Day: April 10, 2022

Female Founders: Michelle Gilmore of A R Z É On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a…

Female Founders: Michelle Gilmore of A R Z É On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

It takes time to grow a business. For most like me, it can take years to become established and known. Enjoy the journey of learning along as you go, sharing your product or service with others, and really appreciate every success or win!

As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Michelle Gilmore, Founder of A R Z É.

Michelle is a Latina powerhouse that runs A R Z É — a plant-based skincare and natural wellness company with the help of her 11-year-old son, Ezra. Michelle was diagnosed with cancer when she was three months pregnant with Ezra and decided to go the natural and holistic path which led her to create organic, vegan skincare and remedies for all. Website: arzeoils.com IG: @arzeoils

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?

It started back when I was in law school. I got married then shortly after found out I was three months pregnant with my son and was also diagnosed with CML Leukemia at the same time. It was both heartbreaking and life changing news. I decided to focus all my time and energy on educating myself on holistic options and remedies, which led me to choose the natural path during pregnancy. I went into remission and also gave birth to a healthy and amazing son, Ezra. This life challenge opened the door to a more natural and non-toxic lifestyle for both my son and I.

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

I started this business back in 2014 when my son was just 4 years old. As a single mom, he grew up watching me be a one woman show doing everything for the businesses myself and over time he took a deep interest in helping and sharing the brand with others. Today, he has so many ideas and is super helpful in all aspects of the business. I never thought my business would bloom into a mom and son team.

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

I don’t have a funny story, but I can say I had wrong expectations when I first started out. I thought that when I started my business I would have the support of most of my friends and family. The reality was that only a few really helped me and supported me which I am forever grateful for. The lesson I learned is that you have to fully believe in yourself one hundred percent and keep going no matter who is or who isn’t supporting you.

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 poured all my time, energy and money into A R Z É over the years, and there was a time when it financially didn’t make sense for me to keep going and I had a lot of fear about it. So I got on the phone with my mom and stepfather to get their perspective on it and the love and support I felt through the phone was all the motivation I needed. They told me to do whatever I needed to do to keep going. They told me they had my back 100% in any area and strongly believed in me to make it happen. This was all the encouragement I needed to take the risks that needed to be taken in order to keep going!

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 can say for me it was fear. Fear of not being able to do it all. Fear of failure. There are so many pressures put on women, wives and especially working mothers that there is an unspoken thought for some that it’s just easier sometimes to not even start something else like a business.

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

I believe, just like with everything else, when there is more representation and coverage of women founders and their businesses that’s where we can start to ease some of the fears and pressures while showing to others it can be done.

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?

I feel we should write our own stories and really get to do what we love and are passionate about. The norm and expectations of women will shift as more and more businesses are founded by women, which in turn, will inspire and motivate other women to do the same.

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

I think some people believe that a founder doesn’t do anything other than be the face of a business. In my case, that couldn’t be further from the truth. I do anything and everything for my business. I work more hours now on my business, then I ever did as an employee of a large corporation.

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?

I think anyone can choose to be a founder, but it does take dedication, time, energy, sacrifices, patience, and so much work. The passion for the product and/or service has to be so much stronger than any doubts or fears in order for it to succeed.

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.)

It takes time to grow a business. For most like me, it can take years to become established and known. Enjoy the journey of learning along as you go, sharing your product or service with others, and really appreciate every success or win!
Get a mentor. I would say the biggest challenge when I first started was not having mentorship. Not knowing anyone personally doing what I was doing or having anyone pave the way for me forced me to figure it out all on my own. There were many trials and errors. The actual business side of running a business can be overwhelming and challenging at times, but now there are more resources, videos, books and support from other women. Find a mentor.
Allow others to help you. To this day, it’s still hard for me to allow others to help out since I don’t want to burden others or I feel like I should just do it myself since I know what I want the outcome to be. This is something I am working on, since I know first hand the business will not grow without help. You cannot do it all yourself. There comes a point when you just have to take a deep breath and tell yourself that it’s ok to let go and appreciate all the help you can get in order to scale!
Your business is like a relationship that you have to pour into. Like in any healthy relationship you have to give your time, energy and love for it to thrive. A positive attitude, making sacrifices, being dedicated and being flexible is helpful. Being honest with yourself about the strengths and weaknesses and checking in to see what needs to be adjusted or changed is important. A business is always evolving and there are ups and downs, but working through challenges and staying committed is key! And remember to celebrate all the growth and good along the way!
Just start. Start anywhere at any time. You can do it! I started this brand back in 2014 as a single mom recovering from cancer when there weren’t many natural and non-toxic skincare products on the market. People rolled their eyes at being vegan and thought everything on the shelves at their shops or grocery stores was safe and healthy. I had lots of push back. I experienced the power of plants firsthand and wanted to share it with whoever was willing to receive it. I believed in myself and in my products. I learned the business side as I went along. Don’t give your energy to fear or to the opinion of others. Write your story. Just start!

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

I am being the mentor that I needed when I first started, but most importantly, I created a brand that does not harm animals and one that is not filled with toxic and harmful substances. Instead, I created a brand that is safe, toxic-free and is helping so many people!

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.

If I could I would ban any product that is toxic or harmful. That would include bad ingredients that can be currently found in: food, makeup, skincare, bodycare, toothpaste, cleaning supplies… on and on the list goes. Selling products with harmful ingredients should not be allowed.

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.

When I was eleven years old, I was diagnosed with Vitiligo. I didn’t know anyone else that had it and there wasn’t any representation of anyone with Vitiligo on tv, movies or in magazines. I was embarrassed and not comfortable in my own skin. I remember I used to cover it up with makeup, self tanner or wore clothes that limited showing off my skin. It had a huge impact on my life and who I became, but after fighting cancer and with the birth of my son, I started to let go of the embarrassment and started to love all of myself, which included my skin. I started to embrace all of myself. Taking care of my skin became a priority since it was neglected for so long. Today, I rarely wear makeup or wear just a little and most days all I use is my skincare products on my face and I feel free and grateful for my skin. I just want people to experience the power of pure nature and all its amazing properties and benefits. I want vegan, plant-based and safe products to be the norm in our society. I also want people to know there are people like me who push through despite circumstances and challenges and are proud to have a different backstory. I would like to inspire others with A R Z É and my story.

So I am grateful to anyone who will read this interview. I can’t say there is just one person I would love to connect with, but I do want to inspire at least one person from this interview! Thank you!

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

Female Founders: Michelle Gilmore of A R Z É 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.

The Future of Beauty: Molly Colabuono On How Whatskin’s Technological Innovation Will Shake Up The…

The Future of Beauty: Molly Colabuono On How Whatskin’s Technological Innovation Will Shake Up The Beauty Industry

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Beauty is such a subjective thing and feeling beautiful is a state of mind. So do things that make YOU feel good, even if it’s not what someone else would do. Feel free to reinvent yourself every so often; change hair colors, hairstyles, push yourself out of your comfort zone. Accept compliments and believe them!

As a part of our series about how technology will be changing the beauty industry over the next five years, I had the pleasure of interviewing… Molly Colabuono.

Molly Colabuono is Whatskin’s Chief Executive Officer bringing more than 20 years of advocating for the beauty industry as a licensed esthetician, national educator, published writer and an award-winning salon & spa director. Molly’s passion for skincare and business operations ensure every day is smooth sailing at Whatskin. You’ll catch her filing orders, chatting with customers, building on our vendor relationships; no job is too big or too small for our spirited operations guru! Molly also has a deep commitment to serving those struggling with a variety of skin issues. From acne to anti-aging, she wants to help everyone achieve their best skin health! When she’s not obsessing over skincare and operations, she loves car dancing to 80’s music and never passes up the chance to karaoke!

Whatskin is skincare shopping made easy. The app offers an innovative built-in skin analysis from LIVE Estheticians, then curates a beauty shop specific to your skincare needs.

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

I’ve been obsessed with all things beauty since I can remember. My aunt was an instructor at a beauty school when I was little and being there surrounded by incredible artists who had creative freedom and made people smile and feel good about themselves, I knew I wanted to emulate that and make an impact on people’s lives the same way.

Although I swayed into another path and pursued a career in Advertising, it always led me back to the beauty industry. While working for a magazine company, I met a woman who was an esthetician that helped me overcome my own skin battles with rosacea and inspired me to finally go to beauty school. You just can’t fight what is meant to be!

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

Working as an esthetician, every day is different and I have stories that could turn your stomach but at the same time warm your heart. I’ve met thousands of people over my 20-year career and the intimate relationships you build with clients is the whole reason why we do what we do. From helping clients overcome issues with acne, rosacea, even cancer; that’s the impact I wanted to have in the world; one face at a time!

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

When I left my corporate job in advertising and started working as an esthetician full-time, I knew I wanted to learn everything about the beauty business. I gave myself a 5-year goal to becoming a spa director and then another 5 years to become a business owner. I networked with industry leaders, attended local beauty events, and took business classes. I never stopped learning about what it takes to be successful in this business. Through that education and networking, I became an award-winning salon and spa director in just 4 years and 5 years later started my own business; The Makeover Studio, Inc.
My advice to anyone in any industry is to keep learning. I’m a huge proponent of education. I’ve had the opportunity to speak to future beauty professionals at area schools and that’s what I always start and end with, education. It also inspired me to become a licensed continuing education sponsor so I can pass on the knowledge and experiences I’ve learned along the way to help other beauty professionals set goals and get to where they want to be!

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

I’m grateful to so many people along the way. From my clients to employees — they’ve all taught me valuable life lessons that I’ve been able to apply to business success. Ultimately, I do have to thank my co-worker at the magazine company. If she hadn’t offered to lend her expertise to help me with my skin struggles at the time, I would have never known that I could find the perfect industry for me that let me use my right and left brain at the same time and be able to help people feel beautiful and confident in their skin.

Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. The beauty industry today has access to technology that was inconceivable only a short time ago. Can you tell us about the “cutting edge” (pardon the pun) technologies that you are working with or introducing? How do you think that will help people?

The skincare sector is seeing this shift to personalization. With the use of AI technology, you can answer a few questions, submit photos, and get a skincare routine in minutes! It helps to take the guesswork out of what to use for your skin since the options in today’s market can be completely overwhelming. What we are doing different with Whatskin is taking away AI and making your skincare selection experience real. What I mean by that is, we have real estheticians that analyze your skin profile and selfies to give you a completely personalized skincare shop with products to help with your specific skin concerns and conditions. No two skincare shops are the same! We took the personalized skincare shopping experience to a whole new level. No one is doing what we are doing by bringing the esthetician and beauty store together with over 50 different skincare brands to choose from — not just from one skincare line. It’s customized options for the customer but they know what ever product they purchase, it was chosen just for them by a skincare professional.

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

The biggest concern with this technology is privacy. This has come up with major skincare brands who implemented this technology without having policies and safeguards in place. We’ve more than done our homework and make sure our customers information is secure and remains private. We’re transparent with our privacy policy and have a dedicated section on our Whatskin App about it.

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

1.) Making professional skincare advice accessible to everyone.

2.) Creating more jobs for beauty industry professionals.

3.) Marrying the creative and scientific worlds of the beauty industry.

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

1.) Diversion is still a major problem in the beauty world. To stay safe, purchase straight from manufacturers or authorized sellers. With majority of our shopping done on-line always be weary of deeply discounted items or unfamiliar sources.

2.) Create a living wage and benefits for beauty professionals. Living in the service industry is challenging in regular times alone but the pandemic rocked the beauty world. It hurt me to see friends and colleagues lose their businesses, clientele, and livelihoods. Our industry needs to establish a unionized approach to protect our workers and allow them to build a scalable career path in good and bad times.

3.) Education for beauty professionals. It breaks my heart to hear technicians struggling to find education and training on new techniques and trends. I’d love to see more affordable and hands-on training centers for beauty professionals at all stages of experience so they can continue to grow and help even more people.

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

Beauty is such a subjective thing and feeling beautiful is a state of mind. So do things that make YOU feel good, even if it’s not what someone else would do. Feel free to reinvent yourself every so often; change hair colors, hairstyles, push yourself out of your comfort zone. Accept compliments and believe them!

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 feel like Whatskin is starting a movement all its own. We can bring professional skin therapists to everyone; even people who may not have the access to that kind of help and advice. We all have skin, but we all don’t have our own esthetician. We’re making that possible! The fact that you have professional skincare advice, for free, and get products chosen just for you from well known drug-store brands to clinical professional brands really gives customers control of their budget but still knowing whatever product they purchase, it’s the best choice for them.

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

I never get tired of sharing this quote “If you think you know everything, find something else to do.” I remind myself of this often, so I make sure that I stay focused on not only sharing knowledge but also receiving it because with this mindset I’ve learned so much more.

How can our readers follow you online?

You can visit our website at www.whatskin.com or on IG: Whatskin_official and FB: Whatskin? Download the app on the App store or Google Play: Whatskin? and get your free skin analysis and personalized skincare shop today!

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

The Future of Beauty: Molly Colabuono On How Whatskin’s Technological Innovation Will Shake Up The… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Founders: Desiree’ Stapleton On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman…

Female Founders: Desiree’ Stapleton On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Have a reliable source of income while you’re building so that you aren’t stressed about your livelihood and can afford to pay for marketing so your business can actually grow. There’s nothing worse than being super salesy all the time because you’re not making enough money to live off of.. People can tell when you’re just trying to make a buck and when you really care about what you offer. They want to see your passion– and when you’re struggling to survive, you are passionate about someone buying your product, not about being able to help them.

As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Master Coach Desiree’ Stapleton.

Master Coach Desiree’ Stapleton is the creator of The Self-Help App and is a 2x ’30 Under 30’ honoree and Forbes ‘Next 1000’ nominated master level life coach, author, and CEO who helps women produce and hit more of their goals. She can be found in the 40th annual Forbes 400 magazine, Thrive Global, Business Insider, Entrepreneur, and more!

From suicidal ideation, shrinking myself, and suffering in silence in 2020, to materializing my dreams, I’ve come a long way. Managing to stand out among a sea of mentors from the get-go because of my intimate awareness of suffering and struggles, I became a highly recognized mentor and author that stands at the helm of Desiree’ Stapleton & Company, LLC — a consulting firm designed to provide individuals with the tools and resources needed to enhance their personal growth and development.

The pandemic has been challenging for most, but during this time specifically, I have found a way to help others still be able to move the needle in their lives. Since the start of the pandemic, I have been doing my part in coaching women from all over the globe, including Zambia, Norway, Netherlands, Finland, Philippines, Singapore, Canada, Spain, and Australia on how to mitigate the challenges in their lives so that they can produce and hit more of their goals.

Using the power of my story to highlight the fact that traumas, setbacks, and challenges can be used as stepping stones to success, I’ve been featured in numerous publications such as Thrive Global and the 40th annual Forbes 400 edition of Forbes magazine, I have also had the honor of being 2x ’30 Under 30′ honoree and a Forbes ‘Next 1000’ nominee.

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

Something I find is interesting, is what it takes sometimes for people to start paying attention to something. Personal development, self- growth, and mental health seem to just now be things that people are starting to take seriously and it’s alarming. Me, being in this sector, it’s alarming how many suicides or rehab visits we have to hear about before we register that there is a problem. I’m glad the world is paying more attention to mental health, but on the other hand: there are more Cheslie Kryst’s of the world.

I bring this up because one of the most difficult decisions I’ve ever had to make was to not let the bad stuff get the best of me. I’ve faced a lot of things that I feel were meant to break me and it takes grit and resolve to keep your essence- to still be optimistic, joyous, humorous, ambitious, or present. And oddly enough, the most important decision I made that contributed to my success was to keep going.

Like I’ve mentioned, I’ve faced a lot of things that I feel were meant to break me and it takes a lot to have resolve and tenacity. It takes a lot to power through situations until what you see in your mind comes to fruition in reality- especially when your current reality is so different from the one that you envision. Imagine only knowing abuse, poverty, or something terrible and working to build a life that doesn’t have those things- it takes a lot to make happen. You’ve got to build yourself to become the person required to get the job done while creating a completely foreign paradigm for yourself.

It’s the reason I created The Self-Help App- because life happens, to ALL of us, and sometimes we need a little extra help. Whether it be to grow or to not be jaded, whatever the personal growth goal is that is tied to a trying experience, sometimes you need a place to go to remind you that things will be okay.

It took some time for me to find that within myself and I want to help expedite and enhance that process for other people.. I know the thoughts that someone could have when their reality isn’t matching up with their desired reality. I know the thoughts someone may have when life throws one too many curveballs or knocks the wind out of them one too many times.

It’s my hope that The Self-Help App helps other people get through the difficult decisions that THEY have to make. Why? Because there are too many people teetering at the edge where it only takes one more situation to happen in order for them to decide to act on their suicidal ideation.

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 think the funniest thing I’ve done is hop on Facebook to do a live video, knowing that I wasn’t good at them at the time, and uploaded it to my page without checking the quality. How is that a funny mistake? Have you ever tried to hype yourself up before you do something, or experience difficulty trying to set something up for the first time? Imagine having it all on camera because you were too nervous to realize that the camera started recording way before you thought it did, and, because you just wanted it to be over, you uploaded the video without watching it yourself to make sure everything was good.

I got some laughs, but as you can imagine, I didn’t sell out of the product/offer I was selling.

My mum. We had a really rocky start but I got my self-sufficiency and resilience from her. Desiree’ Stapleton & Company LLC and The Self-Help App are, in part, a reflection of the steadfastness she instilled in me– despite our past relationship.

I can’t speak for everyone, but from my experience, there is this glaring path that every woman is supposed to take. It involves marriage and children, rather quickly. Society builds women to be the ones that are home, bearing children, and living to support their spouse’s dream. Well, somewhere down the line I guess women decided that their dreams outside the household are worth living as well. No one ever asks a man to choose between home and work, but for women that isn’t the case. If we aren’t home, somehow we are deemed less than a woman.

So, the issue therein lies two things. The first issue being completely societal– women wondering if they will be able to find a partner that is supportive of them thriving and being in their entrepreneurial element, sans domestication if it’s not desired. The second is that it is hard to figure out how to get a “seat at the table” if there 1: aren’t many like you at the table, and 2: there aren’t many at the table that are actually accessible enough to show you the way.

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

I think, once society as a whole realizes that women aren’t just lumps of emotions and desirable body parts, we might get somewhere. We’re starting to see a shift in what “traditional” households look like and gender roles are being redefined as each generation discovers more and more what works for them. That is exciting to me. The possibility of seeing more “power couples” or relationships where ambitious women didn’t have to choose between career and family is exciting. Some of us want to stay home, have kids, and just be somebody’s wife. Some want that, plus to have a fulfilling career. And others just want to live the best life that can possibly be presented to them, whether a spouse and family falls into that or not.

I think once we normalize that women have more options than ‘wife’ and ‘mother’, we will progress much, much faster.

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?

We first recognize what’s accessible to us by seeing someone that looks like us doing it. The more women we see crushing it in their professional and personal lives let’s other women know what’s possible. If you have enough examples, what was once an anomaly will then become the new norm.

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

That you will have to choose between your life’s passion/purpose and potentially having a successful relationship and family. For some reason society has told us that we can’t have both. Men do it just fine, that’s how we know it can be done.

The second myth is that “she didn’t make it on her own” which implies that there was significant help from a man that contributed to her success.. There always seems to be shock when a woman tells the story of her success and it’s sans any major contributions from a man.

I think in order to be a successful founder, you have to have an unshakeable sense of purpose. You’re going to need that sense of purpose when things get hard and aren’t going the way you want them to. Becoming a successful founder takes resilience, resourcefulness, innovation, and an entrepreneurial spirit. Nothing is done for you when you’re starting your own company and when you first start out, most times, you’re doing everything yourself– and you don’t even know what “everything” is yet until you start trying to sell something.

People that want a clear path, certainty, to safely expect a check every two weeks, and really don’t want to stress about whether or not they are going to make it, may probably do best at a job. People that intend to start a business and become a millionaire right away may probably do best at a job. People that intend to quit their jobs and start a business that they think, without any planning, will quickly provide them with income that they can live off of right away, may do best a job.

Entrepreneurship is a lot like sowing seeds. You don’t reap crops in the same season they are sown when you’re just starting out and a lot of people don’t realize that our success is years in the making. Most people are “coming in” after some success has already been made and at that point, it looks easy. Entrepreneurship looking easy is what makes a lot of people quit when they aren’t seeing results in a short period of time.

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.)

That it can take a long time to reach the level of success you see “overnight” successes with.

Things tend to look really easy when you walk into the middle of someone’s journey and see everyone jumping all over their offers with excitement. That can lead you to believe that “all I have to do is ________” which more often than not, isn’t all you have to do. These people have been doing this unnoticed for years until they caught their break– but we didn’t know them then because we didn’t yet know that they were noteworthy. See the Catch-22?

2. Hire professionals- sometimes you being able to “pull it off” isn’t going to be enough to get you the results you’re looking for.

Invest in courses and learn from actual experts with actual results. Contract freelance marketing experts and copywriters on places like Fiverr and Upwork to help you with your marketing and your content strategy.

3. Have a reliable source of income while you’re building so that you aren’t stressed about your livelihood and can afford to pay for marketing so your business can actually grow.

There’s nothing worse than being super salesy all the time because you’re not making enough money to live off of.. People can tell when you’re just trying to make a buck and when you really care about what you offer. They want to see your passion– and when you’re struggling to survive, you are passionate about someone buying your product, not about being able to help them.

4. It takes money to run a business.

Now that may seem like common sense but many people think you just hop in and start selling. If you want to grow faster, it’s going to cost. Product creation can cost, hiring people that know the right things to do (marketing, hiring, customer service, copywriting, raising capital) can cost, and gaining the knowledge you need to go to the level, all can- and probably will– cost you. It’s better to know that ahead of time so you can save yourself a lot of time, frustration, and unnecessary feelings of inadequacy and imposter syndrome.

5. People don’t necessarily start taking you seriously until they see you succeeding.

Something that frustrates new business owners is the lack of an interested audience and paying customers. Unfortunately, it’s easier to have success when you’ve already had some. Why? Because there are already eyes on you. When you’re just starting out, no one knows that you’re worth paying attention to yet.. You may come off as just one more person that does xyz. You don’t become “different” or “special” to many onlookers until they start to see things like article features, lots of testimonials, or validation of your credibility by many different people. It helps to know this information upfront because then you know what to focus on. With this information, now you know to do what you need to do to get a bunch of raving reviews– written and video– and to get yourself into some local publications in your town to help set yourself apart, show that you’re the real deal, and help people trust you more.

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

Desiree’ Stapleton & Company LLC is a consulting firm that provides every-day people with tools and resources to help them achieve their goals and enhance their personal growth and development.

I started Desiree’ Stapleton & Company LLC and created my biggest passion project right now: The Self-Help App, because it’s what I feel I needed when I was struggling alone, trying to manifest my future, and when I felt no one around me could help me get to where I was trying to go.

I’ve been determined for a while to live the life I want to live, and I know I’m not the only one that has taken some hits and experienced things that made them wonder if the life that they envision is ever going to manifest. It will, but we’ve got to work and get through what we need to get through to get here- in our personal lives AND business lives. We’ve got to be a beast in both areas.

So, I created The Self-Help App to help people facilitate their personal growth and development. My goal here is to help people mitigate the challenges they face so that they can produce and hit more of their goals- you know, get their external world to match more of their internal world- and vice versa. So my goal is that for those of us blazing paths trying to get to where we’re going, and those of us just trying to figure it all out- The Self-Help app has a little something for ALL of us.

I’ve started a WORTHY+FAVORED community designed to not only remind women that they are worthy of living the lives that they envision, but they are favored enough to make it happen.

A lot of people will say “that kind of stuff doesn’t happen for people like me” and we need to change that. The more people we have “winning” the more examples we have that it is possible. So in my WORTHY+FAVORED community I’m coaching these women how to be able to produce the results they are looking to see in their lives and am holding them accountable to achieving those results.

I also have The Self-Help App that’s designed to help give the everyday person a fighting chance at starting their journey of being something great.

I have the slogan “you matter” and I want people to know that they have everything it takes to live the life that they envision. And not only that, but that they are worthy and capable of living it.

As of late, it’s been Daymond John.. I’ve been honing in on the Black community and have intentionally been looking to serve more Black women that resemble past versions of myself. I say Daymond John because he created FUBU– For Us, By Us.

I want Black women to see themselves reflected in my work and in my business.. I think sometimes we’re afraid to niche down and focus on one demographic, but Daymond John took a concept and made it for the Black community. Even though it’s accessible to anyone who enjoys the brand, the Black community knows that it was made with them in mind.

I want to be able to do that and have it be as monumental as FUBU. And maybe even do a collaboration with them.

I have a FUBU collab on my list of goals/gifts to give the world before I die.

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

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

Lessons from a Thriving Power Couple, With Megan and Eric DeCrosta

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Open lines of communication — Hand in hand with honesty is maintaining open lines of communication in all categories of your relationship: finances, emotions, intimacy, your goals as a couple and as individuals.

As a part of our series about lessons from Thriving Power Couples, I had the pleasure of interviewing Megan and Eric DeCrosta.

It’s no accident that opposites are drawn to one another. But oftentimes those same qualities you once found attractive can turn to feelings of resentment and create tension in your relationship. Rest assured, no tension here with Megan and Eric DeCrosta! As the spender in the relationship, when Megan met Eric, she learned the number one thing you can do for your relationship is have good lines of communication. Especially about money. As the saver, Eric’s side gig as a real estate agent dealing with first-time homebuyers, the duo discovered an overall lack of knowledge when it comes to credit and finances. So Megan created Cut the Fiscal Fat to teach teens about finances, tips and advice she wished she knew sooner, but you don’t know what you don’t know til someone shines a bright light on it!

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

Our extreme differences are responsible for the creation of Cut the Fiscal Fat. Eric and I grew up in lower-middle-class families, and we are both Giants fans, but that’s about it. We are a generation apart, have different music and movie tastes, as well as different lifestyles and spending habits. Eric has always been a worker and a saver. And I have always been a worker and a spender. When we first started dating, Eric owned and lived in a three-family investment property, had a .9% auto loan, and an 850-credit score. I had, let’s just say, a less desirable portfolio.

With Eric’s influence, I am now incapable of making a purchase without hearing him in my ear about sale prices, unit prices, discounts, coupons, and credit card rewards. He learned all he knows after having to repair his credit from identity theft and asking countless questions along the way. In the years I have been with him, I have learned so much about credit, finances, budgeting, and saving; I always find myself saying, “I wish I had known this sooner!’

So, I launched Cut the Fiscal Fat and our #12to1million campaign to help kids who grew up like us learn the financial need-to-know early enough to avoid the mistakes many of us have made (and some of us still make).

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

When we met, Eric was working a part-time job taking photos for the NFL and the NY Giants. I had been to a few games with him before; he would buy a single ticket in the nosebleeds for me and have me meet him at his cinderblock booth atop section 301that he affectionately dubbed “low-class VIP.” A private, heated concrete box with food delivery at halftime! After the games ended, I would head to the car while he went to the press box to finish his work.

With kids and marriage and virtually no time alone together, Giant’s home games in the low-class VIP suite became our getaway. Once, instead of waiting at the car after a game ended, Eric made me wait in a stairwell next to a press-box entrance. A few anxious minutes passed, the press door opened and Eric popped his head out and whispered, “Get in here and get to work!” I followed him into the press box where he pointed me to fountain sodas and a buffet of fruit, cheese crackers, danishes, and desserts before slipping me his ID. He told me to make a plate and make myself comfortable at one of the tables in the press box lounge area. And then went back to work. I stood frozen for what seemed like five min before grabbing my Pepsi and snacks. On the retreat to the lounge area, a man in a maroon jacket asked for my ID. The question hit me like a linebacker! I reached into my pocket and found Eric’s ID and showed it to the man. He smiled at me and said, “Sorry, thank you” and walked on.

Less than an hour later Eric had finished the data entry work and found me in the lounge. When I told him about what happened he laughed and said, “GREAT!” When I asked why he said, “They can’t forget your pretty face, so they’ll leave you alone next time.” I thought, who is luckier than me?

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?

We started with YouTube self-help videos and had so much fun doing them. Until we realized nobody was watching and nobody cared! From that, we learned the importance of knowing who you want your target audience to be and changing your approach to reach them.

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

We are focused on teens and getting them the money knowledge they need before they start getting credit cards and student loans. We are here to disrupt the way teens approach money, finances, and credit. We keep it fun and simplistic in order to build confidence and encourage growth.

We know given the opportunity, those teens who truly want financial security will work hard to find it, and we want to show them the way.

Millions of teens graduate high school every year and enter college or the workforce without the proper money knowledge they need to achieve their financial independence. Eric worked since he was a freshman in high school and left college after his sophomore year. He worked multiple jobs to pay off his student and auto loans, but still lacked the necessary knowledge to thrive financially.

He had his identity stolen a few years later and was forced to fix the issue with the credit bureaus himself. This was his catalyst. While on this mission he bought his first investment property and reached a credit score of 850. When Eric and I got together, I had no savings to go with my 17% auto loan and $5,000 in collections.

I know if I had someone like Eric in my teenage years to help educate me about personal finance, I would have made smarter money decisions. Now my mission is to help as many teenagers as possible achieve financial independence.

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

We are currently working on two projects: our 5-hour defensive finance course and the “Need to Know Life Guide (Level 2).”

“Need to Know Life Guide (Level 1)” is an introductory 45-minute online course covering the five keys to financial literacy: Earn, Save and Invest, Spend, Borrow, and Protect. The 5-hour course will be a more in-depth look at each key.

The “Need to Know Life Guide (Level 2)” will be the next step for those interested in expanding their relationship with money and finances. It will cover the three categories of financial literacy that have the lowest comprehension.

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

Your employees must know you care about them more than profits while helping them understand without profits there are no jobs.

Also, we should always be learning for self-improvement and the betterment of our business. Knowing how someone else’s job is done can help you establish backup coverage (like cross-training) but also a better understanding of what that specific employee is responsible for, how it fits into the business model, and if outside perspectives/questions can help improve the process efficiency, costs, or both. Transparency should be at the forefront of your business model.

How do you define “Leadership”?

Leadership is like being the captain of a ship. The captain is responsible for making all the decisions while keeping his crew’s best interests and safety in mind.

Your crew needs to know you will fight for them and alongside them to make sure your ship never sinks.

Megan: For me, it is my mom. She has always been the source of profound support and unconditional love, especially after my father’s death when I was 15.

When I was 18, I was competing in the Miss New York U.S.A. beauty pageant, and the final round was held in Albany, NY, which is a 10-minute walk from where I grew up, and most of my family members lived. I had 10 aunts and uncles and one grandmother (plus scores of extended family members) and only my mother and younger brothers showed up to support me. There have been many moments prior to that event, and many after, where my mom has been the only source of support. No matter the endeavor, no matter the path I choose, she will always be there.

Eric: My family and extended family. I would not have accomplished what I have, so far, without the love and support of my parents, my brother, my grandparents, aunts, and uncles. All have played a significant role in who I am today. Each of them has helped me set and reach goals despite life’s unexpected hurdles.

In February 2006, I suffered a grand mal seizure, was diagnosed as a partial epileptic, and was forced to surrender my license for six months. I walked and biked everywhere, but when weather or extreme distance prevented me from doing so, everyone stepped up to help. I feel blessed to know that in my most vulnerable times, I have been the most loved.

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

We will be successful IF we can change the world. Or at least the way teens approach money and finances!

We started in our own community and hope to spread across the state and then the country. Our end goal is to make financial literacy education a main part of the high school curriculum, which would have a direct and significant impact on the wealth gap as more teens equip themselves with the knowledge and protection of their financial futures.

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

Honesty — Be honest about who you are and what you want in life. It is important to note that there is a difference between being honest and being mean. Choose honesty!
Open lines of communication — Hand in hand with honesty is maintaining open lines of communication in all categories of your relationship: finances, emotions, intimacy, your goals as a couple and as individuals.
Understanding — “It is good to be loved, but profound to be understood.” Having a true perception of one another is critical to the success of your relationship. This means that you can empathize with your partner and know what is at the core of their actions and reactions.
Unconditional Support — This is a form of support that lacks judgment. Not easy to do and not easy to find, especially in times of grief, loss, trauma, differences of opinions, and beliefs. You need understanding to have unconditional support.
Plans — Creating short- and long-term plans together can help ensure you are both on the same page and headed in the right direction. Having monthly reviews can help you capitalize on your strengths and foresee potential obstacles.

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

We hope our #12to1million campaign IS what inspires a movement, and the result will be lifting an entire economic class and decreasing the wealth gap. We want to educate young adults and teens on how to beat the “system” that’s programmed to keep them in debt.

By filling the personal finance education gap with our “Need To Know Life Guide”, we are giving every student an opportunity to start off on the right foot.

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

Megan: “A person who risks nothing, has nothing, is nothing.” — Portia de Rossi

Eric: From Confucius, “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising each time you fall.”

On Eric’s journey to financial independence, he encountered his fair share of nay-sayers and those who ultimately proved to be disingenuous. Some of these encounters cost him money while others cost him his time and energy. They always cost him emotion.

In our house, and in our relationship, he is infamous for repeating “One step back to take two forward.” He chooses to treat these obstacles objectively and always finds a way to overcome them. Neither the bad encounters nor obstacles have ever deterred him from taking on risks for the betterment of our family or sharing his knowledge with anyone who will listen.

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

My choice for a male would be Eli Manning. He’s a two-time Super Bowl winner and MVP, and I am a huge Giants fan. Eli is amazing off the field too. He is a businessman, he is a husband and father, a philanthropist, a comedian, and a total class act. For a man who was born into a famous family and blessed with talent and success, he seems just as genuine and relatable as the next guy.

My choice for a female would be Kim Kardashian. As the owner of two, billion-dollar companies, and a current law student, she is the definition of a hustler. While she capitalizes on her image, she uses her celebrity status to raise awareness for social issues and has made sizeable charitable contributions. Her philanthropic efforts are hardly broadcasted by the star. Did you know she charted a plane for an Afghanistan girls’ soccer team and their families to be flown to safety in Britain? That is the Kim Kardashian I would love to have a sit-down with.

How can our readers follow your work online?

https://cutthefiscalfat.com

https://linktr.ee/cutthefiscalfat

@cutthefiscalfat

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

Lessons from a Thriving Power Couple, With Megan and Eric DeCrosta was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women In Wellness: Victoria Thain Gioia Of Perelel On the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help…

Women In Wellness: Victoria Thain Gioia Of Perelel On the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Mental health is a cause that is very dear to me. It has certainly been a wild ride these last two years and there has been so much pressure on us all, but especially caregivers, mothers, working parents, and working mothers. It has been a lot to manage and personally I have struggled to find time and space for supporting myself through it all. It is so important to do so, to take care of yourself and your emotional balance. For everyone, no matter what their circumstances, yes, it could always be worse, but it is ok to need support for whatever you’re going through.

As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Victoria “Tori” Thain Gioia.

Victoria “Tori” Thain Gioia is the co-CEO and co-founder of Perelel, the first OB/GYN-founded wellness company that offers women dynamic prenatal vitamins and supplements, resources and community tailored to the varying stages of motherhood.

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 grew up as a third child in a very competitive family of four.I was a bit of a nerd growing up, very focused on school and eventually majored in math in college. After graduation I started my career in finance wearing pantsuits every day, consumed by numbers, and working 100 hour weeks. Eventually I realized I wanted to work for an actual brand that resonated with me , and have a real role shaping the business, which led me to startups. I went to business school to make this transition, and used that to land finance, strategy & operational roles at a handful of wellness oriented startups including Olive & June, Honest Co., and Carbon38. Once I became a mom though, I really wanted to work for companies I felt passionate about and eventually my experience through motherhood, fertility and all of the ups and downs of parenthood led me to founding Perelel.

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

When I was working in finance, I interviewed at a fund where I really wanted an investment role. One of the partners told me point blank that if he had two equal candidates, but one was a woman and one was a man, he would hire the man because the woman was likely to take the “mommy track” and need time off. I was infuriated, but from that moment on have sought to prove that moms can still be competitive, MVP employees. Or founders! This comment has come up again and again in different ways over the last two years as my co-founder Alex and I were two pregnant co-founders, launching a brand at the onset of the pandemic, and it continues to fuel our fire. We want to hire moms, give women time off and ultimately know that a mom can multitask like no one else, get their work done, be efficient with time management and ultimately be founders, C-suite executives, and incredible employees for any company.

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

I came from and joined a very structured, linear career environment and assumed every career choice had to be part of some resume building narrative. The world has changed so much and there is no such thing as a standard career path anymore. Every experience is important and can be a growing and learning opportunity if you can view it that way. My lesson learned has been to try and take something away from every experience versus putting pressure on yourself to make it fit some ideal narrative on some ideal path because life doesn’t work that way either.

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?

Our mission statement is to create a world with more healthy, supported women every step of the way. Through our relationships with our customers, building a community of women who are supporting one another through life’s most joyous and sometimes most sobering moments, and through our product donations to underserved women who lack access to high-quality prenatal care, we’re hoping to make an impact.

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.

As a mom of three and co-founder of a new business, I have had to focus more on life hacks than lifestyle tweaks, these are a few that I swear by:

Taking phone calls as a walk
Using calendly to schedule meetings
Adding focus work blocks as holds on my calendar
Turning lunch pickups into regular catch ups with my co-founder
Scheduling my weekly workouts to hold myself accountable and block the time

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

Self-care and not feeling guilty about it. It sounds trite and it may be a bit overused right now, but ultimately you have to take care of yourself before you can take care of anyone else.

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

The lows are never as bad as they seem in the moment.
The journey is the destination — you always feel like you’re just trying to get to the next milestone, but really it should be caring about the process
You will hear 10 no’s for every 1 yes, but the yes’ are all that matter
Lean on your village and don’t feel bad about it
Sleep makes a big difference

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

Mental health is a cause that is very dear to me. It has certainly been a wild ride these last two years and there has been so much pressure on us all, but especially caregivers, mothers, working parents, and working mothers. It has been a lot to manage and personally I have struggled to find time and space for supporting myself through it all. It is so important to do so, to take care of yourself and your emotional balance. For everyone, no matter what their circumstances, yes, it could always be worse, but it is ok to need support for whatever you’re going through.

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

@perelelhealth and @vat26

Thank you for these fantastic insights!

Women In Wellness: Victoria Thain Gioia Of Perelel On the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Edyta Haligowska of HE Space Design: 5 Things You Can Do To Help Your Living Space Spark More Joy

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

The first thing that comes to my mind when I think of joyful interiors is color. Color should create natural connection between rooms. However, you can create the unexpected accent room or wall with wallpaper or paint for a pop of color. Pick your favorite color in a subdued palette that seamlessly flows through the room. Another way to introduce color to a neutral or white room is to add accent pieces like colorful pillows, blankets, rugs, and drapes.

As part of my series on the “5 Things You Can Do To Help Your Living Space Spark More Joy”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Edyta Haligowska.

Edyta Haligowska, the CEO and Lead Interior Designer of HE Space Design transforms everyday spaces with an architectural design approach. Edyta works closely with clients, incorporating their vision and personality along with functional solutions into her classic, one-of-a-kind style. Edyta oversees the design process at every stage from selecting materials to meeting with hired contractors for renovations. With previous experience as an AutoCad Engineer, Interior Designer, Project Development Manager, and Design Consultant, Edyta has over 20 years of diverse experience within the interior design sector, empowering her with a wide range of specialized knowledge. Edyta is a certified lighting specialist by the American Lighting Association with additional expertise in space planning, color and finish consultations, and custom furniture design. She received a B.A. in English from Northern Illinois University and then furthered her education by earning a B.F.A. in Interior Design from the International Academy of Design and Technology in Chicago. Inspired by her travels, culture, and passion for design, Edyta brings an experienced perspective and creative vision to all her projects.

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

When I was growing up there was no profession like interior design so I never thought about it. It’s a relatively new field. After graduating with bachelor degree in English and history I need it to decide what’s next– law or Interior design/architecture. I picked design and know now I made the right choice. My father was an engineer and he designed, drafted and built our house. He had such incredible talent that it was inspiring. I was always around the creative energy of architecture and design growing up. It was a natural trajectory for me to end up as an Interior Designer.

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

The job itself is the most interesting. I am learning constantly, and there is never a boring day no matter what I am doing. Interior design has the technical aspects as well as the creative ones, so I get challenged on both. I am always trying to polish the design process of planning and executing with each project. Also, every home and client are different and demands different attention, so it keeps you on your toes. It’s very rewarding when you know your design has captured the energy and essence of the family that lives there.

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

The last mistake I made was when I sent the drowning of the backsplash to a fabricator, and I wrote my measurements by hand. The tile specialist read my 7 as 1. We did not know it until we got the tile, and it was not enough. Luckily, the tile was rushed and come within a week. The very important lesson I learn through the years about mistakes is to first check, check and check again before you pass information into production or purchase. Second, when you do make a mistake, it’s all about how your handle it. Be honest and find creative ways to solve it in a timely manner.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now or recently completed?

I truly loved every project I did because it made me a better designer and the designer I am today. The most exciting project is the project I did last. The last space I design is a first floor of a house starting with a foyer, front room, dining room, kitchen and family room. The house feels open but each room has strong identity and seemingly connects one space to the next. The space turned out to be livable, beautiful, quiet, and refined yet relaxed. It’s pretty with calming effects. It’s rich in layers of texture and pattern with a natural color palette with hues of white and cream. The white walls’ dramatic blank canvases serve as artwork. The artwork offers the rooms the splash of color shades of blue, green, orange and pink.

My favorite quote in my career and life is by Charles Eamer.

“The details are not the details. They make the design.

In personal life, dreams or goals are not achieved in one day, it’s the small steps towards its every day that will bring you there.” In professional life as a designer, it’s the details in space that creates the big picture.

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

The people who helped me along my way were my parents. My parents taught me how to be kind, resourceful, driven, and determined. I don’t remember specifically telling me who to be but showing me by their example. They exposed me to art and culture. As a child, they sign me up to ballet school and conservatory school, where I played piano learning the discipline and benefits of its efforts. My parents were always there for me growing up and later in life supported my choices. I moved to the US from Poland and my parents followed me with my siblings, giving up their comfortable life of retirement in Poland. That love, dedication and selflessness motivates me and keeps me going.

I would start a movement that people are conscious to show kindness and compassion to everyone every day.

What are your “5 Things you Can do help your living space spark more joy? And Why? Please share a story or example for each.

Color

The first thing that comes to my mind when I think of joyful interiors is color. Color should create natural connection between rooms. However, you can create the unexpected accent room or wall with wallpaper or paint for a pop of color. Pick your favorite color in a subdued palette that seamlessly flows through the room. Another way to introduce color to a neutral or white room is to add accent pieces like colorful pillows, blankets, rugs, and drapes.

2. Artwork

Artwork inspires, motivates and gives the space character beyond the furnishings. Art is food for the soul and can transform your home by telling a personal story. Invest in a few pieces of art, either from your local gallery (support your local artists!) or online like from 1st Dibs or even Etsy. Or, if you’re feeling creative, make your own heirloom piece that you can pass down to members of your family. Quality is the key as it will grow with you, your family and your home.

3. Be Organized

A joyful home is a well-functioning and well-organized home. We all have a room (or rooms) in our homes that get cluttered with stuff. Fortunately, this is easy to solve by adding stylish storage solutions. If your family room gets overwhelmed with gadgets, kid’s toys, etc., decorative storage, like a bench with a patterned fabric seat cushion, will conceal your clutter while adding an extra seat to the room. Also, get rid of the stuff that you do not need or love. Only keep the pieces that you use often or that mean something personal to you and your family, keeping in mind that space is luxury!

4. Create a photo wall

Create a photo wall in your house to show your family’s life journey. Frame the memories that make you laugh, or a beautiful moment that takes you to a happy place. Choose interesting frames that fit the style of your home.

5. Plants build a sanctuary

Breathe new life into your home, both literally and figuratively, by incorporating houseplants. Not only do plants have positive health benefits by emitting oxygen and increasing a sense of connection with nature (biophilia), they’ve also long been used to enhance even the most stylish of interiors.

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

Edyta Haligowska of HE Space Design: 5 Things You Can Do To Help Your Living Space Spark More Joy was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Founders: Riham Satti Of MeVitae On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a…

Female Founders: Riham Satti Of MeVitae On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Measure. Taking a wrong step can impact your business so building a plan but measuring your metrics allows you to assess risk, come up with a strategy and align your budget to it. We are measuring many factors, from customer success to financial metrics.

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

Riham Satti is a keynote international speaker, neuroscientist and entrepreneur. She co-founded MeVitae in 2014, a deep tech company aimed at solving the biggest recruitment challenges — mitigating algorithmic and unconscious biases from the hiring process. Riham is involved in several initiatives including: Founder of LinkedIn’s Women in Tech group and member of TechUK Diversity and Skills Council. She is a business mentor including the London Business School entrepreneurship course (helping over 20+ early-stage founders who have raised over £1m). Riham holds a Master of Research in Clinical Neuroscience, University of Oxford and a First-Class Honour Master of Engineering in Biomedical Engineering, Imperial College London.

I’m what you would call a Fema-Neuro-Preneur — a female clinical neuroscientist turned entrepreneur in a male dominated start-up field.

My childhood and upbringing has everything to do with who I am. In fact, I went to one of the most under achieving community schools in Westminster (shut in 2006). I never grew up with mentors and hardly knew the importance of them, and was bullied in school. However, I was fortunate enough to be surrounded by friends and family to inspire me in the direction of success and fulfilment. I was always one of those kids that would play with LEGO and a Barbie doll at the same time. I was always curious about the world of tech and my family were also STEM orientated. Therefore, it wasn’t a surprise that I pursued a career in STEM — MEng Biomedical Engineering at Imperial College London and then came to Oxford to study Clinical Neuroscience.

I had my life set; I was going into academia, contributing to science– study for a PhD and then become a Neuroscience Professor. I was determined nothing would change it, until I opened my mouth with an idea. This idea is one that I didn’t know was going to stick with me for life and as I was continuing my journey I fell in love with the startup world and journey. Since then I never looked back.

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

The most interesting/important one is growing as a person. When first jumping into the business world I was very introverted; shy when talking to ‘strangers.’ Networking was something I completely sucked in. Entrepreneurship means stepping out of one’s comfort zone. I had to build up my confidence and just get out there. I have had to learn fast and take risks. Now, I am more comfortable with networking and giving talks, e.g. giving a TEDx talk to thousands of people. Back then I never thought any of these things would be possible.

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?

Before co-founding MeVitae in 2014, my co-founder and I were dabbling in entrepreneurship. We built a swapping and trading site for students. At that time, it was my first interaction with investors, and one of the first questions was what is our revenue model, i.e. how will you make money. I kid you not, my answers were along the line of “I do not know. Facebook didn’t make money, and neither did Skype. We will figure it out.” You can easily see the problem with that. It was an immediate learning experience that in fact we had lots to learn. That was 10+ years ago, and now I learnt to surround yourself with people who have done it before

Everything to do with the world of business has been experimental, from sales strategy to networking. None of what we have achieved at MeVitae would be possible without being surrounded with numerous mentors, such as the co-founder of Shazam, Dhiraj Mukherjee, or development manager at Microsoft, Geoff Hughes. They have shared their wisdom with me and showed me great examples of what life can be like if you work hard at something. An example is that the problem with being a scientist/engineer is that you become very detailed orientated as you are trying to make sure that all your experiments run well, though in entrepreneurship you need to use a lean approach; build quickly, release faster and modify as you go along repeating the cycle. Getting feedback from mentors and investors has quickly taught me when to stop iterating and get out there.

I am going to be cheesy and say my family have been essential, from an emotional support perspective. You learn to develop thick skin in the world of entrepreneurship, and they have always picked me back up when there are days where I could doubt myself.

Risk: I believe it’s in our nature to overthink things, and worry if things don’t work out, i.e. what are the consequences. We can often paralyze ourselves by doing that. I know personally for me, I was always worried about failing and I wasn’t much of a risk taker. I wish I knew that Fail=First Attempt In Learning. We sometime need to let go and not overthink. Just do it!

Funding: Another stat that I often see is that only 0.2% of black women founders have raised investment. Of those that have raised money, the average amount of funding its $36,000. Gobsmacked! Speaking as a black entrepreneur, the odds are stacked up against us. That is one of the many challenges female entrepreneurs like myself are faced with. Hence the need for change — great ideas can come from anyone and given circumstances anyone can reach their full potential, irrespective of age, gender, sexuality, religion etc. Hence the need to break glass ceilings. Sometimes we know what to do next, but just need funding.

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?

A few things:

Networking opportunities to share stories and support each other
Grant schemes to help de-risk early stage entrepreneurs that need funding to start their business
There are some great corporate initiatives such as Oracle for Startups that provide resources to entrepreneurs and open doors. More of these will be great for 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?

Simple: If you see a problem or opportunity, why not pave the way and change the world.

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

On the media we often see CEOs and founders such as Jeff Bezos and Steve Jobs that are all powerful founders with powerful personalities. I have seen countless articles of the ‘successful’ daily schedule, such as waking up at 4am, gym at 5am, emails from 6am-7am. You get the point.

We need more representation. I would love to see founders from different backgrounds, examples of how empathy can be an asset in leadership, how being introverted can also be powerful. Everyone has a story to tell and diversity of thought is an incredible thing. We need to see more of that.

This is a debate I keep thinking about ‘are entrepreneurs born or made.’ I’m a firm believer that founders can be made. There aren’t any specific muscles or bones that you need to succeed. Different successful entrepreneurs have different personalities and traits, therefore, there isn’t a specific characteristic that will result in success. I consider success to be a combination of hard work, luck and timing. A universal acumen that we all need to succeed in our career is passion. Entrepreneurs spend long periods of time on their business, and having self-motivation, passion and drive to succeed is fundamental.

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.)

FAIL=First Attempt In Learning. This relates to risk. No point in over worrying about all the different things that could go wrong. Starting a business means that you are always learning.
Having a thick skin. Rejection happens often (e.g. losing a sales deal or investors saying now). Before, I used to be so sensitive to this. I remember during our first investment round, I would spend so much time thinking what’s wrong with me during my train rides back up. It was very draining and I quickly learnt not to take things so personally
It’s who you know, not what you know. This is important for mentoring, networking, raising funding, hiring etc. I wish I learnt this very early on as I truly think it would have helped us scale faster. Networking and having warm introductions was how we initially scaled MeVitae
Storytelling. You are always selling, and you need to be able to communicate your business effectively so that people can resonate. The first time I got up on a stage to pitch MeVitae, it was such as daunting experience. Quickly, I learnt that how we speak, our confidence and our body language makes a huge difference
Measure. Taking a wrong step can impact your business so building a plan but measuring your metrics allows you to assess risk, come up with a strategy and align your budget to it. We are measuring many factors, from customer success to financial metrics.

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

Our vision at MeVitae is to create fairness in the workplace by helping organisations mitigate algorithmic and cognitive biases. Our offerings are a set of tools that plug into 15+ Application Tracking Systems (ATS) to de-bias recruitment processes. The most popular solution is blind recruiting — redacting 20+ types of personal identifiers (e.g. gender, ethnicity and age) from CVs, application forms and cover letters — with 95% accuracy, and which has proven to increase diversity and inclusion by 30% in firms.

On a personal level, there are a few things that I have been doing:

I wanted to build a place where women can connect, and share successes and stories. Therefore, I set up a LinkedIn Group called ‘Women in Tech and Female Founders’ which has 3,000 members and growing!
To give back I joined as a mentor at London Business School entrepreneurship course to inspire aspiring entrepreneurs and help them in their own startup journey

We should teach entrepreneurship at schools. Providing students and children the exposure and skills to building a business would be so eye-opening. The impact this will have on individuals and societies will be huge!

Simon Sinek. A true optimist and visionary. His storytelling capabilities are genius, and Starting with Why is such a fantastic concept that truly differentiates businesses.

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

Female Founders: Riham Satti Of MeVitae 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.