Model and Actress Anna Alimani: “Words are power; Your mind is a very powerful tool; Repeat to…

Model and Actress Anna Alimani: “Words are power. Your mind is a very powerful tool. Repeat to yourself what you want, what you want to be, where you want to be and you will have it.”

Repetition. Repeat to yourself what you want, what you want to be, where you want to be and you will have it. Words are power. Your mind is a very powerful tool. Every day I tell myself what I want to be where I am and that I am a winner. If you say it every day and you believe it, you start to attract those qualities to yourself.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Anna Alimani. Anna is a young vivacious entrepreneur, model, actress and aspiring real estate agent. At the age of 21, Anna earned a Bachelor’s of Business Degree from Purdue University, and is also a published & signed model, actress and social media star. For the future; Anna aspires to have her own real estate brokerage firm and empower other like- minded, strong women as herself.

Thank you so much for joining us Anna! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

That’s a great question! I was born in San Francisco California. I grew up in Spokane Washington, then I moved to Beverly Hills and now I’m in New York City. I’ve always been very lonely and a little bit impatient. I knew from an early age that working for someone else and building someone else’s dream and dream life will not be something I will be particularly good at. I like to do things on my own time and in my own way, so for me taking orders and listening to someone else’s way of doing things would not be the best fit.

I discovered the world of real estate when I watched the show with the Altman Brothers; Million Dollar Listing. From there I figured it’s a great way to make money, interact with people, and also let yourself have the life that you wanted to have and live on your own terms. My career in sales and self-sufficiency started when I began working for McLaren of Beverly Hills, assisting in the sale and office activities of the operation, I was given a chance to see how the world of sales really works. Ultimately at the end of the day, we are all salespeople, we all do it everyday, it’s just a matter of how well you embrace and leverage it to your own advantage.

Can you share your story of Grit and Success? First can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey?

Absolutely! I know firsthand that the price of success is very expensive – it is definitely not free! You should not expect success if you’re not ready! Success comes at a hefty price. Success WILL cost you a lot of emotional drain, physical and mental you have to to have the tenacity, willpower and determination to reach the goal you wanted.

I moved from Spokane to California. At first I lived in Sacramento, I had no idea what I was doing. I worked odd end customer service jobs while studying, and ultimately I ended up going back home because I could not make anything happen for myself. I was extremely depressed and disgraced because everybody knew I had left for California to do bigger and better things, then I had to come back to Spokane and rethink my strategy, I felt like a total failure!

I had started a great job in an insurance company which allowed me to gain expertise and save money so I was finally ready to pursue California with a fervent fever. As a result I DID end up going back to California and living in Beverly Hills. My journey skyrocketed from that point. However it was definitely difficult moving to another state where you didn’t know anybody or anything; the whole experience makes you grow up fast.

Where did you get the drive to continue even though things were so hard?

Honestly I don’t really know. I believe it’s something you are really born with. Some people live their whole life in the path of complacency and lack motivation. All of my family is all very motivated, my grandfather was a criminal defense attorney until his death at the age of 85 and at the same time was a national swimming champion in his native country of Bulgaria. On the other hand, my grandmother had her own radio factory which was passed down to her from her father as well. My own parents fled to democracy while their native country of Bulgaria was still under Soviet rule. I guess I come from a family of very driven motivated people who always pushed me to be the best that I can be. Not only that, but I really aspire to bigger things in life! Life is so beautiful and there’s so much to see and I want to have the freedom and ability to experience the best life that I can; you only get one life, one shot, one chance to do it all.

So, how are things going today? How did Grit lead to your eventual success?

I will be the first to admit things can still be difficult at times but I have learned that with a clear mind set, a level head, and a proper network of people who want to see you excel and do well in life Anything is Possible. I definitely have a long way to go, I can’t lie and let my pride get the best of me, but it led me from Spokane to Beverly Hills to New York. So I would say I have done a decent job up until this point and it’s only a matter of time, tenacity and patience and a little bit more work and I will be where I want to be.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Haha! Probably my own inexperience and also how gullible I was due to my tender age. I basically believed anything that seemed too good to be true which was a big mistake!

I had looked up jobs on Craigslist and there was a job advertising these stickers you can put on your car where they would pay you $1,000 a week to have the sticker on the car. So what did I do? I fell for it! It seemed legitimate at the time and they basically asked for my address and my name they mailed me a check, the check was for $4,000! Ff course I was 20 at the time and that seemed amazing to me! So being a silly as I was I went to my bank deposit the check, the next day the check returned, it did not clear and I got my bank account shut down. I felt like a total idiot but I definitely learned my lesson if it’s too good to be true it probably is.

What do you think makes your work stand out? Can you share a story?

Let me revise this question; I have yet to start my company, I will be honest, but I can revise question and put it towards myself. What makes me different is that I have always been my best friend, I have always held myself box, and I always believed in never giving up, I give 110% to things I’m very passionate about and I think long-term with every decision of my life. I work smarter not harder and I believe anything is achievable just every goal and target has Taps to it.

What makes me different is that I’m an old soul and I see beyond certain situations in life. I try not to dwell on something too long if it probably won’t matter in 5 minutes or 5 days. I’m a type of person that believes nothing is impossible its only a matter of faith that makes them possible and that you have unlimited power in yourself and unlimited potential and you can make anything in your life that you want to happen a reality.

Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?

Your network is your net worth. I cannot emphasize this enough you need to be around strong productive determined people that will help you and keep you up when you have times where you feel really down.

I would also definitely recommend watching self-help videos or tuning into Tony Robbins or Grant Cardone for encouragement and a little bit of push when you need it. We all know it’s hard doing things on your own and making your own path, but with the right people in positive mindset anything can happen.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

That is absolutely true! Although I know he would prefer to not be named, he did help me out exponentially and he was a great friend in my life who I will always respect and cherish deeply.

With his help, I was really able to decide where I wanted to go. With his guidance, resources and advice, I was able to move to New York and also push forward and never give up. He would always tell me “you are a star” and I will never forget that as long as I live.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

Absolutely. I think giving back is a social and moral responsibility. I pay monthly to Exotic Life Animal Charities which help preserve endangered species and continue their existence. I also help friends who are worthy, and who want to help themselves and just need some advice along the way.

Based on your experience, can you share 5 pieces of advice about how one can develop Grit? (Please share a story or example for each)

  1. Go exercise. I know it might sound a little bit off but working out repeatedly and making tha a part of your life does develop strength willpower and determination to push through everything. Working out your heart and your body is like working out your will power. You have to push to do things you don’t want to do and sweat and go through pain to achieve what you want. I worked out everyday because it really exercises my willpower even when I don’t want to get out of bed or I don’t want to move I go and do it and I apply the same logic to my goals and aspirations.
  2. Remember why you started. Always know your goal and your ultimate end point is bigger than what you’re going through right now. Look at that instead of the situation your in. Learn to detach yourself and just look forward and let go of the small things in life.
  3. Surround yourself with a great group. Having the right company can either make you or break you or can help be great backup in times of doubt or when you’re really feeling stressed out by life. I know when I was first starting out I didn’t know anybody. I found people who are always positive and uplifting.
  4. Don’t stop. Even when you feel like the world is against you just don’t stop. I know it may sound cheesy but literally do not stop and keep going. I know I’ve been in a point in my life where I felt really down and I don’t want to go anymore but I just literally keep going and I don’t stop. It’s almost like I’m on autopilot.
  5. Repetition. Repeat to yourself what you want, what you want to be, where you want to be and you will have it. Words are power. Your mind is a very powerful tool. Every day I tell myself what I want to be where I am and that I am a winner. If you say it every day and you believe it, you start to attract those qualities to yourself.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

Great question! I’m not exactly sure yet. I can be many different things, whether its regarding fashion, the entertainment world, or health and Fitness, I have a lot of different angles about myself.

I definitely think I could be very influential in empowering young Millennials of my age. Alot of my peers have no guidance and no determination, no faith in themselves and lack the ambition and structure needed to move forward in their life. I think I can definitely be very encouraging and motivational, I’ve been told that multiple times. A lot of people look up to me and they’re motivated when they speak to me, so I think I could be a great platform for empowerment and helping support young Millennials in forming their a future for themselves regardless of where they started from, and in creating a movement of prosperity and success for the Generation to come.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

I’m Anna Alimani everywhere.

IG @anna_alimani

FB: Anna Alimani

Twitter: Anna Alimani

IMDB: Anna Alimani

Model Mayhem: Anna Alimani https://www.modelmayhem.com/annaalimani

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

Model and Actress Anna Alimani: “Words are power; Your mind is a very powerful tool; Repeat to… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The Future Of Travel, With Patrick Nichols, Chief Strategy Officer at The Cosmopolitan of Las…

The Future Of Travel, With Patrick Nichols, Chief Strategy Officer at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, & Candice Georgiadice

Technology is going be more embedded in every travel experience. AI will enable more personalization, and mobile and voice will make basic tasks faster and less painful on the wallet and mind.

Design moves to the forefront across all types of travel experiences. Digital experiences and physical experiences will be complementary and cohesive, and that starts with design.

Service and brand culture have a renaissance. Technology will replace some of the human element of travel and hospitality companies will find new ways to deliver great human-first service and create stories to tell and feelings worth returning to.

Wi-Fi will be free at every hotel and on every flight (at least I hope so)!

As part of my series about “exciting developments in the travel industry over the next five years”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Patrick Nichols. Patrick Nichols is the Chief Strategy Officer at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, a luxury resort offering a decidedly different perspective in Las Vegas hospitality. Nichols joined The Cosmopolitan in 2010 as a member of the pre-opening team and has excelled in multiple roles at the resort including director of strategic planning, director of business planning, senior director of strategic planning and vice president of financial planning. Today, Nichols holds an imperative role leading development, construction, retail and entertainment operations, and financial planning and analysis for the company. Nichols is responsible for identifying business development opportunities and overseeing the construction process for new projects spanning multiple verticals from food and beverage concepts to hotel and gaming offerings. Nichols oversees retail operations in addition to the entertainment team, who are responsible for producing concerts, boxing matches and lifestyle events. Leading a team of CoStars, Nichols spearheads the financial planning and analysis initiatives for the company including long-term strategic planning, near-term capital analysis and deployment, forecasting for all major business lines in addition to reporting to the property’s Board of Directors. In 2008, Nichols moved to Las Vegas right after college when he began working at Las Vegas Sands Corporation as a financial analyst before being promoted to a financial planning and analysis manager. During his time at Las Vegas Sands, he was a member of the pre-opening teams for Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem in Pennsylvania and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore where he was responsible for implementing all financial planning tools and reports for the resort. Nichols was named an “Emerging Leader of Gaming” by The Innovation Group (2016) as well as one of Global Gaming Business Magazine’s “40 Under 40” (2016). He earned an undergraduate degree in hotel administration with a concentration in finance and information systems from Cornell University. He grew up in Minnesota and got his start in the hospitality business early, working for his parents’ hotels. In his spare time, he enjoys sailing, golfing, scuba diving and spending time with his two nieces.

Thank you so much for joining us Patrick! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

My parents own and operate a few small limited service hotels in Minnesota and because of that I literally grew up working in the hospitality industry. I started doing the odd jobs at the hotels like cleaning up parking lots and cutting grass when I was just a kid. And during high school and college breaks I worked pretty much every position you could imagine — front desk, housekeeping, maintenance, IT, construction, finance; I learned it all.

My childhood hospitality experience led me to The Hotel School at Cornell University and from there to the casino industry. I had the opportunity to work on the opening teams of some of the world’s great resorts including Marina Bay Sands in Singapore and The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.

I’ve been with The Cosmopolitan for over eight years and have worked in a few different roles. I’m currently the resort’s Chief Strategy Officer and in my role I’m tasked with setting the strategies to improve our positioning, guest service, and financial results in the future.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?

Being able to physically leave a mark on Las Vegas has been the most interesting story for me. In 2018 we opened Block 16 Urban Food Hall at The Cosmopolitan. Block 16 was the first food hall concept in Las Vegas and is a collection of six of our favorite counter-service restaurants from around the country. As a team, we knew the type of food we were after, and from there spent months on the road eating our way across the country to find the best quick service food and drink in America. We put them all together in a great environment and our guests love it. It was a pivotal piece to the resort and a must-needed juxtaposition to our existing Restaurant Collection.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Early in my career, I prepared a presentation for our Board of Directors that contained a financial analysis on restaurant performance. I was invited to present in the meeting, which was a big deal for me at the time. During my presentation, the Chairman pointed out that a couple of the numbers were wrong. I was caught off guard as I spent so much time checking and double checking the numbers and I was certain they were right. Discussion continued about a different topic while I sat there and reviewed the numbers. The numbers looked right so I interrupted the meeting with, “The numbers are right!” Conversation stopped, everyone looked at me, and, as expected it was super awkward. Turns out the numbers were wrong as our Chairman originally pointed out. Embarrassing!

Besides learning that you shouldn’t interrupt the Chairman, I learned that it’s ok to make mistakes. Own them, apologize, and make it right. That’s exactly what I did. I excused myself from the meeting, fixed the mistakes, reprinted the analysis and we continued like it never happened.

Can you share a personal story that defined the brand you work for? How did this experience make it stand out?

I vividly remember walking through The Cosmopolitan in early December 2010, a few days before the resort opened to the public. It was stunning and beautiful but there were no employees or guests. It was empty and eerie. I had this realization that no matter how good of a product you think you built, if your employees and guests don’t love it, it’s going to be “empty”.

Today, whenever we’re exploring new possibilities we always come back to the simple question: “who is our guest, what need does this serve, and why are we doing this?” If we can’t answer those simple questions we go back to the drawing board.

Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?

First, if you’re looking to not only thrive but grow in your career, you need to replace yourself. I get a lot of weird looks when I tell my team that because the gut reaction is: he wants me to replace myself so he can eliminate my positon. That couldn’t be further from the truth. The fastest way to grow and earn that promotion is to already be doing the work that the role requires when it comes time for the promotion. This means passing on knowledge and developing your successors to take your job (scary, I know). If you replace yourself and your old work, that frees you up to take on new roles and responsibilities.

Second, find a few trusted advisors or mentors. A mentor will help a lot with “replacing yourself.” More than that, a mentor will help fill in the gaps, whether that’s how to deal with a tricky situation at work or providing the tribal industry knowledge that you can’t find in books.

Finally, I think everyone burns out at some point or another in his or her career. It’s important to recognize it and reset. The reset button is different for everyone — so do what you need to do to get back on track.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

My dad is at the top of my list. From a very young age, he taught me the importance of hard work and integrity. I really believe that if you put in the time and put in the work you can accomplish anything you put your mind to. And that mindset has been with me since I’ve been a kid.

Of course, my mom balanced out the message and told me to “be nice” every time I left the house as a kid. So today, my motto is “work hard and be nice to people.” It’s very simple and it works!

Let’s jump to the core of our discussion. Can you share with our readers about the innovations that you are bringing to the travel and hospitality industries?

We’ve spent the better part of the last four year extensively redeveloping and redefining The Cosmopolitan. We’ve renovated nearly close to 3,000 rooms, reprogrammed 17 bars and restaurants, and extensively improved the casino offering. We’ve improved guest service in all areas but one experiment, in particular, stands out. Her name is Rose.

Rose is a guest service chatbot that can handle any request. We affectionately know her as our resident mischief maker because of her unique, sassy personality. Guests communicate with Rose via text message so no app download is required. We’ve found that guests that use Rose are more satisfied with their experience and they spend more during their stay as a result of Rose’s recommendations.

Which “pain point” are you trying to address by introducing this innovation?

Rose is all about simplicity, she’s about simplifying the guest experience and making it easier for a guest to get what they want when they need it. Guests can always call our guest services team if they have a question or issue but these days many people prefer texting to voice and Rose provides another communication option.

How do you envision that this might disrupt the status quo?

Rose was the first chatbot in the casino resort industry but now she’s not alone. I think the statistics we see around improved guest satisfaction and spend are likely a result of Rose’s unique personality and others in our industry will follow by developing more engaging personalities for their bots.

Can you share 4 examples of how travel and hospitality companies will be adjusting over the next five years to the new ways that consumers like to travel?

Technology is going be more embedded in every travel experience. AI will enable more personalization, and mobile and voice will make basic tasks faster and less painful on the wallet and mind.

Design moves to the forefront across all types of travel experiences. Digital experiences and physical experiences will be complementary and cohesive, and that starts with design.

Service and brand culture have a renaissance. Technology will replace some of the human element of travel and hospitality companies will find new ways to deliver great human-first service and create stories to tell and feelings worth returning to.

Wi-Fi will be free at every hotel and on every flight (at least I hope so)!

You are a “travel insider”. How would you describe your “perfect vacation experience”?

The perfect vacation starts with great people. The ideal scenario for me is traveling with a group smaller than eight, where you know about half the people in the group. That keeps the conversations fresh and interesting, and you can splinter off into smaller groups when everyone can’t unanimously decide what to do next. The perfect destination is anywhere I haven’t been before, preferably international. I generally do a little research before I take off but I’m not a planner — I avoid the stress of agendas and go with the flow.

Can you share with our readers how have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

Nevada is ranked at the bottom in Education amongst all the states. Improving education in Nevada is a priority for me because I see myself raising a family in this state and I’d like my kids to have a great public-school education like I had growing up in Minnesota. I support Junior Achievement, which works to develop financial literacy and work-readiness skills in K-12 schools. Junior Achievement has a program called JA in a Day that I find really rewarding. You spend a day in a classroom teaching students about financial concepts — entrepreneurship, budgeting, taxes, etc. — with materials and lesson plan scripted by Junior Achievement. JA is a nationwide organization and you should volunteer!

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

I would take what I learned from my parents as a kid and start a movement around that: Work hard for what you believe in and be nice to people while doing it!

How can our readers follow you on social media?

Follow me on Instagram: @pnichs

The Future Of Travel, With Patrick Nichols, Chief Strategy Officer at The Cosmopolitan of Las… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Kat Nouri: “Why we need to start a plastic free movement”

…The facts are sobering. It’s said that about 8 million metric tons of plastic are thrown into the ocean and by 2050 there will be more plastic in the oceans than there are fish. These ocean plastics leach toxic chemicals and gasses at an accelerated rate when subjected to heat, and these toxins travel through fish, eventually ending up on our dinner plate. BPA is just one of the hundreds of dangerous chemicals in plastics, and ultimately these toxic compounds find their way back into our food, water, and bodies. Plastic bags and containers have created a public health and environmental crisis that we must take immediate action to remedy. Stasher is driven to change our plastic habits and slow down the negative impact they have on people and the planet by offering consumers a better alternative.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Kat Nouri, Founder and CEO of stasher. Kat is an immigrant from Iran, working mother, and innovative designer who invented the world’s first and only patented pinch-loc reusable platinum silicone storage bag you can cook, freeze, store, and throw in the dishwasher.

Thank you so much for doing this with us Kat! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

Thanks for having me here to tell my story! I’ve always sought to live a healthy lifestyle. My parents are a nutritionist and professional athlete and have instilled the importance of being conscious about what I put into my body and on my skin. From beauty products to detergent to the food I prepare I’m always looking at the ingredient panels. When I had my three kids and was preparing organic, nutrient-dense and clean foods for them I started to notice that every storage option out there was plastic. Storage containers and bags are kitchen must-haves for every parent, but all of the options on the market were made of plastic — which leaches toxic chemicals and gasses that increases when subjected to heat and ultimately finds their way back into our food, water, and bodies. There had to be a better way to store food that didn’t hurt our bodies and the earth! I am the Founder and CEO of a thirteen-year-old silicone housewares company called Modern-twist, so I knew that silicone was the ideal material to work with from a decade of experience designing with it. So I got started on a 3-year journey towards inventing stasher and after launching in 2016 was met with consumer and retailer excitement! Consumers were chomping at the bit for a better alternative to plastic!

Can you explain to our readers why you are an authority about Social Media Marketing?

By harnessing the power of our mission, Stasher’s Instagram following has grown to 124K, 315% year-over-year and 1,883% since December 2016 and can be directly tied to our Plastic Free Movement and pledge where we educate consumers about what they can do to live a plastic-free lifestyle. As our social media following has grown, our sales numbers have quadrupled. @stasherbag is now generating 3M impressions per month and 25% of annual website traffic. It is our most powerful tool for brand awareness, relationships, and overall business growth and I’m incredibly proud of the impact and results we’ve continued to have.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started this career?

I think the most interesting part of my story since I started my first company Modern-twist then stasher is that I always wanted to have a business that scaled the awareness around plastic health and plastic waste. Stasher has replaced billions of plastic baggies since inception.

Many people think we are an overnight success, but we didn’t just happen by chance to be at the forefront of the plastic-free movement. It’s taken over a decade of dedication and hard work and the wave of awareness that we’ve sparked was no accident! From the start this mission has been my motivation, and as awareness around plastic water bottles and shopping bags has grown, it has lent itself to education around plastic baggie use and pollution. The timing was right, and when platforms like Facebook and Instagram became widespread they were the perfect vehicle to amplify our message. Powerful messaging and education is now our biggest strength as a brand and has led us to acquire a completely obsessed customer base that has elevated our goal of an environmental impact more than we ever dreamed of.

Our success enables us to support organizations on the research side like 5 Gyres, and groups like Surfrider Foundation that push for legislative protections for our environment while hosting amazing beach clean-up events. The most interesting part of this journey is that we didn’t start stasher because we wanted to just produce a product. It’s always been focused on providing a functional and well-designed product that helps to turn off the plastic pollution faucet. Thanks to a new generation of consumers that are optimistic and proactive about the future of our planet and vote for the environment with their dollars and influence on social media, the plastic-free movement has exploded!

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

When I received my first order at my first company Modern-twist, it was from one of the top museums in the US. This is over a decade ago when I had a staff of one — me. You name it, I did it at that time. So, I accidentally shipped ten cases instead of ten units of each style. When the museum contacted me and I realized my mistake I decided to make lemons out of lemonade. I asked them if they could keep the inventory and if they didn’t sell it that I would gladly take it all back and that they only had to pay for what they sold! When they contacted me a week later, they had sold all their inventory and wanted more! They couldn’t believe it and neither could I! That same strong relationship exists with them to this day!

The lesson that I learned was that some mistakes are meant to happen. Don’t beat yourself up! If you’re honest and you own your actions in a transparent way, you’ll always be okay. We still laugh about that first mistake because it was a lot of inventory for me at the time! The buyers became some of my best friends throughout the years and that mistake gave us all the opportunity to trust our relationship! The other major lesson I learned was to let the professional warehouse staff handle shipping!

Which social media platform have you found to be most effective to use to increase business revenues? Can you share a story from your experience?

Instagram! There is a new story every day worth telling, and most of them occur in our direct messages. Even though our audience has kind-of exploded, we’ve stayed committed to answering every single direct message we receive. This way, we get to build real relationships with every person who might just want to say “hi,” and I think they appreciate knowing there’s a team of real people just like them trying to do better for the planet, here for them any time. They say things like, “I convinced my Mom to get stashers and now she’s OBSESSED!” or “I haven’t bought Ziplocs in over a year!” People are in our DMs every day telling us how stasher has changed their lives, and that part of it has truly changed ours as well. An honest connection with our brand is what keeps people coming back.

Let’s talk about Instagram specifically, now. Can you share 6 ways to leverage Instagram to dramatically improve your business? Please share a story or example for each.

  1. Connect to your why: — we aren’t just here to sell the product. Obviously we’re not mad about it, but the real reason we created stasher, and the real reason we want everyone to use them is to reduce single-use plastics and plastic pollution. This is a very important cause to millions of people and it’s definitely helped us make authentic connections.
  2. Lead with empathy: We knew right away that we didn’t want to bully people into reducing plastic, or shame anyone who uses it. That negativity and self-righteousness is SO not who we are. We’re keepin’ it real and we want to embrace the authentic journey toward sustainable living. It isn’t perfect — none of us are.
  3. Drive the lifestyle with user-generated content (UGC): This has been a big part of our strategy, and while we have built up our own resources, UGC will always be part of our content mix. Every UGC post is like the ultimate testimonial — showing why and how individuals use the product and what they love about it. When we can put our brand champions on a pedestal, that individual’s vouch for us speaks volumes.
  4. Partnerships + Giveaways: Teaming up with influencers and other brands in our realm in order to tap into new audiences has had a major impact on our growth. Pairing stasher with like-minded brands for giveaways shows prospective audiences that we’re here to have fun, and we like what they like. It also helps us engage in a thriving community of mission-driven, conscious businesses and non-profits that are making a difference.
  5. Be social! We respond to direct messages and comments on our posts, and we comment on other users posts and stories. Our audience wants to know that we’re real people, and we’re honestly just like them. We truly want to be their friends and that moves mountains.
  6. Customer Service: Being available to help our customers when they need us is huge. We do our best to take care of order issues, shipping problems, and everyday questions about how to use the product through direct message. We’re even helping them experiment when we don’t have all the answers. It’s a very open conversation and we try to be as transparent as possible.

Because of the position that you are in, you are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

Our Plastic-free movement is why we exist in the first place! The facts are sobering. It’s said that about 8 million metric tons of plastic are thrown into the ocean and by 2050 there will be more plastic in the oceans than there are fish. These ocean plastics leach toxic chemicals and gasses at an accelerated rate when subjected to heat, and these toxins travel through fish, eventually ending up on our dinner plate. BPA is just one of the hundreds of dangerous chemicals in plastics, and ultimately these toxic compounds find their way back into our food, water, and bodies. Plastic bags and containers have created a public health and environmental crisis that we must take immediate action to remedy. Stasher is driven to change our plastic habits and slow down the negative impact they have on people and the planet by offering consumers a better alternative.

Some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂

I would love to have lunch with Howard Schultz. He’s an outspoken passionate human being who leads consciously and intentionally. He utilizes his platform to do good through business and exudes transparency and authenticity. I strive to be a business leader that utilizes profits for the good of our collective society and our environment! It should never be just about your bottom line. Coming up with innovative solutions to be profitable and to have impact is something that has to be built into the DNA of your company. Diversity and inclusion breed innovation. We strive to follow that same vision every day.

Thank you so much for these great insights. This was very enlightening!

Kat Nouri: “Why we need to start a plastic free movement” was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.