Female Founders: Whitney Bansin of The Wild Collective On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and…

Female Founders: Whitney Bansin of The Wild Collective On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Never take no for an answer- if the door is closed, go through the window. As a female trying to disrupt the sports apparel industry, many people told me “no” or that they didn’t think my idea was good enough, but I listened to my gut. I focused on the fashion-forward designs that the industry was lacking and knew I could deliver one-of-a-kind apparel that stylish sports fans would love.

As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Whitney Bansin.

Meet Whitney Bansin, CEO, Founder and Lead Designer of The Wild Collective. She knows her city. She’s a Las Vegas resident of over 25 years and graduated with a business degree from UNLV.

Before she was 20 years old, she launched One Luv Agency, a fashion, hair, makeup and styling agency focused on styling celebrities and working with top clients from around the world. Most notably, she ran and oversaw all beauty creative direction for Zappos retail for 7 years.

Her fashion and styling background provided the foundation for her knowhow with apparel. Since 2014 Whitney has been designing unique fashion pieces and accessories, working with major resorts like MGM Resorts and Caesar’s on the Las Vegas Strip. When the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights came to the city in 2017, she was tapped to create fashion-forward apparel that complimented the fan merchandise. She quickly saw the opportunity: fan sports apparel was expected, limited and lacked fashion appeal. This insight led her to launch The Wild Collective. The passion and success of her early collections catapulted her into major league and collegiate sports. The Wild Collective is now officially licensed across the NBA, WNBA, MLB, MLS and multiple college teams including The Ohio State University and The University of Alabama in addition to its exclusive deals with the Las Vegas Golden Knights and The Raiders.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

My background in fashion and styling provided the foundation for my know-how with apparel.

Before I turned 20 years old, I launched One Luv Agency, a fashion, hair & makeup and styling agency focused on styling celebrities and working with top clients from around the world. Most notably, I ran and oversaw all beauty creative direction for Zappos retail for 7 years.

Since 2014, I’ve been designing unique fashion pieces and accessories, working with major resorts like MGM Resorts and Caesar’s on the Las Vegas Strip. When the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights came to the city in 2017, I was tapped to create fashion-forward apparel that complimented the fan merchandise. I quickly saw the opportunity: fan sports apparel was expected, limited and lacked fashion appeal. This insight led me to launch The Wild Collective designing fashion-forward, licensed sports apparel.

Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?

We take a fresh eye to the sports apparel market, pulling the right fashion trends through and weaving them together with premium and sustainable fabrics. All of our styles are created with the wearer in mind and the desire to go beyond the conventional and expected, to unleash the individual. We create apparel for the Plus-1 fan, the one who wants to head to the game and look the part without sacrificing style when their local or favorite team goes on a win streak.

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?

In the beginning, I was flying by the seat of my pants. I had no clue what the process of production was. One time, I had this large accessory bag order for a retailer and I was told I needed to UPC code all of the bags before I could ship them. The boxes came in from China and we had to go through every single bag and individually add the tags. It took us days and I had to hire five people to come and help me just so I could get this order out. Little did I know that the factory in China would UPC tag them for free. Lesson learned here- if you don’t know, ask.

We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?

I’m not a person who has ever followed in another’s footsteps, I have always set my own path. There are many people in my life that have always believed in me and my intentions. I believe the most important help you can get along the journey is from someone close to you whether it be your significant other, friend or family. In my case, my rock has always been my husband Lui. Over the course of our 17 years together, I have come to him with some pretty crazy ideas and not once has he ever said he wouldn’t support the idea. He knows that my entrepreneurial brain works differently than his and that business is my passion. So if the term happy wife happy life fits in here — his way is to support me in my business endeavors so that I can thrive. Having his support along the way has allowed me to keep my head down and just keep pushing, knowing that he has my back on the back-end if anything collapses. Whether it’s picking up the kids so I can get through 10 more emails or letting me take the dogs for a walk so I can get some fresh air and clear my mind. It can be the little things that can make a huge impact on a person’s health and well-being when it comes to building a business.

In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?

Disruption is a good thing when it brings about a positive change. What I mean is that disruption should push an industry or trend out of a stale status quo. However, I agree disruption needs to be meaningful and considered. As an entrepreneur, I like to find the “gaps” in the market and identify the areas that are operating but could be enhanced in some way. I like to fix and finesse those areas to create something unique and desirable to customers and since I started my career in styling and makeup so I tend to have an eye for finding little ways of making changes to make a big impact over time.

Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.

Hustle — When building a business, you have to be willing to dig in the trenches to reach your goals. It’s important to surround yourself with people who support you through the process so you can remain focused and relentless on what it is you’re trying to build.

Belief/ believing in yourself and your vision — You will hear negative feedback and feel some self-doubt when disrupting an industry like sports apparel. However, I’ve had to constantly remind myself to believe in myself and what I’m creating. Deep down, I know that what I’m doing will make a significant difference across the industry, in terms of providing more fashionable, unisex options and sustainability.

Never take no for an answer- if the door is closed, go through the window. As a female trying to disrupt the sports apparel industry, many people told me “no” or that they didn’t think my idea was good enough, but I listened to my gut. I focused on the fashion-forward designs that the industry was lacking and knew I could deliver one-of-a-kind apparel that stylish sports fans would love.

We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?

I’m constantly thinking of ways to shake things up and create “new” in the industry. Whether that’s unisex options, better and more consistent sustainable options, custom and personalized options (like custom denim options where you can create and design your own denim jacket), I’m always looking ahead. I want to lead and not follow and the industry is always moving. Looking forward, I’m excited to have new collections launching for Major League Soccer where we’ll have unique cuts and apparel options in a league that has a unique customer base who wants to incorporate more fashion into their wear.

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by ‘women disruptors’ that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?

When I started out, I got “no” a lot. And I was generally dismissed for bringing fashion into the sports realm. “Who is this girl thinking she knows this sports retail industry?” I might not have known the ins and outs of the industry, but I know the consumer — and I knew that they were being underserved. That insight kept me down the path of making it better. And after getting no after no but continuing ahead and showing what I could do, I got a lot of yeses that turned into bigger and bigger conversations.

Do you have a book/podcast/talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us?

I’m a huge fan of Gary Vaynerchuk. When I was looking to rebrand, a friend of mine recommended his advertising company VaynerMedia. Little did I know before hiring them that my husband was already a huge fan of his. He is a scorpio like me. He also tells it like it is and is very blunt with his advice which is something I can relate to. As an entrepreneur, he is especially inspiring. He has his hands in all sorts of different businesses and I love watching what he gets into and why.

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

The use of sustainable methods in clothing to be the norm, not the exception. The Wild Collective looks to be a leader in this space and challenge the current sports market to do better. The Wild Collective uses materials that are created and sourced ethically, a 360 circular economy: where we source and reuse materials and use cutting-edge production methods. As a brand, we are committed to keeping up with the best and most up-to-date sustainability practices so we can continue to lead in this space.

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

Staying consistent and staying true to yourself. I strongly believe in listening to yourself and what your gut tells you. I’ve had to make some tough calls regarding whether or not to place an order or how much inventory we should have on hand for the websites. Right now, shipping is a huge situation across the world. Everyone’s dealing with this massive supply chain issue so being able to navigate that and knowing when it’s smart for you as a business to take a hit, and when it’s smart for you to be able to take an opportunity and seize it is crucial. So I think that listening to my gut and looking at the facts during these unprecedented times has really defined my leadership with The Wild Collective and continuing to build on that. I also think that the relationships I carry are relationships that people believe in not only us, but I do believe that they believe in me as an owner and leader, and that they believe in the vision.

How can our readers follow you online?

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this


Female Founders: Whitney Bansin of The Wild Collective On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women In Wellness: Kelly McDaniel On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s…

Women In Wellness: Kelly McDaniel On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Practice being honest ~ When I’m having a lot of feelings, I find a moment to share some of them with my husband so that when I behave poorly, he doesn’t take it personally. I do this with close friends too. It’s messy. And it’s not easy. But it helps create deeper bonds with those I care about. Checking in with myself first (journaling, sitting still) helps me be honest. Also, helps keep me brief ~ no one want to hear a lengthy monologue. That’s what my therapist is for.

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

Kelly McDaniel, LPC, NCC, CSAT is a licensed professional counselor and author who specializes in treating women who experience addictive relational patterns. A pioneer in her field, McDaniel is the first clinician to name Mother Hunger as an attachment injury and explore the repercussions of bonding to an emotionally compromised mother. Kelly teaches workshops and speaks to audiences nationwide about Mother Hunger. She is a frequent podcast guest and her groundbreaking work is being used at several treatment centers around the country.

Learn more at: KellyMcDanielTherapy.com

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?

When I was nine years old, I knew that I wanted to be a therapist. But when I was choosing a college, my parents talked me out of this career idea, so instead, I pursued a degree in English Literature. That wasn’t their first choice for me either, but I really wasn’t good at anything else.

Fortunately, I gained life changing insight in Women’s Studies courses. I decided to pursue graduate school in English because I wasn’t ready to leave the cocoon of the college campus.

I worked for the University as a Resident Director under the guidance of a trained therapist who taught us about eating disorders, suicide prevention, and substance abuse. Magically, I had stumbled into the foundation for the career I really wanted.

After graduation, I spent a brief time in corporate Human Resources and teaching literature at a local junior college. Teaching was rewarding as I could bring multicultural literature into the classroom, and HR allowed me to support diverse people. I liked the students and the employees, sensing where each person carried deeper issues.

In 1993, I gave birth to a baby boy and found new purpose as a mother. A few years after this life changing event, however, his father and I divorced. The loss of a marriage spurred me to into psychotherapy (ultimately, the best training for becoming a therapist) and a few years later, when my son went to kindergarten, I returned to school to pursue a Masters in Counseling.

School was easy because I was studying what I wanted to. I sailed through the program and the exams, and did my internship in a college counseling center. Soon after, the opportunity to join a professional development group came my way. Twelve clinicians met quarterly to learn from our mentor and inspire each other. From that group, the inspiration and collaboration came to write my first book Ready to Heal (2008).

That book launched my dream private practice. And led me to write my new book Mother Hunger; How Adult Daughters Can Understand and Heal from Lost Nurturance, Protection, and Guidance (July 2021, Hay House.)

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?

When I was teaching others to write, leaning heavily on Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird, it didn’t occur to me that I was also learning to write. Writing skills came in handy when I started a private practice. I wrote a short article for a local, wholistic publication about women, relationships, and addictive love. To my surprise, that little article filled my practice within 2 weeks. I tell this story because it still amazes me (this was before blogs, Instagram, or even Facebook). The essay turned into my first book Ready to Heal: Breaking Free of Addictive Relationships.

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?

The biggest mistake I made in my career didn’t come when I first started. Regular psychotherapy and being a mother kept my priorities clear, so life was mostly in balance. Trouble came years later when my son left for college. My first book was a success, my practice was doing well, and I had happily remarried. But I felt unmoored. I didn’t know what to do with all the freedom. Buried trauma symptoms emerged and I came off the rails a bit, moving my practice and upending some very dear souls who counted on me.

In hindsight, I’m not sure how to have avoided this season in my personal and professional life. It took me to a deeper place of healing, but also hurt some lovely clients who weren’t ready for me to go. I made appropriate referrals, but I learned an important lesson; a therapist who specializes in the type of work that I do requires a significant commitment to each person, and if I’m not able to make that commitment, I can’t take new clients.

In time, I reorganized my practice to offer Intensives instead of weekly sessions. The Intensives gave me the flexibility to provide deeper, long-lasting psychotherapy and also travel with my husband and write a new book. With the onset of a global pandemic, work is changing again, but this time, I’m a bit more ready for how the change affects me and my practice.

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?

When we don’t have a name for what hurts, we can’t heal it or treat it. By naming “Mother Hunger”, I’m helping thousands of women emerge from chronic shame and frozen grief.

Mother Hunger is an attachment injury that until now has had no name so the invisible heartbreak masquerades as anxiety, depression, and various mood disorders.

With a name, clinicians can better support clients. With a name, women can better understand themselves. With a name, the three essential maternal elements (nurturance, protection and guidance) that were missing in formative years can be replaced in adulthood. With a name, we can shift our collective awareness toward the critical nature of mothering and better support families.

Growing awareness of ACE’s (Adverse Childhood Experiences) is a promising development in psychology and medicine. ACE’s threaten secure attachment. Secure attachment is the primary need for all of us as children. Securely attached children grow up to adults who can manage relationships and life without undue distress.

Mother Hunger is another name for insecure attachment. Mother Hunger, or insecure attachment, exists on a spectrum and emerges from inadequate nurturing, protection, and guidance in childhood. For this reason, I consider Mother Hunger an ACE and work to educate about it.

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.

Practice being quiet ~ one of the most profound experiences in my life was taking a silent retreat. I was only 21 the first time. In silence, there is nowhere to hide from internal emotions that we can dismiss by staying busy. For six days without sound or stimulation from the outside world, I met my deepest fears. I take a similar retreat every 10 years, and each time, something new about the preciousness of life and the inevitability of death helps keep my priorities in focus.

Practice being playful ~ for many of us who grew up too fast, we didn’t learn to play. Like many of the women I work with, my childhood was stressful. Play was seen as a waste of time. As an adult, I find healthy ways to play to steer clear of addictive habits. Sometimes, playtime is as simple as knitting. Or cooking. Sometimes it’s more elaborate like a trip with friends or family.

Practice being present ~ By journaling or sitting quietly, I check in with myself. What kind of energy am I’m bringing to the day, to my home, to my partnerships, friendships, and clients? It’s not always easy to identify what I’m feeling, especially when I’m overwhelmed. When life is too much, I remind myself that this is a “practice” not a destination.

Practice being honest ~ When I’m having a lot of feelings, I find a moment to share some of them with my husband so that when I behave poorly, he doesn’t take it personally. I do this with close friends too. It’s messy. And it’s not easy. But it helps create deeper bonds with those I care about. Checking in with myself first (journaling, sitting still) helps me be honest. Also, helps keep me brief ~ no one want to hear a lengthy monologue. That’s what my therapist is for.

Have a therapist ~ Psychotherapy helps me be the mother I want to be, the clinician I want to be, the wife I want to be, the friend I want to be, and the woman I want to be.

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

A Mother Hunger movement!

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

At the start of my second career, I had wonderful guidance. A wise supervisor said to me, “don’t schedule clients on a Monday…everything is awful on Mondays. Take that day for your own self-care” I followed her advice ( and share it with younger clinicians) and have always been grateful to have Mondays for myself after a work week and a weekend with family.

A mentor encouraged me to avoid insurance companies. Staying away from adjusters who determine treatment practices has been priceless advice and saved me many headaches.

A mentor encouraged me to stay in therapy and supervision, pursue the best trainings, and know my worth. Her clear guidance helped me find the path to provide excellent clinical treatment, integrate theoretical models, and write meaningful books.

I think it’s tempting when starting a practice to take on any client who calls for help.

In trainings, I learned the importance of knowing who I work well with and who I don’t.

I experimented with this during Internship and early in my practice. The flow of working one on one with adult women was much easier for me than running groups, providing family therapy, or working with men. These lessons helped me avoid burnout by say “no” to clients that I didn’t feel qualified to support.

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

Mental Health is dear to me because my whole life is dedicated to managing my own and helping others. Nutrition, specifically a plant-based diet, is part of my mental health. Now that I’m finished writing the Mother Hunger book, I’m spending free time learning more about the climate crisis and making new efforts to be part of a solution.

What is the best way our readers can follow you online?

Please subscribe to my newsletter at KellyMcDanielTherapy.com and follow me @kellymcdanieltherapy on Instagram

Thank you for these fantastic insights!


Women In Wellness: Kelly McDaniel 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.

Female Disruptors: Asli Samanci of BEE & YOU On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

I think that it’s much harder to have a professional career when you’re also a mother. Finding the balance between family and work was particularly challenging because if you don’t support your colleagues at work, then your business won’t grow. At the same time, taking care and watching my children grow is immensely important to me.

As a part of our series about women who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Asli Samanci.

Dr. Asli Samanci is the CEO & Founder of BEE & YOU, an innovative provider of natural BEE products. Dr. Asli is a renowned, award-winning food scientist committed to creating natural and healthy products for the educated consumer, and a pioneering advocate for combining science and nature to create safe, effective natural bee products. She has created a business model that contracts beekeepers to prevent bees from becoming extinct, that has allowed her to create Propolis in its healthiest, most natural and safe form, thanks to her innovative, patented extraction process.

As a food scientist, bee enthusiast, and entrepreneur, Dr. Asli’s mission is to make Propolis available to the world and to introduce the world, the natural healing powers of Anatolian Propolis, the highest grade of Propolis that can be harvested by bees because of the 12,500 plants of Anatolia, 3500 of which are endemic.

With Dr. Asli’s mission in mind, she founded BEE & YOU, a now leading, innovative provider of natural bee products, (Propolis, Royal Jelly, Pollen, Pure Raw Honey) that are antiviral, antibacterial, natural immune boosters. BEE & YOU’s powerful, science-backed products are effective in naturally fighting allergy symptoms and support the immune system. All products are 100% natural, gluten free, non-GMO, pesticide free; and free from additives, colorants or preservatives. BEE & YOU products are safe for both children and adults and have creative taste options for kids and adults. In addition to BEE & YOU’s direct website, its products are sold at 3,000 CVS stores nationally, Trader Joe’s, and via Amazon.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

My background is in food science, and I have worked with companies in the bee industry for over 15 years. But it wasn’t until I had my first child that I became more involved in exploring natural products’ healing qualities.

My son, who was 5 at the time, was experiencing serious health problems. He was having a recurrent infection problem that was highly resistant to antibiotics. He was prescribed antibiotics to cure his condition, but then he started having adverse reactions to them. An autoimmune disease occurred called Henoch-Schöenlein Vasculitis, described as an acute immunoglobulin A (IgA)–mediated disorder characterized by a generalized vasculitis involving the small vessels of the skin, the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, the kidneys, the joints, and, rarely, the lungs and the central nervous system (CNS). The doctors were clueless, and his condition was becoming critical. While struggling to find a solution, I reached a medical doctor who was an expert on autoimmune diseases; he recommended trying bee propolis as an alternative treatment. So, I decided to give it a try and supplied raw propolis through one of the beekeepers I knew. But it is not edible in its raw form and has to be extracted before consumption. So I first extracted raw propolis in my lab for my son and started giving him this superfood in drop form. Miraculously, it cured my son’s condition within 6 months by increasing the number of immune cells in his body and he eventually came to a full recovery. This was when I decided to bring this natural superfood to others who need it; the rest is history… This experience motivated me to challenge myself to produce propolis as a natural immune enhancer for all the children and mothers with similar conditions.

Later, I founded my company with the help of my husband, Mr. Taylan Samanci, an agricultural engineer, and my academic advisor, Prof. Dr. Dilek Boyacioglu. We decided to produce propolis and that’s how my entrepreneurship story started. But, since raw propolis is not suitable for human consumption, we developed an extraction method to make propolis suitable for human consumption while at the same time creating innovative, healthy products. Propolis extracted according to our method has at least three times higher biological activity than that of similar products.

Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?

First of all, I pay utmost attention to the purity and sourcing of our products. Every batch is rigorously tested for impurities, and only those with the highest quality pass these tests.

Secondly, our beekeepers are all located in one of the most biodiverse regions on the planet. Thus, the harvest from this region is exceptional in terms of nutrition and health benefits.

Thirdly, I work with our beekeepers through a unique business model called “Contracted Beekeeping”. Every beekeeper willing to partner with us has to agree to follow strict standards such as never using sugar or derivatives as a feeding method and placing their hives at a specific distance from industrial sites. In return, we promise to purchase their entire harvest at a fair rate.

By enforcing these rules, we ensure that our honeybees are healthy, treated without cruelty, and away from harmful toxins and chemicals. It also gives us full traceability and transparency over our raw materials and products, so we know where they came from, who harvested them, and in what conditions they were produced. Besides we give back to our community of beekeepers additional financial support from every Bee&You product sold on the market as a premium in the form of new hives and beekeeping equipment. We aiming to support them to improve their business so that they can look after more bees. As we all know, bees are crucial to keep the world green and for sustainable agricultural production, by pollinating 80% of all the plants in the world.

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?

I am an expert on bee products and beekeeping and understanding bees is a different expertise. I realized that when we were visiting our beekeepers on the site for the first time, I saw a bee about to die in the entrance of a bee hive and I really felt very sorry, thinking that bees are getting extinct and I asked my husband Taylan, the reason of this. He said that this is normal. I was so surprised to hear that and was really in a funny situation when I learnt that, female bees sting male bees and throw them away from the hive so that they don’t finish the food in the hive. And was in real shock when I learnt that the only role of male bees are to fertilize the queen bee in the hive. And after they complete their task, they are thrown away from the hive. Once again in my life, I realized that not it may not be what it seems and I have a lot more to learn about nature. This was the time when I decided to start my doctoral studies in biology.

We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?

At the beginning of this journey, I was somewhat discouraged. Many people said that trade is a different and challenging game and that I may not have the qualifications to succeed. Others criticized my decision to live a risky entrepreneurial life and move away from the security of a fixed salary.

But I continued to advance my career following my dream. Inevitably, being an entrepreneur creates some financial and moral dilemmas, but they never scared me, and I never gave up even when I faced multiple challenges. I believe that knowledge and hard work are essential when growing your business. I overcame most of the problems with the help of my network and by utilizing my expertise in the beekeeping field.

I’ve convinced my husband and my academic advisor to start a company and be my business partners. Our success is based on teamwork. We have already worked on many projects creating bee products; it was very important to me to have them on this journey.

My biggest mentor was my father, who taught me that I should never give up on my life goals and always work hard. He was a surgeon and I never forgot his word “There is no healing with drugs, they only hide the symptoms. Healing is in your brain and heart.”.

In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?

We began our journey as a start-up company in the technology development area of Istanbul Technical University. We appreciated many of the privileges provided to start-ups, such as business training, allocation of space, and eligibility for project funds from the state resources for a specific period. However, the biggest challenge came with producing propolis. At the time, beekeepers did not harvest propolis from their hives as there was no market for this local product in the country. Therefore, we had to develop a business model to attract their attention to produce this valuable product for us. It was the first time that anyone in our region offered contract-based agreements to the beekeepers with a purchasing warranty of their products at a fixed annual price. Because of this unusual request, it was very challenging to convince beekeepers that this model would work. In the beginning, we organized many seminars and briefings for beekeepers in various locations; eventually, we started working with ten beekeepers who would provide us with good quality propolis. Our business model allows the production agreements to be signed directly by the beekeepers without middlemen or distributors. Today, we are so proud that we have contracts with more than 5,000 beekeepers overseeing 500,00 beehives in Anatolia, Turkey, who are very happy doing business with our company. I believe this is an excellent example of the positive influence of disruptive business, like our company’s BEE & YOU.

However, it’s important to note that customers were only aware of certain bee products such as honey and pollen. Thus, it was a great challenge to introduce propolis, royal jelly and bee bread to people because many of them hadn’t heard of it before. To address this challenge, we focused on using digital communication channels, gave presentations at many national and international conferences, and created interview opportunities on many TV channels. We aimed to provide scientific information about the health benefits of propolis and other valuable bee products. Another significant challenge was to introduce raw honey without the application of any fine-filtering and heat treatment. Because all major honey packaging companies preferred to apply a pasteurization process to honey to stop its natural crystallization, but also harming its natural enzymes and vitamins. We needed to tell customers why raw honey is superior to those products. For example, we explained that pasteurized honey loses its pollens and nutritional compounds and therefore, that decreases its health benefits. Yet at the beginning of our journey, raw honey remained a new concept in the beekeeping sector in our region. So, mass production of heated and filtered honey could be an example of negative disruptive industry.

Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.

The best piece of advice I have ever received was from my father, who taught me that I should never give up on my life goals and always work hard.

Another vital piece of advice that I’ve received was that despite having the technical knowledge to set up my own company, I was told by my mentor and partner, Prof Dilek, to acquire knowledge in management, sales & marketing, so I pursued an MBA at the same time I was setting up my company.

Taylan, my husband and partner, advised me to go on my academic career as well and encouraged me a lot. And that is how I started to develop natural skincare creams and serums during my doctoral studies. Now I am also an expert about skincare and developing new innovative products for skin health from natural bee products.

Lastly, I am always very much inspired by the word of Hippocrates, who is referred to as the father of Medical Science “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”. I definitely believe that we are what we eat and there is a natural medicine in natura for every health problem. The only thing we need is awareness and discovery. We have to be curious enough to look deeper in nature.

We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?

We are working on a project to improve the economic conditions of women, particularly those living in the rural areas of Anatolia. Our aim is to support female beekeepers using our “Contract-based Beekeeping Business Model” by providing training on beekeeping practices. That is how we expect to develop small beekeeping entrepreneurs and improve the social and economic status of women in Anatolia.

We also focus on R&D studies and continue to develop new, natural and innovative bee products, such as food supplements and cosmetics. We aim to reach more customers in the US and other countries by showing them the health benefits of propolis and other valuable bee products. We strongly believe that we can grow our brand by increasing costumer awareness for 100% natural and environmentally friendly bee products to improve their health. Our goal is to have a positive environmental impact by supporting bees’ pollination process, helping beekeepers through our contract-based business model and providing healthy and nutritious bee products to our customers.

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by ‘women disruptors’ that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?

I am so grateful to my family who supported me with my vision & entrepreneurial endeavors. Of course, when you work at a fast pace, the help you receive from your family becomes even more critical. My husband, Taylan, Beekeeping Expert, Agricultural Engineer, is also my business partner. He’s always been my biggest supporter, helping me overcome any discrimination against woman entrepreneurship. Looking back on what I’ve lived in the last seven years, I accept that it was very challenging for me as a mother of two. But I am so happy to give the miracle of Anatolian propolis to people and help them leave healthier.

I think that it’s much harder to have a professional career when you’re also a mother. Finding the balance between family and work was particularly challenging because if you don’t support your colleagues at work, then your business won’t grow. At the same time, taking care and watching my children grow is immensely important to me.

Do you have a book/podcast/talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us?

One the best books that I love and inspired from is “The End of Illness” from David B. Agus. After the serious health problem of my son and saving him with propolis, I focused my studies on health effects of bee products and other natural remedies. This booked changed my opinion about illness and how to overcome health problems.

Another inspiring book that I love is from Suzanne Doyle-Morris “Beyond The Boys’ Club: Achieving Career Success As A Woman Working In A Male-Dominated Field”. As a woman entrepreneur I am very much inspired by the stories of other woman entrepreneurs. Like most other fields, our sector is also dominated by males. During my journey I learn’t their way of thinking and how to compete and overcome unfair competition.

“Buyology” from Martin Lindstrom is also another very inspiring book for all entrepreneurs, that will change their way of thinking on how to sell their products and services to their target audience.

I am always very impressed by the talk of Steve Jobs at Stanford University “How to Live Before You Die”. I think everybody has to listen and feel his journey in life. There is a reason for everybody to be on earth. I believe that I am helping to spread the word of bees to the world. How important they are for the future of humanity. I own a life to them and now it is time to payback. There is nothing for no reason. The important is how fast you find and understand your own reason. Then you definitely go after it.

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

The most important movement I wish to inspire is to help the number of bees increase in the world. This will also contribute to sustainable agricultural production and more natural food for everyone. Besides the world will go more green and more clean. Increasing quantity of bee products will also enhance the health of many people struggling with severe diseases. Bees play a critical role in pollination as they provide about 80% of the pollination of all the plants. It’s simple; if bees will extinct, the humanity will be extinct as well. So helping the bees means, helping our planet.

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

My favorite life lesson quote is “Don’t give up your dreams”. At the beginning of my journey, even small obstacles seemed like big problems. Later, I realized that they were common challenges in the journey of entrepreneurship. Of course, at times I became tired and even exhausted from dealing with those problems. I would have been more comfortable and confident if I knew how to handle everything from the beginning. However, I learned to find ways to deal with my weaknesses and improve my abilities. I believe that knowledge is power. Never start a business without gaining all the necessary information first. Your knowledge is what will make you rise to the top.

How can our readers follow you online?

They can follow me on social media @propolisexpert and @beeandyounatural. Also, I want to thank you for your interest and support for women entrepreneurship, Anatolian propolis, and beekeeping. You can find our products at www.beeandyou.com.

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


Female Disruptors: Asli Samanci of BEE & YOU On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Founders: Julia Faller of Benedetta On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a…

Female Founders: Julia Faller of Benedetta On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Having conviction and vision for what you are about to accomplish is really key. I can only speak for myself and the drive I felt in creating something of benefit. I had 3 small children and virtually no money. The need to accomplish what I set out to do was overwhelming. I ran into many obstacles in creating a new paradigm in an industry set in its ways. I ran into obstacle after obstacle and was laughed at and told it could not be done. I persisted. If you are a visionary and have the determination to see it through, nothing will stop your momentum. Ask for support, and seek, and find the tribe that will let you have wings. We truly are the company we keep.

As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Julia Faller.

Julia Faller is the Founder and President of Benedetta, the first and only skincare line formulated with 100% botanical, Certified Organic & Biodynamic ingredients. As a licensed esthetician and clinician in the 80’s and 90’s, Julia found herself questioning the cosmetic and skincare industries ethical approach in caring for the skin. The acceptance of a botanical here and there in a preponderance of chemical and plastic laden ingredients still considered ‘all natural’, was illogical and unhealthy.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

I created Benedetta with a clear intention to serve a need that hadn’t yet been met in the skin care industry, one riddled with petrochemicals and false, harmful ingredients.

My insistence on Farm-Sourced® ingredients, with attention to synergistic formulas, is key to delivering function and purpose through our system of use. It took time and persistence to acquire raw materials that were not only clean and free from toxins, but Certified Organic and eventually Biodynamic, this has become the cornerstone of excellence that would grow. Finding solutions for my formulas to allow for 98–100% botanical efficacy without conventional binders, additives and so on, was challenging and took years. I had virtually no support in my thinking and it required great presence of mind to persevere.

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

I think it’s interesting when anyone changes the mind of another through conviction and honesty that’s mutually beneficial. We get so much marketing and inauthentic information from those with self-interests, whether it be advertising a product that may not work, or digital media companies selling you an invisible marketing approach.

Almost 20 years ago, I was invited to go into a store within the San Francisco Ferry Building’s new Marketplace. It was comprised of food vendors with a focus on local and sustainable agriculture with a farm-to table concept. I saw a perfect fit for Benedetta, but the founders did not, referring to me as cosmetic. I love the building and saw the beauty of it draw the community and tourists coming into our city. I kept hearing, “We are a food marketplace and you are not food.”

I am not a pushy sales representative and really cannot stand that approach, in fact we do not sell our line like that ever. We care for people and assess what they are looking for and what their needs are before introducing the line.

After some emails, I was able to have a meeting with one of the founders, which would turn out to be essentially a 5 minute elevator speech on what makes me a good fit in a sustainable farm to food marketplace. In a nutshell my answer was, “I produce farm sourced, 100% botanical, Organic & Biodynamic products that are produced locally. Furthermore, they are food for skin and work in the same way clean alive nutrients work for your body, much like the food we ingest.”

We talked for several more years before having a Benedetta location in the building. That was 18 years ago.

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?

I don’t think it was funny at the time, but looking back, I have laugh at it now.

Just before launching the Benedetta line in February 1996, I had intended to create a blemish preparation that I wasn’t going to launch until later for various reasons. However, weeks before the launch I decided to include it. In a rush to add it in to a full day of production, I mixed the wrong phases together and did not emulsify a raw material correctly, resulting in tiny specks in the product that did not dissolve. It was the end of our production and this was the last one, exhausted to think we would have to start over, others tried to encourage me not to worry, that it would be ok. I ran over to the sink and threw the whole thing in, much to the screams of, “don’t throw it away, it still works”.

In that moment, it set the tone to always micro-batch and focus on quality control, and above all — be conscious, and aware. To this day, we do not produce more than one product a day, and all preparations are done in silence and reverence for the intended user. Zen in the art of formulation if you will.

The end user is my biggest concern and the reason I do what I do.

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?

There are two people that come to mind but there are really so many.

1.My mentor and inspiration is Marcel Lavabre, founder of the Aroma Vera company and Author of the Aromatherapy Workbook. If not for Marcel, I would not have continued to formulate more. He encouraged the production and distribution of my first product the Crystal Radiance Hydrating Elixirs Neroli and Ylang Ylang– distributed by the Aroma Vera company from 1987–1991. In addition to, his certification courses in medical aromatherapy, aromatherapy conferences, and medical courses with noted speakers and teachers in the field of essential oil efficacy and sciences.

2.The lead up to founding Benedetta, I had 3 small children at home and a husband that worked construction from 6am to 5pm. We had relocated when I was 6 months pregnant with twins and a 6 year old. On our own, with no support.

To acquire the first packaging and afford raw materials, I delivered Chinese food at night and weekends and worked in our local health food store as a nutritional consultant. My husband was in charge of taking care of the kids so I could work, as dead-tired as he was from pouring concrete all day.

He has been my support for almost 40 years and is an integral part of Benedetta as our production manager, among other things.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. According to this EY report, only about 20 percent of funded companies have women founders. This reflects great historical progress, but it also shows that more work still has to be done to empower women to create companies. In your opinion and experience what is currently holding back women from founding companies?

I think some women are torn between being a parent and creating their passion.

I have been running Benedetta for more than 3 decades. This was an era where we spoke about women “having it all”, meaning- motherhood and career.

If you have a vision and talent to create something that is of service or need, do not let self-limiting beliefs stand in your way. If you are truly doing something that serves the greater good you will find the support to follow through. It takes drive, ambition, courage, incentive and above all, honesty.

Can you help articulate a few things that can be done as individuals, as a society, or by the government, to help overcome those obstacles?

Having conviction and vision for what you are about to accomplish is really key. I can only speak for myself and the drive I felt in creating something of benefit. I had 3 small children and virtually no money. The need to accomplish what I set out to do was overwhelming. I ran into many obstacles in creating a new paradigm in an industry set in its ways. I ran into obstacle after obstacle and was laughed at and told it could not be done. I persisted. If you are a visionary and have the determination to see it through, nothing will stop your momentum. Ask for support, and seek, and find the tribe that will let you have wings. We truly are the company we keep.

This might be intuitive to you as a woman founder but I think it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you share a few reasons why more women should become founders?

Generally speaking, women lead with their hearts. We feel and intuit culturally at a broader level than our male counterparts. That heart intelligence is one that can be creative and motivate from a place of empathy. We need more love and sense of community in business and government. Kindness and sharing in a selfless way will enhance who we are as a species. This speaks to greater need not just for women but for all of us.

What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a founder? Can you explain what you mean?

That we are all the same. That creating something that is brought to the market is easy. I never received funding and truly have worked harder each year than the previous to get Benedetta product into the hands of the consumer. It is not easy, but it is life-changing. I believe I will leave the world a little better for those lives I have enhanced with Benedetta products. I am very proud and grateful to have been of service in this capacity.

But not every founder is a creator of something, but one that can lead another company’s growth. That takes talent and drive too, something I now welcome into to my company as I get older and need to pass the torch.

Is everyone cut out to be a founder? In your opinion, which specific traits increase the likelihood that a person will be a successful founder and what type of person should perhaps seek a “regular job” as an employee? Can you explain what you mean?

No, not everyone is cut out to be a “founder”.

Since you are asking me, I can only speak to what I know. I designed and created something on my own without help. First came the formulas, some taking years to make. The process for me took incredible determination and conviction in the botanical world and science behind it.

To me, the best founders actually have an original and authentic idea, and put it into action. It takes courage.

All this being said, those that follow are as important as those that lead. There is no shame in that and complete the company’s ethos and mission. The unity of the company culture is key and necessary.

Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)

  1. That marketing is what makes a company successful, not the products. I launched Benedetta in 1996 and really knew nothing about business. I have watched dozens of companies succeed by first focusing on marketing and distribution, not product, and sell for millions. They have a marketing and exist strategy before they even know what the product would look like, or more importantly, how it would perform for the consumer. They see success and money first. I never followed trends, but focused on what the consumer actually needed, there is a difference. I would not have changed the product first, but I would have put much more time and effort into marketing.
  2. That direct to consumer is key. I spent 15 years on shelves in retailers collecting dust. The amount of time and energy to get the staff to support our SKU’s over the hundreds of others is time wasted.Direct to consumer in retail is the way for our customers to be cared for.
  3. To hire wisely. A business is only as good as the company it keeps and those that support it. Business comes first and those that you hire must enhance the company culture and be supportive and above all, kind. Pay well and honor of course, but I have spent years learning this lesson. Bad hiring can delay and actually halter company growth, when the opposite is needed. This has never been more evident since the pandemic.
  4. Have financial meetings regularly. The number one reason businesses go under is irregular finances, by not having a budget and ignoring the bottom line. In order to have financial goals, a company needs to see where they are at and where they are going. I think all the principles in the company should understand this and be aware of monthly and quarterly growth or decline in revenue.
  5. Not all business is honest and reputable. When dealing with a vast supply chain, you are dependent on others. When trust erodes, stress follows. As a manufacturer, I deal with many different characters, from raw materials to packaging, equipment and more.
    For example, taking almost a year to locate a producer of a particular algae for my Seaweed Mask, finally it arrived from France and it only half the order arrived and was soaked. It took months to get the shipper to make good, but moreover the company I worked with would take no responsibility at all. Business will be a chase and there are those that will do everything to not be accountable, even when you can prove a mistake. It isn’t easy, and takes fortitude and support. In spite of those that will run a business unscrupulously, it is important to run yours honestly. You either become the same as them to get ahead, or, you develop empathy and always lead (in our case) with quality and effectiveness for our customers.

How have you used your success to make the world a better place?

Working to enhance peoples’ self-image through product creation has been extremely rewarding. But I think the community of certified organic and biodynamic farmers and suppliers I support has extended my global impact to be a counted voice for sustainability on our planet. Especially in a time of climate crisis.

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

I have dedicated myself to health and wellness on how it relates to your skin. I would love to start a movement that speaks to our energetic consciousness and how that coincides to our overall wellbeing, health, beauty, and longevity. I have come to understand that a healthy lifestyle enhances equitable energy and allows for our greatest peace of mind. The future of medicine is beyond pharmaceuticals and even recognizable plant nutrients, but, in the way we are able to bring our body and spirit into a cohesive balance. Creating a place and a movement that is truly inclusive and stimulates all aspects of energetic medicine, food, and lifestyle with no judgement. This would generate the peace and well-being we all strive to attain.

We are very blessed that some very prominent 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.

There are so many visionaries and people that selflessly make the world a better place through their work, for people and planet. Since this is about women founders, I would like to be consistent.

I want to give mention to a woman that is no longer with us but blazed a trail and had the courage to stand up to giants in the chemical industry and change the way we looked at better living through chemistry.

Rachel Carson wrote the now-famous Silent Spring, an expose on the misinformation spread by the chemical industry and the use of synthetic pesticides, specifically DDT. This book spurred the environmental revolution. The overall theme of the book is the commanding- and overwhelmingly negative- effect that humans have on the natural world. Carson’s lasting legacy led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency in the United States under the Nixon administration and started the conversation regarding the human impact on the environment.

For one that I can sit down and have a conversation with, Dr. Holly Lucille. I have been practicing functional medicine and alternative approaches to health and wellness my entire adult life for myself and my family. Although I have many in my life that have made an impact on thousands, Dr. Lucille has been able to get her message of health and wellness across to millions with her media appearances, podcast and books.

Dr. Holly Lucille, ND, RN, is a nationally recognized and licensed naturopathic doctor, educator, natural product consultant, and television and radio host. She is also the author of several books including Creating and Maintaining Balance: A Women’s Guide to Safe, Natural, Hormone Health and The Healing Power of Trauma Comfrey. An acclaimed expert in the field of integrative medicine, Dr. Lucille lectures throughout the nation on a variety of natural health topics. Her appearances include national media programs and networks such as ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, Dr. Oz, The Doctors, Lifetime and the Discovery Health Channel.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.


Female Founders: Julia Faller of Benedetta On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women In Wellness: Dani Dunckley on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s…

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

Don’t give up: When you start your business from scratch, not everyone will support your decision and understand you. Be prepared to work extra hard to keep your personal life and business going. Do not let anyone turn you away from your dreams — including yourself! If this is what you really want, don’t give up!

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

Dani Dunckley, MA, RYT, is a True Fulfillment Self Care Coach. She helps women in service based professions who put everyone else’s needs ahead of their own commitment to their self care so that they can make a significant and sustainable difference in the world without sacrificing themselves and while living a life they love.

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

I realized the importance of self-care when I was twelve, and my dad died in a horse racing accident. Losing him made it painfully clear how precious life is, and that none of us knows how long we have. Before he died, I watched my parents work long hours, six days a week, and saw the toll this took on them, from exhaustion to burnout to depression. I experienced similar exhaustion and burnout when I was in graduate school, studying and teaching.

That’s when I discovered yoga and quickly fell in love.

It wasn’t long until I decided to become a yoga teacher (one of the best decisions of my life) and finally felt connected and whole again. I loved teaching yoga. and I loved my students. Meanwhile, I witnessed my students, from medical doctors to social workers to teachers and therapists, struggle with exhaustion and burnout. These students came to me over and over again after class to share how much my teaching helped them and that my classes kept them from depression; relieved their anxiety; kept them focused, calm, and centered; helped them sleep, and even improved their performance at work.

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?

It would have to be me moving from Seattle to New York and taking my in person business of teaching yoga to an online business of not only teaching yoga but also teaching self-care. When I moved to NY, the only way I knew to continue teaching my Seattle students was online. And when I asked them about their biggest challenge, or what they needed help with the most, almost unanimously the answer that came in was self-care.

I learned that the main reason my students practiced with me had almost nothing to do with the asana, or postures, but with the way I invited them to slow down and be kind to themselves, to listen to and honor their bodies, to practice with compassion and levity, and to be present to their experience with love. Essentially, I was teaching them self-care through yoga.

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?

Being in too much of a hurry and acting out of a scarcity mindset was my biggest mistake. I was too focused on making an income and building an audience right away. But both take time, intention, and integrity, and neither can manifest from a place of fear or lack.

I learned to trust the process; to be true to myself, rather than trying to fit myself in someone else’s mold who tells me this is what I need to do to sell; and to have a plan that’s rooted in a mindset of abundance of compassion. So the focus isn’t how much money can I make or how many followers or students can I get. It’s how can I serve. And that is with integrity, intention, and trust.

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

My partner and I met in a yoga class that we were both taking with one of my favorite yoga teachers, and it was clear really early on, even before our first date (although that certainly confirmed it), that there was something very special between us. He has supported me 100%, and in every way, financially, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and even as a fellow professional — he’s a therapist. Our approach as well as what we do with clients is very similar.

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’d like to begin by sharing a statistic with you. A study on health and self-care by the Samueli Foundation states that “more than 9 in 10 physicians (96%) believe self-care should be considered an essential part of overall health, and 88 percent of patients agree.” So my work as a self-care coach is definitely helping make a bigger impact in the world! Also, it is only when we show up for and take care of ourselves that we are able to make a significant and sustainable impact in the world. This is especially true for the majority of my clients who are service providers, like therapists, social workers, and teachers.

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. Morning rituals — How you start your day provides the foundation for the rest of your day, so beginning the day with rituals like meditation, drinking a glass of water, and movement set you up for a productive, joyful, and fulfilling day. It really doesn’t take much! Many of my clients have commented on how much just drinking a glass of water first thing in the morning has shifted the way they feel.

2. Midday pause & reset — During the day, it is so important to take time to pause and reset, otherwise we get overwhelmed and stressed out. Just a simple five-minute breathing break in between tasks provides you with more energy and ease.

3. Evening routine — At the end of the day most of us are tired, but often still wound up by the activities of the day, and the to-do lists for the next day. So, it is essential to take time to relax and unwind with an evening routine like journaling, going for a walk, or reading a book. If we don’t take time to unwind from the day, it’ll be more challenging for us to fall asleep and have a restful sleep, which is essential to our well-being.

4. Sleep! — Recent studies have made it very clear how essential sleep is. In fact, the World Health Organization has now declared a sleep loss epidemic throughout industrialized nations. The most important piece of advice I can give you when it comes to sleep is to stick to a sleep schedule. Go to bed and wake up at the same time each day. And set an alarm for bedtime. Often we set an alarm for when it’s time to wake up, but don’t think to do so for when it’s time to go to sleep.

5. Self-compassion — When most of us make mistakes, our first impulse is to criticize ourselves. Self-criticism is okay if it’s constructive, but most of the time it’s not and turns into self-defeating behavior where we get lost in rumination and blame. Whereas, research on self-compassion shows that people who are more self-compassionate tend to be happier, more hopeful, and optimistic. They’re less anxious, depressed, stressed, and fearful. They’re wiser and more emotionally intelligent and can regulate negative emotions more effectively.

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

Be Where You Are. In almost twenty years of teaching yoga and in the past 4 years of working as a self-care coach, the number one cause of suffering I see in my students and clients (and in myself) is fighting ourselves. And the most powerful practice to peace and freedom is allowing ourselves to be where we are. Meeting the moment just as it is. The paradox about this that I absolutely love is that as soon as you stop fighting with yourself or trying to make things different is when the transformation happens. You create space for the shift from anxious to calm to occur when you stop fighting the anxiety. It’s incredible.

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

1. Embrace discomfort: To become a successful entrepreneur, you need to become someone you’ve never been before. I spent most of my life from when I was young through my adult years not having much money or living paycheck to paycheck. No one taught me how to start a successful business. I had to learn everything on my own. The main takeaway is: DON’T be afraid to leave your comfort zone. With every new milestone in your business, you are going to face new struggles. It never ends. I know I make the right decision for my business when I stretch myself and leave my comfort zone. Your success is outside your comfort zone!

2. Personal development is non-negotiable: Your education never ends. The moment you stop listening to inspirational stories and reading educational books, your success begins to fall. You won’t see it overnight, but when you figure out why your income drops and your clients walk away, it will be too late. I learned that lesson the hard way. Be a lifelong learner!

3. Don’t give up: When you start your business from scratch, not everyone will support your decision and understand you. Be prepared to work extra hard to keep your personal life and business going. Do not let anyone turn you away from your dreams — including yourself! If this is what you really want, don’t give up!

4. Focus on what matters and let go of the rest: When I first started my business, I spent way too much time on creating a website and making a logo and getting my online image right. I was playing business instead of doing business. I was creatively avoiding out of fear. I was worrying about the facade instead of the foundation. None of the surface stuff really matters. And it’s all going to change. Focus on getting paid clients and everything else will fall into place.

5. Have fun: So many coaches and entrepreneurs make the leap because they want the freedom of running their own business and instead, their business ends up running them. And sometimes they don’t realize this until it’s too late. They wake up one day tired, unfulfilled, and trapped in a constant state of anxiety. And they don’t have the energy to do anything about it. As a coach, you’re supposed to be helping people live a good life. And it’s hard to do that if you don’t have much of a life yourself. Build your business around the life that you want to be living from the very beginning. Make time for you!

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

Sustainability because the principle of sustainability pertains to all forms of well-being, including environmental and personal.

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

They can find & follow me on Instagram @selfcarebydani.

Thank you for these fantastic insights!


Women In Wellness: Dani Dunckley 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.

Jessica Chang of WeeCare: They Told Me It Was Impossible And I Did It Anyway

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Just because everyone is doing one thing, doesn’t mean you can’t do another — Starting a new part of our business during a global pandemic runs counter to what most observers think is possible, however we have been successful and proven the naysayers wrong.

As a part of our series about “dreamers who ignored the naysayers and did what others said was impossible”, I had the pleasure of interviewing….Jessica Chang, Co-Founder and CEO of WeeCare.

Jessica Chang is the co-founder and CEO of WeeCare, the largest childcare network in the United States. Jessica is also a mother and a preschool owner. She has always been passionate about childcare. She graduated from UC Berkeley with a dual degree in Psychology, with a focus on Early Childhood Development, and Economics. When Jessica was pregnant with her first child, she began touring daycares only to discover that all spots were full with long waitlists and exorbitant costs. Unable to comprehend why there were so few spots available and so many parents searching for childcare, she decided to dive into the childcare space and become an investor and owner of a preschool. From her work as the COO of Affinity China, as a principal investor at Macquarie Capital, and VP of Marketplace at Radpad, Jessica applied her background in finance and business to streamline the school’s operations and grew it to full capacity within months of ownership. Jessica co-founded WeeCare in 2017 to empower educators and daycare directors to start, fill to capacity, and efficiently operate a licensed home daycare business. WeeCare eliminates parents’ stress of finding a quality daycare by matching them with the best small home daycare environment for their children. In addition, Jessica is a member of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), the Early Childcare Planning Committee of LA County and the Santa Monica Early Childhood Task Force. Jessica lives in Los Angeles with her husband Witt and two children, Maddy and Teddy.

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

I’ve always been interested in childcare and early childhood education. After applying my economics studies in various finance and business roles, I saw an opportunity to tackle the challenges of the childcare landscape and improve the outcomes for parents, providers, and of course, children.

After starting WeeCare in 2017 with my co-founders Jesse Forrest and Matt Reilly, we focused on our big vision which involved creating a marketplace for parents and childcare providers so families could easily find high-quality, affordable care that meets their needs while caregivers and educators would have the support to grow their small businesses and solve the childcare crisis in the process! Our team and WeeCare’s reach have grown considerably since then as we scaled up operations and hit many new milestones. In 2020, we became the largest childcare network in the United States! Today, we are partnering with employers across the country to offer childcare benefits to their employees, which is so crucial for working families.

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

Yes, our work expanding childcare benefits is a very exciting project as it helps both employers and their employees. Employers face serious challenges when trying to implement childcare benefits for their employees, from costs and set up time to limited childcare availability and inflexible options for their working families. WeeCare’s Childcare Benefits program is solving these issues. We have created the only childcare benefits program built to enable employers of all sizes to cost-effectively offer employees and team members the most options and support for their childcare needs.

WeeCare has developed flexible childcare benefits options that employees actually use and are seeking from their current and prospective employers. WeeCare’s innovative technology platform matches families with the right providers able to offer care tailored to a family’s specific needs, increasing the value of the benefit to both employer and employee. Childcare benefits are key for decreasing employee absenteeism, increasing team satisfaction, and reducing employee turnover. And as we’ve seen throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, childcare is more essential than ever with so many parents and working families struggling to simply get by, let alone thrive in the face of serious challenges.

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

What makes WeeCare stand out from the crowd is that our nationwide network of childcare providers offers affordable, flexible options for employers looking to provide their employees with childcare support. We have the largest breadth of coverage across the nation, covering urban, suburban, and rural areas, so WeeCare’s network can provide access to care wherever employees live and work. Our primary childcare supports full-time, part-time, back-up, drop-in, weekend, and overnight schedules.

The other big differentiator is that through WeeCare’s Childcare Benefits program, organizations can test the waters to see what works best for their workforce. Our Childcare Benefits program provides flexibility for employers and is not a one-size-fits-all solution.

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

Even with WeeCare being successful and established at the time, many people thought it was impossible to add a whole new offering during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, but we did it anyway and have seen positive impacts through our Childcare Benefits program. Employers are seeking these benefits that help increase retention and recruitment, boost productivity, reduce absenteeism and presenteeism, and improve wellness. Working families need care for their children and WeeCare’s Childcare Benefits are making a difference in families’ lives across the country.

When we began building our Childcare Benefits initiative in the summer of 2020, naysayers deemed it a bad time because so many companies, organizations, and entire industries were still shut down. There was uncertainty everywhere you looked. Our team at WeeCare overcame this by buckling down, analyzing data and trends, determining the most useful options for employers, and realizing that working families were going to need childcare more than ever — it was up to us to make it work so that we could support those families.

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

In the end, we were able to prove all the naysayers wrong with the success of our Childcare Benefits program, as it continues to grow and make an impact for employers and their employees. Additionally, the WeeCare Marketplace has continued to thrive, keeping childcare providers open and in business during the pandemic. Our family childcare model, with smaller class sizes and stringent health checks, not only survived but grew over the course of the pandemic. WeeCare’s Marketplace works in tandem with our Childcare Benefits team to help employer clients and their workforces solve the childcare puzzle in real time and create tangible results.

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

I have to shout out my husband, Witt, here 🙂 He has always been incredibly supportive and understanding throughout my career, but especially during COVID he has really stepped up and been even more helpful. He has been incredibly patient, regularly taking time out of his busy schedule to tend to the kids, care for them if they’re sick, pick them up from school, and generally shoulder a larger burden of the child-rearing so that I can continue to focus on my work and be as productive as I need to be.

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

Earlier in my career, I used to work in investment banking. There is an extreme where you can push yourself and in this field, that extreme was tested for me. I remember one time vividly when I worked for four days straight without going home, despite living very close to the office. That was pretty extreme, but I think it helped me build resiliency that I can lean on now when new challenges are presented as our team at WeeCare works together on solving the childcare crisis.

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

  1. Telling yourself that you can — Raising capital while being pregnant is no easy task, nor is starting a company when your first child is under 6 months old. Yet telling yourself that you can do it and reinforcing this tenacious belief can lead to incredible results.
  2. Just because everyone is doing one thing, doesn’t mean you can’t do another — Starting a new part of our business during a global pandemic runs counter to what most observers think is possible, however we have been successful and proven the naysayers wrong.
  3. Being okay with not being safe — Leaving a cushy job and becoming a founder, for example, exemplifies this strategy. There are inherent risks and you should make peace with leaving behind the reliable in exchange for the uncertain.
  4. Making time for yourself — This can mean mandatory dinner dates, with just yourself (or maybe your partner). Use these times to reset from the hectic day and mentally prepare to tackle the impossible again tomorrow.
  5. It’s okay to ask for help — This is true all the time, but especially during COVID we’ve seen how critical asking for help can be for mental health. You can’t take on everyone else’s mental health responsibilities and not take care of your own.

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

The quote, “Nothing will work unless you do” from Maya Angelou speaks to this concept. Let’s take action and get things done — resiliency will be built through our actions.

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

I think it’s the movement to solve childcare that would have the biggest impact on the greatest number of people — working families, getting women back in the workplace, supporting children so that they can develop and reach their full potential, and backing care providers that do one of the hardest jobs in the world every single day. This idea of solving the childcare crisis is going to do vast amounts of good and change the lives for countless people around the country.

Can our readers follow you on social media?

Absolutely, readers can follow me and our work at: https://twitter.com/weecareco, https://www.linkedin.com/company/weecare-inc/, https://twitter.com/jessicajchang and https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-chang-1010402/.

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


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

Women In Wellness: Abiola Abrams of Womanifesting On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help…

Women In Wellness: Abiola Abrams of Womanifesting On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Declutter, declutter, declutter. Even minimalists may have a lot of clutter in their lives. Physical clutter is only one kind of clutter. There is digital clutter, relationship clutter and even emotional clutter. Allow yourself to be free of what no longer serves you.

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

Abiola Abrams is an award-winning author of African Goddess Initiation: Sacred Rituals for Self-Love, Prosperity and Joy, intuitive coach, oracle deck creator — including the African Goddess Rising Oracle deck — transformational speaker, and international retreat leader. Abiola is the first-generation American daughter of multi-generational healers, seers, and farmers in Guyana, South America, who are descended from several West African nations. The founder of the Womanifesting self-love empowerment platform, podcast, and Goddess Temple Circle, Abiola studied sociology at Sarah Lawrence College.

Learn more about Abiola on her website: Womanifesting.com

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 am a New Yorker, born and raised, and the first person in my family born in the United States. My family is from Guyana, South America. I grew up, like many immigrant kids, as a bit of an outsider. I had very low self-esteem growing up. But I feel like everything I experienced gave me the foundation for my work today.

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?

A couple of years ago I did an underwear commercial for the Gap as a self-love ambassador. This was such an empowering experience, as a dark skinned Black woman in my 40s, with kinky hair and African features. Each and every one of us is our own kind of beautiful. I am living proof that you may be shy, introverted or maybe even a bit anxious and can still put your voice in the world. Your voice matters.

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?

Thank you so much for this question. I don’t really believe in mistakes because our missteps are often our greatest teachers. I believe in failing forward. And my biggest error starting out was being afraid to be genuinely myself and put myself out there. I thought I had to fit into a box and please other people. What I have learned since then is that you are the niche. And your relationship with your soulmate clients or customers is a sacred one. It is all divine, it is all spiritual.

So for example, I was taught that it is not spiritual, feminine or creative to be in business, so sell your work. And it is the exact opposite. You have a sacred duty to put your magic in the world. Your voice matters. If you have medicine that could change someone’s life, you are honor-bound to share it. The way we share it in our culture includes making sales and putting your voice into the arena. We need you! I created several courses for Spiritpreneurs ® because approaching your business from this point of view is life changing for you and for those you serve.

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?

My current work focuses on our spiritual evolution and self-love rooted in the divine feminine gifts of global African culture. I am so thrilled to be finally able to do this work. Mother Africa has many rich, transformational gifts to help us to develop good character, raise our consciousness and tap into our inner power, but African culture has been demonized. It is my honor to be able to do this work. The subtitle for my book, African Goddess Initiation is “Sacred Rituals for Self-Love, Prosperity and Joy.” For each self-love, manifesting and self-care ritual I share that you can do in your home, I share an ancient ritual. When we, African people, were trafficked into the so-called new world, we hid our spiritual practices, rituals and deities in stories, tall tales, saints, and other practices.

There is no one African spiritual practice. Africa is the 54 plus countries on the continent plus all of us throughout the African diaspora in South America, Central America, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe and the United States. There truly is no other book like this and I am so proud to share the gifts of our cultures. We deserve to have the tools of our ancestors for personal evolution and healing.

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.

This is a great question, because change can be made with incremental shifts.

  1. Journaling is a tool that has been transformational throughout my life. A simple practice to incorporate is morning pages. I first learned about this practice in the book, The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron.
  2. Meditation will change everything for everyone. The great thing is that there are many kinds of meditation from transcendental to walking meditations. I have several guided meditation albums because guided meditation and visualization is my favorite approach. My newest meditation album, Enter Your Goddess Temple, is set to binaural beats to help listeners go deeper and shift their consciousness.
  3. Card practice. I love inspirational decks, and although it seems obvious that I might say that as the creator of four decks, I was a card lover for many years before creating my own. An easy daily practice that I invite people to do with my newest deck African Goddess Rising Oracle Cards or the deck of your choice is just pull a daily card for guidance. You can journal on the intuitive message you receive, the card’s mantra from the guidebook, or even pair it with the related positive goddess self-love ritual from the book, African Goddess Initiation. This practice will also strengthen your intuition.
  4. Declutter, declutter, declutter. Even minimalists may have a lot of clutter in their lives. Physical clutter is only one kind of clutter. There is digital clutter, relationship clutter and even emotional clutter. Allow yourself to be free of what no longer serves you.
  5. Eating Habits. Every meal is an opportunity for us to practice mindfulness. Instead of watching TV or listening to a podcast while you eat, practice eating in silence. See how it feels to engage all of your senses and be in full gratitude for your meal. Allow each meal to become a prayer.

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 did — and for me it is a movement of revolutionary self-love, your beautiful life, your beautiful way. We were all told to love ourselves but no one told us how. Self-love begins with complete and radical self-acceptance. And self-acceptance begins with looking at the shadow, unloved parts of yourself. There is a self-love solution for every problem.

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

Oooh. I love this question. The 5 things I wish someone told me before I started are:

  1. It is safe for you to choose your own path.
  2. You are not in competition with anyone else in life. You get to run your own race.
  3. You have nothing to prove.
  4. You deserve to be happy.
  5. Have FUN!

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

Mental health is incredibly important to me. I am a part of several communities where mental health wellness is not addressed as well as it could be. This year, a family member of mine took their own life. So I would like to say, if you you are having mental health challenges, it is wonderful to have spiritual and/ or religious support. However it is critical that you get support from a licensed expert in mental health. You don’t have to figure it out alone.

What is the best way our readers can follow you online?

Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me today. My website, Womanifesting.com, which has everything from how to work with me one-on-one, come with me on an empowerment retreat, find tons of free videos, podcasts and blogs, or find my book, African Goddess Initiation or my card deck, African Goddess Rising Oracle Cards. Your readers can find me throughout social media @abiolaTV, where the TV stands for transformation and victory.

Thank you for these fantastic insights!


Women In Wellness: Abiola Abrams of Womanifesting On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Founders: Constance Panton of Bifties Gifts On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and…

Female Founders: Constance Panton of Bifties Gifts On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Be an Avid Learner — I am constantly learning new things for my business. Primarily because I don’t want to have to pay someone to do it. But you have to take time and invest in your business by investing in yourself, as well as learning and increasing your business acumen.

As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Constance Panton.

Constance Panton is the owner and founder of Bifties Gifts. Constance and her company specialize in curating custom gifts featuring all Black-owned brands for consumers and wholesale customers. Constance is a positive voice in the e-commerce marketplace who highlights and raises awareness for the awesome products Black-owned brands have to offer, and she uses her platform to make them accessible to everyone.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

I started Bifties back in 2016 as a gift exchange, also known as Secret Santa. I wanted to do something to send a collective hug to the Black community. I was feeling a massive shift after 2 years of what seemed like daily news stories about unarmed Black men being killed by police — Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Walter Scott, Freddy Gray, Tamir Rice, and the names kept coming. I knew it was impossible to hug everyone but when I was invited to a Secret Santa that year, I knew I found my answer. I would start my own gift exchange with the criteria that all gifts must come from a Black-owned business. It didn’t matter what color you were, as long as your gift came from a Black-owned business. Building this new gift exchange was challenging. Most of my non-Black friends thought it was a call to action just for my Black friends. Many knew no Black businesses or did not live near any. Others didn’t know what I meant by Black owned business, so they thought buying Mary Kay from their aunt fit the bill. Not exactly what I had in mind. So I decided to make it easy and start an Instagram page with Black-owned businesses to share with the group. After 4 years of trying to mitigate poorly wrapped gifts and witnessing a lack of well-designed items, I decided to open Bifties as an e-commerce store offering well-designed, premium, fun gifts from Black-owned brands all year-round, not just for the holidays.

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

Receiving the opportunity to provide gift boxes for ESPN’s Humanitarian Awards this year! What a surreal moment! I briefly experienced Imposter Syndrome thinking that whatever could go wrong would go wrong — to boot! The turnaround window was so quick that I used a vendor I’ve never worked with before. This vendor stated that they shipped quickly from the US, however, talks of overseas shipment delays began to surface, and I discovered that they were not US-based. Five days before the event, still no boxes. The boxes were stuck on a shipping container in California. We quickly pivoted to create plain boxes and contacted a printer to make custom belly bands to place around each box. I used my Cricut to create 150 foil appliques and we manually applied them to all the boxes! The custom belly bands were printed on contact paper, the only material the printer had on such short notice. It was so hectic. We finished just in time, the night before our deadline. The next morning, we rented a U-haul truck to hand-deliver our boxes to Manhattan. During the drive from NJ to NY, some of the contact paper began to adhere to other boxes. We had to fix them on site! It was so frustrating. Thankfully, the final boxes came out great and everyone loved them. Talk about crisis management and lessons learned lol.

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?

I mistakenly ordered 12 cases of pancake mix. I meant to order just 12 individual packs and ended up with 144 packs of pancake mix. I donated them to our local church. What I learned was to slow down and read.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that? I am grateful to Jacqueline Carrington, owner/founder of People of Color beauty. She was — and still is — a tremendous inspiration to me. Prior to starting her nail brand, she owned a subscription business. So she personally introduced me to vendors she had relationships with and vouched for me. She even helped me negotiate with brands to offer product on consignment, since I was just starting out. She has been a valuable resource and business friend.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. According to this EY report, only about 20 percent of funded companies have women founders. This reflects great historical progress, but it also shows that more work still has to be done to empower women to create companies. In your opinion and experience what is currently holding back women from founding companies?

I think women are creating companies at a record pace, especially Black women. Whether or not they seek funding is a different issue. I feel a lot of female businesses are in spaces, such as bath and body products, candles, handmade crafts, professional services. Lots of these businesses exist and they are not necessarily looking for VC capital. I think now with more resources to help women raise capital, like iFundWomen, and more minority-owned and women-owned Venture capitalist firms, like Precursor Ventures, Serena Ventures and Backstage capital on the scene, we are going to see some more movement on the current statistic of “20% of funded companies are founded by women”. The VC world now has their eyes open a little wider and has started casting their net a little farther.

Can you help articulate a few things that can be done as individuals, as a society, or by the government, to help overcome those obstacles?

I think as a society, raising awareness of venture capitalists who are looking to fund minority-led companies will help change the tide. The same way supporting Black businesses took a positive turn during 2020, which led individuals and businesses alike to look for ways to support Black businesses, raising awareness of socially-conscious VC firms will push them to the forefront, forcing traditional firms to revisit their practices and become more inclusive of talent that are traditionally overlooked. Look at how big box retailers started reaching out to Black-owned/Minority brands to add to their shelves, even signing a pledge to commit to doing so. Venture Capitalist firms that are not actively looking to diversify their portfolio will be called out. This will facilitate them falling in line in order to avoid stigma. Society’s new “cancel culture” power has helped to create change faster than it did in the past. VCs want to make money, so if they aren’t moving in the direction of progress, they will be left out.

This might be intuitive to you as a woman founder but I think it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you share a few reasons why more women should become founders?

In my opinion — as women, we typically care for others around us and we are good at reading the room. I personally feel women score high on emotional intelligence. Having business acumen as well as emotional intelligence is a dynamic duo. I could be biased toward women since I am one myself, but I do believe having those two skills makes for a great leader.

What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a founder? Can you explain what you mean?

That you have to be smart, have a degree in Entrepreneurship or have attended Wharton Business School. One of my favorite quotes is “Being smart isn’t about knowing all the answers, but knowing where or how to find them”. As long as you are willing to learn and network, you have the ability to add more tools to your skillset. You don’t have to know all the answers to start, but at minimum, have a path where you can get the answers you need.

Is everyone cut out to be a founder? In your opinion, which specific traits increase the likelihood that a person will be a successful founder and what type of person should perhaps seek a “regular job” as an employee? Can you explain what you mean?

It’s been said time and time again, one has to have Grit. This is the most important determination for success. If you are the kind of person who gives up easily, a “regular job” is best for you.

Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. Based on your opinion and experience, What are the “Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder?” (Please share a story or example for each.)

  1. Be organized — When I first started, I did not know the importance of being organized. I did not take proper inventory counts. I did not bucketize my expenses and when tax time came, it was a mess, an absolute mess. I had no idea how many items I had sold. I was unable to determine my cost of goods sold. I had a lot of bookkeeping to do.
  2. Be an Avid Learner — I am constantly learning new things for my business. Primarily because I don’t want to have to pay someone to do it. But you have to take time and invest in your business by investing in yourself, as well as learning and increasing your business acumen.
  3. Surround yourself with like-minded people. You need a mentor or a business partner/friend you can bounce ideas off of. Being an entrepreneur can be a lonely endeavor sometimes. It is best to connect with individuals who know where you are coming from.
  4. Believe in your business. Your belief in your business is what will keep you going on days when you may question why you started.
  5. Be okay with being nervous and scared — I am nervous and scared 95% of the time, because I am constantly learning something new. My belief in my company keeps me going.

How have you used your success to make the world a better place?

From our 2020 sales, we were able to donate $10,000 to I AM CULTURED.org, a 501c3 doing work in and for the Black community. I am honored that we were able to donate to charity during a time when people have been losing their lives and losing their jobs.

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

To me, that is exactly what I am doing with Bifties. Sending a gift is a love language. Sending a gift that features multiple Black-owned brands (or what we like to call a Bift) is a gift that keeps on giving. Our gift boxes at minimum could have 6 different Black-owned brands in one box. That is six different businesses, not including Bifties, being supported through the act of gifting!

We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.

I don’t have one particular person I would like to talk to, however, if I had to choose one, it would have been Walt Disney — but alas he isn’t here to talk to. I would love to actually be able to sit with a group of women founders, especially those with children, and have a group talk about scaling their business, and how they transitioned from their 9–5 to full time entrepreneurs, how they manage work life balance, or what it’s like having a VC fund your company? Is it more stressful. etc.?

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.


Female Founders: Constance Panton of Bifties Gifts On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Founders: Wen Zhang of INNW Institute On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a…

Female Founders: Wen Zhang of INNW Institute On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Slow Down — It is a marathon, not a sprint. Take care of yourself mentally. It is always easy and tempting to pull an all-nighter. When you first start your business, you are so excited to work non-stop and get things done, which easily becomes the norm and default mood. However, starting a business is a marathon, not a sprint. No successful business can be built overnight. Building a successful venture requires time and intention to create value for your customers or users and deliver consistently.

As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Wen Zhang.

Wen Zhang is the Founder and CEO of INNW Institute, with a mission to empower and support founders to grow and scale their businesses.

Wen succeeds in both the startup and corporate world with experience in software, hardware, and service-based business models. She has also achieved success in launching a new business, expanding the market internationally, and scaling and managing global enterprise business. In a Fortune 500 company, she was leading a $320M yearly product portfolio while managing 400 sales teams across North America. She is passionate about supporting founders to grow and scale their ventures, working through their business model as well as the pitching process to connect and resonate with investors and customers via pitch deck.

Wen holds a Master’s of Science (MS) degree in Marketing and Advertising from the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign), a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Duke University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Advertising from Yang’en University.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

I was born and raised in a small and rural isolated mountain town in China, without the Internet or public transportation to the outside world. Where I came from, girls were unwanted, and at the time, the only option for a girl was to become a wife and mother. Thankfully, decades later, much has changed. However, I was always curious about the world beyond the mountain. (Just like Moana from the Disney movie!) The desire to go beyond my town led me to discover a cassette machine, which was how I taught myself English. About four years after finding that cassette player (and 9 failures later), I came to the United States in 2011 to start my “American dream”.

Ten years later, after earning two Master’s degrees and achieving success in both the startup and corporate world, my curiosity remains the same. I am still living my American dream every day, and I’m even more eager to explore the world in a bigger way.

I realized when my American dream came true ten years ago, it defined and transformed who I am. Today, I want to empower founders and entrepreneurs, who also have a big vision, and help them take charge of turning their vision into reality. This is why I founded INNW Institute.

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

My husband and I are very social. We like to meet like-minded people and cultivate a community where we live, and we attend networking events, parties, and gatherings together often.

Before I started my business, in social events I was often referred to and introduced by as my husband’s wife. Since launching my business, I have often introduced him as my husband instead of the other way around.

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?

One of the businesses that my husband and I started together was a consumer-packaged good (CPG) business, EverGreener. We spent $15,000+ on the patent application and legal process, which took over 5 months. However, after months of time and money investment, we were late in the holiday promotional sales cycle. We assumed once we filed the patent and had a website available that customers would fly in and buy our products immediately. Of course, it didn’t happen that way.

Lesson learned: Start selling now. It is never about having a perfect or pretty website. As a founder, your number one job is always to sell, whether it is selling your vision to investors for funding, or selling the idea to team members to inspire them to join, or selling the solution to your customers. You need to start selling your idea immediately and that is how you start building momentum to grow and scale. Don’t wait! It is never about the idea; it is always about the execution.

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

My husband has always been my biggest support. Entrepreneurship is not easy. There were moments when I did not think I had what it took to get to the next level. However, my husband has always been right alongside me, cheering me on and reminding me of all the amazing things I already achieved, and how amazing I am. His belief and his support mean the world to me. I am forever grateful for him and our relationship.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. According to this EY report, only about 20 percent of funded companies have women founders. This reflects great historical progress, but it also shows that more work still has to be done to empower women to create companies. In your opinion and experience, what is currently holding back women from founding companies?

Generously speaking, fear of failure is the #1 reason women do not start a business. We are social creatures, and we often seek others’ approval first. We do not want to look bad or stand out. Therefore, women tend to be more risk-averse, and we would not start a business unless we believe it will be a successful venture. However, the truth is that you never fail. The moment you start embarking on a new journey or a new risk, you are already a success. All the lessons you learn along the way will provide valuable insight so you can improve upon your execution or pivot the business when needed. Those setbacks can be helpful market feedback. They provide validation or course correction when needed to build a successful business.

Secondly, compared to male counterparts, more women experience “imposter syndrome”. Therefore, many female founders simply feel as if they do not have what it takes to launch a business successfully (which is untrue). This usually stems from a lack of needed education, resources, or experience. Female founders, in general, are more likely to feel “less than”.

Furthermore, there are fewer role models or success stories out there for female founders. Women are not able to see someone who looks like her, or had the same experience as her and have achieved it. It is hard for a female to envision herself with that path of success without someone to look to.

Lastly, it is a lack of time and energy. Many women take care of their families, and especially those with young children. After balancing a full-time job and family responsibility, she rarely has time for herself, let alone time to start a business. Those are a few reasons that I feel women hold themselves back from starting a business.

Can you help articulate a few things that can be done as individuals, as a society, or by the government, to help overcome those obstacles?

  1. Cultivate supportive environment

When we all come together collectively to share our experiences, success, and fears, we grow stronger together. It is my firmest belief that when there is fear, we need to lean in and shine a light on it, which is how fear dissipates.

Surround yourself with supporters, and share what is in your heart — maybe it is the fear or that loud voice screaming saying, “you don’t have what it takes”. The act of speaking out loud and sharing with others, help you to see that you’re not an imposter anymore by definition. That can be liberating and freeing. This can be done in a supportive friend’s group, an accelerator program/group, or a mentoring environment. Any of these options is a safe space to come together.

Once we overcome that innate fear, or “imposter syndrome”, it is easier to see the possibilities and boundless potential in yourself and your vision.

At the end of the day, it is never about the resources, education, or experience, it is about being resourceful, creative, and finding a way to make it happen.

2. Resources & support

Companies and corporations should promote and enable more flexibility for workers. It would also help if the government provided financial compensation or incentives for females to start a business. Financial institutes and banks could also lower the barrier for female founders to borrow money when starting businesses. Collectively, female founders would have more time and resources to balance their responsibilities and support them in following their dreams to start their businesses.

This might be intuitive to you as a woman founder but I think it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you share a few reasons why more women should become founders?

In the startup world, for businesses to grow, founders typically need to raise capital. One important aspect of raising capital is financial projections, which simply means the anticipated growth of your company. There are many that I call “startup bubbles”, where the financial projection is crazily unrealistic, and therefore, the evaluation of the company is high. As a result, you often see startups raise an insane amount of money, then the business crashes, and none of those financial projections come to fruition.

On the other hand, a female founder will often take the more conservative approach to her business, meaning for every dollar raised, she will spend it more carefully and thoughtfully to receive the best outcome. Female founders, generally speaking, do not like to let people down, and they will do everything to make it happen. Therefore, the success rate for them to achieve that vision is significantly higher.

Secondly, women, in general, are better “salespersons”. Women are better able to connect with others and build relationships. As entrepreneurs, they can share their vision and pitch their business effectively from the start.

Lastly, women can be more eager to learn and less egotistical about wanting to be right. They tend to take feedback well and are more coachable. In the early seed stage, most investors invest in and weigh heavily on the entrepreneur or founder than the business. Coachability is the #1 capability that investors value in the early stage of investing.

What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a founder? Can you explain what you mean?

Myth #1: You have to know everything.

You do not need to know everything. Curiosity is the best start. Along the way, you will learn how to problem-solve effectively, then you will work your way into the next solution. With our modern advances, you can easily search on Google or YouTube for just about any unfamiliar solution. You could also surround yourself with a trusted advisor or mentor to ask questions or bounce ideas off of. You can also seek advice, or hire a person whose strength is your weakness, and collaborate or partner with others who complement your skills and capability. You do not need to know everything to get started. The journey will unfold itself as you go. All you need is to get started!

Myth #2: It is a lot less scary than it is.

Fear of failure is more overwhelming than the failure itself. Even if your startup fails, you can always fall back to your job. Or you can find another job or go back to the life you had before founding a business. Regardless, you will learn valuable lessons, not only in business but also in life, about yourself. The fear of regret, or giving yourself a chance to start the business of your dream, would be more painful than failing. Just get started!

Is everyone cut out to be a founder? In your opinion, which specific traits increase the likelihood that a person will be a successful founder, and what type of person should perhaps seek a “regular job” as an employee? Can you explain what you mean?

Everyone can be a founder! If you have a fire on your heart, or there is something that you cannot stop thinking about, it is your responsibility to make it happen and share it with the world. The vision is yours to build, and I firmly believe that the world will be a better and brighter place when you share your light.

The top skill of being a successful founder is having curiosity. The inquisitive mind is curious about the world, often wondering why things are the way they are, why the problems exist, or what are possible solutions and why some work and others don’t. Simply being curious and asking the right questions will help you find the right path, despite how many pivots your business might have to make along the journey. A startup is all about pivoting and solving the right problem for the right customers.

However, people who are uncomfortable with ambiguity, or who need to be told what to do constantly, might not be a great fit for being a founder. The startup world is ambiguous, and no one tells you what to do. You will have to be disciplined and motivated to figure out what you want to build and achieve. You will need to create a vision and inspire and support your team to make them a reality. If you cannot see the vision nor understand how to lead yourself and others around you, you would not likely be a successful founder.

Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. Based on your opinion and experience, What are the “Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder?” (Please share a story or example for each.)

  1. Mindset — Move forward despite the fear, because on the other side of fear is freedom. Of course, we all get scared from time to time. I remember when I went skydiving for the first time, and I was so scared as we were ascending. Right at 14000 feet, the tandem jumper asked me if I was ready, I said “no!” He said, “Alright, let’s count 3, 2, 1 together.” And as magical as it sounds, as I was counting, I was only focusing on the numbers, and not the jump itself. Once we got to 1, we made the jump together.
    The first 3 seconds in the air were terrifying! It felt as if my heart sank into a deep black hole and the world froze. I could not breathe. Right after that, however, I started realizing that I was flying. I could see the clouds, the birds flying by, and buildings in the far distance. I felt so free and liberating. It was such a magical experience. Without fear, there is no freedom. There are simply two sides to the coin. Take a jump, and only by doing so can you move forward to make progress and an impact in this world.
  2. Belief — Believe that good is good enough, and progression is better than perfection. You can not be perfect. My client Nikki* was in the initial sales call phase of testing product-market fit. It took weeks to secure the call. She wanted everything to be perfect. She strategized questions to ask, the scenarios to ask about and built a fancy excel sheet. She wrote down a detailed script, imaging how the conversation would go, and asked me for feedback. After a few revisions, she had the script down to exactly what she would say, line by line (including what small talk she would say and how/when the first question be asked).
    Right before the scheduled call, I asked her to drop the script, forget about everything we wrote down or talked about, and talk to the customers as human beings and speak her heart and trust herself.
    The result was stunning. The customers loved what she has to offer, but most importantly, they were impressed by her professionalism, authenticity, and passion. This was how she nailed her first “yes” in sales. I do not know what would have happened if she stuck with her script and tried to be perfect, but the act of believing in herself and not being perfect is the reason she won the deal. *Name changed for her privacy.
  3. Change — Keep learning and adapting. Change is the only contact factor in the startup world, and pivoting is the name of the game. Name any successful business and I can bet that none of them got it right on their first shot.
    For example, in 2005, Twitter started off as a podcasting company. Later when Apple iTunes launched podcasts, Twitter pivoted to offering online news and social networking by microblogging, and the rest is history. All we can do is to remain curious to keep learning what works and what does not. Keep pivoting and adapting to the market or the customers, which is how you win in any marketplace.
  4. Grit — Get down and get up. Rejection is coming. Building a successful startup is hard; there is no doubt about it. Every single aspect of launching a business is a challenge on its own. Once you build a successful minimum viable product (MVP), now it is time to pitch either to investors for funding or to existing or potential customers for pilot projects. On average, you will get at least 50+ “nos” before you get one “yes”.
    Taking rejection after rejection is not easy. The truth is, it does not matter how you get knocked down, all that matters is how you get back up. Grit is the tenacity of adding passion, which will be your secret weapon. When the night is dark and long, it is that fire inside you that will pull you forward to try again tomorrow. Among all the rejections, how you keep the faith and passion burning and get up the next day is one critical factor of running a successful business.
  5. Slow Down — It is a marathon, not a sprint. Take care of yourself mentally. It is always easy and tempting to pull an all-nighter. When you first start your business, you are so excited to work non-stop and get things done, which easily becomes the norm and default mood. However, starting a business is a marathon, not a sprint. No successful business can be built overnight. Building a successful venture requires time and intention to create value for your customers or users and deliver consistently.

Though it might sound counterintuitive, speeding up oftentimes requires us to slow down. Slow down to at least allow one day of the week where you are not working. Instead, spend time on tasks and projects that rejuvenate you and replenish your creativity and energy. Then, you can come back Monday, full of excitement, and continue building your empire.

How have you used your success to make the world a better place?

Today, I help startup founders pitch effectively to investors, partners, or customers.

When I worked with a biotech scientist helping her articulate a compelling vision and pitch to investors, she went on to develop a product that saved thousands of lives through bacteria and virus prevention in wound healing. I worked with an educated tech founder, whose product went on to bring accessibility of education to thousands of people in hopes of getting them out of poverty. Those are just a few examples.

I help visionaries articulate their business and why they matter, which helps them connect to and resonate with the right investors, partners, mentors, or customers to grow and scale their business. As a result, I believe this is how I share my gift with the world — by contributing to the advancement of innovation and humankind.

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

One less fear a day — a 30-day fear challenge! Do one thing that scares you every day for 30 days. Whether it is public speaking, or calling a relative or parent that you have not spoken to for years or asking for a discount at your favorite store or restaurant, or if you’re feeling adventurous, lying down in a busy intersection for 2 minutes, just do one thing that scares you for 30 consecutive days. (Disclaimer: Please make sure whatever you do is safe and within legal boundaries!) You will be amazed who you are becoming and stepping into after 30 days.

I see growing a business as similar to living your life. It is never about money or success. It is about who we are becoming. Once you overcome the false fear that we all have within us, you will be amazed by countless ideas and possibilities that come your way. Dream big, because the world truly is your oyster. You can create a world with the change you want to see.

We are very blessed that some very prominent 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.

Kendra Scott — She not only builds a brand successfully in a highly competitive industry, but she also fosters an entrepreneurial community through the University of Texas at Austin that supports female entrepreneurs and gives back. I am inspired by her journey, her success, and more importantly, her intention to cultivate a community to support female founders.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.


Female Founders: Wen Zhang of INNW Institute On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a… 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 Chelle and David Neff of Urban Betty

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Make time for each other. To thrive, you have to be able to connect and spend time together. We book a standing date every Sunday night. We either go to the movies or eat dinner. It’s funny because we have been “dating” more since we had our son this year. Before having our son, we just planned stuff here and there, and now we make it a priority to spend time with just the two of us.

As a part of our series about lessons from Thriving Power Couples, I had the pleasure of interviewing Chelle and David J. Neff.

Chelle Neff has been a leader in the U.S. salon industry since founding Urban Betty in 2005 and has more than 20 years of experience creating innovative practices in the salon and beauty worlds. Neff has successfully grown Urban Betty’s revenue year after year and today has two salon companies that house more than 70 employees. Due to its continued success, the salon is expanding and opening a third location in 2022 and launching an Urban Betty product line in the fall of 2021.

My husband, David J. Neff currently works as the VP of eCommerce consulting at Accenture Interactive. He works with Fortune 500 brands on their eCommerce organizational strategy and builds their teams for growth.. He is the author of three books, including “The Future of Nonprofits: Thrive and Innovate in the Digital Age” and IGNITE: Setting your Organization’s Culture on Fire with Innovation. He’s a 2x entrepreneur himself.

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?

Chelle — I began my journey as an entrepreneur by first being an employee in the salon industry. I knew from a young age that I wanted to do hair. At the age of sixteen, I enrolled in Cosmetology school at my high school. When I received my license in 1995, I started working behind the chair at Supercuts. I slowly worked my way up the ladder to higher-end salons. I got a small suite at the Gallery of Salons and was an independent contractor five years later. That was my initial stepping stone to opening my own salon company, Urban Betty in 2005.

David — I began my career at the American Cancer Society where I helped them take some of our first eCommerce orders and designed our first eCommerce Web sites, as well as helped them take our offline events (like Relay For Life) and put them online. I also was instrumental in starting our social media policies and practices, building our first mobile apps (remember Palm Pilots?!), and launching online communities for patients and cancer survivors. After that I started my own consulting company and co-founded a tech startup called HelpAttack! that focused on social media fundraising for nonprofits. After that company wrapped up, I joined a small startup consulting company called Ants Eye View where I worked on eCommerce and digital strategy projects. We then sold that to PwC where I stayed for a number of years. After PwC I joined another small startup in Austin called Clearhead that focused on growth teams and eCommerce A/B Testing and Personalization. As a member of the executive team, I helped sell that to Accenture Interactive, which is where I work today.

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

In 2013 we were walking around our Crestview neighborhood when we saw a home that looked a lot like the Alamo (hoarders edition). As home-tour addicts, the house prompted us to look for a tour of weird homes in Austin. When we found absolutely nothing, we couldn’t believe it! Then the next week, David suggested we do it ourselves. Yikes! So in 2014, we bought a house, got married, and produced their first Weird Homes Tour. After eight years, we hosted tours annually in 6 cities, had a home featured in a Netflix show, and even wrote a book together, Weird Homes: The People and Places That Keep Austin Strangely Wonderful.

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?

In 2002, I launched a website with a terrible Urban Betty logo. At the time, I thought my logo looked good. It was a lady with a city background, and she seemed very cartoonish. Think Sex and the City if it were a children’s book. Not good. We reworked it after a couple of years. I recently found an old scrapbook with my first brochure and the original logo. I showed it to my employees, and they couldn’t believe how bad it was. We all had a good laugh! I learned that you should constantly be re-evaluating your brand and evolving to stay current.

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

In a world that considers college the only option for success, my salon company stands out, empowers women, and gives each person who works here the ability to become a future shareholder and grow to have an income well over 100k without a college degree. At Urban Betty, we pay our employees well above the industry average WITH BENEFITS (¼ of the stylists make six figures in my salon, where the industry average is $22k).

I have brought on two current employees to be shareholders in our salon company — encouraging entrepreneurship and helping women achieve their dreams of owning a business. I have also created a plan for more employees to become future shareholders and launch it in 2022. In addition, we host personal growth retreats for our employees and have developed an innovative mentorship system. We want to shatter the glass ceiling and elevate our industry.

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

In November of 2021, we will launch an Urban Betty clean beauty line with two shampoos, conditioners, and plans for more products. My goal is to continue to grow our brand in the next year through more locations, new services, shareholders, and, most importantly, a product line. Our mission is to empower other women through these endeavors. The Urban Betty product line will be a launchpad to give back to female entrepreneurs by donating 1% of its profits to Big Austin. We chose BiGAUSTIN because they are a leader in powering self-sustainable small business development by providing business consulting, business planning & funding solutions to women entrepreneurs in Texas. I was once that woman, and if it weren’t for Big Austin that helped me with funding, I wouldn’t be here today.

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

You help others to thrive by letting them take the wheel. If you are a leader who has to have input on every decision inside your company, others won’t take the initiative to grow the company. You have to trust your employees and let them make decisions on their own. Sure, you can help guide people. However, there is a delicate process where you can empower people, ask for their ideas, and let them execute. At Urban Betty, we implemented the “Decision Tree” from Fierce Conversations by Susan Scott. When I started, every single employee came to me for every single question that they would have. It became exhausting. Changing over to this system empowered my employees and gave me time back.

How do you define “Leadership”?

To me, leadership means connection. To grow and maintain your culture while you lead, you must stay connected with your team. Know every person that works for you and listen to them. Ask them questions about their life, and don’t be afraid to be vulnerable and talk about your life. If you can cry and laugh with your team, you will forge a bond like no other. Being strong is great, but being vulnerable is even more powerful. Vulnerability and our desire to show our human side will connect us all.

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?

About twelve years ago, I was doing hair when a new guest named Rebecca Hamm came in. When I asked her what she did for a living, she said that she meets with people to help them heal trauma in their lives. I thought, “What the heck, I’ll schedule a visit.” When I first met with her, I admitted things out loud about my life that I had never told another person. It was an awakening, and I realized that I needed much help in my personal life. What I thought would be one visit turned into weekly visits that changed my life. And I still meet with her to this day! Problems never go away, and you always need a fresh perspective in life and business to get you out of your head.

She helped me gain the perspective I needed to know my worth, and she helped me let go of the fears I had surrounding scaling my business. I suggest that every person in business have a life coach, guru, therapist, or whatever you feel comfortable calling them in your life. Meet with them regularly and make sure they aren’t afraid to call you out on your BS.

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

I had the realization one day that my salon company is a great platform to help other people and support organizations in the world. Before the pandemic, every year, we hosted an annual women’s clothing swap (and we are planning to bring it back in 2022), which benefits The Safe Alliance, a shelter in Austin for battered women and children. Usually, over 200 women show up to drop off their gently used clothing and take it home with them, whatever clothing they like. All leftover items are donated. The month of September is Leukemia awareness month and anyone willing to donate their hair during this month receives a free haircut from us. Any other month of the year, we offer 50% off your haircut for every guest willing to cut at least eight inches of their hair and donate it to this great cause! In 2015, I joined the Austin Classical Guitar board, a non-profit that does educational outreach to children through music. I renewed for a second term in 2018.

In 2019, I joined Impact Austin with more than 100 enthusiastic members eager to pool resources for a combined, more significant impact. We are now one of the nation’s largest women’s philanthropy groups. Impact Austin dedicates to helping women achieve their full philanthropic capacity. The membership requirements are to be female and to donate $1,250 each year. We combine $1,000 from each member’s annual gift to fund high-impact grants that we award in June using a collective giving model.

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

  1. Make time for each other. To thrive, you have to be able to connect and spend time together. We book a standing date every Sunday night. We either go to the movies or eat dinner. It’s funny because we have been “dating” more since we had our son this year. Before having our son, we just planned stuff here and there, and now we make it a priority to spend time with just the two of us.
  2. Laugh. One of the things that bond us is our love of silliness. We have all these funny “inside” phrases, weird voices, and jokes. We also love all things Halloween/horror-related. This year we went to Universal Horror Nights for the first time together, and David had more fun laughing at me getting scared than going through the actual haunted houses.
  3. Travel. Having a once a week date night is excellent; however, taking a trip and genuinely unplugging from work helps keep David and me more connected than ever. We have an ongoing list of all the places we want to visit. We plan one domestic and one foreign trip each year. Last year we went to Mexico for five days and came back rested and connected.
  4. Make a five-year plan. You can’t thrive as a couple if you don’t have the same vision for the future. And making a five-year plan will help each of you have the same family, financial, and career goals. Two years ago, David and I created a five-year goal board with the categories of family, travel, financial, and careers. Through this, we mapped out what we each expected to happen each year and where we saw ourselves. It’s also a great way to manifest your goals. Every six months, we look at this five-year plan to check off things we’ve accomplished or to change a goal that might look different.
  5. Learning to listen. This is the most powerful tool you can have to not only thrive as a couple but thrive in life. I heard the phrase “Listen with your nose” once, and it clicked for me. That means that while someone else is talking, all you have to do is take breaths and listen. It sounds weird, but it works. Many times all we are doing is waiting for the other person to stop talking to say our point. What if you just kept asking questions and listened instead? It’s a powerful thing.

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. 🙂

I would love to inspire a movement of supporting other people’s successes. The world is not one pie for everyone. When one person is successful, it never takes away from you. Your worth and all that you have relies on your emotional well-being and your beliefs surrounding that. Whenever you celebrate another person’s success, you draw that same energy onto yourself. I would love for everyone out there to want others to succeed and be happy for them!

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

My favorite quote is, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” I heard this quote right after opening my salon company, and I was utterly overwhelmed with everything that I needed to do. I believe that all movement is forward movement. Even the most minor thing like having coffee with another business owner — asking them one question may help you get to where you want to go.

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 🙂

I would love to meet Bethenny Frankel. I love the empire that she has created with her brand. She has had many challenges in life and has overcome them all with laughter and even more success. I am so proud of her!

How can our readers follow your work online?

Facebook: https://facebook.com/urbanbettysalon

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/urbanbetty/

Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/urbanbetty/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/urbanbetty

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/UrbanBettySalonAustin

David’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/daveiam

David’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-j-neff/

David’s various books: https://www.amazon.com/David-J-Neff/e/B004BIHRDK?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1635960952&sr=8-1

This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success on your great work!


Lessons from a Thriving Power Couple, With Chelle and David Neff of Urban Betty was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.