Female Founders: JB Owen On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Create a Triple Win — The first thing I wish someone had shown me was how to create a Triple Win. You have to make sure that your company is winning and that your customers are also winning. Plus, all the people who do business with you. And your team. We all have to win.

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

JB Owen is a fearless female leader and a believer in the power of empowerment. She is a world-class speaker, 17-time bestselling author, and powerful business owner who has published over 700 authors, turning them into international best-sellers. JB’s true focus is on helping others, which is why she started Ignite Publishing, the leader in empowerment publishing, in 2018.

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’ve always loved writing. I started out writing poems and little vignette stories in elementary school. My mom was a working mom, so I would take the bus to her office after school, and to pass the time, I would play on her secretary’s typewriter. I loved seeing the letters show up on the page and the sentence fill up the paper so I could press the ‘return’ button that would make the typewriter zoom across the page and back to the start where I could write more. I always wrote fantastical stories with lots of imagination. It was a way for me to escape and, at the same time, be super creative. I’ve always enjoyed storytelling, and I felt that, as I immersed myself more and more into self-development and personal growth, sharing stories of awakening and transformation would be the true healing path for myself and others. I saw how stories help heal us, especially when working on our own stories and personal journey. It’s the natural path to transformation and inner personal connection, and I wanted to build a company from these principles.

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

Every time we launch a book, we head to somewhere beautiful like Prague, Croatia, Los Angeles, Toronto, and San Francisco for a fantastic book launch. At our Book launch for Ignite Female Your Leadership, we rented a 70-year-old wooden, handmade pirate boat and traveled through an amazing stretch of ocean in Croatia. We explored secret underwater blue caves that were hidden and could only be found by the locals. All of the authors, including myself, jumped off the boat to swim through these caves. Once we were inside, we all held hands and made the sound of ohm. The sound echoed throughout the cave, and it was just such a beautiful moment of connection. Everyone there had written their story, achieved a goal, and was on this exciting adventure. That moment allowed us all to connect in this remarkable place that few people on this planet get to experience. We all took a moment to center ourselves and bask in our accomplishment, our glory, the beauty of being alive, and the magic of nature. It was a monumental moment.

From that day on, I saw how vital it was to make a deeper connection and manifest ways to do something unique that would stay in their minds and hearts forever. This showed me that business goes beyond just ‘working’ with people. Business means more than just doing work and should be a gateway to lifelong relationships and epic experiences. You can build a much deeper connection and create memories that touch your very core.

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

It’s not really a funny mistake, but we did have a book published with a spelling mistake on the cover. We went to print, then launched and published thousands of copies of the book. Only after that did we discover the spelling mistake on the front. What was so interesting was that we had the book cover ready and, before we went to print, everyone on the team saw it, all the authors saw it, media outlets saw it, everybody saw it, and nobody for months noticed or mentioned it! It wasn’t until one author caught it and sent us a photo in an email that we realized. From there, it was like a domino effect. As soon as the first person noticed the mistake, everybody noticed the error. All we could do was admit our mistake and have a good laugh about it. We laughed because everybody just read the word as if it was spelled correctly instead of incorrectly for so many months.

The word was ‘adventurous’ spelled ‘Adventrous.’ We eventually went back and found out that it was an error by the factory. We couldn’t blame the factory, though. Human error happens. We decided the only thing to do was own up to our mistake. We put out a fun press release, a video, and then we reprinted all the books and gave the authors new copies. We just owned it, and it was an excellent turning point at the beginning of the company. The lesson we learned from that was not getting upset, not hiding behind a mistake, and not blaming the factory. We didn’t ask them to pay for fixing the error; instead, we agreed to pay for the cost to reprint everything for all our vendors. We decided to make the best out of it and keep good relationships. We always want to supply our authors with everything they could ever need, so of course, we had to make it right for them and all our readers.

That experience reminded me to always live with impeccable intentions, create good business relationships, and serve my customers in the best way possible.

None of us can 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?

It’s been a super joyful privilege to work with the amazing Les Brown, the #1 motivational speaker on the planet. He is a fantastic mentor and supporter. He’s a heart-centered, wonderful, and loving person to work with. He is the kind of person you feel excited and grateful to spend time with. Last year, we worked closely to publish Ignite the Hunger in You, one of our international bestselling compilation books, with 36 other authors. Les was involved in every step of the process to help teach the authors how to become speakers and grow their speaking platform.

Les Brown has been someone I have wanted to work with for years. I kept putting out feelers and asking around to see who knew him so I could connect with him. Eventually, we met, and I started working and mentoring with him; I sent him a proposal and waited to hear back.

One day I got a phone call, and it was an unlisted number, so I was apprehensive about picking it up. But I did, and the person on the other end asked, “Is this JB Owen?” At first, I thought it was a telemarketer, so I said yes in a not-so-pleasant way. I had a bit of an attitude. But I changed my tune when the voice said, “Can you please hold on the line for Mr. Les Brown?” My answer, of course, was “Yes!”

Les got on the phone and started talking to me about my proposal and said he loved it and wanted to work together. I was so delighted. It was a beautiful ‘wow’ moment for me. He then said that he was about to go live on his Facebook page and invited me to talk about my company and what I do. Wow again! I quickly said yes.

When we went live, his producer asked me not to mention anything about the book because the contract hadn’t been signed yet. But when we went live, the first thing Les said was, “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. This is Les Brown. Today’s guest is JB Owen, and we’re doing a book together.” He announced it to his 2 million followers right at that moment, and we were off to the races! From then on, it’s been a fantastic experience, and he’s become a close and trusted friend and a father-like figure in my life.

I’m also super grateful to my husband, Peter. He has always been a fantastic support. He always listens to me as I share my thoughts, ideas, and suggestions. Whenever I want to create something more for our authors or have an idea to take the business to the next level, he is always in. I’m forever coming up with new opportunities to give to our authors, ways to have fabulous book launches, design new products, and go that extra mile, and Peter is there consistently.

I have to be honest; it’s so powerful as a business owner to be working with somebody who supports you in your vision and is a ‘yes’ every time you need to make that extra leap to push the business to the next level. My husband Peter is that person. At the same time, he participates in every way possible and does his very best to be an absolute pillar for the Ignite community and all of our authors. He is truly the wind beneath my wings, and I am deeply grateful for him.

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 there are many things holding women back from founding companies. Some of it, in my opinion, stems from the idea that since the beginning of time, women have been in groups, surrounded by the other women in the village, and doing most of their work as a collective. Historically, women love to be around other people. We love to do things in collaboration; we love to support those in our circle. So when you want to start a company and do something revolutionary and innovative that no one has done before, women need to push out of the group and become the leader. Women need to be willing to do it independently because not everybody will agree with their idea or be ready to go out on a limb and do something that has never been done before.

I think many times, women, in our innate desire to be in a collective, have to push through that to decide they’re going to become a founder. When you’re a founder, you’re often doing it on your own, to begin with. You’re a solopreneur to start. You have to take on multiple roles in your company and wear many hats. You’re not always in that collaborative, co-creative environment until later in your business, when you start bringing on a team and aligning with other companies. There’s that moment in your business where you have to do it yourself. For many women, this is counterintuitive to some of the ingrained habits that we hold.

Being a founder and starting a company requires a woman to push forward and work on her skills, knowledge, and abilities to succeed. It takes a unique individual with great courage, tenacity, and perseverance to step outside her comfort zone. She has to know that she can do this and work on her own until she can grow and create a group of people around her who will support her business. Women need to push past their limiting beliefs and let go of the need to stay in the safety of the group.

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’ve been truly blessed to be an entrepreneur for three decades, and I can tell you that there was a time when being a woman in business was very awkward and not at all easy. When I was younger, I started doing a lot of business in Asia and would travel there to work with factories and business owners. Because my name is JB Owen, they often never expect to meet a woman. I would be picked up at the airport or show up at factories, and the entire company would be in shock that I was a woman. They were not accustomed to someone like me coming to Asia and being in charge.

There are some societal stigmas about female business owners, and I believe it has improved immensely over the years, but we still have to change the stereotypical opinions. It’s no longer women staying home to raise their children and men in the workforce. Women are running great companies in government and pushing boundaries in all industries to indeed make a difference.

What has to happen is that women need to step forth with their business ideas and be willing to speak up at business meetings, in production areas, at legislative arenas, and be the source of the change. I think it’s up to us to put our hands up in the room and speak our minds. It’s a part of the evolution of humanity.

In the time I’ve owned businesses, so many of the barriers women face in business are breaking down, and endless doors are opening up. It’s all possible for women. We can start businesses, lead companies, and inspire people, and we do it from what I call the fierce, fabulous, and feminine mindset. Women bring a very valuable and, I believe, essential female energy to a company. We can lead from the feminine instead of the masculine energy and run companies successfully. We just have to have the courage and willingness to do it and know that every time we make an effort to move the needle forward for women in this generation, we pave the way for women in the next generation.

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?

This goes back to my previous answer on why women aren’t founders is because we love working in groups. That being said, I think one of the reasons more women should be founders is because, intuitively, we love to work in collectives and love to have a lot of people around us. We like co-creation instead of competition. More women should become founders because they come from a place where they ask, “How can we all co-create?”

I feel many women bring the mindset to create what I call the ‘Triple Win.’ How does the company win? How does the client win? How does the client’s client win? How do my products help me but also help others? When I help people, they can help even more people because of the products that I create. Using the Triple Win, you impact 3x the amount of people, and, if you do it well, 4x, 5x, even 6x and more individuals will benefit.

I always ask myself: How can what I do be beneficial for my family, my team, and their family, then my community, my country, and humanity as a whole? Women ask themselves this question frequently in business because of their innate nature to foster success inclusively. More women should be founders of companies because we have this inherent want and willingness for a Triple Win. It’s not about domination or competition; it’s about asking, “How do we create something that is benefiting more than just one person?” Women have that in them. They desire to see the group win, not just the one person succeed. They foster and cultivate those around them and nurture a process until there is a definite win/win/win.

It is very much like a family when it comes to an organization. There is the potential for everyone to go beyond a hierarchy and instead be a unilateral community. I think women, in general, really support that in business, which leads to more business success.

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

Many people feel like founders just organize and tell everybody what to do when running a business. This is not the case. When you found a company, you need to do every little thing. You need to know what’s happening in the mailroom as much as you need to know what’s happening in the boardroom. You need to be aware of every facet of your company, and you need to know how to do those skills because you can’t hire people, inspire people, or even let people go if you don’t know what their job requirements are. It isn’t good as a leader if you don’t understand all the skillsets and are not privy to the metrics in every position within your company.

Founders have to know how to do many things. When they start their company, they end up doing it all, and they end up putting in the work and putting in the time. It’s not about telling everybody else what to do and just sitting at the top and delegating. Many founders do multiple tasks in their business, especially when they start. They do everything that is required. That is the most important thing as a founder. You need to be aware of every facet of your business and teach yourself and educate yourself on what is needed in that sector of your business.

As your business grows, you want to hire the best people who know more than you in their area so that they can uplevel your business. But you’ve got to know what the requirements are and what the responsibilities are so you can hire the right people. Then you can grow that company’s division by being aware of how to expand because you now understand what is required in that role.

Is everyone cut out to be a founder? Can you explain what you mean? 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?

I’m not sure people are born to be founders. Therefore, it’s not for everyone. But I think that anyone can be a founder if they decide to do so. Being a founder is about making that choice wholeheartedly. It does take work, tenacity, and effort. It takes ambition and aspiration. You’ve got to have a cornucopia of desires that will push you forward. You have to understand your “why.” Why are you doing it, and how will it benefit you and others?

I think that anyone can be a founder if they decide to put in the time, the work, and the effort. If you’re willing to teach yourself, expand your awareness and acquire the tools and the skills you need to be a founder, then absolutely anyone can do it. But you’ve got to have the desire. People who want just to punch the clock, have time off, or only put in 50% of the effort, people who don’t see the vision or lack the willingness to try something new, are not the people who will found a company.

I believe anyone can be a founder if they’re willing to put in the effort. If you decide to be the kind of person who chooses to follow their dreams, go after their aspirations, and call the shots in their life so that they and others can have the best life possible, then I think that’s the material for being a founder.

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.)

The five things I wish somebody had told me before I started my company are essential components of running my business. My company has always put heart and authenticity at the core of our work.

#1 Create a Triple Win

The first thing I wish someone had shown me was how to create a Triple Win. You have to make sure that your company is winning and that your customers are also winning. Plus, all the people who do business with you. And your team. We all have to win.

When I started working on my business, I didn’t always understand that. Earlier in my career, I had a very successful seven-figure business, and, as I filled my management team, a very masculine energy and approach began to dominate. The company mandate shifted from supporting our customers to creating profit and cornering the market. As that happened, I felt like the company shifted into a position of “what’s in it for us?” and “How can we win?” and “How can we dominate?” versus how can we be the best in our industry at serving our clients.

I let go of that very successful company because I wasn’t practicing it, and the management team wasn’t aligned with the desire to create a consistent Triple Win. I ended up walking away from that company and shutting it down because the corporate values were not in alignment with me anymore.

At Ignite Publishing and Ignite Moments Media, it’s mandatory that we as a company win by doing what we’re good at; Igniting others. But we can’t be the only winners. Our authors win by telling phenomenal stories. Our readers win by reading stories that will help transform their lives. The people around those readers will win because they live their best lives. By my count, that’s a 4x win.

We’ve continued to grow this ideology and added another layer. We’re creating even more wins by donating our online book sales to build Cambodia’s Ignite Possibilities School of Hope. We’re helping to provide support and education to underprivileged children who need opportunities and education to better their lives. The children benefit, but so do their families, community, and even their country because we’re creating a generation of kids who have the training and literacy to support their communities and lift themselves out of poverty. When those kids grow up and make a massive change, the planet and humanity will win also.

The Triple Win, or perhaps now the 4x, 5x, 6x+ win, is something I wish I had known about all along. A Triple Win has become a mandatory thing in our business.

#2 Make it transformational, not transactional

The work you do has to be transformational, not transactional. For a long time, especially working in the service industry where the main goal is to exchange products for dollars, I was drained by the very transactional experience of it all. I’ve learned in my business now that when you transform the customer, you make a customer for life because, inherently, each of us as human beings has the desire to evolve. That desire is encoded in us. We love the feeling of expansion and evolution. As a business owner, when you create a product or a service that gives the customer an experience of transformation, that they’re going from one place to the next, people will love it. When you focus on transformation over transaction, there’s this expansion; there’s a feeling of progress. Now you’ve created an emotional and visceral experience in your customer instead of just a transaction of goods.

One of my favorite books, The Science of Getting Rich, by Walter D. Wattles, talks about how you must always give your clients more ‘use’ value than the ‘cash’ value they spent. You work toward increasing the use value 100 times more than what they spent with you. For example, when we create a book, it may cost a specific amount based on the paper it’s printed on, the quality of the book jacket, and the materials used to produce it. We put a price tag on it, and that’s the cash value of the book for our customers. But the use-value is10x times what they paid. We make sure all our products, services, and training yield unlimited use-value, and we work hard to keep increasing it. Use-value is the most crucial aspect of any product or service, and that is how a founder must think when being in business.

Everything you do must transform your customer, not just transact with them.

#3 It’s not what you say, it’s how you make them feel

It isn’t what you say; it’s what you do and how you make your customers feel. At Ignite, we do everything in our power to feed our customer’s positivity. We make sure they feel supported, inspired, and awakened. We want them to feel happy. We want them to feel joyous. We want them to feel accomplished.

We don’t offer products and services to our customers without a purpose. We make sure we follow through and give them something valuable every time. We focus on community, so it’s part of our company’s purpose to inspire our clients and uplift them emotionally. We focus on transformation, so it’s part of our company mandate to educate our clients and motivate them internally. We focus on providing our customers with the most incredible and memorable feelings that will last a lifetime.

I’m always so delighted as a founder and business owner when we have authors whose whole lives have changed at the end of a book project. For example, we had a fantastic author who felt that she was not in a good place in her life. Her house had been burned down in a fire. She had left her toxic marriage, was starting from scratch, and healing from that trauma. She started working with us, and within a year, she had moved to England, had stepped into a fantastic new relationship, and was engaged! She started writing a trilogy of children’s books that have been published and won numerous awards. One of her books is currently being vetted to become a movie.

We’ve had hundreds of clients start businesses, create projects, build brands, and step into a greater version of themselves; why? Because through working with Ignite, they felt the necessary feelings to catapult them forward and prove that they could do it. They saw it was possible and felt the joy of getting there, and those feelings inspired more motivation to go after the next goal and reach it.

How you make people feel will motivate them to make a difference when they feel better about themselves. Their cup is full, and they have more time to go out and help others fill their cup.

#4 CEO means clear, excited, and organized

I like to think that being a CEO is all about being Clear, Excited, and Organized. You’ve got to be clear about what you want and about your vision. You have to have clarity in your decision-making. When you focus on what you want to achieve, you make that happen. You attract success when you have a conscious mindset, not one rooted in ego or competition. You can’t be distracted by what other people are doing, but instead, you have to be consistent in going after your goals and be clear about only that.

You’ve got to be excited. People love aligning themselves with those who have an energetic attitude. If you’re going to start a business, you’ve got to be excited about it. You have to have that passion. It has to be something that you would do whether you were paid or not. You have to throw back the covers every day, wanting to do it, and be excited doing what it takes to get there. That effervescence and enthusiasm makes people around you excited and energizes your customers because like attracts like. Energy wants to be around more energy. When you provide that consistent kind of energy as the leader of your company, your customers, your team, and your community will rally around you to make an impact.

Most importantly, you’ve got to be organized. Organizing allows you to build lasting systems for success. We’re currently working with Michael Gerber, the author of The E-Myth, who will share his ‘Ignite Moment’ in our next book: Ignite Legacy. His entire philosophy centers on creating structures and systems to organize your business for success. Organization is a pivotal quality for a CEO because there are so many things happening every day, that you need to be ready to quickly and effectively make the best decisions for your business. Being organized is also the only way to scale, advance, and succeed.

You have to practice and work at being organized every day. Being organized comes via training yourself, learning new tools, creating new ways to be efficient and productive. Explore different tools that will help you be organized and empower your team to build off what you have made. Take the time to empower yourself with apps or computer programs that foster systematization.

I wish someone would have told me how it’s not about being a boss or a manager, but the true embodiment of a C.E.O. You’ve got to be clear and excited, and organized every day in your business.

#5 Hire people who are experts in their field

Hire people who know more than you in their area of expertise. I always ask people in a job interview, “Tell me about your zone of genius.” because I believe that every single person has their niche knowledge and intelligence. John Maxwell talks about the ‘law of the lid,’ which means you have to be willing to hire people who know more than you to lift the lid on your mindest and expand what you do.

Sometimes business owners hire people who don’t know as much as they do because they want to feel safe knowing more than their team members. But hiring people who know less than you doesn’t challenge you or push you, and there is no one with the expertise to elevate some of your decisions and teach you what you don’t know, you don’t know. You want to hire people who know more than you in their area so that they can help you expand your business.

As a founder, I can’t be an expert in everything. I can be good at what I do, but if I want my business to grow, I have to find incredible people and support them to help advance the company. I am a huge proponent of hiring people who have their own ‘zone of genius.

JB’s 5 Things- https://youtu.be/GLDQxeUlR00

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

At Ignite, we have a scholarship program where we support authors who are coming through our program but are facing financial difficulties. We’ve published over 115 authors who have participated in our scholarship and bursary program. We are very proud to offer financial help to allow people with great stories to reach their goals and succeed in their desire to become published. It creates a ripple effect that benefits the world around us. I know this makes the world a better place because when people live in the center of their dream and connect to their purpose, they support and help those around them do the same.

We also believe in providing children worldwide with the ability to become educated and literate. I would want everyone on this planet to get access to education and become the changemakers and visionaries of the world. That vision has inspired us to build the Ignite Possibilities School of Hope in Cambodia. This school will provide access to education and literacy to hundreds, even thousands of impoverished children. This is our passion project, and it means so much to us to use our work to create an impact on this scale. We currently take all the online proceeds of our books and fund the materials needed to build the school. Every dollar brings us one brick closer to building this school of dreams.

Our next initiative will be building 12 schools in Southeast Asia through our upcoming Ignite Legacy book series. I believe strongly in this mission, and I am so committed to it I can see it unfolding. I know many children cannot attend a school or are trying to learn in makeshift schoolhouses where they’re sitting in the dirt without desks, blackboards, equipment, or books to support them. They lack a proper learning environment, which can easily be solved if we work together to make a difference.

I have a vision of building these schools because I know that many of the children who will come through these schools will do great things and significantly impact humanity. These children will be the change-makers in the world if we give them the opportunity. Learning in a safe, clean, academic environment will empower them to go out and tackle some of the significant challenges on this planet. This is why I’m committed to building these schools. I want to give opportunities to children and leave a positive, powerful legacy behind.

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.

We love the written word, but we’re also so excited to transpose that into a film. Another project we are working on to inspire humanity and positively impact the world is Ignite Humanity, a documentary we are currently in pre-production for. This documentary is about igniting humanity and sharing how powerful the human spirit is. It’s about how people are strong and can overcome the trials and tribulations they have in their lives to step into a better version of who they were born to become.

The documentary will feature people who have taken some of their difficult ‘Ignite Moments’ and used them to do good in the world. At Ignite, we are storytellers, and we want to use those ‘Ignite Moments’ that have transformed a person’s life to connect people. We’re excited that people will see the faces behind the stories and recognize the beauty and intention behind the words. People will be able to hear the voices and see the emotion in a way that showcases the story of their Ignite Moment and how it has benefited them in their life. We’re focussing on people who are doing massively inspirational things to help others so that we can move the needle on making all of humanity more compassionate and connected.

We’re also currently developing a way for people to share their Ignite Moments called Igniteapedia. Our goal is that people will freely share their Ignite Moments so that other people can read them. We want to document, create, and collect the stories of people who have experienced a life-changing, Ignite Moment, and became better for it. We want to spark conversations, elicit change, and promote unity. And from that, we want to create opportunities for connection on a global scale. Maybe someone has had an Ignite Moment that was similar to another’s. Perhaps their journey was reflective of something you had been through. We believe people will find hope and healing through similar stories of growth, change, and enlightenment. When you find somebody who’s been on the same journey as you, that creates camaraderie and a possibility for an even greater connection.

I believe creating a space for sharing and connection through Ignite Moments can change the world. We want to be the place for people to find like-minded individuals with similar Ignite Moments so they can uplift and Ignite hope within one another. We want to give people the opportunity to share their experiences with others, so no one ever feels that they are alone.

Our mission is to Ignite a billion lives with a billion words and have 7 billion Ignite Moments shared. Yes, 7 billion! We believe every person on the planet has an Ignite Moment, and every one of them deserves to be seen, heard, feel loved, and belong to something greater because of it.

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? They might just see this if we tag them.

One of our projects, called Ignite Legacy, is all about the world’s Legacy Leaders sharing their Ignite Moments around how they created a global impact that will last for generations to come. We have three Ignite Legacy books coming out: Ignite Legacy Leaders of Impact, Ignite Legacy Women of Impact, and Ignite Legacy Conscious Leaders Creating Impact. The idea is that every one of those books will show the Legacy Leader’s Ignite Moments that was the catalyst for their humanitarian projects. In conjunction with writing the book, they will build more schools in impoverished countries and share their legacy knowledge with the youth through our Legacy Library program.

We genuinely want to uplift and inspire the generations to come. We know if we teach young minds to be thinking about legacy from the beginning, we can instill the principles of creating a lasting future for everyone. The vision is focused on what we can do now to secure a great future for all of humanity; learning from Leaders is paramount for our young.

If I could sit down and have breakfast with anyone, it would be with all the Legacy Leaders on the planet who are working towards building an all-inclusive future. To be even more specific, I would love to get the chance to speak to the Dalai Lama and ask him what his Ignite Moment is. I dream of including his Ignite Moment in our upcoming Ignite Humanity project. I would also love to meet these people, who I believe are some of the true Legacy Leaders of our time: Tom Bilyeu and his wife Lisa Bilyeu, the Queen of Jordan, Evan Carmichael, Angelina Jolie, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, just to name a few people who have gone beyond fame and recognition and are instead working towards impacting people’s lives on a global scale.

Those interested in creating a legacy are the people I am inspired by. I’m a big proponent of the idea of not giving people fish but instead teaching them how to fish to empower themselves and gain the skills, tools, and resources needed to go out and empower other people. This is what legacy is all about: creating a world where everyone can do what they do best.

Everything that gets me excited right now is about creating a massive global ripple effect that touches people’s hearts. We lead by example, and from a heart-centered place, we will teach others how to lead with that same intention. Forbes Magazine called me the leading Heart-centered publisher on the planet, and I am honored by that. My desire to create a geocentric world is what I would love to learn from these fantastic Legacy Leaders. I trust that I will connect with all of them one day.

I have four children, and I regularly think about how we can teach the younger generation to have the mindset of Legacy, Humanity, and Possibilities.

If we succeed in teaching them these valuable tools to success, all the future generations to come will have the chance to shift the paradigm into something utterly magnificent.

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


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

Female Founders: Aireka Harvell of Nodat On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a…

Female Founders: Aireka Harvell of Nodat On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Failure is expected and actually celebrated. There is a quote that I love by Robert Kiyosaki that says “Winners are not afraid of losing. But losers are. Failure is part of the process of success. People who avoid failure also avoid success.” I used to be embarrassed to talk about my failures but not anymore. Failure builds character and teaches the greatest lessons. I welcome the failures because that means I’m not talking myself out of trying.

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

Aireka Harvell is the founder & CEO of Nodat, the first all-in-one geo-targeting mobile marketing and loyalty platform that helps small businesses get more from their marketing budget by targeting and retargeting consumers in their service areas or specific geographical locations wherever they are on mobile. Aireka is passionate about local businesses and helping to create access to the tools and resources they need to be more competitive. Aireka has a decade of experience in high-scale customer loyalty with national brands like AT&T and American Express Plenti Loyalty. Aireka is an advocate for women and minority entrepreneurs which led her to co-found Twende, the first accelerator for founders of color in Nashville.

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 am a Nashville native, a graduate of Cumberland University, and a proud mom. Before becoming an entrepreneur, I spent 10 years with AT&T in their Nashville-based Customer Loyalty and Retention Organization. This experience helped me to understand what it takes to turn consumers into brand loyalists even when they are not happy with the company.

While I am also very passionate about the small and medium business (SMB) community, I often overlooked local businesses by shopping exclusively with big name brands. However, that all changed in 2016 when I discovered that my son was upset about not going to a new water park that opened in our city. He found out about the waterpark after his friends were teasing him with videos and pictures of themselves on Snapchat. I had no clue that the water park existed. So, I started asking my family and friends if they knew about it. Only one person in my entire network knew it existed.

This experience made me wonder why so few people knew about this amazing new business. Then I started to examine what could be done to help small businesses promote their products and services within their local communities. I knew Yelp was out there, but I wanted to find a way to help people learn about and connect with more exciting businesses in their local areas. I also wanted to figure out a way to encourage people to share positive experiences versus all the negative ones, like you see on other apps. I mentioned to my son that it would be cool if someone developed an app that rewarded locals with points for sharing what they knew about businesses with other locals. My son looked at me and said, “Why don’t you do it?” I thought to myself, “Why not me?”

At the time I wasn’t aware of many women, let alone Black people in tech that were building marketing technology. So I made the decision to give it a shot. Since I had no idea how to develop an app, I started doing research and hired some developers. After a lot of hard work and testing of the beta version of the app, we launched the initial version of Nodat in the summer of 2017.

That’s how Nodat came to be, and how I became an entrepreneur.

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

I had been working on Nodat for six months while still in my position at AT&T. I chose to hire a team of developers from India and while we had to communicate via Skype, we got to know each other pretty well. They invited a friend and I to fly out to talk and discuss the future plans of the company. I couldn’t resist their invitation to visit India.While my family and friends thought I was crazy for going to another country to meet with people that I didn’t know, it didn’t stop them from rooting for me.

While in India, we submitted Nodat to the app stores. I can still remember how it felt getting the approval for the iOS app while boarding the plane to go home. I forgot where I was and screamed out as loud as I could, “YAY! WE GOT APPROVED FOR APPLE!” so loud.

We immediately gained a lot of traction. So when I got an early investment from a close friend, I made the decision to leave my corporate career to work full-time building my company.

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 made the mistake of telling my children that we were going to be rich. They immediately started looking for mansions and even found a specific one they liked. My babies started telling everyone we were moving to Governor’s Place.

My children believe in me so much that even years later they are still asking “How close are we to moving into Governor’s Place?” I am starting to think that they will never let me forget this promise. I am hustling everyday to make sure I fulfill that promise of building generational wealth to pass down to them and their children. I’ve also learned how to have faith in my dreams by watching them have faith in me.

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 so many people that come to mind, I am truly blessed to have had a long list of supporters. In previous interviews I’ve made mention of how people like Sherry Deuestchman, Kimmy & Sergio Pauluch, and Robert Jewell are some of my biggest supporters. They believed in me enough to either invest, offer advice, give mentorship, or to introduce me to people that could help me with my business. The list of support is long.

With that being said, I must add Becky Sharpe to the list. Becky and I serve on the host committee for the DealMakers Conference in Nashville, TN. We immediately bonded over our experiences as women founders in male dominated spaces. Becky did not waste any time making connections for me to potential customers, advisors and investors. Thanks to her networking skills, she was able to put us in touch with some of the largest franchises in Nashville. Beckys’ efforts helped to catapult my business and subsequently we closed our first local franchise customer and I got to meet and build relationships with some amazing and influential entrepreneurs.

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 am seeing more women starting and growing companies every day and the EY report reflects this. We should be celebrating that the ratio has been on a steady increase. The ratio has doubled from 10% of startups having one woman founder to 20% over the last ten years, and that is great progress. I look forward to the day when the headline reads ”40% of Startups Have At Least One Woman Founder.”

As an advocate for women entrepreneurs, I often talk about the challenges we face growing sustainable businesses after we overcome our initial fears of failure, existing responsibilities, and commitment. In my opinion, the greatest challenge that women founders face is funding. It’s interesting to note in the EY report that when a woman has a male cofounder, funding happens more often versus when she raises as the primary founder. It astounds me that this ratio hasn’t changed since 2016.

The focus should be on what’s causing that number not to move forward. While women now have more rights and our involvement in business and entrepreneurship has increased, there are issues at the root of the problem that still need the world’s attention. One of those being the need for more diversity in the venture space. It would allow new ideologies, and processes for deal considerations to be created and people at the top of the venture space should reflect that.

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?

Women-owned businesses are pillars in our communities and support is a key factor for them to continue to thrive. So, as a society we should make it easier for communities to support and advocate for the success of our businesses. In order to grow the pipeline, we should foster collaborative environments that encourage and empower women to become founders. One of the ways that we can create that environment and increase equality for all is by creating programs that incentivize those investors that are the first to financially support women founders.

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?

Much like other founders, I’ve spent years building, failing, pivoting, and rebuilding. However, it took an interaction with a male investor that solidified the fact I was already equipped with the resiliency needed to be a female founder when a male investor advised me to, “quit because men before me have tried to solve the problem I aim to solve, and failed.”

The data has already been collected to validate why the world needs more women founders. Many reports have proven that companies founded by or led by women outperform our all male counterparts by 63%. It has also been proven that women funders are investing more than our male funders. That is primarily due to the fact that most women funders are investing in women founders.

I am amongst a small number of women tackling the gaps created by larger players in our space that ignore the complex needs of a very vulnerable but important demographic of businesses. The small and medium business and the local marketing space is about community, relationships, and loyalty. It requires someone with patience who cares about solving their problems and not a quick pay day. So who better to have that patience while being diligent, scrappy, and resilient than a female founder?

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

Entrepreneurs are not motivated by money alone. Most of the successful founders I have met, myself included, have a bigger why behind what we do. It’s the excitement of creating something new for the world to use while overcoming obstacles, breaking down barriers, and testing new products or services.

The personal and spiritual aspect of being a founder is also valuable. We get to see the world from different lenses and it helps us grow to become better human beings. After all of that and we finally get our formula just right, the money is a great reward.

There’s also the myth that only founders who come from certain backgrounds or graduated from certain universities can grow companies that will one day become a Unicorn. This misconception has led to a lot of great founders being bypassed. I know this to be true because I had first hand experience. Early in my journey an investor recommended that I work for an entrepreneur instead of becoming one. His reasoning was that I didn’t look a certain way and I didn’t come from a specific background. Thankfully those old ideas are rapidly being proven wrong.

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?

While anyone can become a founder, not everyone is cut out to remain one. Founding a company is the easy part. Once there’s a solid idea you go through the process to create it, name it, register a birth certificate and boom you’re officially a founder. In my opinion, It’s the work that comes after the birth certificate that’s not for the faint of heart. I liken it to parenting because every business is like a child, they each have their own personality and its own set of unique challenges. Now if you’re a great founder, you will possess certain qualities and traits that equip them to go through those growing pains until the company matures enough to fly on its own.

We treat our new companies the same way every parent invisions themselves raising the perfect children who never make mistakes and grow up to be amazing successful adults. If you have children then you know that sometimes they will go astray and choose their own path to becoming amazing adults. While holding on to that vision it’s our duty to be loving, patient, insightful, determined, and a resilient parent while allowing them room to grow. As parents, we take risks and make sacrifices for our children to be successful.

The criteria is the same for a founder. We have to be willing to birth the vision, nurture it, see it through its tests and trials, pivot, and allow it to grow through its failures. We often have to set our egos aside and seek help by joining supportive communities and seeking advice and mentorship. If an individual from our community doesn’t possess the necessary traits, then they may be better suited to be in a supportive role that helps build the vision and that’s ok because every role is vital for its success.

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. Focus on building the right relationships.

For a long time I thought I had to do this alone and I didn’t see much point in doing it. Once I finally understood the value of relationship building things got easier. There’s a definite value in building a network of people who believe in you and your vision, will vouch for you, won’t just praise you when you’re doing amazing things but will sit you down and give it to you straight when you’re not doing so amazing. This lesson allowed me to learn that relationships are just as important as the product itself because it’s those relationships that will open doors and help you grow into maturity.

2. Don’t compare your journey as a founder to any other’s.

I remember reading an article in 2016 about the two men who founded Instagram and became an overnight success. The journalist literally referred to it as a “fairytale.” The article went on and on about how it only took two months to build it and how quickly they gained momentum. When I started my company I did not have the “fairytale” experience and I felt awful because I began to compare myself to the stories of other founders.

Then one of my developers decided to send me a message of encouragement stating, “Remember at first not a lot of people understood what Instagram was. You don’t remember when they kept changing it?” I looked at that message and said to myself, “I thought they were an overnight success story?” I immediately began researching and learned that they pivoted a couple of times before they found the right formula two to three years later. I then realized I wasn’t there for the early versions and I just saw the final product. I was comparing my early versions to their final product which was a dangerous thing to do. I”m grateful for that message to this day because it put me in the right mindset to keep going. I remind myself of it often and I share it with the founders I mentor.

3. It’s okay to be myself.

There’s a lot of stereotypical ideologies about the right way to be a founder. One day I had plans to meet a potential investor for dinner for the first time and someone gave me advice on how to dress and suggested that I rent a car so it appeared I came from wealth. I declined that advice. Well, on my way to the restaurant I got a flat tire that made me about 10 minutes late. When I finally arrived he looked at me and said “You want me to invest in your company and you make me wait for you?” I explained the flat tire and he responded with a stern face “Early is on time, on time is late and late don’t ever think about it again?” I looked at him, faked a smile and shook my head ok. At this point, I’m thinking “I should have rented the dang car!” He then let out a loud laugh and said “I’m BSing you!” and we laughed about it. I’m not sure if that was the best way to break the ice but it made me forget how nervous I was to begin with. I relaxed and we had a great meeting.

To me authenticity is everything and it’s important that stakeholders, investors and team members know the real me so they know what they are getting themselves into from the beginning. I perform my best when I am allowed to show up as my authentic self.

4. Failure is expected and actually celebrated.

There is a quote that I love by Robert Kiyosaki that says “Winners are not afraid of losing. But losers are. Failure is part of the process of success. People who avoid failure also avoid success.” I used to be embarrassed to talk about my failures but not anymore. Failure builds character and teaches the greatest lessons. I welcome the failures because that means I’m not talking myself out of trying.

5. Trust your gut.

In the beginning, so many people tried to tell me that what I am building would not work. However, I felt it in my gut that video reviews and user generated content was going to be huge in marketing one day. Today user generated content has created an entirely new economy that grew from a $20B industry in 2021 to now a $104B industry in 2022 and it’s only going to continue to grow. My gut tells me we’re in the right space.

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

I love to share knowledge so much that a few of my colleagues have nicknamed me the “info warrior.” I get a twinge of excitement when I share something new that I’ve learned and someone confirms that they didn’t know it either. I mean after all, I did name my company Nodat (know that) because I seriously love to find new information and share it with the world.

I get excited because I know that piece of information could possibly be what that person needed to know to improve a process, get a job, heal an illness, buy the perfect gift, etc. The first time I launched a crowdfunding campaign, I realized not a lot of people in my community even knew businesses used crowdfunding as a strategy to fund themselves. So, I started educating the community on the various non-traditional ways of getting the funding an early entrepreneur may need to get to their next milestone. I partnered with two other entrepreneurs to co-found Twende, the first accelerator for Black and Brown entrepreneurs in Tennessee.

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 always wanted to partner with a restaurant to create a program that helps early-stage entrepreneurs raise a small quick round of funding. The entrepreneurs would be waiting tables and pitching to customers. While serving tables, the entrepreneurs would pitch themselves and their businesses to the customers and then based on how well they convinced the customer to believe in them and their business idea the customer would decide how much they want to contribute to that server’s campaign. I would call it Pitch House!

I would split the restaurant into two sections. One for regular seating and the other section would offer the pitch house experience. I would make it a whole experience. Each founder would get like two weeks to reach their goal. I think that is an exciting way to get more of the community involved in supporting early founders. Access to early capital is often a barrier for a lot of entrepreneurs because many times new entrepreneurs work full-time jobs and have very little extra money to use towards their business. So this would allow the entrepreneurs to raise the money to start their business without the commitment of a part-time job, and help the restaurant with free labor.

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 would love to have lunch with Serena Williams! Serena is a change agent and she has experience overcoming the adversity and challenges that come along with that type of goal. Can you tag her please?

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


Female Founders: Aireka Harvell of Nodat 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.

Modern Fashion: Renata Feyen of Seadbeady Blogs On The 5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful…

Modern Fashion: Renata Feyen of Seadbeady Blogs On The 5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Blog Today

An Interview With Candice Georgiadice

You also have to try out a lot of different things before you can get to a great result. That’s why the second one would be determination. You have to get out of your comfort zone and if the outcome is not what you wanted, never give up, but keep trying until you find your way.

Many in the fashion industry have been making huge pivots in their business models. Many have turned away from the fast fashion trend. Many have been focusing on fashion that also makes a social impact. Many have turned to sustainable and ethical sourcing. Many have turned to hi tech manufacturing. Many have turned to subscription models. What are the other trends that we will see in the fashion industry? What does it take to lead a successful fashion brand today?

In our series called, “5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand Today” we are talking to successful leaders of fashion brands who can talk about the Future of Fashion and the 5 things it takes to lead a successful fashion brand in our “new normal.”

As a part of this series I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Renata Feyen.

Renata is Blogger, Influencer and her blog niche is Fashion and Lifestyle. In 2017, she set up Seadbeady Blogs to initially promote her beadwork, but it became so much more. She loves doing shop reviews and started out by doing Etsy shop reviews. During these past 5 years, she has worked with several shops in the Fashion and Lifestyle space.

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 childhood “backstory”?

I’m the middle one of 3 girls, and was born and raised in Antwerp, Belgium. I have always been very creative, and spent most of my free time on drawing, and singing. Because I was very shy, and also a striver, I didn’t have many friends in school. On top of that I had to start wearing glasses when I was about 6, so I got picked on a lot for being different. Ever since I was a todler, I was also very sensitive, so I cried a lot, which made me the cry baby of the family. Safe to say my childhood wasn’t always the most happy time, but it made me into the strong women I am today. It was only a few years ago I realized I had all the trades of someone highly-sensitive.

Can you tell us the story about what led you to this particular career path?

At the age of 44, I started having a lot of joint problems. I was taking piano lessons, singing lessons, and was the singer in a band. Because of a few surgeries together with lots of back problems, I had to quit my music, and needed to find something I could do on my lazy couch. It lead me into a depression, until I discovered the art of beading. I became a regular beadaholic, and opened an Etsy shop to sell my beadwork creations. In order to promote my Etsy shop, I started my blog — Seadbeady Blogs. The Etsy shop closed because it wasn’t worth the effort, but the love for blogging stuck on me. I am not in it for the money, because I don’t earn anything by writing, I just enjoy it a lot.

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

In the beginning of my blog career, I found it hard to find shops to feature. That’s why I decided to share a post in a Facebook group with Etsy sellers, saying I would make a blog post on anyone that would apply, free of any costs. At first only a few shops applied, but when I started sharing my blog post, they just kept coming. If the moderator wouldn’t have disabled the comments it would have been lots more than the 35 reviews I did. Still it felt good to help those people.

You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

I would say empathy and a sense of humor at first. The one thing I think is most important is that I try to put myself in their shoes. What would I like if I were them, so I try to be detailed in my descriptions, but still put a lot of humor in it. Another important thing is my creativity. My drawing lessons taught me how to make a composition, which feeling I try to incorporate in the pictures I take.

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

I suppose the work I put into it makes me stand out. I always browse the website of the shops I feature and try to take out what I think my readers would find most important. My blog posts are very detailed, but personal at the same time. Making great pictures and finding the right keywords is also crucial.

Do you have a favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share a story of how that was relevant to you in your life?

I have my own quote, which is — Be happy, be smart, let the Sun-Shine in your heart. It says a lot about how I try to live. Even though I have a chronic illness, I try to focus on the things that make me happy. No matter what happens, never give up on yourself.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Do you see any fascinating developments emerging over the next few years in the fashion industry that you are excited about? Can you tell us about that?

I notice that there are a lot of people that have become more conscious about their ecological footprint. There is a huge overproduction and overconsumption of cheaply made clothes which has an enormous impact on our planet. I hope people will get more aware of this in the future.

Can you share how your brand is helping to bring goodness to the world?

On a regular basis I share gift guides on Fashion and Beauty with an occasional DIY or Handmade gift guide. I think it’s important that people still give shops, especially the new ones, a chance to be on a blog post without having to pay for it. You can also find interviews about Fashion Designers, Fashion Stylists and Fashion Influencers on my blog. I don’t ask anything in return for those either. It’s only when you want a full blog post, that I ask for a free item in return.

Can you share with our readers about the ethical standards you use when you choose where to source materials?

I am not the one sourcing materials. However, I only feature shops on my blog that have something interesting that my readers might want to know.

Fast fashion has an advantage, that it is affordable for most people, but it also has the drawback that it does not last very long and is therefore not very sustainable. What are your thoughts about this? How does your company address this question?

I love reviewing sustainable items and sharing post on slow fashion, and have a lot of followers who are a fan of my blog posts on this topic. When I see that shops are making efforts, I always point this out to my readers.

Thank you for all that. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand”. Please share a story or example for each.

The first one would definitely have to be creativity. My drawing lessons taught me how to make use of this in my photography.

You also have to try out a lot of different things before you can get to a great result. That’s why the second one would be determination. You have to get out of your comfort zone and if the outcome is not what you wanted, never give up, but keep trying until you find your way.

A third one would be time. Lots of people think starting a blog is easy, but it takes a lot of time and determination to get your blog seen. You need to be consistent and post regularly. You also need to take time to do research on the shops you feature on your blog.

Number four, and this is also crucial. You have to make sure your blog is easy to read. People will get annoyed if your blog would be full of spelling and grammar mistakes.

Last but not least, believe in yourself. Have faith that you did everything you could to make your blog post good enough for your public to read. If you have read what you have written more than once, and made sure everything is in the right place, go ahead and publish it.

Every industry constantly evolves and seeks improvement. How do you think the fashion industry can improve itself? Can you give an example?

I think we all need to make steps to make that ecological footprint smaller, and that doesn’t only apply to business, but it starts with yourself. Start by using less plastic wrappings, and make use of recycled materials if you can.

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

Oh wow, that’s a hard one. The one thing I am most sensitive to is animal abuse. Animals are not something to play with and throw away when it’s not cute anymore. The love of an animal is unconditional, so don’t make abuse of that. We should all put in more efforts to protect all animals around the world.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

You can follow Seadbeady Blogs by clicking this link https://seadbeady.blogspot.com/

Or on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/seadbeadyblogs/

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


Modern Fashion: Renata Feyen of Seadbeady Blogs On The 5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Irene Stepanenko of AskGrowers: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis…

Irene Stepanenko of AskGrowers: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis or CBD Business

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Hiring and training. I would have liked to know more about hiring, training, and employee retention. You can learn so much from other people’s stories about how much time and tools a new employee needs to succeed. But I am glad that we now have a tool that helps us with that!

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

Irene Stepanenko is a passionate marketer, teacher, yogi practitioner, connoisseur of natural products, mentor and mother. She has been making worthy projects successful for over ten years. Her latest venture, AskGrowers, a website that educates consumers and provides an in-depth introduction to cannabis for newcomers and experienced connoisseurs alike, was created out of an irrepressible desire to share expert knowledge about cannabis with the public.

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

I want to talk about an unpopular topic in business — the dismissal of employees. I regret that no one told me about their personal experiences in saying goodbye to unsuitable employees. The growth of any project or business is a process of conquering peaks. Sometimes, it is necessary to say goodbye to employees who do not contribute to the overall progress or even slow down your team.

For myself, I created an algorithm that helps me make this decision. First of all, we have a complex system that shows each employee’s contribution, position, and growth. The results of the work of this system are an individual development plan for the employees, constant feedback and satisfaction with the company/project/management, timely warning about possible burnout, support for their undertakings apart from work tasks, and so on. This system gives us up-to-date data that helped reduce 60 percent of employee turnover. With those who remain, we have meetings where we analyze the reasons for unsatisfactory work or management and prescribe a plan to change the situation with KPIs and deadlines. During this period, we also kept in touch and shared feedback. We recently shared this system with partner companies, which are seeing positive results.

Everyone knows that working on a project without motivation and inspiration is a losing game for both parties, especially startups. My lesson is that you need to do everything to make sure that you and your employees who are not on the same professional path calmly accept when to say goodbye.

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 started AskGrowers because I shared information and answered questions about different cannabis strains, products, and brands with my friends and acquaintances on WhatsApp. One day, I accidentally added my grandmother to this cannabis chat, and she thought I was illegally selling marijuana. I had to spend some time convincing her that I was doing something else. The takeaway, double-check who you add to your private chats!

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

At the moment, I am helping to develop an online education project in marketing. We train people in a short amount of time in niche specialties such as link builder, targetologist, SMM and SEO specialist. We see cases every 2–3 months where people with no experience in digital marketing get a job, a decent salary, and opportunities for further development after taking our classes. It is very inspiring!

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

I wouldn’t have been able to create AskGrowers without my husband. When you start any new enterprise, you need the support of the people around you. I am a mother, and if it weren’t for him, AskGrowers would not have happened, or at least not now. It’s a generalization, but I know many women who have a disproportionate amount of work at home, usually compared to their male partners. He helped take over many aspects of our life, freeing up my time and energy to create the website. I am extraordinarily grateful for his support.

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

We are always looking at places where we can improve the form, function, or even the entire service of the product. It is necessary to understand the what, how, time frame, and resources we can use to improve giving our client/buyer what they want in the simplest way. I think legacy companies often miss the little things that significantly impact the user experience. They sometimes don’t pay enough attention to design updates, simplification trends, and speed of interaction with their products.

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

These are three things that I am excited about but concern me if we don’t take significant steps to take them to the next level.

1) Education. The public needs to be educated about how different compounds in cannabis products affect their experience. Products containing THC that have other components of cannabinoids and terpenes in them often have greater therapeutic benefits. The reason is that when multiple cannabis compounds are combined, their medicinal effects are changed and enhanced, creating the entourage effect, where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

2) Social equity. The cannabis industry owes an outstanding debt to the pioneers in the LGBTQ+ community. They were instrumental in getting some of the first medical marijuana legislation passed. Cannabis has also disproportionately impacted the Hispanic and Black communities with cannabis prohibition and police action. We want our readers to learn more about these amazing communities’ brands and their inspiring stories.

3) Sustainability. AskGrowers advocates the continuous pursuit of sustainability in cannabis businesses. Sustainable use of resources for producing cannabis products is a social responsibility of each participant in the cannabis market: government, grower, retailer, the consumer. It should be a constant trend, increasing the sustainability and regeneration of production.

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

1) Hiring and training. I would have liked to know more about hiring, training, and employee retention. You can learn so much from other people’s stories about how much time and tools a new employee needs to succeed. But I am glad that we now have a tool that helps us with that!

2) Lack of education. The cannabis industry is a young.. It is necessary to create educational materials for both newcomers and experienced users. People often think that they know everything if they use cannabis for several years. But in reality, it turns out not to be the case. AskGrowers speaks with specialists in the cannabis industry and share their experience and expertise on our website.

3) Stigmatization of cannabis. Society is just starting to get used to the fact that cannabis is normal. We need to fight the stigmatization of cannabis.We can do that by sharing scientific data, real stories and relevant statistics with the public. 4) Lack of cannabis-related specialists. I don’t mean specific cannabis specialists, such as growers, cultivators, breeders. I’m talking about cannabis writers, marketers, SMM specialists, BizDev professionals with experience in the industry. The industry is developing, and new personnel are actively stepping into it, but so far, demand exceeds supply. We are constantly looking for new specialists who will strengthen our team. For example, now it is a BizDev specialist and SEO specialist with experience in the cannabis niche. Maybe just such a specialist is now reading this article, write to us!)

5) Differences in legislation and data on the cannabis industry in each state. We Knew there was a difference, but we underestimated how big it could be.We still wonder how cannabis brands survive under such harsh and restrictive laws when we collect information and talk to owners across the states. AskGrowers has to spend a lot of resources on our content specialists and lawyers to understand what we can do and what not.

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

Treat them like people! I have long been convinced that you cannot treat your employees solely as a resource. Successful employees are motivated, happy and supportive. You must know your employees, their strengths and weaknesses, and allow them to develop and encourage them. Also, remember that as the entire team’s expertise grows, you will need to give them bigger challenges to keep them interested in continuing to work with you. You, your company, and your projects must also constantly develop. It is how great goals are achieved!

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

I enjoy creating or being part of something new that can help other people. But sometimes, you need to take advantage of the opportunities of organizations that already exist. My family helps pet shelters that are already functioning and need constant resources. AskGrowers will soon join the Last Prisoner project, whose efforts we deeply support.

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

I can be contacted via Twitter @irene_explorer and LinkedIn @AskGrowers.

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


Irene Stepanenko of AskGrowers: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Modern Fashion: Maria Loria of WearMyWardrobeOut On The 5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful…

Modern Fashion: Maria Loria of WearMyWardrobeOut On The 5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand Today

An Interview With Candice Georgiadice

Time and money — self funding your business will only take you so far. To scale up fast after successful proof of concept it takes more time, resource and money to do this. I’ve worked contract jobs for 9 months on and off to fund paying my graduate staff, to be able to open my studio and to fund essentials like technology and PR. Its exhausting being two people and working two jobs but if you can sustain it then it’s worth it in the end. On 1st March I’ll be back to one job and will have opened up a rental and repair studio all self-funded.

Many in the fashion industry have been making huge pivots in their business models. Many have turned away from the fast fashion trend. Many have been focusing on fashion that also makes a social impact. Many have turned to sustainable and ethical sourcing. Many have turned to hi tech manufacturing. Many have turned to subscription models. What are the other trends that we will see in the fashion industry? What does it take to lead a successful fashion brand today?

In our series called, “5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand Today” we are talking to successful leaders of fashion brands who can talk about the Future of Fashion and the 5 things it takes to lead a successful fashion brand in our “new normal.”

As a part of this series I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Maria Loria, from WearMyWardrobeOut.

We are the UK’s first fully circular sustainable fashion-as-a-service brand. We rent out handpicked, timeless vintage and pre-loved items from Maria and Co’s wardrobe sourced only from items already in existence. We alter, repair for re-wear and upcycle to enable the ongoing recycle of fashion items, unwanted upholstery, household items and just about anything that we do not want to see go to landfill by making one-of-a-kind dresses for rent.

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 childhood “backstory”?

Both a blessing and a curse… being born from Italian Irish heritage, I inherited a very odd body shape that meant standard retail shop sizes didn’t fit me. I’ve always had to adjust my own clothes, nipping in the waist or letting out the hips. My mum would help occasionally but she had two jobs and my two brothers to look after so never had the time, which meant I’d had to teach myself basic sewing skills by the time I’d reached 12 years old!

At age 14, I landed my first paid job working in my hometown as a Saturday retail shop girl. I was so obsessed with fashion that I actually lied to the shop owner, saying I was aged 16 to get myself the job!

Every Saturday, the first thing I’d do when I got to work was rummage through the latest stock arrivals, and reserve my choices. At closing time I’d blow my entire wage on new outfits where after school each day I’d hand sew and alter these clothes to fit me perfectly . I was the only girl among my friends who had the means and independence to buy my own clothes every week.

Pretty soon, I was lending clothes out to friends and had quickly developed an obsession for picking out items for the women shoppers that came into the shop on a Saturday.

Then I discovered vintage! I remember in 2004 going to visit my cousin in NYC and walking into Cheap Jacks Vintage Store in Midtown (sadly now closed). It was like nothing I’d ever seen before, an emporium of wall to wall vintage and thrifted one-of-a-kind fashion pieces. I’d literally died and been reincarnated that same day in that shop! Beside myself with excitement, in awe of how aesthetically pleasing these vintage items really were! I left there with a 1980’s Dynasty style glitter jumpsuit, the kind you’d have seen in British Vogue or imagined a New York socialite wearing to a cocktail party in the mid 80’s. I imagined who had worn this undeniably exquisite outfit before me, what was their story. It must have been worn a handful of times since it was in immaculate condition somewhat 20 years on! Fashion altering and wearing Vintage was always just a necessity and a hobby to me, it was never a viable career choice.

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Can you tell us the story about what led you to this particular career path?

It was becoming very clear that throwaway fashion was a real thing and that cheap fast fashion retailers were gaining market share by mass producing trend items. Items made from cheap, offensive materials created in ill-fitting poorly designed styles. When I looked further into this it was frightening to see the amount of over produced clothes being dumped in landfill. I was further appalled reading about the unethical exploitation of workers in the countries that these brands were sourcing their products from.

It simply was not sustainable to continue to allow these brands to operate in this way. Yet to move the dial away from the fast fashion culture of today there needed to be alternative, accessible, affordable operating models developed to enable fashion lovers to shop consciously and to support a future circular fashion economy.

So, I decided to take my business experience, my life savings, quit my finance job and launch WearMyWardrobeOut.

I wanted to give everyone access to a fully circular wardrobe experience by only wearing clothes already in existence, by extending the life of these clothes and by ensuring that they got re worn and reinvented for years and years to come. Ultimately, permanently turning their backs on these unethical brands who are not only harming the plant but that are cheapening and disrespecting the skill and craftsmanship of dress making, tailoring and fashion art by producing their clothes at such a devalued discounted price, on mass. I also wanted to make it affordable for people who really did only want to wear something twice (but that did not want to wear something new each time) and give them the ability to consume fashion in a way that suited their lifestyle but that didn’t compromise their values and that gave them value for money.

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

12 months ago, I was sat on back-to-back calls negotiating bids for a large Corporate telecommunications company 45 hours a week having already spent 18 years in a Finance career.

A career in fashion was always completely out of reach for someone like me. I didn’t live in London, I hadn’t been to Fashion School, I knew no one in the Industry, I didn’t have any rich socialite friends that would give an ‘inning’ to their world or any famous influencer’s that could promote my idea across social media.

The barriers to entry were just so high that it was just completely unimaginable. Yet just last week I was invited to a closed Vogue Business Event in London where I was surrounded by fashion people from the Industry sat just 8 feet apart from Vogue business editors, the VP of Farfetch, the former CEO of ASOS and the Creative Director of Klarna!

I guess me even typing this answer to a potential fashion article is the most interesting story that has happened to me because I never dreamed that I’d have the opportunity to run my own meaningful fashion brand or be part of such a hugely important change to the fashion industry challenging the way that we as a society consume fashion.

You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

Transparency, passion, and likeability are key to being a successful leader, if you aren’t able to connect with your audience by showing real authentic emotions and the real you then I think people see straight through this.

I was incredibly lucky that in August 2021, I put out a boosted post on Instagram for an Internship and found three of the most talented and loveliest people who wanted to come and work with me for three weeks. Between us we shared my sustainable brand story and mission with the community and asked people to volunteer to help us produce our first ever AW 21 Look book photoshoot. They believed in the brand and our purpose because they could see that we had a true and honest end goal that they connected with. We had volunteer models, photographers, coffee runners and were even given the photo shoot location venue for free for the entire day! Since then we’ve shot three other campaigns of which most have produced with community creative volunteers and models that see us as leading the way to a more sustainable fashion future.

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

I am the only truly circular and sustainable service brand in this space in the UK where I curate, hand pick, rent, repair, reinvent, recycle, upcycle and tailor the clothes under one service and one brand. I only rent and source items that are already in circulation or that are headed for landfill by extending their useful wearable life.

My competitors trade off the back of already established concession fashion brands (Rixo, Vampire’s Wife, Rotate) under the guise of sustainability, with a message of ‘Rent this dress from £15 per day instead of buying it for £250’ omitting that there is a 3-day minimum rental period, plus a cleaning fee, plus a postage fee, plus insurance fees. Most items of which are sourced as managed wardrobed directly from brands last season dead stock and not actually worth a RRP of £250. The brands they work with have dead stock because they have over-produced, and they are brands that are not always using sustainable materials. My competitors have opened up a new channel for brands to continue to bring new items into circulation and over produce because they can rent out their deadstock and recover 400% of their original RRP by renting a dress for £50 up to 20 times! And to sell the 2nd hand items on Depop for £70 as a residual value. This is not affordable or good value for money for young consumers.

I offer an equitable, affordable end to end experience which is concession brand agnostic and asks the end consumer to really alter the way they see fashion by looking beyond the fashion ‘brand name’ culture and look at whether they love the fashion item for its ascetics, and it’s fit. (Because most of these brands still over produce and still source their items from China)

Do you have a favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share a story of how that was relevant to you in your life?

“Never underestimate the power of nostalgia”. I heard this quote from the Creative Director of Moschino whilst watching an episode of ‘Making the Cut’ . He was talking about one of the designers that was sourcing items from 18th century carpets and upcycling along with thrift shop military jackets to create one-of-a-kind catwalk pieces for that week’s challenge. He was debating with Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn about which designer should go through to the next round and was deeply unhappy that the other judges just didn’t get the designer’s magical creations. The opinions were so diverse that it made me realise that fashion really is art and that I just had to curate a story about the vintage and upcycled items I had and not to take it so personally when not everyone got my brand.

A PR agent that I contacted in March 2021 was the most incredibly rude person I’d ever corresponded with. She made me feel small and that I had no place in the fashion world and that clients were only looking for luxury or established brands to work with. It was a lesson for sure. It wasn’t until I heard this quote that I felt better about how belittling the email exchange with her was and decided to re-visit PR and thank goodness I did and found someone fantastic to help me, if I hadn’t then I would not be writing this answer right now.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Do you see any fascinating developments emerging over the next few years in the fashion industry that you are excited about? Can you tell us about that?

I can see more and more marketplaces arising where the traditional supply chain shifts from a supplier and D2C model, to an organic localised peer to peer supply chain model. Made up of community creatives with amateur sewing skills and emerging designers sharing their services with their community via marketplace apps. I see upcycling designers becoming more mainstream via marketplace apps where people want customisation and want one off items that are unique and statement like. Fast fashion brands will be held more to account and I really do see a gap in the market for a world leading fashion-as-a-service brand to take the lead in slowing fashion down. Consumers are looking for a frictionless online and offline experience and a community curated experience. They no longer want fashion to be functional or online only. The metaverse will or will not become a major thing, who knows but I think for luxury brands this is a real opportunity for them. I see more and more collaborations between brands just like we saw with Gucci and North Face last year. I can see consumers really turning the dial on sustainability but to do this they’ll need to let go of the cheap price points they’re used to, but this will happen as more and more people shine a focus on fast fashion brands.

Can you share how your brand is helping to bring goodness to the world?

This is our social responsibility mission: we exist to:

  • Challenge the long-term buying behaviors of people in the UK which contributes to increased consumer debt, driven by social peer pressure. Through enabling a platform for people to affordably rent pre-loved stylish outfits instead of buying them.
  • Contribute to slowing down throwaway fashion by renting out pre-loved items until they have reached the end of their economic life through the ongoing love, repair and upcycling of preloved items.
  • Contribute to the reduction of fashion waste by recycling and upcycling (where feasibly possible) end-of-life, pre-loved fast fashion and vintage items.

Can you share with our readers about the ethical standards you use when you choose where to source materials?

I only source items that are already in circulation from vintage to damaged items that need minor or major repairs. I take donations and other people’s wardrobe items and rent them out. We never buy new and we never accept items from brands unless they are pre-loved and from local small businesses that have the same mission and ethics as we do.

Fast fashion has an advantage, that it is affordable for most people, but it also has the drawback that it does not last very long and is therefore not very sustainable. What are your thoughts about this? How does your company address this question?

The power and influence that fast fashion brands have gained in the past 2 years is frightening.

It is simply not sustainable to continue to enable the over consumption of fast fashion items and encouragement from fast fashion brands through constant ‘70% off’ messages being pumped into people on a daily basis.

We have an obligation to enable alternative ways of consuming fashion and hold accountable the brands that continue to over produce ‘trend’ items on mass and then dump their unwanted stock in landfill.

Until there are other proven consumption models available that are easily accessible, the fast fashion brands will carry on. I just need to believe that at some point the legacy consumers that blindly buy at this low price point will start to question why they can be priced so low and realise that their need for the latest trend items ultimately enables modern day slavery and the out right exploitation of other human beings in another country. Currently most consumers feel divorced from this, yet the harsh reality is that they are complicit. Its not about shaming people into turning their backs on fast fashion, it’s about helping them to understand how their clothes are made, how some items take 100 years to degrade and giving them a frictionless more conscious ways to consume fashion.

Thank you for all that. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand”. Please share a story or example for each.

  1. A true calling — I physically couldn’t eat or sleep in the last few months in my corporate job because my entire body was telling me that I needed to start this business. I was waking up in cold sweats every night! The day I resigned from my job my body just knew and and went back to normal immediately.
  2. A gap in the market — I said to many friends over 5 years ago that repairing and altering clothes was not accessible or affordable. I’d talked about creating a mobile tailoring business that I’d drive around doing on demand alterations because all of the clothes that fast fashion and high street brands were selling were ill fitting and cheap. That there was gap in the market to buy off the peg and then get a couture fit for your clothes on demand. Today there is a real need for this and for renting clothes — so timing is everything. 5 years ago would have seen the wrong time to start this business, the market and consumers wouldn’t have been ready for it.
  3. A talented team — one that is diverse in their opinions and ideas and that you empower and trust to have the same ethics and passion as you. When you find these people, look after them and hold onto them as they are very hard to find. I was lucky enough to find three amazing Interns that are now close friends and work for me part time as graduates. I trust them implicitly.
  4. Sheer determination — start up life is hard and it’s always going to feel easier to just work for someone else especially in the fashion industry where it is very saturated and impossible to break into. Don’t compare yourself to other brands unless it’s for market research otherwise it will just grind you down and you’ll lose focus clouding your mind with what others are doing. I see the other rental brands in the media weekly in WWD, the Guardian and its soul destroying wondering why my story hasn’t been heard, but I just have to trust that at the right time it will happen.
  5. Time and money — self funding your business will only take you so far. To scale up fast after successful proof of concept it takes more time, resource and money to do this. I’ve worked contract jobs for 9 months on and off to fund paying my graduate staff, to be able to open my studio and to fund essentials like technology and PR. Its exhausting being two people and working two jobs but if you can sustain it then it’s worth it in the end. On 1st March I’ll be back to one job and will have opened up a rental and repair studio all self-funded.

Every industry constantly evolves and seeks improvement. How do you think the fashion industry can improve itself? Can you give an example?

By weeding out brands that are only interested in making billions of profits each year for their already wealthy shareholders all at the detriment to our planet and our people. By trying new ways to consume fashion, whether it be digital, IRL, online or in the metaverse — change is coming, and we should embrace it. Supporting emerging brands and designers is key.

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

I’d launch a one stop shop App for sustainable fashion that integrated bike couriers, scooters and a true end to end peer to peer platform. Enabling consumers to divert their disposable income to each other instead of to large greedy corporations and already wealth shareholders. I’d enable a platform for people in the UK to reinvent tailoring and dress making as a skill and an art and remove the need for exploiting overseas workers

How can our readers further follow your work online?

Via instagram @wearmywardrobeout or via our website, or IRL at our studio

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


Modern Fashion: Maria Loria of WearMyWardrobeOut On The 5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women In Wellness: Dr Christina Burns of FABORM on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support…

Women In Wellness: Dr Christina Burns of FABORM on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Slow down: Moving fast all the time puts us in fight or flight mode. We need balance with the two parts of our nervous system. I had a patient recently who felt puffy, tired, anxious, and bloated. I asked her about her routine, and she described rushing from one thing to the next. She would inhale her food just to get onto the next task. I told her to sit and chew and take a few mindful pauses throughout the day between commitments. Nothing crazy, just adding an extra five minutes to basic needs like eating. It’s critical to be in “rest and digest mode” when eating. “A few days into her new routine, she felt less agitated, less bloated, and happier.

As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Christina Burns.

Dr. Christina Burns is the founder of Naturna, a naturopath, a Doctor of Chinese Medicine, L.Ac, FABORM, and host of the Fertility in Focus Podcast. Naturna is an integrative health center based in New York City, dedicated to the comprehensive fusion of eastern medicine and western science. With18 years of clinical practice, Christina seeks to empower women and men to achieve their optimal life and health goals through natural medicine practices, informed integrative nutrition, lifestyle management, and personalized mind-body programs. She is a licensed Chinese medicine doctor with board certification in Oriental reproductive medicine and nine years of postsecondary education. Christina has advanced acupuncture, herbs, nutrition, life coaching, and yoga therapy certifications.

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

I’m a Doctor of Chinese Medicine and a Naturopath. I embarked on my journey into wellness after dealing with a litany of issues growing up. Be it hormonal, skin, digestive, or mood challenges, these niggly issues severely affected my quality of life. I bounced from doctor to doctor, took all sorts of medications, and always ended up worse off without any insight into why.

When I was 19 years old, I ventured to Asia. I witnessed a different healthcare paradigm. It was a system that considered our daily choices, which affect our health, and incorporated herbs, nutrition, and mindfulness.

I returned to Canada and studied nutrition, martial arts, and herbal medicine. I became enamored with eastern philosophy and natural medicine. In this realm, I finally found solutions for the challenges I faced. Since then, I have addressed 99% of my issues naturally.

Can you share the most exciting story with you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?

Ten years ago, I had a patient desperate to have a baby. She was 39 and had a premature ovarian failure (POF). She had consulted seemingly every doctor in New York, all of whom said she would need to use a donor egg if she wanted to get pregnant. But she was determined not to take that route. With her hair thinning and her thyroid off-kilter, we overhauled her diet and got her off processed food. Although she had difficulty with the diet changes, she persisted. She also did acupuncture and took a custom blend of herbs. As miracles would have it, she conceived a healthy pregnancy.

Despite what all these doctors told her, she refused to believe it. It was her will that astonished me. The power of belief was what I took away from this experience. And the possibility of defying the odds. Statistics are not the be-all-end-all. Who says you can’t be that 0.001%? Stay the course if it feels right.

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

I underestimated the time it would take to get good at what I do. I started with a two-year program, thinking I would be ready to start my career. It became apparent quickly that it was the tip of the iceberg, and I needed to learn more. Next, I enrolled in another three years to perfect my skills which extended to five. I still didn’t feel ready to start treating patients professionally. I spent two more years in Asia treating patients before I felt qualified enough to return to the states and start getting compensated for my expertise. The lesson I learned is that there are no shortcuts. If you believe in something, expect to play the long game.

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

My dream is to help transform the way we approach healthcare. I believe it’s upside down. We run to the doctor for our health concerns because we lack basic knowledge of how our bodies function. We struggle to figure out the best food to eat, what exercise we should be doing, and how to live a balanced life. When we get ill, we don’t know how to recover. As a naturopath, I firmly believe in the physician as a teacher. I teach and empower all my patients to take charge of their lives with the right tools to guide them in eating, exercising, and integrating wellness practices to prevent illness and treat it. It’s not as though western medicine isn’t helpful or necessary. It’s just that western medicine tends to use more aggressive methods that are overused and not practical for a variety of subtle imbalances that affect our quality of life. If we learn more about lifestyle choices and natural medicine, we will lead more enjoyable and healthier lives.

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) Finish eating before 7 pm: You will sleep deeper and feel more refreshed. I had a patient that was self-medicating with coffee to get through the day. She had to peel herself out of bed every morning and couldn’t figure out why she wasn’t at her optimal weight. She felt puffy and bloated. Within a week of not eating late, she lost pounds of water weight, and even her mornings were more productive without the caffeine.

2) Eat protein for breakfast: Low blood sugar will trigger a crash at some point. I had a patient who felt anxiety all through the day, worse at night. She would also crave sugar in the evenings. I told her to include protein in her breakfast, and within days she felt more balanced emotionally, and her sweet tooth and evening binges disappeared.

3) Get outside every day: People need nature. I had a patient that stayed inside for months during the earlier part of the pandemic. When she finally came to see me, her anxiety was through the roof. My prescription was to get outside, walk daily and see the sky. After a week of the new routine, her anxiety decreased tremendously.

4) Eat cooked foods: Digestive issues are rampant and cooked foods are often a good solution because they are easy to digest. I had a patient who described being so bloated that she looked six months pregnant. When I asked her what she ate, she said salads, yogurt, fruit, and ice water. I told her to cook everything for a week, including poaching an apple or pear if she needed something sweet. Her bloating decreased dramatically, and she felt much better.

5) Slow down: Moving fast all the time puts us in fight or flight mode. We need balance with the two parts of our nervous system. I had a patient recently who felt puffy, tired, anxious, and bloated. I asked her about her routine, and she described rushing from one thing to the next. She would inhale her food just to get onto the next task. I told her to sit and chew and take a few mindful pauses throughout the day between commitments. Nothing crazy, just adding an extra five minutes to basic needs like eating. It’s critical to be in “rest and digest mode” when eating. “A few days into her new routine, she felt less agitated, less bloated, and happier.

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 would integrate natural medicine with western medicine everywhere possible. For most people, their first point of contact for a health visit is their doctor. While the doctor has a lot to offer, they don’t provide much nutritional or lifestyle advice or natural options to address health complaints. When I lived in Asia, I worked in hospitals and offices where we worked as a team with an assortment of approaches — acupuncture, homeopathy, herbal medicine, western medicine. It was glorious! Not to mention practical. If only we had a more integrated approach here, we would reduce dependency on pharmaceuticals and surgical interventions by starting with the basics. Even having doctors referred to for nutrition or mindfulness counseling would be a huge step forward. But doctors are busy and don’t necessarily seek out these resources, so I would like to start a movement that makes this a reality.

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

1) There aren’t many quick fixes in a pathway to health. I thought that I could fix things immediately. It turns out that the body doesn’t always listen to our type A brains. Sometimes it takes time, and we must honor that. There is only so much we can control.

2) You can’t do everything on your own. I wish I had recognized that being a good clinician doesn’t make you a savvy businessperson. It’s overwhelming, and I would have appreciated more guidance to reduce stress and save myself from mistakes I made early on.

3) Not everyone is open or interested in natural medicine. I used to take it to heart if someone didn’t embrace my practice. I’ve made peace with the idea that it’s not my role to convince every person I encounter about the value of natural medicine. I can educate and hope they will want to open their minds to other options, but I don’t take it personally if they don’t.

4) Failures offer to lead to your most significant opportunities. Failure taught me to think more critically before moving forward with business decisions.

5) Consistency is the key to success in business and health. Stick with the program, and it will often bear fruits.

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

Mental health is dear to me now, personally and professionally. I have struggled my whole life with anxiety and depression. I’ve seen so many patients facing the same issues, particularly in this era of the pandemic. Mental health is a big issue. I developed an herbal formula that got me through my postpartum depression and applied a more comprehensive application in my own life. Many of my patients have had great success with the formula. It is called “junk juice” due to the murky nature of the beverage and has worked wonders for me and many others in addressing anxiety and mood issues.

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

https://www.instagram.com/naturna_life/

https://naturnalife.com/

https://www.instagram.com/junkjuicemagic/

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fertility-in-focus-podcast/id1544999680

Thank you for these fantastic insights!


Women In Wellness: Dr Christina Burns of FABORM on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Sarah Nielsen of SG Wellness: 5 Lifestyle Tweaks That Can Dramatically Improve Your Wellbeing

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Exercise wakes us up by pumping oxygen rich blood throughout our bodies. When we don’t move for long periods of time, we may begin to feel like a stagnant pond. Even brief moments of movement have the ability to flush our whole body with a fresh supply of ingredients needed for us to focus, interact, and thrive. By choosing to carve out moments for intentional movement, we travel away from pond territory and take on the flowing characteristics of an oxygen rich river that’s full of life and vitality.

As a part of our series about “5 Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Dramatically Improve One’s Wellbeing”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Sarah Nielsen, NBC-HWC, M.Ed., a Pillar National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach.

Sarah is a national board certified health & well-being coach with over 15 years of experience in health education. She holds a Masters in Health Education, and specializes in working with adults wanting to improve their wellbeing, particularly those who have recently experienced a health scare or received a chronic condition diagnosis. Her unique coaching approach leverages lifestyle medicine, mindfulness, nature-based insights for personal growth, and self-compassion. Sarah’s private practice is based in Austin, TX. When she’s not working with clients, she picks up weekly volunteer shifts at two urban farms in her community.

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

Thanks so much for having me! I’m fortunate that wellness has been a golden thread throughout my life, weaving through an array of fitness and outdoor recreation pursuits. I grew up outdoors, and have vivid memories of wandering around my grandparent’s farm like a free-range chicken. I also have a dance background, and upon starting college, I found myself naturally gravitating to the choreography and energy of group exercise classes offered by the campus’ recreation program. When I realized fitness and wellness was something I could study and do for a living, everything clicked into place and I aligned my coursework accordingly.

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

In a previous role, I had an opportunity to join a team of delivery drivers for a “ride along” day of delivering furniture to customers throughout San Francisco. As a wellness professional, it was an opportunity for me to gain a keen understanding of the physical feats delivery teams muscle through each day — not to mention the mental challenges that come with maneuvering incredibly heavy, bulky furniture up multiple flights of stairs. It was a one-of-a-kind tour of the city that allowed me to witness a pair of humans achieve nearly impossible deliveries, only to turn around and do it again and again.

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

Prior to my formal coach training, I used to blame myself as a health educator if someone wasn’t ready to make changes for their health and wellbeing. I thought that if I could just convince them of all the reasons why they should get healthy, they’d see the light and we could really move mountains together. It’s humorous now because that’s not the way behavior change works at all. I’m thankful for the knowledge my coach training gave me; not only am I skilled at helping others change deeply seeded habits, but I have a better understanding about human behavior as a whole.

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

I have developed deep roots and a bird’s eye view of the wellness field. I’ve spent my career cultivating a unique blend of knowledge and professional experience that has allowed me to be nimble in my private practice and in consulting for larger organizations’ wellbeing needs. As a behavior change expert, I’m able to intuitively align with my clients and quickly understand the unique terrain of their priorities and pitfalls. Health Coaches are not therapists, but we do have an affinity for casting a light on those big ah-ha moments that are unique to your behavior blindspots. I believe my unique contribution to the world of wellness is to act as a learning bridge between the scientific communities of traditional fitness, health education, and outdoor education, while holding space for the not-so-scientific moments that occur to each of us as we navigate the path towards change. I teach my clients that struggle can co-exist with success, because ultimately, we are here to learn and grow.

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 several mentors to thank for the role they played in my career, but meeting my academic advisor at the University of Minnesota Duluth definitely changed the trajectory of my life. His name is Dr. Ken Gilberston, and after we sat down to talk nothing was ever the same. In me, he saw someone who understood the bigger web of wellness. Traditional kinesiology and outdoor education felt like two different worlds to most, but because of my varied background, I was able to see them as two branches of the same “improving your quality of life” tree. He helped me create a major that blended Fitness, Health, and Outdoor Education. Once my launchpad was built, the rest was history. Dr. Gilbertson remains a mentor to this day, and I’m grateful our paths crossed when they did.

Ok thank you for all that. Now let’s move to the main focus of our interview. We all know that it’s important to eat more vegetables, eat less sugar, exercise more, and get better sleep etc. But while we know it intellectually, it’s often difficult to put it into practice and make it a part of our daily habits. In your opinion what are the 3 main blockages that prevent us from taking the information that we all know, and integrating it into our lives?

Emotions are potent drivers and they can easily sway our choices for better or for worse. Typically, when I see people not quite ready to integrate meaningful change in their lives, it trickles down to the following root causes…

1. Thinking you can put it off — Our bodies are actually pretty resilient. They do amazing things each day to keep us alive, despite how poorly we may treat them with a lack of sleep, water, or beneficial nutrients. It can be easy to think “I’ve made it this far, why change now?” But I encourage my clients to view their health as a different kind of savings account. Lots of us know the value in saving money for retirement, but we don’t hold the same perspective towards our health. It can be uncomfortable to reflect on, but what will you do with all of that money if you don’t live long enough to enjoy it? Or worse, what if all of the money you worked so hard to save goes towards treating preventable medical conditions instead of financing your actual goals and hobbies? In the practice of building health and wealth, we want to avoid the gut panic feeling that comes with worrying you’ve waited too long and are too far behind to catch up. Remember, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the second best time is now.”

2. Thinking it’s a punishment — Somewhere along the line we accepted the idea that restriction and willpower were the keys to becoming healthy, when they’re actually the keys to burnout and defeat. Rating the quality of your workout based on how sore you are the next day is not an accurate marker of progress. Suffering through another round of Whole 30, just to swing the pendulum back on day 31 isn’t it either, y’all. If we lean too far into cookie cutter meal plans or unrealistic exercise regimens, we can end up feeling angry at ourselves that we couldn’t stick with the plan, when in reality, it was never an appropriate plan for you to begin with. Bottom line, we’re talking about lifetime health and well-being, not a chunk of time. It’s important to enjoy the things you eat and the way you choose to move your body, because if you don’t, it’s that much harder to stick with them for the long term. “Every plant has its own requirements to grow, and so do people.”

3. Lack of Support — Technically, you could cut your own hair. You’ve used scissors before and you know what the end result should look like, so it should be a piece of cake, right? Unfortunately, it’s not that easy. There are finer techniques and knowledge that a professional brings to the table, so compared to them, your best effort wouldn’t be as successful. When it comes to the science of sustainable behavior change, the same logic applies. A professionally trained, board-certified coach will help you find success by identifying blind spots and providing steady, unbiased support through the ups and downs of behavior change.

Can you please share your “5 Non-Intuitive Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Dramatically Improve One’s Wellbeing”? (Please share a story or an example for each, and feel free to share ideas for mental, emotional and physical health.)

1. Zoom out. Shrizad Chamine, author of Positive Intelligence, shares the perspective evoking exercise of dividing your chronological age into fifths, and taking a few moments to objectively recall each of the five phases of your life by scanning for highlights, lowlights, and life-lessons gleaned. When we pause to zoom out and observe, we gain perspective on how far we’ve come, but we also gain awareness of our unwritten future, still open to the direction of our choosing. When it comes to envisioning your future wellbeing, consider how you’d like to feel one year from now, 5 years from now, 15 years from now. What are your priorities? Who do you want to be around for? Which life events or major milestones are you looking forward to? Your answers become your Whys. Some call it a north star, others call it a guiding light. When you zoom out and identify your Why, you activate the power of intrinsic motivation, ensuring that when you zoom back into your daily life, you’re able to align your actions to your goals accordingly, and with ease.

2. Refill your NatureRx. During the height of the pandemic we experienced a significant disruption to our daily lives that took a toll on our emotional wellbeing. But there were also daily occurrences that were not disrupted; animals continued to migrate, flowers bloomed, and seasons changed as they’ve always done, providing us with quiet reminders that there are still natural anchors we can attach ourselves to when life seems to be spinning out of control. Fortunately, gaining access to the calming effects of nature are accessible on a spectrum. Nature is the houseplant in your living room, a specific tree in your neighborhood, a community garden, or your yard. It’s something you can return to regularly to quietly observe the natural pace of growth and change. The Japanese practice of forest bathing or shinrin-yoku, teaches us to slow down and quietly observe examples of growth amid a living backdrop of natural stillness and resilience. As you pause to take in the colors and textures of whatever nature looks like for you, you’ll feel your heart rate decrease and your shoulders soften, and you’re reminded of why you came to refill your NatureRx in the first place.

3. Get along with your gut- The scientific community is only just beginning to scratch the surface of what’s known as our “second brain,” aka the gut microbiome. Made up of the bacteria, fungi and other microbes that live in our digestive tract, your second brain can influence digestion, immunity, and emotional regulation. Regularly consuming ultra-processed foods that contain few beneficial nutrients do very little to prop up the internal ecosystem of our bodies. Consider supporting your gut microbiome with fermented and fiber rich foods to ensure your healthy bacteria have the nutrients they need to flourish.

4. Experiment with intuitive eating and intuitive movement- I regularly cross paths with folks seeking out restrictive eating plans or punishing fitness challenges enticed by promises to jumpstart their progress or reset their metabolism. Often, these “results not typical” cookie-cutter programs do not factor in the day-to-day rollercoasters of our lives. Practicing intuitive eating and intuitive exercise means that you’re attuning to the needs of your body as they evolve in real time. You’re already practicing it when you feel thirsty and take a sip of water, why not lean into this practice a bit more to see what else you can learn about what your body needs? Do your legs still feel really sore from yesterday’s heavy workout? It’s okay to listen to your body and go for a walk instead. Expecting yourself to stay the cookie-cutter course no matter what your day throws at you can create a behavior change mindset clouded by obligation, guilt, and negative self-talk. Taking care of yourself should feel good. When we listen to our bodies’ unique emotional and physical needs and respond accordingly, we strengthen the most significant relationship that we can sustain for the length of our lives — the one with ourselves.

5. Establish a sleep routine to properly pace yourself for the relentlessness of modern life. To be honest, rest is exactly what the weary need. Instagram watercolor artist, Britchida, has a piece titled “Two Options” that illustrates a striking visual that reminds us of times we’ve pushed ourselves to deliver, produce, and perform, only to succumb to fatigue or illness later on. Pace yourself for modern life by allocating time for rest and regeneration. Our body is a living ecosystem that thrives best under conditions of nutritious foods, regular movement, and rest. An easy ROI for your long-term health is to establish a consistent sleep hygiene routine, or bedtime routine. Parents around the world keenly understand the delicate balance of maintaining their children’s bedtime routines, knowing the disruption that can unfold if routines are skirted for just one night. Our ageless need for restful sleep doesn’t dissolve once we’re the adults in charge of our own bedtimes. As with any change in behavior, experimenting with establishing a bedtime routine may take some trial and learning until you find the right combination for your unique needs.

As an expert, this might be obvious to you, but I think it would be instructive to articulate this for the public. Aside from weight loss, what are 3 benefits of daily exercise? Can you explain?

Absolutely. When our only perceived benefit of exercise is weight loss we construct a narrow tunnel around ourselves about what exercise is, and what it can do for us.

First, exercise wakes us up by pumping oxygen rich blood throughout our bodies. When we don’t move for long periods of time, we may begin to feel like a stagnant pond. Even brief moments of movement have the ability to flush our whole body with a fresh supply of ingredients needed for us to focus, interact, and thrive. By choosing to carve out moments for intentional movement, we travel away from pond territory and take on the flowing characteristics of an oxygen rich river that’s full of life and vitality.

Second, exercise cheers us up. We also know that exercise is a potent salve for our emotional health. The act of exercise can help us release the emotional and physical symptoms of stress that accumulate in us like a stack of pancakes each day, one stressor after the next. Under enough pressure we’re all susceptible to cracking, but after we exercise, we pivot the day by feeling physically rearranged and mentally shifted for the better. Our bodies are expertly designed to take care of us in that we already possess all of the necessary tools/equipment/parts, we just have to start the engine.

Finally, exercise is a multitasking immunity booster. For many of us, the last couple of years have caused us to become acutely aware of the role our immunity plays in our lives. Fortunately, regular doses of exercise can keep our bodies humming along in several key areas. First, there’s clear value in being the owner of an aerobically conditioned heart and set of lungs that do not fatigue easily. Yet, an often overlooked benefit that exercise bestows on us is its impact on our quality and quantity of sleep. We’re familiar with studies that demonstrate measurable decline in our cognitive and physical abilities after a poor night’s sleep. We also know that our cells can’t properly regenerate and repair for the day ahead without getting rest each night. For those managing chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, or obesity, skimping on sleep can dramatically impact the direction of your day. Big picture, the immunity angle is just another testament to our bodies amazing ability to take care of itself if we let it.

For someone who is looking to add exercise to their daily routine, which 3 exercises would you recommend that are absolutely critical?

1. Walking — Walking is portable, affordable, and available in small to large doses. Physiologically, it helps to clear out our stagnant pond by flushing out stress, aiding digestion, and easing tensions of all sorts. Because it’s accessible to most, people of all fitness levels will benefit from adding a walking routine into their lives. Customization comes in the form of pace or speed, and whether the terrain is flat, hilly, or treadmill based. Few other forms of highly effective exercise are available as conveniently and as readily as walking, and it’s been right under our noses this entire time.

2. Strength Training — Our muscles are what prop up our skeletal system. If our muscles are weak, we’re setting ourselves up for an array of risks later in life. The benefits of strength training are many, and like walking, it can be customized to the user based on their desired goals.
Beginners should aim for three sessions of strength training per week, allowing for the proper recovery time needed for the breakdown and rebuilding of muscle tissue. Equally important is having the mindset that strengthening your muscles is a process that cannot be rushed. Pacing your reps and sets accordingly is the name of the game. People who engage in regular strength training can expect improvements to their resting metabolic rate, bone density, and body composition.

3. Stretching — If you’ve ever played with silly putty, you can recall how stiff it feels when you remove it from its classic egg-shaped case. But you’ll also recall how flexible the silly putty becomes with movement, warmth, and time. Our muscles can be viewed in much the same way. Our muscles get stiff if we’ve been in the same position for too long, but we’re also very pliable, and like silly putty, we can loosen and lengthen ourselves over time. Oftentimes, we reap the benefits of muscle flexibility at a moment’s notice — like if we slip on a patch of ice, or quickly reach for something before it falls to the ground. Fortunately, stretching is an ageless activity that can be done for the length of one’s life. In our faster paced society, lots of us have decided that we don’t have time to stretch after our workouts when our muscles are warmest, and able to be lengthened with ease. By overlooking stretching, we miss a critical opportunity to repair our bodies post-workout. Zooming out, you want the muscles you need at a moment’s notice to be ready, not cold out of the egg-shaped case. Take it slow, take deep breaths, and be patient and persistent with your progress as you start to literally loosen up.

Is there a particular book that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story?

Being Mortal, by Atul Gawande. Hindsight being what it is, I wish I would have read it prior to my grandparents’ passing. As humans, we try to avoid discomfort as much as possible, even if it means putting off critical conversations about loved ones’ wishes regarding the final chapter of their lives. Unfortunately, this avoidance-at-all-cost practice gives way to other problems. As with any form of procrastination, we eventually find ourselves backed into a corner with shrinking options to choose from. As we realize we haven’t taken steps to navigate uncomfortable conversations, a powerful cocktail of panic, sadness and regret takes hold, placing our next steps under heavy emotional influence rather than logic. Emotions aside, Being Mortal also gave me a greater perspective of the limits we have as humans in our physical bodies, as well as profound insight into how to navigate the turbulent waters of the aging process, whether it be our own or those we are closest to.

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

If I could start a movement, it would be for us to recognize the power of walking. Walking, especially outdoors, can be an incredibly potent tool for our emotional and physical well-being. Feeling restless? Go for a walk. Too full from dinner? Go for a walk. Angry? Walk it out, y’all. Walking rearranges us and reinvigorates us. You get to set the pace, and the dress code is irrelevant compared to many other types of exercise.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Do you have a story about how that was relevant in your life?

Ralph Waldo Emerson says “Adopt the pace of nature, her secret is patience.” In December 2019, I gave a mindfulness presentation to the Human Resources team at my job. The presentation was a success, and the next day I received Emerson’s quote on a thank you card from my boss. Months later, COVID’s turbulent arrival would shake us up like a snowglobe, and I found myself among the millions of unemployed. It was then that I decided to sow seeds to create my private practice, keeping Emerson’s quote within close view at all times.

Did you know that carrots take roughly 75 days to grow from seed to harvest? I find this humbling and comforting at the same time, especially if I feel myself expecting too much, too soon out of life. Often our need for instant gratification tricks us into expecting ourselves to grow faster than we’re physically capable of. When it comes to growing and changing, the carrot can’t rush itself, and neither should we.

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 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’d love to have a meal with choreographer and dancer, Ryan Heffington, to thank him for the livestream aerobic dance classes he created out of thin air during the early months of the pandemic. As gyms and studios shuttered across the country, the fitness industry I’d come to know for the past twenty years was forever altered. I was elated to see thousands of people from around the world streaming his 60-minute classes on Instagram each week as we grapevined our way through the collective grief of losing so much, so quickly.

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

Readers interested in my urban farming adventures can follow along on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sg__wellness/ , and follow my coaching work on my website https://sgwellnessatx.com/.

Readers can also keep up with the amazing work Pillar Health Coaches are doing at www.withpillar.com and instagram.com/withpillar

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!


Sarah Nielsen of SG Wellness: 5 Lifestyle Tweaks That Can Dramatically Improve Your Wellbeing was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women In Wellness: Denise Cartwright of CRUDE On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support…

Women In Wellness: Denise Cartwright of CRUDE On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Always Be Flora-Focused — The skin barrier is teeming with natural colonies of bacteria and fungi which work directly with your immune system to regulate, clean and regenerate the skin. Your skin relies on its microbiome, or flora, but unfortunately that’s what we’re washing off our bodies each day when we use soapy cleansers. Don’t get me wrong, hand-washing (the whole 20 seconds!) is an integral part of basic hygiene as well as combating the spread of disease. But daily head-to-toe soap use is wreaking havoc on our bodies — and our biomes.

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

Now a Master Esthetician of 12+ years, Denise developed CRUDE in her kitchen in 2014 after an experiment with oil-cleansing cleared her acne breakouts. Within six months, she helped more people heal their acne using her oil-cleansing system than she had in six years using the industry’s most cutting-edge products and treatments. This reality got her questioning the foundations of our modern skincare protocols, and her research and experimentation led her to conceive and formulate CRUDE’s entire line of soapless, detergent-free, flora-friendly self care products.

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?

During my decade-long career as an esthetician, I became especially intrigued by inflammatory skin diseases like acne, rosacea, and eczema, and the conflicting science on the best way to treat them. Throughout much of my esthetics career, I personally experienced imbalanced, dry, patchy skin and regular acne breakouts, despite using some of the top skincare products available at the time. I started hearing about people using oil-cleansing to heal their acne, and decided to experiment with the method, despite it conflicting with what I had been taught in esthetics school. I was told oil was bad for the skin, that it should be stripped with harsh cleansers and exfoliants, and that oil-free products were superior. I was intrigued and desperate for healthy skin, so I washed my face with oil for a week, and it instantly improved my skin. I did a ton of ingredient research and perfected a system that kept my skin consistently clear, then started sharing it with my facial clients. One by one they wanted more, and it quickly made sense to create a brand and start a business.

I spent $30 on the ingredients for my first batch of oil cleansers, then kept reinvesting what I was making into larger and larger batches of product. Word spread quickly, and I helped more people heal their acne during those first six months than I had in the six years prior working as an esthetician. I continued to bootstrap the business, and CRUDE has now generated millions in revenue without any VC funding or large advertising expenditures.

In 2017, CRUDE launched the first truly soap- and detergent-free body wash available on the market. It received a lot of buzz as testimonials started to come out from customers who used it to heal their eczema and psoriasis, and surprisingly, their chronic bacterial vaginosis and yeast infections.

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 started CRUDE, I had a feeling the reason it was working so well for people had something to do with the skin microbiome. But nearly 9 years ago almost no one was talking about the skin microbiome, and the research was pretty limited. In 2021, our Wash was the first body wash (and baby wash) ever to be certified microbiome-friendly, passing the rigorous standards of MyMicrobiome, the world’s first lab to create a (much needed) standard of microbiome friendliness in personal care. It’s been fascinating to watch this research evolve and to start to see it becoming a standard in the beauty industry. This made sense to me intuitively nearly a decade ago, and I’m glad I followed that hunch and now get to be on the forefront of this movement and paradigm shift in skin and personal care.

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?

When I first started CRUDE I was really worried about everything being perfect before it could be seen, and overprotective of our branding and messaging. It was hard for me to release control and delegate, which left a lot of tasks that I wasn’t necessarily great at on my plate. This of course came from my own insecurities, an unrealistic view of perfection and an unhealthy need for validation. Therapy and self care are helping me work out the internal stuff, but since those early days in 2014, I’ve also seen how often my ‘perfect’ vision of something isn’t what actually performs or relates best to our audience. I’ve learned a lot of valuable lessons and found a lot of freedom in learning to delegate, to trust my team, follow their vision and not over-edit or over-analyze things.

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?

CRUDE’s ultimate mission isn’t just about transforming our approach to inflammatory skin conditions, but our notions of cleanliness itself. Some of the very first major ad campaigns were led by soap companies with messaging that framed women and people of color ‘unclean’ and in need of correction. Countless ads depict everything from marital problems to job performance relating back to soap use with the promise that using the right product would improve their lives and their family’s futures. One of the other recurring themes in soap ads was the claim that soap was the ‘mark of civilization’ and that it was white people’s duty to enlighten and uplift colonized people of color through cleansing their bodies, quite literally washing them white. Those theories weren’t just used to sell soap but to justify colonialism, slavery, and eugenics. This level of propaganda has real world effects that stretch far beyond the health and beauty aisle. To this day we see advertisements framing light skin as preferable, pure, and morally correct. Afterall, cleanliness is next to godliness, right?

So, there is a real moralizing element to being ‘clean’ that has, obviously, no scientific base, and remains largely unaddressed in the skincare and beauty worlds. But these are the kinds of destructive attitudes that these billion dollar industries are founded on. They profit from fears and insecurities that they created and we are long past the point where enough is enough. It’s time to take stock of our personal values beyond what’s being sold to us and unpack a century of really damaging rhetoric.

That’s why we created our educational hub, SOUL, or the School of UnLearning. If something as ‘common sense’ as washing our bodies has all this weird baggage and misinformation around it, what else do we need to unlearn in order to connect with our bodies and each other in healthier, more honest ways? Through SOUL we’ve connected with a number of experts, activists, artists, and thought leaders who challenge us to dig deeper. With their guidance we’ve created a resource and space for these conversations while also building connections and expanding our communities through our event programming, the proceeds of which always benefit grassroots organizations supporting women and people of color and an amazing array of diverse, value-aligned content creators.

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. Eat More Fiber — The first step people usually take on their journey toward a healthy microbiome is to buy a probiotic supplement or fermented foods like yogurt or kimchi. While there are certainly benefits to consuming live bacteria, one of the best ways to support your gut microbiome is actually to just increase your fiber intake. Microbes feed on fiber, so this is a great way to keep them happy and healthy, while supporting the gut lining. When microbes are starved of fiber, they start to feed on the protective mucus lining of the gut, which can trigger inflammation and disease. Even occasional fiber deprivation in mice leads to a compromised gut lining, which gets thinner and weaker the less fiber they eat.
  2. Stop Over-Cleansing Your Skin — Just like your gut, your skin has a microbiome. The skin is teeming with living bacteria and fungi that work directly with your immune system to keep your skin and body healthy and in homeostasis — yet most of us wash off these crucial microbes, along with our skin’s natural moisture barrier, with a soap or detergent-based cleanser on a daily basis. Like the gut lining, the skin’s natural moisture barrier is intrinsically tied to the health of the skin and its microbiome. This naturally produced, oily shield protects the body from water loss and pathogenic bacteria, and holds essential moisture in the skin. So why do we strip this essential barrier and our flora from our skin with suds.
  3. Go Outside — A diverse microbiome is a resilient one — greater diversity of microorganisms is largely correlated with overall health and well-being. One of the best ways to expose yourself to a diverse array of bacteria is to get out of the house. Exposure to soil and a variety of natural environments can increase bacterial diversity and improve the immune system. People who live in urban environments with less biodiversity have a lower diversity of microbes, but access to more biodiverse areas such as green spaces and parks shows major biome benefits.
  4. Use More Oils — The outdated belief that oil is bad for our skin has led to an obsession with being “squeaky clean.” Most people in the United States wash with a sudsing, oil-removing soap or detergent-based cleanser at least once a day. This strips your skin of its naturally produced, oil-based “shield,” leaving it inflamed and unprotected and creating your reliance on synthetic moisturizers and creams to replace what was stripped. Once the skin’s protective barrier has been compromised, unwanted agents like allergens and irritants can penetrate the skin and aggravate symptoms associated with inflammatory diseases like acne and eczema. The right facial oil will help repair this protective barrier and help you lock in moisture.
  5. Always Be Flora-Focused — The skin barrier is teeming with natural colonies of bacteria and fungi which work directly with your immune system to regulate, clean and regenerate the skin. Your skin relies on its microbiome, or flora, but unfortunately that’s what we’re washing off our bodies each day when we use soapy cleansers. Don’t get me wrong, hand-washing (the whole 20 seconds!) is an integral part of basic hygiene as well as combating the spread of disease. But daily head-to-toe soap use is wreaking havoc on our bodies — and our biomes.

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’d call it the ‘Rewilding’ and it would be focused on getting people reconnected to nature and repairing their microbiomes — both of which have shown amazing potential for improving and restoring physical and mental wellbeing.

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

1 — You don’t have to be an expert at everything. Hire experts!

2 — Take weekends off. Seriously.

3 — Don’t be afraid to delegate. Trust your team!

4 — Focus on long-term, sustainable growth over short-term gains.

5- Don’t let work consume you. Prioritize your relationships.

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 and the environment are hugely important to CRUDE. Sustainable packaging and ingredients are super important in personal care, but I think we need to take it a step further — reducing waste by simply creating less waste. CRUDE’s line is intentionally small, knowing our multi-use products (including our soapless cleansers which double as moisturizers) mean less waste in our landfills and oceans. CRUDE also uses recyclable glass and aluminum jars and bottles and 100% FSC certified paper.

In 2021, I founded Save Our Great Salt Lake, a coalition focused on building awareness for the fast-shrinking lake and namesake of CRUDE’s hometown, Salt Lake City. The coalition recently held a virtual rally just before the 2022 legislative session began to make it loud and clear that Utah MUST prioritize water conservation and saving the Great Salt Lake ecosystem in 2022. You can watch the full rally HERE, where hundreds of people heard from speakers on the history of the lake and Utahns relationship to it, including Brad Parry, Vice Chairman of the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation and Terry Tempest Williams, an award-winning author and activist.

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

https://livecrude.com/

https://www.facebook.com/crudepersonalcare

https://twitter.com/livecrude

https://www.instagram.com/livecrude/

https://www.instagram.com/dkcartwright

https://www.tiktok.com/@livecrude?lang=en

CRUDE Personal Care — YouTube

Thank you for these fantastic insights!


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

Women In Wellness: Lyanne Hodson of StrongHer On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support…

Women In Wellness: Lyanne Hodson of StrongHer On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

More people more problems — Now having a team of 20 people you would think it gets easier, but NOOOOOOOOO it doesn’t, the biggest misconception. It absolutely decreases the workload of the day to day runnings, but then you have to not only think about and deal with questions from all your members/customers but also from your employees.

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

Lyanne is Co founder & Head of Brand, Marketing & Fitness London’s first & leading strictly women only strength gym. Over the past 5 years, she has built a solid purposeful brand and community that despite Covid, has flourished and are now at the point of expansion.

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?

Absolutely! I’m from Stafford, the land of the oatcakes and grew up with my mum, stepdad and 2 siblings. As the oldest child, I felt I always had something to prove I was imbued with a solid work ethic from the tender age of 13 with my first waiting the job and this type of work was something I did, (and did well may I add) through to my early 20s. Along with this, I was a very active individual, I loved doing things, very athletic & sporty, you know that annoying person that was captain for the netball team but I also had a love for dance and so when it came to Uni and choosing a pathway I went with my passion and studied dance for 3 years and then lead me into the professional dance careers that saw me travel to New York, China, all over the UK and do incredible shows like Xfactor & The voice. However after a few years, I began to resent the industry which lead me into finding other work, and one of those jobs was as a receptionist in LA fitness where my reconnection with fitness began!

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 was a huge achievement when myself and my business partner raised £125,000 in crowdfunding on zero experience. Takeaways from this experience are that if you be you, and stay true to your purpose then you can genuinely achieve anything and also don’t have a million other jobs at the same time as raising capital, its 2x a full-time job and I’m not quite sure how we did it.

Can you share a story about the biggest mistake you made when you were first starting?

Spreading myself too thin that it led to burnout. I was working in 7 different studios, it took its toll on me and I devalued my time. You have to strip things back and focus on the things that resonate and reflect worth.

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 purpose, mission the reason StrongHer exists is to give all women a place where they can thrive, feel confident, discover theemselves and be comfortable with their individuality. As a mixed-race woman, I didn’t see people like me that I could aspire to, nor did I feel there was a place I could be me and it was ok, as I didn’t “look” like other people, not to mention the intimidation I felt when it came to weight training and as a sporty youngster. Creating a space that is accessible to women from any culture, any colour, any background, any anything showing them that weight training can change your life will ultimately, in my opinion,” change how women are viewed in society, will change how women view themselves, allow them to be bigger risk-takers, get more women into higher roles in companies and ultimately bring gender equality.

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.
For women specifically

1- Tracking your menstrual cycle- This is the holy grail to mapping out what you do and what time in the month physically, socially, mentally and at work. I have personally now will not see people on my week 3 as my mood shifts and I go into conserve energy mode and it means my PMS symptoms are significantly less

2- Taking necessary vitamins and supplements- This is off the back of the previous one women are not educated on the necessary supplementation to support their hormonal changes- a very least taking Vitamin D, magnesium and Omega 3 daily will really help to regulate abrupt hormonal changes

3- Bedtime routine- so many people I speak to don’t have one, it’s just on their phone/watching TV then BOOM bed, with no sense of winding down- your mind and body needs and craves habits & patterns and so getting into the rhythm of turning off devices 15–60mins before bed and spending a little more time prepping for the next day, maybe reading a book/ journaling- will absolutely help those of you that are stress sleepers or get anxious through the night

4-Do something you truly enjoy everyday- now this can be as small or big, but I make it a mission to do something I enjoy, I recently realised that I had lost my hobby of dancing and as I have a keen interest in music I decided to take up DJING and WOW it fires neurons around your brain differently when you do something you enjoy, and that then seeps into other areas of your life.

5- Cut out people that don’t support you- this is a huge one, whether it’s family, friends, co workers. I have done this on a number of occasions and will continue to do so, protecting my space and my energy is no.1 if I wish to help others in the way I want to. So reducing the time spent with people that don’t serve you or your purpose is exhausting and counterproductive.

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’m already doing it haha, A movement that would empower women to embrace their strength & confidence.

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

More people more problems — Now having a team of 20 people you would think it gets easier, but NOOOOOOOOO it doesn’t, the biggest misconception. It absolutely decreases the workload of the day to day runnings, but then you have to not only think about and deal with questions from all your members/customers but also from your employees.

Competition is ignition — I, like most, am very competitive and that’s great as it keeps you on your toes and pushing forward, but when competition turns into comparison it becomes toxic. I am noticing it more as a few other business come on the scene that are similar to what we do-but I’m not comparing what we doing I simply use as a catalyst to not settle.

Don’t settle or stay silent — if you don’t fit into the norm you have to be prepared to be loud, stand out and not be afraid of bounceback

You are the expert — You are the expert at what you do, nobody can take that a way from you. You often get greeted with lovely imposter syndrome at any given moment throughout your career, and you have to remember as long as you stay true to what you know and believe you will succeed.

That success comes in many forms — you always think you know when your most successful moments will be and then POW trivial happens and that actually becomes the most powerful thing. Yes returning clients and yes money are great, but actually seeing women that have gone from little confidence to fighting to lift a barbell with a weight they couldn’t initially conceive- is the most magical moment.

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 for sure, its as important if not more than your physical health and your body follows where your mind leads it. I absolutely have my low days AKA dark days where I dont want to leave my house and the gym/movement or maybe a solo dinner date day is the only thing that will make me feel good again. Im also faced with women of all walks of life every day battling there mental health conditions and hearing from them how much they need a community & space like ours and how much it helps them

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

ooohhhh where do we start @be__authentig is my insta or you can also find me on @strrongherwomen

Thank you for these fantastic insights!


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

Modern Fashion: Linda Schlesinger and David Schlesinger of skinnytees On The 5 Things You Need To…

Modern Fashion: Linda Schlesinger and David Schlesinger of skinnytees On The 5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand Today

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Be available to answer your customers’ questions. Brands are spending all this money on their products, and then they drop the ball when it comes to customer service. People want to ask questions and they want answers quickly to make sure they’re making a smart purchase. And, when they don’t get a response, they’re not going to buy your product.

Many in the fashion industry have been making huge pivots in their business models. Many have turned away from the fast fashion trend. Many have been focusing on fashion that also makes a social impact. Many have turned to sustainable and ethical sourcing. Many have turned to hi tech manufacturing. Many have turned to subscription models. What are the other trends that we will see in the fashion industry? What does it take to lead a successful fashion brand today?

In our series called, “5 Things You Need to Lead a Successful Fashion Brand Today” we are talking to successful leaders of fashion brands who can talk about the Future of Fashion and the 5 things it takes to lead a successful fashion brand in our “new normal.”

As a part of this series, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Linda Schlesinger-Wagner, skinnytees CEO, and her son David Schlesinger.

Linda Schlesinger-Wagner was inspired to create a brand that filled a void she felt existed in the women’s apparel industry — launching skinnytees in 2009 with a single one-size-fits-most silhouette, the seamless camisole. She didn’t stop there and quickly rolled out a complete line of essential styles that helped redefine the smooth wear industry and offer a product for women of all sizes, all colors and all ages. She currently lives in West Bloomfield, Mich., and she continues to be the heart and soul of the skinnytees brand with a passion to make every woman feel special, gorgeous and accepted.

David Schlesinger has nearly two decades of experience across marketing, tech and fashion, and, at skinnytees, he has been instrumental in growing the brand into a multi-million dollar company. From “Best in Category” placement on QVC to vast celebrity and media exposure, he has rolled out exposure tactics that have helped make the brand a household name. He currently lives in Los Angeles and continues to drive the skinnytees brand toward the future with innovative and creative tech initiatives.

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 childhood “backstory”?

Linda: My grandma taught me how to sew when I was a little, little girl, less than 10 years old. And my aunt went on to teach me that it’s better to be really great at one thing than to be okay at 10 things. So, I decided that fashion was my thing. I have always loved beautiful fabrics and beautiful fibers, and I talked my dad into letting me go to fashion school in Ohio. But, after my first semester, the school went bust and closed. So, I packed up, went home, and started working for my dad’s business in tool manufacturing. Even though tool and die was not what I wanted to do with my life, my dad taught me how to run a business, and it was probably the best education I could have ever received. I’m lucky to come from a family who taught me that women can do anything.

Can you tell us the story about what led you to this particular career path?

Linda: In 1977, after getting married and having my son David, I had the idea to open up a children’s boutique in Birmingham. It was called Rainbow Lollipop — I asked David to name it when he was only 5 years old. And, a year and a half later, I got a call from Sam Frankel — the real estate developer behind Somerset Collection — about moving my store into the mall. Then, I decided to teach myself how to knit and hired a crochetier, and we started making these wonderful, whimsical vests for children that we would sell at the store. A fashion sales representative from California found out about this and called me to say she wanted to represent my line. So, I made a deal with her, and she took the vests to a kid’s fashion show in New York — and Neiman Marcus bought all 200 vests we had made. In my wildest dreams, I never thought that would happen. That’s what put me on the map, and this knitwear line — named Annie’s Antics after my daughter — went on to be featured in every high-end boutique in the United States.

So, I had Rainbow Lollipop, later called Kidz Kloz, from 1977 until around 1990, and Annie’s Antics from 1981 to 2005. That was around when I got divorced, and I wanted to start fresh. So, I got different jobs for the next four years, like being a respite worker for Jewish Family Services and working in party planning. Then the economy tanked, and I had to pay my bills and I wanted a more stable schedule. So, I decided I wanted to start a new business. And that’s how skinnytees came to be in 2009.

David: My mom and I had talked about working together forever, but there had never really been the right fit. Since the late 1990s, the internet and e-commerce have pretty much been my world. So, when my mom told me about skinnytees, it seemed like such a great business idea, and I knew I could attribute a lot of my talents on the marketing side. So, the day after my mom called me — telling me about her idea — I created a website for skinnytees. It was such a great business name that I didn’t think it would be available — but it was! skinnytees quickly became a very fertile platform for me. Our products can be used as workout wear, casual wear, intimate wear — it can fit into many buckets, so it’s not difficult to find an influencer who will wear it on their social media. We have a super loyal customer base and a really great product.

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

David: Two or three years after we started skinnytees, I met a woman who was a legacy host on QVC. Her and I hit it off, and I told her all about skinnytees and what we were doing with the brand. And I introduced her to my mom, and they became best friends overnight. QVC receives hundreds if not thousands of pitches for different products each day, so they very rarely say yes. And we were able to get pushed to the top of their list. They paid attention, and they liked our product. And, with our first airing, we exceeded their expectations.

Linda: Everyone gets eight minutes to sell their line on QVC, and we sold out in three minutes. And that led to our next appearance and the next and the next. That’s when things really took off for skinnytees. That changed our lives. From that, we were approached by ABC, and, for the last five years, we’ve been featured in Good Morning America’s “Deals and Steals” and in the View’s “View Your Deal” segments. We’ve been featured 47 times now! It’s a magical story; it really is.

David: Another cool story was when I met Britney Spears at my 40th birthday party in 2012. She was dating one of my close friends from college. Afterward, she tweeted about skinnytees and was featured in People Magazine, wearing our stuff. Yeah, that was wild!

You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

Linda: *Laughs* I don’t know. What would you say for me, David?

David: I would say honesty, loyalty, and creativity. When you’re honest, people trust you. If they don’t trust you, they’re not going to see you as loyal partner. My mom goes above and beyond in treating people incredibly. And the creativity piece — it kind of goes without saying. If you’re not creative, how can you design a fashion line?

Linda: Thank you, David! And, you know, another thing, is being approachable. If we get a compliant or a question, I will respond to each one. And then they see CEO in my signature, and I can’t tell you how many people say, “I can’t believe you are taking the time to answer me personally.”

One woman emailed me, saying she was worried our shirts would be too snug on her. And I said, “They are snug; they’re body hugging. But they also hold you up and smooth you out. I’m 74, and I don’t even need to wear a bra with them.” And then I sent her a picture of me in the shirt so she could see. After I talked with her, she felt better, ordered our product, and then wrote me back, telling me she loved it and thanked me for taking the time to be honest. Without exception, I have always turned those disgruntled or skeptical people around because I’ll do anything I can to make our customers happy.

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

Linda: The name. People love the name. Where Spandex is “shapewear,” at skinnytees, we call ourselves “smooth wear.” Our clothes are 8% spandex. They’re comfortably snug, not uncomfortably. Our customers tell us it smooths out their lumps and bumps, and they’re cut a little longer so you won’t see anything when you bend over or reach up. A lot of people love that. Of course, now we have a lot of younger customers, so we offer shirts that are cropped short too.

Do you have a favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share a story of how that was relevant to you in your life?

Linda: My thing is “Be the Change.” Don’t talk about it. Just do it. When I got divorced, I would get really sad in my new little house all by myself, and my daughter would call me to ask how I was doing. Finally, one day, she said to me, “Mom, you need to be the mother again. I’m not the mother. Pick yourself up like you always told us. If you don’t like it, change it.” And, because of her saying that to me, skinnytees was born three weeks later. I was done with the pity party.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Do you see any fascinating developments emerging over the next few years in the fashion industry that you are excited about? Can you tell us about that?

Linda: I’m excited about the growth of online shopping — which is just going to get bigger and bigger. So many stores got caught with their pants down during the pandemic because they weren’t online. Stores I know — great stores — didn’t have an online presence. But, because of David, we were already there.

David: Yeah, with the unfortunate advent of the pandemic, obviously wholesale needed to make some changes too. Stores still needed to find a place to buy products, and, with tradeshows being cancelled for a couple years, they all had to be moved online. So, there’s these wholesale platforms that exists — NuORDER is the one that we use — and it really acts as a virtual showroom and it’s a meeting place for brands and buyers. You can really present a whole line to a brand without ever having to attend a tradeshow. There are more than 20,000 retailers on there, using this service to find brands, and brands can go after stores too, tailoring it by niche or zip code to discover potential wholesale relationships.

I’m also excited about exploring new marketing channels. SMS has become a huge game changer for us in the last year. Text messages have become ubiquitous to use for sales, and it’s a way to get in front of people really quickly. And our customers have been really into it. One great feature is that it’s a two-way conversation, and we use it as a customer service tool. With SMS, customers can respond to the message, and I’ve created automated responses for frequently asked questions, and I can also respond in real-time. People are blown away when they find out there’s actually a human behind our text messages.

Can you share how your brand is helping to bring goodness to the world?

Linda: Philanthropy is very important to us — whether it’s helping animals, people who are homeless, single mothers, etc. Like with Hurricane Harvey in Houston in 2017, we donated 20,000 shirts and the National Guard distributed them to families in need. We’ve also done a lot with The Cavalier Rescue — because I have two Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and Nancy Farris, the head of operations for skinnytees, has five. And in December, there was a fire in Detroit, and a pregnant woman, her husband and their six children — they lost everything they had. We hosted a GoFundMe for that family.

Also, every October for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we select one woman — our annual Breast Cancer Fighter — and raise money to help her afford her expenses, donating 20% of the proceeds from the sale of our pink shirts to her. The goal of this sale is to make a big difference in one woman’s recovery process. We try to give back whenever we can.

Can you share with our readers about the ethical standards you use when you choose where to source materials?

Linda: I am 100% against child labor or slave labor, obviously. I partner with contractors in the United States, China, Italy, and Vietnam to make the clothing. And I have a wonderful rapport with the other countries I work with — they’re like family — and I have personally met all of them, visiting their factories and their homes. I also have independent people check out these factories unannounced to make sure they are adhering to ethical standards.

I also make sure all the factories are buying the yarn from the same company, and I have them show me their certified bills to make sure. Before any bulk items are shipped, they send me random items from the shipment so I can feel them and make sure they’re up to par.

One time, I had a manufacturer in the United States send me a shipment, and I could tell they made a loose knit so they could save on yarn. I called them out on it, and they denied it. So, I told them I was going to send it to be tested, and that’s when they said, “Oh no, we’ll redo it.” They knew they were caught. When you’re honest with people and hold them accountable, they have no choice but to also be honest with you.

Fast fashion has an advantage, that it is affordable for most people, but it also has the drawback that it does not last very long and is therefore not very sustainable. What are your thoughts about this? How does your company address this question?

Linda: I’m not into making cheap crap that will fall apart. I’m not. I have a reputation to uphold. And we’ve been able to make quality products while still keeping our prices affordable. We’ve been in business for 11 years, and we’ve only had two price raises in that time — which is because the cost of shipping and the cost of yarn have increased. But, even so, we’ve managed to only make small price increases. And it’s not by cutting corners when it comes to the product; we will never wiggle with the product. Instead, we’ve found ways to reduce costs when it comes to packaging — the bags, the boxes, the tape and the labels. For instance, I recently found a company that makes sustainable bags, and it was half of what I was paying previously.

Thank you for all that. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand”. Please share a story or example for each.

David: 1. Create a brand that’s straightforward. Describe it on your website, explain the fabric content, and show some great photos. I think that’s why skinnytees has been so successful — because our product is very obvious. It’s a tank top or a camisole or leggings, and it’s super cute, and you can see what it is in a photo. Very rarely do people ever return it and say, “It’s not what I thought it was.”

2. Be on top of the new platforms that exist for marketing your brand.

3. Reward your customers. We have a loyalty program where you can collect points from shopping on the website, sharing our brand on social media or leaving a review — and then you can use those points to buy products. I think that’s a great way to show people that we care about them and that their participation in the brand is important.

4. Reviews go a long way. Paying attention to your reviews and responding to them is super important.

5. Be available to answer your customers’ questions. Brands are spending all this money on their products, and then they drop the ball when it comes to customer service. People want to ask questions and they want answers quickly to make sure they’re making a smart purchase. And, when they don’t get a response, they’re not going to buy your product.

Every industry constantly evolves and seeks improvement. How do you think the fashion industry can improve itself? Can you give an example?

Linda: Well, I think big changes are happening in the fashion industry right now. COVID-19 definitely hit the fashion industry hard. But the industry adapted — hosting virtual shows, and you can go online and shop from hundreds of brands. But this also made it harder for new people to get into the industry and stand out. I love the fashion industry — it’s in my blood — and I want the young and up-and-coming designers and fashion representatives to have more opportunities. I would love to see that, and I want to be part of that — investing and educating to get young people — and not just young people but anyone who has a great idea or wants to dig their feet into fashion — more involved in this industry because I think we’re missing that right now.

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

Linda: I would start a movement just to be good and be kind. That’s what we’re about at skinnytees. Because if you can’t be good and be kind, then why are we here? Why are we doing all this?

David: And, playing off what my mom said, I think a lot of brands don’t know where to start when it comes to philanthropy. I think it would be really great to create a place — like an online marketplace for nonprofits — where businesses could find legitimate organizations they’re interested in and have the tools to easily partner with them. I learned early on from my mom how important it is to give back. We do such a great job at that at skinnytees, and I’d like to help other brands who don’t know where to begin find out how to dip their toes into philanthropic efforts.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

David: You can find us at https://skinnytees.com and also on Facebook and Instagram @skinnytees. You can also sign up for our SMS and email newsletters on our site for deals and more information.

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


Modern Fashion: Linda Schlesinger and David Schlesinger of skinnytees On The 5 Things You Need To… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.