Month: May 2022

Female Founders: Kirsten Ludwig and Chris Danton of ‘In Good Co’ On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Be fearless: It can feel daunting wondering ‘do I have anything unique to add to this conversation’, the best way to find out is to do it. Also, you’d be surprised at how some things that feel obvious to you are helpful revelations to others

As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Kirsten Ludwig and Chris Danton.

IN GOOD CO; a female founded, purpose driven creative agency on a mission to build better brands, a passion for purpose and getting good sh*t done. On the front lines of innovation, powered by an inclusive team, IN GOOD CO partners with enlightened legacy brands and fearless startups to think bigger, strategize smarter — and transform dreams into reality.

The Founders, Kirsten Ludwig and Chris Danton built IN GOOD CO differently — with intention. Curating teams for every client from their global collective of independent creatives, strategists, doers and makers, they are working to raise the standard of what an agency can be.

Kristen Ludwig — President and Founder
Kristen is a creative and lifestyle marketer with 20 years of experience. Kristen has transformed agencies, led teams and much more. Ralph Lauren, Google, Nike and Starbucks are just a few Kristen has inspired.

Chris Danton — Chief of Ideas + Co-Founder
Chris is creative strategist with 10 years of creative and design expertise, focused on brand experiences that create truly meaningful connections between brands and their consumers. NBC, Refinery 29, and Disney are some of the brands where Chris has made an impact.

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

Sure! We founded IN GOOD CO about 8 years ago. Chris and I met at another agency that we helped to build, grow and sell. Hypergrowth in 3 years. That process was wild — in good ways and bad. We learned a lot. Mainly that agency culture is everything and working with brands that stand for a bigger purpose is work that everyone feels good about. It shaped our business immensely.

Can you briefly share with our readers why you are an authority about the topic of thought leadership?

We have been doing this for some time, on the brand side, agency side, studying trends and culture. We have had the opportunity to significantly shift and create brands.

One thing we love about agency life is that you have the opportunity to shape the direction brands take on really big topics and brands can wield incredible power. We take this role seriously. It’s fun and challenging, it means staying ahead of trends for sure, but it also means not taking a surface approach. It’s like getting tiny master’s degrees in topics.

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

It’s interesting to look back on a career. But I always find the most current challenge the most interesting. We’re in the process of building the annual Color Outside The Lines campaign for a Psycho Bunny. This year we’re working with a really exciting cast of creatives who span the spectrum of self-expression. We’re also working with artists to bring the vision to life. It’s launching in September — stay tuned.

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?

Chris: Well before IGC I replied all bitching about a client. It went to the client — of course. My boss at the time made me call her to apologize and then invited her in for an in-person apology — yes, that bad. Lesson: don’t be an asshole.

Once we got our wires crossed on Slack and cast the wrong model. We only realized on the pre-production call. We scrambled, righted the ship, made for the extra model. In the end it ended up with us being able to get tons of extra social content for the shoot and made us hire more models on-going for that client’s shoots. But we still send the casting confirmation with pictures every time now.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the main focus of our interview. In a nutshell, how would you define what a ‘Thought Leader’ is? How is a thought leader different from a typical leader? How is a thought leader different from an influencer?

Chris: Brian Chesky from Airbnb spoke once about leaders in a business managing an iceberg. Employees see the tip of the iceberg, leaders — or great leaders, have to focus on the part of the iceberg that’s under the water that no one sees. I think thought leadership is looking out at what’s on the rest of the ocean. What’s coming towards you, what’s moving away, what’s shifting, under and above the water. It’s about offering an outside perspective while understanding what leaders might need to know.

As for influencers, I think they can be thought leaders, the two aren’t mutually exclusive but beyond that, influencers — or the right ones anyway — are great for showcasing your thought leadership. Who you choose to align with, who advances your message, who builds on it matters.

Can you talk to our readers a bit about the benefits of becoming a thought leader? Why do you think it is worthwhile to invest resources and energy into this?

Chris: Future proofing your business. Investing in thought leadership ensures you aren’t only drinking the Kool-Aid.

Let’s talk about business opportunities specifically. Can you share a few examples of how thought leadership can help a business grow or create lucrative opportunities?

Our thought leadership work on Purpose-driven businesses has ensured that the types of clients we love and are best positioned to help have come our way. When you share your perspective, you attract like-minded company.

Ok. Now that we have that behind us, we’d love to hear your thoughts about how to eventually become a thought leader. Can you share 5 strategies that a person should implement to become known as a thought leader in their industry? Please tell us a story or example (ideally from your own experience) for each.

1. Do a Brand workshop: At the start of our business and every brand we build (or rebrand) we do a workshop to identify the brand’s why, the company values and what ‘conversations’ they can join. This works for individuals too. Figure out what it is that matters to you and why.
2. Read, consume, repeat: we can’t tell you how many niche sub stacks we are subscribed to. We both read a lot. And consume whatever it is we’re working on.
3. Share and test: there are topics we can discuss in our sleep at this point but even when it’s something new we’re constantly talking about it internally and with clients, figuring out the best way to share the important things. It’s as much about what you are saying as how you’re saying it
4. Find your outliers: Chris: Make time to have chats with people outside your industry. Being curious about what others at being challenged or passionate about is usually where the most unique ‘aha’ moments come from
5. Be fearless: It can feel daunting wondering ‘do I have anything unique to add to this conversation’, the best way to find out is to do it. Also, you’d be surprised at how some things that feel obvious to you are helpful revelations to others

In your opinion, who is an example of someone who has done a fantastic job as a thought leader? Which specific things have impressed you about that person? What lessons can we learn from this person’s approach?

Kirsten: Cindy Gallop. She is super clear and strong in her point of view and NEVER afraid to share her opinion. I takeaway 1. Know what you stand for 2. Be clear on articulating what you stand for 3. Take every opportunity you have to share that POV 4. Don’t be afraid, no matter how unpopular it may be. 5. Trust yourself.

I have seen some discussion that the term “thought leader” is trite, overused, and should be avoided. What is your feeling about this?

Something everyone agrees on isn’t usually that interesting

What advice would you give to other leaders to thrive and avoid burnout?

Don’t hide or be ashamed of what you need to spend time on. We add our workouts, therapy, kids doctors appts etc. to the calendar and we always tell clients why we’re not available. We have to normalize having human needs. Normalize caring for yourself. That way your teams feel able to do it. Your clients feel able to do it.

You are a person of enormous 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. 🙂

Kirsten: Aspire all to inspire. Realize that everything you say, do and are can (and probably does) have an impact on someone. For sure the movement I most hope to inspire is women supporting other women vs seeing competition in them. Above and below the ranks. We have the true power to elevate each other, whether it is a larger more obvious accomplishment or a smaller less seen moment. Realize that at every moment you can be having a positive impact on someone to empower and inspire them to do the same.

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

Kirsten: “Dream as if you will life forever. Live as if you’ll die today” To me that translates as thinking big, taking chances and trying things, but always living in the moment. I try to live that in everything I do. Had it tattooed so I can see it every day.

Chris: My dad once said — opposite to most advice I was getting — don’t stay late unless you need to. Show them that you know how to get the work done in time. Never stay late just for appearance. It will either make it normal or make them wonder if you know what you’re doing. As a working mom, I believe time management is one of my greatest skills. Do it well, do it efficiently, deliver on time.

We are blessed that very prominent leaders in business and entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world with whom you would like to have lunch or breakfast? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂

Kirsten: That’s a long list. I get great inspiration from anyone bold who is living their truth and inspiring others along the way. Arianna Huffington, Brene Brown, Glennon Doyle, well and of course Oprah. Should I go on?

How can our readers further follow your work online?

Weareingoodco.com

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

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Female Founders: Kirsten Ludwig and Chris Danton of ‘In Good Co’ On The Five 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.

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

The first thing I would recommend is to ignore people who will tell you not to try. Without trying, there’s zero chance of making it happen. Trying is the only way to know for sure, even if there is a potential that things will not go according to plan. Like I mentioned, there were people who told me they wouldn’t give me a penny when my business failed. If I had listened to them, I wouldn’t be speaking with you now!

As a part of my series about strong women leaders in the cannabis industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Marie Saloum.

As one of only a few women plying their trade in the burgeoning cannabis frontier in Arizona, Marie Saloum has played a significant role in terraforming the landscape, bringing her aesthetic — something she refers to as a much-needed woman’s touch — to what has been a largely male-dominated field.

Marie is as inventive as she is savvy when it comes to the vision that has made her GreenPharms brand one of the most popular cannabis companies in the Arizona market. In her twelve years of dynamic leadership, she has exemplified an impressive level of persistence and determination, which she counts as two of her biggest strengths.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us the “backstory” about what brought you to the cannabis industry?

My journey in the cannabis industry began in 2008, when my husband Arvin was injured in a serious car accident. Following the accident, he found it difficult to manage his pain through prescription pain medications. After trying a number of meds and none of them being effective, he eventually found relief through the use of cannabis; and the difference was undeniable.

When I saw the transformation with my own eyes, I was sold. I became a big advocate of cannabis, spreading the word about the power of the plant to anyone who would listen.

In 2011, when the opportunity to apply for a license came about, I was excited by the chance to become further involved in the cannabis industry. After having saved for years, I decided to go for it, and I applied for a license, which was ultimately awarded. Since then, we have opened dispensaries in Flagstaff and Mesa, with a cultivation site in Chino Valley, and the business continues to grow to this day.

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?

To be honest, there have been so many interesting experiences, I’d be hard-pressed to single one out. Some of my favorite interesting moments have been with patients who share with me how they have been helped by the work that we do. It’s been very interesting and compelling to learn about the journeys of many of our community members that have led them to our shop.

Those experiences are among the most meaningful ones, and they affirm that I made the right decision in getting into this industry. Having the opportunity to improve the quality of life for so many people is something that I value very much, and it is very much a learning experience in that I am able to gain a variety of perspectives that honestly help shape my own world view.

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?

If I had to pick a funny experience, I think it would have to be the mishap with our alarm system in the dispensary when we first opened. I remember it was somebody’s birthday, and the balloons we had placed on their desk were setting off the sensors, which triggered the alarm.

The police were called out, and I had to jump out of bed and drive out there in my pajamas. It looked like a crime scene when I got there, and I was worried that someone had gotten into our space. But it was all because of the balloons. It’s funny to laugh about now, but it was pretty nerve-racking at the time, starting out as a first-time dispensary owner!

Do you have a funny story about how someone you knew reacted when they first heard you were getting into the cannabis industry?

My decision to apply for a license was met with some skepticism. Keep in mind, this was just months after voters had passed the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act, so the cannabis industry in Arizona was very much still in its infancy. A few people in my circle were vocal, with some going as far as to tell me they wouldn’t be there to financially support me when my venture failed.

Of course, now it’s funny to look back and see how far I’ve come from those days before this endeavor became what it is today. I’m proud of the work we’ve done to get to this point.

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 can honestly say that I would be nowhere without my family. My brothers have been by my side since day one, because they love me not because they want something from me. It’s just love. I will never forget that. And that’s why I hold family so important. It’s my number one driving force for me.

To this day, my brother Carlos oversees all development and construction aspects of the company, while my brother Marco manages our cultivation and extracts operation. This enables me to focus on the day-to-day matters associated with maintaining a competitive, successful business.

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

I can honestly say that I would be nowhere without my family. My husband, Arvin, has been a huge part of this journey. If it wasn’t for him, and what he brings to the table, we couldn’t be where we’re at right now. As I mentioned, he was a big part of my introduction to the industry, with his recovery from the car accident serving as my “aha moment” that first got me involved in cannabis. He has been by my side every step of the way, as a partner and a huge source of knowledge. It’s safe to say that there is no GreenPharms without him.

Additionally, my brothers have been by my side since the beginning; because they love me, not because they want something from me. It’s just love. I will never forget that. And that’s why I hold family so important. It’s my number one driving force for me.

Ok. Thank you for all that. Let’s now jump to the main core of our interview. Despite great progress that has been made we still have a lot more work to do to achieve gender parity in this industry. According to this report in Entrepreneur, less than 25 percent of cannabis businesses are run by women. In your opinion or experience, what 3 things can be done by a)individuals b)companies and/or c) society to support greater gender parity moving forward?

First, while that figure may be from the most recent data available, I feel it’s worth pointing out that the industry did see a significant increase in women occupying executive positions in the year prior to the COVID pandemic — the effects of which were disproportionately felt by female professionals. In 2019, over 38 percent of those jobs were held by women, as opposed to the 21 percent that was reported in the business world at large that same year.

With that said, there is absolutely still room for improvement, and I think that definitely starts at the individual level. It’s sort of a given that this industry, like any other, can be cliquish. Executives sometimes tend to stick to their own groups when it comes to hiring and advancement. If marketing, promotion and consumer outreach are to be effective, they need to be led by people who look like our customers, plain and simple. Increasingly, those customers include women from all walks of life.

At the company level, I think it’s necessary to be as involved as possible in the community around you, especially when it comes to underrepresented communities. At GreenPharms, for instance, we are proud to be involved with a number of organizations who are at the forefront of the fight for equality.

Another thing I think is important — and it’s something we make a point of doing — is to highlight woman-owned companies whenever possible. In any industry, the idea that ‘if you can see it, you can be it’ is true, and our line of work is no exception. By featuring more woman-led brands, it affords a level of visibility that allows others to realize they, too, can achieve their entrepreneurial goals.

From a societal standpoint, I feel that we can all benefit from being more open-minded and understanding when it comes to the challenges of others. That includes being willing to listen in good faith to individual voices, and allowing their experiences to sort of modernize our perspectives, even when that means letting go of old stereotypes or perceptions. Of course, it’s not something that is easily done, but it is certainly worth aspiring toward.

You are a “Cannabis Insider”. If you had to advise someone about 5 non intuitive things one should know to succeed in the cannabis industry, what would you say? Can you please give a story or an example for each.

The first thing I would recommend is to ignore people who will tell you not to try. Without trying, there’s zero chance of making it happen. Trying is the only way to know for sure, even if there is a potential that things will not go according to plan. Like I mentioned, there were people who told me they wouldn’t give me a penny when my business failed. If I had listened to them, I wouldn’t be speaking with you now!

Secondly, you have to think outside of the box. I’ve made it a point to bring my personal touch to my brand, and that is evident in many aspects. When we started doing our Valentine’s Day boxes or the Mother’s Day cannabis bouquets, no one had really had the idea to do something like that. It was a way to make GreenPharms stand out, and it put us on the map.

Next, I would say to always expect the unexpected. Things will invariably go wrong, even with the best laid plans. Every dispensary goes through a period of trial and error when they first start out, and there is a big learning curve when it comes to getting things right. Even 12 years into this business, plans change on a regular basis, and it’s always important to remain flexible and adaptable, while still being assertive with your business’ needs.

Additionally, it’s important to listen to everyone around you, no matter their job title. McDonald’s Happy Meals wouldn’t be around if it wasn’t for an employee pitching the idea to upper management. The same is true of the Post-It note, which brings in a billion dollars a year for 3M. I’ve found that by listening to my staff, who are interacting with our customers on a daily basis, I can gain valuable knowledge that benefits the brand and helps attract more business.

Lastly, I think you just have to give your all in everything you do. There are 24 hours in a day, and each one of those hours is an opportunity to make progress toward your goal. If you look at the most successful people, they are never satisfied sitting still. They’re always trying to find a way, in everything they do, to achieve their goals. I have found that time management is one of the most necessary skills when it comes to success — especially in this industry. When you see others working hard, you have to work twice as hard.

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

First and foremost, the most exciting thing at this current point in time would have to be the momentum in the push toward nationwide decriminalization. With 18 states now allowing for recreational use, and 38 with medical cannabis, it’s becoming clear that federal decriminalization will happen, it’s just a matter of when that will be.

In addition to that aspect of the industry, I would say that another exciting prospect involves the increasing number of women not just entering the cannabis business, but working their way up into the C-suite positions that have historically been held by men. Seeing this happen in real time gives me hope that our industry can serve as a model for the rest of the business world at large. With that said, there is obviously still plenty of work to be done to achieve equality.

Lastly, I think I’d have to say that the rapid growth of the market in Arizona has been quite exciting in its own right. With the last dispensary licenses being recently awarded, it’s going to be interesting to see the ways in which the landscape expands. I’m hopeful that expansion will include a more diverse and inclusive component.

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?

One of the things that concerns me most about the state of the industry is the growing trend of multi-state operators buying up many of the independently owned dispensaries in town. As one of the few remaining “mom and pop” shops, it’s disheartening to see how hard it’s become to break into this market as an independent operator.

Another issue that comes to mind is the huge difference in the way cannabis products are tested, as opposed to other agricultural goods. I’m not saying that we should lower the standards on marijuana testing, but maybe it’s time to take an objective look when the fruits and vegetables that we put into our bodies have significantly higher levels of harmful chemicals.

I mean, there’s a CDC page specifically dedicated to how to wash your leafy greens to get rid of pesticide residue. There have also been tests on strawberries, tomatoes, and even instant oatmeal and cereals, all of which have been found to contain chemicals known to cause cancer. It gets you thinking; there’s definitely a sense that cannabis is held to a disproportionately higher standard because of the negative stigma around it, when even the stuff we’re feeding children contains actual poison.

One last thing that I’ve found troubling has been a lack of diversity within the industry. As a Hispanic woman, I sometimes find myself feeling out of place among colleagues in the industry. This is one reason I work hard to shift the paradigm and reshape the industry. I try to do so by hiring a diverse staff and promoting individuals, as much as possible, to elevated positions.

Progress has been gradual and hard-fought, but I’m hopeful about the future of cannabis as it pertains to the representation of previously marginalized identity groups.

What are your thoughts about federal legalization of cannabis? If you could speak to your Senator, what would be your most persuasive argument regarding why they should or should not pursue federal legalization?

The data is pretty clear; the drug war has done more harm than good, and there are so many nonviolent marijuana offenders behind bars in this country — not to mention those who have served their time but still live with the adverse effects of their sentences.

If I had the chance to speak to my representatives, I would insist that any plan for federal deregulation would most certainly have to include expungement for those who have been negatively affected by the policies implemented throughout the past several decades.

Today, cigarettes are legal, but they are heavily regulated, highly taxed, and they are somewhat socially marginalized. Would you like cannabis to have a similar status to cigarettes or different? Can you explain?

I understand the desire to regulate marijuana in the same way substances like tobacco and alcohol are regulated. However, it’s important to note that while those substances are obviously enjoyed by a sizable cross-section of people who also enjoy cannabis, they are known to cause negative health issues, while more and more research shows that cannabis has the opposite effect. Ideally, marijuana would be regulated more like medications and preventative treatments, rather than as a vice.

As far as how it’s taxed, one of the provisions in Prop 207 added a significant 16 percent excise tax on recreational cannabis sales, which is in addition to the existing 5.6 percent already in place for medical sales. The excise tax is steep, in my opinion, but it makes sense that some amount of tax should exist for those who use cannabis recreationally as opposed to those who rely on it as a form of medication. The revenue generated by the tax is used to fund a number of important programs from public health initiatives to criminal justice reform, which are positive results of taxation.

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

One of my favorite quotes is from Elon Musk: “If other people are putting in 40-hour work weeks, and you’re putting in 100-hour work weeks, then even if you’re doing the same thing, you know that you will achieve in four months what it takes them a year to achieve.”

I’d like to think that this sentiment is evident in my own work ethic, and I feel like it’s the reason I’ve been able to achieve what I have. In order to get where I am, I’ve had to stay determined and work harder than those around me. This is especially true as a woman in an industry where most of my peers are men. There’s that old saying that we have to do twice as much of the work to be thought of as half as good. I think there’s definitely some truth to that, and it keeps me motivated in my effort to not only be half as good, but to be among the best in the industry.

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

I would love to be further involved in the cultural change that is happening within the industry. In my own company, I do what I can to elevate people and groups who deserve a seat at the table, and I’d love to expand that to other aspects of the cannabis world; perhaps a mentor program or something similar centered around working with individuals to provide resources and tools they can use to break into the industry and disrupt the status quo. We need more innovators, and that can best be achieved with a diversity of ideas.

Thank you so much for the time you spent with this. We wish you only continued success!

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Wisdom From The Women Leading The Cannabis Industry, With Marie Saloum of GreenPharms was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Great content — Really spend time putting together valuable content your audience will want to see. We like to include blogs and videos that provide tips/advice in that industry.

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

Founder and CEO of eLuminate Marketing, providing branding and digital marketing to firms ranging in size from $2M to $15B in annual revenue within the fields of law, education, manufacturing, home services, hospitality, start-ups, healthcare and nonprofits. Her company was recently selected as one of the Five Top Marketing Companies to Hire in 2022. She is also featured in Huffington Post, Forbes Women, Business Collective and Black Enterprise as well as nominated for South Florida’s Up and Comers by South Florida Business & Wealth.

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

I received my master’s degree in Integrated Marketing at Florida State University, while in college social media was in its infant stages and a few innovative companies wanted to pursue this new thing called “Facebook.” I interned at these companies, discovering a true love for the industry. In 2014, I decided to start my own marketing company and it was the best decision I have ever made. For eight years, I have had the privilege of working with some of the most talented individuals and developing incredible marketing campaigns. eLuminate Marketing is a boutique firm focusing on digital marketing. We are the go-to agency for companies looking to go from “never heard of them” to “I see you everywhere.”

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

I am working with a company that provides water filters to people around the world. In November 2020, Liberia became the first developing country to gain border-to-border basic access to clean water. To learn more, visit: https://www.sawyer.com/blog/liberia-reaching-the-unreached-2.

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 was putting together an email marketing campaign, after clicking send I realized I spelled “beaches” incorrectly (which was in the subject line, mind you). Thousands and thousands of people received an email that said “beachers.” I spend at least 30 minutes reading subject lines before clicking send.

Which social media platform have you found to be most effective to use to increase business revenues? Can you share a story from your experience?

It really depends on the product/service and target audience. Our agency focuses on a lot of B2B companies; therefore we find LinkedIn to be the most effective. LinkedIn is a great avenue for networking and staying top of mind. In addition to posting on their company pages, we are also posting on the CEO/Business Owners page as well.

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

1. Great content — Really spend time putting together valuable content your audience will want to see. We like to include blogs and videos that provide tips/advice in that industry.
2. Personalized — stock photos do not get engagement. We spend time including real photos of our clients and we notice a different in engagement.
3. Engage — spend time comment and engaging with your LinkedIn connections.
4. Creator Mode — upgrade your account to creator mode which allows you access to features such as a feature section on your LinkedIn profile as well as a follow button instead of individuals having to connect with you.
5. Keep your profile up to date — this includes your cover photo. We recommend checking out Canva.com for free and customizable LinkedIn banner templates. Regarding your profile picture — keep this photo professional. Don’t cut yourself out from a group photo and use a photo in a professional setting and attire. Create a powerful headline that speaks to what you do and why you do it. It should be clear and concise.

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

Have periods of the day where you are not near your phone. When I pick my children up from school, I place my phone in a drawer so I can be 100% present.

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 🙂

Richard Branson — I love his outlook on life.

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

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Lyndsi Edgar of eLuminate Marketing On How to Use LinkedIn To Dramatically Improve Your Business was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Disruptors: Emily Kane Miller of Ethos Giving On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

My mom always told me that you “get more with honey than with vinegar.” It sounds so saccharin, but it has been the secret to my success.

As a part of our series about women who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Emily Kane Miller

Emily Kane Miller is founder and CEO of Ethos Giving, a social impact services firm, and Ethos Tracking, an online data management tool that allows businesses, nonprofits, and foundations to more effectively track their social impact. She also serves as a scholar in residence at The Brittingham Social Enterprise Lab at the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business.

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?

Twenty years ago, people looking to advance social justice pushed toward careers in government and nonprofit. As someone who wanted a career that made a difference, I expected to do the same. When I graduated from law school in 2009, the economy was rocky–I needed to update my plan. I had a chance to work on social impact at The Wonderful Company, a corporation that was looking to address huge challenges for its employees in California’s Central Valley.

We didn’t just “give back” — we blended philanthropy, impact investment, community empowerment, employee engagement, and advocacy work to make sustainable change for real people.

During my nearly decade there, I saw firsthand how much can be accomplished with this multifaceted model — we were able to support paradigm changing work in education and healthcare, and foster powerful community-based work across a myriad of issues, including immigration, access to parks, and voter enfranchisement.

By 2019, I saw that the world had really shifted. More and more donors and corporations were looking to implement strategic, powerful, and dynamic social impact work.

Now I have my own firm — Ethos Giving — doing this same type of work for individual donors and companies big and small.

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

The 1990s version of “giving back” is dying. Corporate good that centers on volunteer days and supporting a few galas a year, isn’t going to cut it anymore.

The social impact work of the future is rooted in the values of a company and is purpose driven.

That said, this work doesn’t get more ambitious simply by wishing it so. I am a social impact disruptor. We challenge the status quo. Our firm helps leaders looking to really move the needle on impact get it done in two major ways. First, we help our clients identify a smart and effective impact effort that truly makes sense for their business, which they can sustain over time. Unfortunately, so many causes are picked because of headlines and popularity. That is a surefire way to fail at impact. It’s crucial to do what you know. Second, you can have the best impact idea in the world, but it won’t take off without a structured plan. We know the devil is in the details, having built and led this work for over a decade both in house and for clients. We help build the scaffolding necessary to sustain outstanding impact work and train the internal teams to take the reins.

When it’s all said and done — I want to be able to say that we changed the way corporations deployed generosity and shifted business practices for good, and that it made an outsized difference for the communities and people served. Not just for our clients, but for the entire sector.

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?

When I was in law school, I was working on the Thai-Burmese border doing international human rights work. We were interviewing incredible women. Each had survived an untold number of injustices, including at the hands of the military junta who was in power in Myanmar at the time.

These interviews were very serious, and very long. We had amazing translators helping us, but sometimes things get lost in translation. Somehow, a conversation turned from a discussion about maternal health to all the sudden — our entire group tearing up laughing at confusion around what seemed to be a fart joke. We eventually got back on track. Honestly, though, the rest of the conversation was much deeper because of the mistake.

I learned that it’s important to be focused and professional, but to always leave room to stay human.

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

Rabbi David Saperstein is an incredible social justice leader who I had the privilege to work with early in my career at the Religious Action Center. He taught me the power of coalitions.

Designated by Newsweek Magazine as the most influential rabbi in America and by the Washington Post as the “quintessential religious lobbyist on Capitol Hill,” for 40 years as Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, David Saperstein represented to Congress and the Administration, the Reform Jewish Movement, the largest segment of American Jewry. Under Rabbi Saperstein, writes J.J. Goldberg in his book Jewish Power, the Religious Action Center “has become one of the most powerful Jewish bodies in Washington.

I also had the privilege to work alongside the incredible Lynda Resnick, the vice-chairman and co-owner of The Wonderful Company, who personally leads all of the social impact work for the organization. In California’s Central Valley, where the majority of the work is focused, she is a tour de force — creating on campus health and wellness clinics for employees, high-tech public charter schools, and beautiful parks to serve the local community.

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

If there is an intrinsic problem, or an inefficiency due to ossification, I would argue that disruption is usually a net positive. Even if a method isn’t wholly successful, it will usually shake up the status quo and create improvements. On the other hand, disruption is net negative when it is disingenuous, and the primary motivator is attention. If you’re just looking to make a name for yourself, you can do that in a more productive and respectful way.

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

When I was taking the California Bar Exam, my tutor always said, “If everything’s important, nothing is.” If you followed every factline in the questions, you’d surely fail the test. Focus on what actually matters to the question at hand. I’m a “yes, and” person — in work and life; I always want to make room for more. Part of growing up for me, was identifying that this was untenable if I want the things that truly mattered to be successful. You have to be an editor, or else you can’t accomplish your goals.

My mom always told me that you “get more with honey than with vinegar.” It sounds so saccharin, but it has been the secret to my success.

“It is always the right time to stand up for what is right.” This is the basis for my work and personifies what it takes to be a great “Chief Soul Officer” in this day and age.

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

For the last decade, I’ve been lucky enough to work at the tip of the spear of social impact. The “Good Team” of the 21st Century is a formidable force. “Corporate good” is no longer a nice-to-have; it’s a need-to-have. Philanthropists are no longer writing checks with the hope that their dollars will make a difference; they are working side-by-side with partners to ensure that a difference is made.

Working in the midst of this seismic shift, I’ve had the opportunity to support, architect, and lead deeply impactful, multi-faceted social good initiatives for businesses, families and individuals, and nonprofits.

While the details and goals varied — one theme remained constant. We didn’t have the tools we needed to do our best work. Once we’d set up our approach, identified our KPIs and got started — we found we were missing a clean, value-add, dynamic system to track, manage, and report on the work. Without one, it was very hard to be strategic and effective.

When I launched Ethos Giving — a social impact services firm — my search for a better tool continued. I wanted to be able to offer a great tracking resource to our clients alongside our services. Instead, I was left with complicated Excel sheets and data sets pulled together with scotch tape and lots of manual reminders.

I got tired of waiting for someone else to create it, so I built Ethos Tracking–the SaaS platform I believe the entire social impact sector has been waiting for.

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

This is especially true in the social impact ecosystem. Our work — “doing good” — has long been deprioritized. This is unmistakably rooted in gender. America democratized the idea of affluence and identified philanthropy as a key to social mobility. In the Gilded Age, it was the lady of the house who served on boards and networked with friends to participate in social change.
Let me be clear — these women did in1credible work supporting hospitals, museums, schools, orphanages, and even launched The Red Cross. But this model built a framework that the men did the “real” work of making money, and women had the pleasure of doing unpaid, volunteer work for “charity.” We still see this bias playing out in the social impact sector, today. Even though business leaders are clearer than ever that doing good is good for business, this work is almost always put into a “less serious” corner. Much of my work is helping our partners and clients flip this narrative, in part by developing a solid impact portfolio, and by also creating clear workflows, KPIs and benchmarks. I believe it is the only way we can see this work truly make a difference.

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

One that jumps out is Upton Sinclair’s, The Jungle. The book, which was written in 1906, exposed readers to the atrocious practices of the meat packing industry at the time. The work shocked the national conscience and resulted in major regulatory action. Today, we have so many pressing concerns facing our society. Take the climate crisis. People, by and large are aware of the issue and its catastrophic effects. Of course, there’s been attempts to use books and media to ignite a shift, but here we are. I think a lot about what could spur a true change on this and other issues in 21st Century society.

But, it isn’t all turn of the century moralistic novels — I also enjoy listening to Krista Tippett’s podcast, On Being, for example.

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. 🙂

This one has really been on my mind lately. If I could wave a magic wand, I’d institute sweeping campaign finance reform. It’s not a sexy issue, but it is the one that –from local to national elections– could, I believe, most quickly and drastically improve the most pressing issues facing our communities. And, of course, would have major ripple effects outside America, too.

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

“Fight for the things you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you” — Ruth Bader Ginsburg

These words are my guideposts. I don’t just want to be right — I want to make a difference. That can’t happen unless you make space for others to join you.

How can our readers follow you online?

Thanks for asking! I am active on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-kane-miller-32272286/) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/ethosgiving/)

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

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Female Disruptors: Emily Kane Miller of Ethos Giving On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Inspirational Women in STEM and Tech: Sarah Doody of Career Strategy Lab On The 5 Leadership Lessons She Learned From Her Experience

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

To cultivate more critical thinking, it’s crucial that we slow down so we can find the context of each situation and proceed with a clearer perspective that’s rooted in fact, strategy, and mindful decisions.

As a part of my series about “Lessons From Inspirational Women in STEM and Tech”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Sarah Doody.

Sarah Doody is a User Experience designer, researcher, and educator. Having worked in the UX industry for more than 18 years, she began her career by working at large corporations and startups of all sizes before launching her own product design consultancy business in 2012.

In 2021, Sarah founded Career Strategy Lab™, a program that helps UX and product professionals at all career stages navigate their job search and articulate their skills and experience. Thus far, professionals that have worked with Sarah have landed jobs at some of the most prestigious brands around the world, including Microsoft, Amazon, Salesforce, Nordstrom, Spotify, Blue Origin and many more.

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

Ever since I can remember I’ve been very creative and technical. In elementary school, I was in charge of our school newsletter and in grade seven another student and I learned to use graphic design software. I guess you can say the rest is history! However, I didn’t plan to go into the field of User Experience (UX) Research & Design. To be honest, I didn’t even know it existed until after university.

My original plan was to become a neuroscientist. After being accepted to the top neuroscience program in Canada I deferred for a year, taught myself graphic design, and ended up pursuing that. A year or two later I got into web design and read the book, Information Architecture For The Worldwide Web through which I discovered the field of UX. That was 20 years ago! Since then I’ve worked for a few companies, started my own UX consulting business, spoken around the world, and today I’m the Founder & CEO of my UX education and career services company, Career Strategy Lab.

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

One of the reasons I decided to go “all-in” on this business, which I explain in the next question, was because I realized that the UX consulting work I was doing at the time would be hard to scale. For example, when you are trading dollars for hours in consulting, there’s a cap on how much time you have, therefore you either need to raise your prices or clone yourself by hiring other consultants to work with you.

At the time, I ran every idea I had through the filter of “how would this scale” and that’s when I really honed in on the idea of online education and courses because of how scalable that business model is. Behind this motivation of scaling was not just revenue, but also time. I had a dream to move away from New York City and live in the mountains because I love downhill skiing. I intentionally designed my business with that lifestyle goal in mind. In 2019 I moved from the Financial District of Manhattan to Salt Lake City, UT. I’m happy to say that my business has grown significantly and this past winter I had the pleasure of enjoying 56 ski days.

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 very first mistake I made was not realizing that I was starting a company and to be honest, it was more of a false assumption than a mistake. In 2017 my inbox was flooded with people asking me “how do I create a UX portfolio?” and to be honest, I just ignored those emails for two reasons. First, I was overwhelmed by the number of people asking me for help with this. And second, at the time I held the stance that if you couldn’t figure out how to make a UX portfolio then you probably didn’t have a future in UX!

Long story short, I wanted to do something that would stop people from asking me this question. To solve this problem, I decided to teach an hour-long “lunch-and-learn” style workshop about how to make a UX portfolio. I created a checkout page and spread awareness about it to the people in my circle. Within just a few days, 85 people signed up and I had to cut off registrations and start a waitlist.

I then realized I had to actually make the workshop. My original plan was that I wouldn’t start creating the workshop unless 40 people signed up (and if less than 40 people signed up I had planned to simply refund everyone). Then something magical happened… After I taught the workshop people started to get hired. They inquired about me teaching again but making the workshop four weeks long instead of one hour.

I’m not sure there’s really a lesson here other than it being an example of how that was kind of my accidental entrepreneur moment. However I must say there was a distinct moment a few months later when I realized I was on to something and I decided to go “all-in” on solving this problem.

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

There are two things that make Career Strategy Lab stand out in the UX industry. First, our success stories are truly incredible and life-changing. Second, is that we know our customers and potential customers better than they know themselves.

People routinely email and message us to say our videos, articles, and social media posts feel like we are reading their minds!

This is a testament to the in-depth research we’ve been doing since 2017 around why professionals struggle to articulate their skills and experience during their job search. This has been invaluable in helping us have authentic conversations that attract the right people to Career Strategy Lab.

Additionally, that research has informed the methods and strategies we teach when it comes to everything related to the job search — resumes, portfolios, LinkedIn profiles, job searches, interview prep, negotiaton, and everything else a career seeking person needs to be armed for their next steps.

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

We are getting into UX recruiting and my team and I are very excited about this. For 5 years I’ve held back from getting into recruiting because when running a business, one of the biggest challenges is to sequence your offerings into a logical order.

When it comes to UX recruiting it makes sense to me to first help candidates learn how to articulate their skills and experience. Now that we have proven success in helping UX candidates get hired, we can supplement that and help companies recruit quality UX candidates.

This is really exciting because in our pilot recruitment project, we averaged three and a half weeks to go from writing the initial job description for a company to having the candidate get hired. One company we worked with had planned to hire a candidate for a three-month contract but instead, hired them full time because they didn’t want to risk having the candidate leave them after three months!

We believe we can help companies find, vet, and hire candidates faster because our 15+ years experience gives us a deep understanding of the industry and roles, a very large network and audience, and the ability to vet candidates more effectively than people who only know UX terminology but haven’t actually worked in the industry.

Ok super. Thank you for all that. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview. Are you currently satisfied with the status quo regarding women in STEM? What specific changes do you think are needed to change the status quo?

I’ve noticed that many women are switching into UX from previous careers such as occupational health, architecture, and teaching. One common trait is they didn’t even know the field of UX existed. When it comes to STEM I think there needs to be more awareness about the wide range of career opportunities and how previous careers in education, health, and design can set people up with transferrable skills that will be seen as very valuable in UX for example.

Also, I think many people have an assumption that to work in tech related roles you must learn how to code and that’s simply not true. Coding has an intimidation factor that can make people shy away from the field. However, not everyone who works in UX knows how to or needs to know how to code.

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by women in STEM or Tech that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts? What would you suggest to address this?

I think a key challenge women face is that we often have to work harder to have our ideas heard, literally and figuratively. This is especially true when women pushback or disagree with something — we’re perceived as being difficult or not a team player. It’s frustrating that men are almost exempt from being considered emotional but when women show an ounce of emotion our credibility is put on the line.

To deal with this, I’ve learned to always return to the facts and data. I find that in my podcast interviews, I can get really fired up about things like UX education however, I know I can confidently back up a lot of my statements with data, so I have no problem showing that emotion from time to time.

What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a woman in STEM or Tech. Can you explain what you mean?

As I mentioned before, one of the big myths is that women think they must know how to code. It can be helpful to develop literacy when it comes to different coding languages and frameworks depending on what you do. This can be beneficial because it allows you to collaborate more easily and quickly with the people actually writing the code. However, coding is not a requirement for so many roles in tech.

Another myth is that working in tech will result in a poor work/life balance. I think many people’s impressions of tech jobs stem from assumptions about startup culture. Not every tech company is a fast-paced environment with 12+ hours days and the expectation that you’re on call all weekend. In fact, some of the women who’ve been through my Career Strategy Lab program switched to UX because they wanted more work/life balance.

One woman in my program got hired at a 100% remote company which gave her the flexibility to travel and decide where she wanted to live versus having to live close to a main office. Another woman gained more life balance because she had a drastic salary increase and was able to pay off debt and be more financially independent.

What are your “5 Leadership Lessons I Learned From My Experience as a Woman in STEM or Tech” and why. (Please share a story or example for each.)

• Focus on the quality of relationships, not quantity. I see so many new people to the tech and UX industry stressed out with trying to “network” and have 500 connections on LinkedIn … but what does that actually mean? I believe that metrics such as number of followers are simply vanity metrics for most people in the work force. Unless you truly aim to use your social platforms to sell consulting, books, or other endeavors, there’s no need to have a giant network. When the time comes when you need your network, such as when you are looking for a job, it’s far more useful to have a group of people who actually know your talents, experience, skills, passions, etc. rather than someone who just sees you as a face on their feed.
• Don’t be afraid to say “no.” As a leader in my industry, I’m asked frequently to give my time to different people and causes — speak at an event, review a resume, have a coffee chat, be on a podcast, and more. Earlier in my career, I did a lot of free speaking and teaching on webinars as a way to grow my audience. But I quickly learned that each of those engagement takes time and energy. As I grew my own business, the way I perceived the value of my time changed. These days, I have to protect my time. As a result, I say “no” to a lot of requests because every “yes” comes with a trade off. Now with a team to pay and develop, I have to pay more attention to how I spend my time and energy.
• If you don’t ask, you don’t receive. Whether it’s salary, getting paid to speak, vacation, title, professional development, an extension on a deadline or anything else … if you don’t ask, the answswer is “no.” Once a I was negotiating my salary to work at a startup and I said I wanted $10,000 more and the founder said “yes” and didn’t even negotiate. I was floored! If I had not asked, there was a 100% chance that I would not have had that extra $10,000 added to my salary.
• Admit when you don’t know the answer. Of course, take this within reason, but if you’re ever asked something and don’t know, don’t be afraid to just say you don’t know and ask for more time to find the answer. Now if it’s related to the core functions of your job, maybe don’t do this! However, as a manager and CEO, I would rather someone get back to me with a thoughtfully researched answer than ramble on with guesses and opinions. I’ve even been on stage at conferences and been asked questions and said “I don’t know” if I’m not comfortable answering a question.
• Don’t chase shiny objects. A lot of people are enamored with opportunities that produce short-term gains but don’t really act as a building block in a longer-term strategy. For example, a few years ago I partnered with a large online education company to produce some online courses for me. At the time it seemed amazing — I flew to their production studio, recorded content in front of a live audience, and I thought after that I’d see massive royalty checks come in. I was very wrong and made false assumptions that the size of their audience meant tons of people would watch and buy my courses. The amount of time I put into those courses was 100% not worth the compensation I’ve seen from that. In hindsight, it would have been a far better use of my time and energy to create my own courses, control the pricing, and keep 100% of the profit … and that’s what I did a few years later!

What advice would you give to other women leaders to help their team to thrive?

Focus on the impact you want to have and don’t get married to the method by which you’ll create that impact. Twenty years ago I wrote a personal career manifesto and one part of it said “I will define design.” … let’s be real, what does that actually mean!? It was a lofty, young, naive goal. However, in hindsight I can see how that guided me to be a bit of a maverick in my industry, going against the grain, questioning the status quo, and not being afraid to step out and say things that are sometimes controversial.

This might change in 5 years, but today, I see myself “defining design” by helping people in UX learn how to design and own their careers — applying the very UX process they apply to the products they design, but to their own careers and sometimes, lives. If someone had said I would be in the UX education and career services space 10 years ago, I would not have believed them, but here we are.

What advice would you give to other women leaders about the best way to manage a large team?

Given that my team has grown from 2 to 5 (including me) in the past 9 months I can’t say we are a large team, but relative to the size we were last year, we’ve grown a lot! The biggest challenges for me have been learning how and what I need to let go of, being honest about the best use of my time in the business, and finding the right people to complement my strengths and weaknesses as a CEO.

In terms of managing a team, I think the most important thing is to make sure you have clear responsibilities and ownership. My Director of Operations introduced our team to the concept of only having one pilot for each plane, where planes are projects or tasks. So now, in Slack and team meetings we often say “whose plane is that?” and it’s really helped us execute and be clear about who owns what. It seems simple, but it’s really helped instill ownership on our team which has been challenging for me because for so many years I did everything and now I have to let go.

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 hope this doesn’t sound too cynical but some of the people who helped me get to where I am today were examples of the exact type of leader and CEO I never want to be! Early in my career, I had a few bosses who were extremely unsupportive, constantly pegging employees against each other, and operated purely on assumptions and data they twisted to support their causes.

Some of my friends who are also entrepreneurs often say they admire how methodical and intentional I am with how I run my business. I think that really comes from my desire to never be like those people early in my career.

I’m normally a positive person, however, I think there is value in making note of mistakes to avoid and character traits you don’t want to be known for. At one point in a startup I worked in, we had a DNR list –“do not repeat” — to remind us of what we should not do. Of course, there’s a healthy balance and I try to not dwell on negative things. But I do still think of things on that list from time to time.

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

The most rewarding thing about what I do is the impact that is has not only on people’s careers, but also on their lives and the lives of their families. I never imagined that people would be emailing me to let me know that my free and paid resources helped them achieve salary increases of 25%, 50%, and even 150%. No doubt, salary increases like that are life-changing.

It’s the impact on people’s lives that’s truly special, such as this person who gained self confidence and independence:

“On a personal note…while this obviously helps my financial situation immensely it has also increased my self-confidence post-divorce in the ability to provide and depend on myself to not only survive but to thrive. Thank you so much!!”

And this person who doubled their salary after being laid off:

“My original salary was $78,500 and after being laid off I purchased your program … after my final job interviews, they called me and offered the Senior Designer role with $155,000 and an $8,000 bonus in common stock. My jaw dropped. I told my fiance and my folks. They all cried. Just .. insane!”

It’s truly special to think of the impact on people’s lives — the ability to pay off debt, buy a house, help their families, and let’s not forget the impact this will have on their future salaries over their entire career.

You are a person of enormous 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 think that as a society, we need more critical thinking. Through working with people as they navigate their job searches it’s amazing how many people don’t apply critical thinking to simple things like their resume, LinkedIn profile, or interactions with recruiters and hiring managers.

For example, at least once a week someone will tell me they’ve applied to over 100 jobs and have not had a single job interview. When I hear this I often wonder “why didn’t you stop after 40 jobs and try to figure out why?” To me, this is a reflection of people not thinking critically and working harder and not smarter. It’s no wonder people get so burnt out in their job search, feel like a total imposter, and sometimes even tell me (if they’re switching into UX) that they’re thinking of going back to their previous career.

To cultivate more critical thinking, it’s crucial that we slow down so we can find the context of each situation and proceed with a clearer perspective that’s rooted in fact, strategy, and mindful decisions.

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

My favorite life lesson quote at the moment is “No is a complete sentence.” Earlier in my career, I said yes to everything — teaching webinars, writing articles, and rushed project timelines because someone didn’t plan accordingly. Now that I am a CEO I have to protect my time and this means saying no to a lot of things, even when people try and guilt me into various engagements.

Also as women, I think we tend to feel like we need to explain every “no” that we give out. I actually have little saved replies that I use for emails so I can just paste the appropriate “no” reply for things like “pick your brain” calls, founders who want me to give them free advice about their product, and speaking requests that don’t offer sufficient compensation.

We are very blessed that very prominent leaders 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’d love to have breakfast with Brené Brown. I think we have a lot in common because we are both researchers, storytellers, run companies focused on people development, and love denim jackets. And if she wanted to play pickleball or go swimming before breakfast, I’d be down for that but truth be told, I’ve never played pickleball in my life!

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

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Inspirational Women in STEM and Tech: Sarah Doody of Career Strategy Lab On The 5 Leadership… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Coherent breathing: Learn how to optimize each breath. The healthiest breathing rhythm is low and slow. 5 seconds in and 5 seconds out. This will balance your nervous system and make you aware when a situation or an environment that you are in is stressful. Every time I meet someone I breathe them in. I lead with trust.

As a part of my series about the “5 Things Anyone Can Do To Optimize Their Mental Wellness”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Bryant Wood.

Bryant (also known as “iKAR”-The one who touches the sky) is a global traveler who has immersed himself in enriching experiences with the goal bring something authentically his own into the world. He is a Master Breathwork instructor, and is currently certified as a Priest, NLP Practitioner, Pranashamanic Yoga, believer in Inclusive Mindfulness, Motivational coach, and Mental Health Consultant certified through Kindred. Currently Bryant is launching his Breathwork teacher training, Working with his 1:1 clients, and is in high demand to speak and share his wisdom. He is 1 of 3 of the Modern Nirvana team that is fully devoted to paving the way for a more enlightened world.

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 backstory about what brought you to your specific career path?

My father owned a chain of health clubs as a kid and I have always been around wellness. For a while, I was a very well-known fitness model. As I got older my focus turned away from my body to looking deeper within myself. Being so outwardly focused led to a few eating disorders and some depression. I talk about it so casually now because it doesn’t define me, but I got to a very low point, where I had to do everything within my power to take back my life and discover happiness. After reading every book I could find, and studying all around the world, I found Breathwork. In ten minutes of Breathwork, I finally reached the equanimity I knew could exist and it gave me a baseline to get back to when I needed it. It saved my life. Now my work has turned into worship and what brings me the most excitement is creating experiences to enhance the collective joy.

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

One of my clients found her voice. She created enough safety in her system to sing. When she decided to break through tears burst down her face and she just opened up and gave glory to her interpretation of the highest version of herself. It was beautiful. Of course, I didn’t do much, but being a part of these moments felt deeply important.

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?

I am a co-founder of a company called Modern Nirvana and we host conferences once a year in Austin, TX. For this last one, we had Deepak Chopra speak and we were so excited to have him on the stage we forgot to give him the consciousness award we were honoring him with. I didn’t learn much from this except that I’m sure it won’t happen again.

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

My beautiful little brilliant mother taught me how to not waste time on this earth. If you have inspiration in your heart to share the love with someone, do it. It doesn’t matter who that person is; everyone is important and through this, we have the power to change the world. There is not one story that stands out for me but I can recall thousands of moments growing up where my mom would be fully present with people, acknowledge their magic, and then leave them a little bit better than she found them.

What advice would you suggest to your colleagues in your industry to thrive and avoid burnout?

Do one perfect thing a day.

What advice would you give to other leaders about how to create a fantastic work culture?

Learn to like everything that you have to do. Then automate what you are not good at and take really good care of your people.

Ok thank you for all that. Now let’s move to the main focus of our interview. Mental health is often looked at in binary terms; those who are healthy and those who have mental illness. The truth, however, is that mental wellness is a huge spectrum. Even those who are “mentally healthy” can still improve their mental wellness. From your experience or research, what are five steps that each of us can take to improve or optimize our mental wellness. Can you please share a story or example for each.

1. Coherent breathing: Learn how to optimize each breath. The healthiest breathing rhythm is low and slow. 5 seconds in and 5 seconds out. This will balance your nervous system and make you aware when a situation or an environment that you are in is stressful. Every time I meet someone I breathe them in. I lead with trust.
2. Gut check: This practice comes from my friend fish and he learned it from a Lakota elder. Before a meeting or interaction with someone, you both answer these three questions. How are you feeling? Is there anything from keeping you present? Is there anything that you need right now? This will release anything that is keeping people in their minds and help them drop into the now.
3. Prayer and the subconscious: I am not here to tell you who to pray to or how. What I will say is that in the silence of your heart is the opportunity to reprogram your brain to let a better quality of information in. Anytime you think about what you want, it begins to create the chemicals in the body associated with that experience. When you are sincere in your ask, you create a state that you have always had access to. I used to get extremely nervous before speaking engagements. Now, before I speak, I say “let my words vibrate at the frequency of truth for the highest good of everyone that listens.” This prayer helped me release the worry about how well I would do and let me focus on just being in service to the crowd.
4. Find what works for your energy: Dance, sing, scream, play, cold plunge, walk, and find an activity to do that works best for your energy. Anytime you experience equanimity, you remember that place and it will be easier to get back to it. After trying breathwork on top of the Hollywood hills, all my thoughts emptied and I finally felt whole. Now that I know this state exists, I do my best to spend as much time in this space as possible and let my thoughts and decisions be born from it.
5. Nootropics– I use Just Blue troche from Trosciption for focus and energy. Just Blue is 16 mg of pharmaceutical-grade Methylene blue that you place in your upper cheek and absorbs directly into the bloodstream. This is preventative as well as a slight state-altering effect. Every time you take this your tongue turns completely blue it’s an experience. This mixed with certain types of breathwork is my favorite!

How about teens and pre teens. Are there any specific new ideas you would suggest for teens and pre teens to optimize their mental wellness?

I will give you the advice I gave to my younger sister her whole life. If you see someone at school sitting alone, go over and say hi. Cultivating inner compassion and understanding that we are all in this together will lead to positive decisions that are good for ourselves and others.

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

Busting loose from the money game by Robert A Scheinfeld. This book gives you the science and energetics behind money blocks. It also teaches you how to reclaim your power from experiences where you still hold a limiting belief. Two days after reading this book I manifested $50,000 and found $20 bucks in my uber that same day. I split $20 bucks 50/50 with my uber driver to share the love.

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. 🙂

As healers or teachers, we get caught up in the game of how can I do the most amount of good. I found the best question comes from the movie Frozen. How can I do the next right thing? If you have the inspiration to create a world-changing project you will naturally do this. Those of you that look at the sun and smile at your neighbors are also changing the world. We all have our part in making this world a better place. Find your own happiness and then move from there.

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

“Someone’s got to do it,” Said my Uncle Kerry, may he Rest In Peace. When you begin to understand that there needs to be a person that does the thing that you want to do, You simply ask the question, why not me?

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

@ikarwood on Instagram. Make sure to create more than you consume though!

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

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Bryant Wood of Modern Nirvana: 5 Things Anyone Can Do To Optimize Their Mental Wellness was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women In Wellness: Kate Durand of YO BK On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Focus and organize — As a small business owner, my work pulls me in many different directions. I focus by leaning heavily on my google calendar and blocking off chunks of time to drill into big projects. I also do my best to get to inbox zero at least twice a week.

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

At the young age of 18, Kate Durand (Davies) chose to move out of New York and attend Trinity University in Texas, where she discovered her love of hot yoga, biking 5 miles every day to the studio to practice. It was during these times that Durand realized her desire to teach yoga and have her own studio. Upon graduating, Durand moved to Beijing and eventually Bangkok where she lived for 3 years, working as a Kindergarten Teacher and ensuring there was always a yoga studio close by where she could continue practicing her passion. Once she moved back to the United States in Fall of 2011, Durand became a yoga teacher and taught for four years before finally accomplishing her dream and opening the first YO BK studio in Williamsburg in 2015. Within one year, her business tripled and allowed her to open the second location less than one mile away in Greenpoint in 2018.

Prior to COVID, the studios offered 80 weekly classes that sold out at 40 students each. After shutting down in March of 2020, YO BK went online the very next day with free classes. Regardless of the circumstances, Durand knew her community needed YO BK and one another and she was met with equal support from its members who continued to attend classes. Due to the incredible support, YO BK reopened in March 2021 after a full year of shut down and was back to business as if the pandemic never happened. Shortly after, the opportunity to open her third location in Miami presented itself and Durand knew that studio ownership and spreading her love for yoga was the only path she wanted.

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 began practicing hot yoga during my first semester of college and was instantly addicted to how incredible the practice made me feel! Everyday after classes, I would bike 5 miles to the studio and leave feeling both energized and calm. I knew right away that I wanted to teach and one day own a studio. Since attending my first teacher training in 2011, I have taught at dozens of studios in Texas, NYC, Miami and Mexico. I’m certified to teach Bikram Yoga, Power Vinyasa, Yin, Meditation and Inferno Pilates. My amazing mentor Lisa guided me towards studio ownership and helped me narrow my real estate search down to Brooklyn and Miami, where our studios now live! I have over forty incredible employees and three locations offering over 100 classes each week. I truly love my work.

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

There are so many! One of the most amazing lessons I learned was to stay open minded. 6 months into opening a Hot Yoga studio teaching solely Traditional Hot Yoga (Bikram), 2 of my instructors approached me about a Hot Pilates training they were taking. We added 1 weekly Hot Pilates class to the schedule, which started selling out. This one class became two, then ten a week. Now, it is one of our most popular classes and this openness to trying something new blossomed into offering Power Yoga, Yin and Aerial Yoga. I believe our success has come from our students’ ability to cross-train in one place and find a community in doing so.

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?

One of my biggest mistakes was blurring the lines between professionalism and friendship. This is an ongoing challenge as I am fortunate enough to choose whom I work with but I learned over time that going out drinking with my employees does not build the right relationships or respect. Since expanding to Miami, I’ve been able to take a step back from the day-to-day operations and focus on the big picture — a big part of my big picture is being a mother and a wife, and I now relish my time at home with my family.

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 studios provide a safe space for people to build a deeper connection to themselves. I’ve always said that fitness is the “gateway drug” — a desire to be physically fit/strong/healthy leads many to a deeper awareness of breath, sense of calm and tools for coping with the stress of everyday life. We’ve always had a strict “no phones” policy in our studio rooms, and I believe that taking an hour a day away from distractions and responsibilities is what allows us to go deeper. Additionally, access to a large community has given us the reach to support many charitable causes that are important to our team through fundraising classes. We’ve donated tens of thousands of dollars to Sexual Assault Awareness, BLM and yoga initiatives in underserved communities.

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.

Drink more water — being properly hydrated helps all of our internal systems run smoothly and sets us up for success in the hot room!

Put your phone away — I run the majority of my business on my laptop find it’s so important to take a break from technology, especially before bedtime. As a rule, my computer is away after 8 pm and I put my phone away before I crawl into bed. I do my best not to check my phone until I’ve been awake for 30 minutes.

Move everyday — Movement has the magical ability to shift our mood so quickly, and is one of the easiest ways to feel unstuck. Obviously, yoga and pilates are my movement of choice, but on days I can’t make it to class, I’m sure to take a long walk, dance with my son or roll out my mat for a few minutes of stretching.

Read before bed — I’m back and forth between NY and Miami so airport novels are my thing right now! I find reading gives the “work part” of my brain a rest and takes me somewhere else. I sleep so much better when I end my day with a book.

Learn to say no — We will always be pulled in multiple directions by work, friends and family. Learn to say no to the excess so you have time to rest and recharge, whatever that looks like for you!

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 grew up in a very privileged part of New York, where I had access to healthy food and regular exercise. Unfortunately, this is not the norm in so many communities, especially places where fast food is regularly available and people do not walk as their mode of transportation. How we feel physically has such an impact on how we feel mentally and emotionally — this is why I would love to create a holistic program that includes meditation, mindful movement and nutritional education to all in an in-person setting. I feel that we are bombarded with online resources, but the in-person connection is so important for making a lasting impact.

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

Outsource but understand — When I first opened our first location in 2015, I did absolutely everything: painting, repairs, accounting, marketing, teaching and so much more. Now, I outsource as much as humanly possible and one of my best investments was in a business coach, especially since I am a sole owner in the NYC studios. I’m very grateful to have a handle on all the processes of the business to have known the best people to hire for help.

Nothing is permanent — When you put your heart into your work, it’s so easy to take every interaction personally and to feel its gravity. When we work with integrity, things have a way of working themselves out and getting sunnier day by day.

Take a day off each week — It’s so important to put the computer away and take time for yourself! I love being at my studios so much that this is often a challenge, but I always come back fresher after a day (or two!) off.

Focus and organize — As a small business owner, my work pulls me in many different directions. I focus by leaning heavily on my google calendar and blocking off chunks of time to drill into big projects. I also do my best to get to inbox zero at least twice a week.

Keep your friendships — It honestly broke my heart when I first opened and my best friends took months to make it in for class. Overtime, I learned how important it is to have friendships that are separate from work — even when you have great friendships at work!

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 passion of mine. Our studios are located in big, busy cities and we exist so that students can have an hour of uninterrupted time a day to go within. On a personal level, I am so much happier when I take this time, and I know it impacts others in the same way.

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

@yo.bk

Thank you for these fantastic insights!

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Women In Wellness: Kate Durand of YO BK 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.

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Last but not least, one final tip to spark joy in your space is to create a calming and soothing bedroom. Peaceful. Serene. Soothing. Most people want their bedroom to feel like a true refuge from the outside world: a calming place to rest and restore their energies. Getting a decent night’s sleep is easier said than done — but getting intentional about the energy in your bedroom is going to be the best place to start. Layer in lots of texture, rugs, drapes, linens and pillows. Varying the textures in your space will give a sense of lushness and luxury that instantly relaxes the body. Using soft, natural colors also leads to a quiet, tranquil, and inviting energy in your bedroom.

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 Tina Delia.

Tina Delia is the Founder & Principal Interior Designer of Delia Designs. Tina and her team offer Boutique Interior Design Services for the Hospitality & Residential industries in Philadelphia, PA & beyond. Tina just launched Bloom, a bedding and bath product line promoting personal empowerment and serenity.

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?

My journey to interior design was not a linear one. I am an attorney turned interior designer. I practiced law for five years before going back to school for my Masters in Interior Architecture and Design. It’s the perfect career path for someone that wants to combine analytical and creative endeavors. Interior Design is about public safety and welfare with regard to code compliance in spaces and yet it aesthetically touches the lives of the people who live, breathe and walk through those spaces.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? How do you think that might help people?

For the past couple of years, I have been working on a passion project. My new bedding and bath line called Bloom. These days, we spend more time than ever in our homes, and consumers increasingly seek to find ways to reflect their personalities in their space. Bloom was developed to help students and young professionals take the often difficult first step toward achieving that goal. Your bedroom is a haven that serves as a special space separate from the rest of the world — and chances are, the way you design your space is a pretty good reflection of who you are as a person. As I developed my first collection inspired by the carefree days of summer, I invited feedback from younger and older people to gain insight into what customers want from the home decor pieces that they invest in.

Bloom was born out of memories of trying to find my personal style in my teens and early twenties, and how difficult it was to understand my own aesthetic vision and distinguish it from that of my mother, who had decorated my sisters’ and my room during our childhood.

We are used to thinking that beauty is something physical. But the truth is that beauty is a feeling before anything else. Bloom’s first launch features 16 unique designs, all hand-drawn to appeal to different styles and tastes, which will be custom-printed on luxuriously soft duvet covers and pillow shams, as well as shower curtains.

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

“You can’t connect the dots looking forward. You can only connect them looking backward. So, you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.” Steve Jobs

What I have learned is that we think we have a plan. But plans, no matter how planned, are never perfect. Only in hindsight can they appear that way. As I’ve lived my life, often plans appeared to be scattered and messy, as if I didn’t have a plan. It can feel overwhelming, and it just looks like what in the world is going on with her? Later, when you look back at the events, twists and turns I’ve taken, it looks like a finely crafted novel. But at the time, it didn’t at all.

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

I have so many generous people to thank for helping me along the way but the one person who stands out for me is Paul Georges. He is the managing partner of the architectural firm, JKRP, here in Philadelphia, PA. I was introduced to him by a former mentor. What I am most thankful for is that he took me under his wing and helped me develop myself professionally. After a few years of knowing one another, I took and passed the interior design licensing exam (NCIDQ). I reached out to tell him the good news. We met up for a congratulatory cup of coffee and Paul said it was the perfect time to introduce me to his other partners to see if working together on some projects would be a good fit. This relationship (mentorship) helped to propel my career to the next level. I went from designing small residential projects to designing multi-million-dollar amenity driven spaces.

Thank you for that. Here is the main question of our discussion. What are your “5 Things You Can Do To Help Your Living Space Spark More Joy” and why. Please share a story or example for each.

First and foremost, I believe that being organized is one of the best things you can do to live a happier life at home. Clutter can take a toll on your health by increasing your stress levels — even if you don’t recognize it. Getting organized can reduce your stress levels because it can end the last-minute scrambling in various situations. I can’t tell you how many times in the past I’ve been stressed out over where my keys are. I’m late as it is and instead of putting everything in its place, I left things laying around causing me not to see the things I need in the moment. A huge component of avoiding stress is being proactive. It’s about taking the time to put things in a dedicated space so every time you need it, you know where to find it. It’s about not leaving your coat on the sofa or your mail laying out on the kitchen counter. Believe it or not, you can get organized with the way you approach your stressors.

My second tip is to keep the kitchen counter accessories to a minimum. You spend a huge amount of time in your kitchen each and every day, so you want somewhere you can feel as calm, happy and productive as possible. A kitchen with clean counters will serve you well in so many ways. Not only does it look sharp and orderly, but empty counters also offer you the most cooking space possible. Minimal counter clutter also means less stuff to clean because you can wipe counters easily — so cleared-off counters also tend to be clean and healthy counters, too.

Even if you like the lived-in look of a few intentionally placed items set out on the counters or you refuse to put the coffee pot away because you use it at least once a day, the more you can get off of your counters and stored elsewhere, the better. Using the closed space that you have in the best way possible is all about maximizing your storage capabilities and ensuring every item has its own place. Storage racks, bins, baskets, containers, turntables, under-the-shelf and over-the-door organizers will make your life much easier because you can quickly find what you’re looking for.

Once you are feeling organized and uncluttered in the kitchen, add in some plant life. Extensive research by NASA has revealed that houseplants can remove up to 87 per cent of air toxin in 24 hours. Studies have also proven that indoor plants improve concentration and productivity (by up to 15 percent!), reduce stress levels and boost your mood — making them perfect for not just your home but your work space, too. Plants essentially do the opposite of what we do when we breathe: release oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide. This not only freshens up the air, but also eliminates harmful toxins. As well as enhancing your mood and creating a living space that is soothing to be in, plants can also help with loneliness and depression: caring for a living thing gives us a purpose and is rewarding — especially when you see that living thing bloom and thrive.

The perfect addition to our green, organized and uncluttered space is lighting. Whether natural or manmade, lighting is more important than it might seem. Besides being functional, the light fixtures, lamps, and sconces in your home can add style to your space and create a cozy vibe. But lighting can also affect your emotions in complex ways, impacting everything from your mood to your productivity. Studies have explained the link between sunlight, our circadian rhythms, and mood. People with seasonal affective disorder (SAD) experience depression during the fall and winter months because their serotonin levels drop when there’s less sunlight. Even if you don’t have SAD, less exposure to sunlight can also mess with your melatonin levels and circadian rhythm, causing you to become sleep-deprived and grumpy. To maximize your home’s natural light and keep your serotonin levels up, position mirrors next to or across from windows to bring in sunlight, and opt for window treatments that allow the most sunlight to come through.

Last but not least, one final tip to spark joy in your space is to create a calming and soothing bedroom. Peaceful. Serene. Soothing. Most people want their bedroom to feel like a true refuge from the outside world: a calming place to rest and restore their energies. Getting a decent night’s sleep is easier said than done — but getting intentional about the energy in your bedroom is going to be the best place to start. Layer in lots of texture, rugs, drapes, linens and pillows. Varying the textures in your space will give a sense of lushness and luxury that instantly relaxes the body. Using soft, natural colors also leads to a quiet, tranquil, and inviting energy in your bedroom.

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. 🙂

If I could start a movement that would have the most amount of good to the most amount of people, it would be to teach students from a young age about emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand, use, and manage your own emotions in positive ways to relieve stress, communicate effectively, empathize with others, overcome challenges and defuse conflict. Emotional intelligence helps you build stronger relationships, succeed at school and work, and achieve your career and personal goals. It can also help you to connect with your feelings, turn intention into action, and make informed decisions about what matters most to you. By understanding your emotions and how to control them, you’re better able to express how you feel and understand how others are feeling. This allows you to communicate more effectively and forge stronger relationships, both at work and in your personal life. In addition, being in tune with your emotions serves a social purpose, connecting you to other people and the world around you. Social intelligence enables you to recognize friend from foe, measure another person’s interest in you, reduce stress, balance your nervous system through social communication, and feel loved and happy. Ultimately, emotions are important pieces of information that tell us about ourselves and others, but in the face of stress that takes us out of our comfort zone, we can become overwhelmed and lose control of ourselves. With the ability to manage stress and stay emotionally present, we can learn to receive upsetting information without letting it override our thoughts and self-control. Being able to make choices that allow us to control impulsive feelings and behaviors, manage our emotions in healthy ways, take initiative, follow through on commitments, and adapt to changing circumstances is the goal.

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 see this, especially if we tag them 🙂

I am a huge fan of the tv show, The Profit. So, I would love to have a private lunch with Marcus Lemonis. Lemonis is a self-made millionaire who started from humble beginnings. He is the true symbol of entrepreneurship. What I admire most about him is that he has helped many struggling small business owners turn things around for the better and thrive.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

Visit my Social Sites for the latest updates below:

FACEBOOK INSTAGRAM PINTEREST TWITTER

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

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Tina Delia Of Delia Designs: 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.

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

You don’t have to and should not wear all the hats e.g., don’t try to do everything yourself. When I first started out, I was worried about affording to hire a team. Then when I did, I still carried on doing to many of the tasks myself. (Wearing all the hats). This led me very close to being burnt out on several occasions. Get a power team of fabulous people who have strengths that are your weaknesses and focus on what you’re best at and leave them to do the same.

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

Jo Davison is a Freedom Business Strategist, mentoring ambitious, motivated female founders in how to create a business that gives them freedom, time, money, confidence, and success on their own terms, without sacrificing themselves or their family life. Jo has a wealth of business experience having run her own seven-figure healthcare practice with her husband for several years with thousands of happy customers. As a business mentor, she has helped hundreds of business owners and thousands of their team members grow and scale incredible companies. She is also the founder of the Womanpreneur Success Club, for women who want to run a successful business and live a life they love.

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 had a healthcare background and then started a healthcare practice with my husband. After a few years of highs and lows our business was doing well and began attracting attention from other business owners who wanted to know how we were running a seven-figure business that could run without us having to work in it if we chose not to, with a dream team and thousands of happy customers.

I became a business mentor unintentionally. It happened as I found myself working more on other people’s businesses, helping them achieve the success I had achieved in mine, as opposed to growing the core business. Eventually we sold the health care business and became focused on growing our mentoring and consultancy business.

I have been doing this for over ten years now and have worked with hundreds of business owners and thousands of their team members, helping them grow incredible companies.

I am a mum of four, so I had to design my business so that it works for me not just around me. I missed far too much when my kids were little and I appreciate how real the juggle is for female entrepreneurs, especially those with children.

Now I am well-known for speaking, mentoring, and writing a book that helps women achieve their business and life goals with freedom at the heart of it all.

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

I was invited to meet Oprah. I had had this on my vision board and so when the opportunity arose, I grabbed it with both hands. However, because I had a small child at the time and I didn’t want to leave her for long, I literally flew to Miami and back within 48 hours. I believe as women we have to pursue our dreams and find a way to make them happen.

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 lots of mistakes! On one occasion I was purposefully learning about recruiting the right team. I was really pleased to take on two ladies who I thought would be amazing. I had followed the recruitment steps I had been taught.

After a couple of weeks of working together, they had a massive argument in the reception area, in front of our customers, and after lots of swearing one stormed off and never came back. I was horrified.

It makes me laugh because until this, I thought I was making great progress with my new recruitment strategy. This taught me I was wrong, and so made me put in better steps to ensure this didn’t happen again.

Everyone starts somewhere!

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

My husband is my absolute rock. He is always right beside me and encourages me in everything I do. He pushes me professionally to keep moving forward and growing. I am extremely blessed to have him.

Also, I’d say my mum and mother-in-law have been incredible. They give me endless support with childcare, and this gives me tremendous help and peace of mind.

I also have an amazing power team at work and home and believe this is essential for all women in business. There is only so much time in the day and it is important we spend as much of that time as possible doing things we love and focus on our zones of genius. I am pleased to have my power team around me.

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 hear from many of my clients that they face a number of challenges. The top ones include

imposter syndrome and not feeling good enough or confident in their abilities. They also worry about seeming like yucky saleswomen — we work a lot on this and teach the mantra that sales are service. Many women also don’t believe they can have a successful business and a happy family life. We absolutely can if we have the right strategies in place.

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 building confidence in schools in our early years and encouraging women to believe in themselves more and their ability to start businesses. Then support them once they have embarked on their business voyage, whether that’s through government.

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?

More women should become founders because not only does it allow them to do something they love, but if they create the right systems and strategies, running a business gives them an amazing opportunity to literally ‘have it all’. They can make money on their own terms, make a difference to others and still be a great mum if they have kids.

There is also something incredibly empowering about being in control of our own destiny.

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

The biggest myth is that you can’t be feminine and have success in both business and life. Some think that you have to sacrifice one for the other. I know you can have success in all areas of life and am passionate about helping other women achieve success on their terms too, with freedom at the heart of it all.

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 am not sure that everyone is cut of to be a founder or would in fact want to be one. I know many amazing women who are employed and are doing fabulous things and are very successful. However, for those who want to be founders, they must appreciate that it is not a straight road to success. Every business owner has moments along the way where they may feel like giving up and getting a job. If you want a regular, set income and set hours where you can work and then go home and forget about everything at the end of the day, being a founder may not be the right path for you. However, with the right systems, you can create a business that gives you more freedom, less stress, and more money in the long run. I’m a firm believer though, that if you don’t at least try, how will you know what you are truly capable of. And being a founder is about doing things on your own terms in your own way.

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. You don’t have to and should not wear all the hats e.g., don’t try to do everything yourself. When I first started out, I was worried about affording to hire a team. Then when I did, I still carried on doing to many of the tasks myself. (Wearing all the hats). This led me very close to being burnt out on several occasions. Get a power team of fabulous people who have strengths that are your weaknesses and focus on what you’re best at and leave them to do the same.
2. Get confident with your finances. Create a strong financial plan and create ‘pots’ to manage your money. I found keeping a separate ‘tax’ pot, really helped with stress levels when tax payments were due. Rather than hoping there was enough in the main bank account. Keep your finances simple and believe you can run them well. If you struggle get help, but please don’t put your head in the sand.
3. Don’t try to be perfect. Getting things done and improving them is better than not starting. At the start, I would find myself not implementing new things because I wasn’t sure they would work, or the conditions weren’t ideal. Letting go and getting things done helped grow the business. I don’t mean settle, just don’t wait until everyone and everything is perfect.
4. Get a visibility plan in place. Have a lead magnet to grow your audience from the beginning. It is not stressful to get new customers if you have a plan. Don’t leave getting visible to chance. Ask yourself how many leads do I want? Set the target and measure your outcomes. Tweak the plan to ensure you hit them. So many businesses fail because they don’t get this part right.
5. Make part of your business a reoccurring income model. Setting up a membership or subscription has been hugely valuable for both my business and my clients. Monthly reoccurring income allows us to have greater certainty about our income.

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

I have focused on serving other business owners and helping them to create success using the strategies that I discovered to achieve freedom and growth in my businesses. I have seen so many amazing outcomes, not only better businesses, relationships saved, a client who changed their mind about committing suicide because we were able to remove their stress, happier families because the business owner parents were no longer stressed out.

As well as the contribution, I’ve also supported charitable events and good causes that I believe in. Many of these have the theme of empowering women.

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 am founder of the Womanpreneur Success Club. This is a club for women who want to run a successful business and live a life they love. I am passionate about helping women to believe in themselves more and having it all. If they are happier and feel successful on their own terms, this impacts their ability to make a difference, their family life and everyone around them. It’s early days for the WSC and I would love to connect with more women who own businesses and inspire them to follow their dreams. Business can be lonely and the WSC is a place that brings together all sorts of women, from all backgrounds and types of businesses.

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 meet and have a private lunch with Sara Blakely (founder of Spanks). She is hugely inspiring with both her business achievements and her role as a mum to four children.

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

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Female Founders: Jo Davison 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.

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Unlike men, women are constantly underestimated at their ability to be effective leaders. When a man is a strong leader he is praised and never questioned but when a woman is a strong leader she is continuously questioned on how she is doing it and if she can continue to do it. Many of the most successful companies in the world are run by women — yet only 15 percent of Fortune 500 companies are run by women.

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

Rebecca Lock is the CEO and founder of Kidcaboo, a children’s transportation solution that transforms lives by providing children with a ride that parents can trust and ensuring that parenthood and professional life can successfully coexist. She previously worked in the reality television industry for more than 15 years before leaving to start Kidcaboo after personally struggling to find transportation for her children while she was at work. She received a B.A. in communications and Chinese from Wake Forest University and a M.A. in modern Chinese history and Mandarin language from Columbia University.

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

I worked in the reality television industry for more than 15 years. As a working mother I encountered a problem many working mothers are far too familiar with — I was in the midst of advancing my career but could not find anyone to drive my children to their given activities and had to turn down a career changing opportunity. I felt frustrated and disappointed with the unfortunate reality of the situation. I started to speak with other working parents across the country and began to research exactly why this was a problem for so many families.

Alternative solutions were not practical — a full time Nanny was extremely costly and unrealistic for myself and many families. Constantly relying on friends or carpools was unreliable. I knew an innovative solution was needed and time was of the essence — I conducted 800 test rides, often with my three and six-year-old children in tow. I realized not only how extensive the demand was for my service but also the tremendous positive impact it was having on the families I was working with.

Just a few months after being forced to turn down my game-changing career opportunity, I realized it was the best thing that could have ever happened. I founded Kidcaboo, a modern transportation solution that enables working parents to schedule rides immediately or in advance for their school-aged children that are safe and reliable. Today, Kidcaboo is changing the lives of families in North Carolina, Texas, and Arizona while quickly expanding to other states nationwide.

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

Once children start school, they begin forming their own lives and schedules — which all require some form of mobility. This creates a potentially costly and time consuming dilemma for working parents and their children. Kidcaboo is a modern transportation solution for school-aged children that transforms lives by providing children with a ride that parents can trust and ensuring that parenthood and professional life can successfully coexist.

One third of the U.S. workforce has a child under 14 and roughly one-in-five working parents have turned down a promotion due to conflicting child care responsibilities. In particular, working mothers bear the majority of the home responsibilities. Studies show, 70% of full time working women do all or the majority of child caregiving within their home. Existing solutions to transporting school-aged children are insufficient. School-provided transportation options, when available, often require children to spend significantly more time than necessary in transport, and lack flexibility and reliability. Traditional rideshare apps lack sufficient safety protocols and are not designed to care for minors. Kidcaboo is the safe, reliable and affordable solution working parents have long awaited.

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?

When I first started Kidcaboo I had important papers all over my desk — investors letters, legal documents, marketing materials, etc. I always thought my papers were in a safe spot but with two young children, I should have known better. One day I looked over and found my son coloring all over my investor presentation deck that I had printed out! I quickly learned to never underestimate a toddler’s ability to get their hands on your important documents.

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

When I first started Kidcaboo I conducted 800 test rides myself, often with my two toddlers in tow, the families I met during these test rides taught me invaluable lessons through sharing stories about their personal and professional lives. These families inspired me to create Kidcaboo and the impact they had on me is always at the core of what we do at Kidcaboo everyday — transform lives by empowering and supporting parents and their children.

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

I do not see value in trying to fix something that isn’t broken, just for the sake of being “disruptive.” Thoughtful innovation saves time and money in the long run — if done properly. In Kidcaboo’s industry, children’s transportation, absolute disruption is needed.

Decades ago, most moms stayed at home every day and around 90% of school-age children in the U.S. used school buses to get to and from school. Over time, women increasingly began working outside of the home. Today, the American school day often creates serious conflicting schedules for working parents. The percentage of students who use or have access to buses has plummeted — COVID has further exacerbated school bus driver shortages. A band aid solution here is alternative school transportation.

In America today, children have busier schedules than ever before and school-related transportation is only a fraction of the transportation needs kids have. With no transportation system to handle non-school-related needs, parents have to step in — for working parents, that is a big problem that can often result in costly financial implications. Transportation designed for school-age children in America no longer works — that’s when, I feel, you have to say, okay, this industry needs to change and that is what we are doing at Kidcaboo.

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

Good advice can make all the difference in business and in life — some of the best advice I have received is to remind yourself you are much more capable than you think and that everything is “figureoutable.” However, I often credit one piece of advice I received for Kidcaboo’s existence. I started Kidcaboo after producing reality television for 15 years — building a business was not something I planned to do or knew anything about. I was told, flat out, I could not build this business by friends, family, colleagues,etc. However, when I told a particular friend about my plan, she said to just put one foot in front of the next — and I started doing just that. Sometimes, one step would take twice as long as anticipated, but after eight months, it hit me that the foundation of the business was built and I hadn’t even realized it because all I had done was put one front in front of the other.

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

Kidcaboo is on a mission to build a transportation mode that improves the lives of families across the country. We are currently operating in Texas, Arizona, and North Carolina and our dream is to make Kidcaboo accessible in all 50 states — it’s a big task but our team is up for the challenge.

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

Unlike men, women are constantly underestimated at their ability to be effective leaders. When a man is a strong leader he is praised and never questioned but when a woman is a strong leader she is continuously questioned on how she is doing it and if she can continue to do it. Many of the most successful companies in the world are run by women — yet only 15 percent of Fortune 500 companies are run by women.

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

I can’t point to any specific podcast or book because I like to listen or read relevant parts as much as necessary until I feel I understood what I need to know to continue moving forward. I own almost every business for dummies book, follow hundreds of business, leadership and communication podcasts. Hearing the experiences of other entrepreneurs, particularly women keeps me going. I really admire Sara Blakely and always tune in when she is being interviewed.

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

I would like to inspire people to take chances in business and in life — taking risks can be scary but more often than not they are necessary!

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

There are many, but one that I hope will inspire others is, “Believe in yourself and your abilities even when others don’t!”

How can our readers follow you online?

facebook.com/kidcaboo

Kidcaboo.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-lock-kidcaboo/

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

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