Day: July 22, 2020

The Future Of Beauty: “Now Skin Can Regenerate Itself” With Dr Tanya Kormeili

The Future Of Beauty: “Now Skin Can Regenerate Itself” With Dr. Tanya Kormeili

I would start with inner beauty! If I could start a movement it would be one that globally helps children have the essential elements for their growth and nurture into adulthood. If given proper nutrition, healthcare, means for proper communication, and skillset to earn a living, we can make our children soldiers for peace. The planet would benefit from adults who are of healthy mind and body, and are able to resolve conflict and contribute to society with their skillset. We would be living in a world of love. Nothing more beautiful than seeing yourself surrounded by love. There is such a beauty in a that world where are children are guided into adults that are full of love and pride.

As a part of our series about how technology will be changing the beauty industry over the next five years .I had the pleasure of interviewing: Tanya Kormeili MD,FAA, Board Certified Dermatologist in Santa Monica, CA.

Dr. Tanya Kormeili is a nationally recognized board certified dermatologist and leader in the field of cosmetic medicine. In addition to her exemplary medical education at UCLA School of Medicine,she now serves as a volunteer clinical faculty and educator at UCLA. She gives back to the community through education, consulting in her field and volunteering as a dermatologist at the Los Angeles Veteran Hospital. She has contributed to advancing her field through both clinical research and publication. She is proud to have received many honors and awards for her contributions to the field of dermatology. She is a frequent speaker to the media and the public in educating others about safety as well as efficacy in various trends in cosmetic dermatology. Her passion is healthy and beautiful skin for a lifetime.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you.Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

I was a first year medical student when I realized my scholarship will not pay for me while I am on summer break until the second year starts! While realizing I have impeccable education but no real life employable skills, my professor approached me. “Would you like to be my summer research student? I am writing a grant!” I obviously jumped up and down and agreed. Yet, the anxious voice in my head said, “What if your professor doesn’t get the grant? You will be homeless!” I applied and was accepted among 25 other applicants to do a research position in dermatology. I fell in love with dermatology, and couldn’t wait to learn more, and even more in dermatology. I did research, and published in the field, and took on mentors that believed in me, until I was a board certified dermatologist myself.

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

As a doctor, there are so many interesting stories that have shaped my life. However, my calling for medicine began at the loss of my grandmother at the age of 8. One day, my affable beautiful grandmother could no longer speak her words upon returning from the market. I yelled and collected both my parents to examine her. To my surprise, my mother, the daughter of a natural herbal healer, knew exactly what was going on. My mother helped my grandmother until the ambulance took her away. Today, an ambulance transport for a stroke victim to a hospital intervention should be under 20 minutes. In Iran, during a war, with minimal resources, it took until the next day. I knew right then that medicine, the power to help others during their time of need was my calling.

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?

My tipping point was twice: once when I partnered up with a lovely colleague to grow my practice, and again when I went my separate way years later to expand my practice. I did the same thing in both cases: focus on quality for the patients. In partnering together we were able to collect the latest in therapeutics and technology to help patients while keeping the cost manageable. This way all of the patients had access to everything without us having to cut any elements of quality. Years later, we both outgrew our space, and by separating we could both offer better care, less wait times and best quality again. I learned that there is always a creative way to provide ethical and quality care to others, while building a thriving business.

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?

Becoming a dermatologist is so incredibly competitive that I would have to thank dozens, literally! It takes a village to make a doctor- an entire village of parents, friends, cousins, mentors, professors and students contributed to me graduating top of my medical class at UCLA. I then had many colleagues, friends and family that supported me to be where I am since my residency days.

Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. 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?

I think rejuvenation is the name of the game! Thirty years ago, you would undergo the knife for every little concern. Today, we can get the skin to regenerate itself, the fat to reduce in thickness, and the muscles to increase in number and strength. What this means is that the cutting edge is about the art of getting the body to heal itself, layer by layer, until true beauty and health in achieved. My practice has evolved from looking at the human body like an onion composed of many years. When I look at what creates beauty for that individual, I think of which layers I need to maneuver and how to get the best results. Using various tried and true technologies to achieve a great global results is the name of the game.

Today, we can use light (lasers) to remove brown spots on the epidermis, use injections and light treatments to thicken the dermis, use sound waves tighten the deep subcutaneous structures and use electromagnetic impulses to increase muscle mass. All these technologies can be paired together in various orders to create a healthy and youthful appearance without anesthesia or surgery!

So what does all this mean to you as a patient? This means that your average person can look great for every decade while restoring their own anatomy and physiology. This means that radical painful surgery could be avoided for longer. This means short to no recovery periods with much less risk involved. This also means that if you undergo the knife, you can also use various technologies in combination to get even better results!

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

It think while the technologies are making treatments safer, we have to exercise the highest ethnics to keep them safe. It may look like “simple fun” procedures, however, all the technologies still have innate risk and complications. Some procedures cannot be performed if you have certain medical conditions. For example, if you have a hernia you can not do Coolsculpting, and if you have an implant such as a copper IUD you should not do Emsculpting. This means that you still need a good exam and history to make sure you don’t have a hernia or other reasons making any technology not safe for you.

Furthermore, we need to keep a very healthy psychology about cosmetics and rejuvenation. The goal here is not to look 20 years old for an eternity. The goal is not to look for faults in our bodies or seek perfection in our appearance. The goal should only be to maintain our best selves and create a great balance between looking and feeling beautiful, without compromising our health. In fact, in my opinion, healthy skin is beautiful skin.

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

NonSurgical
Creative treatment plans
Creating health and beauty simultaneously

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?

Negative self-image: We need to treat our bodies with respect and not just chase beauty fads. We need to look for healthy not just superficial beauty.
Non experts injecting and treating patients with little knowledge of the real risks involved: We need public education about true risks and complications. There are an incredible number of choices for device, and technology on the market. We need better safety protocols that are based on science and not media fads.
Shopping for a “deal!” The most expensive treatment is the one that endangers your health. We obviously will take certain risks in obtaining results from any beauty treatment, but it needs to be calculated and accurate! I think advertising based on price for cosmetic procedures is a great way we endanger patients. Often the too good to be true deals are truly just that! We need to educate our public on what risks they are truly taking!

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.)

I think feeling beautiful is very different than being beautiful! There are so many beautiful people who do not feel their beauty. Yet, I have seen people who may not have the best physical features but they feel beautiful and shine their beauty on to the world. Here are my thoughts:

If you are going to use a mirror, use it with caution! Often we look for flaws and overlook the 500 amazing features that are healthy and perfect about ourselves. Make an attempt daily to look for things that you like about yourself! For example, if you are going to look at your frown lines, also look at your beautiful eyes, smile or other beautiful features that you normally take for granted. Appreciate yourself daily and you will feel more beautiful without changing a single thing!
Be judicious about social media! When I was a child we were told “don’t be a show off!” which meant stop showing everyone how great you have it! Images and ads on social media are literally the exact opposite! People are posting their best foot forward. It creates for others a sense of “others are so perfect!” I was so impressed when one of the fashion models I follow showed her stretch marks under her glamorous outfit! I fell in love with her strength. No one is perfect. Stop looking for perfection because it only kills your feeling of beauty. Appreciate what you have and you will feel more beautiful every day.
Now more than ever we are asked to be on teleconference and video conference calls all day! Do yourself a favor! Please get good lightning and place your camera in a flattering angle. It is so awful to see yourself in a bad light all day. People have been calling our office every single day wanting to improve their “Zoom Face!” Allow yourself to shine beautifully if you have to stare at yourself all day!
Shower yourself in a loving act once a day! If you were the most beautiful person in the world, surely you would take care of this precious gift of beauty, correct? What if you do that once a day to show yourself that you are worthy and beautiful? It can be a wonderful skin cream, wearing proper SPF, eating healthy, getting rest or anything you think would be a treat for you!
If people give you a compliment on your beauty, TAKE IT! The answer should be: “Thank you!” We often get shy, or dismiss the validation of our beauty. Please accept it. I see beauty around me every single day. Every man or woman I treat for cosmetic reasons has many many beautiful features that I help restore. Most of my patients are afraid to take a compliment, including myself! Let us just be welcoming of other’s appreciation of our beauty and allow ourselves to feel beautiful!

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. 🙂

I would start with inner beauty! If I could start a movement it would be one that globally helps children have the essential elements for their growth and nurture into adulthood. If given proper nutrition, healthcare, means for proper communication, and skillset to earn a living, we can make our children soldiers for peace. The planet would benefit from adults who are of healthy mind and body, and are able to resolve conflict and contribute to society with their skillset. We would be living in a world of love. Nothing more beautiful than seeing yourself surrounded by love. There is such a beauty in a that world where are children are guided into adults that are full of love and pride.

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

That is very easy! My grandmother was a very spiritual woman. She always taught me to think: “When you are in a position to help, go ahead and help. Expect nothing back. When you need help one day, God will send you angels too.” It has inspired me to be an ethical physician, a person of philanthropy and a compassionate mother. I have always found myself helping others, and I have never been left helpless. I take such comfort in knowing that I will never be alone, and I have angels watching out for me!

How can our readers follow you online?

It would be my honor. Our website: DrKormeili.com and on social media: @DrKormeili

Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.

Thank you!

The Future Of Beauty: “Now Skin Can Regenerate Itself” With Dr Tanya Kormeili was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Author Diane Helbig: How to Use LinkedIn To Dramatically Improve Your Business

I would create the Curiosity Movement. This Movement would be based on the idea that until you know someone well, you can’t judge them. And that once you know them, you won’t want to judge them because you’ll understand them. If more people were curious instead of judgmental the world would be a more accepting place and people would be happier.

As part of my series of interviews about “How to Use LinkedIn To Dramatically Improve Your Business”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Diane Helbig.

Diane Helbig is an international business and leadership change agent, author, award-winning speaker, and podcast host. As president of Helbig Enterprises Diane helps businesses and organizations operate more constructively and profitably.

Diane is passionate about guiding business professionals through the challenges of planning and growing a business. From leadership to strategic planning to sales training, Diane provides her clients with expertise based on over 20 years of business leadership and sales experience.

Diane’s no-nonsense, straightforward approach cuts through the noise and allows her clients and training participants opportunities to realistically and enthusiastically implement the plans they devise.

Diane is the author of Succeed Without Selling, Lemonade Stand Selling and Expert Insights, and is the host of Accelerate Your Business Growth podcast. Diane is the founder of Business Opportunity Network, a business development program where business therapy meets growth.

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

When my father passed away I started evaluating my life and work. My sister suggested I become a marriage counselor because of the way I communicate. I thought that was funny because I hadn’t been known in my family as being an effective communicator. My best friend suggested I become a life coach because I like to tell people what to do. I hadn’t heard of coaching so I decided to explore. I realized I wouldn’t be able to get my Masters in Social Work while working full time and with two small children. However, when I explored coaching I found my destiny. At that time I decided to become a business coach. I knew I couldn’t be a life coach for a variety of reasons. However, thanks to my father and my previous business experience, business coaching was perfect. I could use everything I had learned over years of leadership and sales experience to help small business owners overcome challenges.

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

My gosh, I find so many things I’ve experienced over the years have been interesting! If I had to choose one, I’d have to say my introduction to Jonathan Farrington and the Top Sales World program. When I started my practice, I began writing articles about sales and leadership and posting them online. One day I got an email from someone I didn’t know telling me one of my articles was a Top Ten Sales Article of the Week on a site I’d never heard of. The next week he emailed again to let me know my article had been selected as THE top sales article of the week. At the end of the month, I was informed that my article was the best sales article of the month. This same gentleman sent me a huge box with a sales game as a sort of reward for the accomplishment. This whole experience was even more amazing to me when I discovered that the man, Jonathan Farrington, was a Brit who lived in France. Imagine! My thoughts and ideas had been discovered by someone a world away. As we continued to correspond, we built a great business relationship. Because Jonathan believed I ‘got it’ when it came to what works in sales, he asked me to join his collaborative of sales experts — Top Sales World. I couldn’t believe it. Me, a part of a group of really stellar experts in the sales space. I’ve been a part of Top Sales World ever since. I’ve built incredible relationships with the other experts and have had many opportunities to participate in events and programs due to the affiliation.

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?

It was my 2nd or 3rd workshop early in my practice. I was talking about how we are all in competitive industries and picked insurance as the industry to make my point. I said, “You can’t swing a dead cat without hitting an insurance agent.” When the program ended a woman approached me to say I had offended her because she loved cats. That caught me off guard! I mean, I’m a cat lover and that’s an old saying that people have used for ages. I certainly didn’t mean anything against cats! However, she thought I was talking about actually swinging dead cats. Point taken. I stopped using that phrase and started reviewing my content closely. I realized that how I am heard is up to me and I have to think about how the audience might receive what I’m sharing with them.

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?

LinkedIn has been the most effective social media platform for revenue growth. I like to connect and engage with people on LinkedIn as well as share information. Over the years, I’ve developed relationships that have given me opportunities to conduct paid presentations. I’ve also gained a couple of clients through LinkedIn. When people connect with my content they then reach out to explore how I might be able to help them. LinkedIn is the perfect platform for me because I sell to businesses.

Let’s talk about LinkedIn specifically, now. Can you share 5 ways to leverage LinkedIn to dramatically improve your business? Please share a story or example for each.

Leverage LinkedIn with your profile. Your profile is the first look most people will get of you. Your picture should be professional. Your headline should indicate what you do instead of your position. Your summary should not read like a resume unless you are looking for a job. The summary is a great place to share why you do what you do and who you help. It’s your opportunity to let people into your world. You can add pictures or videos to your summary as well. Fill out your profile as much as you possibly can. That includes your high school years. It may sound crazy but the people you went to high school with trust you. There’s something about growing up with someone that circumvents the relationship-building phase. Since LinkedIn is about business relationships you want to build your community with all of the people you’ve known. And yes, that includes those you grew up with. The more information you put on your profile the easier it is for LinkedIn to connect you to people you might know.
Leverage LinkedIn with your connections. As I mentioned, the community you build will help you grow your business. When you connect on LinkedIn with people from all of your spheres of influence you exponentially expand your reach. You should not connect with people so you can sell to them. You should connect with people to further build a business relationship. Everyone has three spheres of influence. The first is full of the people you are closest to. Family, best friends, co-workers. The next circle consists of people with whom you have some relationship. This would include your neighbors, parents of your children’s friends, members of the religious institution where you engage, and people you went to school with. The third and farthest sphere is made up of previous co-workers, past clients and vendors, old neighbors, friends of friends, and friends of family members. Your closest connections are easy to engage with. The second group requires a strategy to ensure you are building those relationships. The third group is the one you will selectively engage with depending on certain parameters like where they work and who they know. If you decide to connect with strangers, have a reason! And write a note so they see the reason. Remember, that reason should not be to sell them something. I’ve had people connect with me just to start a conversation. Over time we’ve gotten to know each other professionally. Those relationships have led to some people being guests on my podcast, opportunities to participate in conferences and summits, and discovering resources I can share with my clients. The opposite is also true. I’ve had people connect with me and then immediately try to sell me their program, product, or service. I usually disconnect from those people. They aren’t interested in exploring whether there might be an opportunity. They are connecting for dollars. Ten times out of ten I don’t need what they are peddling. So, there is no reason to keep them in my community.
Create awareness and build credibility. LinkedIn is a great place to provide content that is relevant to your audience. When you share information that is insightful, informative, and engaging, people have the opportunity to get to know you and your level of expertise. This goes beyond the status updates. Share articles and videos in the LinkedIn Pulse section. Once your post is live, LinkedIn shares it with people who have expressed interest in the topic. This gets you in front of people beyond your connections. Keep an eye on likes and comments. Engage with those who comment on the article. Status updates are great for sharing content you’ve created elsewhere. Share links to your blog posts, podcast interviews, webinars, videos, and articles you posted on other platforms. Currently, I do a live short program on Facebook and YouTube every week where I talk about sales. Once that’s done, I share the YouTube link in my LinkedIn status update. It is current, relevant content directly related to my business. It increases my credibility and keeps me in front of my community. Include commentary and hashtags so people can find the content easily. And comment on the status updates of the people you are connected to. LinkedIn is an ecosystem. The more you participate the more you will be seen.
Check your notifications. LinkedIn provides you with notifications around a variety of activities. Get in the habit of checking your notifications at least once per day. And don’t just check them! Act on them. If someone mentions you in a post, read it, and comment on it. If someone is celebrating an anniversary or new job, congratulate them. Taking action keeps you engaged with the people in your community. And that engagement is crucial to relationship building.
Get introduced to your prospects through LinkedIn research. LinkedIn is not the place to sell to your target market. However, it is a great place to do prospecting research and discover how you are connected to those in your target audience. Let’s face it. There’s nothing better than a warm introduction. When you’ve built a community on LinkedIn you can quickly see who could be introducing you to your prospects. Example: John wants to meet with property managers. He searches for them on LinkedIn using the search function. He selects the location and checks the box for 2nd connections. He receives a list of people who have Property Manager in their profiles. For each person, there is an indication of connections. These are the people who John is directly connected to and the property manager is directly connected to. When John looks at those names he can determine the best course of action. He reaches out to one of the 1st connections and asks if the person would be open to introducing John to the 2nd connection. When everyone has been doing their relationship building, those introductions are easy. The 1st connection is happy to make the introduction because she trusts John. Her connection is happy to receive the introduction because he trusts her.

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. 🙂

I would create the Curiosity Movement. This Movement would be based on the idea that until you know someone well, you can’t judge them. And that once you know them, you won’t want to judge them because you’ll understand them. If more people were curious instead of judgmental the world would be a more accepting place and people would be happier.

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 a private breakfast or lunch with Warren Buffett. I think he’s brilliant and would love to absorb as much of his wisdom as I possibly could.

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

Author Diane Helbig: How to Use LinkedIn To Dramatically Improve Your Business was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Tami Wloch: How to Use LinkedIn To Dramatically Improve Your Business

I love animals so I’d love to see more companies be pet friendly. This is a win for the company because people are more relaxed around their animals AND it encourages customers to bring their animals also! We now only go to restaurants that are pet-friendly so we can bring our new puppy. PLUS, pets make GREAT social posts so highlight a new pet each week.

As part of my series of interviews about “How to Use LinkedIn To Dramatically Improve Your Business”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Tami Wloch.

For over 15 years, Tami has been providing Marketing services for companies, using her expertise in Social Media, Website Design, PR, Trade Shows, Radio/TV/Newspaper, print, and more to increase Brand Awareness & Sales. Because of her successes with Social Media Campaigns, she was invited to serve on Advisory Panels for both Facebook Corp & LinkedIn Corp where she is helping shape the future of Social Media. She also teaches classes, both in the US and internationally, to help business owners understand the complex world of gaining customers thru Social Platforms. She can be reached at: www.SCmarketinginc.com

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

I have been lucky to be in marketing world for over 15 years. I saw the incredible change in digital techniques from designing websites from scratch, starting email marketing when few people had email accounts, and melding digital with traditional tactics like trade show booths, print, and radio. I really enjoy what I do, helping businesses grow, so I continue to take classes to keep up to speed with this rapidly changing field.

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

It was really interesting when, about 3 years ago, I got a call from Facebook asking me to be part of an Advisory Panel. Of course, I thought it was a scam call and nearly hung up on them. Fortunately, I didn’t hang up and ended up being on multiple panels for Facebook and then, about 2 years ago, I was invited to join LinkedIn’s panel.

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?

Years ago, I had just gotten a new client and he was very rushed in trying to get his first social posts up. To drive people to the grand opening, he wanted to highlight some great specials that people could get if they attended. I had created a great description and graphic and he had approved it with some minor changes. I made the changes and launched the campaign only to realize a bit later that I had made a typo when revising and it said $99 when it should have been $999. Fortunately, I was able to quickly pull the add before it was distributed but that was a huge panic moment. I learned to ALWAYS have the client approve the final copy before it launches.

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?

LinkedIn is great because all of the “C-Suite” people are on that platform. The paid campaigns are more expensive than on other platforms but you have to expect to pay more to reach these customers. You can also sort on specific job titles which is a huge help when you need to reach specific jobs. Facebook is much less expensive so, if you can open up your targeted audience a bit, you can reach more people for less than half the cost.

Let’s talk about LinkedIn specifically, now. Can you share 5 ways to leverage LinkedIn to dramatically improve your business? Please share a story or example for each.

Absolutely — there are easy, FREE ways people can use LinkedIn to generate more sales!

Amp up your personal profile
Spend the money to get a professional headshot done! People do not take you seriously as a business person if you can see someone’s arm where you tried to crop the photo.
Also, don’t hold a cup, even if it’s just water. It can send the wrong message.
Lastly, don’t use a cartoon drawing (unless you are a cartoon artist) and don’t put up a picture of your pet as your profile pic. LinkedIn can reach customers with money so keep it professional.
Use that banner on both your personal profile AND your business page
This is FREE advertising so change it often — everyone who goes to your page will see this banner!
Make sure it includes your email OR your phone # OR your website — make it easy for customers to contact you
Join groups
Not just groups with others in your profession — join groups that contain your best customers
Post often in the groups so the people see your name and see your breadth of knowledge
Follow the 80/20 rule — 80% of the time share your knowledge and only 20% of the time ask for a sale or pitch a service
Make connections
The biggest mistake some people make is just connecting with only people in their own industry — this is fine, but it won’t get you sales
Set a goal to invite 20 people each week to connect with you — target those people who would be your best customers
Then, when you post each week (YES, you should post each week), your connections will see what you post (the 80/20 rule still applies)
Post at least once/week
Set one day each week to post to LinkedIn. It’s easy if you follow a schedule! Here are some great things to post about — use one of these ideas each week and you are set for months!
POST = New products/Services; Employee anniversaries/birthdays; Thank your customer for something; Welcome new customers; Customer reviews; Summarize and industry article; highlight one of your services/products

I love animals so I’d love to see more companies be pet friendly. This is a win for the company because people are more relaxed around their animals AND it encourages customers to bring their animals also! We now only go to restaurants that are pet-friendly so we can bring our new puppy. PLUS, pets make GREAT social posts so highlight a new pet each week. This would be particularly great if your business could sponsor a rescue animal and have them at the business once a week — post that on social also so the pet gets adopted!

Wow, I would love to have lunch with Warren Buffett — he seems to be such a down-to-earth person and he does so much good for businesses who are growing. He gives back so much to the world, both in teaching and in donations. I’d love to have the chance to talk about his struggles in growing a business & hear some advice on growing my business!

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

Tami Wloch: How to Use LinkedIn To Dramatically Improve Your Business was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Rising Music Star VËR: They Told Me It Was Impossible And I Did It Anyway

I’d love to be able to inspire young artists to follow their art and pursue it fearlessly and independently. By exploring the musical journey independently, it allows an artist to really grow into themselves, their story and their values in an unclouded, authentic way. The world will always need real, honest music.

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 VËR.

VËR short for ‘Vered’, the Hebrew word for ‘Rose’ is an independent Canadian-Israeli singer, songwriter and producer from Montreal. With a degree in Architecture, a diploma in Audio Production and having worked in the performance industry for many years wearing different hats, VËR’s worlds blend together through the passion for the creative process, music and connecting through song, art and creativity. Her musical identity is drawn from her middle-eastern roots, mixed with contemporary influences like Charlotte Cardin, Snoh Aalegra & H.E.R., with the soulful inspiration of Amy Winehouse, Norah Jones & Ms. Lauryn Hill. VËR’s debut EP ‘Bloom’ will be released in the early fall of 2020.

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’?

I grew up as a musical child. I was literally placed in front of a piano as soon as I could hold myself upright and started taking vocal lessons after attending my first concert at 12 years old (shoutout to Hilary Duff!) I’ve always had a passion for music but my journey to where I am today, pursuing it full-time, was pretty winding (from getting a degree in Architecture, to being on a quick season II of ‘La Voix’, to working a ton of different jobs (from transcriptionist, to dog-walker, vocal coach, online English teacher, hostess, and most recently, A&R/Music programmer at a Live Entertainment company). Telling my backstory always makes me sweat a little!

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

I’m currently working on my first full-length album, and with a *really* special producer from England (which I won’t announce just yet!) The concept and narrative behind it revolves around my experience/awakening after having my life ‘uprooted’ by the recent pandemic. The job losses, the relationship changes, the big move, the realizations and newfound appreciations, the silver linings. I think it will help people because this pandemic is universal — it’s something that the entire world is experiencing together. The feel of this album and its genre will be very moody, vocal-centric and intimate, to really help transport the listener into a zen, introspective space. Something like an escape from the moment they were in prior to listening to the album. Hopefully this album will help listeners see the silver linings in this really cloudy, dark 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?

Totally — in February of 2013 to be exact! I was in my second year of architecture school and while I’m now grateful for having gone through the program, at the time, it was absolutely killer. All I wanted to do was be studying at Berklee as it was initially planned (that’s a story for another time). I was craving excitement and music in my life. Maroon 5 called on their fans to help create a special music video for their song ‘Daylight’. I immediately jumped to the occasion, sent in a clip where I opened up about ‘one of the hardest decisions I had to make in my life’, and was told by literally everyone who knew about it that there was no way my clip would get chosen. Well, it did. And that was the moment I discovered the power of manifestation (and simply being a ‘do-er’).

Maroon 5 was coming to town a couple of months later. Without hesitation, I bought tickets as close to the stage as possible. Then and there I decided I’d find a way to get myself onto his stage, telling my best friend who bought tickets with me: “he’s going to know his biggest fans are in the audience.”

I figured the best way was through a bright, fluorescent, sparkly poster. How else do you get noticed in a sea of 20,000 people? It said: “I was in ur daylight vid — let me sing with u?”. Instead of studying for my History of Architecture midterm which was the next morning, or drafting up floor plans, I was crafting the perfect, flamboyant poster — my ticket to the stage. People in my class thought I was actually insane. I remember the look on their faces when I left school at 7pm the night of the concert saying: “Bye guys, I’m going to join Maroon 5 on stage”. My family also thought I’d completely lost it — but they’ve always been good at just letting me do my thing.

The night of the concert, the stars aligned. I was meant to share the stage with Adam Levine — there’s no doubt in my mind. Upon entering the stadium, the security guard tried to take the poster away from me. I didn’t let that happen. Upon taking our seats, we noticed our friends in the second row, who were being brought down to the floor seats. We ended up taking theirs, getting that much closer to the stage (practically at eye level with the band!). After waving the poster and screaming/jumping like a maniac, Adam finally noticed the sign, winked and pointed at me. While it seemed promising, half the show went by without anything happening. And a wink was definitely not enough for me. Someone from the band’s team walking along the stage noticed my poster and gave me a thumbs up and pointed to the stage. Another promising moment, but nothing seemed to be coming out of it. Meanwhile, I was also hoping that ‘Daylight’ was closer to the end of his set so I’d have enough time to get my way to his stage! (Lucky for me, t was the second-to-last song ;))

I quickly realized I had to take this into my own hands if I wanted something to actually happen. I walked over to the crew member who noticed my poster and tapped him on the shoulder. He looked up at me with the biggest look of confusion. With the biggest smile on my face I said: “So, you liked my poster! Are you going to get me up there or what?!” He literally had no clue who I was. But after 5 minutes of convincing and explaining that I was the “poster-girl” in the band’s Daylight video, that it would be such a perfect story if I was brought on stage, and that I promised not to f*&$# it up, he finally smiled and said: “I’ll see what I can do.”

At that moment, I knew it had finally worked. I felt it all over. A couple of songs later, the lights in the stadium shut off abruptly, and I knew exactly what was happening. This is the only part of the night that is a blur because I was in such shock that it had worked, and I actually started to panic a little. (All the videos are on youtube if you’re curious!) Adam Levine ended up inviting me to come up and share the stage with him for the song ‘Daylight’. I’ll never forget how nervous I was walking up to the stage, and how the second I put one foot on the stage, the nerves disappeared immediately. I knew then and there that the big stage was the place for me, and that I’d work my ass off to be able to get there again (but next time, as the headliner! ;))

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

Search: “Dana Ben David on stage with Adam Levine” on Youtube 😉

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?

I don’t think I’d be where I am today without my former vocal coach (and mentor) Erin. In my opinion, every young artist needs a guide, someone to believe in them, give them that boost, that confidence. Growing up, I wanted to be like Erin and wanted to make her proud. Not only were our weekly lessons also like ‘therapy’, but after 10 years of working together, she was so instrumental in training my voice and giving me the tools to let it develop into its own sound. I hope one day to be able to give to young artists what Erin gave me during my formative years of 12–21!

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?

Growing up, I had a pretty great support system, and wasn’t really surrounded by many ‘naysayers’. However that being said, I always found myself in very male-dominated fields (in Audio Production School, I was literally the only girl in my class). Being in those kinds of environments definitely contributed to my resiliency as there was no doubt an underlying sense of being the ‘underdog’ and having to prove myself to be at the ‘male-standard’. Sexism in the music industry is real in so many ways. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked if I knew how to set up my own mic stand, or assuming I don’t know how to use gear. And while I do believe that it’s starting to be dismantled (slowly), it’s definitely still rampant. When you’re faced with it often enough, and whether it’s blatant or covert, you end up building thicker skin and resiliency (if you don’t let it get to you, that is…)

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)

Block out the noise: at the end of the day, it truly doesn’t matter what others think when it comes to your visions, your goals, your dreams. Getting caught up in other people’s opinions can only slow you down, or bring you to a complete halt! Learning to filter out the noise and the negative energy will allow you to see clearly, to stay optimistic and focused.
On that note: Focus! Don’t let yourself get distracted or forget the WHY (and trust me, sometimes it’s really easy to forget when things get tough or seem out of reach). Write down what your goal is and why you want it so badly. Put that paper up near your desk and keep it in sight!
Manifest (say it out loud): there’s something about saying your goals out loud that helps it materialize. When you actually say something out loud, a part of it actually becomes real. That’s the first step. Repeat it. Believe it. Visualize it and eventually, it will be!
Mindset is everything. It takes a level of fearlessness and “forgetting the rules” to accomplish the “impossible”, whatever that may be to you. It helps to think outside the box, have fun with your goals and to not take yourself too seriously!
Get rid of your inner naysayer. Sometimes, we’re our worst enemy and our harshest critic. Self-doubt is toxic and definitely doesn’t lend itself to being able to accomplish the ‘impossible’, so try to replace that with a little more self-love and that’ll help you get on your way.

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

It sounds really basic and probably a bit cliche, but for me, it really comes down to: “you can do anything you set your mind to if you want it badly enough”.

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.

Wow, that’s a tough one! I’m not sure about an actual *movement* perse, but I’d love to be able to inspire young artists to follow their art and pursue it fearlessly and independently. By exploring the musical journey independently, it allows an artist to really grow into themselves, their story and their values in an unclouded, authentic way. The world will always need real, honest music. Having the tools to create music, and having that outlet, is the most powerful way to heal yourself and others! I’d love to be able to start a charity one day that gives children the opportunity to get into music at a young age, by receiving weekly music lessons and bringing an instrument into their home.

Can our readers follow you on social media?

I would love to connect with your readers. The best way to reach out to me is via instagram at @thisisver. They can also follow me on my spotify page and facebook page www.facebook.com/thisisver

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

Rising Music Star VËR: They Told Me It Was Impossible And I Did It Anyway was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Lindsey Dinneen of VidaDance: They Told Me It Was Impossible And I Did It Anyway

If I could inspire people to start a movement, it would be a campaign to ignite kindness and empathy towards all humans. The “pay it forward” movement would occur daily. Each of us would have enough confidence in our self-worth to understand that everyone is going through challenges. Instead of being unreasonable, disrespectful, or unkind, we would find daily reasons to pay the love forward. It would promote a lifestyle of empathy, kindness, and compassion. This movement would literally change the world.

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 Lindsey Dinneen. Lindsey is an entrepreneur, creator, learner, and dancer. She founded and is the Artistic Director of VidaDance (a professional dance company) and the founder and host of the Artfully Told podcast (where people share stories about their meaningful encounters with art). She loves sharing the joy of dance and wellness with others, and creates online courses to teach various dance styles, stretching/toning, and healthy living. She enjoys dogs, coffee shops, friends, and art.

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! Thank you for having me. I have been dancing since I was four years old. After watching a video of “The Nutcracker,” I fell in love with the beautiful costumes, and my mom enrolled me in a ballet class shortly after that. I grew up mostly studying classical ballet, and in college at Mercyhurst University, I branched out to include modern, tap, and jazz while earning my BA in Dance. After college, I moved to Kansas City to dance professionally, and did so with various local companies for five years. I’ve been an entrepreneur at heart for a long time, but it wasn’t until six years ago that I finally took the first steps towards becoming one. I was inspired to start my own professional dance company, VidaDance, not only to affect change in the dance world, but to affect change in the world with dance. Seven months later, I founded VidaDance Studio, with a mission to inspire confidence and joy through dance classes. In 2020, due to COVID-19, I switched gears with the studio to host only semi-private and private classes so that I could personally coach and mentor each student individually. I am passionate about helping women and men live their most successful, empowered, and healthy lives.

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

I am always working on exciting projects! Most recently, I started a podcast called Artfully Told, where people share stories about their meaningful encounters with art. At Artfully Told, we know that art is a vital aspect of everyone’s lives. Everyone has a story about how art has impacted them — whether they are professional artists, amateur dabblers, or simply anyone who has seen a movie, read a book, attended a live performance, etc. Whether inspiring or humorous, sad or sweet, these stories have the power to connect us, and to transform the way we think about and experience art. We strive to make our podcast accessible and welcoming to people of all backgrounds and involvement with art. Together, we can create a community of people who value art in all its forms, and enjoy having their days be Artfully Told.

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

With VidaDance, we stand out from the crowd for several reasons. We have always wanted to produce dance performances that resonate with our audiences, whether they have an interest or background in dance, or not! One of the ways we do this is by creating shows that incorporate a wide variety of dance styles, including ballet, modern, jazz, tap, hip hop, ballroom, and world dance. If you’re not as interested in ballet, but you like other forms, you’ll see it all during the show. Another way we’re different is that we create entertaining, easy-to-follow storylines, so you don’t have to be a dance aficionado to know what’s going on. Each choreographer writes a short description about his or her piece so that our audiences know the backstory or inspiration behind it. We are a very inclusive group of dancers in everything from race to age to body type, because we know the power of dance to connect and inspire all of us. We highly encourage collaboration and laughter in our company culture so that everyone feels valued. All of this contributes to making our company stand out from the crowd.

I was in a program for dance education about a decade ago where the leadership was extremely critical of me and my goals. When I lost too much weight due to having mono, I was told that was a “good thing” for my physique. Instead of being encouraged towards performing professionally, they told me they thought that I would be “good at arts administration.” It felt like I had been kicked in the gut. I looked up to these people and would have loved to learn from them and be challenged to follow my goals, but instead I was consistently discouraged from my chosen path because they didn’t see a future for me dancing professionally. It was very difficult for me, mentally and emotionally, to move past their discouragement and continue to pursue my dreams without their support. I had wanted to be a dancer since I was four, and now I was being told it wasn’t my path. The only way I was able to overcome their criticism was to continue on down the road that I knew was meant for me, by auditioning for professional companies.

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

In the end, I was one of only two graduates that year that were offered professional dance contracts even before we had graduated. My hard work, ambition, and determination had paid off, and within just three months of graduation, I had moved across the country and started my career as a professional dancer. Four years after that, I founded my own professional dance company, VidaDance, and we regularly sell out our productions. In the last five years since we premiered at the Kansas City Fringe Festival, we won Best of Festival twice, and Best of Venue three times. Along my career path so far, I have also been invited to perform as a guest artist/company member for multiple other professional companies and productions. Despite the initial discouragement and criticism, I was able to prove the naysayers completely wrong.

A lot of people have really helped me along the way, and it’s hard to pick just one. However, my husband stands out as my biggest cheerleader and supporter ever since he met me. When I had an unexpected opportunity to produce a show for the Kansas City Fringe Festival, it meant I’d have only a couple months to put an entire production together — and launch a professional company — neither of which I’d ever done. Kevin was my encourager every step of the way, from giving me the confidence to say “yes” to that opportunity, not knowing how much it would take from both of us, to literally coming up with a piece storyline and actually performing in it, due to a last-minute drop-out from a cast member who got injured. He’s always been there for me, through thick and thin. We joke about his involvement, because when I first started the company, I promised him “terrible pay and horrible hours,” and he’s still supported me anyway. He has been a photographer, videographer, lights and sound technician, prop and set designer, performer, organizer, and everything in between. He researched and built our sprung dance floor, designs most of the marketing materials for the company, and is the best sounding board when I’m trying to brainstorm or problem-solve. I could not do what I do without him!

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?

I was blessed to grow up in a supportive family that allowed me to dream big, and encouraged me to hone my skills so that I could follow my passions. One commitment that really helped me to develop my resiliency was by being a part of The Congressional Award program. The program is for anyone ages 13½ to 23 and recognizes the setting and meeting of goals in four program areas: voluntary public service, personal development, physical fitness, and expedition/exploration. It is a rigorous program, with milestones of Bronze, Silver, and Gold Certificates earned before Bronze, Silver, and Gold Medals can be earned. For example, a minimum of 400 hours in voluntary public service, 200 hours in personal development, 200 hours in physical fitness, and four nights/five days in expedition/exploration must be completed to earn the Gold Medal. There were many times I was tempted to give up along the way, because it was hard and took so much time, but in choosing to continue to pursue that ultimate goal, I built up my resiliency, tenacity, and grit. I was awarded the Congressional Award Gold Medal in 2011, and consider that to be one of my greatest accomplishments.

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)

Practice tenacity daily. We all face challenges on a daily basis. Refusing to give up when you don’t feel like doing something, and just doing it anyway can be practiced in little ways all the time. For example, very few people enjoy washing the dishes, and many people leave them to sit in the sink, sometimes for days at a time. Instead of hoping someone else will eventually do them, take the initiative and do the work even when you don’t feel like it (maybe especially when you don’t feel like it).
Establish goals. When you have exciting goals that you’re working towards achieving, it’s a lot easier to develop tenacity. Set measurable goals for yourself and then set aside time every day to work on them. Give yourself realistic deadlines and commit to meeting them. If you’ve been wanting to read more, give yourself the goal to read one new book every month. Schedule 20 minutes every day that is solely devoted to reading. Whether you feel like reading or not on a particular day, do it anyway.
Be bold. Tenacity requires courage. It’s important to be fearless in your pursuit of your dreams and goals, because there will be many times when they won’t feel worth the effort and frustration necessary to achieve them. You’ll be scared to take the next leap of faith sometimes, but you need to do it anyway. When I was interested in working for a local community college to teach dance, I noticed that they were currently not offering any dance classes. I sent an email, proposing the idea of developing and teaching dance courses, even though I wasn’t sure if I was qualified or ready for that step in my career. Not only did they answer my email proposing the idea, but a phone interview, panel interview, and class demonstration later, I became an adjunct professor at the college and created a dance program which is still going strong after six years.
Develop a growth mindset. Having the willingness and desire to continue learning throughout your life will carry you further than you ever thought possible. Be humble enough to admit when you’ve held an incorrect belief, and nurture a culture of continual growth in your life. I love learning and taking on new challenges, and I’m eager to develop my skills in areas in which I’m weak or unknowledgeable. Possessing a strong growth mindset has allowed me to cultivate tenacity when I need to obtain a new skillset in order to be successful.
Practice gratitude. Life gets really tough sometimes and it is easy to complain when things don’t go the way you hoped. Gratitude and tenacity go hand-in-hand. When you can express gratitude for the good that is in your life (and there is always something for which to be grateful), you can more easily move past the frustrations and keep moving forward. My mother always told me to count my blessings, especially when I felt like complaining, and embracing that habit has gotten me through challenging seasons.

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

A personal philosophy that I embrace is the concept of laser focus. I have so many examples of times where something I created (marketing material, choreography, idea for a new piece or show, etc.) was copied by someone else. It is so easy to get angry and derailed by people who shoot down your idea only to copy it for their own purposes later. For me, I’ve discovered the best way to handle this is threefold: one, acknowledge that what the person did was wrong and out-of-line. Two, remember that your haters believe in you, which is why you’re on their radar. Three, move on and get right back to your own path. When you do that, you are able to achieve amazing things because you don’t allow yourself to dwell on other people and their paths. You show up every day and do your best consistently.

If I could inspire people to start a movement, it would be a campaign to ignite kindness and empathy towards all humans. The “pay it forward” movement would occur daily. Each of us would have enough confidence in our self-worth to understand that everyone is going through challenges. Instead of being unreasonable, disrespectful, or unkind, we would find daily reasons to pay the love forward. It would promote a lifestyle of empathy, kindness, and compassion. This movement would literally change the world.

Can our readers follow you on social media?

Absolutely! I’d love to connect with anyone on social media. You can connect with me on Facebook and Instagram with @lindseydinneenofficial.

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

Thank you again for having me!

Lindsey Dinneen of VidaDance: They Told Me It Was Impossible And I Did It Anyway was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.