Day: October 19, 2022

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Teach Others: Create an online course or podcast to share your insights with others. You can earn a passive income by charging fees for online lessons or getting sponsors to support your podcast.

As part of my series about “How Influencers Can Monetize Their Brand”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Sarah Fruy.

As the VP of Marketing at Linqia, Sarah Fruy is responsible for everything from brand and product marketing to demand generation. Most recently, Fruy served in a number of growth marketing leadership roles at Pantheon. Fruy is a ScrumMaster® and Certified Agile Marketer who joins Linqia with over 15 years of experience in the online advertising, digital media, and website operations industries, along with marketing strategy and digital marketing certifications from Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management. Previously, she worked at emerging media companies, such as Say Media, as well as heritage brands like the San Francisco Chronicle. Fruy is a guest contributor on many popular websites as well as a frequent public speaker.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would love to get to know you a bit more. What is your “backstory”? What brought you to this point in your career?

I’m very passionate about supporting content creators and spent most of my career working at companies that help creators monetize their content and/or distribute their content more effectively. It started years ago, collaborating with the blogger community at VideoEgg/Say Media. Then, I spent time at the San Francisco Chronicle working with journalists. At Pantheon, I got out of advertising for a while to focus on digital experience and high-impact website operations. Those collective experiences led me to focus on influencer marketing, now in my role as VP of Marketing at Linqia. I feel strongly about doing business fairly, and that creators should be compensated for the content they create and to make it a full-time career. Creative people need time and space to explore their craft. Knowing I can enable this in some small way keeps me motivated and inspired.

Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that happened to you in the course of your career?

I was working in a junior ad sales role at a company called VideoEgg (later Say Media) in Chicago, where I built campaigns for major brands and agencies. But every few days, I was working on a new campaign. While I enjoyed the combination of creative and analytical thinking, I was constantly churning through work versus refining my craft.

It was in this role, that I met Troy Young, who was the CMO. I loved how he focused on one brand (ours) and wanted to make it the best possible. So, I called our Director of Marketing, John Zeman, who was a direct report of Troy, and told him that I wanted his job. I asked if he would help me become a marketer. From there, I used my spare time to work with him on different marketing projects. Eventually, I got the call to join his team full-time in San Francisco. The rest, as they say, is history.

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

On a micro level, I joined the leadership team for a local community group that organizes family events and childcare to create a stronger community where we live. In my leadership role, I took on a number of marketing-related responsibilities to help improve our communications strategy and awareness for the group. Getting to know my neighbors better and promoting a support system for busy families has been very rewarding.

You have been blessed with great success in a career path that many have attempted, but eventually gave up on. Do you have any words of advice for others who may want to embark on this career path but know that their dreams might be dashed?

I take a lot of issue with the concept of “imposter syndrome.” I think it gives people permission to believe they are not qualified or worthy of the opportunities given to them. Throughout my career, I always bit off more than I could chew. I took jobs outside my comfort zone because I knew I could grow into those roles, and the people who hired me believed I was capable of stepping up. I am a firm believer that if you aren’t moving forward in life, you are holding yourself back. So my advice is to do things that scare you, but don’t be afraid to ask questions and get the help you need to be successful. That’s where I think people fail. They don’t get the help they need to grow into bigger roles and, as a result, fall short and feel discouraged.

None of us can achieve success without a bit of help along the way. Is there a particular person who made a profound difference in your life to whom you are grateful? Can you share a story?

I had some wonderful mentors in my career and, on the flip side, folks whose behaviors I never want to model (which is also a great learning experience). One person who had the greatest impact on my success early on was Troy Young. He was the CMO at VideoEgg and later SAY Media while I worked there. It was his work that inspired me to make the switch from working in sales to working in marketing. While working under him, I was blown away by his attention to detail and thoughtfulness around brand identity. He taught me lessons about marketing and design that I carried with me throughout my career. I often refer to him as my personal “Steve Jobs.”

So what are the most exciting projects you are working on now? How do you think that might help people?

I recently joined the American Influencer Council as a Professional Advisor. I’m very excited about the opportunity to connect more directly with the creator community. In particular, I’ll be focusing on educational and research efforts with the organization. My hope is that this will help rising star creators develop into stronger business leaders and make the most out of the platforms they built for themselves.

What are your “Top Five Ways That Influencers Can Monetize Their Brand?” (Please share a story or example for each.)

1. Work on Paid Sponsorships: Join creator marketplaces and influencer marketing platforms like Linqia to connect directly with brands and agencies on sponsorship opportunities. While it’s very common for influencers to receive gifts/credits in exchange for their content, to really grow your brand into a business, you need to get paid in cash. Make sure to work with reputable businesses that will compensate you fairly for the work you are doing.
2. Teach Others: Create an online course or podcast to share your insights with others. You can earn a passive income by charging fees for online lessons or getting sponsors to support your podcast.
3. Affiliate Marketing: Your audience respects you and your advice, so you might as well make some money off of your recommendations. There are a large number of tools and affiliate marketing programs with major retailers that you can tap into to monetize content you are already creating.
4. Sell a Product: Many companies with great products lack brand recognition. Finding opportunities to become a brand ambassador or the namesake of a new product can set you up for long-term financial success. For those with even more entrepreneurial spirit, you could cut out the middleman and try to sell your own products, merchandise, or “how-to” kits.
5. Become a Consultant: Set yourself up to advise others in your area of expertise. (You can even start with social media.) Most of this can be done online through video conferencing, but you can also land lucrative opportunities to speak in person at corporate events, conferences, and workshops.

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

I’ve always been very passionate about education. Knowledge creates opportunities in life and gives you power. If I could inspire a movement, it would be around creating more affordable higher education and better funding for elementary, middle, and high schools.

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

I would love to meet Brené Brown. I read a number of her books in an effort to become a better, more empathetic leader. Brown offers incredible insights into communicating more effectively with others and inspiring change. It would be wonderful to pick her brain and chat with her 1:1.

What is the best way our readers can follow your work online?

I am most active professionally on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahfruy/

Thank you for these fantastic insights! We wish you continued success and good health.

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Sarah Fruy of Linqia On Five Ways For Influencers To Monetize Their Brand was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

First, hone in on what sparks joy for you! It’s YOUR space! What sparks joy for you? Is it bold colors or neutral colors? Do you like lots of accessories or are you a minimalist? What style are you drawn to? Then take those realizations about yourself and find pieces and elements that fit that vision.

As part of my series on the “5 Things You Can Do To Help Your Living Space Spark More Joy”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jessica Nelson & Stephanie Lindsey of Etch Design Group.

Etch Design Group is a luxury interior design firm in Austin, Texas specializing in residential and boutique commercial design. Etch is dedicated to crafting custom interior designs that are tailored to each individual client and their desired aesthetic. No two projects are alike, and they take pride in knowing that their personalized designs encompass the function, form and feel of each individual homeowner’s personal tastes and preference. Etch Design Group works closely with homeowners, builders, and architects in Texas and throughout the U.S.

JESSICA NELSON, PRINCIPAL DESIGNER BIO: Jessica has always had a passion for design and loves bringing a client’s vision to life! She received her Bachelor’s degree in Interior Design from Texas State University, and has been transforming unique spaces ever since. Jessica has been recognized for her outstanding creativity and design aesthetic. Her background in technology makes her uniquely qualified in computer renderings and visualization tools, which help assist clients in “painting the picture” on what to expect in their finished space. Jessica is known for her love of fabrics and furnishings, and her unique ability to add the perfect finishing touch to every project. Her designs reflect her diverse experience studying architectural history and art in Florence, Italy. She has gained valuable knowledge and appreciation for European design, and loves expressing this through her work.

STEPHANIE LINDSEY, PRINCIPAL DESIGNER BIO: Stephanie has an instinctive talent and keen eye for design, along with a strong technical background in computer drafting. She graduated from the Interior Designers Institute in Newport Beach, CA with her Bachelor’s degree in Interior Design. Stephanie has worked with contractors, designers and architects throughout the country, developing a unique and versatile portfolio of projects. Her exquisite attention to detail, paired with an innate ability to project manage, provides her clients with the highest level of satisfaction. Always passionate about education, Stephanie loves learning new skills and most recently learned how to weld.

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

Co principal designer Jessica Nelson: I moved from my hometown of Norman, OK to Austin, TX and I saw my sister-in-law building a 3D model online. At that moment I had such a strong feeling that maybe I missed my calling. OR…that if I didn’t enroll at Texas State and start studying Interior Design I would absolutely miss my calling. So I gave up a great job…and then I enrolled at Texas State.

Co principal designer Stephanie Lindsey: My design career started at home with a mom who could pretty much do everything — from upholstering a sofa to making our drapes to space planning. I honestly remember days when I’d get home from school and find all of our living room furniture rearranged — and loving it! She made everything feel new and exciting. It impacted me so much — not only did I eventually grow up and become a designer, but also, seeing her do anything I assumed I could too.

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?

Stephanie accidentally bumped a set of architectural plans during a client meeting at a coffee shop and the plans went flying and landed at another table. Funny enough, the man sitting at that table was a builder so it turned into a networking opportunity!

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

We have a lot of full-house remodels that are really exciting. One gives a nod to Spanish Hacienda style, and the clients have honed in on every tiny detail with us. We love when clients get as excited as we do and care about the intricacies. We have another remodel for a client out-of-state, and this is the second home we’ve designed for them. It’s always rewarding when we have clients come back for a second, third, or fourth project. We have a couple of new builds that are for a wonderful family; we started designing a young couple’s new home, and then their parents hired us to design their house next door. That’s a fun dynamic! That’s just to name a few. We love helping clients bring their vision to life!

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

People come first.

We have experienced loss and tragedy, which continually realigns our focus on people. We have said it countless times and I imagine we will continue to repeat it with each person we meet: “we are not here to gain something from others, we are here to provide something for others.” We believe that people are more important than any beautiful space they reside in.

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

There are many people who have helped us along the way. Our team comes to mind first and foremost. In 2019, Jessica’s husband was in a plane crash, and thankfully he is still with us today but suffered many life-threatening injuries. Our team stepped up and helped us manage Etch while Jessica was out taking care of her husband. We will forever be grateful for our team!

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

These are our top 4 🙂

1. First, hone in on what sparks joy for you! It’s YOUR space! What sparks joy for you? Is it bold colors or neutral colors? Do you like lots of accessories or are you a minimalist? What style are you drawn to? Then take those realizations about yourself and find pieces and elements that fit that vision.
2. Focus on one main focal point. Do rugs excite you? Are you an art collector? Choose what you want to be the main focal point and then use that as the base for your design. It can provide the main color palette, and it helps you continually remain grounded in your design instead of purchasing things on an individual basis without thinking of the holistic vision.
3. Add greenery and flowers! Purchase some new indoor plants and enjoy the positive effect nature will have in your space!
4. Complete the space. Everything is more joyful when it is complete. Add art on the walls, place the accent pillows, and find the perfect accessories for your space. Make sure it’s not just clutter; find accessories that have meaning to you or provide a secondary function.

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

Steph’s answer: Ty Pennington. I totally fell in love with Trading Spaces and thought that his job looked so awesome…I just wanted to grow up and be him. I decided to follow my passion of interior design in part because of him.

Jessica’s answer: We designed a full-house remodel across the lake from Matthew McConaughey’s house, and we dream of meeting him one day. Stephanie can’t stop talking about his book.

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

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

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Stay unique & true to yourself. Remember just because it’s different doesn’t mean it’s wrong and just because you haven’t seen it done, it doesn’t mean it cannot work.

As a part of our series about “Five Things You Need To Know To Succeed In The Modern Beauty Industry”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Haiya Eliza of HERcurls.

Meet the heart behind HERcurls — Haiya Eliza, a Cuban-Bolivian gymnast-turned- hair stylist in Dallas, Texas, who transformed the discipline from her 15-year-long gymnastics career into her passion for hair. The idea of ‘HERcurls’ sprouted when a curlfriend was randomly appointed to Haiya, thanks to her own curly hair. Instead of straightening her beautiful curls, Haiya instinctively styled them in their natural form. That one decision led to a beaming customer and a viral video that made curlfriends in Dallas seek out Haiya for her unconventional hair-styling techniques.

7 years and millions of curls later, Haiya’s experience and self-taught knowledge of curly hair have transformed into a place where ALL types of hair are styled and cared for, be it textured, curly, straight, straightened, or wavy.

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

Fate in the form of a curly-haired woman.

Seven years ago, right after finishing my assistant phase, a curly-haired woman came into the salon wanting a haircut. I had curly hair so they appointed her to me since none of my colleagues knew what to do with it. It’s important to note that not many hairdressers were dealing with curls and natural hair. Many weren’t even welcoming the learning processes of how to cut & style it. I was new and building my clientele so I welcomed the challenge. Something innately told me to cut her hair in its natural state (not straightened or wet) to shape & cut it properly. Little did I know she was a budding influencer on Youtube. One video post showcasing her new do & the rest is HERstory. I developed my very own self-taught technique and discovered it was a niche. I’m so excited to take part in the evolution of hair texture and be able to pass on my knowledge to each curlfriend.

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

I would have to say my first curly-haired haircut was 7 years ago. My client posted her new do & it immediately went viral — talk about manifestation! Not only is this one of the most interesting things that have happened to me, but it is also where my journey truly began. It stands out most in my memory because it truly was a focal turning point for me and my career. It also showed me the influence that social media & content creators have.

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

I would say it was more of an opening of the floodgates than a tipping point and for that, I am very grateful. Within less than a year I started witnessing HERcurls transform from a community to a movement. I began challenging my curlfriends to make educated changes on how they treated their hair by making education a part of each service for each client. Every person that walks into my salon leaves with newfound knowledge on how to nourish and take care of their curls properly. The takeaway from all of this has been learning that doing what is best for your business and clients pays off — so do it, even if you haven’t seen it done before!

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

I am extremely grateful to my mother who taught me to never give up on my dreams. I also want to give a shout-out to my life partner Sarah for her constant support. Lastly, everyone who has been involved in HERcurls throughout the years. They have all believed in me & I wouldn’t be here without all of them.

Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. The global beauty industry today has grown to more than a half a trillion dollar business. Can you tell us about the innovations that you are bringing to the industry? How do you think that will help people?

I think the most innovative thing I’ve contributed to the industry is shining a light on the beauty of natural textures. We have witnessed many times where the industry has modified patterns rather than enhanced them. The constant innovation and pursuit of education is extremely important as well. We need to be disrupting myths and modifying older cycles that have been kept the same for decades. We are in an age where people should possess the knowledge of how to nourish their hair properly, this will then make natural hair, with any pattern easier to manage, style, embrace and love.

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

Creativity: As a form of self-expression!

Acceptance/Representation: These both go hand in hand for me, they fuel each other. They push the boundaries of traditional beauty standards we so often see.

Pushing Boundaries: New ideas & innovations will open up new horizons that contrast conventional beauty standards.

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

Social Media as a whole, I know it can be so helpful in regards to showcasing talents & learning new things but it’s often filled with false information. A perfect example would be realistic, unfiltered photos vs. photoshopped images & filters galore.

Online misleading and sometimes dangerous information. Influencers are vlogging & blogging about their curl routines that might not be right for your hair type or are just plain unhelpful or unhealthy. I believe brands should be bringing on stylists to try out their products for review, especially since we have more education in product performance.

Education is key! Textured hair has been around for centuries but sadly there has been little to no education centered around it. Cosmetology schools have extremely little or more often than that, no education regarding maintaining & styling textured natural hair. Instead, their focus has been to go to press, straightening, or relaxing products. What improvement looks like to me is basic and intermediate education in cosmetology schools. I encourage any students interested in this career to make sure their apprenticeship is under a stylist who has great leadership, experience, and more importantly knowledge in their field of expertise.

You are an expert about beauty. Can you share a few ideas that anyone can use “to feel beautiful”?

Two things stand out first & foremost for me…

Education: Take the time to learn about your hair and what works best for it. Always remember quality over quantity.

Confidence: Embrace your hair, embrace your curls, and let ’em bounce!

Here is the main question for our discussion. Based on your experience and success, can you please share “Five Things You Need To Know To Succeed In The Modern Beauty Industry”? Please share a story or an example, for each.

Visualize your goal. Create and follow through on the steps you need to reach them.

Confidence in yourself & what you are capable of… trust your vision!

Work on your craft to expand and enhance your talents. Never stop learning!

Stay creative and original but stay open-minded to innovations — embrace them!

Stay unique & true to yourself. Remember just because it’s different doesn’t mean it’s wrong and just because you haven’t seen it done, it doesn’t mean it cannot work.

Know your worth. You are a unique, original masterpiece, stay true to that.

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. 🙂

Spread Love Daily! As for hair, Stop Texturism!

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

“Speak into existence.”

Thoughts become words, words become actions, and actions become reality.

This is how I have been able to manifest my dreams, along with tons of hard work & dedication.

How can our readers follow you online?

Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok & Website below:

@hercurls.studio

@gethaiya

www.hercurls.com

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

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Haiya Eliza of HERcurls: Five Things You Need To Know To Succeed In The Modern Beauty Industry was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women In Wellness: Jennifer Blair of Deka Lash On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Give back to the Community: My way of giving back to the community are the organizations we support through Deka Lash. One of them is One Love Foundation, which empowers young people with the tools and resources they need to recognize the signs of healthy and unhealthy relationships and bring life-saving prevention education to their communities. Find a cause that’s meaningful to you, and make some time to give back locally.

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

Jennifer Blair is the Founder and Co-CEO of Deka Lash, an emerging tech-beauty franchise that specializes in eyelash extensions. Because of her love for family, she combined the names of her daughters, Demi and Karli, to come up with the name Deka Lash. Jennifer is a champion of unapologetic self-confidence and uses her expertise in the world of beauty and business to help others reach their full potential.

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?

As a child, I grew up spending much of my time in my mother’s hair salon outside of Pittsburgh. This is where I first observed and learned the ins-and-outs of the beauty industry. Fast forwarding to adulthood, things came full circle for me. I always felt a strong sense of confidence when I would get a fresh set of eyelash extensions, and when I discovered the service was expensive and hard to come by, I set out to make them more accessible for everyone. It all began with a lash certification course, which led to my first one-bed studio in Pittsburgh. After experiencing the demand for lash extensions in my community, and seeing success with my business, I decided to use my knowledge to help others uncover the most confident and empowered version of themselves through Deka Lash.

Since its start in 2012, Deka Lash has evolved into a top-performing eyelash extension studio with more than 100 locations across the U.S. and Canada. The brand is growing rapidly, and we’re expecting to have 140 locations by the end of 2022 and 200 locations by the end of 2023.

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

When I started lashing, I rented a room out of a salon. I ran a Groupon to see if there would be any interest in women wanting eyelash extensions. I hoped to get 10, maybe 20, people who wanted to buy the service. I still remember being so nervous the day it launched, wondering if anyone would see it. Within two days, Groupon sold out, selling 250 vouchers. This was when I realized there was a demand for the service. I had mixed feelings. I was super excited that so many sold, but, at the same time, I was nervous that so many sold. I was a mom of four and planned on starting this idea much slower. I was a bit overwhelmed and thought about refunding all the Groupons. With some encouraging words from Mike, my husband, and support from my mother in helping with the kids, I went all in and went back to work full time.

After a few weeks of working with clients, I realized I wasn’t just doing lashes. I wasn’t just making women look and feel better; I started feeling better about myself. I enjoyed the reactions and smiles from the clients as much as they loved the lashes.

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

One of the initial mistakes we made when we first started was licensing the brand, instead of franchising. While licensing, we couldn’t control the image, and there was no consistency from studio-to-studio. We knew that we wanted to expand Deka Lash, and the franchise model was ideal in making that happen, so that’s what we did.

When it came to the design of our studios, we definitely learned a lot about what we wanted for Deka Lash through trial and error. If you look at what our studios look like now, compared to what they looked like when we first started, you will see some pretty clear differences. Some of our studios were made up of private rooms where our Lash Artists would apply the lashes. That quickly changed to an open concept feel. We knocked down all the walls because we wanted our environment to be one of collaboration. It’s this type of synergy that has become a pillar of our success and we’ve never looked back. Learning by trial and error is an important part of any entrepreneur’s journey.

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?

Deka Lash focuses a lot on helping build self-confidence through creating customized lashes. But we never tell people that they need our service. We just like to send the message that they are there to help you enhance your natural beauty. Simply put, when you look better, you feel better, when you feel better, you’re more productive, and when you’re more productive, you’re more successful. Now more than ever, self-care is so important, and sometimes the little things, like getting your lashes done and feeling confident when you look in the mirror is all it takes to ensure that you have a productive and meaningful day.

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.

Save Time with Lash Extensions: When it comes to getting ready in the morning, anything we can do to get a little time back matters, and lash extensions do just that! Perfect for everyone, from the tired mom, to the working millennial, lash extensions eliminate the need for mascara, provide a more youthful appearance, and enhance your eyes. The key is that you can throw your hair in a ponytail, still look awake, and feel great when you look in the mirror.

Get Outside: Whether you’re taking a walk, playing with the dog, or going for a quick run to clear your mind, being in nature and taking in the fresh air allows you to find an inner sense of peace and really gather your thoughts. I make it a habit to take breaks, get away from the computer, and re-center.

Focus on Family: Making time for family is, and always will be, a top priority in my life. I’m a mom of four kids and always carve out time in my day to spend with them. Whether it’s an hour, or a full day during the week, it’s key in finding happiness and success.

Make Time For Exercise: Part of feeling good about yourself is creating healthy habits and routines. I prefer Pilates, but, different strokes for different folks. Find a form of exercise that you’re passionate about, make sure it challenges you, and stick with it!

Give back to the Community: My way of giving back to the community are the organizations we support through Deka Lash. One of them is One Love Foundation, which empowers young people with the tools and resources they need to recognize the signs of healthy and unhealthy relationships and bring life-saving prevention education to their communities. Find a cause that’s meaningful to you, and make some time to give back locally.

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

The organizational charts really don’t mean anything. One may assume if you own your company or you’re the CEO everyone works for you, when actually it means you work for everyone.

Define your Core Values early on so you can build the right culture. Surround yourself with others who really care about your business and believe in the same core values.

This will not be easy, even if it seems like it now. There will be a lot of highs and lows. Reflect on the highs. That will get you through the lows.

Pressure is a privilege. When you have pressure it forces you to accomplish something. You’re more driven and it removes the laziest. Remind yourself to use that pressure and embrace it to help you get where you want to be.

It’s so important to find the right people to be a part of your business, from the top executives to the lash artists and everyone in between. As the old saying goes, “it takes a village,” and Deka Lash has truly blossomed thanks to the wonderful and talented people that are a part of the brand.

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

Deka Lash has always prioritized sustainability; for example, we have upgraded our packaging to be more sustainable and environmentally friendly. Our lashes are condensed, which is one way of reducing waste. Something else I am very proud of, is we now donate used lash brushes to Wands for Wildlife, which are used to help soothe animals after wildfires. It’s such a meaningful way for our products to be recycled.

What is the best way for our readers to further follow your work online?

You can follow us on our LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook pages. You can also get the very latest on studio openings and product/service launches on our official website, https://dekalash.com/

Thank you for these fantastic insights! We wish you continued success and good health.

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

Women In Wellness: Maria Juliana Morales of Mind Naturals On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

We couldn’t think about overall wellness without taking into account the wellness of the planet and how we could impact the world. Being part of the beauty industry, this is extremely important as it is highly regarded as a very contaminated industry. To combat this, we always think about developing products that are good for you and for the planet.

As a part of my series about women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Maria Juliana Morales.

Maria Juliana Morales is the driving force behind MIND NATURALS.

With a broad brand management background in the beauty and wellness space for companies including L’Oreal and Loto del Sur and as a lifelong enthusiast of the incredible biodiversity of her native Colombia, Maria Juliana helps to bring the richness and vitality of the equatorial rainforest to this skincare collection.

As a featured guest speaker and beauty industry commentator in Colombia and internationally, Maria Juliana looks forward to introducing the energy of Latin American beauty through the MIND NATURALS skincare collections to new audiences all over the world.

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

I’m latina, I was born in Cali, Colombia, very close to the countryside. Being raised in Colombia between the city and the countryside is what inspired me and made me very passionate about nature, its benefits and the results it can bring.

I have a major in design and have had the opportunity to work for global beauty brands, including larger brands and smaller indie brands. I have always been inspired to bring richness to the brands I work with, especially the indie brands while they are still in their growth phase.

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 believe the most interesting process I have been a part of during my career has been developing the Roots Collection for Mind Naturals as it meant to immerse consumers in the most luscious and vibrant ingredients from Colombia.

As I grew up in Cali, in the southwest of Colombia, I was exposed to nature, crops, and citrus plants and really began to understand their benefits. I was constantly amazed by the discovery of all the things that nature can provide. Discovering and sharing Colombia’s biodiversity and story through skincare has been an incredible honor and one of the most fulfilling experiences.

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?

Sometimes between the process of developing the marketing campaigns and assets, we can get lost and miss the essence of our brand.

Through the process we get to analyze all the benchmarks and trends among the beauty and skincare industry, and in some cases this analysis can influence our thinking and change some of our most unique ideas into copies of what’s trending. Therefore the biggest mistake has been to lose a unique idea because it seemed to be very different from the current trends. We would try to adapt our communications to fit the trends and we would forget what actually made us special: our Latiness.

The most important lesson I learned from this is to always stay true to yourself and embrace YOUR stories, even if it means it is different from what’s popular and you may have to educate through your communications with consumers.

We found true fulfillment when we leveraged and embraced our Roots with Mind Naturals — this process has meant everything for the brand.

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?

There are three areas we are focused on at Mind Naturals to help make the world a better place: formulation, sustainability, and community.

Firstly, skincare effectiveness depends on the formulas. For this, we carefully develop formulas with over 97% of natural ingredients, in which every ingredient is selected under the EWG list standards to take care of our users and provide safe products. This also means our formula is paraben, sulfate and phthalates free. As we established these standards, all of our decisions ensure people receive effective and safe formulas.

Second, we couldn’t think about overall wellness without taking into account the wellness of the planet and how we could impact the world. Being part of the beauty industry, this is extremely important as it is highly regarded as a very contaminated industry. To combat this, we always think about developing products that are good for you and for the planet.

We are fully immersed in our sustainability journey, where we always make decisions under a conscious and sustainability mindset. For example, we changed all of our packaging to be sustainable, finding 100% biodegradable packaging that doesn’t leave any impact, or packages made from sugarcane plastic. We won’t stop there — we are constantly looking for new developments in sustainable packaging. We also know the sourcing of our ingredients makes a difference, so we try to locally source most of our ingredients and help to develop local economies.

Third, building community can make a huge difference, as daily habits directly affect people’s lives. At Mind, we wanted to create a greater connection with our users as skincare is such a personal experience — nobody else will do it for you, and it is a self love act. Through all of our communications and rituals we leverage self love and self care, always seeding positive insights and expressing how important personal moments are. We stress the importance of positive thoughts and self-talk, as these thoughts and feelings reflect in our actions toward ourselves and others. That’s the source of real beauty, it all starts in your mind.

Can you share your top five “lifestyle tweaks” that you believe will help support people’s journey towards better wellbeing? Please give an example or story for each.

1. Create a self care routine that you can easily incorporate into your routine
2. Remember to move your body and remain active
3. Stay curious: read, paint, meditate, or find another hobby to keep your mind active
4. Stay connected to nature — walk barefoot on the grass
5. Disconnect yourself from all tech devices at least 40 minutes before you go to sleep

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

I would start a self-love movement. I believe when you love yourself for your best qualities while also recognizing your flaws, you learn your true self and the care you give yourself improves. This will impact the way you interact with others positively. Additionally, if you love yourself, it can lead to more positive and loving feelings towards your home, community, and planet.

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

• Know the value you bring to every situation that you are in
• Look for ordinary moments in your day that you can make extraordinary
• Ups and downs are part of your personal growth, take in every moment and embrace the joys of success and the learning opportunities of hardships
• Look for opportunities to connect what you do with what you are passionate about
• Most of the answers can be found through observation: stop, watch and listen
• Don’t be afraid to stop and take a few steps back

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 very important to me and has been one of the key causes we have been focusing on at Mind. Our days are defined by the way we think and feel and our daily habits greatly affect our mental health. It is important that we address mental health through awareness, education, and resources.

What is the best way for our readers to further follow your work online?

@mindnaturals

www.mindskincare.com

Thank you for these fantastic insights! We wish you continued success and good health.

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Women In Wellness: Maria Juliana Morales of Mind Naturals On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women In Wellness: Maggie Qiu of SeabuckWonders On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Go with the flow but have awareness of your limits, physically and mentally. Stress is a much bigger issue nowadays- especially during a pandemic. I joke with my mom friends that we were doing 5 full time jobs at the beginning of the pandemic. I was the live classroom assistant teacher, cleaning lady, driver, event planner, while still doing my full-time job to keep my business running smoothly. Even with a healthy diet, I started to have serious acid reflux issues.

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

Maggie Qiu, proud mother of young twin boys, has a lifelong passion for health, purity and nature which contributed to her enduring commitment to wellness and natural living. With a master’s degree in E-Commerce Technology coupled with her project managing experience forged early at Morningstar Inc., Maggie ventured into the rapidly expanding natural food category with her work on the SeabuckWonders brand. For the past eighteen years, Maggie has utilized her expertise in online marketing to help natural, organic supplement, and personal care brands grow from their very beginnings to become successful Nexty Award brands.

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 moved to Chicago for graduate school in 2001. My original plan was to learn and advance in the corporate world. My boyfriend, now husband — James, was also in the corporate field specializing in E-Commerce solutions. We decided it was time to venture out and create our own businesses.

Our first project was a website focused on the natural food industry. Working together in a community of enthusiasts that shared our passion felt so right! I love the community that is the backbone of the natural products industry. People are so kind and caring, down to earth, and hardworking. They radiate positivity and bring a smile to our faces whenever we would meet and talk to them.

Back in 2004, the natural food and organic category was still very niche and not the mainstream industry that it is today. Still, we decided to follow our hearts and fully dedicate our time on natural health brands, moving away from the corporate world. By combining our strengths and passions, we were able to triple our sales in the first two years.

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

It has to be when we were approached by The Dr. OZ. show, back in May 2011.

People are now more familiar with organic food and the wellness benefits from healthy eating than they were at the time our story aired.

Unique super-foods and especially rare fruit were on trend in the natural community. We’d been focused on building our own organic sea buckthorn farm and making sea buckthorn oil for quite some time at that point.

On May 3rd, I got a request from the Dr. Oz Show’s producer team. They wanted to feature sea buckthorn berry as the next super-fruit and show people how well omega-7 (the main fatty acid in sea buckthorn) can be beneficial to our health.

At that time, I was pregnant with my twins and James was on the Tibetan plateau visiting our farms.

As exciting as it was to be contacted by the show, the catch was that they needed the actual sea buckthorn plants and fresh berries in three days to be able to appear on the show! There was no way to express-ship a sea buckthorn tree from Tibet, and fresh berries were not yet in season, and wouldn’t be until late Fall! James had frozen berries in the facility, but they would melt and become mushy during transportation — even if we overnighted them.

Our store manager, who had previously lived in Portland, said she recalled seeing sea buckthorn plants there. So, I pulled a list of all the garden centers in the Portland area and started calling, while James started looking for freeze-dried sea buckthorn berries from our last harvest season in Tibet.

Luckily, we got a “yes” from a nursery garden center who had three sea buckthorn plants. The staff was so kind and even texted me pictures of the plants. They looked like our Himalayan sea buckthorn plants! The nursery was kind enough to bring the plants to UPS for us, and John (I’ll never forget his name!) at UPS helped us with the daunting task of packing 3ft tall, 25lb sea buckthorn plants!

While I dealt with the sea buckthorn plants, James was able to find dried sea buckthorn berries. On May 5th, we had actual plants, berries, and the sea buckthorn staging images all express-shipped to Rockefeller Center in NY.

The takeaway from this story? The kindness of people and their willingness to help others. People will help each other and will even go out of their way when they know it’s to help someone’s health. It’s an amazing feeling.

I was more than thankful for being able to share the real health benefits from a natural source with the world. I’m glad that I can contribute to the health of others with the work that I do. That thought exists in every step of the way as we make our sea buckthorn oil — from farm to shelf.

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 the business, I covered every aspect of the business with 120% attention — phone calls, emails, managing the store and office. There were times we had to multitask and know all the details. I still agree with that.

If I were to do it again, I would get help from a professional office assistant. I learned to let people do what they are good at, so I can fully concentrate on my own tasks in business to bring efficiency and quality of work. It helps the business move along a timeline and gain more flexibility to enter the market with good timing.

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?

We are thrilled to pass the gifts from Mother Nature to more people, raising awareness of this tiny orange berry which is packed with amazing plant-based omegas and bio-active nutrients that benefit people’s health.

In Eastern Herbalism, it’s believed that there is a close relationship between nature and human beings. We will be in harmony if we can find balance. We embrace ethical organic practices in our farms on the Tibetan Plateau. Sea buckthorn plants can survive in a harsh environment with dry and cold conditions. The roots of its tree hold the soil together and help to reduce soil erosion from wind and flash floods. It helps prevent desertification tremendously! The hard work we put in to support these trees is well worth it.

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.

Go with the flow but have awareness of your limits, physically and mentally.

Stress is a much bigger issue nowadays- especially during a pandemic. I joke with my mom friends that we were doing 5 full time jobs at the beginning of the pandemic. I was the live classroom assistant teacher, cleaning lady, driver, event planner, while still doing my full-time job to keep my business running smoothly. Even with a healthy diet, I started to have serious acid reflux issues.

Stress has a bigger impact on our lives than we think. My nutrition program professor is also a psychology professor. It’s been eye opening for me to hear his opinions on the correlation between nutrition, the central and peripheral nervous system, and health issues. Mental health plays a big role in many of the alignments.

To me, real fulfillment comes from learning.

I want to be a lifelong learner. Learning is fun and good for our health! Doesn’t matter if it is a new vegetable/fruit I find at the farmer’s market, a new look I come across at the boutique shop window, or a new joke I learn from my kids, it keeps us going and helps us see the sparkle in our lives.

My grandpa lived until he was 108 years old. He had been through two wars, and serious ups and downs in his life. After he retired as a financial controller, he became a Tai Chi master and a calligraphy master.

He told me the wealth of wisdom and the knowledge we can learn is unlimited. The specific topics or activities didn’t matter-the act of learning and growing keeps us grounded and gives positive energy to go forward in life. Cicero’s “If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need” is so true.

Lay down on the floor and do core work to regain upper body strength and alignment.

I learned this from my amazing tennis friend who specializes in body alignment adjustment. Oftentimes, we don’t realize our sitting and standing posture creates misalignment to our spine, upper body, and lower body.

I have shoulder pain sometimes, thanks to computer work and browsing on my phone. She pointed out that my lower back tends to tilt forward, and it is not on the same vertical line of my heel, my pelvis, and my rib cage. My shoulder muscle naturally tried hard to compensate for that tilt- building up wear and tear.

Lying down on the floor is the easiest way to find correct spine alignment. I found so much relief after doing that several times a week.

Go out and get more sun! (Not just for vitamin D).

The sun is the ultimate source of energy. Think about it, we eat food to supply our body with needed energy. The three macronutrients, carbohydrates, protein, and fats-we need them all.

Where do they all come from? The plants we eat convert the energy from the sun. The fruits do the same. Fat is a different way to store energy and also needs sun. Getting sunshine helps us receive direct energy from the sun and helps ensure our wellbeing.

Eat dinner before 6pm.

An easy-to-follow fasting option if a 16 hour and 24 hour intermediate fasting plan is hard to manage with your daily schedule is to eat dinner before 6pm. If we eat before 6pm, and eat breakfast at 8am, we get 9 hours for our body to naturally fast, burn fat and repair.

Eating an early dinner can help lower blood glucose. A year-long study by scientists at Columbia University has found that those who eat later in the evening are more likely to have high blood pressure, a higher body mass index (MBI) and higher blood sugar level.

Adding plant based unsaturated fat to dinners helps us feel fuller during fasting. It is better than eating simple carbohydrates which spikes blood sugar level, adding pressure to our existing insulin and blood sugar counter balance system

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

Practice mindfulness and deep breathing once a day. We are overloaded with information, tasks, social media pressure (yay, that exists now) etc. And our brain and body can only handle so much. There are a lot of energy goes into processing all this information, cluttering our mind, consciously or unconsciously.

Daily mindfulness and deep breathing practice helps clear the mind while giving the mind and body a chance to decompress and regroup.

Less is more! Our body is a whole. Body parts connect to each other- including the brain. Our emotional wellbeing is tied to our overall wellbeing.

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

Partnering with your spouse may not be the best option. LOL!

Most of the phone company sales reps will mess up your current plan and phone line, and it takes forever to fix the plan! LOL.

Have a mentor that can point you in the right direction and act as a truthful accountable partner.

Setting boundaries between work and life. We need time to eat and sleep!

We don’t need to code everything from scratch. Timing of the launch is more important than many of the detailed features that bother me even when I go to bed.

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

As you may guess from my previous answers, mental health is my top pick. It’s happening right now, affecting people’s health and wellness. Accessible tools are available to address it. Raise awareness, do simple practices, and support those willing to seek professional help.

Having school age boys, it is heartbreaking to hear the suicidal thoughts among teens driven by loss of confidence and social media peer pressure.

How do all these mental challenges shape a person’s personality and decision-making processes? The trauma or certain behavior pattern can follow them all the way into their adulthood and repeat with their own children. If we plant a seed, we want to remove the pest early on.

What is the best way for our readers to further follow your work online?

Please visit us at seabuckwonders.com and our Instagram @seabuckwonders. We post health related blogs, sea buckthorn berries newest researches, and wellness related lifestyle stories, and our farm.

Thank you for these fantastic insights! We wish you continued success and good health.

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

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

There will be very uncomfortable moments of growth — inflexion points — where you have no idea how you are going to make it. Persevere and make sure you have the right people around you to help think your way through these moments.

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

Recipient of the Musical America Award for Best Artist of the Year as Agent of Change and noted as a “contemporary opera mastermind” (LA Times) and “a powerhouse leading the industry to new heights” (WQXR), Beth Morrison is an opera-theatre producer and the President and Creative Producer of Beth Morrison Projects.

Beth created Beth Morrison Projects (BMP) in 2006 to identify and support the work of emerging and established living composers. Named as one of the cultural leaders of The Kennedy Center Next 50 in 2021, she is currently an advisory board member of National Sawdust and Brooklyn Youth Chorus, as well as a board member of Opera America, the international competition, Music Theatre Now and Voices 21C, a social justice choir and holds a Bachelor of Music from Boston University, a Master of Music from Arizona State University, and an MFA from Yale School of Drama.

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?

My backstory is that I grew up in a small city in Maine. I have an incredible family with two very supportive parents who introduced me into the arts at a very young age. In fact, my whole family was deeply involved in our community theater, mostly performing in musicals, from the time I was six years old. I thought that I wanted to be a Broadway performer, but then pivoted to classical music when I went to the Boston University Tanglewood Institute (BUTI) at the age of 17. It was my first exposure to classical music, and it hit me hard. I was introduced to the likes of Jessye Norman, Kathleen Battle, Leonard Bernstein, Seiji Ozawa and a whole world that I didn’t know existed musically. I was hooked. I then went on to pursue degrees in vocal performance and vocal pedagogy with an eye toward being a classical singer in opera and a voice teacher at a university. However, I diverted rather quickly into arts administration when I moved back to Boston and started working for BUTI and at a very young age ended up in the senior management role. I quickly learned that was a better fit for me.

After working there for several years, I began to dream about a different kind of opera… something that was completely focused on contemporary stories, working with living composers writing in a fully 21st century way, and with media and theatrical techniques that were cutting edge. There weren’t any examples of this in opera. I was seeing it in theater, but not opera. So, I decided that I needed to start my own company with the express purpose of changing the opera industry by introducing all of these elements. I went back to school to the Yale School of Drama and did a degree in theater management and producing and then moved to NYC to start my company upon graduation. When I started the company it was just me and I was supporting myself as a voice teacher as I raised money to put on the work. Seventeen years later, we are 15 people strong and have a 3 million dollar budget. Along the way, I also co-founded PROTOTYPE Festival which is an annual festival in NYC for contemporary chamber opera and music-theatre and in 2015 we became a bi-coastal company with an office in LA, as well as Brooklyn.

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

This is an impossible question, as there are so many interesting stories- I work in the theater! But, I guess I would say the starting of my festival is a real defining moment in my trajectory. I had been trying to get my work into the January festivals that happen in NYC because, due to a number of industry conferences at that time, there is a confluence of venue directors and presenters in NYC shopping for work to bring back to their venues. BMP is a touring company, so I needed to find a way to put my work in front of these people. After being rejected from the theater and dance festivals, I decided I needed to start a festival that focused on contemporary chamber opera and music-theatre. Around that time I was approached by the Mellon Foundation to come in and tell them about BMP. At the end of the conversation, I told them about my idea for a festival, and they said they wanted to fund and help me start one. So, with my co-producer here we did just that, and now ten years later we are lauded as one of the most important contemporary opera festivals in the world.

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 it certainly wasn’t funny at the time, but the first year I was working, I joined a project that was in progress. There was an executive producer on the project that I was working with. He tasked me with creating the budget. After presenting the budget to him, I realized that my numbers were off by $100,000 because of a formula error. I wanted to die! I remember crying a lot that night. To his credit, or maybe not, he didn’t fire me! I now have an Executive Director who does the budgeting so these mistakes don’t happen anymore!

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

There are many people that have been significant in my career and have helped me along the way, but I’ll go all the way back to the beginning, and tie it in with my story about BUTI. In Auburn, ME as a performer I was a big fish in a little pond. In my junior year of high school, my choral director, Kathi Cutler, brought a brochure to me from the Tanglewood Institute. I had never heard of it. She said that she thought it would be a great place for me, to push me, to expand my horizons if you will. So, she and my band director John Neal, took it upon themselves to teach me an aria from Le Nozze di Figaro (Mozart), as well as drive me down to Boston for the audition. Mr. Neal played piano for me. As you know, I got in, and the rest is history. It was one of *the* defining moments of my life, and I’m so deeply grateful that these incredible teachers took an interest in me and went out of their way to help me.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. According to this EY report, only about 20 percent of funded companies have women founders. This reflects great historical progress, but it also shows that more work still has to be done to empower women to create companies. In your opinion and experience what is currently holding back women from founding companies?

That’s an interesting question. In my field, while things have changed pretty dramatically in the last five years — women have historically not been given the opportunity to be the lead artistic voice for a company. Very often in theaters, and certainly in opera companies, men are given the Artistic Director role, and women are given the Managing Director position, somehow indicating that women can’t lead in creative pursuits. So, very often, the companies that are the independent ones doing interesting work have been founded by women because they would not otherwise have been given the opportunity. We have to found our own companies if we want to have an artistic voice in the field.

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?

This is a huge question. I would just say that things are slowly changing. But people follow the money. So, if foundations will step up in the non-profit performing arts sector and create grants for artistic leadership by women, companies will hire and follow suit.

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?

It simply gives you the opportunity to be the boss and the visionary. There’s not much else to say but that!

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

I’m not sure what myths you are talking about, but I guess founders are known for putting passion before practicality. I’m definitely guilty of that in some ways — until I had a general manager and ultimately an executive director, I was literally paying myself as little as possible so that I could put every dollar onto the stage and into commissions. I would calculate the minimum amount needed for my bills and go with that. Finally, I’m paid a proper salary because I have someone else making that decision!

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?

You have to be comfortable with risk, and you have to be able to put in enormous amounts of time to create your company. It’s not for the faint of heart!

Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)

1. It’s harder than you could ever imagine.
2. Be careful who you hire and go with your gut.
3. Kindness goes a long way, as does saying I’m sorry.
4. Doing it alone is lonely. As soon as you can bring on other people/partners, do it, but make sure they are the right people.
5. There will be very uncomfortable moments of growth — inflexion points — where you have no idea how you are going to make it. Persevere and make sure you have the right people around you to help think your way through these moments.

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

I take my role in the field very seriously, and I believe I have a responsibility to foster the next generation. We have formalized that mission through our Next Gen and Producer Academy programs.

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.

This is another massive question. I think being in the world we are in today, the thing I would most like to inspire is kindness. We all f- up and make mistakes in our lives. I’d love to see a movement of calling-in rather than calling-out; maybe the world would be a better place to live in. I believe everyone can learn, change, and grow from their mistakes.

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.

Jared Leto. He inspires me — he’s someone who is self-made, brings meaning to others through his tremendous skills as a troubadour (and actor), and has a keen mind and business sense. Maybe he would make me look at the world through a different lens that would inspire me to my next height!

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

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