Why Adopting This Simple Money Mindset Could Change Your Life

Photo: Smith House Photography

“Did I really just do that?”

That was my immediate thought after hiring my first business coach a little more than a year ago. It was the most money that I’ve ever spent on myself—$7,000 to be exact—and honestly, the most money I had spent on anything in my life.

Putting that amount down was scary beyond belief. I thought I was crazy, but I was also done playing small. I was done thinking that I or my vision wasn’t worth it. I was done having a money mindset that dollar bills were scarce and hard to earn.

And I knew deep down that to get a return, I would need to invest. In myself. Pretty big jump considering that at the time I felt hesitant to spend $35 on a workshop. But this is what I realized: money is meant to be in a healthy cycle of giving and receiving, making and spending.

If one part of that cycle is blocked, like when you try not to spend money at all or don't ask for what you're worth, the whole cycle gets thrown off and creates a clogged financial situation that feels strained and uncertain. Maybe you’re good at spending money, but if you feel guilty about it, it blocks the flow just as much. Spending and investing your money should feel good. 

So here’s a thought that can turn things around…

"There's always more where that came from."

This mindset reminds me that whatever I spend or invest comes back to me in some way. If I end up paying more on a dinner bill split among friends, I’m convinced it'll come back to me in some way. If I invest in an online course, I believe a return will come back to me in some way.

But without some sort of initial investment, there can’t be a return. And if all or most of your money is going towards rent, food, and Ubers, with little to no personal development expenses, you’re missing out on one of the biggest ways you can change your life. 

As a life and business coach, I've worked with dozens of women who, at first, had a strong resistance to spending money on themselves, and here’s what one of them has to say about this:

“Working with my coach has confirmed that I am worth investing in financially, emotionally, and spiritually. I’m worth that investment, and because I’ve decided that I’m worth it, I’m reaping the benefits, and that investment is being returned to me in the form of clients, improved relationships, and a better version of myself.”

So, if spending money on yourself feels selfish or indulgent, ask yourself these questions: 

1. Are the financial decisions I’m making right now leading towards the most fulfilled version of myself? 

2. Are they helping me reach my biggest goals and dreams?

3. Are they amplifying my impact in the world along with my quality of life?

If you answered no to some or all of these questions, what could you invest in to help you grow and develop financially, emotionally, or physically? Maybe it’s by investing in the online therapy you’ve been thinking of, your own business coach, or a personal trainer that you’ve been dying to work with. 

If at least a portion of your disposable income goes towards those types of expenses, then you’re bound to have a more fulfilling life. So don’t hold yourself back by not investing in the things that’ll help you grow.

It’s not self-indulgence. It’s self-investment, which is arguably the best expense on your bank statement.

About the Author: Kimberly Lucht is a life and business coach who helps female entrepreneurs make their dream business a reality. Degree-trained in psychology, Kimberly has previously directed and grown start-ups that help women blast through limitations and go after their dreams. As a life coach now, she has helped dozens of women massively increase their income, productivity, and overall fulfillment in life through in-person workshops, online programs, and one-on-one coaching. Kimberly has been featured in Money.com, Thrive Global, along with a variety of other media outlets and she currently lives in New York City.

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This story was originally published on September 13, 2019, and has since been updated.

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We Traded Our Morning Coffee for Matcha Collagen for a Week—Here’s What Happened

How do you start your day? If you’re like 64% of Americans (ourselves included) it likely starts with a cup of coffee. In the mornings we like to practice what is known as “procaffeination,” or the tendency to not start anything until we’ve had at least one cup of coffee and until the caffeine has had a chance to kick in.

Coffee has become such a ubiquitous part of our lifestyle and our culture, with more Americans choosing it per day than any other beverage. But in the pandemic era of WFH, caffeine can become a mental and emotional crutch. More people are feeling the pressure of an always-on work culture with the shift from in-person meetings to virtual ones. This, combined with a year of irregular sleep schedules and coping with a collective uncertainty, can have you reaching for an extra cup (or four) to feel like you can keep up. In a world that doesn’t ever switch off, burnout is very real—and so is our addiction to caffeine. 

If you’re anything like us, it’s likely hard to imagine starting a typical morning without coffee—in fact, the mornings without coffee commit to memory in much greater detail–and so the thought of giving it up permanently seems unbearable. 

But, what if we told you there's a replacement that could give you natural, sustained energy without the caffeine crash you would normally get from coffee. What if it also included a variety of age-defying benefits as well as those for digestive health and joint health, AND improved endurance, while helping the body maintain balance with stress-relieving and immune-boosting properties.

Enter Further Food’s Matcha Collagen Peptides.

You’ve likely heard of matcha before; a high-grade green tea that has been ground into powdered form. Because of the unique way that it is grown and harvested, matcha has more antioxidants than other green teas and is considered a true nutritional powerhouse. 

Further Food combined delicious, superior tasting organic matcha (cultivated by a 10th level Japanese Tea Master, the highest level of Chasi and one of only 13 people in the world to hold this certificate) with their best-selling hydrolyzed collagen peptides and organic cordyceps mushroom into one clean label product that delivers all-day glow, all-day energy, and plenty of benefits.

These three ingredients are a powerful combination, according to Further Food’s Chief Science Officer, Dr. Chris Oswald, D.C., Licensed Nutritionist and Functional Medicine Practitioner. “Collagen is great for a variety of beauty benefits such as glowing skin, thicker hair, and stronger nails. It also has additional benefits for digestive health and joint health. The combination of collagen with matcha and cordyceps mushrooms gives you a daily beauty fix while also delivering mental clarity and productivity benefits from the natural caffeine found in matcha and endurance and fatigue-fighting benefits associated with cordyceps.”

Inspired by Traditional Chinese Medicine, Further Food's Matcha Collagen has all the benefits of collagen with the ancient healing powers of adaptogenic mushrooms. All of their products are formulated by doctors and backed by nutritionists, health experts, and herbalists.

If, by now, you’re feeling “matcha curious”, and wondering if you would survive or thrive if you traded your coffee for matcha for one week—well, so were we. 

So, the C&C put Further Food’s Matcha Collagen Peptides to the test for a week and logged our results. Keep scrolling to read the verdict! 

Jessica, Director, Accounts

FIRST IMPRESSION: To be totally honest, I am not normally a matcha fan which is actually why I was so eager to give up coffee for a week and add this to my morning ritual! I noticed how easily the powder blended with the steamed milk and the flavor was nice. I felt like I had ordered a $7 matcha latte!

FINAL VERDICT: I find that with my morning coffee, I can be jittery and anxious. I always crash around 2 or 3 PM and need another cup—with Further Food’s Matcha Collagen powder in my latte every day, I noticed sustained energy throughout the afternoon and early evening and didn’t even catch myself thinking about my cold brew! I also felt a lot more focused on each task, rather than jumping around my to-dos as I normally do, I really felt like I could spend the time needed to get my work done efficiently. Overall I feel good and am excited to keep this up to see how the collagen affects my skin.

JESS’S MATCHA RITUAL: Each morning, after I made myself and my (almost) two-year-old daughter breakfast, I made myself a hot matcha latte with steamed oat milk and one scoop of Further Food’s Matcha Collagen powder. Occasionally, I added a little bit of cinnamon, cardamom and honey just for a bit of an elevated morning drink and used my super whisk to make it really foamy! It was really nice to enjoy while we shared our breakfast.

Sarah, Associate Marketing Manager

FIRST IMPRESSION: I love a good matcha–so much that I justify spending $7 on one at a coffee shop here in Los Angeles, and mostly because I have never been successful at making it myself at home (though I’ve tried!). I have been on the hunt for a good matcha for a minute now, and I won’t name names but I still have a few pouches sitting in my pantry that just weren’t up to par. 

Naturally, I was a little nervous that this one would fall short but I was happily surprised. The matcha whisked together well, tasted as delicious as I expected, and I liked that it saved me an extra step by including collagen and cordyceps. Collagen has always been a part of my daily beauty routine–I definitely notice a difference in my hair, skin and nails when I’m incorporating it daily.

FINAL VERDICT: As a lover of at home coffee and a victim to not so great matchas of the past - I’m stoked to continue to incorporate Further Food’s Matcha Collagen into my morning routine! Not only was I happy to skip the step of adding my daily supplement of collagen to my morning beverage (work smarter, not harder!) but I genuinely saw a shift in my energy levels. 

I wasn’t watching the clock for the next appropriate time to have another cup of caffeine but was more often shocked when 4 PM rolled around and I had powered through the afternoon without my normal second cup. 

SARAH’S MATCHA RITUAL: I consider myself to be exclusively an iced beverage person, regardless of the temperature outside. This, for the most part, has made dissolving supplements in my morning beverage… tough, which is why I was pleasantly surprised at how easily Further Food’s Matcha Collagen dissolved, even at room temp.

Not to #humblebrag but I nailed my at home iced matcha latte and knowing that my matcha powder already was packed with the collagen I needed made the experience that much better. First thing in the morning, I boil some water and add a scoop and a half of the Matcha Collagen. After a good whisk, I set it aside to make myself some breakfast. When I’m ready, I pour my matcha over a big glass of ice, top it with some foamy oat milk, and enjoy! 

Drea, Director, Content

FIRST IMPRESSION: Coffee for me, is more about ritual than the caffeine. It signifies a moment all to myself each morning, before the day’s distractions and obligations begin, and where time is measured by volume of sips remaining rather than by the hands of a clock. Though I usually cap this ritual at one cup, I’ve practiced it since my college days. I was a bit nervous to see how my body would respond without the additional caffein and prepared myself for an epic headache–and was surprised that I felt…totally normal. 

As an avid collagen addict, I was really impressed with how well the powder dissolved in hot water – usually matcha requires a special whisk (and a little bit of effort) to achieve a perfectly smooth consistency. With only a few stirs, Further Food’s Matcha Collagen was completely blended, which is actually an indication of a high quality matcha. The taste was exactly what one would expect from matcha–no subtle notes of the collagen or cordyceps. 

FINAL VERDICT: Honestly, I think I may have become a bona fide matcha drinker as a result of this experiment. Especially towards the end of the week, I felt a noticeable difference in energy that was more sustained and less scattered. The matcha–and maybe the cordyceps or the combination of the two– provided a sense of calm and clarity that by comparison, made me realize how anxious coffee had been making me feel. I’m not sure I would have ever noticed the feeling if it weren’t for comparison. 

DREA’S MATCHA RITUAL: The first thing I do in the morning is put water on to boil. My matcha ritual is pretty minimalist, even more so than my coffee ritual without the extra step of adding collagen, but I might try adding it to smoothies next week (and will report back). Once the water boils, pour over 2 scoops of Further Food’s Matcha Collagen. Give it a few stirs and then add a splash of unsweetened oat milk. Sip and enjoy!

USE CODE: CC15 to get 15% off any Further Food product at FurtherFood.com (new customers only) 

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5 Ways to Develop Your "Soft Skills" (AKA the Stuff No One Taught You in School)

Photo: Create & Cultivate

I spent four years in college, three years in law school, and ended up with a lot of school debt, yet I still felt unprepared for my first “adult” job. I realized about 95% of the classes I took didn’t teach me anything about how to communicate effectively, lead a team, manage my time, or be flexible doing work different than what I was hired for.

Unfortunately, these aren’t always the core skills that you are taught in school. However, they are the soft skills that we all need to be successful. These are areas that employers value, which is why it’s critical to work on and emphasize these soft skills every day.

Not sure how to get started? Here are a few pointers for getting ahead of the game.

1. Focus On Your Work Ethic

In the early stages of your career, it may feel hard to stand out amongst people who have more experience or are older than you. The type of person who always stands out is the one who has a strong work ethic. I would rather be known as a hard worker who people can count on than just being labeled “smart.”

Always show up on time, meet deadlines, respond to emails promptly, maintain a positive attitude, be accountable, and be dependable. These are areas only YOU have control over and they are what will make you invaluable. Remember, talent will get you in the door but your work ethic will keep you in the room. 

2. Study Leaders

Every leader has a different style, and all leaders are not created equal. Identify three to five leaders who you respect and look up to and write down their characteristics of what makes them a good leader. Some you may know personally and some you may not. Study them, follow them, dissect them.

I personally look up to Oprah. Her leadership style is inspirational and motivational. People like her and trust her and therefore respect her. One of my leadership tests is “what would Oprah do”?

3. Develop Your “It” Factor

Some call this executive presence, but I prefer “it factor.” This is the ability to attract and engage people—and it doesn’t matter whether you’re an executive or not.

Practice how you enter a room. Are you poised, polished, and prepared? Evaluate whether you effectively speak up. Do you dress the part? Are you confident? Are you self-aware? Every true leader has mastered the skill of having a presence that people respect and want to follow.

As the saying goes, a leader without followers is just someone taking a walk. 

4. Hone Your Communication Skills

Learn to pick up the phone, check the tone of your emails, evaluate your body language and say yes to giving the presentation when you want to say no. Communication is a skill that will serve you throughout your career so learn how to do it well. This is a teachable skill and the more you focus on it the better you will get.

We live in a very digital-dependent world, but there is still something to be said about good ole fashioned interpersonal communication.

5. Be Empathetic

Some believe that empathy is the hardest soft skill to learn but also the most important one to master. Empathy is the ability to understand and share another person’s experiences and emotions. It requires listening more and talking less. Empathy will increase loyalty, accelerate productivity, expand engagement and encourage collaboration.

Even as automation changes the future of the workplace, in order to stand out from the competition (humans and robots) you will need to practice and hone empathy. Treating people the way you want to be treated is not just a principle for preschoolers—it applies even more so to “adulting.” I’m sure we can all remember a boss who let us take off unexpectedly or a co-worker who offered to help you meet a pressing deadline. Take this skill seriously and watch your career flourish.

About the Author: Arika Pierce is a millennial and Gen Z success coach who helps younger generations develop the tools needed for success in business, leadership, and life. She is also the author of “The Millennial's Playbook to Adulting,” a one-stop resource on everything from personal branding and networking, to job hunting, finances, and mental and physical health.

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This story was originally published on October 15, 2019, and has since been updated.

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How This One Trick Can Help You Land That New Job

Photo: ColorJoy Stock

Need a confidence boost? Try this to see how many jobs you're actually qualified for.

Figuring out your transferable skills is key to transition into a new role or a new area of your career. Most people get extremely intimidated by exploring career opportunities outside of their comfort zone, however, what people often don’t realize is that there are a lot of skills that are transferable between careers. If you’re feeling a little down on yourself or just need a confidence boost, do a quick search to see what transferable skills you hold and how many jobs you’re actually qualified for. The results will likely surprise you (in a good way)!

Why is it important to figure out your transferable skills?

If you want to explore new career options, it’s key to figure out your transferable skills and highlight these on your résumé. You might think that the first step to furthering your career is having a great résumé, but in order to create a résumé that will best serve you, you need to decide what you want to gain from it. Why? Because a truly great résumé is catered to the jobs that you’re applying for and highlights the transferable skills that you hold. If you don’t know what kind of jobs you’re going to be applying for, you can’t highlight the right transferable skills and utilize the correct wording and phrasing to ensure that you align with the requirements of the job.

Here’s how to figure out your transferable skills and land that next job.

Don’t focus on the job title

People tend to box themselves in with specific job titles. When you’re trying to figure out your transferable skills, it’s very easy to get stuck on the job title, so instead of searching based on job titles, search based on your skills. This will open you up to new opportunities and give you a better perspective about what job is right for you and what kind of jobs you’re qualified for. You never know what job opportunities are out there until you do a broader search based on the skills you have instead of searching for a specific job title.

Browse through current openings

The easiest way to do this is by going to job sites and searching for one of your strongest (or favorite) skills. For instance, if you’re extremely skilled and enjoy working with Adobe Photoshop, search “Photoshop” and see what kind of positions come up. This will help guide you in the right direction. Similarly, if you excel at project management, customer service, or using specific software, you can search those terms as well to get a better idea of what kind of jobs focus on those skills.

Additionally, if you’re really feeling stuck, you can simply browse through current job openings without keyword searching them. If you’re taking this route, browse through job openings, go through the job descriptions, and highlight the skills you have. This will help you gather information about what transferable skills you can highlight based on different areas of work. It will also give you a better idea of what kind of jobs you can apply to going forward.

Take note of important skills that are repeated in multiple job descriptions

Research suggests that CEOs now rank adaptability and collaboration on a par with traditional skills such as problem-solving and risk management. Due to the rise of startups and small businesses, employees are often required to wear many hats, work with cross-functional teams, and adapt to the role as situations arise.

As a job seeker, these are crucial skills that you want to highlight. Instead of writing “adaptable” on your résumé, show employers how you have adapted to various situations. For example, you could say something along the lines of “hired as an administrative assistant and served as an editorial assistant managing social media postings, website content, and liaising with contributors to organize submissions.” This highlights your ability to go above and beyond your role and shows that you adapted based on company needs.

For an easy way to put together your thoughts and gather information about what you’ve accomplished, create SOAR stories (Situation, Obstacle, Action, and Result) for yourself.

Figure out what words and phrases to include

Do some research on what businesses are actually looking for in a candidate and pay attention to trends of required skills or experience in your industry. Is there software that you continually see as a job requirement?  When you browse potential job opportunities, are there any specific skills required? How about certifications? Is there any specialized training that could benefit you when it comes to your job search?

The more research you can do, the better. You want to get a better understanding of what potential employers and recruiters are looking for in candidates within your field so you can highlight these transferable skills and requirements on your résumé.

Exploring new career opportunities can be intimidating, but if you figure out what transferable skills you hold, you might be surprised at how many jobs you’re actually qualified for. Instead of focusing on specific jobs titles that you think will be the right fit, focus on figuring out your transferable skills and go from there!

About the author: A native San Franciscan, Michele Lando is a certified professional résumé writer and founder of writestylesonline.com. She has a passion for helping others present the best version of themselves, both on paper and in person, and works to polish individuals' application package and personal styles. Aiming to help create a perfect personal branding package, Write Styles presents tips to enhance your résumé, style, and boost your confidence.

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This story was originally published on April 18, 2028, and has since been updated.

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39 Successful Founders Share the Podcasts That Transformed Their Businesses

There’s no denying that podcasts are the hottest medium of the moment. In 2021, people have already spent 15 billion hours (yes, billion with a B) listening to podcasts (insert exploding head emoji here). And, thankfully for all the entrepreneurs out there, there’s no shortage of business podcasts to download for mentorship, guidance, and expertise straight from founders who’ve learned tough lessons the hard way.

For a fresh crop of listens to add to our weekly lineup, we tapped 39 successful founders to find out which business podcasts they subscribe to for advice and inspiration. From a must-listen-to series about the struggles that successful entrepreneurs have overcome to a series of interviews centered around women in tech, these are the podcasts they listen to on repeat. Trust us, you’ll want to have your headphones at the ready.

Chriselle Lim

Co-Founder of bümo

The Podcast: How I Built This

Why You Recommend It: It has helped me to understand the struggles of entrepreneurs which was very comforting during my journey building bümo, but it also has allowed me to dream big of what could be. The conversations are not sugar-coated and show you all the highs and lows from start to finish.

The Best Business Tip: You don't have to have a blueprint to follow when you start a business you just have to do the next best thing, and step by step you will find your own way. 

Dianna Cohen

Founder and CEO of Crown Affair

The Podcast: The podcast that transformed my leadership style is any podcast with Adam Grant. Adam Grant is an organizational psychologist who has a thoughtful approach to leadership and teamwork. I first heard him speak on Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert (another favorite pod) and have continued to follow his work and podcast, WorkLife with Adam Grant, directly.

Why You Recommend It: From Adam’s ability to reframe concepts like imposter syndrome to his scientific approach on feedback, or the thoughtful conversations he has with leaders and innovators like Jane Goodall and Ester Perel, I really enjoy his approach to teamwork and leadership.

The Best Business Tip: His conversation with Brené Brown is one I keep coming back to. Having been trained in work cultures and high-growth startups that didn’t allow space for vulnerability at work—it’s now something I practice with our entire team. I’ve found that the capacity to be vulnerable (while still having a productive, problem-solving attitude) has allowed us to embody our brand mission around care and taking your time, even in a fast-growing startup environment. 

Abigail Cook Stone

Co-Founder and CEO of Otherland 

The Podcast: The Entreprenista Podcast

Why You Recommend It: I am so inspired by hearing all the founding stories and behind-the-scenes notes of how female founders got their start, as featured on The Entreprenista Podcast. To me, it is all about inspiring other women and creating a supportive community—if I can do it, they can do it, too!

The Best Business Tip: My biggest takeaway from the guests on the podcast is that you should always trust your intuition. As women in business, the podcast reinforces that you are your best asset.

Samara Walker

Founder of Àuda.B 

The Podcast: The podcast that transformed my business and mindset as a founder is How I Built This with Guy Raz. This podcast propelled my mindset as an entrepreneur allowing me to navigate building a startup from a different lens without scarcity, self-doubt, and learning to accept failures as wins. I operate from a mindset of abundance and count my failures as opportunities to pivot, iterate and learn. Failures have come within various forms especially monetary losses, but once I've experienced a hardship, I assess the situation and always use the experience as a learning moment to grow and push myself forward. I've become a better founder, leader, and visionary for Àuda.B because of the amazing founders having the opportunity to share their journeys on How I Built This. 

Why You Recommend It: From my personal experience, being authentic and vulnerable are two major keys to being a successful entrepreneur. The founders on the podcast share their highs and lows which provide listeners with realistic expectations of what being an entrepreneur comes with. Social media paints a false narrative of entrepreneurship and or building start-up and this podcast really reshapes the true narrative. Founders dish the real from beginning, middle, and now! 

The Best Business Tip: Believe in yourself even when no one else does! Understanding your vision and passion will see you through, too often founders hold the vision of the future but the world doesn't latch on until there's a wave of others.

Nichole Powell

Founder of Kinfield

The Podcast: Female Startup Club

Why You Recommend It: One of the best things you can do is learn from other founders, and the interviews on Female Startup Club are perfect for that. Host Doone Roisin has chatted with female founders from skincare brands like Black Girl Sunscreen (and Kinfield!) to food and apparel companies to physical retail, like Chillhouse. It feels like listening to your friends talk about how they built their brands—casual yet informative.

The Best Business Tip: Investor funding is not always the answer. I loved the episode with Farmgirl Flowers founder Christina Stembel talking about her journey with bootstrapping her company Farmgirl Flowers to $60M+ revenue. There are many ways to fund and grow a business, and it’s exciting to hear success stories from founders who chose funding paths that aren’t often reflected in the media.

Emma Bates

Co-Founder and CEO of Diem

The Podcast: Women in Tech Podcast

Why You Recommend It: I love the variety of topics and people host Espree Devora features on the podcast. As a woman in tech, it’s an amazing resource to gain insights from other women across the industry.

The Best Business Tip: My overall takeaway from the podcast is that each one feels actionable. When I’m lacking a little “get up and go” energy, it never fails to motivate me to keep pushing, deploying, and executing! It’s not about anyone else’s journey, it’s about the one you carve for yourself.

Nicole Williams

Head of Creative and Comms at Headquarters  

The Podcast: How I Built This

Why You Recommend It: HIBT is probably one of my main go-to’s for hearing from entrepreneurs and learning about their rise, big wins, and fails along the way. I always find it to be compelling to understand the motivations behind any business and hear about the challenges that come with growth and scaling. Whether it's the husband and wife duo behind Lonely Planet talking about their earliest guides, James Dyson spouting wisdom around innovation, or Lisa Price building Carol's Daughter from her home in Brooklyn, the stories of entrepreneurship and taking risks are inspiring.

The Best Business Tip: Surround yourself with talented individuals who are better at what they do than you are. I think this is a recurring theme across many of the HIBT episodes both in the individuals you partner with as an entrepreneur but also in the teams you build. 

Ariel Okin

Founder of Ariel Okin Interiors and Fenimore Lane 

The Podcast: The Second Life podcast hosted by Hillary Kerr helped me as I was pivoting careers, and I love listening to the inspiring stories of other women who have pivoted too. 

Why You Recommend It: Hillary is an excellent interviewer, and really does her homework on every subject. She asks such insightful questions, and draws parallels between stories to create learning lessons for the listener. It's such a great place to get inspiration for anyone who is pivoting careers or afraid to make the jump! 

The Best Business Tip: Delegation does not equal weakness—a great tip from Eva Chen's episode. Being able to successfully delegate and know what you aren't good at to free up time for what you are good at is an essential skill for entrepreneurs and business owners.

Chloe Songer

Co-Founder of Thousand Fell

The Podcast: How I Built This

Why You Recommend It: This might not be a well-kept secret—but while I was still working for Gap Inc in my full-time role I would binge How I Built This episodes all day long. HIBT is an honest look into founders’ stories—the risks they took, the uncertainty that they faced, the mindset around the founder role and leadership, etc. It is amazing to hear all of these different voices and stories and picture myself in the same position in the future. 

The Best Business Tip: I loved—and still think about daily—the Stonyfield Yoghurt story—Gary Hirshberg went everywhere to find funding for his business and was maniacal about cash flow—he had his cash flow mapped down to the hour! He was also tasked with trying to convince people that organic was important in the early ‘80s, and to me, this journey is so similar to trying to convince and educate people to switch to sustainable and circular products. Other incredible episodes include Dyson, WeWork, and Cisco Systems & Urban Decay.

Lisa Buhler

Founder and CEO of Lisa Says Gah

The Podcast: Business of Fashion

Why You Recommend It: I get a lot of their approaches to retail as a whole, from fashion’s approach to plus-size to combating anti-Asian racism in fashion, they touch on relevant topics that our business is experiencing.

The Best Business Tip: Stella McCartney has some sage advice: value collaboration and mutual learning over competition; “be a fighter” when it comes to securing better incentives for sustainable practices, and always look for new information on how to be better. “You never stop learning when you work sustainably,” she said. And I agree, it’s all about learning, and that’s what our tiny and mighty team is all about. We want to be the best and we know we can’t be perfect but we are marching toward that.

Nicole Gibbons

Founder of Clare

The Podcast: I love Guy Raz’s How I Built This 

Why You Recommend It: The entrepreneurship journey is so hard and I really enjoy hearing other founder stories. Hearing successful entrepreneurs share their stories of the ups and downs and how they came out on top is so encouraging and inspiring! 

The Best Business Tip: I really loved the episode that featured Peloton founder John Foley. Peloton is now close to a $30 billion-dollar company, but in the early days, he had a really difficult time getting investors to buy into his vision. He pitched around 3,000 investors and faced so much rejection and persisted. And now his company is one of the most successful and most valuable companies in the world. The lesson: Stay the course, be unwavering in your vision, and have enough to keep going, even when people think you’re crazy. The difference between a lot of successful entrepreneurs and the ones that don’t have great outcomes is the lack of grit to keep going.

Nina Mullen

Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Hilma

The Podcast: Unfinished Biz 

Why You Recommend It: Unfinished Biz is a podcast hosted by two partners at VMG, a VC firm. They interview successful entrepreneurs on how each business started and chronicle the various bumps they experienced along the way. I especially love this podcast because it is focused on a business (rather than consumer) audience, so the guests are incredibly candid and you really feel like you are getting an inside look at their business. My co-founders and I always listen and share learnings from the episodes! 

The Best Business Tip: The episode with the founders of RXBar is one of my favorite episodes because it shows the importance of starting with a clear idea of who your customer is and what a dedicated marketing strategy looks like to target that customer. We all think of RXBar as a mainstream brand today, but when they first started the founders were focused on the niche paleo and CrossFit customer. They were targeted on how they reached those early customers and only scaled from there, after they had that loyal base. Highly recommend!

Kailey Bradt

CEO and Founder of Susteau

The Podcast: Female Startup Club

Why You Recommend It: It gives great perspective into the early stages of starting a business. In most podcasts, you hear from founders who already did it. These are founders who are currently doing it. Doone is a phenomenal host as well and really is on a mission to bring exposure to young female entrepreneurs.

The Best Business Tip: In a recent interview with the skincare brand Topicals, I loved learning about their approach to launching by focusing on education and not on product. It made me rethink how we launch new SKUs and shifted my focus from a traditional marketing strategy to focusing on educating our community first. Topicals also made great use of Twitter, which I am incorporating into our brand marketing now!

Tai Adaya

Founder of Habit

The Podcast: I listen to NPR’s Up First every morning!

Why You Recommend It: It’s important as a business leader to be aware of what is going on in the world so I love this quick but content-rich AM briefing. Our society is a system and everything is linked together. As the leader of a company in a healthcare category, it’s important to me to stay up to date on healthcare access especially. I listen to job numbers to get a feel for consumer sentiment. It’s important to stay aware of M&A and business activity and cultural happenings. Habit uses pop culture to communicate ideas around health. I’m always listening!

Elizabeth Egan

Co-Founder of Dally

The Podcast: How I Built This

Why You Recommend It: You can read all the how-to books or blogs you want, but there’s no better way to learn than to hear the real, unvarnished stories about building companies from founders who did it. A company’s path is never linear and you learn more through failures than successes. The host, Guy Raz, does an excellent job extracting the stories of the more challenging moments from founders—some for the first time ever on public record.

The Best Business Tip: In Brooklinen’s episode, the founders talked about the specific issues they had with customs and immigration on their first order. Well, I was about to make the same mistake they did when I listened, but managed to fix it in time after hearing what the founders did wrong. Make sure to file an import bond application!

Ariel Garcia

CEO and Founder of The Blog Stop

The Podcast: Unstrictly Business by Do Well Dept.

Why You Recommend It: I love how the podcast redefines "success" as a business owner and how to get there. It goes beyond sales and marketing strategies and upholds personal wellness as a key element of success. There is a focus on the care of the individual, which, I think, is hugely overlooked in the business world - in both leadership and company culture.

The Best Business Tip: In building a business, it's easy to feel like we need to be in control of every minute and every moment. That if each minute isn't dedicated to being productive or furthering a goal, it's a minute lost. But in reality, slowing down and taking care of ourselves IS a way to stay in control and, ultimately, be the one to choose what our lives look like. Being a slave to productivity isn't freedom. Freedom is the ability to take a day off, sleep in late if we need it, or give our entire team a Friday off after a busy season.

Lulu Pierre

Founder of Boho Locs

The Podcast: Sales Funnel Mastery 

Why You Recommend It: Host Jeremy Reeves offers very practical advice! When I was first starting my business, I just needed a few pieces of key advice to get me going on my journey. Through this podcast, I learned about lead generation and how to best communicate with customers along their sales journey to really build that brand loyalty and affinity. I found it very helpful and there are tips and tricks I learned from the podcast that I still implement in my business to this day. 

The Best Business Tip: The main thing I’ve learned is the importance of constantly staying in touch with your customers and meeting their needs wherever they are at.

Meg Young

Founder and CEO of Cailini Coastal

The Podcast: Whiskey & Work with Kelsey Murphy 

Why You Recommend It: This is a must-listen-to podcast if you're an aspiring entrepreneur or on the cusp of a big career, especially if you're nervous to make the leap! I started listening to this pod two years before I made my own career change from 13 years in PR to start an e-commerce shop in the home space (which I knew nothing about) and the episodes not only motivated me to make the change but provided education on what steps to take to successfully do so. Kelsey is a business and life coach who offers solo pods—where she discusses everything from imposter syndrome to strategic marketing—and interviews with inspiring and relatable everyday entrepreneurs (as well as some notables!) about their career journeys. It's a feel-good podcast that will leave you inspired and confident to follow your gut and your dreams while making sure you strategically plan for all that being an entrepreneur truly entails. 

The Best Business Tip: One of the themes of Kelsey's podcast is trusting and listening to your intuition. I am a very intuitive person, but when fear enters it's easy to ignore. Kelsey's own personally successful career change, as well as that of all her many guests, all had a common theme about knowing when something is NOT right and actively making the change to unlock your real potential and find a career that brings you true fulfillment. Her episode with Marie Forleo is one of my favorites! I personally made the career change, and I now fully understand exactly what she talks about. I am finally not only doing something I am good at but something that truly brings me joy.

Tiffany Staten

Founder of London Grant Co.

The Podcast: Second Life and How I Built This, especially episodes with Drybar Founder Alli Webb and Carol's Daughter Founder Lisa Price. 

Why You Recommend It: Before launching London Grant Co., I was consumed with doubt surrounding my ability to pivot into the unknown and vast territory of CEO. Sometimes, all you need is a vulnerable story from another founder who took the same leap. Every story won’t resonate, but I guarantee there will be one that speaks to your soul and serves as the universe sending you a gentle whisper that says do it. Second Life is especially focused on inspiring stories of women who've made a successful career pivot. As a mother transitioning from corporate drop-out to beauty founder, I found my tribe. 

The Best Business Tip: Do it… and do it scared. I’ve learned that you’ll never be truly ready, and you’ll never have all the answers. But, the opportunity of a lifetime to invest in yourself awaits. As a mother, and someone who finds comfort in the safest road most traveled, I needed to hear women take small, meaningful steps forward that lead to huge rewards—both personally and in business. I have flashes of Lisa Price and Ali Webb in my head all the time because their stories made me feel that this journey wasn’t actually insurmountable. More than anything, I felt seen, and sometimes that’s all the motivation it takes to move the needle. 

Jacqueline Tatelman

CEO and Co-Founder of STATE

The Podcast: When we first started out, I burned through How I Built This. I loved to hear how some of the best brands in the business started, how they grew, how they failed, and how they got back up again. I was fascinated by the range of stories and would covet the tidbits of information I gained from each listen. There were a few episodes that really stuck with me and when we were experiencing a business “low,” I would think back to the stories I heard and remember it’s all par for the course. It helped me keep my head down, my eyes open, and plow through it.

Why You Recommend It: I think everyone knows that How I Built This is a must-listen. Every entrepreneur needs to know that the journey is not easy. I feel the new How I Built Resilience series is now also a must-listen, especially with where the entrepreneurial landscape is right now. It’s amazing to hear from other leaders how there will be light eventually, you must stay passionate and always focused."

The Best Business Tip: It’s incredible how sometimes you hear things at the perfect time and place. I recently listened to the episode with Kenneth Cole. Kenneth Cole was actually my first job out of college and I absolutely loved my time there! I was so proud to work for a brand that revolutionized the idea of mixing business with a profound political/social justice message. I loved how Kenneth created Kenneth Cole productions, his clever spirit, and how the relationship between the brand and the powerful messages it stood for was so natural and organic.

When we were building STATE, I reflected a lot about how easy it was to mirror that energy. Recently, we were contemplating a shift in our messaging to satisfy some outside advisors and when I listened to this episode, it reminded me of where we came from and why our mission is intrinsic to our success and the continuation of the business. I love the thought of that one day when we’re the entrepreneurs on the other end of the microphone on How I Built This, there will be someone out there who will be listening, and it’ll be a message at their perfect time and place.

Kiku Chaudhuri

Co-Founder of Shaz & Kiks 

The Podcast: Second Life with Hillary Kerr

Why You Recommend It: I love how honest the conversations are with these women leaders about their career journeys and all of the various twists and turns. The host, Hillary, makes sure to highlight the non-glossy parts of entrepreneurship and really convey the full story, with all of the good and the bad, which I think is really important for aspiring entrepreneurs and fellow founders to hear. 

The Best Business Tip: Towards the end of each episode, the host asks the guest about their failures and mistakes. Each one is unique to their story but also you learn the most from that one question. One common thing is that EVERYONE has had failures and challenges, even the most successful people, and to always remember that you learn the most when you fall.

Emma Kemper

Principal Designer at Emma Beryl Interiors

The Podcast: How I Built This

Why You Recommend It: In How I Built This, Guy Raz interviews successful entrepreneurs about how they got to where they are. It's so inspiring to hear the ups and downs of building huge household name businesses. One thing I especially love about it is that the interviews are very honest about the struggles and hurdles entrepreneurs have to face with their companies and that the podcast doesn't paint a rosy picture. I always find myself rooting for the companies by the end of the episodes and having a newfound respect for the people behind the businesses. 

The Best Business Tip: Your company only really fails when you quit. There are so many highs and lows in growing a business (and sometimes the lows are devastatingly low) but if you believe in your company you should always stick with it. There are so many huge brands that I've heard discussed on the podcast that have had incredible lows but have persisted and seen huge success on the other side of those roadblocks.

Dr. Lisa Creaven

Co-Founder of Spotlight Oral Care

The Podcast: Second Life

Why You Recommend It: It's truly inspiring and uplifting to hear honest stories about women growing, learning, and going for what they want in their careers. Hillary Kerr's background in journalism shines through on every episode which makes the podcast more personable.

The Best Business Tip: I think just understanding that career pivots are not easy or straightforward for anyone, but they're always worth it is something I've picked up from this podcast in general. That theme seems to ring true in every episode. Before I became full-time at Spotlight Oral Care, I was running my own dental practice. The decision to become full-time at Spotlight Oral Care and stepping away from the practice was a mix of emotions I had to work through. Listening to these career pivots in such a positive and real way gives me insight and reassurance… there's endless opportunity out there!  

Cary Lin

Co-Founder of Common Heir

The Podcast: I’m pretty sure How I Built This with Guy Raz is already on most people’s lists, but one of the podcasts I enjoy most is How’s Work with Esther Perel because she explores the emotional side of work and relationships. 

Why You Recommend It: I was already a fan of her hit series, Where Should We Begin? Ester does a beautiful job exploring interpersonal dynamics in the workplace, and the emotions we bring to those relationships are similar to those we have in our personal lives. I think her work is all the more essential as we come to terms with a hybrid remote/office environment. I think the early stages of building a company are all about building key relationships—with co-founders, vendors, early partners—and that it’s important to find ways to communicate, listen, and understand other perspectives. The way that Ester guides these therapy sessions helps me remember that being vulnerable, actively listening to others’ needs, and preserving through difficult conversations is essential to being a good founder. 

The Best Business Tip: One of my most memorable episodes is The Break-Up, in which two former fighter pilots co-founded a successful business. The conversation unravels the challenges of blending the personal and professional, and their differing attitudes towards success and failure, risk tolerance, and how critical it is to have those conversations early and often and to not sweep things under the run and leave things unspoken. Good communication and expectation management are essential, as is recognizing the burden or role others have taken on that you might not realize because you’re in your own “hero narrative.”

Jean Brownhill

Founder of Sweeten

The Podcast: The Happiness Lab by Yale professor Dr. Laurie Santos

Why You Recommend It: So much of entrepreneurship is a mental game, and you need resilience to survive. Dr. Santos provides a lot of research and insights on how to protect your mental energy.

The Best Business Tip: Running a business takes a lot from you; if you don't protect your own resources, no one else will. 

Side Note: There is also an episode of Malcolm Gladwell's Revisionist History called The Lady Vanishes that made a huge impact on me. The episode explores the world of art and politics to examines the strange phenomenon of the “token,” the outsider whose success serves not to alleviate discrimination but perpetuate it.

Terri Rockovich

CEO and Co-Founder of Jinx 

The Podcast: Group Chat

Why You Recommend It: Group Chat is a must-listen for entrepreneurs because the hosts are business owners, investors, and most importantly: real people just trying to figure it out. They fold humor into the realities of growing a challenger brand, discuss hot news to keep you in front of world happenings and give real takes on culturally relevant topics.

The Best Business Tip: These guys constantly host and interview entrepreneurs that provide so many pieces of valuable advice, asking provoking questions that help tease out the formula for which each person uncovered success for their given project. The most valuable takeaway for me is "how you pivot is how you prosper." Because the majority of success stories do not happen overnight, but instead are earned over a stretch of many years that require a maniacal focus and a high comfort level with failing and learning.

Vanessa Quigley

Co-Founder of Chatbooks

The Podcast: The Life Coach School

Why You Recommend It: Very early on when starting our business, I had to learn how to not take things so personally. For example, instead of letting a bad app review ruin my day, I needed to view that circumstance through a neutral lens so that I could learn from it. I learned some very helpful cognitive tools from Brooke Castillo of The Life Coach School podcast that helped me develop more self-awareness and expand my potential. She also teaches important concepts related to money, like it’s okay to want money. Money is good. And money will come as we create real value. It also sparked the idea to create my own podcast about something I do have a lot of experience with—motherhood! I have seven children ages 13 to 26 and on The MomForce Podcast, I share what I’ve learned thus far and call on incredible guest experts for help on the stuff I’m still trying to figure out!

The Best Business Tip: I especially loved Episode 161 of Life Coach School, which is all about money beliefs. For so many entrepreneurs, money is a real scarcity. But there is real power in abundant thoughts like “Money is easy,” “Money is fun,” and “I love creating value.” Challenging my beliefs has allowed me to be open to more possibilities and opportunities to create value for everyone!

Cherie Hoeger

CEO and Co-Founder of Saalt

The Podcast: Startup Therapy

Why You Recommend It: From problem-solving operational challenges to creating core values and an advisory board, I love Wil Schroter and Ryan Rutan's no-nonsense approach to tackling the real, everyday struggles of entrepreneurs in the startup phase. There are not many places that you can gain so many practical solutions in such a short amount of time, and they do it with candor and humor that's engaging and entertaining.

The Best Business Tip: One episode from Wil and Ryan talked about why smart founders stay in customer support. They emphasized customer support as a critical function of leadership, right up to the founder and CEO. Having regular exposure to customers helps keep us accountable and in touch with customer needs to make better strategic decisions.

Amanda Goetz

Founder and CEO of House of Wise

The Podcast: How I Built This with Guy Raz

Why You Recommend It: This podcast is one of the most popular podcasts about business and growth for good reason. Each episode shares stories from real founders, including their highs and their lows. The show never shies away from diving into the tough parts of being a founder. It shares first-hand experiences about success and how every single success story also has its fair share of scary moments throughout its growth. It's honest and real and I love it.

The Best Business Tip: Recently, How I Built This added a new digital franchise to their weekly series that dives into how brands have built resilience into their operations and with their teams throughout this past year. I launched House of Wise in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, so resilience is in our DNA, and I think each of these new episodes offers great takeaways for every entrepreneur and employee alike, as all of us navigate this new world and new consumer mindset.

Ona Diaz-Santin

Celebrity Hairstylist and Owner of 5 Salon & Spa

The Podcast: The John Maxwell Leadership Podcast 

Why You Recommend It: Leadership skills at their finest!

The Best Business Tip:

What does it take to be a team? 

T- For tolerance of each other’s weaknesses because we all have them.

E- Encouragement of each other’s successes because we all have them.

A- Acknowledgement that each of us has something to offer.

M- Mindfulness that we need each other.

Mimi Ausland

Co-Founder and CEO of Free the Ocean

The Podcast: The podcast that continues to transform my relationship with business and money is On Purpose with Jay Shetty.

Why You Recommend It: After reading Jay's best-selling book “Think Like a Monk,” I began listening to his podcast, On Purpose and I'm so glad I did. In the podcast, Jay speaks to finding purpose, living our lives with intention, using our time and energy wisely, the importance of gratitude and giving back, and much more. On Purpose is inspiring and authentic and it's refreshing to hear a top male podcaster speak to these things. If put into practice, the principles Jay and his guests talk about will translate into becoming a more successful entrepreneur with greater impact. For these reasons, this podcast is a must-listen for female founders and aspiring entrepreneurs alike!

The Best Business Tip: My "aha" moment was hearing Jay say, “Nobody is going to create our lives for us.” This seems almost too simple to be game-changing but it has stuck with me since hearing it. Hearing this, I realized not only the importance of intention but also action. Before making a goal in business, we need to consider the investment and the life it requires before making it our goal. Then, we can get clear with our intentions, spring into action, and create the life we want!

A specific episode recommendation is "Arianna Huffington on How Setting Small Micro Habits Can Help Combat Burnout and Exhaustion.” Arianna speaks to her past struggle with finding a work-life balance and the dangers of encouraging constant productivity. She mentions how quality sleep, breathing exercises, and taking breaks to get outside, are key not only to our mental health but also to productivity. I really appreciated hearing this from such an accomplished entrepreneur.

Erin Treloar

Certified Health Coach and Founder of Raw Beauty Co.

The Podcast: Online Marketing Made Easy with Amy Porterfield 

Why You Recommend It: Amy’s podcast is the absolute best at delivering actionable marketing tools that drive profitability while going above and beyond to serve your customer.  She shares expert interviews, execution plans, and behind-the-scenes secrets that leave you with concrete action items you can implement right away and she does it all with the most encouraging and empowering voice. 

The Best Business Tip: Build your product or service for your ideal client by connecting with them and including them in the process. I highly recommend episode #324 “Email List Growth Strategies That Will Transform Your Business.” 

Imane Fiocch

Founder and Owner of Neon Lace Company

The Podcast: More Than One Thing  

Why You Recommend It: Athena Calderone’s guests come from all different industries and share how they’ve arrived at their current career landing spot. Many of her guests wear multiple entrepreneurial hats which speaks to multi-hyphenates and out-of-the-box thinkers/creators. 

It’s also a must-listen for anyone who is looking for advice or support whilst changing careers or embarking on a new creative endeavor. I found her podcast very helpful when I was navigating a career change from the beauty industry. At the time I was worried that my other passions and creative interests wouldn’t be accepted and I would be pigeonholed into one thing people knew me for. Listening to Athena’s personal career path encouraged me to take a leap and launch my own business. Her voice is also incredibly soothing and very easy to listen to!

The Best Business Tip: The biggest lesson I learned through Athena and her guests is summed up in the title of her podcast—More Than One Thing. As humans we are multi-faceted, we often have many interests, and our careers aren’t always linear. Listening to More Than One Thing helped me understand that a non-traditional career path is okay and I’m not the only one!

Katie Wilson

Co-Founder of BelliWelli

The Podcast: Reaching New Heights

Why You Recommend It: Megan Gallagher brings on phenomenal entrepreneurs whose stories are both fascinating and illuminative. She has a unique ability to get to the heart of the matter and help guests share the juiciest details of their journeys. 

The Best Business Tip: Megan did a podcast episode with Meaghan Murphy, about growing into a positive person. They stressed that your personal narrative is your own choice. In other words, you are in control of what you tell yourself. This has helped me hugely as an entrepreneur. It's easy to get caught up in what I could have or should have done, but I've made a conscious effort since listening to that podcast to CHOOSE to send myself positive feedback as often as I can. I'm in charge of my narrative.

Niambi Cacchioli

Founder of Pholk Beauty

The Podcast: Beauty Is Your Business

Why You Recommend It: I love it because it’s business owners asking other founders questions—they’re able to ask questions that only a founder would think about. They have multiple hosts from different cultural backgrounds on the show so you’re getting multiple perspectives from guests and hosts. It’s the first podcast I heard that talked about trends in beauty tech, bringing to the light Korean skincare and African descent skincare way before it had hit on a national scale.

The Best Business Tip: My favorite episode was with Charlotte Cho from Soko Glam. She talked about working towards creating an accessible and inviting set of beauty regimens for the North American market and how it needed to go beyond the Korean beauty culture. She had to teach this new market how to use these products for the skin. The focus was on how to translate to customers how these products and ingredients will benefit them and how to use these rituals in their everyday life. And this is why at Pholk we do so much skincare education; it’s not only about cultural values and cultural ties. Making it simple and easy to understand how to use these products.

Alyssa Wasko

Founder of DONNI

The Podcast: Unlocking Us with Brené Brown has been a constant source of inspiration to me in both my personal and professional life. I also look to The Business of Fashion Podcast for fashion news and Second Life with Hilary Kerr, whenever I am lacking creative energy or in need of a confidence boost.

Why You Recommend It: Courage and vulnerability are two things that Brené constantly preaches, and her outlook attributes to my mindset while effectively leading my team through the good and unpredictable times. Her recent episode with Aiko Bethea really touches on this and is worth more than one listen.

Hannah Bomze

Co-Founder and CEO of Casa Blanca

The Podcast: How I Built This

Why You Recommend It: This podcast is full of tangible, relatable stories about what it takes to build a business. Guy Raz is great at facilitating honest and insightful conversations with his guests about the entire process of starting a business: the creation, where things went wrong and how they were fixed, growth and expansion, etc.

The Best Business Tip: The episode with Whitney Wolfe, the creator and founder of Bumble, was especially insightful. She was able to take all of her experiences, frustrations, highs and lows, and focus them towards building and creating something that would have a positive impact on the world around her. Bumble was also designed specifically to empower women, which is also a core principle at Casa Blanca.

Margarita Arriagada

Founder of Valdé Beauty

The Podcast: What Works

Why You Recommend It: Tara McMullin does an incredible job of leading conversations with guests across a breadth of topics related to building a thriving business. She is very thought-provoking. Not formulaic, yet shares principles and examples to consider that are actionable. I love that in every case there is consideration of the business with personal life balance and development. 

The Best Business Tip: I took away a lot from the episode “Writing the Second Draft of the book "To Sell With Love" with author Finka Jerkovic.” I was intrigued by this podcast because it was within a series titled: Working the Plan. And also by the title of the book "To Sell with Love." My takeaways were:

What is the process really of writing a book when you've never written one before? This was relevant because I draw parallels on how I narrate my brand's journey and story unfolding like a book. In fact, the packaging of my product simulates a book. 

What does “selling with love” look like. I have always thought that I was not good at selling. The traditional wisdom on selling or pushing products, I have never related to. Yet I created a brand to sell products. The actual book and the rationale on how to sell from a place of love, completely resonated with me and validated my conviction on how I want to see the brand thrive.

While the brand may be about you, it's not personal. I did not expect to hear that while a brand or product emanates from your perspective, experiences, and events in your own life, you need to treat the brand like a product and detach from the personal relationship one might associate because it comes from you. If people agree or disagree with your opinions, it does not define who you are because it is not all of who you are. I'd felt I had to prove my worth and that of the brand. This topic provokes a different perspective. 

Elyce Arons 

CEO and Co-Founder of Frances Valentine

The Podcast: The Strangest Secret by Earl Nightingale 

Why You Recommend It: It is so inspirational. I first listened to this before I left for college, and have listened to it over and over again throughout the years. This was recorded sometime in the ’50s, so there is some (unintended) sexism, but the message “you are now, and you do become, what you think about" is still very true. It means everything you become is guided by your own mind. The podcast focuses on success as the progression of a worthy ideal. Follow your dream, pursue your goals, do not conform, but have courage, keep a positive attitude every day, and wake up and decide to be happy.

The Best Business Tip: If you think in positive terms, you will get positive results. Build what you imagine and you can help others in the process.

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Please Don't Do This—5 Things to Avoid After Getting Fired

Photo: Christina Jones Photography

Getting fired can seem like the end of your career, perhaps even the end of your world. It can severely rock your confidence and lead to fear and anxiety for what the future might hold, with questions like, “How could this happen?” “Will I be able to get hired again?” “What will my family and friends think?” racing through your mind on a loop. Along with sadness and fear comes anger, a common and very understandable response to this highly unfortunate (but more common than you think) event in one’s professional life, particularly if you feel like your termination wasn’t warranted.

Of course, nobody wants to find themselves in their boss’ office having that uncomfortable “you’re being fired” conversation. The fact is, though, getting fired is far from the end of the line in your career development—and your life. As horrible as it feels, most people who get fired bounce back. A 10-year study that tracked over 2,600 executives discovered that of those that got fired, 91% of them bounced back and found a new position that was just as good or better than their last. There’s no reason why you can’t join their ranks and come out of the situation stronger than before!

There are a few important things to consider if the fateful day comes where you find yourself being fired. How you react immediately and in the long-term aftermath can say a lot about your character and how successful you’ll be as you forge ahead in the professional world. Here’s what to do if you get fired (and what not to do.)

1. Never speak disparagingly about your previous employer.

When trying to find a new job, avoid spewing any *disses* toward your previous company, in-person or on social media. Speaking or posting negatively about your old employer can reflect poorly on you to potential employers, painting you as ungrateful, immature, or as having a bad attitude. Remaining respectful when explaining why your relationship with your last company wasn’t ideal demonstrates real maturity. It’s even better if you can put a positive spin on things, like explaining how much you learned from the experience.

2. Never retaliate.

Retaliation post-firing can manifest in several ways—blasting your colleagues or company in an angry Tweetstorm, initiating a confrontation, stealing office equipment, etc. Don’t do this. We promise you, it won’t be worth it, and will more than likely make the whole situation worse by potentially burning any bridges you still have at the company.

It’s very possible that future employers will conduct thorough background checks before deciding to bring you on, and if they seek feedback about your performance, your former employer is much more likely to speak poorly of you if you retaliate after your termination and much more likely to give you a positive recommendation if you handle yourself professionally.

3. Don’t be afraid to discuss the why behind your termination.

We get it, when you’re in the middle of being fired, you may feel like fleeing the scene as fast as possible. Keep in mind, though, you’re owed an explanation for your termination and a thorough one at that. It’s likely that you’ll receive some sort of feedback during your termination conversation—your work ethic is lacking, you’re unfocused, you have an attitude problem, etc. (ICYWW, these are a few of the most common reasons people are fired).

However, you have a right—by federal law—to get a more in-depth picture of where you went wrong. For example, where were the specific areas your employer sees you lacking? What could you have done better? This type of detailed feedback will be invaluable to you in your next position to avoid making the same mistakes twice.

4. Never shy away from asking for help—you just might get it.

There is no harm in asking your employer or colleagues for a recommendation before you leave. It may seem counterintuitive, but it’s still likely they will say yes, making your life easier as you re-enter the job market. You should also ask about how the company will handle any inquiries from potential employers about your time there.

You are entitled to know whether they will provide details about your departure, the dates of your employment, or any other related information surrounding your tenure with the company. You may be able to negotiate with them about the details they disclose, which could really help you protect yourself from unwanted hardship during your job search.

5. Never believe this is the end of your career—you will turn this around.

Getting fired can make you doubt your abilities and potentially question your self-worth. It is important to give yourself the time and space to grieve and feel your feelings—anger, sadness, fear; these are all completely normal, and there is no shame in allowing yourself time to go through them. But don’t let this one unfortunate event derail your future. Come up with an action plan for your next steps, including what you are going to do to find your next job. This downtime is also a great opportunity to network and develop a list of references to list as you apply to new positions.

Though it’s cliché, there is some merit to the saying, “getting fired was the best thing that ever happened to me.” This is an opportunity to make a fresh start and take the time to find a new position that suits you, rather than jumping right into the same situation that could lead you to similar negative patterns. Take the necessary time to collect yourself and recognize that getting fired does not define you, and then commit yourself to moving on in your career, seeking out the opportunities that align more closely with your skills and passions. 

About the Author: Susan Levine is the president and founder of Career Group Companies—a leading recruiting firm based in Los Angeles, with offices in New York, San Francisco, Orange County, and Greenwich. Their divisions are comprised of Career Group, Syndicatebleu, Fourth Floor, Avenue Pacific, and events that span a variety of industries. They specialize in executive and administrative support, marketing and design, fashion, events, and C-level placements. As a widely recognized industry name, they pride themselves on placing top-tier direct hire and freelance talent in their dream jobs. They use their expertise to impact the lives of their candidates and improve the company culture of their clients, one exceptional match at a time.

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This story was originally published on August 28, 2019, and has since been updated.

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How Tracey Wigfield Worked Her Way From ‘30 Rock’ Writer’s Assistant To Emmy Award-Winning Comedy Writer

Photo: Courtesy of Tracey Wigfield

Listen to the full episode here.

Do you remember your favorite television shows growing up––the shows that not only got you through your adolescence, but where you discovered your first ‘tv crush’ or shed a few tears during that ‘one episode’ that tugged on your heart strings and left you wanting more? We’ve all been there. And we bet you can recount those memorable scenes and quotes too. So where do the creators of these newly reimagined television shows even start when they want to reintroduce their beloved show back to the world? And how do they continue to keep their episode topics relevant and trending in an industry where the audience's attention is so quick to jump ship? 

Today I’m sitting down with producer and Emmy Award-winning writer, Tracey Wigfield, to discuss exactly that - how she helped create and write the critically-acclaimed and reimagined Saved by the Bell TV series on NBCUniversal’s streaming service Peacock. We’ll be tapping into the reimagined show, and the path that got her there - including her winning an Emmy alongside co-writer Tina Fey (Hello, amazing partner!) - and how she balances being a working mom in the process. Join the party on social @workparty and stay in-the-know at workparty.com.

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and never miss an episode.

On Her Career Journey

“I just kind of spent the first five months after school, I remember feeling like, “Oh my God, I’m floundering, I don’t even have a lead.”

On Being in the Writer’s Room 

“It was very intimidating at first, because everybody’s talking really fast and everyone is really funny and pitching jokes and stuff and it felt overwhelming, but multiple people took me under their wing.”

On Working With Tina Fey

“I felt like it took me a year to not be terrified to open my mouth around her because I was just in awe of her.”

On Reimagining Saved By The Bell

“It felt like themes of privilege and wealth disparity and education and equality sort of were right on the table and that seemed really exciting and kind of unexpected for a Saved by the Bell reboot.”

On Finding the Balance When Merging Comedy with Challenging Social Issues

“What exactly do we want the end point of our message to be? And making sure we have these larger conversations about what we want to be saying about harder topics...just so everyone is clear, before you know, making it funny.”

On Advice For Aspiring Show Writers and Content Creators

“The funniest things to me are things and observations that feel true.”

On Balancing Motherhood With Career

“It’s a struggle but I also think I’m very lucky to be in a position where I have some power over my schedule. When you’re the boss...you are able to make your own hours.”

On The Traits That Got Me Where I Am

“I really love my job–I think that’s a big one. I don’t think you can be successful at something if you don’t.”

On Her Best Career Advice

“You know the answer often, and even when you’re in situations where you’re not quite ready to be doing this big job or whatever, you actually do have everything you need to be doing it.”

On What Success Looks Like to Her

“I think it’s making the life for yourself that you want, and then once you do that, using the power you have to empower other people to do the same.”

How to Proactively Search for a Job as a New Graduate

Photo: Andrew Neel from Pexels

Graduation is coming up quickly, and if you’re about to finish school, it’s time to start strategizing to make some big life decisions. Scary, right? This might be the biggest transition of your life thus far, but it’s ultimately just one small leg of your journey.

Instead of treating your job search as one daunting task, break it up into less intimidating tasks that you can accomplish one at a time. This is how to proactively search for a job as a new graduate.

Brainstorm

First off, start by brainstorming to figure out what you want to do and what you want to look for in a job. Consider a few different scenarios to give yourself a well-rounded and realistic feel for where you may end up in the next few months. There’s no way to tell what could happen, but it’s smart to go through a few possible options and goals to figure out a rough game plan for each. Use your brainstorming session as a time to figure out what you want next, and strategically plan your next career move.

Take a look at your transferable skills, figure out what jobs you’re qualified for, and do some soul searching to figure out what kind of job is really right for you. Whether or not you wanted to have a job lined up after graduation, this is your opportunity to take the time and plan your next career move so that you’re excited about it. Take control of the situation and make your next move worth it so you can start your career on a good note.

Update Your Résumé

Once you’ve brainstormed to get a better sense of what direction you want to take your career and what kind of jobs you want to apply to, make your résumé great and articulate all that you have to offer. You might not want to sit down and update your résumé, (yes, I know it’s not how you want to spend your free time) but it is important to do so.

Gather information about past jobs, internships, class projects, and other information that highlights what you bring to the table. This will help you create the most effective document to meet your needs.

Reach Out to Your Contacts

The ultimate way to get your résumé into the right hands is to use your industry connections. If you have a contact who can direct your résumé to the right person, use it. “Job search is about going beyond the résumé to get noticed. Real relationships with colleagues and friends matter in getting a foot in the door,” says career coach Alyson Garrido.

Reach out to industry contacts to let them know you’re about to graduate and are looking for new opportunities. People are often willing to help, but they cannot do so if they aren’t aware that you’re interested and open to new opportunities.

Consider sending an email like this:

Hope this note finds you well! We met [where/when you met] and I wanted to circle back with you and see how things are going. [Insert a question about how an event went or touch on something you spoke about when you met].

As you may remember, I'll be graduating this coming [month] and am looking for new opportunities in [field]. [Company] is on my short-list of dream companies, and the mission strongly aligns with my personal philosophies, so I wanted to see if there might be any current or future openings I could look into.

I’ve recently updated my résumé and have attached it to this email for your convenience. Please let me know if you have any questions, and feel free to pass it along if you see fit.

Thanks in advance for your help! Please keep me posted on how things are going and if there’s anything I can do to return the favor.

Best,

[Your Name]

Leveraging your network is one of the best ways to find and secure new job opportunities. Doing so enables you to get your résumé in front of the right person and often helps you bypass large applicant pools, especially during the graduation rush.

Focus on the Quality of Applications, Not the Quantity

It can be tempting to just hit “apply” on every position that might seem like a potential fit, but instead of focusing on how many job applications you submit, try to create a couple of really strong applications with résumés that you have customized for each position based on the job description.

Often people employ the “spray and pray” tactic when applying for jobs. This term has become common among recruiters when describing a candidate that applies to tens or hundreds of positions in the hopes that someone will bite. On average, each corporate job opening attracts 250 résumés. This means that your résumé has to be outstanding in order to stand out from the crowd.

When using the spray and pray tactic, résumés usually don’t hold the specified requirements or keywords, causing them to get turned down immediately. When you don’t customize your résumé to each job, it’s clear that you’re using the spray and pray tactic. This isn’t an effective job search strategy, and it also doesn’t bode well for your reputation among hiring managers or recruiters.

Remember That It Takes Time

Ultimately, finding a job that is a good fit for you takes time. There are so many factors that go into finding a job such as company culture, location, salary, scope of work, timing, etc. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed or dejected because your job search isn’t going as well as you hoped, but it’s important to realize that it’s not personal.

Finding a job is hard for everyone! Finding a job that meets your criteria and is a good fit for you and your potential employer is difficult whether you’re searching for your first job out of college or looking to make a lateral move as an executive.

About the Author: A native San Franciscan, Michele Lando is a certified professional résumé writer and founder of writestylesonline.com. She has a passion for helping others present the best version of themselves, both on paper and in person, and works to polish individuals' application package and personal styles. Aiming to help create a perfect personal branding package, Write Styles presents tips to enhance your résumé, style, and boost your confidence.

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This story was originally published on June 10, 2019, and has since been updated.

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Female Creative or Entrepreneur Looking to Flourish? Apply Here.

Photo by Pret A Provost x Grace Atwood, The Stripe

There's nothing better than women supporting women. It’s what drives our mission here at Create & Cultivate, as a women-owned business ourselves. In a year that’s been challenging on so many fronts, women in particular have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

It’s an important time to support and champion women's passions, ideas and small businesses to help them to flourish–and that is exactly what Fleurs de Prairie Rosé has set out to do through its Seeds of Beauty grant program.

Now in its third year, the Seeds of Beauty initiative will continue to fuel creative spirits and uplift women by awarding "Seed Grants" to entrepreneurial female creatives who are making a difference by way of their passions, whether that be through art, design, food, writing and beyond. As part of this year’s program, three seed grants of $10,000 each will be awarded to women who share in the brand’s ethos to create a more beautiful world. Interested applicants can apply online by filling out a submission form and answering a few questions demonstrating how they will use the funds to grow their biz. Submissions are open now through July 23. 

Fleurs de Prairie is more than just a delicious wine, it is a true expression of the splendor of Southern France where it is sourced. More importantly, it is a brand that stands for something. With the annual Seeds of Beauty campaign, Fleurs de Prairie aims to elevate the visibility of female entrepreneurs and creatives who are dedicated to creating beauty in their communities – a mission that is important now more than ever. The economic and implications of last year, from loss of income to balancing work and family responsibilities, threaten the progress of entrepreneurial women and business owners alike, especially considering that over the past decade women-led companies have grown five times faster than the national average.

In addition to the support funds, Seeds of Beauty grant recipients will also receive one-on-one mentorship from this year's brand ambassadors who champion beauty in their own digital communities, lifestyle influencer and content creator, Caila Quinn and blogger Grace Atwood. Because research has shown that early mentorship can have a major impact on a small business’s revenue and growth, we tapped Grace Atwood, who pens the blog The Stripe, to share some advice for aspiring entrepreneurs along with some stories of her own personal and professional mentors who helped her flourish. Keep scrolling to read her sage advice.

Photo by Pret A Provost x Grace Atwood, The Stripe

What three tips would you give to other women who aspire to be entrepreneurs and turn their passion project into a successful business? 

1. Be prepared to work really hard and be patient! It took me five years of running my website, The Stripe and social channels before going full-time. It took up my nights, my weekends... I didn't have a life but I didn't mind as I was passionate about what I was building and I believed in myself. It was worth it in the end but I definitely sacrificed a lot during those "building" years.

2. As you build, outsource! Think about the things that make you/your brand YOU, and figure out what else you can outsource. This has been a struggle for me. Every word on my site and Instagram will always be written by me, but I outsource graphic design and photography as those particular things are not my strengths.

3. As you network, think about how you can help the person you're making the ask of. I personally hate the phrase "can I pick your brain," for example. But when someone sends a thoughtful email and I can tell they really care about my business and aren't just making a blind request, that's when I'm more likely to listen.

Mentorship is a critical component of entrepreneurship– but they’re not always easy to find. Who has been the strongest mentor and advocate for you in furthering your personal and professional goals? 

I wouldn't say it's one specific mentor, but different friends and contacts have helped me throughout the years. My parents were entrepreneurs (they owned their own restaurant for 40+ years!), so I picked up a lot from them. My friend (and business partner for my podcast) Becca always has great practical business advice. And in the beginning, other influencers would share and amplify my content which is why I make sure to do that  too!

Photo by Pret A Provost x Grace Atwood, The Stripe

Seeds of Beauty is designed to fuel creative spirits and uplift women who are making their own communities more beautiful by way of their passions. How would you describe your own connection to Fleurs de Prairie Rosé and the Seeds of Beauty Campaign, and how do you strive to celebrate the beauty within your own life and community?

First of all, Fleurs de Prairie is my favorite rosé. It's the perfect outdoor drinking wine - it's refreshing and crisp and not too sweet. But I love the brand's mission - helping women! And with regard to celebrating beauty within my own life and community, I am a Libra. I need my home to feel beautiful and inspiring. And I love art. One thing I really miss about living in New York (I moved to Charleston in April) is all of the art galleries and museums. I'm still figuring out how to get more involved in the art community here in Charleston - there's a really incredible creative community here!

Are you dedicated to creating beauty in your community? Do you have a passion project that you’d love to see come to life? Click HERE to apply for a “Seed Grant” to help grow your brand! Applications are being accepted now through July 23, 2021. The entry form is easy to complete and takes five minutes.

How to Hire the Right In-House Legal Counsel (and Save Your Startup Money)

Photo: ColorJoy Stock

If you’re looking to hire legal counsel for your company, be careful. Just because you’ve found a lawyer who specializes in startups, doesn’t mean they’re the right legal counsel for you or your startup. Here’s how to evaluate whether a lawyer is right for you.

Experience Is Important

In order to reap the benefits of hiring an in-house counsel early, you need to hire the “right” lawyer.  Look for someone who has worked in your industry, and if possible, in the particular type of business your startup is involved in, which will make their existing knowledge and experience transfer easily to the company. 

The right lawyer should bring real-world considerations into any legal analysis and be able to assess and articulate risks without making a startup feel that all roads to achieving its business goals are blocked. If a particular course of conduct is deemed to be too risky to pursue, an in-house lawyer should be able to suggest safer alternatives to consider, balancing legal requirements with the needs (and vision) of the business.  

Consider Culture Fit

Fit within your company culture is also important. Your in-house legal team should be adept at forming relationships with the other key members of your leadership team, so that they, too, see the lawyers as a helpful source of guidance and strategic input, rather than simply naysayers.  

Timing Matters (and Earlier Is Better)

It is much easier for in-house counsel to be viewed by your management team as a “partner” and not a “blocker” when that person is brought into the conversation early and is part of discussions about the vision and path of the company. Bringing a lawyer on board when there are already fires to put out makes it harder hard to view them as the strategic partner they can be.  

By bringing on the right in-house counsel early in your startup’s life, you can build a legal department that is not simply a “cost,” but a true strategic partner of the business. This paradigm shift can end up saving you money, angst, and reputational damage, and will ultimately lead you and your company to be more successful.

“By bringing on the right in-house counsel early in your startup’s life, you can build a legal department that is not simply a “cost,” but a true strategic partner of the business.”

—Amy Rowland, Founder of Varia Search

About the Author: Amy Rowland is the founder of Varia Search, a boutique legal recruiting firm that uses a bespoke approach to fill legal department roles. Prior to starting Varia Search, Amy was a recruiter at another legal search firm where she focused on recruiting for in-house legal positions. She has also held in-house roles at two international companies and a large New York City law firm.

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“If I'm Going to Be Promoting Health and Well-Being, Why Would I Not Talk About My Own Personal Journey?”

Photo: Courtesy of Ashley Tisdale

Listen to the full episode here.

Ashley Tisdale has starred in wildly popular shows and TV movies, playing every character from an enterprising teen as Maddie Fitzpatrick in “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody” to a scene-stealing antagonist as Sharpay Evans in “High School Musical.”

But now, she’s stepping into a new role as a health and wellness industry trailblazer. 

As the founder of the health, wellness, and beauty site, Frenshe, she’s disrupting a saturated content market by rejecting unattainable beauty standards, confronting mental health stigmas, and opening up about her own self-love journey.

On this week’s episode of WorkParty, host Jaclyn Johson chats with Ashley Tisdale about launching Frenshe, her experience with anxiety and depression, and more.

Subscribe to WorkParty and never miss an episode.

On cultivating a genuine community online…

“You can't create an authentic audience unless you are authentic yourself.”

On opening up about her experience with anxiety and depression…

“If I'm going to be promoting health and well-being, why would I not talk about my own personal journey?”

On navigating missteps and mistakes…

“Yes, sometimes you fail, but it's how you get back up.”

“It's horrible and you feel such a failure, but you don't know where that moment is going to lead you to.”

On loving yourself and combating body-shaming…

“When you can love yourself is when you can love another.”

“If we can start to really love ourselves and our bodies, maybe we won’t be so judgmental over other’s bodies.”

On launching during COVID…

“It was kind of the weirdest timing launching in this moment, but in a moment where we're isolated and we want so badly to connect, I just felt like it was the perfect time.”

On defining success…

“I think of success as being everything as a whole, your family life, your personal life, what you do. It's not about numbers and judging yourself based on what works and doesn't work.”

On switching to a non-toxic lifestyle…

“The only way to change to non-toxic is to know it's a lifestyle, not a diet, and so it's never good to just jump all the way in.”

On her best advice for new entrepreneurs…

“Think of yourself as a start-up until you're not.”

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Meet the Film and TV Producer Whose Work Supports Folx From Marginalized Communities

Photo: Courtesy of Olivia Charmaine Morris

Welcome to our monthly editorial series A Day in the Life where we ask successful women we admire to share the daily minutiae of their professional lives, from the rituals that set them up for success to their evening wind-down routines. This month, we caught up with Olivia Charmaine Morris, the founder and CEO of Black Monarch Entertainment, to talk about how she’s championing artists from marginalized communities, what inspires her to wake up at 5:00 am every morning, and her favorite forms of self-care.

You’re passionate about fostering lasting inclusion in Hollywood, and in 2020, you left Kerry Washington's Simpson Street to start your own venture to work toward that goal. Tell us about Black Monarch Entertainment and what inspired you to launch a production company that centers, celebrates, and supports “otherness.”

I’ve worked in Hollywood for years as a development executive specializing in original scripted programming. Whether working at big companies or smaller startups, I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit, so it’s quite natural that I would eventually pour that energy into my own creative endeavors. 

Black Monarch Entertainment, at its core, is an inclusive artist collective. For me, it’s always been about representation. As someone who is a queer, Black woman, I’m a champion for artists that sit at intersections of “otherness.” I’m honored to be able to build a safe space for content creation that drives social impact. 

You’re also the host of the weekly IGTV series “The Tea” in which you have powerful conversations about everything from wellness to current events with people like Angelica Ross, Janelle Monáe, and Karyn Parsons. What compelled you to start this series and what do you hope people take away from it? 

While we were all stuck inside our homes and fatigued by the onslaught of the negative news cycle, I was inspired to find a consistent way to check in with my friends and other folx I admire. The ritual of putting the kettle on, steeping your favorite brew, and patiently sipping tea works perfectly in tandem with intimate conversations, and Instagram Live is the perfect platform to maintain that intimacy while also being able to interact with the viewing audience. I hope that the Communi-Tea enjoys learning insider information about the entertainment industry while indulging in the important act of self-care that naturally comes from pausing over a cup of tea. 

Now, let’s talk about your workday routine! First, are you a night owl or a morning person? When do you do your most important work and why? 

I’m traditionally a morning person that does my best work in the early afternoon. I tend to start my day slowly while picking up steam after my morning tea kicks in. 

What time does your alarm go off, and what’s the first thing you do upon waking? 

My first alarm goes off at 5:00 am, and my second alarm goes off at 6:15 am. Because I work with artists in different countries, the first thing I do is quickly glance over my emails so I have a clear sense of what my morning will look like. 

What does your morning, pre-work routine look like? 

I either go for a long walk around my neighborhood or meet at the gym with my personal trainer. 

Mark Twain said, “Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.” What’s the first thing you do when you get to your desk? 

The first thing I do when I get to my workstation is review my notes from the day before to ensure there is nothing outstanding.

What are you working on this week?

I’m currently working on producing my first independent feature film, called “Dreyana Grooms.” This week, my team has secured a global sales agent, a celebrity executive producer, and the last bit of equity financing we’ll need to be able to start principal photography in July! 

What’s been the most rewarding part of running your business? The most challenging?

The most rewarding part of my job is supporting people of color and what I like to call “colorful people,” anyone from a marginalized community with a story to tell. I personally love stories that sit at the intersection of art and activism. Our artists, crews, and stories are inclusive, and we have an exciting slate of film and television projects on our slate.

The most challenging part is finding continuity in the midst of a chaotic year. I discovered that I needed to prioritize self-care in order to stay healthy and maintain the daily motivation to press on.  

Do you ever reach inbox zero? How do you handle the constant influx of inquiries and communication? 

I technically never reach inbox zero because I always have a never-ending pile of scripts to read that stack up on a daily basis. To handle the influx of communication, I often delegate incoming inquiries and assignments to my incredible team. 

What is your go-to work lunch? 

My go-to work lunch is a green smoothie. 

What advice do you have for balancing the minutiae of day-to-day tasks with big-picture planning? 

I typically prioritize tackling bigger picture projects before handling day-to-day tasks. I also have the support of my lovely coordinator, Apryll. 

What are some work habits that help you stay healthy, productive, and on track to reach your goals? 

I spent most of my early days connecting directly with my network and letting everyone know about my latest endeavor through word-of-mouth. So much of the entertainment industry is predicated on who you know, and I spend a lot of time fostering new relationships in this virtual environment. I’m also very self-aware and know that balance is the key to life. As much as I value my hard-earned role in the entertainment industry, I appreciate self-care just as much or more. These days, I think naps, long walks, and drinking tea are my favorite forms of self-care. 

Any favorite apps you use regularly? 

Canva, Slack, StudioSystem.

What are you reading, watching, or listening to right now to help you wind down at the end of the day? 

I’m always watching a new show. I just finished the first season of Peacock’s “Noughts + Crosses” and loved it. My current favorite scripted podcast is called “Bronzeville”—it's so good! But most often, I’m reading a pilot or feature film script! 

When do you go to bed? What’s your “optimal” number of sleep hours? 

I go to bed by 11 pm to get 7-8 hours of sleep. 

What’s the most rewarding part of your day? 

The most rewarding part of my day is when I go for walks. I appreciate the moments of disconnecting from my devices, grounding myself, and getting recharged.

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The Recent Graduate's Guide to Crafting a Perfect Résumé

Photo: Create & Cultivate

Writing a résumé is hard and it’s not something that is often taught in school, so it’s okay to feel overwhelmed about how to write your first résumé and where to start. When you’re figuring out how to write your first résumé, it is important to figure out what you want to gain from the document. What are you going to use it for? Will you be applying to higher education programs, internships, or jobs? Your résumé will differ substantially depending on what you will be using it for, so it’s crucial to figure this out before getting started. If you’re a recent graduate on the job hunt, keep reading for some foolproof résumé tips.

Start with the Basics

When you’re figuring out what information to include on a résumé, start with the basics. You should always create a header with your contact information including your phone number, email address, and location. Just include your city and state; no need to write down your exact address.

If you do have a personal website, include that as well, but do not include the link to your LinkedIn profile. If you’re using LinkedIn correctly, you will be easily searchable, so there’s no need to add the direct link on your résumé.

List Your Skills 

Putting your skills at the top of the document immediately increases the effectiveness of your résumé. Recruiters look at each résumé for an average of six seconds each. That means you have six seconds to show that you are qualified and what you can bring to the table. When you put your skills matrix up at the top, this shows the reader exactly what you have to offer and highlights that you are qualified for the position right off the bat.

The quicker you grab someone’s attention and persuade them that you’re the right candidate for the position, the more likely you’ll be to get past the initial influx of applicants.

Gather Your Employment Information

When you’re starting to write your first résumé, you might not have traditional employment information. If you do have traditional work experience, gather your dates of employment, (month and year) job description, projects you worked on, and any additional information you can include like how many people you worked with.

As a new graduate, no one expects you to have a lot of work experience; however, potential employers do want to see any volunteer work, side projects, and/or internships you’ve had. If you need to beef up your résumé, even more, include information about relevant school projects you worked on. This will help highlight your ability to work on a given project under constraints and will help highlight your relevant industry knowledge.

If you’re listing class projects on your résumé, use the school name in place of the company name, and include something along the lines of “[Class Title] Project Manager,” “Student Project Manager,” or “[Class Title] Student” in place of a job title.

Gather Specific Metrics and Achievements for Each Role

The key to a great résumé is highlighting exactly what you’ve achieved and what you can bring to a new position. This is not the place to include a general job description that can be used for anyone with that job title. 

Try to answer these questions for each role you put on your résumé: 

• What did you do in this role?

• How many people did you work with or manage? 

• What kind of projects did you work on?

• What were the results of those projects?

This will help ensure that your résumé immediately reflects your achievements and what you can bring to the table. Anyone can say that they’re great at their job, but very few people can actually show it. When you’re noting your achievements, think about how you can quantify what you’ve done.

Gather Your Education Information

Unless it is your highest level of education or you are in your first year of college, do not include information about your high school diploma. Similarly, there is no need to include GPA unless you’re currently in school and have a very high GPA (3.8 or above).
When it comes to listing education, start with the highest level of education at the top and list backward from there.

For example:

• Ph.D. information

• Master’s information

• Bachelor’s information

• High School information

*Include certifications and specialized training

When you’re learning how to write your first résumé as a new graduate, certifications and specialized training make a huge difference. Even if you don’t have specific certifications but you’ve had internal training, taken an online course, or even just an online tutorial, include that in your résumé. 

For example, you can take some online tutorials and training sessions on QuickBooks or Adobe Photoshop via YouTube and list that as specialized training. As long as the training gives you an advantage and further educates you on a subject, you can list it on your résumé.

If you’re struggling with how to write your first résumé, relax. You’re not alone! Writing a résumé is hard, and it’s often something that people are forced to learn on their own. Just take it one step at a time, gather the required information, and go from there! 
When in doubt, you can always hire a professional to help!

About the Author: A native San Franciscan, Michele Lando is a certified professional résumé writer and founder of writestylesonline.com. She has a passion for helping others present the best version of themselves, both on paper and in person, and works to polish individuals' application package and personal style. Aiming to help create a perfect personal branding package, Write Styles presents tips to enhance your résumé, style, and boost your confidence.

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This story was originally published on July 27, 2018, and has since been updated.

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How to Write a Post-Interview Follow-Up Email That Will Get a Quick Response

Photo: Anna Shvets for Pexels

Whether it’s with a sense of excitement or dread, sending out the occasional follow-up email is an aspect of adulting most of us simply can’t avoid. And what we’re looking to get out of these messages most of the time is—at the very least—a response.  

It seems straightforward, right? But the art of sending a follow-up that actually inspires the recipient to take the time to read AND respond? Now that can be tricky.

Let’s ensure your next follow-up is a success. Keep reading for everything you need to know to craft a follow-up email that warrants a response.

Want more tips to land the job of your dreams? Download our The Job-Hunting Bundle and discover résumé templates that will get you hired, smart questions to ask so you can ace your next interview, and a foolproof cover letter template that will get every the attention of every recruiter.

When to Send a Follow-Up Email

When you send a follow-up email will be unique to your individual situation. However, there are a couple of general guidelines to consider when sending your message so that it remains relevant and has the best chance of being opened.

HubSpot recommends the following timeframes for sending follow-up emails:

• Within 24 hours: Sending a “thank you” after a meeting, sale, interview, event, or occasion that justifies an immediate sentiment of gratitude or those follow-up messages that contain time-sensitive info or requests.
  

• Within 48 hours: After submitting important info (for instance, follow-up emails for job applications or other formal document submissions) or, if your follow-up still contains fairly urgent info or requests (those that can’t wait 1-2 weeks).
  

• Within 1-2 weeks: Messages following up on a meeting request or those that go unresponded and require a confirmation from the recipient (maybe a job offer or an email requesting feedback).
  

• Every 3 months: Emails sent as a way to catch up with a past connection or those requesting updates (can be for both business and personal life).

How to Write a Follow-Up Email

1. Identify Your Primary Objective

Before putting your fingers to the keyboard, the first step of writing a follow-up email is to determine the objective of your message. 

What’s the end goal you’re looking to achieve from sending this email?

Take a second to ask yourself, are you trying to… 

• Obtain more info?

• Schedule a call or meeting?

• Remind someone to do something?

• Close a sale?

• Say thank you?

• Or, something else?

Regardless of what your goal ends up being, this step is necessary to allow you to craft a strong follow-up and include a specific call-to-action (CTA).

2. Provide Context

Discounts and deals, order confirmations, bill payment reminders, and those random messages from Grandma checking in—we are constantly bombarded with emails. 

And if your inbox is anything like mine, it’s not hard to find one of many of those messages that make you stop and think—“wait, who is this sender??” 

If you’re nodding along, you probably already know that step #2 to writing a follow-up email is critical: provide context around who you are and how they know you. This is especially important if it’s been a while since your most recent interaction or if you don’t have a very close relationship with this person.

Don’t leave any room for confusion that will deter your recipient from responding.  Provide context early on in your email by emphasizing your initial conversations or interactions to jog their memory.

Here are a few solid openers you can test out in your follow-up emails:

• I wanted to follow up on the message I sent on [date or day if it’s still the same week] about [subject of the first email].

• I just wanted to follow up to get your thoughts on [subject of the first email]. Have you had a chance to check out my last email?

• Just checking in to see if you’ve had a chance to read my email from [date or day if it’s still the same week].

• Just following up to see if you have any questions about my email from [date or day if it’s still the same week] about [subject of the first email].

Quick Tip: Include the subject line of your initial email in your opener to make it easy for your recipient to go back and locate that first message.

3. Make the Purpose Clear

After providing context to refresh your recipient’s memory, move straight into making the purpose of this communication clear. 

This portion of the email should be direct and straightforward. Remind the recipient of what you mentioned wanting/needing from the last email or letting them know if that want/need has since changed.

Quick Tip: If this is a follow-up email aiming to make a sale, keep the focus on the recipient here and reframe any statements using “I” to address the benefit or relevancy to them. You might be tempted to throw in an “I think” or “I believe” statement here, but I promise, it’ll be much more effective to keep the reader believing this is all about them. 

Here’s an example:

Rather than including: “I think my/our [product or service] could really help you accomplish [benefit]. I would love to hop on a quick call to chat about [opportunity].” 

Try something like: “Your [aspect of their business or life] would really benefit from [purpose of product or service]. Would you like to hop on a quick call to chat about this opportunity?”

Want to land the job?

Add our The Job-Hunting Bundle to your cart and get the rest of this article (which includes an email template for your reply), plus résumé and cover letter templates, along with questions to ask in your next job interview. Or get unlimited access to our entire library of downloads and videos when you join Insiders.

This story was originally published on April 20, 2020, and has since been updated.

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"You're Going to Want to Quit 100 Times"—Julianne Hough Gets Real About Being an Entrepreneur

Photo: Courtesy of Julianne Hough

LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE HERE.

Julianne Hough is the epitome of a multi-hyphenate. 

She's an actress, dancer, singer-songwriter, and producer. Not to mention, a serial entrepreneur who's taking on the health and wellness space—and generating multiple revenue streams in the process.

Last year, she launched her innovative fitness platform KINRGY (with a little help from Oprah, no big deal!). And she recently started a wine brand with her BFF-turned-business-partner Nina Dobrev. 

All this to say, Julianne has experience when it comes to pursuing her passions, managing her money and businesses, and inspiring others to chase their dreams along the way.

This week on the WorkParty podcast, host Jaclyn Johnson dives into the incredible career of this successful multi-hyphenate and her multiple revenue streams.

Subscribe to WorkParty and never miss an episode.

On having a vision and being flexible…

“Have a vision and go for it, but be flexible and malleable because you never know what's going to happen—and that's where the magic happens.”

On breaking through in a competitive industry…

“The more other people innovate, the more you innovate. I don't look at it as competition, I look at it as colleagues and peers that are creating.”

On being a multihyphenate…

“Know your strengths and know your weaknesses. Know what you're good at and like live in that place. Don't try to do everything.”

“Wherever your focus goes, energy flows.”

On starting a business…

“There's a lot of sacrifice that's involved and the reward is there when you realize that you're impacting people's lives.”

"You're going to want to quit 100 times, maybe 101. It's inevitable because you'll sometimes feel like, 'Is this all worth it?' I'm exhausted. But then you get these kernels of inspiration and it keeps you going."

“You don't even have to sell your company, but have an exit strategy.”

On the #1 piece of advice she’d give her younger self…

“Make sure that you're happy and that it's not taking and stripping you have your happiness, but that it's fueling and adding to it.”

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How 11 Honoré Design Director Danielle Williams-Eke Is Making the Fashion Industry Size-Inclusive

Photo: Courtesy of Danielle Williams-Eke

Early on, I never really thought of designing plus-size clothing. Truthfully, nine years into my career with a bachelor’s and master’s in fashion, I still felt that my future was to design straight-size clothing. I always wanted to design high-end contemporary womenswear.  Traditional education teaches about the “fashion greats” including Coco Chanel, Christian Dior, Cristóbal Balenciaga, and more. I fell in love with them and fashion.  I recently looked back through my 2009 graduation portfolio and it struck me that all the assignments included tall, slim figures, perfectly following the "nine head rule" with six-foot-tall, size-two women. Not a curve in sight. This wasn't by choice; this was how I was required to design to make the grade. The curriculum was void of any trace of plus-size fashion. One could only take this to mean that plus-size women weren't welcome in the fashion industry.  

Since I am a plus-sized woman, essentially, I wasn't welcome in the fashion industry.  Imagine loving and working in an industry that refused to acknowledge you. This forced many plus-size women, like me, to seek out the brands that recognized our existence. It was like a scavenger hunt. When I occasionally discovered a new brand that got it, there was a great feeling of being seen and served. I remember that feeling back in 2004 when I found Torrid for the first time while shopping for my sweet 16 outfit. While a few other plus-size lines popped up in the well-known chains, I didn't see this recognition in luxury fashion. Plus-size women weren't on runways. Designer and contemporary brands didn't produce their clothing above a size 12 or 14. 

“Since I am a plus-sized woman, essentially, I wasn’t welcome in the fashion industry.  ”

Then, in 2018, I discovered 11 Honoré and I knew this was something different. The brand offers plus-size high-end fashion, which was something I never thought was possible. It was around this time that I also attended The Curvy Con for the first time during New York Fashion Week. This was also the Fashion Week that Kellie Brown launched #FatAtFashionWeek. In her words, "We are here, we work in this industry, we get it, we are leaders and consumers." I felt that! I felt the shift in the atmosphere at NYFW that year. The runway was getting more inclusive. It was building on the great year before when I had the opportunity to sit in on the Christian Siriano show watching Precious Lee, Marquitta Pring, and Candice Huffine slay the runway one after the other. Things were happening!

Fast forward to November 2019. After a year of stalking the 11 Honoré career site, a colleague reached out to me. The company was ready to start their in-house brand and they wanted me to design it! The collection I never imagined would exist was the collection I would have the opportunity to create. I was playing a part in a brand that was moving the industry forward. I was in the company of legacy brands like Carolina Herrera, DVF, and Dior, who were finally moving toward inclusivity but also a part of this new wave of designers, like Henning and Baacal, whose brands were founded on inclusivity. The scavenger hunt was getting easier for this African American designer from humble beginnings. 

“The fashion industry has to acknowledge the blatant prejudice that exists towards those who don’t fit the ideal beauty standards related to size and body shapes of all women.”

While there is more work to be done to normalize varying body types and shapes as well as amplifying the voices of Black people and people of color, we are moving in the right direction. I'm honored to be a part of the ride. My hope is that inclusivity and diversity become the standard. 

For me, this starts with fashion education. In the same way that America has to take a good look at how we teach and talk about the history of racism in America, the fashion industry has to acknowledge the blatant prejudice that exists towards those who don't fit the ideal beauty standards related to size and body shapes of all women, particularly those of different races and ethnicities. Only after we acknowledge those faults can the industry move forward and truly reflect its consumers.

About the Author: Danielle Williams-Eke is the design director of luxury size-inclusive e-tailer 11 Honoré’s private label line, The 11 Honoré Collection. As design director, Williams-Eke spearheads the design team and production of the private label, a collection that blends modern minimalism with power dressing. The designer is quickly making a name for herself in the fashion industry as a balanced voice and leader in size inclusivity. Prior to her role at 11 Honoré, the Los Angeles-based designer oversaw the design team at Torrid. For the last decade, Williams-Eke has specialized in designing extended sizes and pioneering patterns, fits, and silhouettes for the plus-size consumer. Understanding the power of clothing is instrumental to the designer, who is influenced by classic Americana style that eludes a hint of sex appeal. “I design for a lifestyle. Women are multifaceted and when I create a collection, I keep that in mind. I’m designing clothes for moments in the 11 Honoré woman’s life.”

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5 Job Hunting Tips to Score Your Dream Career

Photo: Create & Cultivate

Would you believe more than half of the people who are currently employed are considering a new job?

It feels like we’re always striving for something bigger and better to fulfill our professional and personal goals. But, before you dive into the tedious world of job hunting, be sure to take the necessary steps to ensure you’re as prepared as can be for what your future might hold. This doesn’t just mean updating your résumé; think a lot harder and deeper about how you’re portraying yourself to potential employers.

Here are a few key steps you can take before you embark on the job hunt adventure. No need to thank us when you land your dream job.

Broaden your job search.

While looking for a new job, take the time to really focus on how you want to progress with your professional career. Search for keywords that are broader than you’re used to searching. Sometimes jobs are listed under a variety of topics that you might not be thinking about. For example, if you work in marketing, try searching social media terms, and brand marketing terms to expand your search to reach more companies with even more open positions.

If you’re looking for writing jobs, try searching for magazines and other publications in the area and scouring their websites for open positions that might not show up on job search websites (Glassdoor, LinkedIn, Indeed, etc). You might end up finding something that fits exactly what you’ve been looking for.

Curate a cover letter (every time).

Some applications don’t require a cover letter, but most do. Although it feels easier to just skip the cover letter, never skip it. This is your chance to show the employer who you are and what you’re capable of in your professional field. A cover letter is the best way to talk yourself up, cater to the employer, and show off all of your valid experience. 

Take the time to look up various cover letter templates to help you find a format that works for you and your career. It’s also important to read through the position you’re applying for and pick out keywords that are used repeatedly to describe the candidate the company is looking for. Input those specific keywords into your cover letter and back them up with your relevant experience.

This is the perfect way to stand out among the rest of the cover letters employers will be reading. Not only will this make you look good, but it will help boost your confidence for any tough interview questions that come your way in the future. 

Follow up with an employee.

Don’t you hate being ghosted by companies? Have you ever gone a month or more without hearing back about a job? Trust me, it’s normal. Think about how many people have applied for the job and how much time it is going to take HR to sift through all of the candidates. After about a week or so, I’ve found it beneficial to search for an email address of someone who works in the department you’re looking to be a part of or someone on the HR team.

Make your email short and sweet. Simply state your name, the position you are interested in, and your desire to learn how the hiring process is going so far.

Here is an example to follow:

Dear (Employee Name),

My name is (Name) and I recently applied for the (Job Title) position. I’m very interested in this role and would love to hear how the hiring process is coming along. Let me know!

I look forward to hearing from you,

(Name)

Perfect your résumé.

This one is self-explanatory but still so important to the job hunt. Without a clean, updated, and crisp résumé, hiring managers won’t be inclined to reach out to you. The first step is to match your résumé to you and your profession. Make it artistic and colorful if you’re in the arts, make it innovative and dynamic if you’re interested in the business field, and so on. Always keep your résumé updated and always save your résumé as a PDF.

That way employers can quickly check out your résumé without the hassle of downloads, slow internet, etc. Don’t forget to input any keywords that are relevant to the position you’re applying for. Did you know more than half of candidates are eliminated from the online job search by applicant tracking systems? This is due to a lack of relevancy between your résumé and the job description.

Canva is a great tool to use to reformat your résumé. The website provides you with a variety of templates to choose from, allowing you to utilize all the space on the page, and provides fonts, colors, and pictures to fit properly onto your résumé. Take your time while creating it, have friends and coworkers look it over for basic editing and readability purposes. 

Secure recommendation letters.

Before you start providing various forms of information to a possible future employer, make sure you’ve solidified a couple of recommendation letters. Reach out to previous supervisors and mentors and update them on your career endeavors and what types of jobs you’re applying for. Don’t forget to grab a current email and phone number for each person, so the employer can contact them if need be.

Not all applications ask for recommendation letters, but I’ve found them helpful throughout the interview process. If you’re on a second or third interview, it might be beneficial to pass your letters along to whoever you’ve been conversing with to give yourself a little boost in the hiring process. Any material that highlights your professional work in a positive light can only help you along in the job hunt.

Implement some of these tips right away and get started on finding your dream job. If you’re creative and looking to dive into the marketing/advertising world, check out some job listings here.

About the Author: Abbey Adams currently works at an enterprise SEO marketing company while also maintaining her music blog blondieandthebeat.com) of six years. Throughout her time as a freelance writer for a women’s magazine, she’s learned to share every story and always try to empower as many women as possible. You can usually find her typing in bed binging “Sex and the City” (for the 10th time) or at the gym sweating out her anxiety on the stairclimber. 

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This story was originally published on September 19, 2019, and has since been updated.

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When Should Your Startup Hire a Full-Time Lawyer?

Photo: ColorJoy Stock

Because an in-house legal department is commonly viewed as a “cost center” and not a “revenue generator,” startups are often advised that the answer to the question of “when should we hire an in-house counsel” is best answered by running a straightforward cost-benefit analysis. When that exercise demonstrates that the legal fees paid to outside counsel are greater than the cost of adding a lawyer to a company’s payroll, then it is time to bring on a lawyer to work in-house.

While this approach is appealing in its simplicity, it fails to account for a big portion of the value that an in-house lawyer (and ultimately, a legal team) can bring to a young company, the value that may be difficult to quantify. The right in-house counsel can be a strategic partner and a huge asset to a growing business. Here’s how to tell when you should bring on a full-time lawyer.

Save Yourself Headaches and Money, and Hire In-House Counsel Early On

Once the legal structure of a company (LLC, Corporation, Partnership, etc.) has been set up and the basic legal requirements for doing business have been met, many startup founders think of lawyers only as “clean-up crews:” people reluctantly hired from time to time when there’s a problem. 

In fact, until confronted by a lawsuit or government investigation, many founders tend to view lawyers as obstacles to progress—people who are always telling you what you can’t do—and to want to avoid them for that reason. But lawyers can also provide useful perspectives to a founder strategizing how the company can achieve its goals while avoiding expensive pitfalls. 

A good lawyer has been trained to anticipate issues that might arise and will put in place the safeguards that can help a company avoid those problems. Like the old adage, “a stitch in time saves nine,” this way of working obviously helps a company avoid extremely costly mistakes.  

Learn From the Mistakes of Others, and Consult Legal Counsel Proactively

Protecting your business early on can save you 10x, 20x, or even 30x in legal fees if you have to hire legal counsel to clean up a mess. In Season four of HBO’s series “Silicon Valley,” an entire episode (“Terms of Service”) was constructed around a character’s failure to comply with the FTC’s Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (“COPPA”), estimating that that mistake—made without even realizing that a lawyer should have been consulted—left the company, Pied Piper, potentially liable for $21 billion in fines. 

A quick consultation with a lawyer could have saved a lot of angst, even if it would have ruined the episode. As far-fetched as this scenario might be, it is unquestionably true that a lawyer can save a company money by minimizing its exposure to regulatory fines, along with lessening the likelihood of costly lawsuits and making sure the company’s intellectual property, reputation, and other valuable company assets are well protected—all of which add enormously to a company’s success. 

Unfortunately, since these benefits represent savings that are difficult to quantify, they are not so easy to plug into a cost-benefit analysis, but that doesn’t make them any less important than the sum of all those law firm invoices.

“Can’t I Just Use Outside Counsel Instead of Hiring a Lawyer In-House?”

While outside counsel can certainly provide legal services, without context, a founder may miss the right opportunity to reach out for help (since you don’t know what you don’t know!). Even if you do think legal counsel would be helpful, the prospect of facing expensive legal fees may deter your from making the call until a concrete issue presents itself. 

Giving an in-house lawyer a seat at the table early in a company’s development can mean fewer unpleasant surprises down the road. It can have other benefits as well, such as devising a strategy for utilizing outside law firms and judging when the most cost-effective choice is to consult outside legal experts, for example, to advise with respect to a specialized area of the law such as patent and other intellectual property matters, First Amendment issues, SEC regulations and the like. 

When it is determined that outside counsel needs to be consulted, the in-house counsel team can manage that relationship, including negotiating legal fee rates and reviewing bills. If done right, this can also save a company money. Not only that, it will free up the team member who is currently managing outside counsel, which again can lead to cost savings or even revenue growth if that team member’s responsibility is normally to generate revenue for the company.

“While outside counsel can certainly provide legal services, without context, a founder may miss the right opportunity to reach out for help (since you don’t know what you don’t know!).”

—Amy Rowland, Founder of Varia Search

About the Author: Amy Rowland is the founder of Varia Search, a boutique legal recruiting firm that uses a bespoke approach to fill legal department roles. Prior to starting Varia Search, Amy was a recruiter at another legal search firm where she focused on recruiting for in-house legal positions. She has also held in-house roles at two international companies and a large New York City law firm.

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How the Founder of Loeffler Randall Opened Her First Retail Store During the Pandemic

Photo: Courtesy of Loeffler Randall

In January of 2020, my husband and business partner, Brian, and I realized a dream we’d had for nearly 16 years: we signed a lease on our very first retail store for our brand, Loeffler Randall. We chose Soho because that neighborhood has been home to our office for over a decade. It’s also where we had our first date; at Raoul’s Restaurant, complete with a visit to the tarot card reader upstairs.

Brian and I started our company in 2004 in our garden apartment in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn. Long before we had children, we hoisted long whiteboards along the walls of our apartment where we plotted and planned the company we would create. I felt so much pressure to have my designs work, for this to be a success, that I couldn’t sleep at night. Bob, our life coach, asked us a question, “Even if you fail, do you think it might still be worth it? That you will learn something? That you will have created something that you are proud of? Isn’t there freedom in that? In knowing that even if you fail, it will be a success.” 

We channeled this same wisdom when we, up against many unforeseen challenges and delays, decided to stay the course and open our first Loeffler Randall retail store in NYC in February 2021. Here’s how. 

1. Accept What You Cannot Control    

In the middle of March 2020, the reality of COVID hit. Soon the full brunt of the pandemic’s impact smacked into our business. Our store, nearly completed, stood empty, its walls half smoothed with plaster and with shelves laying bare. 

March and April were cold and damp. I tried to take my three kids on long, windy walks on the beach in Long Island each day to get some energy out. Brian stayed home, enduring the bankruptcies of four of our important wholesale accounts. At home, I threw myself into sewing masks for front-line workers, with the message “Thank you, hero” embroidered inside. Without discussing it, Brian and I divided and conquered. I taught myself how to bake bread and busied myself feeding the kids, working on creative projects, and designing new, pandemic appropriate products like slippers.

2. Commit Yourself Completely 

Even after all these years, with all our company’s triumphs and steady growth, signing our first retail lease felt just as scary as first starting our line. Many of our friends and advisors told us to get out of our retail lease at all costs. Another suggested that someday, after a vaccine was developed, the city and our business might return to a new version of normal. Would we start then to plan the future? Or would we plan for it now? We choose to proceed. To commit to completion and see our vision through.

When we pressed pause on the store construction in March of 2020, we were 75% complete. Many months later, when we were able to resume, we dove right back in, selecting light fixtures, having reusable totes made from the fabric scraps from our development process. We were ready to open our doors in February, one of New York’s coldest and snowiest months. Was anyone shopping? It didn’t matter, we committed to this project, to that date, and we did all in our power to make it the best and most successful we possibly could. 

Unable to host a typical store opening party, we made cardboard tubes with masks, sanitizer, and photos of the new shop to send out. Instead of press previews, I held Zoom meetings with reporters, showing them the wall of pleated styles on my laptop. It worked, with the support of our friends and community, in the media, social media, and beyond, people were excited. The word was out, and customers did in fact start walking through the door. 

Photo: Courtesy of Loeffler Randall

3. Focus on the Positive 

After a year of bad news, our store opening was the beacon of hope and positivity my team and I needed. A reporter asked us over Zoom how we would know the store had been a success. And the answer came to me that for me, no matter what happened, it already was a success, because it exceeded my expectations for a physical representation of the brand. It felt warm and welcoming, just the way I wanted it to feel. And it continues to inspire me and my team creatively. 

In designing the space back in early 2020, my team and I collaborated with my friend Poonam Khanna, the interior designer and architect who designed our office. Zoe, on my team, pulled together the things we love and are inspired by: the tiles and earthy textures from our recent trip to Marrakech, pleated fabrics referencing our collection. Poonam set down slabs of terrazzo, hunks of pale oak wood, textured plaster, and rich pink velvet onto the floor of my showroom to see how it all worked together. We stood back and smiled—this was our brand coming to life in 360 degrees. To have us finally open our doors, and invite our community into the first Loeffler Randall retail space a full 14 months after signing the lease, 12 of which were consumed by the pandemic, was a proud, full-circle moment. The beginning of something new, something hopeful.  

The NYC I know and love began to emerge again like the bright bulbs on the flowering trees on our block. And shoppers crowd down Prince Street and into our shop, especially on bright, sunny days.

4. Know It’s All About the People  

This weekend, Lucy, from our sales and merchandising team got married at the Boat House in Prospect Park in Brooklyn. The bridesmaids all wore Loeffler Randall pleated bow heels. As the sun set behind the chuppah overlooking the lake, I smiled seeing my beloved co-workers: Jessica who has helped build our company for over 10 years, Lissa who started as an intern so many years ago, and Miranda, our retail store manager, dashing into the ceremony just in time from a full shift at our store. We had just had our highest-grossing day at our boutique. 

Even though the pandemic still rages, there is hope in the vaccine and hope for a small business like ours, more happy occasions on the horizon, and many more weddings to celebrate in Loeffler Randall heels.

About the Author: Jessie Randall created Loeffler Randall in 2004 out of her garden apartment in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn with her husband, Brian. Fifteen years and three children later, they are still doing what they love, making distinctive products in small, considered batches with attention to every detail. Since 2004, they have expanded from shoes, adding handbags, ready-to-wear & accessories to their collection. Creativity is at the heart of what they do, they are always thinking about new designs they can offer to their customers from their signature point of view.

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5 Travel Founders Who Are Giving Us Serious OOO FOMO on Instagram

Photo: Spencer Davis from Pexels

Welcome to 5 for 5, where we spotlight 5 women in 5 minutes or less.

We don’t know about you, but we’re currently daydreaming about signing out of Slack, setting our OOO emails, and getting far, far away from our WFH desk situations. Ahead are five travel founders who are seriously fueling our OOO FOMO and inspiring us to submit a PTO request, stat.

1. Katalina Mayorga

As the co-founder of El Camino Travel, an off-the-beaten-path travel company, and Casa Violeta, a private villa located in Granada, Nicaragua, it’s no surprise that Katalina Mayorga’s feed is filled with beautiful beaches, colorful streets, and unreal sunsets.

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2. Marta Tucci

Travel photographer, writer, and co-founder of Naya Traveler, a travel company specializing in tailor-made journeys to destinations spanning Spain, Morocco, Argentina, and more, Marta Tucci documents her travels to everywhere from Bahia to Bali and Kashmir.

3. Cheraé Robinson

Cheraé Robinson, the founder of Tastemaker Africa, a platform that connect travelers with a range of unique tours and experiences created and hosted by artists, creators, and makers, shares swoon-worthy snaps from Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Cape Verde, and more.

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4. Achiraya Thamparipattra

The co-founder of Hivesters, an award-winning travel social enterprise created to preserve and help Thai culture flourish, Achiraya Thamparipattra often posts photos from her adventures in Phuket, Ayutthaya, Phang Nga, and more destinations throughout Thailand.

5. Phaka Dludla Hlazo

As the founder of Zulu Nomad, Phaka Dludla Hlazo is providing curated experiences in East and Southern Africa. Her IG feed is an enviable travel bucket list, featuring photos from UNESCO World Heritage site Maloti-Drakensberg Park in South Africa, Stone Town of Zanzibar, and more.

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