Women In Wellness: Dr Kristine Brecht of Aesthetic Rejuvenation On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
Create a list of gratitude- Writing down 3 things that I am grateful for, no matter how small or big, has helped me immensely in remaining positive and appreciative of being alive.
As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Kristine Brecht.
Dr. Kristine Brecht has over two decades of specialized training and experience as a Cosmetic Surgeon and currently practices at her State of the Art facility in Burien, Washington; Aesthetic Rejuvenation. After completing her Plastic Surgery Fellowship from University of South Florida, she served as president of the American Society of Liposuction Surgery and on the Board of Trustees for the American Academy of Cosmetic surgery. Dr. Brecht has also held numerous leadership positions within the medical community, most notably as Chairwoman of the World Congress on Liposuction in 2017.
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?
After completing my Plastic Surgery Fellowship from University of South Florida, I served as the president of the American Society of Liposuction Surgery and on the Board of Trustees for the American Academy of Cosmetic surgery. I then had the opportunity to hold numerous leadership positions within the medical community.
One of my most notable accomplishments is serving as Chairwoman of the World Congress on Liposuction in 2017. I have spoken at many conferences over the years regarding cosmetic procedures and techniques. My goal has always been to educate others about these treatments and help them make informed decisions about their own care. I am currently treating patients at my state of the art medical center, Aesthetics Rejuvenation. I focus on providing the latest technologies and treatments for the face, body and breasts. These include face and neck lifts, tummy tucks, facial skin treatments, breast reduction and Liposuction.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?
A large part of my career has been focused on not only educating myself but educating others. The treatments and topics of skin tightening, liposculpting, fat removal and medical aesthetic procedures were once very “hush hush”. People were afraid to have these procedures done and ashamed to tell others of the treatments they received. I find this very interesting and honestly exciting now. I am excited the beauty industry is headed into a direction of improving confidence and not placing shame onto those who are looking to feel better about their personal appearance. I faced the fear of new technology head on, it has become my mission to make this topic less scary by providing ample education and details to my clients while also consistently educating myself. I know that learning will always be a part of my job; as technology improves, my practice will improve with it.
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?
Beginning my own practice and beginning Aesthetic Rejuvenation was difficult. I trusted my capability and ability to perform procedures and give my patients the best results possible but it is not only me in my office. It is important that everyone in your facility meets the standard that you believe your patients deserve; from medical assistants to receptionists. Luckily I learned the importance of a great team early on and am proud of the team we have at Aesthetics Rejuvenation.
Let’s jump to our main focus. When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world?
I am a medical professional that is dedicated to making people look and feel their best. I understand the importance of providing a space where women can come in and take time to focus on themselves. Women spend every day taking care of others, children, families, work problems; they deserve to make an investment in themselves.
I find motivation and drive to keep advancing my practice when I see my patients satisfied with their treatments received by my team and I. Everyday, I am working to make men and women more confident through the results we provide.
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.
Dynamic Stretches- begin or end your day everyday with dynamic stretching. This does not have to be a long workout but rather a 10 minute portion of your morning or night to connect with your body. There are many stressors people face throughout the day and unfortunately they are held within the body. Dynamic stretching releases those tension points and allows your body to release and relax.
Mindful Meditation- Along with stretching I believe it to be very important to incorporate meditation into your day, every day. With a busy schedule, stressors and life moving fast it is important to take 5–10 minutes to check in with yourself, ground yourself and better your mind.
Do Not Check Your Phone First Thing in the Morning- It is becoming increasingly normal for people to check their phone first thing in the morning. A challenge for those reading is to not look at your phone right when you wake up; stretch, meditate, get ready for the day, enjoy a coffee or tea, then check your phone.
Increase your Water Intake- staying hydrated and drinking enough water plays a huge role in the health of your body. Check in with yourself, how much water are you typically drinking a day? Chances are it should be increased.
Create a list of gratitude- Writing down 3 things that I am grateful for, no matter how small or big, has helped me immensely in remaining positive and appreciative of being alive.
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 believe that many people need to invest in themselves. Everyday we are constantly influenced by our surroundings, the negative topics in the media, other people’s opinions and more. This takes a toll on how we feel about ourselves. Some people may feel bad on the inside due to the appearance on the outside or look great on the outside but need mental support. I believe that when people invest in themselves, and take time to focus on themselves they will treat others better. This is why I see it so valuable to invest in making sure you are confident, content and satisfied with yourself.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?
Invest in your team- My team is an extension of me so it is very important for my team to hold the same level of expertise, professionalism and eagerness to learn as I do.
Be Comfortable Adjusting- adjusting to the climate of the world, technology and patients’ needs can be scary but it is inevitable.
Invest in Technology — if you are not moving forward with technology you will get left behind, so never stop learning and trying new things!
Invest in Marketing- in the age of social media I have found it very important to take time to build my online presence by posting informational videos, before and afters, client testimonials and more so that people are able to see my work and gain trust in me before even coming into the office.
Never Stop Learning- in order to provide patients with the best and most effective services I constantly am having to read up on new techniques, advancements in technology, medical methods and more.
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 the most dearest to me. A lot of my patients are very unhappy with their appearance and that affects everything around them as this lack of confidence holds them back. Mental health is something that should be of utmost importance and I look forward to more resources being available as more and more people come to this realization as well.
What is the best way our readers can follow you online?
Women In Wellness: Lousia Mojela of Akanda Corp On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
Patience is virtue and a necessity — it takes time to realize fruits of one’s labor, key is to not deviate from strategic objectives of but keep focused on executing what’s in the plan, tweaks can be necessary so long as that does not create massive deviation from the plan.
As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Louisa Mojela.
Louisa Mojela is the Executive Chairman of Akanda Corp. She has held positions at Lesotho National Development Corporation, Development Bank of Southern Africa (during which time she was seconded to the World Bank in Washington DC), and Standard Corporate and Merchant Bank. In 1994, Louisa together with three other women colleagues founded Women Investment Portfolio Holdings, a company dedicated to the empowerment and women and youth. In 2018, Louisa founded Bophelo Bioscience and Wellness, a company that grows and cultivates medicinal cannabis and in 2021Louisa became one of the founders of Akanda Corporation.
Louisa graduated with Bachelor of Commerce from the National University of Lesotho. She has also completed the Executive Leadership Program at Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. In 2000 Louisa was selected as one of 40 women from different continents and countries for “The Leading Women Entrepreneur of the World”. In 2008, Louisa was recognized as one of South Africa’s most influential women in business and government. In May 2009, Louisa was the winner of the Inaugural African Business Leadership Award in Dakar, Senegal by the African Development Bank (AfDB). In January 2010 Louisa received ’The Builders of the African Economy Award’’ in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Louisa served on several boards including Distell, Sun International, ABB SA, Sasol Mining and Life Healthcare Group Holding (Pty) Ltd. In 2022, Louisa was recognized by Forbes as one of 50/50 Leading Women Entrepreneurs.
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 the Executive Chairman of Akanda Corporation, an international medical cannabis that grows and cultivates medicinal cannabis in the Kingdom of Lesotho through Bophelo Bioscience and Wellness campus that I founded in 2018. I hold a Bachelor of Commerce Degree from the National University of Lesotho and Honorary Doctor of Commerce from University of Stellenbosch and University of Lesotho.
I am a proud daughter, mother, wife, grandmother, aunty, entrepreneur, and a staunch believer of women and youth empowerment all of which I enjoy the roles I play. As a women in business and a trailblazer in women in cannabis in Lesotho and South Africa, I have learned that failure is not an option as such I have to work hard, practice integrity, respect, accountability, transparency, and uphold high measure of corporate governance because in the end this is still a man’s world and we have to have a dogged determination to be our very best whilst still maintaining our femininity.
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 founded Bophelo Bioscience in 2018 and at that time all I had was a license to grow and cultivate medicinal cannabis from the Ministry of Health in Lesotho. I had no experience working in a cannabis industry nor had I ever seen a cannabis plantation. All I had in mind was I do not need to be an expert in the industry so long as I can surround myself with people who are experts in the industry. I then started the search for a strategic partner that will bring in the know-how and expertise. First, I went to The Netherlands as it is known to be the cannabis capital and met with few companies which initially expressed interest but ultimately nothing concrete worked out. Then I was introduced to Halo Lab’s CEO Kiran Sidhu who then made the trip to come to Lesotho. Following some extensive negotiations in 2019, we agreed on a strategic partnership, and I was appointed Executive Chairman of Halo Labs. Two years later Halo embarked on the reorganization of its portfolio and decided to split its medicinal cannabis operations from recreational and Bophelo Bioscience and Canmart from United Kingdom were flipped into Akanda Corporation a newly established company focusing on the cultivation, production, and distribution of medicinal products internationally for the healing of patients.
Today I am a proud Executive Chairman of Akanda Corporation, very diversified company in terms of race and gender which is listed on NASDAQ, working alongside our CEO Tej Virk, Trevor Scott CFO, Vidya lyer VP Finance and Dr. Asli our President. The lesson for me is that it is important in business to focus and keep your eyes on the price. That I did not have any requisite experience in cannabis did not deter me from wanting to be in the business and playing an important role but noting that in order to succeed I needed to surround myself with experts in the industry.
Can you share a story about the biggest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
When I started, I expected that it will be relatively easy to raise capital within the South African Capital Market once a strategic partner was secured and a clear business plan was articulated. I did not realize that in this market cannabis business was still very much shunned even though this was for medicinal purposes. The lesson therefore was it is important to expand one’s horizons and never limit oneself to home market. With the listing on NASDAQ, Akanda has a very wide international shareholder base.
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?
The cultivation and distribution of medicinal products will have a bigger impact in the world. For a very long time the benefits of cannabis as alternative medicines have been ignored. However, more and more evidence is confirming that cannabis if properly used and administered professionally by doctors can cure many illnesses such as anxiety, epilepsy, inflammation, chronic pain, etc. More and more patients especially adults with chronic pains are switching to the use of cannabis medicines. It will be very beneficial if more pharmaceutical companies can embrace this and put money in the much-required research.
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 lifestyle tweaks towards better wellbeing is healthy eating, which includes less red meat, a gluten free diet, avoidance of saturated fats, lots of fruit and vegetables but avoiding those high in acid to avoid inflammation, and lots of water. I am not good at going to the gym, but I compensate that with mornings and afternoon walks. Lastly my grandchildren keep me on balance as I get to do many activities with them. I play tennis and do make time to travel the world to watch tournaments which enhances my wellbeing as I get to relax and enjoy the sport.
If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?
The movement that I think would bring the most wellness to the most amount of people is jogging/walking. It is free, no gym fee required, and it is outside where there is lots of fresh air and because of the world we now live in of covid pandemic, this also provides good social distancing. In my view, every one of us would benefit from this free exercise.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?
Getting funding for greenfield projects is a nightmare — typical funders want matured projects. It doesn’t matter how good the business plan may be.
Project preparation is risky and costly. It also takes a lot of time to research and effort to put together the business plan- mostly funded out of pocket as funders do not typically fund a business plan.
Operating from a small developing country with underdeveloped capital market is a challenge — access to capital is limited to fund bankable projects, pool is small and demand for funding high.
Government bureaucracy can delay implementation of projects — pace for urgency in public sector is different from that of private sector. In private sector time is money and that may not be the case in public sector.
Patience is virtue and a necessity — it takes time to realize fruits of one’s labor, key is to not deviate from strategic objectives of but keep focused on executing what’s in the plan, tweaks can be necessary so long as that does not create massive deviation from the plan.
Sustainability, veganism, mental health and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?
All these causes are important, but if I were to choose one, I would choose Sustainability. For me sustainability is an embodiment of many things, environment, social cohesiveness, corporate governance, stakeholder awakes and accountability. A company that embraces Sustainability will ensure that it advocates for environmental issues such as green economy, employee social cohesiveness is transformative and embraces diversity and corporate governance and accountability is always adhered to. For me this ensures that the whole company’s ecosystem is in place.
What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?
I am generally a private person and stay away from social media. The best communication for me is via my email or iMessage on my mobile
Women In Wellness: Dr Jessica Cho On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
Practice every morning 3 things — 3 gratitude lists and 3 small things which bring you joy and happiness– it can be even something like “having my coffee in my bed for 5 minutes to set my intention for a day”!
As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Jessica Cho.
To Dr. Jessica Cho, wellness goes beyond an absence of disease. Wellness is a life of happiness, health, and vitality. In 2000, Dr. Cho founded Wellness at Century City, located in the heart of Hollywood’s entertainment business, creating a practice that reflects her years of experience and knowledge. Her background as an internal medicine physician along with her integrative philosophy grants her the unique ability to treat patients as a whole.
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 believe wellness goes beyond an absence of disease. My mission is to educate and help the patients re-create wellness, enabling a life full of happiness, health, and vitality. Together, we must uncover the root causes of your health problems to achieve long-term wellbeing.
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?
For more than 25 years, I am honored and humbled to have the privilege of doing what I love every day: practicing medicine. But my journey didn’t start this way. Growing up in Korea, I was expected to become a concert pianist. When I came to the US, I initially studied bioengineering until I fell in love with the wondrous dynamic of the mind and body, working together in perfect synchronicity. Becoming a physician aligned my actions with my heart’s passion and mind’s curiosity.
Fresh out of medical school, I was ecstatic to start practicing internal medicine: the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of illness. Then, a storm hit me during my first few years of practicing. I struggled with sleepless nights, thyroid storm, spiking sugar levels with precarious moods, and unbalanced hormones, losing all my hair and wearing a wig as a cover-up. My specialty doctors couldn’t help me, and the medications I was given caused more side effects than relief. As I faced the isolating emotional repercussions of my health problems, I felt like I had become a shell of my previous self. I lost myself. I could no longer see myself as a wife, as a mom, or as a woman.
Out of my despair came my quest to repair and to heal. I sought to broaden my knowledge beyond conventional Western medicine. After years of re-educating and re-training in integrative & anti-aging medicine as well as Eastern medicine, I discovered how to use all the complementary tools in healing, not only pills and prescriptions.
I am grateful for the life I have lived to get me to this point. My own health experiences helped me become a better physician to my patients, immersed in more empathy and purpose as a partner in healing, as I understand their frustrations and worries on a personal level. Today and every day, I become more inspired to help others heal from within, to achieve long-term wellness, not a quick fix. This is my divine calling and my driving force behind what I do and why I practice medicine every single day.
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?
During one of my first on-call shifts of my internship, my attending doctor tasked me with taking care of his ICU patients overnight. I remember feeling dead on my feet, yet relieved, after 30 consecutive hours. The next day, I found out that one of the patients I was responsible for suffered warfarin-induced brain hemorrhage. I had made a dosing mistake that could have been fatal. The patient luckily made a full recovery, but over 24 years later, I remember how sick to my stomach I felt waiting for news from his surgery. This experience ingrained in me a deep respect for the responsibilities of being a physician. In my work, every small detail, whether it be a piece of history, an offhand complaint, or medication dosage, can make all the difference to each patient. This has been my grateful mistake that has been an eternal blessing, reminding me a humility and respect for what I do for each patient.
Let’s jump to our main focus. When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world?
I started Wellness at Century City with a unique, integrative approach to medicine that blends Western Medicine with Eastern medicine. My personal value of empathy and service to others is what I want my practice to embody as my philosophy. And it should be an extension of what I do in my life. This has been reflected in long years of global medical missions to serve marginalized communities all over the world. Over the past decade, I have served Romani, repressed Kurdish communities in the remote Turkey countryside, Syrian refugee efforts in Greece, and indigenous Amazonian tribes and more on my mission. In my local community, I began a yearly tradition of hosting free clinic days at my office every November in the spirit of Thanksgiving. My medical mission is what has been so fulfilling personally, which has illuminated my purpose and passion.
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.
Deeper, more REM sleep which will reset, restore, and replenish you and more & dietary restrictions of gluten and simple carbohydrates.
Practice every morning 3 things — 3 gratitude lists and 3 small things which bring you joy and happiness– it can be even something like “having my coffee in my bed for 5 minutes to set my intention for a day”!
Incorporate HIIT exercises for 5–10 minutes daily. Even taking a walk 10–15 minutes can do much more than you think.
Practice intermittent fasting by fasting for 12–16 hours in between your mealtimes whenever feasible.
Cultivate & optimize your gut microbiome by taking prebiotics and probiotics. Your gut microbiome is the most frontier of the latest anti-aging recipe. Gut restoration yields anti-aging effects by improving your digestion, inflammation, metabolism, immune protection, and brain health.
If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?
If I could start a movement, I would revamp the American healthcare industry. At a time when the current healthcare landscape is forcing physicians to sell their practices or depersonalize care with extended wait times and rushed appointments, I too am challenged to maintain a high level of patient-centric care and service. I believe patients deserve their physician’s best, which is impossible under insurance restrictions and quota mandates. At my practice, I protect and foster the patient-physician relationship by ensuring each visit has enough time, so I can truly understand my patients, their backgrounds, and how these complex dynamics affect their health today.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?
Don’t be pressured to know your passion in your life. You don’t have to know what it is exactly, however, engage fully your mundane daily life. Embrace all your disappointments, failures, and rejections and even anger. Your passion and purpose are being carved out of your daily life when you take one day at a time.
You must stay authentic and true to yourself: you must find answers from within.
You will gain perspective from rest. When you slow down and take a moment for yourself, you will be able to reflect and gain inspiration to forge onward.
Learn to live in the present.
It is simple: Let yourself choose happiness and laugh.
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 my heart. As someone who has been treating successfully mental health for the past 24 years, I cannot emphasize how important it is in your overall physical health. I have embraced this new era of speaking openly about mental health and understanding mental health as an illness. It has been my great honor to have the privilege of listening to each of my patients’ intimate, personal, even traumatic life stories. As a physician, I approach mental health the same way I might approach calcium or Vit D3 deficiency of your bone as it simply represents the deficiencies and imbalanced harmony of your brain neurotransmitters, which also affords the natural remedies to balance and replenish when you understand it in such fashion. It is okay to talk about it and seek help, which truly represents your strength and kindness to yourself.
What is the best way our readers can follow you online?
I often write about newest medical discoveries and the innovative clinically proven treatment options for common health problems in my blog on my website. I am also active on Instagram, where I enjoy sharing more about my daily life and providing free, accessible health education @jessicachomd and Facebook at Wellnessatcenturycity.
Female Disruptors: Shanila Sattar of Flow Breathwork & AlwaysPlay Studios On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
Another piece of advice I received from no one in particular but just a general messaging that I have absorbed, is to be able to stay in your own lane. One of the hardships of starting a business and starting out as a young entrepreneur is that this model of business didn’t already exist. These types of conversations around wellness access, marginalized communities, BIPOC experiences, experiences of immigrants, ancestral trauma, science, mysticism, and the whole dance of it all, haven’t been welcomed in wellness and healing space.
As a part of our series about women who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Shanila Sattar.
Shanila Sattar is the founder of Flow Breathwork Facilitator Training, author of Breathe, and host of the podcast, The Playground. She is the creator of AlwaysPlay Studios and The Integrative Healing Academy, where she trains sound healers, breathwork facilitators, and mentors aspiring healers in the healing arts.
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 came into the wellness industry completely by accident! My background is in research science looking at what keeps girls interested in math and sciences, perfectionism, grit, and women’s societal experiences. Before that, I cofounded an award-winning digital agency right from my college dorm room. I never envisioned that I would be training practitioners and supporting facilitators in learning breathwork, sound healing, and empowering aspiring healers in the healing arts. I happened upon this career from my own need to learn how to take care of myself. There was a moment in time a few years ago when I started to experiences a bunch of illnesses in my body that was unexplainable by doctors. I wasn’t really getting the answers that I wanted and it became incredibly frustrating for me to do very average day-to-day activities. I was always very tired, my hair was falling out, my sleep was disturbed, I was having panic attacks, and a whole slew of other things that really just showed out of nowhere.
I knew there was some kind of imbalance but I was just never getting any kind of support in navigating that world for myself. One day I happened upon a Soundbath in the middle of a music festival I was attending with my best friend. My scientist mind started to roll my eyes into the back of my head because I was like, “what are all these crystal bowls and gongs? What the heck is this?” But it look like people were laying down and having a nice nap and I’m always down for a good nap. I laid down and experienced a type of stillness in my mind and body that I had never experienced before. From there, I was hooked!
I began to explore the world of holistic wellness and integrative health, that considers the wellness and well-being of someone from a whole-person perspective. A type of well-being that considers emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual wellness when talking about wellness.
From there I began to study. I studied wisdom traditions from yoga, martial arts, dance, energy healing, and so much more that spoke about how everything in our bodies are interconnected. I learned about the physiology behind it all — the nervous system, vagus nerves, trauma informed lens, somatic healing, and more. I started to share these healing arts by hosting soundbaths, breathwork sessions, and community-based healing all over Los Angeles at community events, women shelters, veterans legions, LGBTQ centers, schools, universities, conferences, and pretty much anywhere I could spread the beautiful healing crafts! I’ve received grant funding from the State of California to bring much of these holistic healing arts to clinical populations and supported dozens of practitioners to facilitate meditation, breathwork, and sound baths in these spaces.
Now I am blessed to be able to hold space for practitioners who want to learn these crafts with me. One of the best things that has come from this career path is that I’ve been able to connect with underserved, under represented, and marginalized communities, specifically BIPOC communities, to bring accessible wellness and wellness tools in ways that makes sense for that specific community. Practitioners tend to be therapists, social workers, healers, nurses, doulas, and those who are deeply grounded in wellness practices.
Being able to take some things that have really shifted me, my health, my energy, and pretty much my life, and be able to share them with other people has been one of the greatest gifts of my life.
Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?
I don’t think we talk enough about how difficult it is for black and brown people in the wellness field not just as practitioners but as participants. There’s a whole industry that does not understand the lived experiences of different demographics of people; an immigration experience, race experience, cultural experience, socio-economic status, trauma, and so much more go into a person’s lived experience.
There’s sort of this rampant avoidance of such topics that make it incredibly unsafe for people to heal in certain spaces. It’s almost as a culture, we’re not willing or able to sit with the discomfort of having conversations that impact so many people from a deep emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual level.
What is disruptive about my work at AlwaysPlay Studios, and Flow Breathwork Facilitator Training, is that our lens is from the underserved, marginalized, and underrepresented. We know that our lived experiences have everything to do with the way that we heal, how safe we feel in healing spaces, and the level of healing we are able to get to it when we create the spaces that are safe for all of us.
As a South Asian immigrant in the wellness space, I’ve experienced so much harm as both a practitioner and as a participant in the wellness industry, from micro-aggressions, commodification, erasure of my culture and lineage, hyper capitalized business structures and generally a lack of understanding of the violence, the harm, and exclusivity that happens in a lot of western, modern wellness spaces.
When I started in the healing arts I had absolutely no support. I didn’t know where to go study. I didn’t know how to go practice my crafts. I didn’t know how to show up as a practitioner. I didn’t know the ins and outs of what it means to be a breathwork facilitator, a mentor, or a practitioner in the healing arts. I had no idea.
That’s what I’ve done here. I’ve created a space with my community in mind. I want to be able to create the tables where I actually wanted to sit instead of using my precious energy to fight against systems that are often committed to excluding and not understanding a variety of lived experiences. Some resources like free classes, pop-up community mentorships, integration mentors, scholarship offerings, and breathwork trainings rooted in lineage based studies, are some of the ways we try to close the accessibility gap.
As capitalistic ideologies can foreshadow a human-first approach, it’s been important to be a continuous learner, adapt, and shift what’s going to be the most beneficial of a community of practitioners in the healing arts who are from traditionally silenced groups.
Now I get to see hundreds of breathwork facilitators bringing super easy and applicable to real life tools into their classrooms, their clients, workplaces, families, friends, and all the places that we’ve traditionally thought it was too hard to implement well-being in. Empowering and equipping facilitators to not only feel safe to practice their crafts, but to have a space where they are also being held and rooted for their experiences, is a blessing that has been missing.
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 know if this is funny but I forgot to play at AlwaysPlay Studios! I got really caught up in getting my community off the ground, and I forgot literally the foundational basis of what I wanted to create. I wanted to have fun while re-envisioning wellness!
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?
To highlight two of my mentors Anita Sundaram and Raquel Bueno who held space for me through yoga training is an honor. I feel a different kind of safety studying with teachers and mentors who practice what they preach. Learning wisdom traditions from those who live and embody the traditions is a different level of mentorship. Teachers who identify that know that we’re all continuous students and that everybody doesn’t know everything, really give this energetic permission to not have it all figured out. I love teachers who honor, respect, appreciates, and acknowledge traditions that have existed for thousands of years before us. There is something so special about learning the lineage and roots from teachers who gift from such a deep expression from their hearts.
Another teacher of mine is Ana Netanel who helped me study some elements of sound healing and I was able to experience her healing work, her community, and the passion for her craft through her consistency, love, and enjoyment of sound healing.
I’m inspired and humbled by mentors who embody their craft in their unique expressions.
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?
Anytime there is a hot buzz word, we have to look at it with a side eye. Like are you really disrupting anything or have you just repackaged something that already exists into a new title? Low-key that’s what a lot of disruption is packaged as. I would like to think of disruptors as people who are re-envisioning the normal. Systems that have worked at a certain moment in time are not all applicable to us in the present moment. A lot of us get so used to the same old — same old that we don’t really think about breaking that pattern. Of course, when you break patterns that support and create impact in ways that consider people before profit, that becomes super revolutionary.
I don’t believe that you can truly be a disruptor if there is no community behind you. Community is what builds you and what supports your idea and vision to come into fruition. Without that community support, you might be on a mission to call yourself a disruptor for the sake of being called a disruptor, instead of being one.
When ideas, resources, systems, and collaboration is done to benefit the greater good, you’re now in the line of positive disruption. When those things are done without consideration of “why” someone is doing these things, then it can be a disruptive disruption!
It’s also okay to not do disruptive business. It’s okay to chill and relax. It’s okay to look at models of business, entrepreneurship, collaboration, and community building that already exist and aren’t the newest idea. Perhaps there’s a lot that already works very well and we don’t need to keep recreating the wheel.
Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.
One of the most recent things that stick out to me is from my mentor, Anita, who said there are no rockstar healers. That really resonate with me because I think it’s really easy to get caught up in individualism, authority building, and “brand building” when wellness is really about the health of the collective. It’s easy to paint yourself as somebody who knows everything and helps everyone and that takes a little bit of the humanness away from the healing experience.
Our work can’t be centered around us. Our work is impact driven, meaning can we actually see people using the skills and tools out in the real world? Do we see facilitators sharing these crafts in communities who would never really have access to meditation, breathwork, sound healing? Do we see the little seeds we’ve planted, bloom?
This is the manifestation of our communities from all the time, energy, and resources we put into everything that we do. This makes me look at my own business model and the community spaces that I have begun to build based in accessible wellness and well-being while still taking care of myself emotionally, mentally, spiritually, physically, and of course let’s not skip this part, financially as well. It makes me look into the structure of the community I have inside The Playground, where healers, practitioners, and anybody who is looking to be consistent on their self development and discovery journey are able to come and tap in to a lot of resources. At the same time, the platform supports practitioners, who I hire, to be able to teach and practice their skills in a community healing format.
Another piece of advice I received from no one in particular but just a general messaging that I have absorbed, is to be able to stay in your own lane. One of the hardships of starting a business and starting out as a young entrepreneur is that this model of business didn’t already exist. These types of conversations around wellness access, marginalized communities, BIPOC experiences, experiences of immigrants, ancestral trauma, science, mysticism, and the whole dance of it all, haven’t been welcomed in wellness and healing space.
We have to be the blueprint. It’s very difficult to be the blueprints when you’re looking at other people’s work. Others have their own expression, intentions, and vision for their work. Especially being from a marginalized community, I’ve had to really stick to this messaging. I can’t be looking for inspiration from other people to create something that hasn’t been created yet. That’s one of the most liberating thing and terrifying thing at the same time because you become responsible for your own vision and how you’re actually going to carry out that vision. There’s nothing to model it after. For me this is the most fun part.
The last advice I can share with you today is to offer and serve more than you ask. You would think that this would be an obvious thing for those who are in the healing, wellness, and healing arts adjacent fields, but it is an amazing memo. Humans are naturally wired to help and to serve. That’s why we’re always giving out unsolicited advice and doing the most to be of help, whether it’s received that way or not. It’s never a bad thing to be helpful, considerate, and offer service more than you ask for things. That’s not to say that you can’t ever ask for things! It’s just to say that look at the balance and come back to service first.
We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?
Oh! I am committed to training thousands of breathwork facilitators, sound healers, and aspiring healers! I love this budding community that we have going on. I love to see BIPOC folk succeed this way and people who have traditionally not had spaces to feel safe to do healing work really thrive and elevate their lives. I am consistently readjusting and reevaluating what this means going forward.
In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by ‘women disruptors’ that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?
Just the fact that we have to call us women disruptors versus male destructors is already pretty suspect. I think putting that distinction in there is another type of separation that isn’t as helpful as one might think. There are already so many barriers of access to funding, VC, networking, and tons of resources that are traditionally far away for a lot of women, and even worse when you’re a person of color.
Another element of a woman disruptor versus male counterparts is that men are not required to cosplay women as much as women are pressured to when being taken seriously as a disruptor. It’s almost as if the essence of a woman’s experience is not really valued and in order to be taken seriously, there is a type of presentation that is more palatable. This goes in marketing, communication, headshots, the presentations that are selected, etc. And when we’re doing disruptive work in community-based healing, this doesn’t look like a corporate headshot. It looks like touching peoples feet. It looks like hugging people while they’re having a trauma release. It looks like holding hands and dancing in a circle. It looks like laughing and crying. It looks like playing. So the presentation feels diluted and dismissed to a corporate presentation especially when you’re doing such high-level nurturing work that’s not always visible tangibly.
Do you have a book/podcast/talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us?
Of course I love my own podcast — The Playground Podcast! And of course, I love my own book, Breathe! But one book I really truly love is called The Little Prince. It’s such a sweet reminder that nothing is so serious. Everything has impermanence. It’s very yoga. It’s a great reminder to me that you can take perspectives and change things. You can look at circumstances from a different lens anytime you please.
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. 🙂
Oh don’t tempt me! I would love to see community healing just takeoff. I want to see healers in all the different places doing full moon circles, women circles, and taking care of each other from a very nurturing space that hasn’t really felt safe for many of us in a very long time. The more that we can bring emotions and dancing and coloring, and healing all together, the more that we play, the more we can heal together.
So you know, come sponsor some practitioners! Support BIPOC getting training and mentorship. Let’s invest in community wellness, and give people access to resources to high level trainings in healing modalities, receive mentorship, have access to all the tools that will lead to their success. Let’s talk!
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Modern Fashion: Zahraa Berro of Zahraa The Label On The 5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand Today
An Interview With Candice Georgiadice
As a startup, there is still so much to learn and understand about consumer behavior. With e-commerce sales skyrocketing since the pandemic, there is a lot of data that can teach us about the future. Personally, I treat my label as a well-renowned brand from day one. I treat it as if everyone knows about my label and is an intentional shopper. With that, I can identify their behaviors and buying patterns from our site and data from e-commerce platforms to understand how to increase.
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 Zahraa Berro.
CEO and founder of Zahraa The Label, Zahraa Berro, has entered the fashion world, creating one-of-a-kind hijabs and conservative pieces catered to empowering the modern Muslim women and anyone aiming for high quality sustainable, and conservative styles.
Born and raised in Dearborn, Michigan to immigrant parents, in one of the largest Arab American Muslim communities, Zahraa learned at an early age the importance of her roots, cultural beliefs, and understanding of her identity. Although growing up in charter + private schools limited her fashion freedom, Zahraa always found opportunities to find her own style outside school grounds, with a bit of help from her mom who loved buying new pieces to spruce up her wardrobe. Over the years, Zahraa quickly came to develop her own style, while staying true to her roots but soon noticed there was a gap in the industry when it came to conservative pieces for the modern women.
In 2020, Zahraa launched Zahraa The Label focused on filling these gaps while providing trendy hijabs and modest fashion through high-quality fabrics and sustainable materials. Over the last two years, the brand has expanded from its original line of hijabs and hijab accessories to full wardrobe pieces, offering women everything from closet staples to event lux pieces. Since its launch, Zahraa The Label has been praised by the likes of Instagram’s top-tier influencers including Leena Snoubar, Minah Hamadeh, Amanda Asada & Zahra to name a few. Garnering rapid success, Zahraa has taken it upon herself to continue to cater to not only her loyal customers but the environment, looking to expand into more eco-friendly collections in the next year, while aiming to offer more unisex friendly pieces for the whole family.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood “backstory”?
I am the oldest of 6 siblings and grew up in an Arabic Muslim community as the eldest child, which means that I was the guinea pig, lol. I was always trying new things, but it was important for me to please my parents and become the “doctor of the family.” So I did try to become that, but unfortunately, I failed my last semester at University of Michigan- Dearborn, which pushed me to pursue a business degree at Wayne State University. I pursued multiple businesses that failed throughout my university career, but I didn’t realize I had the entrepreneurship blood within me as my father did. I didn’t understand or explore my passions until 2018.
Can you tell us the story about what led you to this particular career path?
I had many businesses from 18–26 years of age that failed, and it never made me feel sad. I knew deep down that I loved business. The concept of flipping an item and making a profit gave me a buzz that I became addicted to. Eventually, in 2018, when I started my blogging career, I started to dive into modest fashion more deeply and promised myself that I would start my own fashion label, despite having zero knowledge about the industry. In 2020 is where the magic happened, and Zahraa The Label was created.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
Believing in yourself is a powerful energy that, once in full throttle, can allow you to explore endless opportunities. I started to believe in what I CAN do, and I just did it. I was laser-focused and did not let anything stand in my way. My favorite part was creating a strategy for a peak month, setting a goal for that month, then selling out over one weekend! That was my first PEEK season, and I will never forget the feeling of believing I could do it, strategizing to ensure my goal was met and exceeded my expectations. I love this feeling!
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?
(1) Vision: My vision for Zahraa The Label is far beyond making money. It’s about impact. It’s about lifestyle. I visioned my brand to be an international brand worn by Modest women in every corner of the world. I saw what I could become, and I ensured I became it- period. Having a vision is the key to my success in such a short amount of time being born into this industry. What Zahraa The Label did in 1.5 years took other brands 5–10 years. We are just getting started, and the thrill is not even here. So much is in store for our vision, and our potential will soon be known worldwide.
(2) Passion: I love what I do. Believe me when I say I love what I do. There is not a single part of me that is tired with regret. I work more than 120+ hours a week, and every second I put into my label is poured with endless love and passion. If I had to choose between a weekend in Italy or in my design studio crafting new dresses for an upcoming collection, you best bet I would choose designing our dresses in our design studio. I can’t explain how my passion drives the success of my company more than choosing work over luxury vacation anytime.
(3) Ambition: I have dreams that I refuse to let die. I will do everything in my power to ensure that my futuristic goals for Zahraa The Label are met. That means I have to think big, think long term, and set myself apart from the rest. Most people are out here to make money. But that’s all it might be for them, and that’s okay. But, I am here to impact, empower, and create a lifestyle brand that makes you FEEL like an empowered individual. The greatest force is seeing the future and, each day, coming closer to it. It’s possible, and I will do it without a doubt.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
I am a full-time content creator with over 500K combined followers on social platforms. I already drive traffic to my site and show people BTS of my brand. I share footage on my Youtube Channel of when I launched, allowing my subscribers to connect with me on that level. I connect with my subscribers & followers and share more than BTS, but rather my life. Which brand in my industry has done this? None. That’s what makes me different from the rest. There is a face to the brand, and they can understand the story of what makes Zahraa The Label their go-to Hijab and Modest Fashion Brand.
Do you have a favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share a story of how that was relevant to you in your life?
“No matter how many times you fall, you always get back up again. “I took a hard fall in 2018 with my divorce. I was a housewife for nine years and a mother of two young kids. I had a low-paying job and depended on my spouse for a living before my divorce. I knew that I needed to find a way to get up and ensure that success was my only option, no matter what that expense was. So I did! I got up and started working, trying new things, and eventually starting my own fashion label, which became the greatest highlight of my life.
Okay, 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?
As a startup, there is still so much to learn and understand about consumer behavior. With e-commerce sales skyrocketing since the pandemic, there is a lot of data that can teach us about the future. Personally, I treat my label as a well-renowned brand from day one. I treat it as if everyone knows about my label and is an intentional shopper. With that, I can identify their behaviors and buying patterns from our site and data from e-commerce platforms to understand how to increase AOV, Retention Rate, Check Out Rate & more. As far as developments, it is all about the shift in consumer behavior overall. The three fixed things are branding, quality, and exceeding customer expectations. We live in a world that is changing every day because of technology. At Zahraa The Label, we accommodate those changes to ensure that our customers are happy from the moment they land on our site to the moment they experience an unboxing.
Can you share how your brand is helping to bring goodness to the world?
If you had asked me this question 10 years ago, I would not have had a good answer. With the rise of many modest fashion lines and modest fashion being a multi-billion dollar industry, we have room to jump in and bridge the gap for these women who had no way of finding a modest apparel outfit in 2010. We create luxury garments with the best quality to exist. We pay close attention to detail in our labor processes, fabric selections, and overall sustainability. Our garments are not fast fashion. One piece can last you forever. It is a garment that is a staple or classic piece that you can wear for years to come. We have to do better for the planet, and it starts with us. Additionally, the goodness we can push is the feeling of empowerment for women who felt helpless years ago, shopping and having no options to choose from. We design pieces that are 100% modest for the modest modern woman.
Can you share with our readers about the ethical standards you use when you choose where to source materials?
We are working on more sustainability as the collections come by. Our pricing is not compared to fast fashion because our factory workers have normal working hours, paid time off, weekends off, and work in excellent working conditions. We do not work with large manufacturers that have a large workload on their plates. In fact, we find smaller manufacturers that in-house their bulk production lines, so we can oversee these practices at any time versus working with manufacturers that have outsourced their bulk production. We source our materials from the market, and the majority of the time, we make our own blend of fabrics in-house, depending on the product. We do not work with manufacturers who are known to work unethically or pay their workers wages that do not allow for a sustainable living.
Thank you for all that. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand”. Please share a story or example for each.
(1) Vision: What kind of brand are you? Where do you see your brand in 5 years?
(2) Designs: Curate designs that will separate you from the rest, so you can stand out from others within your industry.
(3) Customer: If you can describe who your customer is in ONE person, you have your answer as to who you cater to. Focus on your Customer.
(4) Execution: Outsource as much work as you can, so you can do what YOU do best.
(5) Branding: Your branding should be the exact image you want to represent. Be specific and study this well; it can make or break your brand.
Every industry constantly evolves and seeks improvement. How do you think the fashion industry can improve itself? Can you give an example?
Creating more opportunities to rent clothing vs. buy clothing to wear once. There is an oversaturation in today’s world, where if something is sold out, we can make it again and sell more. Supply cannot meet demand, and that’s where the issue may lie. Perhaps seeing more eco-friendly materials that we can reuse repeatedly and recycling clothing to repurpose them for something else.
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. 🙂
Giving back to the community. Whether that is the less fortunate, homeless, schools, or simply doing acts of service, I think it’s important to step away from our normal lives to do things we don’t do daily. It’s about being present and humbling yourself as an individual.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
You can visit zahraathelabel.com and follow us on all socials! You can follow me,” Zahraa Berro,” on Youtube, Instagram, and Tiktok, where I share a lot about my life, my journey, and Zahraa The Label.
Zahraa The Label:
IG: @zahraathelabel
Zahraa Berro:
IG @zahraa_hberro
TikTok @zahraa_hberro
YouTube Zahraa Berro
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
Trust — not only in yourself but in the plant. There is a reason why the opportunity in cannabis is so large and it attracts those from all types of backgrounds and lifestyles.
As a part of my series about strong women leaders in the cannabis industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Amy Bragg Maddocks.
Amy has an extensive background in making consumer product goods and services. Over the years, Amy’s creative resume has grown with professional roles in product development, branding, photography, design, marketing, and business ownership. She is passionate about CBD, reading, running and weight lifting, and living a healthy and happy life with her family and 2 dogs in Seattle.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us the “backstory” about what brought you to the cannabis industry?
I entered the industry in 2015 with a cannabis blog that began as an online resource for women who were interested in using cannabis. The blog quickly expanded to in-home events in the Seattle area that offered a safe and private space to learn about the recreational and medicinal benefits of cannabis and try different accessories and tools for consumption. At these parties, CBD was brought up and asked about often and helped lead to the creation of Mad Ritual. Mad Ritual was launched with a single product at the end of a local 5k race in 2018 and has since grown to include 5 CBD Relief Rubs and 3 CBD Bath Bombs, available in various strengths and blends.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Since Mad Ritual has been around since CBD’s rise to mainstream fame, the conversations I have with the public at events have changed drastically. In the beginning, there was a huge educational curve as the general public had not heard about CBD and for the most part, only knew about cannabis for its recreational use. With Mad Ritual only making topicals, it was easier to convince a runner at a local race to try a relief rub on their throbbing knee than to ingest something like a tincture or a gummy. Over the years, with the help of mainstream media and mass retail selling CBD products along with the federal legalization and clarifications in 2018 with the Hemp Farm Bill, almost everyone has now heard about CBD. When CBD became mainstream, the market was flooded with CBD products and brands, some offering products that were low-grade quality with off-the-shelf formulations. Unfortunately, some consumers had a poor experience with bland results and may think CBD is a scam or another trend. Now my conversations are focused on how CBD works with the body, the different types of CBD (full and broad-spectrum vs isolate), why some CBD topicals work better than others, and why it’s a good alternative to taking NSAIDs for localized and aches and pains.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
In the beginning, Mad Ritual’s operation was so small and the first batch of the rub was made by a friend with a skincare company. Soon after launching, I began making products at home and realized that it was quite laborious to melt, mix, pour, label, and finish all the tins of rub to then photograph and market the finished product! The relief rub has been renamed so many times over the years and it took a while to perfect the formula. Typos on printed labels happened and I quickly learned making a simple change or update to one thing would start a domino effect of updating across multiple assets and mediums. So many mistakes were made but this offered a valuable opportunity to learn the product inside and out and create procedures and processes to reduce mistakes.
Do you have a funny story about how someone you knew reacted when they first heard you were getting into the cannabis industry?
I’m from Texas, East Texas that is, so I had a lot of stereotypes to battle and I’m sure my mom wasn’t thrilled to tell her teacher friends about my new venture. I was nervous to tell my family and friends I was exploring entrepreneurship in the cannabis space but eventually, I had to trust I was making a good decision for my future, remind myself of the great opportunities that came with cannabis, and eventually, I stopped caring what people thought. Now I have a bit of a reputation as “the CBD lady” so friends of friends and acquaintances will DM with questions and ask for product recommendations.
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?
Over the last 4 years, I’ve had so many people offer support, help and encouragement. My business partner, Kate, transitioned from working with me as a contractor to having a stake in the company and has been immensely helpful in growing and strengthening the business during Covid. My husband, Jason, is responsible for planting the idea of me working with cannabis and encouraging me to take the leap into entrepreneurship. My sister-in-law, Cassie, happens to be a cosmetic chemist and helped to perfect Mad Ritual’s special formula.
Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? How do you think that will help people?
We’ve launched 3 new products so far this year and are currently in a rebranding phase. Recently we obtained our USDA Certified Organic seal and the Leaping Bunny Cruelty-Free certification, in addition to being a certified Women-owned small business, which was a goal of mine since the beginning. Although we’ve always used organically-grown and vegan ingredients, these are 2 certifications that bring authority to the product and more opportunities for larger retail placement. We pop up at events where folks are getting sore and recovery is top of mind, so we will be sampling at a lot of Seattle running events and traveling with Lagree Fitness, which hosts outdoor pilates parties.
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?
I was fortunate to have female and male mentors early in my career who helped develop my skill set and empower me to try new things through various opportunities presented. When learning something new, often you just need to ask the right person and they will be open to sharing their passion with you. Exploring new skills like photography, and learning to communicate well at trade shows, events and sales were all areas I was intimidated but encouraged to explore. Operating and growing a business is very challenging, especially in a brand new space like cannabis. Without access to affordable housing and support like free child care and free health care, while the cost of living is skyrocketing, it’s becoming riskier for women to make these decisions. Small businesses often can’t afford to offer paid maternity leave, great benefits, and competitive compensation so supporting both small businesses and mothers with services and grants would help to close this gap.
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.
Trust — not only in yourself but in the plant. There is a reason why the opportunity in cannabis is so large and it attracts those from all types of backgrounds and lifestyles.
Acceptance — the end consumer of cannabis products is diverse and looking for relief from all types of challenges that life presents. Showing empathy and understanding that everyone just wants to feel ok and relief from life and stress will make you a better leader and person.
Flexibility — the industry is so new and highly regulated so things are complex and changing often.
Perseverance — One of my favorite quotes is, “opportunities are usually disguised as hard work” and I’ve found this to be true and keeps me going.
Humor — there’s a lot of history that comes with cannabis and almost everyone has a “bad batch of brownies” to share.
Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the cannabis industry?
I’m excited to see products that are created to help with climate change become mainstream and more affordable. There’s a lot happening with sustainable building materials that help reduce energy consumption. Hemp plastics and hemp packaging will help reduce our reliance on plastics made from fossil fuels that cannot be recycled. I’m a big fan of the natural pain relief that hemp cannabinoids offer and love that it is becoming a household ingredient.
Can you share 3 things that most concern you about the industry? If you had the ability to implement 3 ways to reform or improve the industry, what would you suggest?
There is a premium attached to the cost of doing business across the board for cannabis companies. We pay higher processing fees, the taxes on both business and cannabis consumers is extremely high and access to traditional funding like bank loans is almost non-existent. To grow these market segments, like sustainable packaging and hemp fashion, investment in the infrastructure and manufacturing processes is a must, otherwise, it will be too expensive to be a real competitor with existing materials and products that aren’t climate-friendly.
What are your thoughts about federal legalization of cannabis? If you could speak to your Senator, what would be your most persuasive argument regarding why they should or should not pursue federal legalization?
Mad Ritual is used by so many folks looking for natural pain relief, ranging from folks who are recovering daily from their sport or activity to patients seeking relief during chemotherapy treatment to those looking to CBD for relief from anxiety. Everyone deserves access to affordable health care and medicine that is non-addictive and for a lot of the population, cannabis is the answer and solution they are seeking. Humans are designed to benefit from hemp via the cannabinoid system and limiting access or banning a plant that has been available to humans for centuries is depriving us of a key ingredient that helps the body achieve symbiosis. However, before we legalize cannabis on a national level, reconciliation of years-long racial inequity and disparity needs to be sorted out. In some states, black men sit in jail for possessing small amounts of cannabis, like a few joints, meanwhile, in other states, business owners are profiting from legal cannabis sales. Cannabis should not be a crime in one state and not the other so groups like the Last Prisoner Project are helping to advance cannabis criminal justice reform.
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?
Cigarettes are one of the only products made and consumed that offer you absolutely no benefit. They are unhealthy, expensive, and addictive so I hope that cannabis is viewed as a value-added product that is accessible and affordable.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Working in an industry with so many unknowns and also so much potential can sometimes have you guessing where you are headed. I recently heard, “a person with a goal is a successful person,” and that really simplified things for me and relieved some of the pressure to succeed that I was putting on myself.
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. 🙂
Part of the Mad Ritual brand is to be more than CBD. It’s a gentle reminder to take a break, tune in (or out), and take care. Our society is severely under touched so I encourage the ritual of self-massage for self-care. We put our bodies through a lot- training, running, lifting weights, sitting at a desk all day, staring at our phones, picking up toddlers, etc… it’s important to take time each day to be kind to your body.
Thank you so much for the time you spent with this. We wish you only continued success!
Wisdom From The Women Leading The Cannabis Industry, With Susanne McDonald of Wild Lotus and Green Ventures Capital
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
I’d like to raise the question: why not give patients an alternative that is non addictive, may help with the pain, and may give them the same type of relief that doesn’t have the same risk factors? This would be a great way for our healthcare system to address pain in a completely different way.
As a part of my series about strong women leaders in the cannabis industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Susanne McDonald.
Susanne McDonald is a life coach and serves as the president of Wild Lotus and Chief Wellness Evangelist of Green Ventures Capital. Her passion for helping people, especially those with mental health challenges, stemmed from her own struggles with anxiety and depression for over 20 years. Susanne’s background, knowledge, and experience of the healing power of cannabis has led her to become a key opinion leader in the space that is conducive to bridging the gap between wanting and actually obtaining an optimal quality of life for all.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us the “backstory” about what brought you to the cannabis industry?
In 2015, my husband had an opportunity to start a CBD company. At the time, there was very little information about the benefits of CBD. Most people assumed that it was the same as marijuana. The more I learned about CBD, its intricacies, and its healing properties, the more excited I became.
One of the initial thoughts I had about CBD that led me to the industry was its potential therapeutic abilities and how it may have helped my mother who was suffering from Multiple Sclerosis, especially towards the end of her life when the quality of it declined drastically due to complications from the disease. I don’t claim that CBD would have been a cure, but I do believe that it could have helped improve her quality of life.
I also began regularly using CBD and experienced its benefits first hand. Since then I have become a huge advocate of CBD and the healing properties of the cannabis plant.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Entering the cannabis industry as a new player can be difficult. One of the major roadblocks we faced was with our brand, Wild Lotus. Marketing in the cannabis industry comes with many rules and regulations as far as what can and cannot be said/claimed on social media. We worked through these problems and learned very quickly that it is crucial to be cautious with our verbiage and to better understand the industry’s policies and regulations.
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 can’t recall any funny mistakes but we did face a lot of challenges starting Wild Lotus and Green Ventures Capital. I guess the funny thing about it is where we are now and what our company has grown to become.
Do you have a funny story about how someone you knew reacted when they first heard you were getting into the cannabis industry?
It’s always such a positive experience when I tell people that I’m in the cannabis industry. CBD, hemp, and cannabis are hot topics right now. Most people tend to get excited once I tell them what I do, many are fueled by curiosity. I get asked all sorts of questions. So, it’s a great conversation starter!
One of the funny things that’s happened with our kids, who are in high school and college, is the inevitable question of what their parents do for a living. They answer that “We are the neighborhood drug dealers” and then go on to explain what we really do. They call it “the talk”. It’s always fun to hear what their friend’s reactions are.
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, Mike McDonald. He taught me everything I know about cannabis and the industry. Mike is one of the most knowledgeable key opinion leaders within the space. The success that I’ve achieved this far has been an extension of his support and guidance. If I didn’t have him, there’s no way I would be at where I am today. He’s awesome.
Mike currently serves as President of Green Ventures Capital. He has been in the industry since 2015.
Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? How do you think that will help people?
Yes! My company, Wild Lotus, in conjunction with Green Ventures Capital, are working on several exciting projects that will ultimately change the future of the cannabis industry.
First, we are working with athletes and offering Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals to partner and promote our brand/products. We have several products that are specifically designed for athletes.
Second, we are creating our own NFTs and securing our place in the metaverse. I firmly believe that this is the new way to share the presence of our products and create a community of like-minded individuals. The metaverse, cryptocurrency, and NFTs are the wave of the future and we are excited to be at the forefront of this movement.
How will this help people? Our NFTs can be a way for our community to talk and learn openly about the benefits of cannabis.
In addition, one of the options we are offering to the athletes in our NIL deal is a mentorship on owning your own business, investing (both with stock and with cryptocurrency), as well as learning about NFTs. We aim to help these talented young adults gain knowledge outside of what’s being offered in their college curriculum. I believe it’s a great way to help them in the long run.
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?
Low rates of female and minority participation is a pervasive issue within the cannabis industry. I believe that we need to tackle these glaring disparities by creating an ecosystem that equips female owned businesses to become self-sufficient industry leaders.
Additionally, we also need to open the floor for a conversation around the potential of cannabis in our personal lives. As women are often the caretakers of society, we are also the decision makers for our families and loved ones. Women talk to each other about health issues and educate one another about health solutions that have personally worked for us and/or our families. Still, there is a stigma attached to cannabis and most people think about THC as getting high, they don’t consider the benefits of cannabis. It is now up to us to teach each other about the medicinal benefits that can help us in our everyday lives. When the messaging about cannabis becomes about helping people, more women will become involved.
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.
Be careful with the language around your products.
Every state has their own regulations, so don’t fall behind on the ever-changing rules.
Help educate your audience about cannabis. Public information is necessary in order for people to understand and buy your products.
Properly educate yourself (and stay up to date) on both the scientific and legal differences between marijuana and hemp.
Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the cannabis industry?
I have been amazed at the ways that cannabis has helped the quality of life of people around me. One of the greatest rewards for being in this industry, is to see the improvement in others and celebrate their progress.
There’s so much potential and room for growth within the industry! We’ve only scratched the surface. I’m continuously discovering new information about new methods and data sets that uncover the benefits of cannabis. I think it’s incredibly exciting to learn about how cannabis can be a potential solution to heal your body naturally. There is a great demand for alternative medicine. With this current health-conscious trend, I’m seeing a demand for plant derived options. A natural and holistic alternative that works within the body rather than masks a problem.
Another area of excitement is cannabis regulations. Having it legalized nationally will help greatly reduce illicit markets for cannabis while simultaneously providing adequate regulation and to help keep communities safe. It can be difficult to sift through all the products being offered in the space. By regulating it, I’m confident that it will weed out the fluff and highlight companies like ours that produce quality products.
Can you share 3 things that most concern you about the industry? If you had the ability to implement 3 ways to reform or improve the industry, what would you suggest?
Quality of products. There are so many brands out there that do not meet industry standards.
Packaging and labeling. There should be a clear warning in each packaging of the dosage and strength. There are too many instances where consumers are unaware and take too much, thus adding more negativity to the stigma around cannabis.
Misinformation. The lack of education between subjects such as CBD and THC can confuse possible consumers and we need to do a better job educating the masses.
What are your thoughts about federal legalization of cannabis? If you could speak to your Senator, what would be your most persuasive argument regarding why they should or should not pursue federal legalization?
I’m all for it. Rep. Nancy Mace introduced a bill that proposes the end of the federal prohibition. The States Reform Act will not only allow for interstate commerce, crossing legally from one state to another, which will positively affect the way companies operate. It will also provide for the resentencing of those with nonviolent federal marijuana crimes which promotes equality.
Notably, ending the federal ban will also allow states to determine their own laws, which will play a big role in how much cannabis will be taxed. Proposed cuts to cannabis taxes will help legal cannabis companies to stay competitive and push out the illegal market.
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?
There is a lot of research that still needs to be done on this topic. However, it’s important to point out that there is a big difference between smoking or vaping as opposed to consuming edible cannabis products. It’s metabolized very differently. Inhaling marijuana still has many of the same harmful elements as cigarette smoke. I think smoking or vaping should face the same type of regulation as cigarettes. However, I don’t think taking THC in an edible form, such as a tincture or gummy, should be regulated in the same way.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
My favorite quote comes from Steven Covey’s book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.” This quote changed my life. One of the basic human needs is to be heard. When people are heard, they feel valued. If you are willing to listen to another’s needs, they will be willing to listen to you. This changed my marriage, it changed my approach to parenting, and it changed my relationship with other people in my life. Seeking to understand opens the door to communication, respect and love. It is also a reason I became a life coach. I saw that I could help people by listening and leading them to discover their own solutions. I believe that we all inherently know what we need to do to solve our problems. Sometimes all we need is someone to listen and ask the right questions. After this, we are empowered to create the solution that fits best to move forward in our lives.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the greatest amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I would love to inspire readers to embrace the conversation around cannabis and its ability to improve the quality of life. We, as industry leaders, are responsible for better educating the public about the potential mental, emotional, and physical benefits of the cannabis plant.
For example, if a patient sees their doctor for surgery, doctors will typically write a prescription for opiates of some sort to help with pain management. Even mental health professionals turn to prescriptions in hopes of enhancing their patients’ lives. These sometimes-addictive drugs can quickly turn into a way for patients to numb their pain physically or emotionally.
This is an opportunity for cannabis industry leaders to teach new and experienced cannabis users and healthcare professionals about a natural alternative to potentially addressing health problems. It would be amazing to see healthcare professionals prescribe THC instead of opiates.
I’d like to raise the question: why not give patients an alternative that is non addictive, may help with the pain, and may give them the same type of relief that doesn’t have the same risk factors? This would be a great way for our healthcare system to address pain in a completely different way.
Thank you so much for the time you spent with this. We wish you only continued success!
Female Founders: Sonia Jackson Myles of The Sister Accord Foundation On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
Share your dream, carefully. The first thing I want to say is be mindful of who you share your dreams with. I remember telling leaders at my company that I wanted to change how girls and women interacted and explaining that the negative behavior among girls started as early as the age of four. Honestly, they couldn’t wrap their minds around what I was saying or why it was relevant to the workplace. I think it took me longer to make a move because I got discouraged by their reaction.
As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Sonia Jackson Myles.
As an advisor and executive coach to Fortune 500 companies and startups, Sonia Jackson Myles, and her firm, The Accord Group, LLC, work with CEO’s and their teams on leadership development DE&I, unconscious bias training, women’s initiatives, change management, employee engagement and creating a culture where employees can thrive. Sonia is also the founder of The Sister Accord®, a 501c3 organization focused on educating girls and women, enlightening girls and women to the power of sisterhood, and eradicating bullying and violence against girls and women.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
I started my career at Ford Motor Company after graduating with both my undergrad and MBA from Florida A & M University. Although I had studied marketing, I started in the purchasing field with Ford Motor Company and stayed there for 13 years before moving to the Gillette company. About a year into my tenure at Gillette, Procter & Gamble announced that they were going to acquire the company. I had to decide whether I would go with the company or stay in Boston and find a new job because my family and I really loved Boston.
The people at P&G made my decision easier when they asked me to lead part of the transition and integration of Gillette into the company and actually created a role for me — Global Media Sourcing Director. P&G was the largest advertiser in the world at the time and there was no way that I could pass up such an amazing opportunity so early in my career. My family and I relocated to the Cincinnati area, and I led the integration and the designing of the Global Media Sourcing Organization and then led the global group. My last role at Procter & Gamble was buying all of their packaging globally. In all, I spent a little over 20 years in corporate America and managed over $20 billion of spending.
I had a wonderful career in corporate America and would have stayed, but I knew that there was something else I needed to do. Throughout my career, I saw women not supporting each other in the way that I thought they should. Women were interacting with each other in negative ways and I wanted to use my voice and my experience to change that.
That’s how The Sister Accord®️ Foundation was born. It’s my mission to have a billion girls and women learn how to love themselves and each other. Because when we do that, we begin to see each other as collaborators versus competitors and we can literally change the world.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?
I have practiced meditation and prayer every morning for many years. One of my “go-to” artists is Grammy Award Winner Yolanda Adams. So, imagine what an honor it was to begin working with her as part of Disney’s Dreamers Academy for coaching, entrepreneurship, and leadership work. It’s hard to articulate the out-of-body experience you have when you meet someone whose talents you have appreciated and admired for so long.
Yolanda invited me to be on her radio show and that one act of kindness had a huge ripple effect for my business. One of her listeners in New York City heard my story and invited me to keynote her inaugural conference — in Jamaica! From there, we partnered to bring The Sister Accord Leadership Development Program to New York City schools.
I think this is a wonderful example of how love and support among women can make such a significant impact in our lives and our businesses.
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?
Years ago, I was going to lunch with my mentor and I “dressed to impress” in one of my best suits. Which was great at the beginning of the lunch, but the restaurant he took me to was wonderful and let’s just say, I ate quite a bit. Halfway through the meal, I decided to unbutton the top button of my skirt to be more comfortable. Well, when we got up to leave, I forgot that I had unbuttoned my skirt and it began to fall. Luckily, I caught it in time and he did not notice.
It was like an episode from a tv show, for sure. There are two good lessons for me: don’t eat so much at a business luncheon and never unbutton your clothing without remembering to button it again before standing!
But, in all seriousness, if you don’t mind me adding to my answer, there is another mistake that I see women make which I don’t know that you would call funny, but I think it’s a common mistake that women founders make and worth mentioning — overthinking. Like so many women, I was plagued by overthinking during the pandemic. My overthinking caused me to pause on one of my signature programs — The Sister Accord®️ Leadership Development Tea Party. This was a big mistake because people really needed the love and inspiration that are cornerstones for these events.
To go back, The Sister Accord started in 2013 with our very first Leadership Development Tea Party in Cincinnati. We’ve held 24 Tea Parties since then. They are very high touch, very beautiful in-person activations. People always leave saying there was so much love in the room. When COVID hit, I was concerned about whether we would be able to replicate those feelings of love and inspiration without physically being together. So, I paused for quite a long time, thinking and overthinking and thinking some more.
Eventually, I decided to move forward and hold virtual events and they were great. The feedback from people — both folks who had never joined a Tea Party before and those who had been to our in-person events — was overwhelmingly positive. They said they were laughing, and crying, and dancing, all in their living rooms. They were truly engaged.
I kicked myself a little for doubting that I could replicate the core and essence of what this organization stands for in any environment. I learned once again that I need to trust my instincts, trust my gut, and not allow the overthinking to get in the way of serving with excellence.
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’m a night owl. I have to force myself to go to bed because my mind comes up with all these amazing ideas in the middle of the night. Early on, I would basically pull all-nighters right before one of our Tea Parties. I’d stay up finalizing all the little details, all while knowing that I had to be fresh at the event. I’d think, I’m 25 and I have to remind myself that this is only in my head. Right before one of my Tea Parties, where I was pulling yet another all-nighter to make sure every detail was ready to go, I took a break to answer a call from my sister, Connie, one of the most incredible human beings on the planet. She is always there for everyone in my family and has been like a second mother to me. After talking with me for five minutes (where I almost literally fell asleep), she stepped in. Connie saw that I was making the mistake that most women founders/business owners make…we try to do it all. Here I was arranging the details, when a few hours later I was going to be hosting and overseeing my event, and I was basically running on fumes.
From that moment on, she became my Chief Operations Officer and handled every detail/organization of the Tea Parties from that day to now.
People like me can be a little type A, a little intense; we have the vision and we want to see it executed a certain way, so we try to do it all. But that never works. You have to surround yourself with people who have the expertise and skills that can help you move to the next level. And you have to ask for and accept help. This was not easy for me to do. Connie’s involvement has helped immensely, and it brought my mother so much joy when she was alive to see us working together.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. According to this EY report, only about 20 percent of funded companies have women founders. This reflects great historical progress, but it also shows that more work still has to be done to empower women to create companies. In your opinion and experience what is currently holding back women from founding companies?
I spend a lot of time with young women, middle-aged women, and more seasoned professionals. They’ve had all of this wonderful experience, and have brilliant minds and so many positive things to share, but I think too many of them simply don’t believe they have what it takes to start a business. Of course, this comes from years of society basically telling women that they don’t have what it takes. Too many of us have internalized this and it’s holding us back.
The other thing that too many women face is a lack of resources to get their business off the ground and scale it up. That’s the impetus behind The Sister Accord®️ Accelerator Initiative, which I launched this year with Jean Freeman, CEO and Principal of ad agency, Zambezi. The Accelerator is designed to fuel the growth of existing female-owned businesses by providing monetary support, business education, and mentorship — the tangible tools needed to scale a business. We awarded $10,000 to each participant of the inaugural cohort.
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?
One of the things that was very important for Jean and me as we launched the new Accelerator Initiative, was to make the application process simple. Often the application process for this kind of grant is so cumbersome and long that people don’t even bother to apply. It’s important not just that we make money available, but that we make it easy to find and apply for these grants.
It’s also important that we don’t put too many rules around grants. Obviously, we want to support people who are serious about their businesses, but a lot of grant programs judge this by whether a person has quit their job and dedicated 100% of their time to launching their dream. In many instances, that’s simply not possible for women. They may be the head of their households or providing for their extended families. The side hustle should be welcomed because these often grow into great businesses.
The other thing that is incredibly important is mentorship from other women (and men) who have started successful businesses. Providing guidance, a sounding board, and a safe space where women can talk about their dreams without the fear that someone’s going to steal their ideas 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?
The first reason is the dream. I think passion is more of a driver for success than we realize. I want women to recognize that they can be successful by focusing on the things that they really care about.
I also believe that entrepreneurship is the way for women to truly establish our value in the marketplace. The way companies are structured and the way succession planning works, many women may not get salaries that are aligned with their value proposition or what they bring to an organization until later in their careers. I want women to recognize this as they are thinking about establishing a business.
I think the third reason is around health and wellbeing. I am living with a level of joy and satisfaction in my life that I think a lot of women don’t have because I am doing what I believe I was created to do. Whether your passion is launching a fashion label, establishing an education program, or creating a company that improves other people’s health and wellness, I believe that when people are doing what they feel deep inside of them, they are both happier and healthier.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a founder? Can you explain what you mean?
I think that social media perpetuates a myth of this glamorous life associated with being the boss. This idea of “the boss lady,” who looks fabulous and spends her day telling people what to do can be attractive to some people, but they don’t recognize all of the work — most of it not glamorous at all — that goes into founding a company. A lot of times you just have to sit in silence alone as you’re putting your strategy together and thinking about how to expand and grow. I don’t think social media ever captures this. Entrepreneurship can sometimes include feelings of loneliness. It’s important to surround yourself with positive people who you can interact with while you are building your dream.
The other problem with the “boss lady” image is that it doesn’t feel rooted in kindness or compassion or humility. I want people to recognize that as they’re building their business, they’re establishing a culture and an environment that will become part of their company for years. It’s so important to make sure that we establish cultures of compassion and environments of excellence.
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?
The real question is whether everyone is willing to do what it takes to be a founder. Everyone has brilliance. Everyone. But I think that there’s so much that comes with being a founder, that some people just may say, “you know what, I’m not willing to do that right now.”
I didn’t think I had the desire to be a founder. I never had being an entrepreneur on my bucket list. I thought I would stay in corporate America for 30-some-odd years and then retire. Honestly, that would have been fine. It can be a wonderful thing to be an employee of a company and find a place where you can use your gifts and talents and grow within the company.
What I would really love to see is for people to stop judging the choices and paths that others take. I see so many stories that are meant to be motivational and say thing like “I left that nine-to-five and you should too.” We all have different paths. I loved my corporate America experience. I loved the world of business. I learned so much and made life-long friends. There is nothing wrong with a nine-to-five job.
As for specific traits that it takes to be a successful founder, I think it starts with the dream. You need to have a sincere desire to address a pain point or issue that you care so much about you go to sleep thinking about it and wake up thinking about it. That’s how it was for me with what I saw in the workplace as it related to women interacting with each other. The other trait is a tremendous amount of perseverance. I don’t want to call it supernatural, but it is certainly extraordinary. You have to be a person that is willing to hold out for the yes even though you’ve been told no a million times. That one yes can literally change the trajectory of your life and your business, but you have to have the perseverance to get there.
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.)
Share your dream, carefully. The first thing I want to say is be mindful of who you share your dreams with. I remember telling leaders at my company that I wanted to change how girls and women interacted and explaining that the negative behavior among girls started as early as the age of four. Honestly, they couldn’t wrap their minds around what I was saying or why it was relevant to the workplace. I think it took me longer to make a move because I got discouraged by their reaction.
You will hear “no” — a lot. You are establishing something that’s different and unique and people may not understand it. When I started a lot of people told me, “I’ve never had anyone come to me and talk about the things that you’re talking about.” That’s good — we want to put forth our most original ideas — but oftentimes it means it’s challenging for people to understand what it is that you’re really doing. And people can’t say yes to what they don’t understand. Expect a lot of “nos” but keep going.
Know your pitch. One of the important steps in getting to yes is getting very clear on what your message is. What are you focusing on? Why? Some people call this an elevator pitch. I call it sharing the vision. For me, I had to get very clear about what I was focusing on with The Sister Accord®️ Foundation and be able to explain it to people succinctly — even those who challenged it. You have to get clear both on the problem you’re trying to solve and the solution you’re offering.
Pivoting is okay. Keep asking yourself if the language you’re using and the actions you’re taking resonate with the people they need to. When I first started, one of my girlfriends asked me if my program was just for Black women because, as she said, Caucasian women don’t call each other Sister. I told her that as a Black woman my hope was to inspire people who look like me, people in my community, but that my real vision was to knock down all of the walls that have been established that tell us we’re so incredibly different from each other because I believe we’re more alike than we are different. I believe The Sister Accord®️’s work will be an important solution in bringing communities together and healing a lot of the pain and hurt that different groups may feel about each other. It’s a big undertaking but one that is necessary as we look for solutions to our greatest issues and problems here in the US and around the world. When I started, I was solving for what I believe to be a universal insight — that girls are socialized to not like themselves and each other — but I needed to make sure that all aspects of the strategy that I was putting together really resonated from that perspective. I wish someone would have told me early on that pivoting in what you’re doing or how you’re explaining it is okay because at the time it felt like a form of failure.
Asking for money is the hardest thing to do. Everyone who starts a business will at some point have to ask people for money. I wish someone had told me how hard it is. I don’t know if that’s because it is taboo in our society to directly ask for money or if it’s because we’re socialized as women to question our worth. I guess this goes back to the idea that you will hear “no” a lot, but it’s simpler than that. I just wish someone had told me that asking for money is really hard but you have to do it anyhow. Because I started my non-profit (501c3) first, I had to ask for money or we would have ceased to exist. I had to move out of my comfort zone — I was always used to being the giver.
How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
I guess my answer here might be a little different than some other founders because I really believe that my work is making the world a better place. The goal of The Sister Accord®️ Foundation is to help a billion girls and women around the world learn to love themselves and each other. I’ve been fortunate and blessed to be able to witness some of that in real time. I don’t think that even I truly understood how much the world needed this message of love and cooperation when I started down this path, but as I hear from the women who attend our Tea Parties and receive our scholarships, I see the power of the organization to save and transform lives. And, with our new Accelerator initiative, we’ll be able to help women entrepreneurs jump-start their success and scale their businesses quickly. We have already heard feedback from our Sister Accelerators that they are experiencing increases in their businesses and we just started the program last month in April! I’m so humbled and honored that my dream is making such an impact around the world.
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.
The Sister Accord®️ Foundation, and its message of loving each other and leading with compassion instead of competition, is a movement. I hope that the Accelerator initiative can launch a movement of its own. I think one of the ways we should address poverty and pay inequity is through entrepreneurship. Women starting and growing businesses will hopefully allow a new wave of women to take care of their families and make a difference in their community. I have wanted to make this kind of investment in women founders for years because I know what can happen when women are engaged in their passion and driving success for themselves and their families. It’s a powerful thing to be able to see them getting the mentoring and coaching they need to be able to think about the core and essence of what they’re doing, expand their ideas, and deliver excellence. And the ripple effects are huge. People have said to me that our programs have not just helped them dream again, but it’s trickling down to their children who are designing their own future businesses.
We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.
Right now, I would love to sit down with MacKenzie Scott. She is the ex-wife of Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos and, according to what I’ve read, was instrumental in helping Amazon become the giant it is today. I would want to talk to her about what she envisioned in the early days of that company which I’m sure has surpassed all expectations. She has also recently emerged as one of the nation’s top philanthropists. Since pledging to give away half her fortune in 2019, Scott has given over $12 billion to not-for-profit agencies and has pledged another $3.9 billion. I truly admire the spirit of generosity and compassion that she is embracing in her philanthropy.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
Female Founders: Jenn Ditzhazy of ThePerfect3 On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
Accept that you are going to make mistakes. As a recovering perfectionist, this one was hard for me. Even if you ask all the right questions and read all the books, you are going to make mistakes that will likely cost you money, time, and peace but that’s okay. The lessons you will learn will be invaluable.
As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jenn Ditzhazy.
Jenn is the founder of ThePerfect3, a transformational wellness brand dedicated to turning everyday habits into healing rituals. ThePerfect3 offers incredibly clean, high-quality health food products that support our bodies from the most foundation level — the gut! Their flagship product, the innovative Collagen Clarity Creamer, was expertly crafted to transform your coffee or tea into a delicious, gut healthy superfood in less than 30 seconds.
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?
Sure! As with many entrepreneurs and business owners, my business blossomed out of a personal journey.
I say that I was destined to start a healthy food brand because I have always been so sensitive to everything I ate! When I was a kid I couldn’t eat pizza at birthday parties because it made me feel so sick.
Into my early twenties, I had rashes and eczema across 80% of my body. Most of it I could hide but some of it showed up on my face. There’s something about visible health conditions that really make an impact on a person. In my experience, when others can see and ask about a health issue, it carries a different variety of shame.
No matter what I did. I just couldn’t seem to shake the eczema.
I didn’t know it at the time, but all my issues were inextricably connected.
Throughout these years I’d been bouncing from doctor to doctor, and prescription pad to prescription pad, with no relief. It was incredibly scary not knowing what was wrong, and not being able to find answers.
One day I was on the phone with my mom when she told me about an article she read about a new diet, called the gluten-free diet. This was back in 2010 when “going gluten-free” wasn’t really a thing.
The article said that it may help with eczema so I figured I’d give it a go. Wellness blogs and Instagram accounts were almost nonexistent so there wasn’t much information for me to go on. With the one page article in hand, I headed to the grocery story and started my gluten free experiment.
Within 2 weeks my eczema was 95% gone and my anxiety was 85% reduced. After trying so many different things, I was amazed that this one change made such a dramatic impact.
From that moment on, I began reading every book and research paper I could find about the connection between food and disease in the body.
I’ve found, and the research has agreed, that gut health is king when it comes to optimal mental and physical health.
I’ve taken all these learnings and funneled them into ThePerfect3. My vision is to create a long line of products that elevate daily habits that truly heal and nourish the human body. I’m unrelenting about quality because I truly believe we each deserve to feed our bodies the absolute best.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?
By far the most interesting aspect of founding ThePerfect3 has been an inside look into the food industry. I started because I wanted to create truly clean, healing products, but when I got inside, I saw that things are not always as they appeared.
When I was working on creating the flavor profile for our Chocolate Coconut Collagen Creamer, our food scientist recommended getting a few samples of “Chocolate Natural Flavor” to experiment with.
I’m sure you’re familiar with natural flavorings. They’re in everything! Sparkling water, nut milks, yogurt, teas. You name it!
When you are manufacturing a food product, you get a lot more information about what is actually in the ingredient, even if it would be listed as just one single ingredient on a consumer package.
I was shocked to find that companies aren’t required to list some of the ingredients if they are in a low enough amount.
In the Chocolate Natural Flavor I received, there were actually multiple ingredients, including benzyl alcohol and maltodextrin, both things that are inflammatory for the body, particularly the gut. If I had chosen to use this in my products, which I did not, I would only have had to list Chocolate Natural Flavor.
Now, these ingredients are in a small amount, but if you are eating foods that have these types of ingredients in them on a daily basis, your body isn’t going to love that. The worst part is that as consumers we aren’t given this information.
As a consumer myself, this really makes me reevaluate what companies I buy products from.
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?
Well truthfully, I am just starting out! We launched just a couple months ago.
I’ll have to keep you posted on this one.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve made plenty of mistakes so far, but I’m actually really grateful for them. Each one has given me an “ah ha!” that’s inspired me to see things differently.
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’d have to say my great friend, Sabrina-Anne Wuu. Her relentless optimism deserves a gold medal!
As I’m sure you know, when starting a business, the road is not laid out before you. You have to lay the bricks as you go. Sometimes those bricks don’t quite fit and you have to rework our plans. In business, this process can test the patience and fortitude of the most zen individuals.
On those days, I’d call Sabrina and she’d somehow find the silver lining in whatever was happening, and give me the insight to see that I was actually better off now.
For instance, the original food scientist I hired ended up making a product that was completely different from what I had requested. It was basically 180 degrees away from what I had detailed in the brief, and didn’t fit my vision at all. When all was said and done, I ended up losing a good bit of money and a lot of time. This experience was the first big mistake I had made, and I felt awful.
I called Sabrina and she said, “Well, just think of it as you’re paying for an MBA. The lessons you’re learning are super valuable and worth every penny.” Talk about a reframe!
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?
First, it’s clearly more challenging for women to found companies, as is made evident in the article you referenced.
The 20% referenced in this article encompasses companies with a male and a female founder, but when you look solely at female founded companies, the figure drops to 2%, as reported in this Bloomberg article.
If you look only at these statistics, just the fact that it is more difficult for women to gain funding, makes founding a company more challenging for women, leading to fewer female founders.
However, in my experience, these statistics point to the larger, systemic societal issue of gender inequality.
Yes, we’ve undoubtedly made progress since the Mad Men era, but the wake of these times is clearly still reverberating today. There are subconscious biases, and overt discrimination, happening that obviously play into this scenario.
In my own life, I recently found out that at one of the previous corporate jobs I held I made about $30k less in base salary than a male counterpart. We had the same title, but I had more relevant experience.
There could be many reasons for this but when you look at the fact that I brought in substantially more revenue for the company than he did, it’s difficult to find another explanation.
At that company I sent the exact same email, word for word, as a male colleague to request time off from our boss. I had actually asked my male colleague to send me the email he used because I had heard of this type of thing happening. I was called into our bosses office to discuss the “rude” email I sent, when my male colleague was not.
These types of things happen all the time. I’m sure every woman reading this has her own stories to tell. These situations are insidious because they can be interpreted in many different ways. The funding and founding space are not immune to these types of scenarios.
It’s also true that there is a compounding effect of these types of events in a person’s life. For me, it meant I made less money every year, for some women it means being passed over for a promotion. Ultimately these things can lead to fewer women having the money and resources to begin their own thing.
I am in contact with many female founders and entrepreneurs on a daily basis and I will say that I see this statistic changing drastically over the coming years. I see so many inspiring, passionate, and brilliant women entering the space.
In fact, this article by BCG calls female owned startups “a better bet” as they yield better results revenue wise. Forbes references that female founded startups are “flourishing” revenue-wise and culture-wise. In my experience, positive culture is not the norm and I believe this will be a huge benefit for these companies.
I know many female founders who are leveraging creative business models so they don’t have to seek outside funding. I think women are entering the space in increasing numbers; they just aren’t going about it in the traditional way.
For myself personally, I am designing my business to not require outside capital. I’m being incredibly thoughtful about how I grow, so I can do so in a self-sustaining way.
Personally, I think women are on fire in the business world and I can’t wait to see what the next ten years hold.
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?
Exactly what you are doing now! Sharing about females who have started their own companies. The more we see women doing their thing, the more women will feel inspired.
Second, I believe that entrepreneurs and founders, male and female, play a big role in correcting this imbalance as well. Offering support, and sharing what you’ve learned with others, is huge. Making time to offer mentorship can play a big role in helping bring more female voices into the space.
I’ve had some incredible mentors who completely shifted my perspective and taught me some incredibly valuable lessons with just an hour of their time.
For me personally, one of the most empowering things I have done is seek out other female entrepreneurs. I have a couple calls every week with other female entrepreneurs where we share ideas, troubleshoot, and create. It’s an amazing community that has been the most amazing support system for me.
I am certain this type of collaboration and community will amplify the results we see out of female led endeavors.
This might be intuitive to you as a woman founder but I think it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you share a few reasons why more women should become founders?
I view founding a company as an amazing expression of creativity. You are literally building something that wasn’t there before, that has the power to transform lives. When we add more women into this equation, we increase the number of unique perspectives and ideas, and that means greater innovation. Women bring with them a host of experiences and perspectives that are uniquely theirs.
If we want to maximize our potential as a society, it’s necessary that we tap into different perspectives. When one dominant group is leading and creating the majority of the companies, we create blind spots and miss opportunities.
When we tap into the diverse array of perspectives within our society, we add more color, depth, and complexity to the canvas.
More women in the founding space means more creativity, ingenuity, and opportunity for the unimaginable.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a founder? Can you explain what you mean?
Yes, one of the biggest myths I hear is when people say, “I could never do that. I have no idea where I’d even start.”
I think it can be easy to get overwhelmed by the end goal, but most founders didn’t know exactly where to start, or the path they would take! You just have to be a problem solver with perseverance.
I often use the metaphor that founding a company is like driving at night. You don’t need to see the whole road ahead, you just have to see until the end of your headlights, and then the next steps will illuminate when you get there.
Is everyone cut out to be a founder? In your opinion, which specific traits increase the likelihood that a person will be a successful founder and what type of person should perhaps seek a “regular job” as an employee? Can you explain what you mean?
No, not everyone should be a founder, purely because that isn’t what everyone wants! We all have unique gifts and talents, and finding out what our individual gifts and talents are is the greatest journey we will ever go on.
A founder has to want to take on the responsibility, and be comfortable with a lot of uncertainty. When I don’t know how to do something, it is up to me to find the answer.
As an employee, you have the benefit of a leader or a guide to direct your action. A big perk of being an employee is that you don’t have to shoulder as much responsibility, and typically deal with less uncertainty.
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.)
Oh wow, great question.
The first thing I’d love for someone to know is that starting a company is the greatest personal development journey you will ever go on. The more you are able to reflect on your own limiting beliefs and weaknesses, the better you will do.
I dedicate time every single day to create space for self reflection. I meditate 20 minutes, twice a day without fail. It’s my secret for solving any problem, and feeling mentally clear.
I’m not the only one. Ray Dalio said meditation was “the single most important reason” for his success.
Second, accept that you are going to make mistakes. As a recovering perfectionist, this one was hard for me. Even if you ask all the right questions and read all the books, you are going to make mistakes that will likely cost you money, time, and peace but that’s okay. The lessons you will learn will be invaluable.
I like to think that the more mistakes I make now, the fewer mistakes I’ll make later. I’ll let you know how that works out for me.
Third, be careful who you share your vision with, not because they will try to “take it” from you, but because negativity is contagious. Don’t share your vision with anyone who will be needlessly critical out of fear before your butterfly has had a chance to grow.
When I first had the idea for our Collagen Clarity Creamer, I shared it with a friend who I knew probably wouldn’t understand. He proceeded to tell me all the reasons why I shouldn’t do it. He wasn’t doing it out of malice, he genuinely wanted to protect me from the risks. Although I gained some new perspective, I mostly just felt deflated. I’m not saying don’t seek out feedback, I am saying be selective with who you solicit feedback from.
Fourth, you don’t have to know the how, you just have to have a burning desire and a clear vision. I’m paraphrasing Napoleon Hill here but many of us often do not start towards our goals, whatever they may be, because we don’t know the exact how. In reality, you’ll never be able to see the full road ahead.
When I started I had no idea how to formulate, manufacture, and distribute a food product but I stayed committed and I figured it out. If you want something badly enough, you’ll figure out how.
Finally, your mindset is everything. Things will go wrong and things won’t always turn out how you had hoped, but your ability to reframe it in a way that serves you is going to mean everything.
When we were just about to start manufacturing our first product run, I got a message from my inulin suppliers that they wouldn’t have the ingredient in stock for another 6 months due to unexpected supply chain issues.
I either had to find another supplier, or delay my launch and pay for 6 months of storage for my other ingredients. Instead of letting myself get stressed out, I told myself I’d find another supplier quickly. It worked out and I actually ended up finding a far better supplier.
Recognizing what we can and can not control is vital.
How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
My goal with ThePerfect3 is to make the world a better place by being a trustworthy resource for information and products that truly build better health. I see so many opportunities for wellness in our daily lives, and I want to create ways for us to easily weave in these upgrades. I think oftentimes we think health is “another thing to do” when in fact our daily routines hold so many opportunities that require no extra time.
Take our Collagen Clarity Creamer for example. Most people already use some type of creamer in their coffee or tea, but it likely has no health benefits, or is actually detrimental.
Our Collagen Clarity Creamer adds in three superfoods that are incredibly effective at building gut health and skin health. Why not upgrade things we are already doing to feel our best? I can’t wait to bring this product to more people because it is so powerful.
As someone who has experienced disruptive health issues, I have learned that health is the foundation of everything in our lives. It’s like Confucious said, “A healthy man wants a thousand things, a sick man only wants one.”
When we feel our best, we can go out in the world and do our best.
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.
Love this question! If I could inspire any movement, it would be to inspire each person to go after what they truly want in life, rather than what society deems acceptable.
It’s easy for us to ignore what really lights us up in favor of what seems like the “responsible” choice. I think that mentality leads to people waking up in their 30’s and 40’s realizing they’ve just spent the last decade doing something that doesn’t really make them feel alive.
The more people doing what lights them up, the better off each and every one of us will 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.
How fun! I’d love to have breakfast with Sarah Blakely. Before learning about her, I didn’t really know about many female founders.
Seeing all she has accomplished has been incredibly inspiring for me. She’s a mission-driven entrepreneur and that’s the best. I also appreciate how authentic and real she seems.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
“Be Patient”. I am a big fan of Gary Vee and one of his key messages is to be patient. For me this is a message I need to tell myself everyday. We are all in a hurry, but instead of trying to get to the ‘goal’, instead focus on enjoying the journey. I think when you have a small business, you often get so caught up on survival that you forget to take a moment to stop and look at the big picture. This message helps me to stop, take a moment to be grateful for my current situation and think about all of my 15,000+ customers who now have a hat they love and adore.
As a part of our series about women who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Stacey Keller, Founder and CEO of Ponyback Inc.
Stacey conceptualized Ponyback with the hopes of helping others like herself find comfortable, stylish, and flexible headwear that can accommodate long hair in any style. Watching her sons enjoy a wide variety of hat
options without constraint, Stacey knew it was time to revamp the hat industry. She successfully crafted a prototype for her viral, patent-pending design after dismantling a brand-name hat in her home.
Graduating from Wilfrid Laurier University with a Bachelor in Business Administration, Stacey worked in accounting before pivoting into education. Teaching high school business for ten years, Stacey decided to combine her knowledge in business with her passion for starting a small business and officially launched Ponyback in June 2020.
Today, Ponyback embodies so much more than just an accessory. Through insightful messaging, content, and deep connection with her audience, Stacey is innovating Ponyback into a community that invites everyone to love themselves, embrace their style and support one another. This unique narrative and brand character is what sets Ponybck apart and is the key to driving meaningful innovation in the fashion accessory industry.
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?
Absolutely! Like many entrepreneurs, I was faced with a problem. I wanted a cute baseball hat. I was obsessed with the hats I’d buy for my sons, fitted, fullback — they were just so nice. I really wanted one too, but in the summer I’m usually rockin’ a high pony or messy bun — which do not work with a fullback. Your other option is an adjustable hat with the hole just above the adjustable strap — my ponytail was never naturally at this height, and I didn’t like the look.Then, I found out about ponytail hats, but most products on the market had a permanent opening for a high pony above that adjustable hole. I didn’t like the look of this, what if one day I wanted to wear my hair down? That was when I realized what I wanted was a fullback hat with a closeable opening. I had the crazy audacity to think I could make this myself. I don’t have experience in the hat industry, but I got out my sewing machine and one thing led to another. By using my kids magnetic toys, I created a magnetic back seam in the hat that when closed didn’t look like an opening was there! At that moment, my heart lit on fire and I was obsessed with making it a reality.
Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?
Women and people with ponytails have long been frustrated by the traditional baseball cap. Not much attention has been given to this category in the hat industry. Lots of women complain, “hats don’t look good on me.” Well not only may your hat not work for your hairstyle, it may also sit on your head too low, pushing your ears out, or needing to tuck them into your hat. Lots of Ponyback customers remark, “I wasn’t a hat person before Ponyback”. This tells me that traditional baseball hats were missing the mark and not meeting the needs of an entire category of people.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
In my first meeting with my manufacturer they asked me if I had a tech pack. I said that I didn’t but that I’d get them one. The entire time I was actually thinking, “WHAT IS A TECH PACK?!” I had no idea what it was, what needed to be in it or how to create one. I learned from this that you don’t need to necessarily have all the industry knowledge and know-how when you start. Obviously, arm yourself as best you can with research, but what will get the job done is just messy action. Say yes, jump in, and swim. You’ll figure out a way to find the answers. Luckily, I had randomly made a connection with an industry expert on Linkedin a few weeks prior and was able to lean on my new connection for help and support in this area.
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?
One of my mentors is Marnie Conksy, the CEO and Founder of Thigh Society. I randomly met Marnie in a Shopify Slack group. She was on a podcast with some ecommerce pros speaking about diversity and the importance of diversity for her brand. I loved her insights, and so I simply reached out on Slack to compliment her on her great podcast episode. I didn’t have anyone in my network that I knew personally running a successful bootstrapped ecommerce business at the time, so I asked if I could pick her brain. Since that meeting, we chat regularly, support each other on social media and have become friends. Marnie has given me a great belief in myself; a sort of ,”I can do it, too” mentality.
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?
Disrupting something means you are making significant changes to something that needs a bit of change. Disruption oftens comes as a shock to people because they’ve become accustomed to having something done a certain way, and disruption is a shock to the system that says “oh, we can do things differently. I didn’t know this was possible!” Disruption can be big like Uber coming in and completely overhauling the way we see transportation, or as small as when socks went from basic sports socks to cool, colorful trendy accessories, and even landing in sock subscription boxes. That is innovation mixed with a bit of disruption.
As humans, it’s in our nature to resist change. As the saying goes, old habits die hard. Disrupting an industry won’t happen overnight when you offer a new solution, something that hasn’t been done before, people will be hesitant to change. Of course you’ll find like-minded people in the early days, those early adopters, but mass market appeal may take time.
I don’t think I’d distinguish any disruption as good or bad. I think they are all part of an innovation and an idea that gets us thinking. Some work and some don’t, but it’s all part of the human need to create and build something. Ultimately, a disruption is when you’re creating a benefit to people’s lives
Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.
#1. “Take messy action”. From the start, I consistently took action, made the next move and then another and another. Your business won’t get off the ground if you’re not moving forward. Your actions don’t need to be perfect. It is a continuous process of constant iteration. Test and learn, over and over. I did not have any industry experience prior to starting Ponyback. Admittedly, looking back, an industry expert would have known and likely prevented some headaches like quality defects in the manufacturing process. But all of your ‘mistakes’, or ‘unknowns’ will likely lead to a problem, and all problems have solutions. So, I just tackle each problem with the messy action principle again to move forward and solve it, with the best information I know at the time.
#2. “Be Patient”. I am a big fan of Gary Vee and one of his key messages is to be patient. For me this is a message I need to tell myself everyday. We are all in a hurry, but instead of trying to get to the ‘goal’, instead focus on enjoying the journey. I think when you have a small business, you often get so caught up on survival that you forget to take a moment to stop and look at the big picture. This message helps me to stop, take a moment to be grateful for my current situation and think about all of my 15,000+ customers who now have a hat they love and adore.
#3. “Networking is key.” As I mentioned before, I had no experience in the hat industry; but what I did have was an unabashed “I’m going to put myself out there” type of mentality. I’ve joined all the entrepreneurial groups I could, I said ‘yes’ to all the “hey, I know someone you should talk to!” invitations; and I put myself out there on LinkedIn and was able to connect with an industry expert consultant who had worked for one of the major hat brands. I’ve been able to find help and support from either Google or someone that I’ve been able to connect with through my many networking opportunities.
We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?
I really want to continue to help more women access great quality baseball hats that meet their needs. I’d love to develop satin-lined products for those with curly hair. I also want to continue to customize the hat design to fit heads of all shapes and sizes, to be a brand extremely inclusive and welcoming.
In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by ‘women disruptors’ that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?
I truly believe that the biggest challenge facing women disruptors is the mindset battle. Being a successful entrepreneur requires a high level of mental resilience to taking risks, and making messy actions as I mentioned previously. Tony Robbins states that being a successful entrepreneur is 80% psychology, and 20% skill. We could likely have a lengthy nature vs. nurture debate here, but I believe that there are a couple of factors that add to the difficulty of women overcoming some of these mindset challenges.
#1. Not having as many role models available to show us what it is like to overcome the obstacles. Times are changing and I do feel very lucky to be a female entrepreneur in 2022. In addition to Marnie who I mentioned earlier, there is Sarah Blakely of Spanx, and Joanna Griffiths of Knix. I think the importance of seeing that other females can and are leading disruptions in their respective industries, and making change is a powerful mindset builder for women like me.
#2. In many cases, we may not have the same exposure to risk taking and failure. Obviously this statement depends on the type of upbringing you may have had. In my case, as a young child, I avoided at all costs anything that was dangerous. I never had a broken arm or a severe injury of any kind. The reason was because I never took any risks that may have caused me harm. When I compare and contrast my childhood to my husbands. He was constantly taking risks, attempting new slightly dangerous things, and was encouraged to do so. I think your risk tolerance is a practiced behaviour. I think this ‘practice’ with risk, does contribute to a type of mental resilience. One that if more practice with risk was had in early childhood, would likely help you to overcome risk in entrepreneurship mental mindset battle. Obviously, this would happen on an individual family level, and may not correlate with gender, but it was my particular experience. I have felt at times the strain and pressure of the ‘risk’ of what I am tackling and enduring on a daily basis. It is something that I am constantly working on, but for me, it does make me uneasy and unsure some days. When I have a low-confidence day, I try to remind myself of some truths. If all of this were to implode tomorrow, I would be fine. I would be loved, safe and healthy. For me, I am still practicing my mental resilience, but I am aware of it — and I think that is likely the first step in making meaningful change.
Do you have a book/podcast/talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us?
Gary Vee and the way he enjoys learning, educating and working is very enjoyable to me!
If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
The movement I’d like to inspire is one of love and self-acceptance. For much of my life, I pushed against ‘who I was.’ I was trying to be something that others wanted. When I finally learned to accept myself as I was, for who I was, and stopped caring about what others thought, there was a sense of relief. I had been wasting so much time consumed by leading a life of pleasing others instead of leading a life that loves and accepts myself. One of Ponyback’s values is to create a sense of community, a welcoming feeling where you can show up just as you are, with your unique interests and personality. There is no one size fits all; we are an inclusive, welcoming community. Before my ecommerce store opened, I had an Instagram account where I would share updates about starting my business. My designer had asked me for a tagline to put on our labels and stickers. I didn’t have one, so I put a call out on my Instagram to help craft a tagline for Ponyback. I had a great response and many in my IG community responded with suggestions. I was able to take two that I liked and combined them to make, “Your style fits here.” To this day, I’m so amazed by how this tagline perfectly illustrates that your hairstyle fits into our hats, but that on a deeper level it also represents the sense of belonging.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
I love the Michael Jordan quote, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” On hard days, when I feel overwhelmed — I will remind myself of this. I think of my future self in 30 years and wonder if she is looking back at me — would she regret it if I gave up and didn’t try. And the answer is always YES! I take a deep breath and resume my messy action, because armed with great patience — I’m going to live a life that is unknown, unpredictable, and scary — but I’m taking all of my shots and enjoying every moment of it in deep gratitude.
