. The life path that I had known so far, and the life path I thought I would follow, disintegrated. I was broken. My entire perspective on life changed that summer. Instead of convincing myself I was on a surefire path, I started worrying less about what I would accomplish, and more about what I was passionate about.
After finding myself in a West Village leather shop that made custom handbags, my sense of creativity was piqued and that night, I told my parents that I was going to start my own brand and that it would be about self-expression and making people feel good. At the time, I didn’t even know why I wanted to do it. Or why those were my pillars. I just felt a need to. Enduring unexpected loss and grief helped me learn how to pick myself up, move forward, and look for the good in the world. It also helped me embrace the unknown and remember that time is precious, which is why we shouldn’t put off our dreams. We should chase them down, as soon as they come to us.
So in 2008, I quit my job and started my own company out of the basement of the house I grew up in. I quickly realized that I didn’t know everything or basically anything, and that I had to accept learning as I went. But I also found that if you’re determined, you can figure out anything. And that’s exactly what I set out to do."
Shelley Sanders
Founder, The Last Line
“My biggest advice is to be open to newness. Maybe it's not your dream first job, but take the opportunity to watch, listen and learn—then act. I worked for other companies for almost 18 years before I started my own line, and in the end, it was the best decision for me. When you surround yourself with smart people, especially those with different skills from your own, you will be challenged and probably surprised by what you learn and maybe like! I’ve experienced too many risks to even name, but regrets of not trying are far worse, so go for it. And finally, never be afraid of a pivot: if it's not working, move on and always take the opportunity to look back and learn from what happened.”
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