You belong here. There is so much to discuss when it comes to diversity and equity in our industry to the point where people don’t feel a sense of belonging. Coupled with saturation of some markets, those wanting to explore entrepreneurship can feel like there’s no place for them in cannabis. Bring your brands, ideas, healing, perspective, experience. No one can do it like you. You belong. We need you.
As a part of my series about strong women leaders in the cannabis industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing TaJanna Mallory.
TaJanna Mallory, Founder and Chief Executive Officer at CannAssistants TaJanna Mallory is Founder and Chief Executive Officer at CannAssistants, a virtual assistant (VA) agency that provides administrative support to mid-size cannabis companies, founders, and business executives. CannAssistants works with a curated team of VAs and consultants to bridge the gap between administrative support, customer solutions, and a business’s bottom line. At the core of her work, TaJanna believes the foundation of every strong organization is a steady and seamless support staff that excels in daily operations and exceeds client expectations. In 2016, after spending over a decade providing administrative support, human resources, and talent recruiting for large teams and C-level executives in both the for-profit and nonprofit space, TaJanna launched on her own with a focus on providing these much needed services to the cannabis industry. TaJanna’s expertise spans startups, technology, finance, education and hospitality. She’s worked with national, multi-national, and Fortune 500 companies like Comcast, Chick-Fil-A, Deloitte & Touche, The National Football League, Fiserv, and Oliver Wyman. TaJanna holds a Bachelor of Arts in Religion from Florida State University and a Master of Arts in Theological Studies from Liberty University. She resides in Tampa, Florida with her husband of 14 years and their Chihuahua.
About CannAssistants
CannAssistants is a United States based virtual assistant (VA) agency providing administrative support to midsize cannabis companies, founders, and business executives. CannAssistants understand the unique culture, fast-pace, and nuances of the cannabis industry and will match you and your business with a team of well-qualified VAs that step in and take the extra work off your hands. CannAssistants’s goal is to relieve businesses of administrative load, leaving you with the work that you love. Flexible retainer options and virtual work models reduce the overhead of hiring the traditional way. For more information, please visit: https://www.cannassistants.com
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us the “backstory” about what brought you to the cannabis industry?
I was working in the corporate world as an executive assistant (AE). I was getting burned out by office politics, and I was developing this burning desire to travel the world. After a ton of research and a friendly push from my husband, I quit my job as EA to the CEO of a restaurant chain and I launched on my own as a virtual assistant (VA). My client right out of the gate was in the cannabis industry. I had no idea about the industry and wasn’t a consumer. A whole new world opened up and I’m forever grateful.
Do you have a funny story about how someone you knew reacted when they first heard you were getting into the cannabis industry?
I identify as Christian and I’m often involved in my local church in one way or another. Around 2019, our pastor at the time asked me to take over much of the church administration. This would have given me unwanted exposure. I wanted to help but I didn’t want any judgy Christians getting on my nerves so I was dodging the pastor like crazy. Let me think about it. Are you sure you want me? Decline call. Ignore email. You would’ve thought I owed him money the way I was dodging him. Finally, I sat the pastor down and told him that I work in the cannabis industry and I’m not sure if he wants that smoke (no pun intended) from the parishioners. His reply was, “The work you do is legal, right? Ok cool. Thanks for telling me. When do you want to start?” All that energy of dodging him. Wasted.
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?
My husband Andrew is the reason I started freelancing as a VA. After researching for months, he encouraged me to just start because I was going into analysis paralysis mode. LOWD CEO Jesce Horton was my first client and the reason I’m in the cannabis industry. He didn’t know, at the time, that I was just starting but he did know that I was no cannabis expert. During our first call, he said, “No one is. And if they tell you they’re an expert in cannabis, they’re lying.” He sticks to that motto to this day. He took a chance on me and continued to challenge and mentor me.
Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? How do you think that will help people?
I’m excited that we are developing content and community for cannabis VAs and freelancers. I think it’s important for VAs to have a place to develop, learn about business, and participate in this industry as entrepreneurs. There needs to be a place that fosters community and enrichment for us. We’re working on that.
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?
Among my peers, I’ve found that women tend to suffer from imposter syndrome and have a hard time speaking up for themselves more than men. Aside from therapy (lol), some ways that we can get over this is by sizing up our skills and comparing it with salaries. This takes some internet research and maybe conversations with staffing firms and recruiters as well as people who are in positions that you are in at other companies. This gives you perspective of how you actually compare in the marketplace. As business owners, learn to have value-based conversations with prospective clients and investors. Take the focus off of cost and focus more on how you and your company can be an asset.
Companies can do more to make their pay scales consistent and transparent.
As a society, we have to cease this culture of anticipating someone’s abilities based on what we see with our eyes — things like gender, race, or what may appear to be a disability.
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.
Serve first. I have found the most authentic entrepreneurs in the cannabis industry are also activists. They have the plant and the people at the core and they build their business around that. Clients and customers can tell the difference.
Be flexible. This industry can change on a dime. Those that are surviving are flexible with the changes.
Be ready. It’s fast-paced! Be ready for opportunities as they arise, as markets open and as you create new connections.
Stay creative. Year over year, I’m evaluating our work at CannAssistants to make sure that we’re always bringing value to the industry and the professionals that we serve. Stay creative to evolve with the industry.
You belong here. There is so much to discuss when it comes to diversity and equity in our industry to the point where people don’t feel a sense of belonging. Coupled with saturation of some markets, those wanting to explore entrepreneurship can feel like there’s no place for them in cannabis. Bring your brands, ideas, healing, perspective, experience. No one can do it like you. You belong. We need you.
Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the cannabis industry?
I’m excited about the focus and attention on ancillary entrepreneurship. We’re showing another avenue for starting a cannabis business.
I’m excited about seeing more and more diverse business owners.
I’m excited about the constant conversations happening about how to make this industry better — how we can all serve the plant and the patients better.
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?
No, I want cannabis to have a similar status to a lemon. Lemons are natural and have so many purposes from cleaning to healing. Lemons come in many varieties, from different farmers, from different regions. Lemons are easily accessible for people to purchase. No one bats an eye when you buy a lemon. No one tries to tax a lemon. No one is heavily regulating lemons.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Keep saying “yes” until you’re ready to say “no.” This is advice that I give people when they’re considering opportunities or business ventures. I’ve told myself this as encouragement to take the next step into the unknown. It’s exactly how I’ve ended up here.
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. 🙂
Oh man! What a question! I would inspire a movement to remove roadblocks in this country for people to access good health and great wealth. Somehow, this country has managed to capitalize on just about anything a person can use to better themselves than hold people accountable for not bettering themselves. This is an amazing thing for me to think about. I need a plan.
Thank you so much for the time you spent with this. We wish you only continued success!
Female Founders: Shagun Malhotra On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
It’s not easy to get customers — When you build a product you believe in, especially one that would have helped you immensely when you were in the shoes of the target demographic, you’d think it would be an easy sell. However, building a company isn’t just about the idea. There is so much work it takes that is separate from the core idea that is necessary in a business landscape — marketing, your reputation, building a brand, the list goes on. It took a full year of cold calling, meetings and hard work to get our first customer. The first time doing anything is always the hardest.
As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Shagun Malhotra
Shagun is an experienced auditor and process consultant, who designed ART for accountants. She started her career in public accounting and has worked in Fortune 100 companies such as Marriott and Freddie Mac. Her work focused primarily on internal controls and risk mitigation in both international and domestic arenas.
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 studied accounting but was not very interested in the typical accounting jobs. As luck may have it, the first job I secured was in a local public accounting firm to be a part of the audit team. I instantly fell in love with the idea that numbers could tell a whole story and my interest in audit, forensic and investigative accounting grew. There’s this misconception that accounting is boring, but the narrative ability of following patterns and changes in numbers can be so exciting. The average person may not know about the world of forensic accounting — there are actually hundreds of forensic accountants working for the FBI solving cases with the trail of numbers. In fact, forensic accounting was what led to the arrest of Al Capone!
Being on the auditing side of the accounting world, I felt like I was working for the better good by being the eyes and ears of the public, keeping the capital markets honest and increasing trust in the capital markets. People deserve to know the truth of what they are putting their money behind. Auditors are able to uncover fraud and deception, which can lead to consequences for companies that deliberately try to mislead the public. Uncovering fraud was something that was always important to me in my line of work, so naturally it became an integral part of the company I would go on to found. After working with Fortune 50 companies, I was able to see patterns and issues with processes which could either lead to fraud or inaccurate financials — and the month-end close process was the clear winner. Therefore, I decided to create a system that would minimize risk and enhance this process.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?
When we arrived at a CFO conference, we were chatting with someone who mentioned our male team member was already there. That was odd since there were no male employees of ours at this conference. When we brought this up, the person insisted he had already arrived, and was wearing a SkyStem t-shirt. This was even more strange as everyone else was in business attire. We later realized one of our customers was wearing our shirt as a fan! We were so excited and humbled by this gesture. This CFO was a champion of our product and wanted everyone to know how great it is. It was definitely an unexpected surprise.
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?
Lack of preparation is a frequent nemesis in the business world, but it can lead to some pretty funny instances. One time we were not prepared for a conference. This is an environment where potential deals are made and so it’s important to maintain appearances to make sure your customers know they’d be in good hands with your company. One of the ways this is done is by having an impressive booth — cool swag, an organized table and the most important part: the banner which tells attendees who you are. Well, our banner broke and all of a sudden we found ourselves horrified at how we must look trying to prop it up with a tree branch.
To make matters worse, this was our first conference and we really wanted to make an impression. I’m sure we did, although it may not have been the one we wanted! We managed to get through the rest of the show relatively easily, and made some connections who admired our tenacity. We learned that no matter what life throws at you there is always a solution. Even if it’s not the perfect one the answer is in the perspective — either you can panic and ruin the experience or make do and acknowledge human error and have a bunch of fans in the process. It’s all up to you.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
There were many angels along the way, both my family and my chosen family. My parents supported the idea financially and I will always be so grateful they were able to help get the company off the ground. My brother has been the backbone from the start and supports SkyStem in all ways. And then Nancy, the person who first joined me and has been crucial to the success of SkyStem.
Nancy and I first met online — I read a blog she wrote. We were internet friends for a while who admired each other’s work and eventually decided to meet up in New York. The rest is history. You never know where you will make the connections that change your life! The lesson is to go for it and not wonder what the other person might think about a random stranger reaching out. Always ask — because without that the answer is always no.
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?
Firstly, I’d like to acknowledge how many amazing, hardworking women founders are out there today. It’s certainly more than when I entered the workforce. There’s a famous saying about Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire — she did everything he did but backwards and in high heels. I think that sentiment rings true in the business world. Women in our society are held to different and often higher standards. When a male boss is assertive he is just that, assertive. When a woman in charge behaves the same, she is called bossy.
In my opinion, there’s one main reason why women are a smaller percentage of founders. It’s the level of support women get from their families, children and the entire community to embark on a very hard journey of starting a company. Many times, women have to make other things a priority as they possibly do not get assistance to help overcome those challenges.
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?
The traditional roles for women need to be put aside and the expectations need to change so that they can elevate to whatever path they choose. This means supporting female-founded companies on a personal and structural level. Individuals can do things like addressing their own conscious or unconscious bias, including thoughts and actions which uphold barriers to entry for people without the same advantages as others. The government can pass legislation that targets practices such as the wage gap, bad maternity leave and childcare support and discriminatory hiring.
Sometimes a bias isn’t intentional. This can happen in a business situation like deciding which employee to hire or promote. It’s human nature to want to surround yourself with people you believe are a reflection of yourself, which can manifest in decisions like this. Since there are more male executives, it is likely they will be able to see themselves in those who more clearly match up with their identity. This isn’t always the case, but an example of how unconscious bias can uphold a marginalization of women in the workforce.
As a society, I think these issues start with how different genders are socialized. A study was done where researchers watched parents with a young child trying to conquer a physical obstacle. Boys were more likely to be encouraged by their parents to attempt the obstacle, whereas girls were more likely to be warned or even physically removed from the threat. A big part of starting a company has to do with facing your fears. When you are taught to avoid your fears rather than facing them head on, it takes a lot of work to undo that social conditioning.
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?
Diversity, as we know, definitely benefits the world at large. Around half of the world’s population are women. It’s not just the right thing to do, it’s a strong business decision to not ignore women as leaders, who may be able to better articulate and execute what their customer base wants.
However, many companies are unaware or perhaps choose to ignore just how much purchasing power women have. Take industries which have traditionally been male-dominated, like guitar. Research shows half of new guitar buyers are women. Yet many guitar manufacturers primarily market to men. Sometimes with advertisements that are downright offensive to women. If a woman were to found a guitar company, not only would they be able to put out better representation, I would wager female customers would be more inclined to buy from a company that reflects their identity and values. Being a founder is rewarding in its own right. You are a part of a community and able to make your voice and ideas heard. It can also be lucrative if you are able to tap into your target market.
The success of the different genders becoming founders stem from opposite strengths. We can learn from both kinds of leaders.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a founder? Can you explain what you mean?
Being a founder is not as glamorous as it seems in the papers. There are a lot of emotional challenges that founders have to face. This can be anything from stress or even impostor syndrome, which is something a lot of successful women struggle with. On top of these challenges, you have to be able to lead a team as well, no matter what you’re feeling inside. You have to be strong for them even if you are struggling. I don’t think any team expects their leader to be emotionless or robotic, but as a good leader you have to keep a clear head in times of turmoil and be a guiding compass for the company.
Founding a company means there are no days off. While it is important to maintain a work-life balance and keep time for rest, you never know when an issue is going to arise. And sometimes it’s something that needs immediate attention. There is a kind of anxiety that develops when you have to be at least somewhat available around the clock. Oftentimes, your personal life can be affected by missing out on time with your loved ones. This can lead to a strain on friendships and other relationships in your life. You have to be able to put healthy systems in place to cope with the heavy demands of founding a company. And most importantly, surround yourself with people who are supportive of your endeavors.
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?
Resilience and being able to accept repeated rejection are the two main traits potential founders need to have. Fortunately, these are skills that can be learned. The question is if you are willing to accept all the failures you must encounter along the way. For some, this is too hard and that’s perfectly ok. The beauty of life is we can choose which path will bring us the most happiness and which lifestyles will best suit our needs and wants. It is a personal decision to decide what you are willing to go through in life to achieve what you want.
It’s also important to distinguish the variety of options available for starting a company in the digital age. There are plenty of people who have a small business of one — freelancers. In today’s economy there are influencers, dropshippers, resellers, artists, designers and everything in between. The old saying “if you build it, they will come” has never been more true if you are willing to put in the effort and accept the self-doubts that will inevitably sneak in. If you feel in your heart you want to be a founder and you are willing to take all the lows that come with the highs, there isn’t one set way to do it.
Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)
It’s not easy to get customers — When you build a product you believe in, especially one that would have helped you immensely when you were in the shoes of the target demographic, you’d think it would be an easy sell. However, building a company isn’t just about the idea. There is so much work it takes that is separate from the core idea that is necessary in a business landscape — marketing, your reputation, building a brand, the list goes on. It took a full year of cold calling, meetings and hard work to get our first customer. The first time doing anything is always the hardest.
Customers are your greatest asset — There’s a reason why market research is a multi-billion dollar industry. Companies don’t have to guess what their customers want, all they have to do is listen! It is a point of pride at SkyStem that we always have at least a certain percent of our new product features come directly from our customers. You may think something is really useful, but if your customers don’t agree it doesn’t matter. For this reason, you have to put your ego aside and let your users guide the development of your company as well. Plus, referrals are one of the best and most consistent ways to win business.
The world is full of flaky people –
At the end of the day, you are the only person you can completely rely on. I don’t mean this in a jaded way, just that you are responsible for making things happen. In life you have to plan for the unexpected, and be able to roll with anything life throws at you. Prospects will no-show to meetings, vendors will miss deadlines and there will be instances where you’ll have to act on the fly when issues like this arise. What you can do is remember you can’t control other people’s actions, but you can control how you handle it and be proactive to make sure you know what to expect. Always be the one to reach out, and a simple reminder can mean the difference of getting what you need and not. Communication is very important.
You don’t need all the information to make a decision –
Especially when you are first starting out or establishing new processes it’s important to move forward as quickly as possible (without being recklessly uninformed, of course.) In the start up world the concept of an MVP or minimum viable product is important to push a growing company forward. If we waited until we felt 100% ready to do something, nothing would ever get done. Tying into what we were speaking about earlier, women are statistically more likely to wait to make important decisions. While preparedness is never a bad thing, waiting too long to act can hurt your bottom line or cause you to miss out on other opportunities. Remembering to trust yourself and your judgment, it’s ok to take risks and it’s also ok to make mistakes. You learn a lot from your intuition and pivoting to find new avenues of success.
Chemistry with your team is paramount –
Your team is your company just as much as you are. Having alignment between your personalities and working styles is key for a business to run smoothly. That’s not to say differences will never work out, it’s also important to maintain diversity of thoughts and approaches. It’s more of a culture fit, between what your team members need and want in a professional environment and how that matches up to what the job description entails and what resources are available. For instance, at SkyStem, our culture is very DIY. Anyone is able to suggest ideas and implement initiatives that make sense. We put a huge emphasis on learning and growing outside of our comfort zone. This is a great match for team members who thrive when they are left to their own devices and have the discipline and time management to handle the freedom and creativity this kind of environment facilitates. However, some people might prefer a job where there is a more rigid process and less independence, like in a large traditional corporation. Finding the right fit is a two way street and it’s crucial to have that understanding and chemistry between the people you’re working closely with.
How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
Giving back to your community once you’ve reached a place of success is so important. I am very passionate about entrepreneurship and to invest my time back into the community. I have participated in panels, judged contests, and spoke as keynote speaker for entrepreneur type events. These are the places where people who are starting out get inspiration and learn how to forge a path forward. Volunteering for the events lets me have interactions with those who will go on to solve more of the world’s problems. It gives me great pleasure to motivate and guide new founders with knowledge I wish I had when starting out.
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 would love to inspire the next wave of female founders. I think the movement is already happening where more and more women are choosing to give their dreams a try and not succumb to self-doubt and external pressures. It takes a lot of courage to break the shackles of a previous society.
If there’s one thing I want people to take away from this interview it’s to show other women that they will never regret following their passion. It may be hard and at times you may feel like giving up, but I wouldn’t trade this life for anything.
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.
Richard Branson. I’ve always been an admirer of his entrepreneurial spirit. I once read he started his first business venture at 16! To have that kind of bravery and ambition at such a young age is something most people aren’t born with. The Virgin Group is truly a renaissance company in that they have all sorts of industries and business types. I’ve always had many interests and I’d love to pick his brain on what it’s like to have so many outlets. Plus, he might have some extra seats on a flight somewhere tropical!
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this!
Women In Wellness: Gardith Edouard Of Affirm Candle On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
Your story has power; share it. My own healing started when I began to talk about my trauma with others. I often felt that I was the only one suffering while others were living their best life. Everyone is a trauma victim; it’s our response to trauma that makes us different.
As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Gardith Edouard.
Gardith is a scientist and teacher located in Philadelphia, PA. She created Affirm Candle to raise awareness about trauma, mental health, and holistic healing methods in her community. All of her products are vegan, cruelty-free, and Earth-honoring as she uses recyclable materials and makes most of her materials herself.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?
I am trained as a scientist and teacher. However, all of the knowledge that I have proved to be futile in 2010 when I experienced immense loss and trauma. That year, I lost my best friend and 4 members of my family died in the catastrophic 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti. As a result, I was diagnosed with PTSD and really had to take ownership of my own healing. Little did I know that as a Black woman, I am predisposed to developing PTSD because all Black people retained the trauma from the Transatlantic slave trade in our DNA. Throughout my healing journey, I’ve learned a lot of information and skills. Western medicine did little in helping to heal my trauma. Thus, I had to turn to naturopathy and other forms of holistic medicine throughout my journey. I am grateful that I am finally at a place where I get to share the resources that have helped me heal with the rest of the world. Aromatherapy is one of them.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?
I currently teach biology at a high school in Philadelphia. I’ve taught meditation to adults but didn’t really think about teaching it to my students. However, one day, I decided that instead of detention after school, we would meditate instead. After detention, one of my students went home and told a parent I ‘hypnotized’ him so he would never misbehave again. He enjoyed and benefited from meditation so much that he thought he’d been hypnotized. I had to explain to the parent that I am an actual meditation teacher and I use aromatherapy and meditation to help kids. I work with some of the most challenging students according to our society’s norms and standards. The teachable moment for me is that our students, our kids need healing too. What might be perceived as a child misbehaving could simply be a child who needs a reset. We need to find a way to include our kids in our healing trauma discourses.
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?
My biggest mistake was assuming that my reach would simply be local. I have folks ordering my products from all over the world! What I’ve learned from this experience is to never sell yourself short. When you have a good product, be confident and take risks.
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?
Every human being on this planet has experienced trauma. What differs between individuals is the way they respond to trauma. Trauma can lead to anxiety, memory loss, physical pain, depression, and much more. The point is if we don’t practice self-care and begin to heal, our bodies will eventually show the negative effects of our traumas. I want to normalize talking about traumas so that we can heal from them. I’ve tried a lot of resources and spent a lot of money on healing myself. What was shocking to me is that I could’ve healed on my own if I were given the right tools earlier on in life. When it comes to healing trauma, the little things make a huge difference. For example, infusing aromatherapy into my day would immediately change my mindset and mood. Coupling aromatherapy with affirmations daily has been a game-changer for me. I no longer have trouble sleeping and now know how to listen to my body for when I need a reset. Meditation, aromatherapy, and affirmations, are all free resources that do indeed heal trauma.
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.
Meditation: Science shows that meditation not only slows aging but literally helps decrease symptoms of anxiety, depression, mind-wandering, etc. People benefit from the positive effects of meditation 3 years post meditating. Meditation has been proven to even help our body’s cells who are showing signs of cancer to commit suicide, known as apoptosis.
Aromatherapy:Essential oils are undervalued in western society. Aromatherapy is a holistic healing treatment that uses natural plant extracts in the form of essential oils to promote health and well-being. Aromatherapy enhances both physical and emotional health.
Affirmations:Affirmations are positive statements that you say to yourself over and over again. Just as physical exercise improves our physical health, mental exercises in the form of affirmations improve our mental health and well-being. In addition, the law of manifestation tells us that what we think, say, and put out into the universe can in fact become our reality. Practicing self-love in the form of affirmations is therefore worthwhile from every angle you look at it.
Locus of control: Your locus of control is your perception of the causes of the events that have taken place in your life. Research shows that one’s perception of their locus of control can either be external; believing that other forces control your destiny, or internal; believing that you shape your own destiny. People with a high internal locus of control, as opposed to an external locus of control, are less likely to conform to society’s ideals and expectations of them. These individuals are happier, manifest exactly what they perceive for their lives, and are highly self-aware and successful. It’s commonplace to often want to please others and succumb to their expectations of us. However, focus more on what YOU can do in manifesting what YOU want for YOUR life. If something is not within your internal locus of control, let it go…
Physical activity:We live in a society where ‘working and hustling’ are revered as opposed to relaxing and making time to reset and heal. Few people take time to take in the gifts that the Universe has granted us in the form of the Earth. Everything you need to heal both physically and mentally is within your reach. Nature walks and breathing in fresh air is as healing if not more than pharmaceutical drugs. Physics tells us that it’s very hard to stop a body that’s already in motion. If the only thing you can do for yourself in one day is a 15-minute walk or bike ride, then do it! Your body and brain will thank 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 would impose 15 minutes a day of mandatory meditation using either aromatherapy or sound therapy on every human being. 15 minutes a day of meditation not only benefits our mental health but our physical health as well. The data for this is very compelling.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?
Your story has power; share it. My own healing started when I began to talk about my trauma with others. I often felt that I was the only one suffering while others were living their best life. Everyone is a trauma victim; it’s our response to trauma that makes us different.
Healing is both your right and your responsibility. Some folks spend a lot of time on their traumas without looking for solutions. I want us to of course spend time sharing our trauma stories. However, the bulk of that discourse needs to focus on healing practices. When you shift the discourse to healing, you are claiming back your power and taking your story into your hands.
Your trauma is not your fault. Everyone is a trauma victim. This world has both good and bad people. Sometimes, the worst things happen to the best people. You weren’t singled out and targeted to be victimized. That’s why is very important to focus on healing and reclaiming your power.
Mindfulness works. Wherever you are in your healing journey, talk to a therapist, and practice meditation, and other mindfulness techniques. Trauma literally silences part of our brain that only meditation and mindfulness can revive.
An apple and candle a day will definitely keep the doctors away. When in doubt, eat healthily and exercise. Food plays a big role in our brain’s responses to stress and trauma. Exercise literally helps us release happy hormones. We live in a society that constantly exposes us to trauma and triggers our unfavorable memories. Healing and mindfulness thus need to be inserted into our daily lives. Carve out at least 30 minutes for just you and your body. You more than earned it!
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 dearest to me as I have been both patient and provider. In my own community, there is so much shame about mental illness which has prevented many folks from talking about it. Even seeking help is taboo. My goal is to de-stigmatize mental health conversations in my community and this country. I have chosen to be transparent about my own struggles, story, and healing with the hope of motivating more people to come forward, share their experiences, and begin their own healing.
What is the best way our readers can follow you online?
Female Founders: Jenna Sereni Of HandsDown On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
Everything takes longer than expected: All adventurous come with unknowns, and entrepreneurship is no different. I wish I had a better idea of how long things would take in general. From finding the right partners, hiring, raising money, negotiating with vendors, to launching a product, one thing has been a steady truth–it always takes a bit longer than you think it will.
As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jenna Sereni.
An Influencer Marketing innovator and pioneer, Jenna Sereni is widely known as the original creative inventor for the first ever influencer marketing agency, WHOSAY (co-founded with CAA and acquired by ViacomCBS). Today, Jenna continues to pave the way into the future of influence as the Founder ofHandsDown, the social commerce platform that allows users to share what they “hands down” can’t live without and discover what they’ve been missing, from people they trust the most, their inner circle.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
I was raised in an entrepreneurial family. My great grandmother founded our family business in the garment district of New York City in the 1940s, which my grandfather eventually took over, and my uncle after that. Everyone in our family worked for the business at some point, whether it was answering the phones or working in the warehouse. I worked for my uncle straight out of college, and he taught me so much about running a business, managing people, and how to navigate the dynamics of work and family. My parents both had amazing careers as well and I was raised in an environment where people worked really hard, but valued family and friends over everything.
When I got my first job outside of the family business, it was at Teen Vogue, and I was so excited. After my initial interview, they told me that sometimes they look for candidates who have a “fire in their belly.” And that I had a “bonfire.” I loved my time there, and raised my hand for every project I could possibly participate in. I was really interested in the trust that the brand had established with readers, and I think this is where my career-long passion for “voices of trust” really launched. I moved on to work in digital marketing at various publishers, and was recruited to be the first member of the marketing team at a new start up called WHOSAY, co-founded by CAA. WHOSAY was a celebrity social media app — that helped celebrities to launch and manage their presence across various social media platforms. The business evolved into becoming the very first and most trusted Influencer Marketing agency, which I helped run for about 8 years. We were acquired by Viacom in 2018.
Aside from career, my immediate family is huge and blended, so I experienced a lot of change throughout my childhood and ended up living in a house with six teenagers. It’s safe to say that organized chaos is a comfort zone for me, hence my interest in start-up life.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?
The most interesting thing that’s happened since we started HandsDown, is discovering what’s happening in the state of Vermont. You think of Vermont and you think of Bernie Sanders, Ben & Jerry’s, Gardener’s Supply, Burton and Seventh Generation. But what’s actually happening is a massive boom in tech and entrepreneurship.
I just so happen to live here in the Green Mountains (I escaped New York City during COVID) and needed to register my company with a mailing address. So, I visited a coworking space in Burlington, and met the CEO of a Tech Accelerator that day. It turns out, investment in Vermont companies grew 500% in the past year alone and brilliant people are flocking here to create businesses. Some of the best skin care (Ursa Major, Ogee), electric airplanes (Beta Technologies) and space systems (Benchmark Space Systems) are being designed and produced right here in Vermont. So, HandsDown ended up smack in the middle of an incredible community of new startups, venture funds, former CEOs who’ve exited, and we have seen an epic amount of love and support from this community.
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 we first began designing HandsDown, it was called “Faves.” It’s the name Sonia (my co-founder) and I came up with in the earliest days, and our friends and family started using it in everyday language as a verb and a noun–which for a brand is an excellent attribute in a name. “It’s on my Faves,” “I Faved it,” etc. We noticed new companies popping up using the name Fave or Fave App and a few others, and we were so tied to “Faves” that we didn’t even really consider changing our name. We then had a call with an advisor, who told us about her experience in googling “Faves.” The name was everywhere. There were more companies than you can count on one hand–which was enough for us to decide to speak with a trademark lawyer and consider making a change. Another advisor was currently going through some naming issues at the time–and she reiterated to us the importance of originality and taking advantage of this opportunity that we had to make a shift, since it was so early on. It was such a massive thing that we didn’t pay attention to in the beginning because we were so emotionally invested. But, we spoke with a lawyer, and then began our search for a new name. It took what felt like forever. We ended up conducting focus groups and surveys, and landed on HandsDown about 5 months later. We learned that there’s always a strategic solution–and started leveraging “Fave” as a product attribute, instead of as our name. It was a pivotal moment for use, to see how flipping things upside down, can actually turn things right-side up.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
There are so many people who have helped me to get where I am. My mom, many past managers, friends, etc. But Lauren Jay is the first that comes to mind when it comes to serious managerial inspiration. Lauren is that Teen Vogue Associate Publisher I mentioned earlier, who noted the “bonfire” in my belly. I was nobody. A young wannabe at most. And Lauren not only gave me the opportunity to break into marketing, but she also always had my back at every turn. There was one experience where I made a huge mistake. A mistake that held legal implications for the company and our client. And while it was fixable, it was also catastrophic to a 20 something manager who was trying to impress everyone. From the moment I told Lauren about what had happened, she exemplified strategic thinking, support and the most epic management skills I’ve seen. She made me feel like we all make mistakes. And then we need to quickly shift to making the situation better, and avoid looking back. She also promoted me shortly after. Since then, I’ve managed many people — and one thing I tell them all on day one with me is, “You can make any mistake once, just learn from it, and grow from it.” I think this is extremely important. In order to truly innovate, you need to take risks. And taking risks requires making mistakes. Fostering a culture of acceptance when it comes to making mistakes is incredibly important to me and I’ll never forget how Lauren showed this to 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?
Parenthood + Home Management: Being a mother and an entrepreneur is almost impossible–yet we do it anyway. And in a pandemic? Gosh, queue therapy. Founding a company is 24/7. I don’t even look at it as a job, but as a lifestyle. I think about my company, our strategy, our tech, our people, social posts, user experience all day and all night, every single day. On weekends, on vacation, in the shower, on a walk. I can’t escape it. And frankly, it brings me a ton of joy. I love building things–making things, and watching them grow. It’s my favorite thing to do. But I certainly do have to work extra hard to be focused on myself and my family when I’m home at dinner time, working out or doing yoga, and while I rock my son to sleep at night. Nothing pains me more than those cute little words, “Mommy, put your phone down, stop working.” It’s like a knife to the heart every time. But at the same time, I want him to know that I believe in going for it, working hard, and empowering yourself to be your absolutely best and most authentic self. I think finding this balance between all of your babies: partner, kids, business, pets, is incredibly hard, and if you aren’t willing to take that on, then I can certainly see women shying away from founding a business because of it.
Funding: We are much less likely to get funded. Deciding to start up a business takes a lot of planning and strategic thinking. If you go through the risk analysis of what it’s going to take to pull something off, then as a woman, you’ll see, you’re highly unlikely to get funded. Less than 3% of funding goes to women, and without funding, in most scenarios, you’re highly unlikely to be successful. For some reason, I decided to take on this risk–but I don’t blame others who decide not to. Thankfully, there are a lot of amazing women rising in VC, and many funds erupting in success who have put their coin in female founders. We appreciate the work being done by BBG Ventures, Female Founders Fund, Venture Collective, and more…
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?
Access to affordable childcare for all families. Right now, families are expected to pay too much and early childhood educators are paid too little. Running a business means needing support both for your family, and for the families of your employees, and without affordable, dependable childcare, there will never be more women in business.
Since over 93% of Venture Capital is spent by white men, we still need more women and people of color in decision making roles at VC firms. But what can we as individuals do every day? Support female founded businesses. Shout about them on social media. Join their cause, buy their product, speak their names. Word of mouth is everything, and the louder we are, the closer we’ll get.
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?
The more women become founders, the more female founders’ success stories there will be. The more female founder success stories there are, the more successful female founders will invest in other female founders. It’s a cycle that we can initiate to seriously change the data.
Female Founders bring a different perspective to business that reflects half the population. To create more businesses that will serve half the population, women, we need smart women to be spearheading this type of work.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a founder? Can you explain what you mean?
Myth: Being a Founder is Glamorous
HA! I’ve worked red carpets, glitzy advertising shoots, high profile events, you name it. That was glamorous. Being a founder is hard work, epic responsibility to your product, users and your team, and an always-on schedule. While there isn’t much glamour (that I’ve experienced yet), there is flexibility. And to me, that’s a better perk.
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?
A great founder is resourceful and has an unwavering determination to succeed. They have to be so open minded, that they are willing to learn and even fail. The experience of starting and running a business, raising capital, running out of capital, raising more, growing, etc, it’s an emotional roller coaster. There are high highs and low lows, pretty much all the time. Specific traits needed are an incredibly high level of emotional intelligence, and risk tolerance.
Those who may not be as interested in the founder journey, are people who are creatures of comfort. Also those who may not have a thick skin. Founders experience a spectrum of discomforts and negative feedback on a daily basis. Investors turn you down, people question your ideas, users or customers share feedback. It’s never ending.
Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)
The importance of self care and good physical health:
When you’re an entrepreneur, just starting out, you’re on a solo mission. Researching, reading, writing, strategizing, talking to anyone who will listen, and planning, planning, planning. I learned early on that if I get run down or sick, all things come to a halt.
When we were building our MVP (Minimum Viable Product) in our first year, we worked for months to plan, discover, design, build and test what would be the very first iteration of our app. We were getting closer and closer to launch, and were about two weeks away. My son got sick. He was a mess. Cough, cold, fever, you name it. I set everything aside to hold him, rock him, give him popsicles, whatever I could do to make him feel better. He finally started feeling better a week later, and I was relieved that he was okay, and that I could get back to work on our MVP launch. I stayed up late and woke up early, doing whatever I could to catch up, report bugs and comb through the experience, despite feeling run down myself. A week from launch, I felt a sniffle but thought nothing of it because I had too much to do. I went about my day, and stopped at Walgreens to get a Flu shot and my COVID booster. By the time I got home, I was exhausted. I felt as if all of the energy in my body had released and went somewhere else. I got more sick than I have ever been in my life. I was bed ridden, unable to move, fever, cough, you name it. I lost my voice and couldn’t even make out a whisper. Within 4 days or so, I started to get a little bit better, day by day although my voice was gone for weeks. On the day of our MVP launch, I got a call from the health dept. I had COVID. I launched HandsDown from my bed in isolation for the next 5 days.
There was really nothing I could have done to avoid this situation, but it made me realize that I’m the center of the team, and that I need to invest time and commitment in my personal health, both mental and physical. I’m glad that I discovered this in the early days of my business, because I was able to get ahead of generating a self care regimen that would keep me in tip top shape, to the best of my ability. I make sure to take care of myself, to take time to workout, eat a healthy breakfast, and to go for a walk outside on a stressful day. Culture filters down, and my team knows that on stressful days, I may pop out for a green juice and a hike, and they should too.
2. Everything takes longer than expected: All adventurous come with unknowns, and entrepreneurship is no different. I wish I had a better idea of how long things would take in general. From finding the right partners, hiring, raising money, negotiating with vendors, to launching a product, one thing has been a steady truth–it always takes a bit longer than you think it will.
We planned the release of our Beta product conservatively and to the day. Everything was going right. Our UX looked impeccable, our brand was on point, and the design tech teams were on standby and ready to rock. With two more weeks of design, we were untouchable. Then, our lead UI designer caught COVID. He was the person who truly understood the look and feel of our brand, and we didn’t want the product designed without him. We would wait. Then, his entire family caught COVID, and he needed to take some time from work. We ended up being set back about a month, which could have been worse, but you just never know what’s going to happen, and at the end of the day, supporting the team and prioritizing their health and wellbeing matters most.
3. Flexibility Makes it All Worth It: Being your own boss is truly a gift. While I work long hours regardless of weekday or weekend, home or traveling, day or night, I get to choose “me.” I get to prioritize my health, my wellness and my family. I get to stop and take a break when I need to. Some days, I just need some time to go for a walk and stretch. I find on the days that I take time to raise my heart rate, I end up getting so much more accomplished. I also am able to create space in my mind for more creativity and free flowing of ideas. I always struggled with the 9 to 5, manager check ins, and doing what someone thought I should do. Having the freedom to work as I see fit has opened me up to a whole new world.
4. Pitching is 98% of the Job: I’ve always had a knack for sales, but didn’t necessarily plan to choose it as my career path. That all changed when I started my own company. I pitch HandsDown on average 8 times a day. Everyone in your life wants to talk about your startup adventure. Those you work with, VCs, your investors, your friends, your family, the local coffee shop barista, the women at the nail salon, etc. These are all potential users or customers, and the more people you tell about your business, the more exposure your business will generate.
5. Don’t Wait to Build a Team that Shares Your Vision: As a start up, I just assumed that my co-founder and I would be the team for the foreseeable future. It would be the two of us brainstorming, planning and executing until we raise tons of money and launch the company of our dreams. But this couldn’t have been farther from the truth. Our business didn’t truly start to come together and have legs until we started bringing in passionate and talented people with innovative ideas to contribute with us. After the first 6 months, we started calling on some friends to join us in various ways on our journey. We offered equity as payment for brilliant design, legal advice and strategic planning. Every time we brought in someone new who shared passion around what we are building, things have progressed in such a positive and inspiring way. In hindsight, I wish we started building a team from day one, but now that we have, things are getting really exciting.
How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
We are still in our go-to-market phase, but are committed to an amazing organization called 1% for the Planet. Essentially, HandsDown will be donating at least 1% of all revenue generated on the platform to address the most urgent environmental issues of our time.
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 a huge believer that equal pay for women, access to affordable childcare, and unlimited and free access to postnatal care for all new moms could completely change the culture of our country–enabling women to participate more freely in the workforce. Especially in a time like right now, I am inspired by companies like Mamava who are publishing their parental leave and support policies for others to learn from. I think female founders need to band together to commit to elevating women to the where they deserve to be.
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.
Oprah! We’re both very passionate about curating “Favorite Things!”
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
“Let it go” attitude- This is a skill that will always be my top thing to “work on” for myself. Some things will come easier than most. It’s difficult to know when to let things go if they aren’t working in your favor. This could be a vendor, supplier, factory, staff or something that’s supposed to be working for your business. If something is a time, money or energy suck, then let it go and move on. Don’t try to make something work that repeatedly isn’t. Tell yourself the truth and cut the fat.
Many in the fashion industry have been making huge pivots in their business models. Many have turned away from the fast fashion trend. Many have been focusing on fashion that also makes a social impact. Many have turned to sustainable and ethical sourcing. Many have turned to hi tech manufacturing. Many have turned to subscription models. What are the other trends that we will see in the fashion industry? What does it take to lead a successful fashion brand today?
In our series called, “5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand Today” we are talking to successful leaders of fashion brands who can talk about the Future of Fashion and the 5 things it takes to lead a successful fashion brand in our “new normal.”
As a part of this series I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Holly Katz.
Holly Katz spent her early life surrounded by fashion in her grandfather’s clothing store and her parent’s women’s retail store. This life experience made a lasting impression on her, shaping an interest in the business and the art of fashion. Katz’s career began with an internship with famed fashion designer, Betsey Johnson, in NYC and for the next seven years exploring the industry from every angle from costing to production to design, which cultivated her understanding of how garments work — how different fabrics, cuts and materials come together to form a beautifully crafted item. During her tenure, Katz earned a degree in fashion design.
From East Coast to West Coast and now in Atlanta, the heart of the South, Holly is on a mission to make personal styling accessible and accepted as the way to express your best self with fashion.
Certified in personal (men and women), corporate and commercial styling, Holly has styled a range of people from suburban moms and young professionals to C-Level executives and celebrities.
Katz is regarded as the top stylist of the South with regular television and speaking appearances. In addition to her personal shopping company, Holly hosts her show, Fashion Crimes Podcast, where she showcases her talents of fashion advice with humor and inspiration.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood “backstory”?
Coming from a long line of clothing retailers, it wasn’t a surprise that my interests from a young age Included fashion and style. My father had a women’s clothing store where my mother started her career. Spanning a career of 40+ years, she is still on the retail floor to this day in womenswear and designer clothing. I really didn’t get into “style” until high school where I started shopping at vintage stores. My love of clothes began, and I started to really care about what I was wearing. Coming from a divorced family, money was anything but plentiful. If I wanted to buy clothes, it had to come from money I made myself. That’s when my love affair for “the mall” started. I worked in clothing stores and loved buying my own clothes. I was a natural when working with people and really enjoyed helping people pick out clothes. But most of all, I loved talking to people and socializing. My true gift was being able to relate to people and problem solving. By listening and helping them select items that they were looking for, I honed my skills in retail and in solving fashion “issues” for people like fit and style.
Can you tell us the story about what led you to this particular career path?
After a few failed career attempts I ended up coming to the realization that the only thing I loved to do was help others achieve great style. How could I do that other than work in retail or become a stylist? What was a stylist, I actually had no idea, but I was determined to find out. In the middle of my 20’s I ended up going back to college for what I really wanted to do; become a fashion designer. Little did I know that getting a degree in fashion design doesn’t guarantee you a job as a designer. I moved to New York City alone, knowing no one, no connections and no job thinking to myself…”I’ll just make friends!” Fortunately for me, I ended up doing every job in fashion but design. The next decade of my life I worked in garment production, costing, assisting the design teams, working with the overseas factories and taking garments from conception to samples. This ‘education’ as I call it is what gives me the knowledge about how clothes are made and constructed. This helps me guide people on what to buy, in addition to bringing a person’s image to life. As most people are confused about shopping and style, people come to someone like me to help them find out the who, what, when and where of the person they are today, in the body they have today. From my experience as a personal stylist, I have since graduated to hosting my own podcast “Fashion Crimes” where I style people over the mic with tips, tricks and introduce new brands to my audience. I am the best friend you never knew you needed in fashion. You can work with me as a stylist, or listen to me on my podcast give fashion advice to people who want help.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
The most interesting story is how I started my career as a podcaster. My girlfriend who owns a podcasting company for women called me one day and said, “You’re loud. You’re bossy. You should start a podcast.” I never considered this an endearing part of my personality, however, now I am capitalizing on these very skills. I didn’t know people would care about my take on fashion after 40…and I mean way after 40, but here I am manifesting my career as a fashion industry leader and style expert. I didn’t know the first thing about podcasting, and I just jumped in. I think I had listened to maybe one or two podcasts in my life up to this point. Almost two years later and just shy of 100 episodes, I’m still going strong.
You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
Perseverance: This is not giving up. Ever. This is one of the hardest things I think for someone to do. Pick a subject that keeps you up at night. What does the world need in your opinion? It could be something small, that might lead to something else. Don’t think you have to conquer the social media algorithms or have the next, newest thing. It’s something that’s in the core of your soul that you can’t ignore. Find the balance of being authentic to yourself and your beliefs with a little bending room in order to sell or get your idea to a wider audience.
Ability to pivot: Putting your ego aside if something isn’t working and learning how to nurture something else that is. A clear example of this: Me as a stylist and me as a podcaster. I was pushing my styling business, wanting so badly to get clients; not understanding why people weren’t rushing to hire me. While I had a few clients and still do, that’s not all that I can do. I can help people on a bigger scale. People hire me because they know me. The quickest way for them to get to know and trust me? Through my podcast. If they hire me, great, if they don’t, I still win, because now they are part of my network. They are listening and learning. This is the goal. I have learned to chase purpose, not money. If you can afford to do this, then you can pursue your creative goals. If money is what you need, get a full-time job to live, and use your creativity to create a side hustle. There is no shame in being realistic about your financial needs while still trying to feed your creative soul.
REALLY believing in yourself…not just saying you do: You can say this all day, but if you really don’t believe is what you’re doing, then you’re wasting your time. This is the time to get brutally, harshly honest with yourself. Brutal. If you truly believe in what you are doing, you will succeed. Disclaimer: Success looks different for everyone. When I say success, I don’t necessarily mean monetary success. It might be brand recognition or creating relationships with people in your industry. There are all different views of success. I know that there are people out there who value my knowledge and opinion. It is my duty to share my gifts with the world. Whoever wants to tune in, can. My particular goal is to have it turn into something bigger…maybe a book or television show possibly a product line. I would love be a paid public speaker or professional interviewer. Everything I put into my goals will lead me to the next step. This is universal law. Whatever you believe will happen, will.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
As a personal stylist in the south, the same problem kept coming up with all of my clients. There is NO voice of fashion or style expert for women in their 40’s and over. I have become that voice. People are clueless about what to wear, how much to spend, and how to dress for the body they have today. They are completely grasping at straws, wearing what everyone else wears and feeling mediocre at best. The common thread is this: people see celebrities on television and think that is the benchmark for having good style. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Having good style doesn’t mean wearing expensive clothes. You are either born with the “fashion gene” or not. If not, it can be LEARNED. My biggest complaints from clients: I hate shopping, I hate shopping, I hate shopping. People hate shopping because they don’t know what they’re looking for. With my experience in the fashion industry in garment construction, I know how clothes are made. I know why something is priced at $40 or $400. I can guide someone even through a podcast on how to dress with intention for their age, industry and lifestyle. That’s what makes my podcast better than any other fashion podcast out there.
Do you have a favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share a story of how that was relevant to you in your life?
The only quotes I live by:
“Under promise and over deliver.”
I constantly am doing this with my clients. I always treat my customers the way I would want to be treated. Giving them more than they ask for, going over scheduled time, delivering items or picking up and dropping off for a client is overdelivering. I recommend other vendors and connect clients to people to further their experience with me.
“Surprise & delight” — Lauren Messiah
I am available by text and phone for questions and I get a lot of them. I never charge for extra help if it’s just a question. Give surprise gifts, take extra pictures, recommend another service or person to help them along their style journey. I have a referral program which always surprises and delights people. They are rewarded if they refer me. I send free content every week without asking for anything in return.
“Do what you say and say what you do”
Tell the truth. Period. If you can’t keep a deadline, or need to switch a schedule, then tell the truth. You will be more respected in the long run. If you go back on a promise, then explain why and offer another solution. Own up to your mistakes.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Do you see any fascinating developments emerging over the next few years in the fashion industry that you are excited about? Can you tell us about that?
Companies are really trying to qualify their product as sustainable. The consumer has spoken. With the global climate crisis people really care about fair wages and where the product is produced, how it’s shipped and the factories where the goods are made. There are hundreds of small companies that are producing in small batches and producing locally. I am happy that most (not all) are taking fabric overflow and waste and finding a way to use it. It’s not a perfect system but it’s just the beginning. It’s hip to be environmentally conscious. The customers dig it and want to be a part of it. It creates brand loyalty and awareness and more companies are jumping on board by the day.
Can you share how your brand is helping to bring goodness to the world?
I am like a therapist; literally. That’s why I call myself a style coach. I am the voice representing fashion and style for my age group and getting people off the sidelines, back in the game of participating in life. Anxiety and depression are the number one factors of why people give up on their image. They think it doesn’t matter for a variety of reasons. I will not rest until I create a movement that shows consumers that what you wear does matter, for your mental health at the very least. While everyday isn’t a home run, I motivate you to keep moving forward by getting you “unstuck” and show you how to evolve your style with your age.
Can you share with our readers about the ethical standards you use when you choose where to source materials?
When I work with clients, I assess their individual needs. According to their budget and what clothing their lifestyle calls for, I try my best to source from ethical brands that do the least amount of damage to the planet when producing their products. While this plan isn’t 100% full proof for each client, I try my best to buy from small brands, support small business owners and shop local. Most people I work with have the same problem; they hate shopping or they have no idea how to shop. We break these barriers down by taking very small bites and showing them how to get the best product that fits their body, while staying within their budget. Discovering newer, small brands brings new designers into the spotlight for my customers. It’s my job to guide them in a direction that will benefit them in addition to my network of small brands that appreciate the business so much.
Fast fashion has an advantage, that it is affordable for most people, but it also has the drawback that it does not last very long and is therefore not very sustainable. What are your thoughts about this? How does your company address this question?
Fast fashion isn’t your friend. Think about it like fast food. It’s affordable, yes, but the long-term effects are hurting the environment and your health, in addition to your wallet. These huge conglomerates care about one thing, and that’s the fraction of a penny they can save to make a profit, pay factory workers less than their worth and deliver hundreds of thousands of units one day faster. The public has spoken, and the consumer now is demanding to know how these garments are produced and that the factory employees have a place to use the restroom, aren’t slaving in unbearable conditions and are paid a fair wage. I personally have relationships with sustainable brands that are doing exactly this, and this is who I support. I am constantly working to find smaller, newer brands that can produce in small batches that aren’t hurting the environment and that want to bring great product to the market. We did a huge Earth Day episode where I talked about the sustainable brands that stuck out to me and how we can become more eco-conscious consumers. I will continue to support these efforts to bring awareness and education to my listeners.
Thank you for all that. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand”. Please share a story or example for each.
In fashion you really need these skills more than anything:
Perseverance- Be pleasantly persistent. If you are manufacturing and selling a product, to get factories to even take a meeting with you will be very difficult. If you believe in your product and you believe there’s place in the market for it, some factory will give you a chance. It’s going to take a lot of research and a lot of nos to get to that final yes. Speak to other people that are making something similar to you. If you don’t have a physical product and you’re selling a service, remember this: people are buying you, in addition to your services. You have to figure out the pain points of why someone would need your service and go from there. Be relatable and put yourself in their shoes. No one is going to buy from you if they don’t like your sales approach. People find comfort in buying from people they like and trust.
“Let it go” attitude- This is a skill that will always be my top thing to “work on” for myself. Some things will come easier than most. It’s difficult to know when to let things go if they aren’t working in your favor. This could be a vendor, supplier, factory, staff or something that’s supposed to be working for your business. If something is a time, money or energy suck, then let it go and move on. Don’t try to make something work that repeatedly isn’t. Tell yourself the truth and cut the fat.
Who is your customer?- Pick a customer you want to market to and stick with it. For example, your ideal client could be a busy working moms that are CEO’s and higher positions. Ask yourself these questions:
What do they need?
What are their biggest pain points?
What makes you think they need your product or services?
How can you make your product/service important to them?
How can you get their attention?
What is their budget for something like this?
What problem is your product/service going to solve for them?
What people already selling your product are doing- “Steal from the best and make it your own”. I didn’t say this but someone in advertising did. Figure out who is doing what you want to do and look at how they are doing it. Figure out how your products/services are different and how you can stand out from the rest. If the market is crowded or oversaturated with the same product you want to produce, you have to figure out why yours is better. This isn’t a rushed decision. Some people take years to figure out why their product is better. What can you offer that others aren’t? What can you do to reach a wider audience? What makes your product unique? Is your price competitive? See if you can speak to someone in exchange for something so you can get some real help. Hire a business coach. Never stop learning what is working for the existing product and what isn’t.
How to follow current marketing trends — The world is everchanging in marketing and especially social media. Go with the flow and figure out what’s working for others doing the same thing as you. Learn how to market yourself but know when it’s time in your career to get some help. There are great ways to start out small, like with a Virtual Assistant company that works for a little less. Find a college graduate or someone more knowledgeable than you about marketing who can be a second set of eyes on what you’re doing right and wrong. Engagement is gold. Make sure you are liking and commenting on others and hopefully people will reciprocate. Never. Stop. Learning. Don’t be in such a hurry to get things perfect. Allow yourself some grace to get in front of the right people. If it’s meant to be, it will be. You cannot force success.
Every industry constantly evolves and seeks improvement. How do you think the fashion industry can improve itself? Can you give an example?
Education. Educate people about your product because most need the help. Education leads to brand loyalty. Why are people so confused about what to wear? Why do people hate shopping? Because they have no idea how to shop anymore. Show people why your brand is better. There are millions of clothing and accessory options. Why should people buy from you? There is a lost art of customer service in department stores and large markets. To me, there is a disconnection between the product and customer. Most people have no idea how to shop or what they should be shopping for, how to dress for their body type or how to have your style evolve with your age. This is what the people in the stores should be doing instead of just ringing people up and locating merchandise.
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. 🙂
It is my life’s work to stop bad fashion in the world and to get people to dress with intention. I am constantly working to get people to realize that fashion does apply to them and they can’t just “opt out”. This is something that you can do today, right this minute to change how you feel about yourself. The most common misconception is this: You have to be thin, wealthy and wear expensive designer clothes to have good style. The truth is this: Anyone of any size, age or budget can have fabulous style if you put in just a little effort. Great style is available to anyone if the seek to find it. If you don’t know where to start, start by listening to my podcast and pick a subject you want to learn about. Start small. Clean out your closet and organize it. Figure out what you need the most. Is your image holding you back? For most people, the answer is yes. You can hire a professional personal stylist like me or you can shop yourself. Start somewhere, but just start. After all, I am the best friend you never knew you needed in fashion.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Female Disruptors: Dr Suhyun An of Campbell Medical Clinic On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
The best advice I’ve ever received is to always stay focused on my goals, no matter what obstacles I face. This has been invaluable advice that has helped me stay the course, even when things are tough. Another piece of advice that has served me well is to always be learning and evolving. As I mentioned earlier, technology and therapies are constantly changing, and it’s important to stay up-to-date on the latest advancements in my field. Finally, the best advice I can give is to never give up on your dreams. Pursue your passions and never let anyone tell you that you can’t achieve your goals.
As a part of our series about women who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Suhyun An.
Dr. Suhyun An is Director at the Campbell Medical Clinic in Houston, Texas, a leader in the practice of regenerative medicine. Dr. Suhyun An, a well-known expert in the field, specializes in regenerative therapies for pain reduction, working closely with her patients to establish personalized treatment programs. Dr. Suhyun An is an outstanding author and a well-known public speaker, who has written Pain Free Knee and Demystifying Stem Cells.
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 became interested in regenerative medicine after I was able to successfully repair a shoulder injury without surgery by using umbilical cord stem cells and platelet-rich plasma therapy. I realized that this was a new frontier in medicine with great potential to help people heal from injuries and chronic pain without the need for drugs or surgery.
I completed stem cell extraction training from Boston Biolife and Cell Surgical Network, and now I specialize in regenerative medicine. I offer non-invasive medical services and treatments that are able to give a unique, hybrid approach to pain alleviation by combining Chiropractic Biophysic approaches and regenerative medicine with the most up-to-date rehab and therapy technology.
Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?
What I’m doing is disruptive because it’s a new approach to medicine that is non-invasive and does not rely on drugs or surgery. I’m driving change by offering this new approach to pain management and healing to my patients.
I am constantly seeking out new and innovative ways to help my patients heal from their injuries and pain. I believe that the traditional medical model of simply masking symptoms with drugs or surgery is no longer sufficient. We need to find the root cause of the problem and address it head-on. That’s why I offer a variety of non-invasive, natural therapies that are designed to promote healing and pain relief.
One of the most exciting things about my work is that we are always learning and evolving as we discover new and better ways to help our patients. I am always looking for new technologies and therapies that can provide even more effective results for my patients.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I don’t think there was a funniest mistake I made when first starting. However, I would say that one of the most important lessons I learned early on was the importance of always staying up-to-date on the latest advancements in my field. Technology and therapies are constantly evolving, and it’s important to be at the forefront of these changes in order to offer the best possible care for my patients.
We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?
I have to say, Darren Hardy, who is the author of The Compound Effect, is a role model to me. He’s like me. He outworks anybody he comes across, and he had parents who never said he was any good, very much like my parents. You could say we’re kindred spirits. Darren is one of the most successful people I know, and he’s also one of the most down-to-earth, hardworking people I know. He’s always looking for new and better ways to improve his business and himself. I admire that about him, and I try to emulate that in my own life.
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?
When an industry is ripe for disruption, it means that there is a need for change. This can be positive if the change is designed to improve the industry or make it more efficient. However, not all change is good. Sometimes, change is implemented simply for the sake of change, without any real benefit to the industry or those who depend on it. An example of positive disruption would be the rise of ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft. These companies disrupted the traditional taxi industry by offering a more convenient and affordable way to get around. This was a positive development for consumers and has led to a more efficient and innovative transportation sector. An example of negative disruption would be the proliferation of fake news online. This has created chaos and confusion, and has undermined trust in the media. In this instance, the disruption was not positive or beneficial.
Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.
The best advice I’ve ever received is to always stay focused on my goals, no matter what obstacles I face. This has been invaluable advice that has helped me stay the course, even when things are tough. Another piece of advice that has served me well is to always be learning and evolving. As I mentioned earlier, technology and therapies are constantly changing, and it’s important to stay up-to-date on the latest advancements in my field. Finally, the best advice I can give is to never give up on your dreams. Pursue your passions and never let anyone tell you that you can’t achieve your goals.
We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?
I have a few ideas up my sleeve, but I can’t give away all my secrets just yet. I will say that I’m always looking for ways to improve the care I provide for my patients. Whether it’s staying abreast of the latest medical advancements or finding new and innovative ways to deliver care, I’m always looking for ways to take my practice to the next level.
In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by ‘women disruptors’ that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?
There are a number of challenges that women face when disrupting industries. One of the biggest is breaking through the glass ceiling. Women have historically been underrepresented in leadership positions, and this can make it difficult to get our voices heard. Another challenge is overcoming stereotypes and biases. Women are often seen as being less capable or competent than men, and this can make it difficult to be taken seriously. Finally, women often have to deal with sexual harassment and discrimination. This is a problem that is all too common in male-dominated industries, and it can make it very difficult for women to thrive.
Do you have a book/podcast/talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us?
One of the most impactful books I’ve read is Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In. This book really opened my eyes to the challenges that women face in the workplace. It also inspired me to be more proactive in my career and to fight for what I believe in. Another book that has had a deep impact on my thinking is Brené Brown’s The Gifts of Imperfection. This book helped me to understand the importance of embracing our imperfections and being authentic. It was a game-changer for me and has helped me to be more vulnerable and open with others.
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. 🙂
If I could inspire a movement, it would be one that encourages people to be more compassionate and understanding towards others. We live in a world that is full of hate and division, and I think it’s time for us to start being kinder to one another. We need to start listening to each other and trying to see things from different perspectives. Only then can we begin to heal the divisions that exist in our world.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Do or do not. There is no try.” — Yoda.
I believe in taking result oriented actions. My team knows my favorite word is done. While it’s important to enjoy the journey, action that brings no result is a waste in my book.
Female Disruptors: Laura van ’t Veer of MammaPrint On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
Not everyone will embrace emerging innovation. Eventually, you also have to take along those that seek it out and wait, and only then do you get to full implementation of an invention.
As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Laura van ’t Veer.
Laura van ’t Veer is a world-renowned molecular biologist and inventor of the breast cancer recurrence test MammaPrint® for which she received in 2015 the European Inventor Award. She co-founded Agendia, a diagnostic company dedicated to women’s health by enabling breast cancer patients worldwide to access the MammaPrint test, a genomic assay that accurately informs women and their providers who may benefit from chemotherapy as part of their treatment and who may be able to safely forego this toxic therapy.
MammaPrint offers a personalized approach to assessing every woman’s breast cancer tumor at a genomic level and determines her individual risk of recurrence. The company Laura founded also offers a test called BluePrint®, which classifies each individual tumor so patients and their providers know the specific type of breast cancer they need to treat. When combined, MammaPrint and BluePrint are designed to empower patients with more precise treatment options to combat their unique breast cancer, improve their outcomes and preserve their quality of life.
Laura is dedicated to getting the right drug to the right patient, while ensuring the highest treatment effect with the lowest side-effect.
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?
As a high school student, I was inspired by my biology teacher, who — at the time — taught us about the newly-discovered knowledge of DNA and genes underlying all biological processes. Later, studying biology at the University of Amsterdam, I was fascinated by the then-emerging science that defective genes were causing normal cells to derail and become a cancer cell.
Science has inspired me throughout my entire career, and I am passionate about patient care. I am lucky I found a career in which I can combine both every day.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?
MammaPrint categorizes breast tumors into Low Risk or High Risk for recurrence types. Over the years, many patients have reached out after having a MammaPrint test sharing how it helped them feel more confident in deciding whether they should have chemotherapy or not. Women whose breast cancer test resulted in a MammaPrint Low Risk assessment realized they may be able to safely forego chemotherapy since their cancer was less aggressive and they alternatively could benefit from other types of treatments. This meant they may not need the toxic, and sometimes debilitating side effects of chemotherapy (which they otherwise could have experienced for up to a full year). Conversely, women whose breast cancer resulted in a MammaPrint High Risk assessment may have chosen to pursue chemotherapy, accepting its side effects because they were more confident it would effectively address their breast cancer. These inspiring stories motivate me to continue generating the critical information they need for improved outcomes.
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?
This is perhaps not a mistake, but an experience I had when we would meet with investors in the early days of Agendia. I often was the only woman in the room and one of those times, a particular group of investors turned to me when they wanted coffee served. They were beyond apologetic when they realized who I was.
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 think my parents are those special people to me. Both my parents were journalists, and I was raised in a setting where opinion mattered. One of their friends reminded me much later that from a young age I had to express my opinion on everything from world subjects to arts and music. This taught me to observe and appreciate so I was well-informed when I spoke up.
It takes a village to create a successful company. You need a group of dedicated ‘can do’ people to build and scale the business. Agendia has benefited from several dedicated employees championing the company for almost two decades and collectively building the know-how in our industry. Many others joined along the way, and several more recently. Success is built on each and every one of them.
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?
Women may not realize that a ‘can do’ attitude is paramount. Believing in what you can do, in addition to putting in the hard work to get there, is necessary to actually achieving it.
Women have an incredible capacity to achieve personal and professional goals, and need support and encouragement from other successful women to pursue what we aspire to accomplish.
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?
Provide education, opportunities, and encourage women in leadership. It is happening, but continued support is critical.
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?
Women are particularly well-suited to efficiently set up an organization where everyone thrives, and the output is a collective achievement.
Agendia has always had women in leadership positions at every level, including Senior Vice President of Research and Development Annuska Glas, Vice President of Reimbursement & Government Affairs Vicky Huerta Reyes, and recently-appointed Betsy Hanna as Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer. Female leadership on both the scientific and commercial sides of the business allows for women of all facets to see themselves in similar leadership roles.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a founder? Can you explain what you mean?
One thing I heard when I was founding Agendia was how building a company takes time and requires an incredible amount of work — so much so that founders sometimes forget to enjoy it. However, I found that one can experience great joy when establishing a great company.
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?
Most important is to recognize in your daily life and in work what it is that brings you joy and what excites you — that’s the best guidance to follow. A future founder should not be afraid to try something they have never done before.
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.)
Establishing a successful company involves way more politics than I ever imagined.
Understanding the crucial roles that all parties play to turn an invention into a successful product. Align with all.
In the early 2000’s when Agendia was founded, it was not yet very common that academic scientific findings were brought to the market. It required education of our science colleagues to convey that it is the way to go so everyone can have access and benefit, and that personal gain was not the motivator.
Not everyone will embrace emerging innovation. Eventually, you also have to take along those that seek it out and wait, and only then do you get to full implementation of an invention.
Patients know best what is best for them. Their voice needs to be heard.
How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
I have been fortunate our scientific discoveries and resulting technologies — which continue to progress to this day, 20 years later — have driven a new standard of care that has helped tens of thousands of patients with breast cancer, and will continue to do so in the future. MammaPrint was at the forefront of the healthcare transformation to bring personalized care to women with breast cancer. Agendia continues to pave the way for our science and capabilities to establish the right treatment for the right patient.
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.
Healthcare has come a long way, but has the potential to be even more personalized. Every woman is unique, and therefore deserves an individual approach to healthcare. Medicine is not a cookie-cutter solution — ‘one size does not fit all’. We have achieved so many milestones around personalized medicine but the work we have done can still benefit so many more patients worldwide.
Personalized medicine should be on every stakeholder’s radar.
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.
Science is not a luxury; science impacts our lives, including our health, and it has more potential today than ever before. The MammaPrint story, from laboratory discovery to a worldwide product, is a prime example. I would want to talk to a thought leader who fosters innovation, who has a global perspective, and who understands how crucial public health is. Someone like Jeff Bezos or Bill Gates. We need to come together to facilitate and accelerate new developments faster and scale way beyond where we are today. We need a truly global impact.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
Women In Wellness: Dr Rebecca Siegel On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
Life can change in an instant. I had 3 kids in med school and it forced me to be resilient. I knew helping others was my calling in life, and I wasn’t going to let this challenge get in the way of that. Yes, it was hard, but it made the accomplishment all the more special. I believe life throws curveballs at you to test how bad you really want something. I’m glad I was able to accept the challenge and work with it, not against it.
As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Rebecca Siegel.
Dr. Rebecca Siegel is a clinical psychiatrist and author of the newly published book, The Brain on Cannabis: What You Should Know about Recreational and Medical Marijuana, a comprehensive and myth-busting guide on marijuana use and its effects on the brain. The book also addresses how to effectively talk to young people about recreational marijuana use based on her work as a physician who specializes in the assessment and treatment of anxiety, mood disorders, and ADHD.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?
I am a board certified Adult, Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist. I have been a practicing clinical psychiatrist for almost 15 years and have been with Amen Clinics for more than 13 years. I recently wrote, The Brain on Cannabis: What You Should Know about Recreational and Medical Marijuana, a comprehensive and myth-busting guide on marijuana use and its effects on the brain. In the book, I review the full spectrum of marijuana’s benefits and risks. I also debunk myths surrounding cannabis while exploring the promises and risks of its many therapeutic possibilities. My passion for cannabis started when a patient came up to me and said cannabis changed her life. That made me curious to learn more and eventually I learned so much that I wanted to write a book. I knew that if I didn’t know enough, most people didn’t know enough. There are a lot of serious conversations about cannabis and its impact on the developing brain, which is why it is important for people to be equipped with the right information in order to make the best decision for their health. The goal of my book is to be a resourceful, credible tool for anyone curious about cannabis and I believe I have achieved that goal.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?
It’s hard to pick just one story because every person that I meet teaches me something, but if I had to pick one, it would be the encounter I had with a patient of mine who was suffering from insomnia. At first, she was prescribed sleep medicine, but one day she came into my office boasting about a cannabis-infused chocolate bar and its ability to make her sleep like a baby. Her passion and relief put a fire in my belly to want to learn more about cannabis. From that point forward, I realized that life is about being a constant learner. Sure, I had a lot of medical wisdom at the time, but little did I know that my own patient would lead me to expand my field of knowledge to cannabis.
Can you share a story about the biggest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I think the biggest mistake I made was not being very mindful of the worst-case scenario, which in my field of work is having a patient take their own life. I’ve lost two patients in this manner and it taught me to be extra attentive and empathetic to someone’s needs. Although I was not to blame, you can’t help but put the finger on yourself and wonder what you could have done differently to prevent this from happening. I learned that life is precious and people deserve a life worth living — I need to do everything in my power to make them feel this sentiment and consider it as truth.
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?
Since marijuana is now legal in many states, people of all ages are using it for pain relief and to treat a variety of illnesses and ailments. Although this has allowed people to be more accepting of the plant, there are still a lot of people out there who are afraid of cannabis due to misinformation. In my book and in my practice, I help people navigate the benefits and risks of using marijuana while distinguishing fact from fiction. This enables people to make informed decisions for themselves and their loved ones.
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.
My top 5 “lifestyle tweaks” are common, but vital.
Exercise regularly
Get 8–9 hours of sleep
Improve your diet and nutrition
Drink a lot of water
Ask for help when you need it!
If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?
Well, the movement is actually already in effect — legalization of medical marijuana. A majority of our states have legalized it, but there are still some that are hesitant to do so. It would be a huge victory to have all 50 states be on board with this because cannabis can be beneficial for a wide range of medical conditions and it gives practitioners in all types of medicine just one more tool to add to their belt to effectively treat patients.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?
3 big things come to mind –
Self-care is important. My job is to care for other people, but I also have to remember to care for myself too!
Life can change in an instant. I had 3 kids in med school and it forced me to be resilient. I knew helping others was my calling in life, and I wasn’t going to let this challenge get in the way of that. Yes, it was hard, but it made the accomplishment all the more special. I believe life throws curveballs at you to test how bad you really want something. I’m glad I was able to accept the challenge and work with it, not against it.
You need to be a good listener. People who seek help want to be heard, and as a psychiatrist, you need to let people talk and be someone they can trust to confide in. Being a psychiatrist requires building relationships, and a strong foundation can only be built when you are willing to empathetically listen to your patients.
Sustainability, veganism, mental health and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?
As a psychiatrist who specializes in the assessment and treatment of anxiety and mood disorders, I am a big advocate for mental health. I believe in treating the whole person with a range of therapeutic techniques and approaches. In my own practice, I have seen how medical marijuana can improve conditions such as anxiety and depression. It is because of these success stories that I am passionate about cannabis in its relation to mental health and wish to guide those who may need it.
What is the best way our readers can follow you online?
My Instagram handle is @drrebeccasiegel and my website is
Inspirational Women in STEM and Tech: 3M’s Jayshree Seth On The 5 Leadership Lessons She Learned From Her Experience
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
Encourage a healthy work-life balance: Work and our personal lives are inextricably intertwined, so it’s important to embrace work and life semblance. This is our new normal, and it could help not only with employee engagement, but facilitate more sustainable innovation, inspirational leadership, global effectiveness, and diversity and inclusion. The benefit: making home-life decisions with a little more discipline and work-life decisions with a little more heart.
As a part of my series about “Lessons From Inspirational Women in STEM and Tech”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jayshree Seth.
Dr. Jayshree Seth is a scientist and a passionate advocate for STEM. She joined 3M in 1993 after attaining an MS and PhD in Chemical Engineering from Clarkson University, New York. She holds 75 patents for a variety of innovations. She is currently at the position of Corporate Scientist, the highest technical designation at 3M, and she works with other engineers and scientists to break down complex problems and develop products that solve some of the customers’ toughest challenges. She is also the company’s first-ever Chief Science Advocate, and in this role, she works to promote science appreciation, and help people recognize its relevance in their daily lives and importance for the future.
In 2019 she became the first woman engineer to be inducted into the Carlton Society, which is the 3M Science and Engineering ‘Hall of Fame.’ In 2020, Dr. Seth was awarded the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) highest Achievement Award. In addition to being an award-winning scientist, recognized thought-leader and prolific speaker, she is the author of two books, The Heart of Science — Engineering Footprints, Fingerprints, & Imprints, and The Heart of Science — Engineering Fine Print published by the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), and all sales proceeds go to a scholarship for underrepresented minority women in STEM. She also starred in an award-winning documentary, Not The Science Type, and advocates globally for more representation in STEM education and professions.
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 was raised in India surrounded by scientists and engineers — there was a prestigious engineering institution right in town and everyone aspired for their kids to become engineers, their sons and daughters. I never thought of myself as the ‘engineering type.’ I was more interested in the human context and couldn’t see that connection with STEM fields. We didn’t have any STEM women role-models either. However, due to strong encouragement from my parents I ended up getting a bachelor’s in chemical engineering. During the final year of our program, many of the students were applying for graduate school in the U.S. and I decided to apply as well — in spirit of competition with the boys in my class. I got accepted and I came to the U.S. for graduate school.
In many ways when I look back, I realize that I became a trailblazer because I was the only woman in the lab that I joined. I worked on a theoretical project for my MS but realized my heart wasn’t in that research area. I couldn’t see a connection to my very community-oriented goals. So, I thought about switching. Many students advised me not to switch projects because it would make my doctoral work harder and add years to the completion of my PhD, but I went for it anyway. This lit a fire inside of me. I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. I threw myself into the study of diamond-like carbon films, working long hours and weekends in the lab, running experiments, analyzing data, summarizing the work, and publishing it. I ended up with over a dozen publications with the help, guidance and support of my thesis advisor and lab-mates. This experience showed me that with grit and determination, it is possible to reinvent oneself.
This mindset led me to jump at the opportunity to join 3M after I was offered a job following a summer internship, despite it being in an area I knew absolutely nothing about — disposable diapers! My past experiences had given me the confidence to know that with hard work I could learn anything and would be able to reinvent myself if I had to. So, I went from working on diamonds to diapers and decades later, I have worked on many different product and technology platforms, market areas and project types at 3M. I’ve held a variety of roles and am inspired to come to work every day to apply science to improve lives. In 2018, I was called upon to be the company’s first-ever Chief Science Advocate, and since then, I have expanded my roles within 3M in ways that I would not have imagined.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began at your company?
When I started out at 3M, I was in the division that develops components for disposable soft-goods, like diapers and sanitary hygiene products. Initially, I found it very awkward to sit in meetings where there were feminine hygiene products spread out on the table and being discussed in groups largely composed of men!
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 joined 3M, I did not correct people when they mis-pronounced my last name, and years later I realized that it was perhaps a mistake. More recently I have started telling people my last name, Seth, rhymes with eight. I realized the importance of speaking up — it may seem like a minor matter, but it is important to bring it up if it is something that is important to you. By the same token, I make it a point to ask others for the right pronunciation if there is a doubt in my mind. We don’t know what we don’t know, and it is good to be reminded.
Another instance I recall, from the year I joined 3M — we were all given gift certificates to buy turkey for Thanksgiving. I brought up the fact that I was a vegetarian, and I am glad that I spoke up. People are very willing to listen and accommodate — I was given a gift certificate for a veggie platter!
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
There are many things that make 3M stand out in my mind. It starts with our inspiring brand platform, 3M Science. Applied to Life™ and our employees’ commitment to embodying this by applying science to change lives.
At 3M, we are very active in the communities we operate in around the world. It’s the work 3M does to make an impact on local communities that makes me proud to work for the company. One of many examples is that last year, 3M announced a global, education focused goal to advance economic equity by creating five million unique STEM and skilled trade learning experiences for underrepresented individuals by the end of 2025. We are also aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) and are committed to creating a diverse science community and a more positive world with science. Science for community is one of the pillars in our sustainability framework at 3M, and we apply science in collaborative ways to improve lives and help solve some of the toughest challenges. Although often unseen, 3M science powers the world around us, and we take a community-first approach in every initiative we put forth, and in every product we manufacture.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
I find everything I work on exciting — it’s more fun that way! I am currently working on a product that can eliminate a lot of raw material, process waste for our customers and help them be more sustainable. It is a tough technical challenge and that is what adds to the excitement. On the science advocacy front, I am also very excited about the work I am doing with Professor Diekman at Indiana University Bloomington to study interventions to facilitate higher retention of women and students of color in STEM.
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?
Participation of women in many STEM fields such as engineering, and computer science remains low. We have a lot of room for improvement as far as increasing representation is concerned. The global public also agrees that we need to do more to achieve STEM equity.
We recently released the 3M 2022 State of Science Index — original, third-party research conducted by Ipsos that explores attitudes toward science in the U.S. and across 16 additional countries. The study examines the image of science, its relevance to the world, and its impact on society. I am saddened but not surprised to share that our survey found Americans acknowledge that challenges around STEM equity begin at an early age for women and underrepresented minorities — and they continue to snowball for those who choose to pursue STEM careers against all odds. I firmly believe that greater diversity in the scientific workforce — which often begins with a spark of STEM interest that ignites in early childhood — will lead to a greater positive impact on society. The world requires innovation. Innovation needs science. Science demands diversity. Diversity warrants equity.
It is important to note that the public recognizes the challenges women face. In fact, our survey found that more than four in five Americans believe women are a source of untapped potential in STEM — but, 59% of Americans say women are leaving STEM positions because they do not receive enough support. A big problem is representation. I also found it surprising that more Americans don’t recognize the role bias and prejudice towards women and racial minorities plays, as a barrier to pursuing a strong STEM education — only 25% of Americans believe bias is a barrier.
The problem of female underrepresentation in STEM is a complex, multifaceted issue with stakeholders ranging from parents, teachers, educators, mentors, peers, and employers with a strong role of family, schools, community, society, and culture across the key elements of what I call the STEM E’co-system: Exposure. Encouragement. Empowerment. Education. Economics. Engagement. Equity. Strategies are needed from early childhood, K-12, higher education, and all the way to the workplace to address the primary challenges across this spectrum that can hinder women in STEM.
We need to inspire girls at a young age by tapping into their pro-social goals. We must also ensure that STEM education is affordable and accessible, so we can continue to encourage women and girls to pursue the field. More than three-quarters of Americans say science companies would have a more positive impact on society if there was greater diversity and representation in STEM. To make that happen, we must provide access to resources, serve as mentors, and ensure that women see people who look like them in STEM leadership positions.
Last year, 3M created the documentary series, Not the Science Type, to highlight the journeys of four female scientists — including myself — who challenged stereotypes and bias by confronting gender, racial and age discrimination on their journey to prominence in the field. We need to keep telling these stories. We need to keep highlighting role-models.
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?
In my view there can be challenges across the entire spectrum, starting from the very deep-rooted cultural stereotypes of a scientist that are consistent with prescribed norms for men. Women often feel like they are being penalized for working in these fields, or they are not welcome in such environments. It can lead to psychological distress and given the intersectionality it can get compounded for women of color.
As for the challenges, there has been a lot of research on how that can manifest itself — there can be more discrimination, harassment, disparity in pay, social isolation, and exclusion from scholarly discussions if you are seen as an outsider. There is microaggression and then there is tokenism. So, the bottom line is that numerical underrepresentation and negative stereotypes contribute to challenges for women in STEM and they can stack the system against women and impact them disproportionately throughout their careers. That’s another reason why I am excited about Not the Science Type we are shattering gender stereotypes and promoting gender equity.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a woman in STEM or Tech. Can you explain what you mean?
There are many prevalent myths as they relate to women and STEM fields — a common one being that women do not have the aptitude or the interest to pursue these subjects. The truth of the matter is that many of these fields are laid out in a very male-centric fashion or remain male dominated. This results in a very gendered view of the field leading to myths about who enters, persists, or excels in them.
From outside the STEM field, it may not be apparent how the contextual importance of science and its connection to societal goals can play an enormous role in attracting the next generation of talent. Yet, we also need to level the playing field for people of all genders, races, and backgrounds. While we are breaking down barriers and becoming more inclusive, we still need diverse scientists today to be more visible so that the younger generation can say, “if I can see it, I can be it.”
I truly believe that greater diversity will lead to greater impact in the sciences — which is why I’m such a passionate advocate for breaking down barriers and stereotypes to help women and girls enter the field.
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.)
You don’t need to climb the corporate ladder to the top to finally become a leader. Thought leadership allows you to flex your leadership muscles, from your own rung, without having formal authority. Take initiative, learn as much as you can about a specific topic or issue, and build your solution from the ground-up. This will provide you with higher visibility, exposure, opportunity, and the power to strategically steer things or lead new things.
Don’t just settle for SMART goals: SMART goals — Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound — can often fall short in sparking imagination or inspiring people to achieve greater things for themselves and their organizations. Today, goals need to accomplish not only what is deemed strategically important in the short term, but also potentially significant in the mid- to long-term, while allowing the ability to flex and pivot as circumstances change. Through all of this, remain reverent of the opportunity in place, remain active in giving back and furthering the goals of our larger organizations — and that is SUPER smart!
Make your TALKS matter: Communication is key, so it’s important to treat every talk or presentation you give as very important. Commit to improving your communication and public speaking skills. One way to do that is through TALKS: there is the Topic, the Audience, the Layout, the Key points, and the Story. The story provides a connection to the audience and can make what you say memorable, informative, and inspirational. Once you lock in these aspects, it’s all about practice. Stay true to your style. Genuine authentic speakers are more successful in selling an idea or an ideology with their TALKS.
Foster creativity and innovation but avoid common ERRORS: It can be difficult to foster creativity and innovation in a corporate setting, but it can be done! Unless a person is intrinsically highly motivated, most people deliver better when there is a general Expectation. This expectation can change the way we think and operate. In addition, with Resources and encouragement to take Risk, we feel the freedom to be more creative, in our own way. Opportunity to collaborate, lead and implement our ideas helps inspire us to deliver results. The associated Reward and recognition for successful value creation further inspires us to innovate. Above all, the continued Socialization of the concept of being innovative and its place in a company’s culture, and link to rewards and recognition, helps sustain it.
Encourage a healthy work-life balance: Work and our personal lives are inextricably intertwined, so it’s important to embrace work and life semblance. This is our new normal, and it could help not only with employee engagement, but facilitate more sustainable innovation, inspirational leadership, global effectiveness, and diversity and inclusion. The benefit: making home-life decisions with a little more discipline and work-life decisions with a little more heart.
What advice would you give to other women leaders to help their team to thrive?
‘Can do’ mode: When I felt motivated and passionate about something, taking initiative, and pursuing an idea — my managers didn’t try to talk me out of it. Taking initiative should be encouraged because it not only builds self-confidence, but it builds engagement and can lead to tremendous growth for the company.
‘Can I do?’ mode: When I have been more hesitant or reserved about an assignment or opportunity that had come my way, my managers listened to me, acknowledged my feelings, and helped me work through it. It’s important for managers to recognize the so-called ‘Confidence Gap’ between men and women and ensure that women on your team feel just as supported as their male counterparts.
‘Candid’ feedback: Being honest and coaching your teams on how best to manage their weaknesses will help them to continue to build upon their strengths. Sharing feedback in a positive way, even when constructive, can be empowering and make your team members more effective in their endeavors. Personally, receiving candid feedback from my managers allowed me to take their feedback to heart and try to adjust my style and approach in an authentic fashion.
I think this framework can go a long way in building trust with employees. It allows employees to lead, innovate, thrive, and ultimately contribute effectively towards achieving growth objectives.
What advice would you give to other women leaders about the best way to manage a large team?
I believe a lot has changed in the last two-plus years, but the fundamentals remain the same as it relates to people, work, and the skills necessary to lead! It is imperative that leaders create a sense of psychological safety and maintain close connections with all team members, especially given hybrid work models. To LEAD In requires Listening and learning, Engagement and empowerment, Acceptance of change and risk acceptance, Diversity AND Inclusion with intentionality and finally, trust in and training of Instinct and intuition.
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?
It’s hard to pick only one person who has helped shape my career success — I have been blessed with a great number of supportive managers and sponsors, allies, and advocates while at 3M. One former boss of mine, however, have me the following advice that has stuck with me for years: “Jayshree, make the best decision for you, for now.”
At the time those words were spoken to me, I was agonizing over what seemed to be a very important career decision. But the decision I made then didn’t close any doors and may have opened many more. It was important for me to be confident in my decision, given the circumstances, but to also know that my entire career wouldn’t be based on this decision alone. It was liberating to know that if circumstances changed, I could still decide to pursue an alternate path.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
I feel honored to have the role of chief science advocate and the platform it gives me to promote science and the need for diversity in STEM fields. I am particularly passionate about more girls in STEM. I’ve authored two books, The Heart of Science — Engineering Footprints, Fingerprints, & Imprints, and The Heart of Science — Engineering Fine Print, published by the Society of Women Engineers (SWE). All sales proceeds from both books go to a scholarship for underrepresented minority women in STEM.
I was also honored to be featured in 3M’s documentary series, Not the Science Type, alongside such inspiring women who are challenging stereotypes in their respective fields. This film gives us the opportunity to inform, influence and inspire the next generation by showing that we can all be the science type regardless of gender, race, age or ethnicity.
During the pandemic I was also prompted to step out of my comfort zone and I recorded a song, which in my view, encapsulates 2020. It is available on playitforward.com and all donations go to United Way.
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 already mentioned that I didn’t think of myself as the science and engineering type. I was more interested in the human context, and I didn’t quite see the connection of my pro-social goals with STEM fields. I was fortunate to have parental guidance and for someone who didn’t start out thinking they were the science type; I have done remarkably well. I often think about how many students and scientists, and how many ideas and innovations we are missing out on because of the way we teach, track, typify, train, and even talk about STEM. I often say we need some good STEAM cleaning: we need to Shatter stereotypes, Tell the wholesome story about science, provide Exposure and an environment of support, have men be Allies and advocates and put in place Metrics and measures to encourage more girls to pursue and women to engage in STEM careers. This STEAM cleaning movement can help to solve the problem of underrepresentation — and it’s the STEAM engine that could!
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Be good. Work hard. Live well.
My mother always emphasized the importance of being good, while my father talked about the value of hard work hard. These two messages have really stuck with me — in fact, now as a parent myself, I realize that this was a bit of parenting genius — does one really know when they are being good enough or working hard enough? I have added the live well component to it, realizing the importance of balance and a well-rounded existence. Of course, my family wants me to add stay calm!
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 would love to meet Indra Nooyi, former-CEO of PepsiCo. Her efforts when she was the CEO to lead the company in a new direction at the time, with the ‘Performance with Purpose’ roadmap, were very inspiring. I would like to gain more leadership insight into the vignettes she relates in her recent book and how she draws upon her experience of growing up in India.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
Women In Wellness: Bethany Nicole of ‘Apologies I Never Got’ On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
You Are Your Ideal Client- Do you like your content? Is it the kind of information you would like to know, is it something that would be helpful to you? One of the greatest pieces of advice I have gotten, although unfortunately after I had already started my business, is to curate your content to you. If you have been in your clients’ shoes, and have gone through what they have, then who better than to create content for them! You know their unique struggle and what information would have helped or attracted you. And even if your ideal client isn’t reflective of you, creating authentic content is one of the most magnetic things you can do. So, create content you love, that resonates with you and that makes you just want to shout it from the rooftops!
As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Bethany Nicole.
Bethany is an LA based author, freelance writer and relationship expert. She is the founder and author of the book and brand Apologies I Never Got LLC. She is also the creator of the Written In The Stars Relationship Sessions.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?
I am very much a writer at heart. I have always loved writing stories, poems, articles, whatever I could come up with. I always knew it was a skillset I had but I didn’t really know what to do with it. I grew up in a very small town in North Carolina, and I didn’t know any professional writers. I did not know any career options other than very mainstream ones. When I went to college I went against the grain and got my degree in Philosophy, so I was able to utilize my writing skills very much in that area but following graduation I went into social services. I worked with children and families in crises and became very familiar with Attachment Theory, and other relationship dynamics. Finally, after leaving that job with a solid understanding that frontline services such as that, was not my true calling, I began down a more creative path. I wrote my book and began becoming published regularly. But I knew my work was even bigger than the book. So slowly but surely, I began to see how I could combine all of my skills, passions and insights into one place. My business Apologies I Never Got LLC incorporates my one-on-one work with individuals and couples, my writings, and my passion for changing the way we look at wellness in relationships.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?
It’s maybe not as much interesting as informative, but when I first started out, I got A LOT of questions. Was I a therapist? A counselor? An astrologer? Who was I trying to be? What was my experience? It was a lot.
My Written In The Stars Relationship Sessions and my book, had people wondering what my title was, and more importantly, how they could fit me into a box. And I spent a lot of time initially explaining what I wasn’t, before I realized that I wasn’t really explaining what I was. By homing in on what my unique skillset is, how my book, brand and business can change lives and what the benefits will be, I am able to attract my clientele. People who come to my sessions are not looking for a therapist, or a counselor, or even a conventional astrologer. They come because they want the benefits my brand can offer them; however, I go about getting them there. That was a huge lesson I learned. To not focus on what we are not, but to become very clear on what we ARE. The rest will sort itself out.
Can you share a story about the biggest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
The biggest mistake I think I made when starting out, was trying to provide content and services that catered to everyone. I was creating what I thought people would want to hear/see/read. But as the saying goes, when you target everyone, you reach no one. Not only was my messaging too broad it was not authentic. It wasn’t coming from my heart; it was coming from a perception of what I thought people wanted. But that is one of the best things about just starting, you learn works and what doesn’t, along the way. So, I identified my ideal clients, tweaked my messaging more directly towards them, and created content that felt real and authentic to me; things that I would want to hear/see/know. Because after all, we are generally our own target audience.
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?
Relationships are the foundation of our lives. They affect everything from how we sleep, eat, and even show up in society as a whole. Relationships often get a bad rap, they are brushed off as unimportant, or trivial. But in reality, they are one of the most important aspects of our lives.
Think about it. Have you ever been in a bad relationship? Didn’t your entire world seem to shrink, and your life overall seem more difficult and complex? That’s because relationships sit at the foundation of our well-being, when things are not going well in our personal lives, it is hard to show up in our public lives. It is difficult to be productive, creative or joyful when all of our energy is being drained into a difficult relationship.
But with a divorce rate of 50%, that says a lot of relationships are more difficult than not. Which is where I believe my work comes in. Toxic dating culture breeds shallow connections. Connections that do not stand the test of time or worldwide pandemics, as we have seen. I aim to help individuals and couples heal themselves, to help heal their relationships. I help them dive deep into what might be holding them back or blocking them, I help them work to release it, and then we get busy building the foundations of a happy, healthy love life and relationship.
I help individuals and couples create the love life they desire, built on strong foundations of true connection, communication, and compatibility. That way they can show up in their lives and loves as strong, healed and thriving individuals. I believe this is the way we can create a society filled with compassion, inspiration, passion, and yes, love.
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.
Be Authentic- As I shared above, when I was producing content or services that were not authentic, I felt very disconnected from my life, business, and myself. But once I stopped worrying so much about what others thought and got very real about my own authentic truth, whether it was palatable or not, whether it was necessarily what people wanted to hear or not, whether it made me popular or not, I felt so much relief. I was able to create content that really did resonate with people because it came from a truthful place. But most importantly it resonated with me because it was my truth. This is a piece of knowledge I would give to anyone because the disconnect between your image and your truth is where a lot of damage can be done and a lot of your best life lost. So, find your truth. About whom you are, how you feel and what you have to offer and share that openly and honestly. Then watch your life transform.
Forgive- Here is what sits at the crux of my book, brand and business. It is all about the forgiveness. Resentments are one of the top things that hold us back, take us out of the present, and steal our joy. Resentment and anger are very heavy burdens to carry, I should know, I’ve walked around with them for a good portion of my life. And while forgiveness isn’t easy, it feels a lot better than carting around old resentments for years. That is why I wrote my book, to help people recognize the hard-earned truth I have discovered, that forgiveness brings us back to ourselves. It helps us let go of the past and focus on the present, on the things we can change and control, not the things we cannot. So even if all we can do today is set the intention to forgive, and begin that process, then that is one step closer to living a life we love.
Create Meaningful Connections- Surface level connections are SO pre-pandemic. As we step back out into the world it is time for us to create deep connections, in our lives, loves and in all our relationships. Surface level friendships do not do us any good either. We need to start diving deep and connecting with each other past the social media images and picture-perfect portrayals. Because as we have seen those connections do not last long and are ultimately meaningless in our lives. So, it’s time we started getting real, with ourselves, our relationships and each other. This year is the year of meaningful connections or bust!
Write Your Own Apologies- You know those apologies? The ones you never got? Well guess what, you never needed them in the first place…because you can write them yourself. My book, Apologies I Never Got, covers my 3 Step Apology Process, that demonstrates not only how you can write an apology to yourself from yourself, but how you can move on from the past hurts of others as well. The process allows you to begin your own healing journey, no lame apology from an even lamer ex required. So let go of the resentment, the anger and the apologies you never got, and watch how your overall sense of well being improves.
Find Your Purpose- Who are we? Why are we here? What is the meaning of life? Ok, maybe not all of those, all at once, but I think you get the idea. It is so important to explore the deeper aspects and find the deeper meaning of our lives. What is it that we are here to do? What skillsets do we possess and how can we use those for the greater good? By finding your purpose you not only create magnetism around your life, but you also encourage others to do the same. You have unique gifts, and you are supposed to share them. It is what we are meant to do. It is like puzzle pieces, we all have a place and we all fit in somewhere, and without us the picture is just no complete. So, find your purpose and live it to the fullest.
If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?
To write their own apologies for the ones they never got. So often in life we never receive the apologies we deserve. But that shouldn’t hold us back from living a life we love. Healing is ultimately an inside job, and the only person with the right qualifications for that job…is us. By learning how to write our own apologies both to ourselves from others, and to ourselves from, well, ourselves, we learn to let go of the past. We take accountability for our own role in situations and begin to see how we can improve our future. Even if all we learn from the situation is how to avoid a type of person moving forward or how to get out of a situation more quickly, those are valuable life lessons. Writing our own apologies gives us a chance to see how we have more control than we realize in shaping our own lives and futures. We can choose to let go of the past, to do our inner work, and realize what we can improve in the future. We have the power to create the life and love we desire, and the very first step in that process, is letting go of the past. And that is really what my book, Apologies I Never Got, is all about.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?
You Are Your Ideal Client- Do you like your content? Is it the kind of information you would like to know, is it something that would be helpful to you? One of the greatest pieces of advice I have gotten, although unfortunately after I had already started my business, is to curate your content to you. If you have been in your clients’ shoes, and have gone through what they have, then who better than to create content for them! You know their unique struggle and what information would have helped or attracted you. And even if your ideal client isn’t reflective of you, creating authentic content is one of the most magnetic things you can do. So, create content you love, that resonates with you and that makes you just want to shout it from the rooftops!
Just Start- It’s never going to be perfect. Just start. Your packaging will change, your pricing will change, and even your business priorities might change. And that’s OK. It’s all part of the process. So just start. Start writing, start paining, start selling, just start! Prepare as much as possible, do your research and get as organized as you can, but then just go for it!
Progress Not Perfection- When you have to pivot, celebrate that! You are learning and growing and with every step and pivot you make; your business and life just gets better and better! Even the most experienced wellness practitioners and business owners are consistently making changes and improving, so it really is about progress not perfection.
The Only Failure Is Giving Up- If every step of progress and every pivot is considered a success, then the only true failure is giving up. When you give up it’s over. When you pivot, take a break and try again tomorrow, or get up one more time after getting knocked down, then you are succeeding. Even if you are just getting one step closer to being a better healer or a better business owner, you are still that much closer. But giving up is the only true failure because it is the end, it is the closing of the door. As long as the door is still open, there is still hope. So, if you look at it that way, it takes an immense amount of pressure off. As long as you are still going, you are succeeding, you are making progress and that’s an amazing thing.
Trust Your Gut/Stay in Your Center- There are going to be a LOT of opinions out there. Especially if you are doing something against the grain. Which is why it is so important to stay in your own center and trust your own intuition. Especially in the healing and wellness fields, your intuition is your best friend, and it is exactly what makes you so effective. So, trust yourself and stay in your center because the most important opinion about your life and business…is yours!
Sustainability, veganism, mental health and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?
We are a product of our environment as they say, and right now our environment is in chaos, so it is no wonder the collective mental health is at an all time low. With so little focus on mental health, the cycles, and patterns we see are repeating themselves in the next generations. Traditional therapy has its place, but I feel it is best served in getting people to a point of surviving, and we need more effective and less traditional methods to get them from surviving to thriving. We are multifaceted beings and stark rooms with harsh regulations and fluorescent lighting with a by the book, cookie cutter approach simply does not serve us. We are at a time when more effective, less mainstream methods are being introduced and successfully used. And I think it is time we drop the stigma around them and begin including them in our healthcare. Medications, checked boxes, and questionnaires are not getting to the root of our problems, and we need to figure out what will. I went to several traditional therapists with little to no benefit, before finding the methods that worked for me, and none of them were introduced to me in mainstream therapy. I feel it is time we expand our concepts of mental health into holistic healing. And I think we should also recognize we are living in a society that is not conducive to the human psyche. It does not follow the cycles and natural rhythms of the planet, it requires us to produce the same amount of production whether we are sick or well, and it does not consider anything other than our work output. It is a system meant for robots, not human beings. No wonder we are so stressed.
It is time we take mental health far more seriously and start treating the cause, rather than the symptoms.
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