Month: June 2020

Jessi Honard of North Star Messaging + Strategy: “They told me it was impossible and I did it anyway”

Be yourself — It can be easy to get caught up in what you “should” do, but tenacity comes from an ability to look inward, stay honest, and trust your intuition. There will always be people who want to insert their reality into your plans. But at the end of the day, you know yourself better than anyone.

As a part of our series about “dreamers who ignored the naysayers and did what others said was impossible”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jessi Honard.

Jessi Honard is a writer by day, and a writer by night. As co-CEO of North Star Messaging + Strategy, a content marketing agency, she supports small business owners in capturing their brand voice so they can outsource their content. As a novelist, she writes primarily fantasy and science fiction. An advocate for the LGBTQ+ community and the environment, Jessi believes in the power of community and perseverance. She lives in the Bay Area with her partner, where she goes hiking and rock climbing every chance she gets. She loves border collies, dark comedy, and not-so-dark coffee.

Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to ‘get to know you’ a bit better. Can you tell us your ‘backstory’?

Absolutely. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated by stories. I devoured them, I wrote them, I dreamed about them. In third grade I decided I would grow up to be a writer, and since then I haven’t stopped. I went to college for English, tried my hand as a high school teacher and a marketing coordinator, and eventually co-founded North Star Messaging + Strategy, a content marketing agency.

Through all of this, I continued to write fiction on the side. I’d wrap up my work day and I’d scribble scenes that took place in far-off worlds.

Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? How do you think that will help people?

At North Star, we’re continuing to develop resources that empower small business owners to step away from being their own content bottleneck. By capturing their voice, stories, and values with our Brand Voice process, we set them up to outsource their content without sacrificing authenticity.

On the creative front, I have a co-written novel that has received an offer for publication! Plus, I have some solo projects up my sleeve. I like to stay transparent about my writing on social media to help other writers gain insight into my process and make creative expression feel more accessible for everyone.

In your opinion, what do you think makes your company or organization stand out from the crowd?

I want to go back to Brand Voice. A common thread in both fiction and marketing content is the idea of voice, and writing with a voice that is both unique and compelling. But “voice” can often feel abstract and difficult to capture and record. As a result, many business owners struggle to outsource their content.

At North Star, we go beyond simple content creation and dive deep into the voice of a brand, developing a Brand Voice Guide before a single word of content is written. This allows our clients to trust their their marketing materials reflect their brand, and it also empowers them to continue outsourcing content over time.

Ok, thank you for that. I’d like to jump to the main focus of this interview. Has there ever been a time that someone told you something was impossible, but you did it anyway? Can you share the story with us? What was your idea? What was the reaction of the naysayers? And how did you overcome that?

Writing is a career path that’s met with a lot of skepticism. There’s a common misconception that professional writers are all starving artists.

Growing up, I wasn’t shy about my intentions. I told anyone who would listen that I wanted to grow up to be a writer. I was met with responses that ranged from “Writers don’t make any money,” to “That’s nice, but what’s your Plan B?”.

Everywhere I turned, people reminded me that my passion was a hobby, not a viable career path. Instead of listening to them, I focused on becoming the best writer possible, across as many mediums as possible. I learned about fiction writing, copywriting, content marketing, journalism, blogging, and more. I was determined to prove that writing wasn’t just possible for me — it was inevitable.

In the end, how were all the naysayers proven wrong? 🙂

I never turned my back on writing, and as I got older I began putting my work out to the world, instead of practicing in private. I wrote curriculum for schools, text panels for museums, and even started up a travel blog. Every new project was a victory that took me closer to my ultimate job — a full time, self-sustainable writing career.

My dreams were put to the test in 2010 when my best friend and I decided to start our own copywriting business. It was risky, but we were both passionate about making a sustainable living off of writing careers.

Ten years later, we have a thriving content marketing agency that serves incredible clients. We’ve helped people put their dreams into words, and make an impact in all kinds of industries, including healthcare, education, business, and more.

Not only that, but we’d designed our business to allow for creative writing, too. To date, we’ve written several independent novels and co-written a fantasy novel together — which has received an offer for publication.

I’ve not only built a stable career as a writer, but I’ve managed to do it while living in some of the most expensive cities in the nation (Los Angeles and San Francisco), and without sacrificing my well-being, health, or sanity. My writing career allows me to support my family, do what I love, and constantly challenge myself.

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 about that?

My business partner and co-writer, Marie, has stuck with me for more than a decade, cheering me on, brainstorming, commiserating, and sharing the belief that writers can create successful, stable lives for themselves.

There are a million ways in which she’s supported me over the years, but what sticks out is her commitment to maintaining a strong friendship above all else. As co-writers and business partners it can be easy to get caught up in to-do lists, workplace politics, and client needs. But we’ve always maintained a strict Friends First policy — one that we put into action every single day. We don’t live in the same state, so we also go out of our way to schedule an annual camping or hiking trip devoted simply to stepping out of the work and keeping our friendship strong. It may seem counter-intuitive, but the moments away boost my creativity and determination to write more than anything else.

It must not have been easy to ignore all the naysayers. Did you have any experiences growing up that have contributed to building your resiliency? Can you share the story with us?

Like many people, my middle school experience was awful. I was a nerd during a time when neediness was far from trendy, and I bullied extensively for it. From being tripped in the halls to having my books taken from me, school never felt safe.

I coped by retreating into my notebooks. I wrote poetry, short stories, and even my first novels during those years, all to escape my peers. The more I wrote, the more I fed my dreams of pursuing it as a career. I began doing anything I could to become a better writer. I read voraciously. I wrote Harry Potter fanfiction. I showed my fledgling novels to my English teachers, begging them for feedback. The more I focused on creating my future as a writer, the more tolerable middle school became. Those years, more than any, cemented the importance of writing in my life.

Based on your experience, can you share 5 strategies that people can use to harness the sense of tenacity and do what naysayers think is impossible? (Please share a story or an example for each)

1. Practice consistently. Whatever your dream, making it a reality requires continuous effort. One of the best things I ever did for myself was block off daily writing time. By making it a part of my routine, rather than something to “get to” when I “felt inspired,” I was able to hone my skills and make continuous progress. For example, before I created this habit, I sat on my debut novel with Marie for three years. We would make small bursts of progress, and then it would gather dust. Once we blocked off time specifically to write, we were able to complete a draft in ten months.

2. Build a support system. Surround yourself with people who believe in you, challenge you, and hold you accountable to your goals. For a long time, I wrote in solitude, and as a result I could only grow so much. In recent years, I began hiring mentors, attending writing events, and selectively inserting myself into leadership communities. As a result, not only has my writing has improved, but I feel more connected with my vision. Not only that, but when I hit a roadblock, I can bring it to the community and receive feedback and support.

3. Take calculated risks. At some point, your dreams need to stop living in your head. That means putting yourself out there in ways that can feel scary. I remember the first time I took a piece of writing to a critique group. I was so nervous I thought I might throw up. The idea of reading out loud to a group designed specifically to provide critiques, terrified me. But I powered through, and received great feedback and opportunities to improve. Since then, I made attending a critique group a weekly habit.

4. Build in breaks. As important as continuous practice and perseverance are, it’s equally important to step back. Our brains and bodies get tired when they do the same thing all the time, and taking a break can help fuel your next push. There’s no one right way to refuel, but I tend to seek out nature. I rock climb, find a new hiking trail, or just go on a long walk through my neighborhood. When I need a longer break, I’ll dig out my tent and go camping.

5. Be yourself. It can be easy to get caught up in what you “should” do, but tenacity comes from an ability to look inward, stay honest, and trust your intuition. There will always be people who want to insert their reality into your plans. But at the end of the day, you know yourself better than anyone. Over the years, I’ve learned to take time to reflect on what I want, and how it may differ from what those around me are saying. With so much free advice out there, this practice has become absolutely critical. Whenever I start to feel like I’m unsure of my path, I take out my journal and allow myself the space and time to get it out of my head and onto paper.

What is your favorite quote or personal philosophy that relates to the concept of resilience?

“Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

This quote reminds me, every day, that if I look inward, I can find the strength to pursue my dreams. It’s not about what others say or think, but about where I put my own energy, beliefs, and time.

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

Creative fields, like writing, are in desperate need of diverse voices, innovative thought, and broader representation. Young people — especially those who have been historically marginalized — deserve the chance to pursue their passion without feeling like they have to sacrifice stability to get there. I want to help provide opportunities for aspiring writers to hone their craft and pursue a meaningful career that allows their voice to be heard and their bank account to be filled.

Can our readers follow you on social media?

Absolutely! You can follow me on Instagram and Twitter at @jessihonard

Thank you for these great stories. We wish you only continued success!

Thank you!

Jessi Honard of North Star Messaging + Strategy: “They told me it was impossible and I did it… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The Future Of Beauty: “If we use technology for good we have the platform to redefine how we integrate the beauty industry into our daily lives” With Mac Fadra of MAXiM Hair Restoration

I have found that just as Steve Jobs once said, “It’s not faith in technology, its faith in people”, if we use technology for good we have the platform to redefine how we integrate the beauty industry into our daily lives. It is not so much to promote a compromised self image nor perpetuate idealized beauty standards of the self, but rather redefine our relationship with beauty as a pillar of wellness. This ultimately embraces technology as the door to deconstructing cultural myths around hair, taboos around treatments, misinformation around supplements, and instead empowers the conversation around beauty acting as a compliment to the health of our daily lives. We realize that the more connected we become to the digital sphere, the more opportunities there are to enhance this idea of wellness as it pertains to our bodies, beauty, and the personal self.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Mac Fadra.

Mac is the Founder, CEO, and Director of a number of related Cosmetic Medical Center related verticals including MAXiM Hair Restoration, National Stem Cell Centers, Systemic Laboratories, MAXiM Facial Aesthetics, MAXiM Cosmetic Surgery, MAXiM Breast Surgery and others.

Mac Fadra has led a diverse and visionary career as a management professional internationally and nationally in the elective, consumer, cosmetic, and health care services industry. Over 20 years of management, ownership, marketing, and consulting experience, Fadra’s background includes CEO of a chain of LASIK centers; Operating Executive for a NYC-based private equity firm, VP Consultant for Beautiful Forever Medical Aesthetics Consulting, and Sr. Consultant for Healthcare Consulting firms such as HMC (Health Systems Consulting Division of Booz Allen).

Mac holds a MBA and MPH from Columbia University in NYC and a bachelor’s degree from Texas Christian University. He is based in NYC and has lived, worked, and studied in seven countries.

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

I grew up always fascinated by technology, specifically how it affects our daily lives as a platform of communication with limitless possibilities to educate, connect, and enhance the world around us.

When I was younger, I would help my family by working through each summer break and becoming more involved in biomedical technologies. These summers would later spark my passion in health care as I became more immersed in various biomedical devices, statistical analysis, and related projects that were all housed by the late Ross Perot’s flagship company called, Electronic Data Systems (EDS). I recognized early on how vital technology is and the power it has when used responsibly as a tool for improving society’s daily life, health, and self progression.

It was at that point that I decided to pursue a career in health care, I received my MBA and MPH in Health Policy and Management at Columbia University and began management consultancy at a company called HMC (formerly known as the Healthy Systems Division at Booz Allen.

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

Coming out of Business School, I was recruited abroad to be the Director of Marketing, Planning and Information Systems at an eye hospital that was closely affiliated with Johns Hopkins. I met and later formed a team with a young NY-based ophthalmologist to open a laser vision correction center (LASIK) in Manila, Philippines. This experience became the foundation for my entrepreneurial career since at the time of the opening, the technology was not yet approved by the FDA which resulted in the highest volume LASIK center throughout all of Asia.

It was a great experience for me because at that moment I realized the exciting opportunities that can come from bridging expansion and access to communities or spaces that otherwise would not have had resources to improve their health care needs. Having the opportunity to witness this has been the most fulfilling part of my business ventures especially as it pertains to the cross between beauty and technology.

Are you able to identify a “tipping point” in your career when you started to see success? Did you start doing anything different? Are there takeaways or lessons that others can learn from that?

I would say the tipping point was definitely the experience I had in Asia opening the LASIK center, which was a thriving success. I felt that this achievement in particular gave me the confidence and determination to develop a career on the business development side of healthcare and marketing, specifically for medical technology devices and companies. Once the technology was approved by the FDA, I returned to the US to operate a network of fifteen LASIK centers which gave me a hard skill set and portfolio to enhance my experience and inspire my entrepreneurial spirit. I would say the biggest takeaway from this time in my life was how important it was for me to recognize the need as a service and then build with a reliable team partner to compliment one another’s assets.

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

I’ve worked with two former CEOs at large public companies who served as both mentors and bosses. Their leadership, vision, scaling capabilities, management styles, bottom-line orientation, fiscal management skills, focus, compassion for their staff, and love for their work while maintaining strong family values was inspiring. Their influence gave me the moral compass that I valued in every stage of my career, no business can thrive without a core of united principles held together by a strong team, I am lucky enough to say that this philosophy still exists within each of our project details, services, and overall location operations.

The beauty industry today has access to technology that was inconceivable only a short time ago. Can you tell us about the “cutting edge” (pardon the pun) technologies that you are working with or introducing? How do you think that will help people?

The world is changing drastically and constantly with each technological advancement, at times it can feel impossible trying to keep up with each set of innovations and the creatives that are working endlessly to bring them forward. I believe in quality over quantity which influences the way we operate our training and patient relationships. This is why we are in the process of evaluating a technology for Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) hair transplants that is faster, superior, and more efficient compared to the current technologies in the market. The technology produces superior graft quality, minimizes trauma to the harvested hair follicle, makes it easier for the doctor or Techs to harvest, and speeds up the procedure, making it more efficient and easy on the patient. It also minimizes bleeding and requires less personnel, thereby reducing costs and making it more affordable and comfortable for the customer.

Keeping “Black Mirror” and the “The Law of Unintended Consequence” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?

Often beauty is categorized within a space of overcompensation and insecure spending. However, over-indulgence in any form has its natural consequences that can reflect in pretty much any crevice of business and technological infrastructure. The ultimate goal for our business model is not to misguide our patients with temporary instant gratifying solutions, but rather complement our patients in beneficial ways to adhere to their pressing needs not ours. This is important to note because our individualized attention to detail and case by case approaches is how we humanize our technological integration for our patient care. Due to the fact that our service is in fact more a service than product, the experience is far more customizable than the competing solutions advertised on the market. We ultimately recognize that societal context and environmental factors affect the way healthcare providers develop as a whole. If stress, diet, environmental changes, genetics, and other underlying medical concerns impact the ways in which our bodies change over time, it is only responsible to confront cosmetic concerns with customizable options.

The only drawback to our technologies is more of a mechanical issue than a philosophical or cultural one as “Black Mirror” insinuates — and that is that our technology is currently confined to the FUE procedure. This means that it cannot be used in the Follicular Unit Transplant (FUT) technique since the process and technique is entirely different. However, this is not a significant drawback because the vast majority of hair transplant procedures currently being performed are FUE.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the “beauty-tech” industry?

I am amazed by Robotic technology, because it is showing immense promise and potential in the traditional as well as elective/cosmetic health care services sector. Robotic hair restoration technology is currently available to perform FUE Hair Transplants which improves precision and predictability of the procedure, providing our clients with better results.

In addition, IPL Technology is gaining momentum to treat dry eyes and related conditions that were previously untreatable and only managed by over-the-counter drops and medications. Chronic Dry Eye can be caused by advanced age, contact lens wear, certain medications, eye diseases, other medical conditions, or environmental factors that cause too much straining- ironically, digital use such as computer, phone, and TV screen time. This technology helps unclog the meibomian (oil) glands, improving secretion to the eyes.

Finally, I am always impressed and excited by the multiple uses that laser technology continues to provide giving its respectable front seat of the aesthetic industry as it provides a broad spectrum of applications including, but not limited to, hair loss, skin rejuvenation, laser hair removal, laser lipo and other applications.

Can you share 3 things that most concern you about the industry? If you had the ability to implement 3 ways to reform or improve the industry, what would you suggest?

The industry is very sensitive to consumer spending and the life span of its economic cycle. For example, the current COVID-19 crisis combined with an impending economic recession can scare consumers away from spending discretionary dollars towards elective/cosmetic procedures.

Another concern is technology obsolescence. A technology that works very well today may be outdated in a year or two, requiring expensive capital upgrades or replacement altogether. This increases the capital-intensity of a medical aesthetic practice, particularly an organization with multiple locations.

Finally, competition from unqualified or non-certified providers performing pseudo-medical treatments is concerning since this could harm patients and result in potential complications.

You are an expert about beauty. Can you share 5 ideas that anyone can use “to feel beautiful”? (Please share a story or example for each.)

It is important to create lifestyle habits that secure your wellness needs in a safe and preventative manner. Embrace the imperfections and the self affirmations, seek to feel natural and beautiful by incorporating as much as possible organic and natural products that avoid artificial ingredients or applications, and refrain from over doing the beauty thing.

Surgery is preferable to becoming dependent on prescription drugs or supplements to achieve your desired result. For e.g., a hair transplant provides a natural, permanent and affordable long-term solution vs. being dependent upon a prescription drug such as Propecia or Finasteride for the rest of your life.

Behavioral therapy to enhance one’s confidence, appearance, self-esteem and personality can go a long way in boosting one’s perception of beauty about themselves and help them focus on the more important aspects of their life and personality.

Beauty can also be achieved by fundamental actions such as eating right, sleeping right, doing the right thing, de-stressing, working right, and working out right, among other things such as avoiding sun exposure, minimizing travel across time zones, maintaining a healthy and balanced lifestyle including a work-life balance, and being surrounded by loved ones and quality friends and colleagues.

Inner beauty can also be attained by attaining wellness and hormonal balance which gets out of whack with the aging process. Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) can help slow down the body clock and enable men and women to feel beautiful and good about themselves.

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. 🙂

The way we use technology to resolve hair loss inevitably becomes more of a successful solution because it is aiming to invigorate the actual cellular root (of the problem! Ha! Spin on words there). If I could inspire a movement it would be to advocate for innovators and entrepreneurs to use technology as a filter in locating the root of a health or medically related issue that we otherwise as an industry would be unable to detect let alone diagnose and then treat. I believe that technology is a movement within itself and can be the key to many wellness and beauty solutions for our future health. The need however to use these technologies should not be so much as a way to perpetuate obsessive behaviour acted on impulse but rather an opportunity to continue learning more about the evolution of our bodies, our limitations, our imperfections, and our societal relationship with hair. This allows all of us to adhere to hair loss as an integrated team of health care providers, beauty technicians, surgeons, and consultants to alleviate concerns and safely provide an experience that is far more empowering for our patients.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

I have found that just as Steve Jobs once said, “It’s not faith in technology, its faith in people”, if we use technology for good we have the platform to redefine how we integrate the beauty industry into our daily lives. It is not so much to promote a compromised self image nor perpetuate idealized beauty standards of the self, but rather redefine our relationship with beauty as a pillar of wellness. This ultimately embraces technology as the door to deconstructing cultural myths around hair, taboos around treatments, misinformation around supplements, and instead empowers the conversation around beauty acting as a compliment to the health of our daily lives. We realize that the more connected we become to the digital sphere, the more opportunities there are to enhance this idea of wellness as it pertains to our bodies, beauty, and the personal self.

The Future Of Beauty: “If we use technology for good we have the platform to redefine how we… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.