Day: February 9, 2021

Mia Love of ‘Real Freedom With Love’: 5 Lifestyle Tweaks That Can Dramatically Improve Your Wellbeing

In the morning, before I rise out of bed, I do breath work for two minutes. After, I meditate for 20 minutes and then stretch….a gratitude stretch where I’m thanking all of my muscles and all of my limbs. I just appreciate my body! Now, it’s time to get moving. I have a to-do list that I write the night before and on the other side of that list, I have things that I don’t want to do. For example, Bob is going to call me with drama from the job, but guess what, he doesn’t get to talk to me until I’m fortified. That means meditation, breath work, gratitude walk or gratitude stretch, whatever you feel and putting the proper minerals in my body.

As a part of my series about “5 Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Dramatically Improve One’s Wellbeing”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Mia Love.

As an educator, entrepreneur, and financial wellness advisor, Mia Love is the quintessential triple-threat. A widely recognized credit empowerment coach, mentor, and holistic practitioner with almost a decade of experience, Mia specializes in providing holistic financial wellness methods that improve both the financial health and overall well-being of her clients. Utilizing her extensive background in financial literacy and Level 3 reiki, energetic and prana healing certifications, Mia founded Real Freedom With Love (formerly The Good Credit Diva), a comprehensive credit and finance management firm, where she teaches financial stability that encourages financial assertiveness, as well as a personal evolution. Her passion for educating, healing, and teaching others is exemplified in her intensives and workshops she facilitates at various organizations, businesses, and events throughout the globe. Mia brings her warmth and wit to every engagement, as she believes that healing reduces people’s resistance to change. She counts it a privilege to watch others experience a sense of freedom and confidence in their ability to not only make money but make time for what matters most.

Thank you so much for doing this with us, our readers would love to get to know you get to know you a bit better. Can you share with us the story about how you first got involved in fitness and wellness.

I got involved in fitness and wellness at a young age. Growing up in a household with multiple siblings, it was required that you stay active. We had dance classes and sports and all types of activities going on. My father has been an avid runner for as long as I can remember. So all of these were a part of what we did. Wellness and health have always been something that’s been important in my family and going into high school and college, these activities stayed a part of my routine. To be honest, I think my parents and probably my older sister, Kenya, felt that it was an outlet to be able to transfer my energy into various activities.

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

The most interesting story that happened to me since I started my career was really the shift from competing as an athlete to incorporating wellness into my daily life. When you are competing as an athlete you have a coach who tells you what to do. You’re also always working towards a particular goal or competition, whereas being an adult, wellness is truly up to you to ensure that you make it a priority. It’s very easy to sidestep and to get distracted into a routine that does not include wellness. You’ll quickly start seeing the result of that distracted behavior, whether it’s the way that your clothes fit or your energy level, you will know, very quickly when you’ve fallen off. There was a time where I let go of my wellness routine and I saw the results in my productivity, my thought processes and my ability to accomplish multiple tasks. You really have to make the choice between happy hour at the bar or the gym. In our current circumstance, its Zoom workouts or Zoom happy hour but the point remains. I can remember working out at lunchtime so I could make it to happy hour with my friends.

Can you share the story with us about the most humorous mistake you made when you were first starting? What lesson or takeaway did you learn from that?

The most humorous story was not gauging the impact of a particular workout. Again, as an athlete, you generally feel like your body doesn’t have limits. However, as an adult incorporating wellness, if you don’t properly gauge your limits, you can definitely exceed them. There is a hike outside of an area where I used to live. I had done this hike in high school and as an adult (with my parents), without incident. I thought it was a good idea to take this very steep hike on a day that I had evening activities planned. It takes roughly two hours to get up this mountain and up to three hours down. Following the climb, I was slated to go to a Beyonce concert that night. My outfit was already selected including a set of three inch heels. The fatigue in my legs was REAL! But, I needed to wear that outfit. Let me tell you…I paid dearly for not planning that day properly.

Can you share with our readers, a bit about why you are an authority in the fitness and wellness field? In your opinion on what is your unique contribution to the world of fitness?

I am an authority on fitness and wellness because I have the unique ability to recognize the intersection between fitness and wellness. Fitness is how you treat your physical body, whereas wellness is how you treat your mind, body and spirit. Being able to incorporate physical activity along with breath work, Reiki and energetic healing is the ability to get to a point of total body wellness.

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 you get to where you are. Can you share the story about that?

I would have to say that it’s a group of people. My family pushed me to make sure that I am always exceeding my limits. The grounding that I received growing up made it clear that fitness is paramount. The reality that wellness (as described above) has been hugely helpful. My influences gave me the confidence to go after my Reiki certifications and step into the next levels of spiritual healing and embrace the gifts that I already had. Being able to marry the two of them together into the realm of entrepreneurship has been amazing.

Okay, thank you for all that. Now let’s move to the main focus of the interview. We all know that it’s important to eat more vegetables. Eat less sugar, exercise more and get better sleep, etc. But while we know intellectually it’s often difficult to put into practice and make it a part of our daily habit. In your opinion, what are the three main blockages that prevent us from taking the information that we all know and integrating it into our lives?

Procrastination or not being motivated and a general lack of energy. Those are the three main players. Understanding how to ground yourself is key. Grounding yourself is a form of meditating. Once we get into a meditative state we can begin to block or discharge negative energy. This should be done before we start our day. Do this first thing in the morning, therefore we fortify ourselves and we’re able to move throughout the day.

Can you please share your five non intuitive lifestyle tweaks that will dramatically improve one’s well being. Please share a story or example for each and feel free to share ideas for mental, emotional, and physical health.

In the morning, before I rise out of bed, I do breath work for two minutes. After, I meditate for 20 minutes and then stretch….a gratitude stretch where I’m thanking all of my muscles and all of my limbs. I just appreciate my body! Now, it’s time to get moving. I have a to-do list that I write the night before and on the other side of that list, I have things that I don’t want to do. For example, Bob is going to call me with drama from the job, but guess what, he doesn’t get to talk to me until I’m fortified. That means meditation, breath work, gratitude walk or gratitude stretch, whatever you feel and putting the proper minerals in my body.

As an expert, this might be obvious to you, but I think it would be instructive to articulate this for the public. Aside from weight loss, what are three benefits of daily exercise?

Mental clarity, high vibrations/energy and feeling really sexy in your clothes because everything is energetic. When you’re feeling confident, you show it. Through your walk, your speech and your smile, which has become paramount in this virtual environment.

For someone who is looking to add exercise to their daily routine, which three exercises would you recommend that are absolutely critical. Is there a particular book that made a significant impact on you. Can you share a story?

The three exercises that have been impactful in my life are:

1) Meditation — People don’t think that’s an exercise, but it’s a brain exercise.

2) Cycling — Love to do this in the morning.

3) Sauna — Sweat!

Bonus…Reading books! — One of the favorites is called Your Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk, M.D. This book deals with trauma, and the lessons help us identify and release that trauma. That’s where the energy work comes in. pulling these together makes me authority in this field.

Mia Love of ‘Real Freedom With Love’: 5 Lifestyle Tweaks That Can Dramatically Improve Your… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Chloe Millard of Rose & Jade CBD: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a CBD Business

Don’t be afraid to change direction. We actually ended up shifting gears early on because we weren’t getting results from the first marketing firm we hired and have had much more success with PR instead. We recently signed with Samantha Crafton PR and it’s been great — we just love her and her team!

As part of my series about “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business” I had the pleasure of interviewing Chloe Millard.

As a Chicagoland Business Owner and Mother of two, Chloe Millard is a woman that values an active and healthy lifestyle and is always on the go. After being diagnosed with Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD) resulting from complications with her 2nd pregnancy in 2019, Chloe’s whole world changed. She suddenly felt weak and struggled to physically get through even the simplest days without pain. She was determined to find a safe and all-natural solution for long lasting relief to combat her debilitating pain and chronic stress. She promised herself if she ever found a solution that worked for her, she would make it her mission to share it with all women and so Rose & Jade CBD was born.

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

Launching Rose & Jade CBD has been such a rewarding passion project of mine because of how my life has been so deeply and positively affected by these products. I hadn’t necessarily always dreamed of being the founder to a CBD product line (mainly because I hadn’t discovered CBD until recently in my life!) but I’ve always had a passion for helping others and finding solutions to complex problems. Prior to founding Rose & Jade, I spent nearly a decade working in the corporate world in the medical sales industry and started dabbling in entrepreneurship early on in my career as a hobby. When I started having children I began facing pregnancy and gender discrimination in a pretty blatant way and knew that I wanted better for myself and to set a good example for my girls. I won multiple lawsuits from those cases and decided to symbolically invest those earnings into my first businesses a few years ago and have been an entrepreneur ever since!

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I’ve had the privilege of collaborating with countless inspiring women and mothers from all over the country to gather data and insight as we continue on this journey at Rose & Jade. It’s been fascinating to me at how much we as women will suffer in silence and simply continue to always move forward no matter how hard it is. The resiliency of women and the power of being part of a community has been one of the biggest rewards for me. While the inspiration and target for our product line is mainly focused on women, I was surprised to learn that our first sale actually came from a man purchasing for himself and that we’ve had quite a few male customers since! We have a new product line in beta testing now targeting a male demographic simply due to the demand but it taught me that no matter how much you try to narrow down your target market and put yourself in a box it’s also advantageous to keep opportunities open to cater to other attracted buyers.

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?

Absolutely, I’m not sure I will ever let myself live this one down! It’s certainly funny now that it has been resolved but I would encourage all entrepreneurs out there to become VERY educated on your particular tax code and sales tax responsibilities. R+J isn’t the first business I’ve started and at the businesses I owned shortly before launching Rose & Jade, I discovered I was making a massive tax reporting error that went uncaught for months. I had mistakenly included nontaxable receipts (i.e. service based revenue) as part of total revenues on a monthly sales tax basis. Long story short, when I caught my mistake months later I discovered I had mistakenly overpaid our sales tax by approximately $30,000. It took nearly 6 months and a lawyer to get our funds back. Needless to say I learned my lesson and my husband still teases me about it!

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

We are! We have a couple of new and exciting products in our pipeline as well as a virtual community we’re hoping to launch by Q3/Q4 of 2021. We’re very passionate about our mission #WomenSupportingWomen and we donate a portion of all of our sales to various female focused charities. There is also such a demand and need for bettering mental health and the rise of alcohol abuse is such a serious problem that our entire company feels a responsibility to address it. Our goal is that through education and encouraging new healthy habits to combat the effects of anxiety and depression, we can have a positive impact on our communities and help women everywhere take back control of their lives.

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?

I’m very fortunate to have had the support of a mentor and a close inner circle over the years that has certainly lifted me up throughout my life and career. To narrow down to one particular person, as cheesy as it may sound, it would hands down be my husband and high school sweetheart, Ryan. We’ve been together since I was 16 and we have survived challenging life events together, entered into multiple business ventures as partners and we are also raising two beautiful little girls (ages 2 and 1) with plans to grow our family more in the future. While I would consider myself as someone who is fiercely independent, I’ve never once taken for granted how lucky I am to experience a once in a lifetime love and partnership with someone that has never given up on me even when I’ve wanted to give up on myself. Entrepreneurship is insanely difficult and will routinely push you to your limits. Having the unconditional support of a partner and champion that believes in you and picks you up when you doubt yourself is by far the most invaluable asset any entrepreneur can have.

This industry is young dynamic and creative. Do you use any clever and innovative marketing strategies that you think large legacy companies should consider adopting?

I think there is so much that is still to be explored within this exciting space because really, CBD and Cannabis is still taking off with tons of room for growth. Prior to Covid and as our company was still being developed, we had plans of opening ‘CBD Bars’ that would allow for consumers to hang out and try different flavors and shop similar to a coffee bar. With ongoing Covid restrictions this obviously looks a lot different and we’re still tweaking our model. With that said we do have upcoming CBD monthly memberships in the works are always looking for Rose & Jade Brand Ambassadors and Influencers as our #1 marketing initiative! Feel free to email us at [email protected] if you’re interested in becoming a Brand Ambassador or Influencer!

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Cannabis industry? Can you share 3 things that most concern you?

There are so many things we are looking forward to in this booming industry. To name a few: 1. Experts project rapid growth and within the CBD market alone the industry is expected to grow to over $22 billion by 2022 / 2. With wider legalization and approval of cannabis comes more acceptance and innovation / 3. Increased awareness and education.

Despite all of the positives we have to look forward to as our category grows, with growth we do expect a few hurdles. Some concerns our company has on the horizon: 1. More competition from less credible sources / 2. Industry regulations / 3. Outgrowing our current production & factory location to continue to meet increasing consumer demand.

Can you share your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business”? Please share a story or example for each.

1. I truly wish I would have discovered the world of CBD and Cannabis sooner. It feels like there used to be such a stigma surrounding the use of cannabis and it was almost a taboo topic. I’m a bit embarrassed to say that’s how I used to feel and had never educated myself on its benefits or even tried it. Now, as a mother of two and having my own doctor recommend I look into it for my chronic pain and stress, I really wish I would have let go of personal judgement and misconceptions earlier and not have suffered as long as I did.
2. Starting a CBD business is NOT as easy as it may look! After trying several CBD brands before deciding to formulate and design my own, I remember getting so excited thinking it would be fairly easy. I’ve run and built companies before and knew what it took to start from scratch. I remember coming up with the idea for Rose & Jade over a weekend and I had an entire business plan and product line sketched out in my notebook in an afternoon. There is obviously SO much more that goes into a business than an idea but even with my past experiences and realism, I was still unprepared for how strict advertising would be and how cluttered the marketplace was. It really took a lot of trial and error to get off the ground and it’s still a work in progress!
3. Plan ahead and then plan for delays. It goes without saying that having an outline and plan for your business targets is imperative. However, in this space I would recommend on baking in an additional 1–3 months for any timed objective you may have. You’ll encounter setbacks early on no matter how prepared and driven you are and that’s okay. Just like with any startup, don’t count on this being your sole income to pay the bills in the beginning. You need to give yourself some runway and some hiccups we ran into that delayed our launch included selecting a payment processor and tweaking product formulations.
4. Don’t be afraid to change direction. We actually ended up shifting gears early on because we weren’t getting results from the first marketing firm we hired and have had much more success with PR instead. We recently signed with Samantha Crafton PR and it’s been great — we just love her and her team!
5. Let go of stress. Being an entrepreneur, especially in the age of Covid, it seems impossible not to stress out or lose sleep over every nuance and issue during the day. Being an entrepreneur in THIS business can be even more stressful with late nights and production issues and launch delays. I don’t think I’ve ever been busier in my life but I’m teaching myself to become more centered and less distracted by stress and it’s made me a better and more effective owner. Stress of the mind is completely self-imposed and something I’ve struggled with most of my life. To be fair, I do have my own stash of Rose & Jade CBD products that I use daily which really does help! But in all honesty, this journey has been such a blessing for me and my family because it has encouraged me to focus on healthy living. Our company has devoted a tremendous amount effort to research and development which includes sourcing our ingredients from the most natural resources and reputable suppliers. It’s allowed me to see the world in a different light and have an appreciation for nature. I also get to spend more time with my kids during the day so we have our daily yoga and mediation that we practice as a little family which helps greatly lower my stress and allows me to be more present.

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?

I’m a big believer in education and always seeking to understand and learn something new. I am constantly reading articles and published pieces on management and how to motivate your people. I’ve learned that all employees genuinely want to be good at what they do and no one aims to underperform or be dissatisfied with their job. Communication is key and I’ve found that many leaders seek to be understood, not to understand leaving those that follow them to feel unheard and unfulfilled. A simple conversation can go a tremendous way to ensuring that you’re building a company that not only gets the best out of its people, but sets everyone up for success long term.

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 am so passionate about Women Supporting Women and what I would love more than anything is to inspire women to demand the best for themselves and the other ladies in their lives. Women are still fighting for equality all over the world and I am an entrepreneur today due to repeated and severe workplace discrimination I faced as a new mother and at multiple companies. But I’ve learned that you can’t demand the best for yourself if you don’t feel good about yourself and the first step is taking care of your health. CBD was the answer for me and it may not be for everyone but I would encourage all women to really look at their habits in their life and decide, how is this serving you? I chose to become sober 4 years ago after I realized alcohol was having such a detrimental effect on my life and marriage. I’ve talked to countless women and have heard this same story repeatedly so if me speaking out about CBD helping me continue to stay sober from alcohol inspires other women to make a healthy change, that would be my greatest accomplishment.

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

Please follow us on Instagram @roseandjadecbd for giveaways and new product launches!

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

Chloe Millard of Rose & Jade CBD: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a CBD… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Lessons from a Thriving Power Couple, With Holly Duckworth & Eric Szymanski of Leadership Solutions International

We start with shared vision. Eric and I are both divorced. Our learning marriages were great gifts shaping who we are now. In both cases the individuals grew in different directions. To thrive as a couple, you have to grow to a shared vision, as that vision changes. Even in the short time we have been in partnership our vision has evolved. To thrive we have to be in continuous co-creation with how life evolves.

As a part of our series about lessons from Thriving Power Couples, I had the pleasure of interviewing Holly Duckworth & Eric Szymanski of Leadership Solutions International.

As co-authors of Sell More Stress Less 52 Tips to Be A Mindful Sales Professional this power couple brings together more than 20 years working in one of the most stressful industries — hotels and meetings. Working in 24/7 industries these professionals demonstrate the power of listening and Love as the solution at home and at work.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you two to your respective career paths?

As meetings industry professionals you have to love the work you do, because meetings and events happen on evenings, weekends and holidays. There really is no time away from work. Holly’s career happened by always saying “yes” to new opportunities and challenges while living on the west coast. Eric’s career was a continuous stair step of adding to his experience and success each year while living on the east coast. We became friends thru the industry speaking at various events and conventions.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you two got married?

Doing this interview in 2021 with all the mental, physical and relationship shifts our world has taken, I smile. There is embedded in the question that being a “couple” means you must be “married”. Eric & I are a dedicated couple in domestic partnership with COVID life we are engaged with a wedding plans postponed till we can gather our family safely again. This said, our most interesting thing since we came together is truly the daily journey to live and lead in these pandemic times. Navigating the closeness of working from home, home-ing from home and doing that in a world when one of us would normally be traveling.

These pandemic times have taught us to value the together time and the time we may need to be alone all of it good and very good.

Since we “met in the middle, of the US” Setting goals and visions and working toward them together has been key to our success. Here is an example. We purchased our home December 15, 2019. Moved in on January 15, 2020 and the pandemic locked down Denver March 15, 2020. We never saw a pandemic pulling us of the traveling circuit to pivot our work online so quickly.

As meeting professionals were having a schedule and being on time is crucial it’s funny that we look back now and realize that we may have had a schedule but certainly this life plan is not on our time.

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?

Like many couples some of the funniest stories are not funny at the time. Every person in a relationship brings different strengths and weaknesses. Holly’s background is full of speaking to live audiences from 2 people to 2,000 while Eric also has presentation skills, they tend to be more sales related. As we learned to present together this became funny. Holly would consistently be holding Eric to a strict timeline to be “on stage” and Eric being a salesman could talk and talk and talk and talk.

As a result of consistently coming off stage frustrated, we had to learn that we both have case studies, research and experience that serves audiences. Holly let go of the stopwatch and Eric became more aware of being succinct to the benefit of audiences around the world.

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

Our company stands out due to our genuine passion for helping professionals live and lead more mindful lives in industries that are often deemed “most stressful.”

In 2019 we were both contracted to speak for the South Africa Convention and Visitors Bureaus the opportunity came as a result of an article that Eric wrote and distributed years earlier. The congress organizer had read the blog and made the commitment to hire Eric when he had the change. Years later he called and hired Leadership Solutions International to share expertise in creating memorable customer experiences.

An opportunity like this demonstrates the value we both bring. We often laugh if you start us both out at home and throw out a destination point Holly will pull out of the driveway and go left, Eric will walk going right and while we both get there different, we get there in a way that serves the world.

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

We have several new initiatives launching in 2021 the one we are most excited about is the Chaos to Calm Challenges. So many of our clients believe they don’t have time to be mindful or take care of themselves. This pandemic has thrown so many onto a totally new life/work career path that it’s a time to reset that belief. The Chaos to Calm Challenge is based on Holly’s book Everyday Mindfulness from Chaos to Calm in a Crazy world.

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?

CEO’s and leaders at all levels need to listen more. In our loud 24/7 world we are not valuing the power of listening as a strategic skill. Leaders need to listen first more to their own inner voice and then listen to their teams more.

How do you define “Leadership”?

Leadership is the ability to move people in a common direction for the good of a family, company or industry. Everyone is a leader in their own unique way.

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?

As we look back on the path that has brought us to this place there have been many angles along the way that have helped us. It’s hard to name just one. On the personal side we need to acknowledge the quite support of our spiritual friends. These men and women helped shine the light as Eric was completing his career at Disney and moving to Florida.

Now with sometime during a pandemic to grow Leadership Solutions International we have to thank on the business side our clients.

What are the “5 Things You Need To Thrive As A Couple”? Please share a story or example for each.

To thrive as a couple, you need:

Shared Vision

Flexibility

Curiosity & Discovery

Fun & Laughter

Gratitude

To thrive as a couple the first thing you have to do is let go of the programming we are taught as children that being a couple looks kind of like Cinderella. A man, a woman and 2.3 children. (I joke.) To thrive as a couple, you must choose to chart your own course, love one another and forgive.

We start with shared vision. Eric and I are both divorced. Our learning marriages were great gifts shaping who we are now. In both cases the individuals grew in different directions. To thrive as a couple, you have to grow to a shared vision, as that vision changes. Even in the short time we have been in partnership our vision has evolved. To thrive we have to be in continuous co-creation with how life evolves.

Flexibility not a day goes by we don’t have to roll with what shows up. This is key to having a successful life and business.

As teachers of mindfulness, we highlight a little considered leadership tool as one of our keys to success — curiosity and discovery. Knowing that every moment of everyday things are changing we do our best to stay in the childlike wonder. Remember when you were kids’ things just seemed to magically work out. How would your adult life be different if you kept that same sense of awe and wonder? In our home and office, you will often hear the words…” not yet” to mean that the solution may be challenging but still good is coming. Or “Does it have to be that way?” which is code for “This sounds like you are being negative could you find another way to look at this situation.” Childlike wonder has saved us in large and small ways. Plus, it’s fun to see where it will take you.

Being a couple must be fun!! Eric and I make an effort to remember to laugh a lot. Yes, we live in difficult times sometimes the only thing that gets us thru is the ability to laugh. In these time of possibility, we prefer not to call them pandemic our ability to remember this may not matter tomorrow keeps us young, fun and focused on what truly matters.

You are people 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 vision and mission for Leadership Solutions International is to educate, connect and inspire future global leaders with applied mindfulness practices. Doing this work, creating the community is the movement we want to create. Common+Unity that the brochure of life was wrong and we can change it.

We both witnessed our families doing work they did not love. It is our vision that our work inspires more leaders to do work they love while supporting and showing families it is possible to shift the paradigm.

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

“In a world full of chaos and uncertainty choose love.” Unknown

When Eric and I connected his theme for the year was Love. Love no matter the circumstances. Love at home. Love at work. Find a way to solve every challenge from the perspective of love. Little did we know then that a pandemic was drawing near. As we watched Love prevail over and over this quote reminds us in big and small ways that when we lean into love good will be the outcome.

We are very blessed that 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 🙂

As leader we have all heard the adage you are the aggregate of the five people you most closely associate with. Eric & I are looking to grow our connections with mindful, authentic and unapologetically successful business couples. Knowing how important that is to learn we would love to meet a few of the trailblazing couples in the mindful movement people like — Tara Brach and her husband Jonathan Foust (Insight Meditation Community), Deepak & Rita Chopra (Chopra Center), Marc & Lynne Benioff (SalesForce), Andy Lee (Potential Project)

How can our readers follow your work online?

www.LeadershipSolutionsIntl.com

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

Lessons from a Thriving Power Couple, With Holly Duckworth & Eric Szymanski of Leadership Solutions was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women In Wellness: Taylor Dukes on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

Focus on stress relief, and scheduling self-care. There is so much we can’t control and some stressors are bound to occur. It’s about how we manage that stress that really matters. Too much cortisol too often can be damaging to our bodies, it’s important to make rest and self care a priority no matter what that looks like to you specifically.

As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Taylor Dukes.

Taylor Dukes is a board-certified family nurse practitioner, functional medicine provider and private elite health consultant based in Texas. In addition to her private practice which services everyone from entrepreneurs to professional athletes to moms, she also co-owns a state of the art wellness center. She focuses on taking a root cause approach to patients health and uses specialty functional medicine laboratory testing to develop personalized protocols. She juggles her two businesses, patients and clients as well as her 1 year old son.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?

I’m a total adrenaline junkie, as long as I can remember I had dreams of being an emergency flight nurse. After nursing school, I went to work in a Level 1 Intensive Care Unit and while I loved the fast-paced environment, my body didn’t.

I became unexplainably sick with nagging symptoms that wouldn’t go away.

After a year of procedures, medications, and tests, I finally met with a functional medicine provider. I was forever changed and there started my passion for functional medicine and an alternative approach in the healthcare field. Since 2014, I has been immersed in the field of functional medicine as a provider. I had the opportunity to be the nurse for Dr. Amy Myers, a two time, New York Times best-selling author and MD from 2014–2017. Since then, I have helped other world renowned practitioners start and run their own functional medicine practices. My education and experience equipped me with extensive knowledge in health, nutrition, genetics and lifestyle and it is my absolute joy and privilege to partner with patients and encourage them in their health journey.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?

I started a private practice as well as a wellness center in January of 2020. Little did I know that 2 months later a global pandemic would hit. Like all small business owners it felt overwhelming at times, but it forced me to pivot. It encouraged me to get creative with the services I offered and be flexible to new opportunities. A lot of people began to care about their immune system and state of health given what was happening and it allowed my business to thrive since I’m in the business of helping people get well. Very early on it became clear that I wouldn’t just work with people who were very sick, but also seemingly healthy people that want to be proactive about their health and get on personalized protocols became a huge clientele of mine.

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

I underestimated how much time it would take to run a brick-and-mortar business. I had done telemedicine online with other private practices, but I did not realize the demand that a wellness center would have on my time. Whether that is filling in for staff, making sure the water heater is working, etc. I have to wear many hats. I also learned that the staff you put in place to help your business succeed are everything- and are worth investing in considering they are the face and representation of your business. I wish I had known all of that at the beginning.

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?

Yes! My mother. She always believed in, supported me and encouraged me. From a young age, she knew I would be a ‘businesswoman’ growing up. I was always trying to trade toys, set up shops as a child and make deals with my sister and cousins. When she knew I wanted to go to nursing school she supported me every step of the way but was a bit confused thinking I would pursue a business career. Well, here I am today- she was always right. Now I am a health care provider and an entrepreneur, the best of all worlds.

Ok perfect. Now let’s jump to our main focus. When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world?

I really believe that when people feel better they do better. If I can be a piece of that equation, I know I am on the right path. I also know that so many people feel left behind by their providers, whether they struggle to find a diagnosis or don’t feel heard, I know how that feels. When I was sick I was desperate for answers and not every provider I worked with was “bad” by any means but they were in a system that tended to use the “pill for an ill” approach or use bandaid solutions because the system wasn’t built to spend the time and energy needed to get to the root cause. In my practice, patients or clients are my number 1 priority, if they tell me something is wrong I’m going to dig until we find answers and can create a plan. I think having someone in your corner who believes you, is rooting for you and is in it for the long-haul is really special and I feel so privileged to partner with people on their health journey.

Can you share your top five “lifestyle tweaks” that you believe will help support people’s journey towards better wellbeing? Please give an example or story for each.

1. At least 8 hours of sleep. When we don’t sleep so many different things can go wrong in our body. Getting enough sleep and rest is one of the easiest and most beneficial things we can do.
2. Drink at least 80–100 oz of filtered water per day. Just like sleep, when we aren’t hydrated it’s bad news. For me it just means having a water bottle (and probably 3 other beverages if we’re being honest) on me at all times so Its a constant reminder to drink up.
3. Switch to non-toxic personal care and body products. We are so lucky that nowadays there are so many amazing options when it comes to non-toxic products, that just didn’t exist In the same mainstream way it does now. And it’s not just a fad, so many of the things we put on our skin or in our homes is packed with harsh chemicals, free radicals, toxins and endocrine disruptors that have big consequences. What we put on or around our body is as important as what we put in it.
4. Eat a low inflammatory diet consisting of colorful whole foods. The more color the better! I find that having that as the priority makes healthy eating so much easier and fun. Incorporating anti-inflammatory foods like turmeric is a great way to keep your body functioning at its best too.
5. Focus on stress relief, and scheduling self-care. There is so much we can’t control and some stressors are bound to occur. It’s about how we manage that stress that really matters. Too much cortisol too often can be damaging to our bodies, it’s important to make rest and self care a priority no matter what that looks like to you specifically.

If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?

I think the two most impactful things would be accessibility to functional medicine lab testing and access to nutrient dense foods. It breaks my heart that the idea of “wellness” is out of reach for people whether that’s due to finances, location, knowledge or any other roadblock. I think getting the education out there on the benefits of testing could really change the medical field and so many lives, when we know the exact problem we can actually solve it!

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?

1. Always prioritize self care and schedule it or it won’t happen
2. You cant be everything to everyone
3. Take calculated risks
4. Invest in a team and mentor if need be
5. Never stop dreaming

These 5 things are the reason I am where I am. I learned early on that burnout is real, so I prioritized time to go to the infrared sauna, get some vitamin D or take a bath. As a health care provider I want to help everyone but as a business owner I had to learn that there is only one me and I can only be stretched so thin. So much of what I do as a provider is about risk mitigation so as a business owner that was a challenge, whether it was a financial risk or an emotional one they’ve all been worth it. One of the biggest risks I took was investing in a mentor and a team, they helped me so much and were worth every penny and more. And lastly, I think it’s so easy to get caught up in the go go go and loose sight of what you want, I’m glad I have people who continue to remind me to dream bigger and bolder.

Sustainability, veganism, mental health and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?

Environmental changes- are so important- especially when it comes to making our homes our safe place. From the air we breathe, to the water we drink, the products we put on our skin- it all affects our overall health. When our water isn’t pure or our air is polluted that impacts us, every little thing matters. Think of toxic laundry detergent as an example, your towels, bed sheets, clothes are all washed in those chemicals. The simple swap to non-toxic detergent can not only minimize inflammation but also, could help mitigate allergies and eczema. The win win is that products that are better for you are typically better for the planet too!

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

You can follow me on Instagram @taylordukeswellness where I share a ton of information on health and wellness from hormones to sleep from anxiety to gut health and so much more.

Thank you for these fantastic insights!

Women In Wellness: Taylor Dukes on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Dr. Ruth Arumala, Feminine Health Advisor: 5 Things You Need To Know To Grow Your Private Practice

You are your brand. From my social media presence to a visit to my local grocery store it is imperative that I represent my brand and practice at all times. Many times, people have approached me and said aren’t you a doctor? I answer affirmatively but cautious as I am unsure how they know that. The person either says, I saw your ad on my grocery store cart or I follow you on Instagram. These interactions always reinforce the idea that I am my brand.

As a part of my interview series with prominent medical professionals about “How To Grow Your Private Practice” I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Ruth Arumala, DO, MPH, NCMP, an Obstetrician-Gynecologist, pH-D Feminine Health Advisor and women’s health advocate with a private practice in the greater Dallas area. Dr. Arumala offers comprehensive women’s health services with a focus on the medical and surgical management of fibroids, polycystic ovarian syndrome, infertility, sexual dysfunction and menopause. She is passionate about empowering women to live a healthier more fulfilling life through improving health literacy.

Thank you so much for joining us! Can you tell our readers a bit about your ‘backstory”?

At 19 or 20 years old, I watched my 51 year old mother return to training as a resident physician. Although she completed medical school prior to my birth and had practiced as a physician for many years in Nigeria, she had to return to post graduate training in America if she was ever to practice as a physician again.

I often wondered why a married woman who had a seemingly full life with three children went back to training with individuals 20 years her junior. After careful investigation it seemed that in medicine my mother found her purpose. This resonated with me.

Growing up in Salisbury, MD as a first-generation Nigerian-American, I lived a somewhat isolated life. I looked very different than my white peers and had too strong of an accent for my black peers. In this isolation though, I had the opportunity to explore my passions and purpose at an early age. I am intellectually challenged by the anatomy and physiology of the human body and how it is affected by pathogens, toxins and behavioral insults. Naturally that drew me to pursue a career in medicine.

During my second year of medicine, I suddenly lost my brother and best friend in the hospital while receiving treatment for a sickle cell crisis. The last conversation I had with my brother who was a 2nd year law student at Fordham Law was about legacy building. In retrospect it seems like these were his parting instructions to practice medicine in such a way that I truly impact people’s lives and move medicine into a new frontier.

I spent the next few years struggling to determine what that meant. How do I truly impact lives? What flaws do I see in the medical system that need improvement. How can I be that agent of change? This became clearer as I started my residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology. I became aware of the racial disparities in women’s health. This goes beyond just maternal mortality. This consumes the entire breadth of women’s health from access to care to mortality to breast cancer. It was simple for me. I was created to toil in the interface between women and the healthcare system as both a provider and a changemaker.

What made you want to start your own practice? Can you tell us the story of how you started it?

As a medical student, my personal gynecologist had a novel practice model. She provided evidence-based care in a personalized, pleasing environment. She had a pay for direct patient care model which ensured that the patients she saw had the means to pay her for her services eliminating insurance coverage all together.

This experience inspired me to want to provide high quality, evidence-based, personalized care in a boutique style practice without limiting my patients to a socioeconomic class that could afford this type of premium health care. Consequently, I have built a patient panel with a large range of insurances.

My practice was started in affiliation with Texas Health Medical Associates in order to bring this vision to life in a sustainable fashion.

Managing being a provider and a business owner can often be exhausting. Can you elaborate on how you manage(d) both roles?

Barely! That is the true answer: barely! Running a practice while providing care is a formidable task and often requires very long days especially in Ob-Gyn. The most important factor to a sustainable practice is having the right staff.

The key to an amazing practice is the right people working in the right roles. This is important because I may be the face of my practice however patients don’t speak to me when they call our practice. They do not receive their paperwork from me. They do not actually talk to me when they have billing, scheduling or medical issues. They speak with my clerical or medical assistants first. Consequently, these individuals have to buy into my vision. They have to take ownership of our patients. They truly have to feel appreciated for the work they do. The office has to be a safe space for them to exhibit their talents and skills.

Unfortunately, one may have to go through several personnel before forming a team that works well together. In order to balance both roles, learning to relinquish control and delegate effectively have been skills I have had to learn and am learning on a daily basis.

I also propose that this stage in my life, single without children, is the perfect time to have started a practice. It has allowed me to have fewer tangible commitments. This facilitates my ability to put more effort into building a robust practice.

As a business owner, how do you know when to stop working IN your business (maybe see a full patient load) and shift to working ON your business?

In my practice there are peaks and lulls. I have come to recognize those and spent the peak times caring for patients while the lulls working on my practice. The Coronavirus pandemic paradoxically allowed me to spend some time taking inventory on the growth of the young practice in order to seek ways to improve the practice and refine my voice as a thought leader in women’s health.

In practice, I see patients during clinic hours and work on my business early hours of the morning, late at night and during the weekends. I take every opportunity to rest, however, as this rejuvenates both my mind and body for the inescapable burdens of running a solo practice.

From completing your degree to opening a clinic and becoming a business owner, the path was obviously full of many hurdles. Is there a specific hurdle that sticks out to you?

The biggest hurdle was establishing a reputation that attracts new patients and appeals to colleagues in a new geographical region. I trained in and am from DC/MD. My practice is in a suburb of the twin cities of Dallas-Fort Worth. I did not have a hometown advantage. No one knew who I was. I did not know the culture, layout or nuances of this new environment. Having to learn all of that was the biggest hurdle for me.

How did you build up resilience to rebound from failures?

Watching my parents struggle and emerge victorious as immigrants in their 40s cultivated resilience and perseverance in my brothers and me. Our parents taught us lessons that echoed far beyond the temporary moments of adversity. I know that failures are greater teachers than triumph. I search diligently for the lesson in every moment after moaning, groaning and complaining of course. In order to be a successful practice owner, one must anticipate failure, dwell in the pain, seek lessons and move forward.

What are your “5 Things You Need To Know To Grow Your Private Practice” and why. (Please share a story or example for each.)

You are your brand. From my social media presence to a visit to my local grocery store it is imperative that I represent my brand and practice at all times. Many times, people have approached me and said aren’t you a doctor? I answer affirmatively but cautious as I am unsure how they know that. The person either says, I saw your ad on my grocery store cart or I follow you on Instagram. These interactions always reinforce the idea that I am my brand.

Always find an opportunity to share information about your practice. When my practice first opened, I always went to a different nail salon to get my mani-pedi because it gave me an opportunity to give my cards and marketing materials to new avenues without formally soliciting. In addition, I would leave my cards on every treadmill or stairmaster I used. You would be surprised as to how many patients we got from simple touches like this.

Never give up. Many early weeks, I would get very frustrated as I was seeing only a handful of patients per day. Those days, I found ways to go out and market. The weeks I pounded the pavement directly resulted in increased new patients in one to two weeks. Times of frustration are just opportunities for growth

Seek effective partnerships. I decided to seek and build a referral base that would help my patients. This ranged from physical therapists to high risk obstetricians to gyn oncologists. This allowed me to build a network that benefitted my practice and paradoxically increased the community awareness that I existed. I also have expanded my networking and exposure to other health care providers through my partnership with pH-D Feminine Health. I feel strongly about their quality products and have met many influential people through my attendance at their past events.

Lean into your team for help. You cannot do it all. Even if you could, you are not the best person to do it all. Study your team and recognize their talents and desires. lean into them for appropriate help.

Many healthcare providers struggle with the idea of “monetization”. How did you overcome that mental block?

I haven’t! I deal with this by never negotiating. I always have a member of my team work on the finances. I always oversee it but I am not the interface with a patient or client.

What do you do when you feel unfocused or overwhelmed?

I am so excited and passionate about my work that if I feel unfocused or overwhelmed, it is a sign of burnout and indication I should rest or do something else I enjoy for a while. I listen to these cues to rejuvenate in order to work more effectively and efficiently.

I’m a huge fan of mentorship throughout one’s career — None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Who has been your biggest mentor? What was the most valuable lesson you learned from them?

I have a mentor who has achieved every professional and personal goal I have. I cannot pick one person in particular as I go to different people for advice about gynecology, surgery, business, interpersonal relationships, love, romantic relationships etc. The most valuable lesson I have learned from my mentors as a collective is “there is always a solution to a problem but sometimes that solution is to move on!”

What resources did you use (Blogs, webinars, conferences, coaching, etc.) that helped jumpstart you in the beginning of your business? Can you explain why they were helpful?

I read a lot of information in three categories: real estate, beauty spas and Ob-Gyn. I chose to read about real estate because realtor guides teach you a lot about closing deals. I wanted to know how to convert people to want to choose me as their gynecologist. I read about creating a spa because that was the type of calming atmosphere I wanted my office to have. I wanted my patients to feel appreciated and special from the second they stepped in my office. Lastly I read contemporary Ob Gyn magazine and ACOG resources for new physicians and practice owners. These resources were specific to my specialty and provided the information I needed for billing and equipment. The biggest resource, however, was experience. Things were not perfect especially in the beginning but as you practice, you learn more.

In interviews like this one, people often ask about the best advice that one was given. I’d like to flip the script. What’s the worst piece of advice or recommendation you’ve ever received? Can you share a story about that? Was there a lesson or take away from that story?

The worst advice I was ever given was to close my practice when I was 6 months in and very frustrated. I was seeking help and assistance to move past various extremely frustrating issues. The person looked at me, paused and said “if you are so unhappy, you should just close the practice.” The condensing response actually has created a fuel that is unmatched for me. You have to realize that everyone does not see the potential you see in yourself and your practice. It is your duty to push forward for the success of your practice.

Please recommend one book that’s made the biggest impact on you? Can you explain why that resonated so much with you?

I will actually recommend two books
-The 7 habits of highly effective people by Stephen R Corey
This book shaped how I move professionally. I revisit this book quite often seeking to refine some important principles.

– “How Doctors Think” by Jerome Groopman
I first read this book in 2007 when I was a grad student. I have revisited it several times because I enjoy seeing us from a patient’s point of view. I hope to improve my character to really improve my approach to helping women as they seek to and deserve to be helped.

How can our readers follow you online?

IG: @i.am.dr.arumala, @my.mansfield.obgyn, @prettyinpinkpod
Clubhouse: @i.am.dr.arumala
website: www.drarumala.com, https://www.phdfemininehealth.com/pages/meet-our-advisor, https://www.phdfemininehealth.com/

Thank you for these great insights!

Dr Ruth Arumala, Feminine Health Advisor: 5 Things You Need To Know To Grow Your Private Practice was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Greg — Make Time for your Relationship: Leslie and I always make time to celebrate our relationship and our love for each other. We have a weekly date night — whether we go to dinner, have some cocktails, or just sit in our pajamas by the fireplace watching our favorite show or movie. Also, after we were married, we started a tradition to honeymoon every year, not just the first year. Sometimes it is simply a weekend road-trip, and sometimes a more extravagant trip to what always seems like paradise.

Leslie — Be Adoring: Never stop expressing deep affection, love and admiration for each other. Greg still writes me love poems and sends me flowers. Often an unexpected big hug, kiss, or a smile is adoring.

As a part of our series about lessons from Thriving Power Couples, I had the pleasure of interviewing Leslie Hsu and Greg Besner.

Leslie Hsu is the co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of Sunflow, Inc. Three years ago, while relaxing on the beach with her family, Leslie had the vision to reinvent beach products creating more comfortable, beautiful, and thoughtful solutions. She envisioned SUNFLOW as a modern brand focused on both function and fashion. Just in time for Summer 2020, the SUNFLOW brand was unveiled. It features beautiful chairs at the center of the collection, as well as an assortment of complementary accessories to create a full outdoor solution.

Leslie’s design career was launched more than two decades ago when she joined the Calvin Klein design team. In 2000, Leslie started her own namesake handbag brand, Leslie Hsu New York, which sold in hundreds of stores around the world including Neiman Marcus, Henri Bendel, Fred Segal Melrose, Stanley Korshak, Intermix, and Takashimaya. Later she launched accessories collections for high profile brands such as UGG®, True Religion Brand Jeans®, and Jonathan Adler.

Leslie attended Penn State University and earned a BS in International Business. For 21 years she has been happily married to Greg Besner, the co-founder of SUNFLOW. They have two teenage daughters Willa and Lana, both of whom helped bring SUNFLOW to the world.

Greg Besner is the co-founder and CEO of Sunflow, Inc. The founder of four companies, Greg is a serial entrepreneur, as well as an adjunct professor at NYU Stern School of Business, and the author of The Culture Quotient: Ten Dimensions of a High-Performance Culture (Ideapress 2020). Greg started his career as a fashion executive completing the Macy’s Retail Executive Training Program, later becoming the United States Sales Manager for Giorgio Armani Fashion Corporation.

In 2018, Greg was ranked in USA Today as the eighth-best CEO in the United States among a pool of fifty thousand companies. He was also named the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® in New Jersey in 2003. Greg is frequently published in business and leadership publications and podcasts, and is a keynote speaker at leadership conferences around the world on topics of business, culture, and the future of work.

Greg completed six years of the Harvard Business School Presidents’ Program in Leadership, as well as his MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He earned his BA from Rutgers University. Greg has been happily married to SUNFLOW co-founder Leslie Hsu for 21 years.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you two to your respective career paths?

Leslie: When Greg and I were newlyweds, we always wondered what our life would look like at this point — after 22 years of marriage. When we met, I was a fabric designer at Calvin Klein Collection working on Fashion Avenue in Manhattan, and Greg had been running sales and marketing for Giorgio Armani USA. As we talked about having children, we also dreamed of being entrepreneurs together, constantly sharing so many crazy ideas. We dreamt of having a home-based business so that we could be with our family, but also have our careers. Soon after we were married, we both took the leap of faith, leaving our jobs to launch our first handbag company called Leslie Hsu New York®. Our plan was for me to use my fabric design experience and my sourcing contacts in Italy, France and NYC to create very unique and beautiful handbags, and then with Greg’s sales experience and connections, together we would market to high-end boutiques around the world. It worked! Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdales, Henri Bendel, Stanley Korshak and hundreds of amazing retailers around the world purchased our handbags, and our growing business took over our small West Village Manhattan apartment. As our business grew, so did our family and our home. Over the next few years, we moved to Short Hills, New Jersey and welcomed our daughters, Willa and Lana.

Next we licensed the UGG® and True Religion brands to exclusively launch their handbags just as these two brands were taking off. Our UGG® and True Religion handbags were an overnight success. Greg recalls that our sales that first year were 1,400% ahead of our projections (he’s the numbers guy). We quickly grew our team and raced to keep up with the global demand. It was exhilarating and we learned so much over the three years that we licensed these brands. Our daughters were always front and center in a stroller, or in our arms, every step of the way. Our dreams of balancing work and life had come true.

Flash forward to 2017. Our daughters are teenagers, and our family’s happy place is most definitely the beach. Our beach days, beach weekends, and beach vacations have forever created our most cherished memories — from belly laughs with our friends, to strolling along the shoreline holding hands with my husband, to just playing in the sand with our girls. This is also where the idea of SUNFLOW came to be.

During one of these family trips, our family packed up for a short walk from our beachside rental to find our spot on the beach for the day. The process of loading up our gear for the day and dragging it to the beach was nothing short of a comical parody. It was truly laughable how cumbersome and clumsy this seemingly simple chore was. I kept thinking, why aren’t there friendlier beach accessories; easier to carry, more comfortable, more thoughtful and much, much more beautiful? After unpacking our beach chairs, umbrella, towels and other assorted necessities, I collapsed into my uncomfortable and not-very-pretty chair and thought, there has to be a better way! I turned to Greg and said “Someone should design more comfortable, beautiful, and thoughtful beach products.” Greg looked around and said to me, “We should design more comfortable, beautiful beach products.” And voila! SUNFLOW was born. Actually, it took almost three years to reinvent, redesign, and produce and launch SUNFLOW, but the vision is now a reality, and we are so thrilled by the response.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you two got married?

Greg: On our daughter Willa’s fourth birthday, she was unexpectedly diagnosed with Type One Diabetes. Our sick daughter took priority over everything else, so our life was turned upside down. We learned everything that we could about this life-changing disease to keep our daughter alive and safe. It was a very emotional time, but 15 years later, Willa is in college and manages her own health amazingly well. This experience inspired us to help other families impacted by Type One Diabetes.

Nine years ago we founded the Willa’s Wish Foundation with the mission to raise and donate $1 million to help other families dealing with children that have the onset of Type One Diabetes and to fund research to help develop a cure. Willa’s Wish has raised almost $900,000 thanks to the generosity of our family and friends. We are optimistic that a cure will be developed for the millions currently suffering with this disease, and for those who will be diagnosed with this life-threatening disease.

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?

Leslie:

Last year we were so excited to unveil our first SUNFLOW chair prototypes to our best friends, so we brought some to the beach to share. There is nothing more embarrassing than your best friend sitting on your top secret prototype and watching the chair break as they fall to the ground with a thump! Lesson learned… test, test, and test again.

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

Greg:

Our goal with SUNFLOW is to create thoughtful outdoor solutions. We want people to have the same “aha moment” that Leslie and I had when they go to their own happy place. When they use SUNFLOW, we hope they feel it’s easier to carry, more comfortable, more thoughtful, and much more beautiful. We hope to make people smile.

Last year we opened two pop-up stores, one in the East Hampton Village, New York, and one at the Mall at Short Hills, New Jersey. Nothing is more satisfying than to watch people gasp with awe as we push the button on the top of our chair to expand and retract it from lounge size to backpack size. It’s such a thrill to see customers smile as they imagine being in their happy place using SUNFLOW.

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

Leslie:

I’m very excited to be designing additional outdoor solutions that will be announced this summer, so stay tuned on those! We hope to solve more customer problems and bring even more smiles to the world.

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?

Leslie:

Greg literally wrote the book on this topic. His book, titled The Culture Quotient: Ten Dimensions of a High-Performance Culture, was published November 2020. Greg always highlights the importance of aligning company culture with company strategy, and to share and celebrate the mission and values. It’s important for a company to use its mission as its north star, and their core values to lead the way there.

How do you define “Leadership”?

Greg:

Leadership is leading by example, inspiring success and team building, and above all… always being humble.

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?

Greg:

Several friends and mentors have had a profound impact on my life, in particular, Tony Hsieh. Eighteen years ago, when Leslie and I were still newlyweds with two new baby daughters, I founded my first startup company. Leslie and I had no savings, so we used a home equity loan to help fund my business. We had a beautiful young family, but no financial security and no safety net. I also had no mentors to help guide my way, and at that moment Tony and I met through a mutual friend. I had no idea the impact that his friendship would have on me. For the next 18 years our friendship grew stronger and stronger, always showing up big for each other’s important life events. Tony’s encouragement and feedback over the years gave me great confidence and conviction along my journey. Fortunately my initial business and subsequent startups were successful, but Tony tragically passed away last year. I’ll miss his friendship and mentorship very much.

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

Leslie:

Greg and I feel that everyone deserves downtime, which we equate to spending time in your happy place with family and friends. Over the past year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most of us have stayed at home unable to visit the people and places we love. It has brought us joy to see that our customers are mailing SUNFLOW to their closest family and friends, encouraging their loved ones to enjoy downtime outside. We hope that SUNFLOW is part of making people smile, laugh and love.

What are the “5 Things You Need To Thrive As A Couple”? Please share a story or example for each.

Greg:

1.) Make Time for your Relationship: Leslie and I always make time to celebrate our relationship and our love for each other. We have a weekly date night — whether we go to dinner, have some cocktails, or just sit in our pajamas by the fireplace watching our favorite show or movie. Also, after we were married, we started a tradition to honeymoon every year, not just the first year. Sometimes it is simply a weekend road-trip, and sometimes a more extravagant trip to what always seems like paradise.

Leslie:

2.) Be Adoring: Never stop expressing deep affection, love and admiration for each other. Greg still writes me love poems and sends me flowers. Often an unexpected big hug, kiss, or a smile is adoring.

Greg:

3.) Be Patient: A relationship only works when you celebrate your partner’s differences as much as what you have in common.

Greg:

4.) Be Authentic: It’s important to be able to be your true self with your partner. Living an authentic life is where what you say, what you do, and what you think are all aligned.

Leslie:

5.) Always Be Thoughtful: Greg and I have been married for 22 years, but he still opens the car door for me. I pride myself on being an independent woman, but I love that Greg is even more thoughtful today than he was 23 years ago on our first date. A few weeks ago. Greg was away. While he was traveling I completed a full makeover of his home office. He was so excited and surprised when he returned. It took me forever, hours of painting and building furniture in PJ’s… but it was more than worth it to see his face when he saw it. Be thoughtful and do things that show your heart.

You are people 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. 🙂

Greg:

A few months ago Leslie and I lost our very close friend, Tony Hsieh, the author of Delivering Happiness and longtime CEO of Zappos.com. Tony inspired us because he always looked for ways to give to others. When I visited Tony, I would always see hundreds of post-it notes on the walls of his home, with each post-it listing someone’s life-dream that he was helping to come true. Tony’s example inspired us to always look for ways to give to our family, to our friends, and to our community. We would love to inspire a movement in which everyone gives more than they take. As Martin Luther King Jr. once said “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?”

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

Leslie:

“Be happy. Not because everything is good, but because you can see the good side of everything”. — Author unknown.

Greg and I try to live life by this philosophy, always trying to see the good in the people around us, and the good in the world. We find that positive energy brings us fulfilment.

We are very blessed that 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 🙂

Leslie:

Michelle Obama inspires me with her words, actions, and grace.

Amanda Gorman inspires me and gives me hope that our next generation will say and do amazing things to make our world a better place.

How can our readers follow your work online?

Subscribe to our Website: getsunflow.com

Follow us at Facebook: @getsunflow

Follow us on Instagram: @getsunflow

Lessons from a Thriving Power Couple, With Leslie Hsu and Greg Besner of Sunflow was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Honesty — A key component to any successful relationship, business partners or not. One thing I love about Nick is that he’s not afraid to correct me when I’m wrong or tear apart a piece I’ve worked hard on for the better. Oftentimes, I’m defensive at first, however, our goals are aligned and honesty generally leads to a better end-product. We have each other’s best interest in mind and we are both fully aware of that.

As a part of our series about lessons from Thriving Power Couples, I had the pleasure of interviewing Tori and Nick Donnelly — founders of WorkClub, productive workspaces and meeting rooms for remote employees across the UK and beyond. The couple met at University in a small town of Winona, Minnesota and since, have married, founded a business and had a baby girl, Scarlett. They wanted a life & career that ‘worked for them’, not the other way around, and the rest is history.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you two to your respective career paths?

We moved to London after having spent a few years together in Minnesota. For Nick, it was home, however, for me, it was a big change! I was at school every day in Kensington completing my MBA while Nick was working full time. I used to escape the chaos of the student library on campus to study across the road at a local hotel — oftentimes where I’d meet Nick who was then working remotely. It was this first experience of seeking a quiet, productive workspace that got us interested in creating a business that could help others do the same. This period of our lives heavily influenced our decision to embark on the WorkClub journey.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you two got married?

We had a busy end to 2019 as I was having a baby, while we were raising our first round.

I actually went into labour the night before our Crowdcube campaign went live. Thankfully, the team pulled together and all went well. 4 days later we had closed the round at £350k and had a new baby daughter — all around a very exciting time in our lives.

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 2018, Nick and I were visiting a number of hotels to sell the WorkClub solution. This one particular meeting was with the owner of the hotel and he wanted to meet at seven. We assumed 7am. The following week, we left our flat in Surbiton at 5:30am to make sure we were in London for 7am. We arrived in good time, looking sharp and we sat down where instructed. By 7:30am we were wondering what was going on and now the waiters were feeling so sorry for us that they were offering us a free breakfast. We declined, and continued to wait. By 8am we still had heard nothing from the hotel owner. At around midday Nick gets a call from the owner to say he meant drinks at 7pm. Lesson learned that day, always get an electronic confirmation of date and time. We still turned up for 7pm cocktails and we did sign a partnership with the hotel the next day.

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

For us, what has always stood out is our company values and our drive to change the way people work, for the better.

However, from an outsider’s perspective, a lot of people speak highly of our incredibly diverse team. We have team members from across the world and it’s incredible to see everyone engaging and thriving together on a daily basis.

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

Yes, our B2B proposition will soon be going to market, introducing a set of new features that will make it easier than ever for teams to transition into a hybrid-workforce.

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?

Let people be people, give them all the support they need to thrive.

What are the “5 Things You Need To Thrive As A Couple”? Please share a story or example for each.

Support — We are both each other’s number one fan, through thick and thin. We feel most connected when we accomplish things together, rather than separate.

Honesty — A key component to any successful relationship, business partners or not. One thing I love about Nick is that he’s not afraid to correct me when I’m wrong or tear apart a piece I’ve worked hard on for the better. Oftentimes, I’m defensive at first, however, our goals are aligned and honesty generally leads to a better end-product. We have each other’s best interest in mind and we are both fully aware of that.

Communication — Nick and I have very different working styles. He likes to be transparent about what he’s working on and bounce ideas back and forth along the way, while I’m very much the opposite. I like to get on with my work in my own space and talk about and review the finished product. We’re both very aware of each other’s working styles and we very much respect that.

Balance — It’s all about a good work-life balance, am I right? Whatever that may be or look like to your own personal situation.

Boundaries — With our busy lifestyle, alongside our 1-year old baby girl Scarlett, we make sure to set boundaries as to when we will ‘unplug’ together. After all, we are business owners and our business does take up a majority of our time (and energy!), so some nights it’s just ten minutes to unplug and chat.

You are people 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. 🙂

Work is a mindset, not a destination.

Get up, commute, get to work, make coffee, settle in at your desk, turn your computer off, commute, workout, get home, make dinner, go to bed, and repeat. Sound far too familiar?

Now is the time to stop and consciously ask ourselves what we can do to ensure our careers continue to provide us with the fulfilment we need in the years and decades to come.

WorkClub is the way forward and we want to enable remote professionals across the UK and beyond to work from anywhere.

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

“Success is not final; failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” — Winston Churchill — This quote speaks to the both of us.

WorkClub, like any startup, has had ups and downs. Times were not always ‘easy’, however, together, we kept pushing forward because there’s always another day to press on. And so happy we did so!

We are very blessed that 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 🙂

Airbnb’s CEO, Brian Chesky would be a great pick. Nick and I take a lot of inspiration from Brian and his company. Brian doesn’t seem like your typical startup CEO, which is probably why he is recognized as one of the worlds greatest leaders. In addition to his dynamic personality, Brian is obviously a very determined guy that doesn’t give up. If Brian does read this, let’s grab a bite at Al’s Breakfast in Minneapolis.

How can our readers follow your work online?

Follow @workclub for your daily dose of workspace inspo!

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

Lessons from a Thriving Power Couple, With Tori and Nick Donnelly of WorkClub was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Your business partner is your new spouse. My life is completely intertwined with my business partner. Luckily that has worked beautifully for us, but that is not always the case. Imagine being in a marriage of sorts with your partner, because legally, you kind of are. That relationship needs just as much work and open communication as any other.

As part of my series about the leadership lessons of accomplished business leaders, I had the pleasure of interviewing Danielle Gronich.

Danielle Gronich,The Acne Guru™, is the formulator and CEO of CLEARSTEM Skincare, a breakthrough clinical skincare line whose formulas are all anti-acne and anti-aging at the same time. Danielle studied cellular biology and genetics throughout her education and has had a passion for solving acne as she consistently struggled with her own skin for over 10 years, despite going through three rounds of accutane and multiple laser treatments. She took a leap of faith and decided to leave the corporate world, dove into clinical research, and went back to school to find the answers for herself, earning her license as a clinical esthetician and launching San Diego Acne Clinic in La Jolla, California. After years of evaluating the skincare market she saw that acne products cause premature aging while anti-aging products caused acne. As an expert formulator she created a line that targets both concerns simultaneously and with zero toxins.

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

After years of struggling with acne and seeing more than 10 dermatologists, I finally got fed up with the traditional western ways of treating acne. The only real solutions offered were antibiotics, hormones modifiers, and Accutane, which is incredibly toxic. I knew there was more to the biology of acne that wasn’t being discussed, so I set out to figure it out! I left the corporate consulting world and opened San Diego Acne Clinic after doing field research and working with other skin professionals. I was able to identify all of my triggers and create a playbook to evaluate and show others their triggers (sometimes up to 10 at once!). The clinic grew rapidly, and shortly thereafter I started doing product development with a reputable lab. I made an anti-acne stem cell serum and partnered with a clinic patient to create a skincare line (CLEARSTEM Skincare). Because many people with acne don’t want toxic products that age them faster, we created a line where the formulas are simultaneously anti-acne and anti-aging! It has been a complete breakthrough in the industry and we are strong educators healing acne holistically when prescriptions have failed. The need to help others avoid what we went through is what motivated my partner and me!

Can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey?

The hardest part was deciding where and how to spend my time. I was at capacity at one point seeing 10 patients a day, and I just didn’t have the help or bandwidth to maintain my personal life the way I used to. I worked on Saturdays and until 9:30pm most nights, and trying to hire was an extremely difficult learning curve that created even more work and stress when it didn’t go well. Hiring was for sure the biggest challenge, but thankfully I have that dialed in now!

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

Creating major change for people always kept me going, I love it so much. I struggled for years because of my skin, so I am continually motivated when I am able to help a stressed out bride before her wedding, help pinpoint a major internal issue for someone and send them to the right person, or have someone hug me with tears of joy because they finally have their mental health back. I get to be a unique aid to people at a very vulnerable time for them, and I take that responsibility extremely seriously. Seeing the results come in after a couple weeks and knowing that I am helping people with their overall health in a holistic way that they didn’t have before is what has kept the fire going even when I was dead tired. Also, not reporting to a boss was the sweetest thing and its own motivator.

So, how are things going today? How did grit and resilience lead to your eventual success?

Things are going fantastic now! COVID aside, both businesses are thriving and CLEARSTEM is growing leaps and bounds! My partner and I work so well together and we have grit like no other. We have had major learning curves, gotten through them as a team, and we always show up stronger and more focused each week.

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?

The funniest mistake in CLEARSTEM’s early days was when 2,500 bottles arrived from overseas with pink metallic labels. Our labels were white and blue. We had no way to reverse this and the company had an 8 week lead time, so we just had to roll with it, and, luckily, people went nuts over it!!! They loved it and still ask for it sometimes!

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

We stand out because everyone who works with us started as a patient at San Diego Acne Clinic. We have all lived the struggle and have overcome the depressing side of acne to turn it into an empowerment anchor!

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

Eat right, eliminate toxic relationships immediately, be unapologetic with your boundaries, have boundaries, stay focused on your personal emotional growth and make time for nature. I walk nearly every morning and it grounds me before things get intense at work.

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?

I am grateful to my ex-boyfriend who was also an entrepreneur. He helped me think bigger and take notice of my limiting beliefs and always stayed supportive when I needed to work late or had a stressful event. He taught me that business can be described as moving from problem to problem with no loss of enthusiasm and I remember that attitude to this day!

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

We are saving people’s mental health by helping them feel confident in their skin again!

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me before I started leading my company” and why. Please share a story or example for each.

1. Immediately get out of any contract or relationship that isn’t in your favor. We got ripped off by a website company and shipping company that took almost all our profit. We stayed with them WAY too long and should have cut ties months sooner.
2. You will be ridiculously judged. The perks of being a CEO come with major pressure and constant self-scrutiny. Before you can feel good about your leadership, you’ll go through rollercoasters of emotion wondering if you’re doing things right.
3. Your business partner is your new spouse. My life is completely intertwined with my business partner. Luckily that has worked beautifully for us, but that is not always the case. Imagine being in a marriage of sorts with your partner, because legally, you kind of are. That relationship needs just as much work and open communication as any other.
4. Make sure you have mentors that intimidate you. I like being thrown into the mix with the big companies. You learn a ton from the leaders who have built empires. Being shy about where you are is normal, but it also ignites a fire and shows you what the next level will look like.
5. Make time to travel. This is super important to plan out. Some owners rarely let themselves take a break and I know I function better when I get to take a couple weeks off, explore other countries and completely change the setting. Time far away makes you come back with so much renewed energy and keeps the passion alive.

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. 🙂

A movement idea is National No-Makeup Day! Celebrities and models included. It would inspire everyone and connect us all in such a powerful way!

How can our readers follow you on social media?

You can follow my personal Instagram account @danielle.the.acne.guru and also @clearstemskincare and @sandiegoacneclinic.

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

Danielle Gronich of CLEARSTEM Skincare: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before Became A CEO was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.