Month: November 2022

Thriving As A Woman In a Male-Dominated Industry: Rachel Southard of Men In Kilts On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman In a Male-Dominated Industry

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Know your strengths and take advantage of them — What’s that one thing that you know no one can do better than you? Go all in on that and deliver unshakable results. Don’t sign up for administrative or “mom tasks” unless they are your core responsibility. This is a big thing that sucks up your time but doesn’t get evaluated for performance. It’s probably one of the reasons men get promoted because they haven’t been distracted by these things. Look- I’m a mom and I’m a planner. It is second nature for me to take control and plan; dinners, events, meetings, etc.. I have to make it a point to pause from jumping in and I have gotten comfortable saying no.

In the United States in 2022, fields such as Aircraft piloting, Agriculture, Architecture, Construction, Finance, and Information technology, are still male-dominated industries. For a woman who is working in a male-dominated environment, what exactly does it take to thrive and succeed? In this interview series, we are talking to successful women who work in a Male-Dominated Industry who can share their stories and experiences about navigating work and life as strong women in a male-dominated industry. As a part of this series, we had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Rachel Southard.

Rachel Southard, Brand President: Rachel joined Threshold Brands as the President of Men in Kilts in June of 2021. Prior to joining Threshold, Rachel was a consultant at an Ogilvy company where she led strategy behind digital experience initiatives for brands such as Southwest Airlines, Chick-Fil-A, Christian Brothers Automotive and Caesars. For the ten years prior to her time at Ogilvy, Rachel worked at Self Esteem Brands (SEB) leading operations for Anytime Fitness franchise, a $1.5B global operation with over 4,000 locations worldwide.

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”?

This is so interesting because this is never a question you get in the business world, but I really do think that my childhood story had an influence on where I am today.

I definitely didn’t have a fairytale upbringing. I’m a Cajun from St. Mary Parish, South Louisiana. I literally grew up with the Bayou in my backyard. My parents were never married. My mom had me when she was only 17 years old. She married my step father when I was 2 but that was an abusive relationship and the only great thing that came from it was my sister. Needless to say I grew up with a whole lot of women in my life! My mom had 3 single sisters, my grandma who helped raise me was widowed and I had mostly girl cousins. Lots of estrogen at family gatherings! We moved around a lot. I never lived in the same place for more than a couple of years. Which meant lots of new schools, lots of new friends, lots of change. I really wouldn’t change a thing. Adversity has shaped who I am and I would not be where I am today without it.

Can you tell us the story about what led you to this particular career path?

I didn’t necessarily plan to be in franchising, it was a series of fortunate events. Once you experience franchising, you either love it or hate it, and I’ve loved it! It’s been part of my career path ever since.

My first job in high school when I was 16 was working in the daycare at a fitness franchise. I ended up working with that multi-unit franchisee for almost 10 years. I found a passion for fitness and worked my way up into managing multiple locations. It is what inspired me to do my undergraduate degree in Kinesiology. After getting married in 2009, my husband was awarded a professorship at Georgia State University so we relocated to Atlanta. I took a leap and started working for a fitness software company. Shortly after, that company was acquired by what is now the largest fitness franchise (Anytime Fitness) in the world. That was my introduction to the franchisor side of the business and I’ve never looked back.

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

I previously worked for Self Esteem Brands (SEB), the parent company of Anytime Fitness; I was there for about 10 years. That company has a beautiful, amazing culture, and I thought I would be there forever. There was never really a reason to leave SEB.

Because I had an undergraduate degree in kinesiology but was loving the business side of franchising, I wanted to get my MBA to become more well-versed in the business space. I wasn’t getting my MBA to leave Anytime. In fact, I chose an international business program that specialized in Asian business studies because we were the first franchise to begin entering into the China market. But in the midst of working full time, going to graduate school, being a wife and mother and navigating the start of the pandemic, I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer.

I think when you’re facing death, you look at life so differently. And it was at this moment that I started to think, ‘Is this really what I want? Have I let myself get complacent?’ It was a moment that truly pushed me to not only get through the current circumstances but to also do something bigger and better.

That was a pivotal moment in my career, breaking through complacency and stepping out of my comfort zone in order to really grow in my career. So I left Self Esteem Brands.

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?

Endurance: This goes back to my childhood and the continuous obstacles I’ve faced in my life. It’s one thing to be able to get shit done and be a go-getter, but doing that when you’re faced with roadblock after roadblock, is a whole other story. There will always be something; a pandemic, a recession, a hurricane, a soiled employee, a bad vendor. Anything can happen at any time that could drain your energy and cause you to lose focus. Having determination, grit and resilience will get you through. Having a clear vision with a strong WHY that you don’t lose sight of is a must.

We recently went through this when changing vendors. What should have been a six month project turned into a twelve month project with upset after upset. At any given time we could have given up and stayed status quo. However, we kept revisiting our vision for the future, why we were doing this in the first place and what the end result would be for us and our franchisees. A strong why will get you through.

Empathy: My husband basically has a Ph.D. in empathy so there is no escaping the exposure to the importance of this trait in leadership in my house. (Ha!) In order for me to nurture diverse and innovative thinking from my team, I have to lead with empathy. That means taking the time to listen more than I talk (which is hard to do), validate different perspectives and assume good intent. By demonstrating empathy, you build trust among your team and through trust, your team becomes more productive and collaborative.

One way I show empathy with my team is by trying to anticipate their needs. I have an employee whose son just recently went off to college. I knew it was going to be an emotional week for her so I did my best to give her space and encouraged her to take a few days off and spend those with her son. I didn’t get frustrated that she was missing work more than usual. I put myself in her shoes and really thought about how I will feel when my girls move out and go off to college. Those moments with her son were way more important than any work that needed to be done.

Fun: Something that makes me very unique as a leader and peer is my silliness; I don’t take myself too seriously. Maybe that can give an interesting twist to my executive presence, but I think it is just so important to bring fun to everything that you do. Life is too short, and work is more enjoyable when you’re having fun!

Just today, I’ve planned a surprise for my team. We’re in the middle of some big projects, and everyone is over capacity. I recognize that, and it may have frustrated them to see the invite pop up because there’s so much to do, but I scheduled a mandatory meeting for the last hour of the day. But I’m actually surprising them with a virtual escape room just to give everyone a bit of a mental break. My team isn’t always the best at work-life balance because they love the work, so I’m making it happen myself!

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Can you help articulate a few of the biggest obstacles or challenges you’ve had to overcome while working in a male-dominated industry?

I’ve never thought too hard about the fact that I’m a woman in a man’s world. I just try to forget about distractions and get shit done. I think when you’re doing work that you’re passionate about and you’re determined to get something done, you don’t have time to lift your head up and realize what’s happening until you’re looking back on it.

The first several years of my career was working for male leaders who were part of the “bro-club”. It really hindered my ability to advance in my career at a pace I deserved. What it didn’t do was stunt the learning opportunities put in front of me. I carried those leaders, I put in the work and they took the credit. Although they may have taken credit for the work I did to make them look good, they cannot take away all of the lessons learned over those years.

Can you share a few of the things you have done to gain acceptance among your male peers and the general work community? What did your female co-workers do? Can you share some stories or examples?

I am who I am. I’m authentic, and I’m never going to try to be someone I’m not. I’m bubbly, fun and outgoing, and I don’t need to hide that to be great at what I do. I think men respect that level of authenticity, and when I show up as my full self, I’m able to show other women that they don’t have to be something they’re not.

There are always conversations about imposter syndrome, and quite often, women feel like they have to be buttoned up or super serious. I hope that me coming in as my true self has allowed other women to jump on the bandwagon of authenticity and present themselves as who they are, not who they think men want or need them to be.

All of that comes back to the idea that I’m going to be me. I’m going to respect others and expect that back, and we’re all going to work great together.

What do you think male-oriented organizations can do to enhance their recruiting efforts to attract more women?

Have more women in leadership positions.

Let’s be real. Women will not feel welcome if your entire leadership team is made up of older white males. If you want to attract women, you need to have some diversity across your leadership team. I don’t want to be blocked in my career; when I see a diverse leadership team, I’m more confident in the fact that I’ll be well supported.

There is also something to be said for branching out in terms of roles. Women in leadership are very often in marketing or human resources positions. Show me a woman in some other roles that are typically held by men! If you have a woman CEO or CFO, that’s an even bigger statement that tells us, ‘This is a place for everyone.’

Ok thank you for all of that. Here is the main question of our interview. Based on your opinion and experience, what are the “Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman In a Male-Dominated Industry?” (Please share a story or example for each.)

Allyship: This is why it’s so important to join a company with a diverse leadership team where you have allies. Someone to advocate for you and stand by you when needed. Building relationships based on trust, consistency, and accountability with marginalized individuals should be a focus for everyone in leadership. And you have to pay it forward.

This is why I came up with the idea for She Dreams, a female focused networking group for female franchisees and leaders in our portfolio company, Threshold Brands. My co-sponsor, another female brand president at Threshold Brands, and I bring in guest speakers and host round-table discussions on different topics women face as leaders in today’s society. This is our way of being allies with our future female leaders.

Authenticity: I can’t stress this enough. Be yourself. Don’t change who you are to fit some stereotype. Be you, not who you think they want you to be. Sometimes we tell ourselves that we’re under a microscope and won’t get the privilege of messing up. Being authentic, especially in the sense of transparency, is so important. If you mess up, don’t try to sweep it under the rug — you’ll lose trust. Own it, set your ego aside, and move forward. That is how you build trust.

Unwavering Confidence- Most women have imposter syndrome, over 90% I’ve read. Those gut-wrenching thoughts telling us the world might discover we are inadequate or unworthy; that we are frauds. What you perceive is what you believe. You must shift your perception, so you can see you are already the successful person you aim to be and own it. Guess what- men don’t know what they are doing anymore than you do! Be confident in your decisions and own them. One way that I increase my confidence is by using data to make my decisions- it’s hard to argue against good ‘ol hard data.

Know your strengths and take advantage of them — What’s that one thing that you know no one can do better than you? Go all in on that and deliver unshakable results. Don’t sign up for administrative or “mom tasks” unless they are your core responsibility. This is a big thing that sucks up your time but doesn’t get evaluated for performance. It’s probably one of the reasons men get promoted because they haven’t been distracted by these things. Look- I’m a mom and I’m a planner. It is second nature for me to take control and plan; dinners, events, meetings, etc.. I have to make it a point to pause from jumping in and I have gotten comfortable saying no.

Mental health: I have a secret for you- you can have your cake and eat it too. But you have to take care of yourself. You can’t serve from an empty bucket. Nurturing a marriage, family, friendships and a career takes a lot of nourishment. Make sure you’re getting good rest, exercise, and find a hobby that allows you to lose yourself to recharge.

We recently invested in a cabin on 8 acres about 90 miles from our home near a lake. Working the land is so therapeutic for me. That hard manual labor, chopping wood, cutting trails, building a firepit, hiking, kayaking, exploring. It helps me to recharge so I can show up as my best self. It’s important that you find time to care for your mental health so you can show up and execute on the other four things.

If you had a close woman friend who came to you with a choice of entering a field that is male-dominated or female-dominated, what would you advise her? Would you advise a woman friend to start a career in a field or industry that’s traditionally been mostly men? Can you explain what you mean?

I would ask my friend, “Is this a career that you’re passionate about? Is the work something that drives you? Will it get you excited to get out of bed every morning?”

If so, just do it! Who cares who you’re surrounded by? It could be men, women or monkeys… don’t let that get in the way of following your passion.

Have you seen things change for women working in male-dominated industries, over the past ten years? How do you anticipate that it might improve in the future? Can you please explain what you mean?

There has been a spotlight on diversity over the last several years. Organizations are putting more thought and emphasis on having more representation in leadership roles and across all other roles. I’ve definitely seen a change, and I think that may be one of the reasons why I never thought too hard about whether I was entering a male-dominated space when I joined Men In Kilts.

Now, at Threshold Brands, we have a woman CEO, and there is another brand president who is a black woman and another who is LGBTQIA. There has definitely been a shift, and I think we will continue to see that shift not only in gender but also in race, orientation, and cultural background. We’re going to continue to see more diverse leadership across more organizations and that means we’re going to start having more innovation, growth and spectacular experiences. We can achieve amazing things when we value and encourage diverse perspectives.

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

I recently went to an industry convention and one of the keynote speakers was Kat Cole. I was crying during her presentation because her story resonated with me so strongly. So much of what I spoke about regarding my childhood and adversity that I’ve gone through aligns with her experience. She’s a very inspirational woman, and it would be humbling to be able to sit down with someone who is so similar to me, having come from nothing and really paved her own way. Also, Oprah. I mean- go big or go home, right?

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

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Thriving As A Woman In a Male-Dominated Industry: Rachel Southard of Men In Kilts On The Five… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Disruptors: Ashley Osborne of HempHera Kosmetikos On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Do your most difficult tasks first. Never put the most difficult or physical task of your day off. Doing it later never works. You’ll not only get a little drop of dopamine sense of accomplishment, but regardless of how your day navigates — the most important thing is done.

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

Ashley Osborne founded HempHera Kosmetikos with the belief that everyone should feel like a Goddess or God inside and out. She grew up fascinated by Greek and Egyptian mythology, as well as fashion and cosmetics, which became the gateway for her founding HempHera. By combining her experience in both the cannabis and cosmetic Industry, Ashley is bringing a hemp based skin care to both women and men.

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

I think the beauty industry and cannabis industry are both individually disruptive themselves, because they both have such vigorous dynamics. Cannabis is so new legally, that we are learning new things every single day. The beauty industry is always changing. There will always be new formulations, new technology, new packaging, etc. HempHera is the world’s first fully dedicated CBD skin care line; I’m talking cleansers, toners, serums, moisturizers, eye creams, masks — ‘the whole nine yards.’ (to my knowledge, if they existed before me — I did not know about them.)

What makes us extremely unique is the scientific use of nanotechnology. Nanotechnology is the term given to those areas of science and engineering where phenomena that take place at dimensions in the nanometer scale are utilized in the design, characterization, production, and application of materials, structures, devices, and systems. Basically, we break our CBD into millions of microscopic particles so that it can be absorbed faster and penetrate deeper.

Bioavailability is everything when referring to nutrients, especially CBD. A standard-size particle of CBD will measure around 2000 nanometers in size. A human cell cannot absorb CBD particles any larger than 60–80 nanometers. A lot of chemists and scientists can nano-amplify CBD.

What they haven’t figured out how to do is keep their THC levels low enough to be considered CBD. We have, but often why we see nano-emulsions. Without breaking your CBD into true nanometers, not only will it not absorb properly, but it makes it harder to get your CBD into a water soluble state.

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?

Oh, I could tell you about mistakes I made last week, ha-ha.

One mistake I will never forget, was during our initial launch into live retail. I somehow ordered the wrong material for my labels. I wanted a clear, glossy label, and I ended up with a matte, frosted label. I didn’t think it would be much of an issue until I started labeling everything. I could see every imperfection and air bubble someone labeling a bottle by hand could have. It stuck out like sore thumbs to my eyes. I spent so much time trying to push every little bubble or tweak every little crack, that I got myself into a rushed state of mind. Keep in mind, this was my first rodeo in the tradeshow world as an exhibitor for my own company. I thought it would be a great idea to save some shipping costs and fly my products with me to Miami, after all, these were much smaller portions.

When I landed in Miami, and got to my hotel. I could have cried when I opened those boxes in that little suitcase. I think they looked worse than they did before. I ended up having my girl friends help, and we fixed them up again.

The lesson here is, don’t sweat the small stuff. Not a single customer cared. Most of them opened the sample right there and tossed the packaging in the trash.

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?

Absolutely, I could not agree more. Each one of my mentors has brought something different to the table. I would not be able to pick one and say that they were the best. Each of them was active listeners who listened and heard what I was saying. Each of them built a trusting relationship that is important to me. They knew how to stimulate my critical thinking and to hold me accountable for my growth.

I will start with Mr. Osborne & Mr. Liggett, my Junior high & high school science teachers. These two not only fueled my excitement and passion for science, but they were also very positive influences in my life. I will never use my childhood as an excuse for any decision I’ve ever made, except the will to break cycles. I also will not say that I had a terrible childhood, because I know there were tons of children who experienced worse. What I will say, is during a very development point of my life; they never let me down. Both were also coaches of mine as well, I ran track and played basketball. Sports, science, and music were extreme outlets for me, and still are to this very day. Teachers just don’t often know how much of an impact they made in a student’s life.

Mr. Steve Kelly — one of the most selfless leaders I have ever met. Steve was my boss at a sports bar I worked at in Indianapolis called Kilroy’s. He taught me how to work with integrity, how to be a dependable teammate, and what “one team, one dream means”. There is a huge difference between a boss and a leader. A boss tells you what to do, a leader shows you what to do — often side by side.

I will never forget one Saturday afternoon, it was just Shaina and I on the floor, and Steve was our opening manager. Kilroy’s is an IU based bar known for its stuffed bread sticks and flavored LIT’s. IU played Michigan, big 10 football. 2 servers. Somehow Steve forgot. We would have typically had 10–12 servers maybe 14, they had a pretty large outdoor patio that would stay full. There is also no hostess, it’s a seat-yourself location. I loved that, but it could lead to double or triple seating. Steve never let us see him sweat. He was not worried at all that he had around 165 seats that were about to fill and only 4 hands, well we actually had 6 because we had Steve’s. It was very busy, but a smooth day. Steve greeted all of the tables, even helped with drink orders, and he bussed all of our tables the entire afternoon. No complaints, great game, and us two girls walked out with $600 and home by 3 pm. I always trust Steve. If he said it would be okay, it would be okay. Fast forward all these years, he is the link between me and our extremely talented, one-of-a-kind chemist.

Lastly, my family. They have supported me every step of the way in every avenue I have ever taken in life, especially my mother. She has always been a problem solver and extremely creative. She could take nothing and turn it into something beautiful. She taught me through example how to work hard my entire life. She also makes it possible for me to be able to do all that I have done with HempHera, as I am a single mother of 2 boys myself.

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

I honestly feel like you will have a positive and negative opinion on nearly any matter. It’s kind of like voting, people vote for what is best for their personal lives and businesses. If I lived and owned a business in the city, I would likely be more inclined to agree with decisions that reflected the best interest of my family and business and vice versa. At the end of the day, as long as the disruptor is making positive changes, influence, services, or options for the consumers — who is to say what is good and what is bad?

For us, we’re disrupting our industry in a positive way, in my opinion. While the Hemp/CBD Market is very new, it’s not regulated like THC. Indiana was actually the first to require labeled QR codes that linked our products to lab testing and third-party testing. We ethically source every single ingredient. I know where it is coming from, and how it is being made — I will travel across the world to make sure something is what it should be. This leads to a very saturated market. Gas stations should never be selling CBD. Tobacco Shops should never be selling CBD. After they give you cancer causing agents, you can wash it down with a low-grade oil that you will hardly absorb?

Science is real. Science can be proven. Science is facts.

Bioavailability. How much of a nutrient will your body absorb? That matters, especially in the cannabis industry. Especially when consumers are being charged 2X the price of similar products because they have this added cannabinoid. While CBD skin care is safe for all skin types, it is really made for troubled, sensitive, irritated, dry, or mature skin. My brand was inspired by many of my favorite and most iconic brands in the world, I still use many of their products to this day — not everyone can use them. If my cell can’t absorb the cannabinoid because it is too big in size, it will actually just sit on top of the skin and clog the pores. We call that feeling ‘oil slick’ and it is actually doing more harm than good for one’s skin. We have water soluble hemp extract, and I use it in 95% of my formulations. We also use Broad Spectrum CBD, which means we remove THC but we leave all the other cannabinoids to create an entourage effect. I always try to explain to new team members how CBD and other cannabinoids work.

‘Think of CBD as Michael Jordan. He was one of the greatest basketball players of all time. By himself, he was powerful. But when you added In his teammates, let’s say Pippen, Kukoc, Rodman, and Grant — they were unstoppable.’

A lot of brands are using pure CBD, because they do not want the THC in their product, particularly skin care. The purest form of CBD, often called isolate, which is literally a crystal rock. Our bodies don’t digest rocks very well, and our pores do not either. If someone had extremely troubled skin, using that product would be like taking tiny little rocks and jabbing them all over their skin.

What exactly is the consumer paying for?

We are forcing brands to step up. Take the extra steps. Ensure that your product does what you say it does.

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

Do your most difficult tasks first. Never put the most difficult or physical task of your day off. Doing it later never works. You’ll not only get a little drop of dopamine sense of accomplishment, but regardless of how your day navigates — the most important thing is done.

You can’t step in the same river twice. Quick actions could lead to mistakes and errors. It takes twice as long to go back and correct those mistakes or errors. I always take my time now really focusing on doing everything as effective as possible before I even start and finish my tasks.

Iron sharpens iron. A dull blade is pretty much useless. It will require more difficult force and provide poor results, if any. Iron– sharpeners are leaders that are focused on building the best & strongest team possible by utilizing & sharpening the strengths & talents that are around them. I’m also a firm believer that the company we keep and the people we invite into our lives matter. My inner circle is very small, but very mighty; mainly because we know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, we are problem solvers, and we know how to work together to achieve the best results- regardless of whose business or life, it involves.

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

Oh no, the CBD industry is just getting fired up, and it has many veins. I can’t say a whole lot of detail at this very moment, but we have a few big announcements to make and a few awesome new products that are just coming out of testing for 2023 — we plan to shake things up next year! I think I have finally realized that I have gone as far as my two hands can take me. 2023 is all about growing. I plan to spend as much of the year as I need to be locating the perfect investors, or I should say, partner(s). I know that I can’t get where I want to go alone and in order to really kick the next door off the hinges, it’s going to require more than just myself. Fresh thinking, more skill sets, and shelf access.

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

Women must contend with a very wide range of challenges in business. On paper, the workforce has never looked better for women. In the ’70s, women-owned business was under 5%, now we own nearly 50%. Additionally, for every 1 male college graduate, 3 women will graduate. We’re still the minority.

While there are many other adversities women must overcome, these are some I’ve personally seen or experienced:

Being taken seriously. Earning respect is not always easy but being a woman can be a huge conflict when dealing with certain men. I was a manager at Twin Peaks before exiting the service world and venturing onto my own avenue. Countless times I would have to cut someone off for their behavior or maybe they were just nearing what we felt comfortable serving them, and I would get asked ‘where is the real manager?’ I would always ask, what is a real manager sir? As if I were a fake manager? I was the highest paid female in the state. Higher paid than some men who had been there longer than me, which caused another issue in the long run. I can remember shrinking myself to play a “female “role even when I knew better. On the other hand, being too aggressive can have adverse effects. Trying to be too tough and over proving myself never ended well for me either.

Lack of funding. Even though women make up nearly 50% of the entrepreneurs in this country, if we added together all female-founded or co-founded companies, we would receive under 10% of investment funding and venture capital funding. I have ironically had interest from venture capital funding but haven’t dug deep into what all it would entail.

Lack of Mentorship. We need more mentors. It is almost as if it is not that there are no mentors available, it is finding one another. Time management is a huge issue for a lot of women, especially ones with families. A lot of women would like to mentor but say that they have never been asked. Don’t wait. If you know someone around you that could save costly mistakes, help them. I have been fortunate to find a few organizations that really go above and beyond for their members. Cosmetic Executive Women, Financial Women’s Association, Women’s Business Club

Balancing business and family. I absolutely 1000% understand why households were run the way they were in previous generations. Just imagine not having the access we have that facilitate us to be able to leave the household and work. A washer and dryer to start. Could you imagine having to hand wash every load of laundry and clip it up on a line and wait for it to dry? My kids would lose every clip in 3 days, and it wouldn’t be from doing laundry, ha-ha. Or the food preparation you don’t see, even just a piece of corn on the cob, can be prepped for you already. But the stereotypes should have been buried long ago. I don’t think there is anything wrong with being a SAHM at all & I think a lot of people discredit what those women do. They support and enable the breadwinner and set him up for success. I would love to have someone prepare my meals, wash and press my laundry, support me, take care of my children, manage my home and yard, etc. I’ve met men that say they wish their wives would work as they do. I asked him, well — if she works too, who will take care of you? If your income far surpasses what she could make, why would you want her anywhere but helping you?

We are significantly underrepresented in leadership roles. Then again, we’ve only been considered humans for like 100 years. We couldn’t even vote.

Gender gap. While it is improved, I still must work 42 days longer for a job I am equally skilled and qualified for than a male.

Insufficient maternity leave. A lot of companies are really going all out and starting a movement. We need that. I don’t think everyone understands how strenuous having a child can be on your body and mind. We don’t need time to cuddle and take pictures every day, we need time to heal. After all, we have 42 extra workdays to squeeze into the rest of the year.

You never have to mold yourself into anyone’s idea of what a leader looks like. Stay focused, stay dedicated, and keep working hard!

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

Becoming Michelle Obama

This is an amazing read and Michelle is such an inspiring woman. It made me realize that there will always be adversity in life, and no matter who you are or where you are — you can get past it. Our stories are real. Our stories shape who we are and I want to be the one who tells my story.

“Even when it’s not pretty or perfect. Even when it’s more real than you want it to be. Your story is what you have, what you will always have. It is something to own.” — Michelle Obama

“Think and grow rich” by Napoleon Hill

This book centers around the idea that your mind is the most powerful tool you have.

Believes that success in any endeavor can be reached through mental visualization and imagination. Essentially, you can become anything that your mind believes possible; as a result, your mind becomes the one thing that can ultimately push you into success, or completely stop you.

“Where you go there you are” Jon Kabat-Zinn

Are you mindful or is your mind always full? This book will really break you down, but in a great way. It can be difficult to process negative feelings or emotions without letting them control us. It’s also difficult to focus on the present if you are always looking ahead or behind. Mindfulness is so important in our lives. It’s often thought to associate one’s self with higher levels of vision, greater levels of thinking, and more purpose in life. You know the saying, ‘same stuff, different day.’ I used to say that all the time. I never say it anymore. Now, I say ‘livin’ the dream.’ I used to feel like my life ran on autopilot. I was living, but I wasn’t experiencing. Meditation disrupts this process and helps you turn the other way. It helps you empower every current circumstance and to embrace every experience in your life; like ‘stop and smell the roses.’

I am just so thankful every day that I can wake up, a lot of people don’t get to do 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.

Now you are talking my language!

I would like to think that we can all be a person of great influence. If we influence one person, and they influence one person, and then they influence one person, the domino effect will continue. I would also like to think that I am already am/have.

My hometown’s population is a little over 30,000 people. My graduating class had 64 students. Before the pandemic, the state of Indiana was already under attack by the opioid epidemic. In 2018, Indiana was losing around 15 million dollars a day just in loss of wages. I’m sure those numbers have not changed much today. Our local hospital had to create its own internal police station because officers were being dispatched so much. Psychology will show us a great way to kick a bad habit, is by replacing it with a healthier habit. I wanted to create affordable and healthier options for my hometown, generate jobs, and hopefully generate taxes. I sponsor a large number of youth activities and sports, as well as local schools, and internal programs inside of those schools. I have an annual Christmas giveaway and we leave no age group left behind. I have a lot of access to a variety of merchandise so it’s easy for me to help in those areas. I want to show my peers that anyone can make a difference. It literally starts with just one person.

My biggest goal would be to start a movement somewhere along the lines of ‘One team, One dream.’ While I love being involved with the organizations I am, I think all of us have the biggest challenge of, ‘what happens when they leave here?’ Not everyone has a functional home life, some don’t even have food or a place to sleep.

I have a friend based in Indianapolis, Former Superbowl Champ, Marlin Jackson. After football, he established the Fight4Life Foundation. He now has his own school system, and also acquired an entire apartment unit he has incorporated into his school system. It involves active parenting in exchange for subsidized housing, it might be free housing, I will have to double check. I really want to create something like this in Richmond, but incorporate the school system that is already there, the additional resources, and local law enforcement. Statistics show that kids 12+ get into the most trouble during after school hours. Using Boys and Girls Club of America and Fight4Life Foundation as inspiration, I would like to create a space for older kids to go after school.

A hang out. A safe place. Somewhere you can talk if you need to, get help with homework, fellowship with classmates, play sports, games, etc. Maybe one day even incorporate mini-workshops of different skills. How I plan to utilize everyone would be establishing a store area, if you will, inside of our space, and with the help of the schools, programs, and police — we reward good behavior. Random acts of kindness, helping someone, achieving a goal, etc.

We reward them with a monetary value and inside our store, they can purchase things they might need for themselves and their household. Healthy, food/snack options, undergarments and socks, school supplies, hygiene goods, and whatever else might be an issue at home.

I want to show people that one person can make a difference, but together we change lives.

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

Never put your key to happiness in someone else’s pocket.

Basically, never attach your happiness to people or things. People aren’t possessions for one, we don’t own them. Tangible things can be taken away, be broken, lost, stolen, etc. Another person or a physical thing should never be the only reason we are happy.

Attach your happiness to your goals.

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

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Female Disruptors: Ashley Osborne of HempHera Kosmetikos On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up… 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

A great mindset is the first key to success. Without a great perspective, you are unable to be able to do anything in life. A positive outlook on life will create a different experience than someone with a negative attitude. I remember working with a client who was having a rough day, so we used our time together to discuss all the positive things she had in her life. By the end of the call, her whole perspective had changed, and she emailed me at the end of the week to share that she had closed her largest client ever that week!

How does a successful, strong, and powerful woman navigate work, employee relationships, love, and life in a world that still feels uncomfortable with strong women? In this interview series, called “Power Women” we are talking to accomplished women leaders who share their stories and experiences navigating work, love and life as a powerful woman.

As a part of this series, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Janelle Jones.

Janelle Jones has the zeal and passion for growing brands and helping them surpass the standard they strive to achieve. Her goal is to help women create the life of their dreams through entrepreneurship. She is an author, podcast host, entrepreneur, and homeschooling mother of two.

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 was born in New York City as a first-generation American. Both my parents and immigrants from England. My parents divorced when I was ten, and I moved with my mother to Atlanta. I am the oldest child of 5 children. I am the last of the latchkey kids, so I was responsible for myself from a young age. I was a very educated child, so when it was time to go to college, I knew there was no other choice. While in college, I worked three jobs and started a tutoring agency.

Can you tell us the story about what led you to this particular career path?

I was in my 20s, and I was dying. I was sick every day for months with a heavy menstrual cycle that lasted for three months. My symptoms were so severe that they gave me several stress tests with inconclusive results. So I decided to quit my job. I decided to become an entrepreneur because I worked an American corporate job. Before I quit my job, I realized I had to do something to make money. And I started a tutoring agency while I was on medical leave. Once I could replace the income from my corporate job with my tutoring company, I knew it was time to quit. I decided to take this career path because my life depended on it, and I never went back.

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

At the beginning of my entrepreneurship journey, I signed up for a business retreat in Bali because I had ended a failed relationship. I wanted to get a change of scenery and some time away from my ex. While on this retreat, I decided to start my online business and become a digital nomad during that trip. During this trip, I decided to start my journey around the world, and for two years, I went to 12 different countries. While traveling, I created and built a virtual assistant side hustle brand called Hustling Hotties. If I hadn’t taken the trip and met the people I did, I might not be where I am today.

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?

​​The three characteristics of a successful business leader are grit, bravery, and consistency. Grit is an essential characteristic because you have to be able to stick things out. You’ve got to be able to make rough decisions. You’ve got to be able to go after and want your dreams for bravery. This being in this business, you have to be fearless. You have to take chances, know that you’ll learn from your mistakes, and be bold when doing this. So all of this contributes to being brave and then being consistent. So many people stop after a year of failure. They need to continue to make they improve their band, learn from their mistakes, and go after what they want. They change their business. They decide to get a job. And there’s nothing wrong with having a job. But while working your job, consider your job as an investor in your business. Take a percentage of your income and invest in your dreams. Consider this an investment in yourself, and be consistent with the process. If you focus on investing in your business, you will be able to make your dreams a reality. Stay consistent with posting on social media, building your brand, and sharing your mission. Consistency is one of the many keys to success.

Okay, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. The premise of this series assumes that our society still feels uncomfortable with strong women. Why do you think this is so?

Society fears strong women because they know we can make the change we desperately need in this world. A woman in power will not only change her life, but she will also change the lives of her family, her community, and the world. She is a role model many will inspire to be just like, and having a positive role model can be life-changing for many young women.

Without saying any names, can you share a story from your own experience that illustrates this idea?

I was running a political campaign for a political candidate. She had tried to win her race several times before, and she kept telling me that people who were supposed to be helping her were sabotaging her. At first, I didn’t believe her because it was so crucial for her to be able to win this seat for everyone. So I called the people she was telling me were not helping her, and they said to me that they refused to help her. She wouldn’t do things the way they wanted them done, which did not make them happy.

My client was a powerful, determined, and motivated woman. These people feared she would win because they feared her strength and ability. She had big plans to change everything, and the changes she had planned affected their ideas. People are scared of the change that a strong woman can make. A powerful woman changes anything that she touches.

What should a powerful woman do in a context where she feels that people are uneasy around her?

If people are uneasy around a powerful woman, she should continue doing what she’s doing. A mindset shift needs to happen for people to realize that this woman is not here to bring them down. This woman is not here to all outshine you. This woman is here to be her best self and in her being her best self. It allows what she’s working towards to improve. It will enable society to improve. It provides for an open-mindedness that does not exist right now. It is a complete change that is possible. For the shift to start, she needs to know that she’s the Ruby Bridges of this situation. She is a changemaker for herself and the women who will come after her. She will change how people perceive what she is doing, who she is, and how society sees her type of woman.

What do we need to do as a society to change the unease around powerful women?

We need to change our mindset to change the unease around powerful women. We need to realize that women are more than domestic workers. We need to recognize that women are more than just mothers, and we are more than just the crutch of society. We must learn that women should have a say about what happens to them and the community they live in because anything that affects a woman affects the children. Anything involving the family affects the community, affecting the world. So we need to realize that women’s voices are powerful beyond measure. Society needs to change its framing around gender roles and the lack of support of strong women and women in leadership.

In my own experience, I have observed that often women have to endure ridiculous or uncomfortable situations to achieve the success that men don’t have to endure. Do you have a story like this from your own experience? Can you share it with us?

I worked in a corporate environment as a contractor and had to wear certain clothes. Since I was in a very professional position and wearing clothes that matched the job. A management representative told me that if I wore a skirt, the skirt would have to be beneath my knees, and I would have to wear pantyhose so that the men didn’t get the wrong impression. I have never heard of a job telling a man what he has to wear to work. As a professional adult, it is very degrading to be told what to wear and what is and isn’t appropriate so that it doesn’t stimulate another person.

In a professional environment, women are objectified, and their clothes are looked at to see if they are sexual or feel too revealing. Men are allowed to wear what they want and do what they want, and a woman has to walk precariously in a work environment to ensure that she looks the part, talks a certain way, and acts a certain way, and that’s not right. I don’t think that’s something men have to deal with at any point.

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

Women constantly have to ensure that they are not over-sexualized, which means they have to wear a particular type of clothing. They have to walk a certain way, can’t show their shape, and can’t look a certain way. Women have to dumb themselves down in the way that they look and the way that they speak in the way that they talk in their education level. They have to bring themselves down to a place where they are almost considered dumb compared to their male counterparts to make sure that they fit in and make sure that they can achieve a small percentage of what their male counterparts can achieve.

Let’s now shift our discussion in a slightly different direction. This is a question that nearly everyone with a job has to contend with. Was it difficult to fit your personal and family life into your business and career? For the benefit of our readers, can you articulate precisely what the struggle was?

I am a big planner. When I decided to start my family, I started planning about five years before. That means I put documents in place, opened a new bank account, and organized my finances. I took some mental health time to get my mental state together. I also got my business in order and started hiring people. Hiring allowed me to begin delegating tasks so that it was a smooth transition by the time I had to take my maternity leave.

Going through this process before having kids made the transition nearly seamless. I ensured that my children were incorporated into my current life and not the other way around. I’m a big believer that we should have it all with a balance by managing our expectations. When considering work and personal, one should benefit the other and vice versa. So my biggest struggle was ensuring that organization was a priority so that it was a smooth transition from being a single woman to a mother and wife. I have, for the most part, been able to do that. If I feel like I am struggling at any point, I must remind myself to give myself grace in the process.

What was a tipping point that helped you achieve a greater balance or greater equilibrium between your work life and personal life? What did you do to reach this equilibrium?

At one point in my career, I got very sick. I realized that I was doing too much. I had stopped delegating tasks and was doing too much work. I was ultimately out of balance with everything. There wasn’t enough me in my life. I had to put myself first, and everything else had to go on the back burner. I took a good step away to see where the problem lay in my life, work, and personal life, and then removed the things that were completely unnecessary to find the balance I needed. I also went back to practicing grace. So if something doesn’t get done, then that’s okay. If it doesn’t get done perfectly, that’s okay too. So many of us, including myself, deal with perfectionism. We must know that life and work will continue if it is not perfect. So that’s how I found balance in my work and life.

I work in the beauty tech industry, so I am very interested to hear your philosophy or perspective on beauty. In your role as a powerful woman and leader, how much of an emphasis do you place on your appearance? Do you see beauty as something that is superficial, or is it something that has inherent value for a leader in a public context? Can you explain what you mean?

Beauty is an event and a very unusual topic for me simply because I am such a homebody. Everything I do is on the computer, so your appearance must look good from the neck up. But as you build a brand and a persona, people buy into beauty and luxury, depending on your brand. They buy into the experience they get from dealing with you and your brand. People love to live vicariously through someone else. So if something looks beautiful or luxurious, people are more than likely to buy from you. Whereas if you look frumpy if you’re not put together, they don’t want what you have to sell because they are already frumpy and not put together. So they want to feel like they’re buying into something that will improve their lives.

Beauty and self-care are things that I constantly work on daily. Putting myself together daily by wearing clothes that make me look good and putting on my makeup to ensure that I feel like myself every day. There has to be a balance so it feels normal and I am not overdoing it. My daily goal is to feel and look excellent and have a positive outlook on life.

How is this similar or different for men?

It’s similar and different for men. If they were selling something, you would want to buy from the handsome, rugged, tall, dark, and attractive man. Typically people don’t want to buy from the nerdy, dirty bummy looking man, but to that same extent, men can sell anything. They have that unique ability, or maybe society has created it where men can sell you something, and they don’t necessarily have to be so put together. They don’t have to go above and beyond the way a woman typically does. A woman has to ensure that her clothes look nice, her hair looks a certain way, and her makeup is flawless. Men must ensure they have showered, can walk out the door, and do anything they want.

Okay super. Here is the main question of our interview. Based on your opinion and experience, what are the “Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Powerful Woman?” (Please share a story or example for each.)

Women need many things to thrive and survive, but five things they must have are a great mindset, consistency, grace, a mentor, and a supportive team.

A great mindset is the first key to success. Without a great perspective, you are unable to be able to do anything in life. A positive outlook on life will create a different experience than someone with a negative attitude. I remember working with a client who was having a rough day, so we used our time together to discuss all the positive things she had in her life. By the end of the call, her whole perspective had changed, and she emailed me at the end of the week to share that she had closed her largest client ever that week!

The second thing is that you need you to have to be consistent. That means creating a consistent schedule, creating a defined brand, and being a constant person when relating to others. If somebody expects something from you, that’s what they’re going to get consistently. I began to send emails to potential and existing clients weekly, and the feedback was outstanding. People enjoyed what I shared in the emails and began to look forward to reading them. Consistency in doing anything is better than doing nothing, even if it’s not perfect.

Another thing you will need if you’re a powerful woman is the ability to give yourself grace. Knowing that you’re not going to get everything done perfectly and being able to accept that is a great accomplishment. I was writing a book, and it took me twice as long as I expected to write it. When I completed it, the book received rave reviews, and it met the anticipation for it to come out. You are not here to save the world, but you can make a change in it. So giving yourself that grace to do what you can and leave the rest will make you so powerful.

Having a mentor is a must-have to be successful. A good mentor will show you that you can have it all. There is such a thing as a work-life balance, and a good mentor will show you how to achieve it. You can have a family, a partner, a career, and time for yourself. I was mentoring a client who was overwhelmed and needed help figuring out her schedule. I helped her find more time in her day, giving her the balance she needed. You can have everything you want if you manage your expectations of how that looks and will work. A mentor will help you to figure that out.

The fifth thing to thrive and succeed as a mighty woman is a fantastic team. We cannot do everything by ourselves, so having a solid team will be essential if you want to achieve your goals in life. Getting a solid team behind you will be the make-or-break factor in your life. Once I hired one person, I could triple my profit which not only covered their fees but I was also able to hire someone else. I was doing everything myself and began to burn out.

To be a thriving and successful businesswoman takes a lot of hard work, grit, and bravery, and to keep going, we have to have a great mindset, be consistent, give ourselves grace, find a mentor, and hire a supportive team.

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 the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.

I would love to have a private meal with Oprah Winfrey. Ms. Winfery is an absolute powerhouse and is this century’s quintessential, powerful woman. I love her rags-to-riches story and that she is a philanthropist. And she can change the world, and she has. So I would love to sit down and have a pleasant conversation with Oprah.

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

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Power Women: Janelle Jones On How To Successfully Navigate Work, Love and Life As A Powerful Woman was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Modern Fashion: Dr Courtney Hammond of Upscale Magazine On The 5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand Today

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Wise brands create niches. One of the fundamental principles of effective branding is for fashion brands to diligently select a profitable segment that they can then target through an enticing positioning. Although this general principle is universally applicable, luxury brands are substantively different from other brands.

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 Dr. Courtney A. Hammonds.

Hailed as “The Dean of Fashion,” Dr. Courtney A. Hammonds is a multidimensional storyteller who has built a career creating culture-shifting moments. He is a creative seditionary, design thinker, speaker, writer, and advisor. Following a career as a classroom teacher then serving as the Assistant Human Resource Manager for Neiman Marcus, the world’s leading multi-brand luxury retailer, he recently served 8 years as Academic Dean of the School of Fashion at The Art Institute of Atlanta where he successfully brought together creativity, communication, business, and innovation.

He now spends his time advising brands, companies, fashion weeks and governments. He’s been Identified as one of the key voices of global fashion by The St. Lucia Fashion Council and Startupbootcamp Fashtech Milan. He is a staple in the Readers Digest, NPR, and Upscale Magazine. He earned his Doctorate in Business Administration from Argosy University, an MBA from Keller Graduate School of Mgmt., and a Bachelor’s in education from Alabama State University.

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

I was born and raised in Columbus, Ga. If you know me at all, you know that I come from an extremely tight-knit family. As an adult, I have a deeper appreciation for this closeness. I have figured out that it is not just luck; closeness was born out of my “village” who diligently taught and showed me the significance of family. As I sit back and reflect on my childhood, here are a few things my village did to instill these morals in me.

Do life together. We share each other’s victories and share each other’s burdens. Root for each other! Feel their disappointment and hurt when life is hard and rejoice together in the good moments.

Create the “secure connection”. This means becoming Christ like, who gave and received love in healthy ways — honestly addressing problems with patience and grace, repairing ruptures when they occurred.

all the ingredients for a spectacular childhood for a man from the south.

Can you tell us the story about what led you to this particular career path?

I am absorbed in what my (golden girls) my mother, her two sisters and my maternal grandmother, Mattie Mae Hammonds, taught me about walking in my authenticity. In fact, I learned style and fashion from my grandmother and her friends (male and female) when they would wear their finest hats and clothes every Sunday at church. As well, the idea of a perfect day was to watch Style with Elsa Klensch.

Equally, I always had a longstanding love of European culture and the cross-fertilization of fashion, art, poetry, and life. When I was five, I moved to Berlin, Germany with my mother and stepfather. This was my gateway to the world outside of Columbus, Ga. This move fostered my appreciation for what was happening in the world of fashion, what was happening in the world of art.

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

Early in my career I started a blog called the fashion foodie. It was a creative playpen. My first cover story was on South Sudanese-British model Alek Wek, who was and still is my favorite model/muse. Studying and Dining with Alek Wek is as good as it gets. Every detail was perfect: flowers, food, porcelain, silver, lighting and of course fashion.

Fun Fact- Alek gave me one of her guest rooms, which welcomed me with an autograph copy of her book Alek: From Sudanese Refugee to International Supermodel. If that was not enough, she cooked dinner. It was Marvelous! Extraordinary! Over-the-top! I am still pinching myself!

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?

Despite all that I have beat back and overcome, my deep knowledge of and passion for being a risk taker, my relatability and ability to lead with integrity are my proudest achievements/character traits.

Risk Taker. I consider myself to be a courageous leader who is not afraid to take risks. Such a character trait is evident in the fearless achievements I managed in my former role as the academic fashion director. Such developments included the expansion of new academic programs including The Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fashion Design (BFA). This signaled a pivotal direction for the institution as the fashion design program was at the forefront of recent programs and technologies in the southern region. Such kinds of developments depict me as a bold decision-maker and a prompt executor who understands what I want to do for organizations.

Relatability. This is key for forward thinking leadership. Businesses are human systems, and you need to build connections and trust quickly. I am open and primarily positive. I enjoy hearing what people have to say and bring myself to work. That brings vulnerability, of course, but it also builds loyalty and an environment of psychological safety where people can be creative, honest, and do not fear failure.

Often overlooked in favor of other traits, integrity is one that I believe should be placed higher on the list of priorities for all humankind. Seeing it as something that is often agreed upon in theory but rarely exercised in practice, there is too much focus on the end result and not enough on how you get there. Entrepreneurs are thrust into leadership, where they are looked to as a source of inspiration, ideas, strategy, and exemplifier of culture. For this reason, presenting a strong moral code of conduct is crucial to seeing these reflected in your clients, employees, and your business.

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

The only surefire way to success in the fashion industry is creating a brand that stands out from the crowd. Early on I decided to pick pathways within the fashion sector and learn them exclusively. By the time you are a master in something, people will think you are a master in everything in your industry and they will trust whatever you say more.

Moreover, I have learned how to embrace my inner David and stop acting like Goliath! I also learned to rise above the noise and not be afraid of losing credibility by being different.

As well, I positioned myself as one premium hire rather than fifteen juniors. This is usually a value proposition you can and should be operating in because it is the easiest for large companies to understand. Quality versus quantity.

Do you have a favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share a story of how that was relevant to you in your life?

There are several quotes that I live by, but there is one that really resonates with me. It is from Matsuo Basho: “Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of others, instead, seek what they sought.”

Let me explain how that relates to me. On my journey to become a better writer, I have tried to imitate many people. James Baldwin, bell hooks, Richard Wright , and many others. My goal was to learn from people whose writing I loved. Did I succeed? Not really. These exercises did help me improve but I was too focused on the surface. As Basho said, each of the writers I mentioned developed their own writing style. They learned from others as well and then transformed what they saw into what I consider pure gold. That is what matters: transforming. You cannot imitate anything or anybody perfectly. You are who you are, with your own quirks, and trying to reproduce others’ accomplishments will never work. Instead, you need to learn to dig deeper.

Ok, thank you for that. Let us 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?

Recent waves of innovations targeting the fashion sector have led to an influx of tech-based designers seeking to highlight a new world of techniques, materials, manufacturing methods, and creations. 3D printing has become one of the most popular ‘tools’ used by emerging fashion designers and brands.

For example, Iris Van Herpen is the incontestable leader of the movement, thanks to her amazing work at the edge of innovation, and creations out of this world. The latest developments in 3D printing see a shift towards bio and eco-friendly inks, which could be the beginning of a new era of 3D printed sustainable clothes, for a cleaner industry and a better world.

Can you share how your brand is helping to bring goodness to the world?

Doing business in the 21st Century is complicated. Moreover, in our transparent, networked world, inauthentic social purpose is worse than no social purpose at all. The key to successful social purpose is the sincere desire to make a real, measurable difference. The place to start is to define the change you seek to create.

This said, I made the move to create my consultancy, because I wanted to lead a group that understood a fully engaged team enables the creation of a healthy business, which in turn provides the opportunity to positively impact the world. To be clear, each of these components (team, business, and world) are dependent upon one another, as a strong business cannot be created without an enthusiastic team. And making a positive difference in the world is only possible if you have a viable business model.

Can you share with our readers about the ethical standards you use when you choose where to source materials?

Sustainability is important to me, just as it should be to everyone. Honestly, it is hard to see how anyone can genuinely not think sustainability is important. The earth’s resources are not ours to use up
and discard, we all have responsibilities. I also envision sustainability influencing fashion. It used to be that being ecologically conscious meant you had to rule out many things. Now new options are opening all the time and instead we have a full range of new materials and processes that did not exist
before. Fashion is not going to change any quicker than it ever has, but it is going to adopt more sustainable aspects.

Fast fashion has an advantage, that it is affordable for most people, but it also has the drawback that it does not last very long and is therefore not very sustainable. What are your thoughts about this? How does your company address this question?

The biggest cause of damage to the environment from the fashion industry is the rise of “fast fashion” brands that generate inexpensive new collections multiple times a year, rarely using organic fibers. From the chemicals and water heaped on genetically modified cotton and other seeds to the energy needed to ship clothes halfway around the world, the environment endures most of the damage created by the staggering pace and volume of these companies’ clothing production.

On the consumer side, the ability to buy inexpensive garments has made shoppers feel as if clothing is disposable, which has contributed to a 400% increase in textile consumption over the past two decades.

There are other ways to help. One way to get your fix of trendy new items in a sustainable way is to rent them from companies such as Rent the Runway . Another way to reuse and recycle clothes is by participating in a clothing-swap party. There’s hope. Last year, Textile Exchange announced that numerous name brands, including Adidas, and Levi’s, had signed a pledge committing to using 100% sustainable cotton by 2025. This is a great start!

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.

Wise brands create niches. One of the fundamental principles of effective branding is for fashion brands to diligently select a profitable segment that they can then target through an enticing positioning. Although this general principle is universally applicable, luxury brands are substantively different from other brands.

For example, the Comme des Garcons brand is known for embodying avant-garde fashion, with many of her wildly creative outfits looking like dynamic sculptures. Items include fringed blazers, mini dresses made of black taffeta, and wool sweaters with the brand’s Play logo, which is a heart with eyes. Although the brand began by specifically targeting the ultra-high end, mobile professionals that cared for a high quality product, over the years, it has gradually expanded its brand architecture scope with different products and slightly broader customer segments.

Recently, Comme des Garcons announced that it would launch ready-to-wear items. You can find them in a handful of stores worldwide or through other outlets, such as Nordstrom and Net-a-Porter. As such, it becomes even more important to an aspiring luxury brand.

Positioning based on high levels of differentiation. As fashion brands strategize their competitive moves, they are likely to either follow a cost leadership strategy or a differentiation strategy. Most fashion brands follow a differentiation strategy. However, unlike differentiation on mere product attributes, emerging brands should aggressively differentiate their brand experience.

For example, Bang & Olufsen, the iconic Danish luxury brand in design and electronics, is globally acknowledged as a leading luxury brand in its industry as the bases of its differentiation highlight primarily the symbolic value and appeal to customers’ psychological need to associate themselves with brands that are high on the social hierarchy. In this context, Bang & Olufsen does not only compete with similar brands in the same industry category, but they also compete with other luxury brands.

Emphasizing the symbolic value. The most principal element of creating a Fashion brand is the brand’s ability to create and communicate symbolic value for its customers. Brands usually offer two types of value — functional value and symbolic value. Functional value emanates from the features and the potential uses of the brand. Functional value highlights the base line value that customers expect when they buy a brand over a commodity or a store brand because of its underlying promise of quality, reliability, and trust. As such, it directly reflects the tangible ability of the brand for the customers.

One very good example is the Ralph Lauren brand. Starting out with making rags into ties, the American label is truly the rags-to-riches American Dream personified. As Ralph Lauren once said, “I don’t design clothes, I design dreams.”

Generating perceptions of exclusivity. What makes a fashion brand to be perceived as having symbolic value? Among others, a key factor is the perception of exclusivity. Most fashion brands, specifically luxury brands strive to create a sense of exclusivity for its consumers. Perceptions of exclusivity can in terms of unattainable price, limited geographic availability, barriers to possession, or even limited supply. These mechanisms of creating perceived exclusivity not only creates a pseudo sense of demand for the brand in the eyes of the observer but also enables those who patronize the brand a sense of special status.

Consider the example of Neiman Marcus. The feeling of exclusivity around the brand is a result of its philosophy and aim to always remain “ultra-premium luxury.” Such innovative strategies can help aspiring brands to create successful luxury brands.

Building a luxury brand is a journey. Building a fashion brand today amidst other longstanding brands in the current market landscape may seem daunting. However, with a clear plan to identify a niche customer segment and emphasize the brand’s symbolic value, there is enormous potential for brand managers to differentiate and position new, iconic fashion brands in the market. Some recent examples are www.keenaBela, a luxury leisure fashion brand offering high-quality products with a contemporary twist on traditional loungewear.

Every industry constantly evolves and seeks improvement. How do you think the fashion industry can improve itself? Can you give an example?

We need more transparency from the fashion industry. Transparency involves openness, communication, and accountability. Taking on more responsibility and more accountability is the only way to ensure that a company, in whatever part of the fashion industry it works is having a positive social and environmental impact. This strengthens the call for regulating the fashion industry. We cannot simply rely on voluntary Corporate Social Responsibility policy as a driver of change.

In short, I believe that we can make positive change happen by thinking and speaking differently about fashion and by demanding better.

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. 🙂

The greater good of humanity has been the focus of my life’s work for more than two decades, since I helped start the Fashion Uncorked movement, a design competition benefiting Easter Seals efforts to assist adults and children with disabilities. I sincerely believe that we should value all lives equally and act on that basis. It is the antithesis of the old do-gooder’s credo “Think global, act local.”

How can our readers further follow your work online?

I enjoy meeting new people and hearing new perspectives. Please visit imdrcah.com to learn more about me. All are welcome!

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

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Modern Fashion: Dr Courtney Hammond of Upscale Magazine On The 5 Things You Need To Lead a… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Inspirational Women Leaders Of Tech: Angelina Hendricks of Planet DDS On The Five Things You Need To Know In Order To Create A Highly Successful Tech Company

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Expand beyond initial focus group quickly. When you’re a true startup, the company may be two or three people, right? You’re probably talking to family members, friends, and colleagues within your close circle. The key is broadening those conversations quickly and getting input from your initial customers and others in your respective industry as you continue to grow.

As a part of my series about “Lessons From Inspirational Women Leaders in Tech”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Angelina Hendricks, Chief Technology Officer, Planet DDS.

Angelina Hendricks is a senior executive with decades of experience in the tech field. Outside of the workplace, Angelina has had a long tenure serving on the board of San Diego’s .NET User Group and volunteers with Connect San Diego. She is also a long-standing member of The San Diego Women’s Foundation. Angelina lives in San Diego with her husband and two children. Angelina has a master’s degree from University of Texas and a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University.

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

When I joined Planet DDS as CTO in September 2020, the pandemic was well underway, and like many new hires during that timeframe, it was months — nine to be exact — before I met anyone in person. I’ll never forget my first day. Instead of the typical onboarding activities and introductions to other staff, the day was mostly quiet, especially since most of my colleagues weren’t using Microsoft Teams yet on a regular basis.

However, the silver lining was that the lack of physical meetings and quick “hellos” gave me the opportunity to engage in more intimate interactions. I asked our HR manager for a list of everyone in the company and scheduled a virtual videoconference with each person — about 80 individuals at the time — just to say, “I’m the new CTO, and here’s what I’m going to do here!” It turned out to be such a valuable exercise because I got a wide breadth of exposure and visibility into the activity of every staff member.

As CTO, my role is bridging technology between myself and the rest of the company, and helping employees understand how technical choices impact the business and vice versa. Bridging that gap at a time when everyone was operating in isolation helped improve cross-collaboration and elevate customer experience.

Can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey? Did you ever consider giving up? Where did you get the drive to continue even though things were so hard?

I remember, in one of my first full-time jobs in tech after college, I worked with a gentleman who called me “girly” and would not listen to me or take my advice. So, I had to ask other male colleagues who were not in tech — like a guy from the shipping and receiving department — to intervene on my behalf. In this case, I asked my male colleague in shipping to repeat the same advice to this gentleman, and only then did he listen. It was such a wake-up call because when I went into college, I thought, “oh, sexism is this thing of the past.”

Also, early in my career, I worked for a startup that failed pretty badly. That was the first time I was ever in a lead role and did hiring and management, and it was hard to see that fail. It was during the dot-com bubble, so we weren’t the only company floundering. But it made me ask myself important questions: Was I going too far when I tried to lead a team and make an idea a reality? Was that a stupid thing to do?

I’m pretty stubborn, though, and I really dislike losing so the experience made me stronger.

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

The one that comes to mind is from Maya Angelou: “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

And that just comes up everywhere, like during employee reviews. I try to think about how that person will feel when they walk away from that review conversation, because they’re not going to remember the numbers or rating. The key things they’re going to take away is, ‘was it a good review or a bad review?’

Ok super. Thank you for all that. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview. We’d love to learn a bit about your company. What is the pain point that your company is helping to address?

Planet DDS provides cloud-enabled dental software solutions, and our reach is significant − more than 10,000 practices in North America and more than 60,000 users. Our suite of solutions includes our Denticon Practice Management, Apteryx XVWeb Cloud Imaging, and Legwork Patient Relationship Management.

Everything we design is intended to ease the day-to-day experiences of our customers, who are inundated with a vast amount of data. We’re not just creating a data “sink” where you put your information in and then look it up. We’re creating an information hub that comes with analytics, so users can make sense of their data and use that information to run their practices more efficiently and effectively.

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

I think we stand out for our ability to stay true to our mission and focus amid rapid company growth — from about 80 to 262 employees over the last two years. We have stayed resolutely client-focused, and we all agree that working together to ensure the success of our customers is the number one priority. I’ve had other experiences in my career where the customer felt like some distant, vague person off in horizon, and going to work felt internally competitive. It was all about making yourself look good no matter what, like some “Game of Thrones” zero sum process of elimination. Not at Planet DDS!

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

We’re laying the groundwork for some advanced technologies. We’re definitely exploring the use of AI and machine learning technologies to see if there are places where we can help to provide and improve decision support, to help our customers make decisions easier and faster.

Our goal is not to implement technology just because it’s cool but to figure out how to use it to make things simpler and easier, to offer practical value that enable dentists and dental service organizations to improve efficiencies so they can focus more on patient care.

We’re always evaluating how to use technology to make things simple and allow our dentists and our staff to focus on job no. 1: patient care. We do this by giving them many things, like actionable insights, interactive reports, analytics, and constant support.

Let’s zoom out a bit and talk in more broad terms. Are you currently satisfied with the status quo regarding women in tech? What specific changes do you think are needed to change the status quo?

Tech still has a long way to go in terms of inclusivity. It’s a lot better today than it used to be when I started working in tech more than two decades ago.

Changing the status quo starts with changing corporate culture — for example, hiring and training practices. Some of the best practices for making it more welcoming for women in tech apply to other groups that are underrepresented as well.

We need to acknowledge that people communicate and interact in different ways. We need workplaces that understand that there are a variety of ways to be a productive contributor, and to accept those.

One way to do this is by carefully considering who you include on your interview panels. For example, if you have a diverse team with various ethnic groups represented, you want to make sure that diversity is represented. If five white guys are interviewing an African American woman, she might think to herself, ‘oh, you know, I’m not going to fit in here.’ So, it’s really helpful to make sure that your interview teams reflects the diversity that that you have, or that you hope to have on your team.

At the organization level, you may have to look a little harder to get a diverse pool of candidates, because there just aren’t as many. So instead of interviewing the first two people that come through the door, maybe you need to interview upwards of 10 candidates.

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

I’m still a minority, both as a technology professional and healthcare leader. Women comprise about 30% of the tech workforce in the U.S. And while there are more women in the healthcare workforce, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, fewer than 20% hold key leadership positions.

This means that the further up the executive ladder I climb, the lonelier I am, in a sense.

The closer you get toward management, the more you have to be an advocate for yourself — and for change. I see my position at Planet DDS as an opportunity to highlight some of those efforts to be inclusive and promote diversity in our organization.

What would you advise to another tech leader who initially went through years of successive growth, but has now reached a standstill. From your experience do you have any general advice about how to boost growth or sales and “restart their engines”?

If an organization has found itself at a standstill, it’s time to regroup and reassess. Perhaps the market’s changed, or the company’s lost track of its mission or vision and they’re no longer connecting with their customers or understanding what the market needs. Or maybe the competitive landscape has shifted and the organization needs to segue into new markets and opportunities.

When growth is slow, take a step back and ask: What’s going on, at a broader level? Has your company invested too little in technology that can’t scale effectively as it grows (and accommodate the evolving needs of clients)? Has there been enough investment in hiring the right talent and the right team for your ongoing needs? What areas are experiencing the most — or the least — growth right now?

Take some time to analyze these things and figure out a path forward. Often times, the early mistakes, such as not investing in the right infrastructure to support growth, will become clear.

Based on your experience, can you share 3 or 4 strategies to give your customers the best possible user experience and customer service?

As they grow, businesses need to make sure they’re keeping pace with their customers’ needs. I’d say the three most important strategies are probably:

1. Expand beyond initial focus group quickly. When you’re a true startup, the company may be two or three people, right? You’re probably talking to family members, friends, and colleagues within your close circle. The key is broadening those conversations quickly and getting input from your initial customers and others in your respective industry as you continue to grow.

2. Get into the minds of those who aren’t buying your product and service. Don’t listen to just the people who already drink your Kool Aid. You also really want to talk to people who haven’t bought your product. Maybe they haven’t heard of it, and that’s a marketing issue you need to solve. Maybe they looked at your product, and it didn’t meet their needs for some reason. That is vital feedback to evolving past initial launch. Having a strategy for gathering that true market feedback is vital.

3. Try to really think ahead. You don’t want the problem of building up a repository of technology that won’t work in 10 years or will cost a fortune to maintain. Technology specifications, needs, software, applications — and cybersecurity threats — are always evolving. Try to consider, long term, what you’ll need in five or 10 years’ time so you have a viable path to getting there.

4. Involve more of your team in the decision-making process as you go

As your business grows, it’s easy to forget to connect on a regular basis because you get so involved in building your software, building your team, and even focusing on the finance side. Be purposeful in bringing key stakeholders into the decision-making process, especially as you re-examine the tools and processes you started out with. For example, maybe you need to evolve from QuickBooks to something like NetSuite. Before making that decision, make sure everyone who would use a particular software application or tool is involved.

Here is the main question of our discussion. Based on your experience and success, what are the five most important things one should know in order to create a very successful tech company? Please share a story or an example for each.

1. Prioritize information management and data storage

Deciding where to keep information doesn’t seem like a priority when you’re starting up: everybody’s just running full tilt, right? No one writes anything down − it’s the nature of a startup. But once a company grows, if you haven’t agreed with your colleagues on where documents and information are kept, you end with this horrible problem of not being able to find anything. Even the simple decision to use Dropbox or SharePoint can be a lifesaver down the road. Understanding where information is and how to communicate information is critical.

2. Don’t Be Afraid of Initial “Tech Debt”

A truism I use all the time is, “tech debt is the sign of a successful startup.” However, many startups don’t invest enough capital in technology up front.

There’s always the issue of having to balance technology optimization with getting to market quickly — and inevitably, decisions will be made to move quickly and push products to market over doing things the right way with the right systems, tools. and infrastructure in place. That’s okay, but recognizing this is key. Once you’re not worried about stuff like making payroll, think about those trade-offs you made, and invest in the right technology that can support future needs.

A lot of companies right now are faced with the challenge of having applications that were designed well for “on premise” or “data center” deployments, and now they want to put these applications up in the cloud. Well, if you just take things that were designed for running on premise and shove them in the cloud, it’s really problematic!

3. Keep an eye on the evolving threat landscape.

It’s never too early to plan for cybersecurity. The threat landscape is becoming increasingly challenging. From my perspective, cyber threats increased in terms of intensity during the height of COVID lockdowns in 2020 just because everybody was at home with nothing better to do than to try and hack into system. Don’t turn your back on these threats just because the pandemic has become more manageable.

4. Develop a strategy for customer input

A startup should have a strategy for how to talk to its client base and get their input on a regular basis. It’s not uncommon for companies to get comfortable and stop listening to their customers. It’s easy to think, ‘we’re totally focused on dentists; we read about the firms who invest in dentists; and we’re experts on their needs.’ But this belief doesn’t necessarily translate. For example, at our company, Planet DDS, we’re experts on dental software, but we’re not actually a dentist or a dental office manager or an executive at a dental service organization. These are our customers, and they have their own unique and evolving needs. We need to hear from them on a regular basis, to listen to their concerns, so we can make sure we can accommodate — or adapt to — their changing needs. We regularly seek feedback from our clients to guide our product roadmap and believe some of our best innovations have come from their valuable feedback.

5. Keep tabs on the technical health of your product.

When you are a startup, your focus is really on the cool features. It’s tempting to ignore some of the technical headaches and just focus on features because that’s exciting — it’s what marketing and sales wants because it’s something the company can create some buzz around. Nobody cares if you updated your internal data access framework from a really old version to a new version. But underlying all the cool features of a product or the actual technical guts of the product, and if you’re not paying attention to those “guts,” you’re going to run into trouble.

Thank you so much for this. This was very inspirational, and we wish you only continued success!

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Inspirational Women Leaders Of Tech: Angelina Hendricks of Planet DDS On The Five Things You Need… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Founders: Fiona Taylor of Faces by Fiona On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Everyone is not cut out to be a founder and that’s ok! Some traits that most definitely assist in being a founder include responsibility, confidence, accountability, persistence, problem-solving ability, drive for success, competitiveness, and determination that you are capable of success by putting forth the effort.

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

Faces by Fiona was founded by Fiona Taylor, a professional hair and makeup artist specializing in providing beauty services for discerning clients. Taylor has over a decade of experience in leading her business and is well-versed in enhancing clients’ natural beauty as well as transforming their looks for special events and occasions.

Early in life, Taylor became a professional model which exposed her to the creative and captivating world of makeup artistry. She quickly realized the power that appearances can have regarding confidence and the way others are treated. She fell in love with the industry and chose to attend Miami International University of Art and Design to study fashion design. While there, Taylor had the opportunity to partner with MAC Cosmetics, Sephora Brand, The Body Shop, and The Red Door Spa, all of which exposed her to insider secrets and allowed her to gain hands-on technical experience in the field. Taylor has also received training from Kerastase and R + Co.

Taylor’s background in the fashion and beauty industries informs her creativity daily and helps her keep up with ever-changing trends. Before ever crafting a look, Taylor strives to understand the desired theme, mood, and facial anatomy of each client, resulting in a cohesive final product.

In addition to being a skilled designer and makeup artist, Taylor’s vast experience has helped her develop excellent managerial skills. She is adept at coordinating large-scale photo shoots in fast-paced environments.

On the side, Taylor is currently developing Beluxxia Beauty, a line of bespoke beauty products designed to meet the unique needs of her clients. She will also release a bridal beauty e-book in the fall of 2022.

At the end of the day, Taylor is inspired by fearless women who want to rock their world with confidence and put aside what others think. Taylor’s passion lies in helping clients bring out the beauty that lies within so they can exude confidence, glamour, and regality.

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’ve always been enamored with the glamour world! My mother used to model and she took me along with her to a fashion show in which she walked. I was also a child model during this show and was dolled up backstage by professional artists. The show’s excitement and fast-paced beauty environment were mesmerizing! I knew from that time, I felt a calling to that type of work.

I participated in child beauty pageants in the Midwest and decided to attend a model school that introduced me to the basics of etiquette, posing, and hair and makeup for modeling. Although odd jobs came up along my journey as a young adult, modeling always allowed me to recenter and feed my passion for the beauty and fashion industries. From my experience modeling, I become interested in the creative intricacies of what makes an editorial look come together. I began to collaborate with photographers in the industry by modeling as well as a hair and makeup artist.

I proceeded to attend an art institute to study fashion design. Oftentimes I would find myself assisting in designing a clothing collection, organizing the company’s photoshoots, and providing the beauty services. With each opportunity I was given, I flowed interchangeably between the different careers with the ultimate goal of learning how to manage my own business. I looked at every job as an opportunity to learn from my mentors/bosses and develop strong business and creative strategies by learning my artistic craft and learning entrepreneurship.

After starting Faces by Fiona, one day I found myself decreasing my hours due to client demand at my full-time job at a salon until eventually, I needed to put my entire focus on developing and nurturing my own company.

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

Sure! I would say the most interesting story would be winning our most recent award of “Best Beauty Team North Texas.” This really opened my eyes to what can be achieved if you’re consistent and always strive for success. Paying attention to the customer and their needs is a must! They’ll tell you exactly what they need and hope they experience. This is how I planned my beauty essentials company! Listening to the needs of your clients will tell you how to grow your business.

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

The funniest moment to this day has been a situation where a bride got married in the heat of a Texas summer and decided to have her photos taken outside. I was hired to provide her wedding services and stay after for touch-ups. After her ceremony, I hurried to the beauty station to prepare for her return to refresh her look. Just then a bridesmaid told me that she needs help urgently and they are taking photos outside already. I’m thinking a tearing moment may have caused a small disruption in the finish so I grabbed some essentials for a quick fix.

When I arrived at the scene, I was shocked to have found the bride’s face pouring out sweat to a point of no return! It was as if someone had thrown a bucket of water at her! I had the flower girl grab a handful of paper towels and had her bridesmaid use my fan to cool her off enough to stop sweating so I could make the corrections. It was like trying to put makeup on a face that wouldn’t stop running water. Thankfully, I finally got her face to calm down enough to patch her up for her bridal photos. Afterward, I chose to completely redo her face makeup using a heavy layer of a particular product that blocks perspiration and set her profusely with a waterproof setting spray.

Although I used the waterproofing spray, I had not considered using a product that prevents perspiration since I would normally use this for stage performers or theatrical makeup. It has become a staple technique for all my bridal clients! It is one of the best steps in the process to ensure brides and their wedding party members stay flawless under the relentless heat of Texas summers. This was a hard lesson that led me to utilize a better technique that now sets me apart from other beauty companies!

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

I’d like to mention a previous employer named Janis Saffel as a prominent figure of my past that has helped me by leading by example. She is an incredible entrepreneur and saw the potential in my abilities. Often, I think about how she handled different business functions such as hiring, graphic design, marketing, employee management, customer relations, sales, and business challenges. She was always optimistic about her experiences and was a great critical thinker that always had a solution for whatever was thrown at her. She listened to her clients’ needs and found growth opportunities, like making clothing for clients in her front room as an add-on service, to expand her business into a great corporation. I will forever be grateful for her leadership. I was able to see a blueprint of a successful woman business owner through her humble example.

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 would say it is believing in one’s self and having a supportive and encouraging family. Many times, women and mothers tell me they have great ideas but belittle their dreams by saying they have no time or it’s out of reach due to motherhood duties and responsibilities. Our society puts a significant amount of pressure on women to be the sole proprietor of housekeeping and children. Throughout history, women have not had a fair chance to chase their dreams, careers, and business ownership possibilities. Not to mention the long-time struggle with being unable to own property, get paid fair wages, and vote for their best interests.

In my own experience, I found myself putting my career on hold due to pregnancy and putting faith in the father of my children to allow him to finish school and be the provider of the family as I took a back seat. I felt a social obligation to become less career-oriented and driven towards my dreams as I gave the chance to my significant other instead. In my case, it didn’t work out in the end and I still had to become the provider as well as take on the role of caretaker of my family. To make a long story short, I vowed to never put too much of your future goals and aspirations in someone else’s hands to navigate. Life doesn’t wait and you should strive to succeed in your passions and find a healthy balance be it with family support and/or another solution to assist you in attaining your goals.

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

I would love to see more business programs to teach, empower, and inspire young ladies. I remember as a young child, a speaker came to my elementary classroom and spoke of a program on the great values of being an entrepreneur. I begged my mother to take me to this weekend program to “learn how to be a boss!’’ To this day, that experience stands out as a prominent memory that helped me recognize accountability, the drive needed to run a business, and what you can achieve in return. It would be great if more of these types of programs were made available.

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?

Having a female perspective in business decisions could balance out a lot of contrasting views on healthcare, childcare, paid time off, nursing mothers, and flexible opportunities to work as well as contribute to family duties. I personally love to hire mothers as virtual employees whether it be for tutoring my sons, administrative, or graphic tasks. This allows them to work from home and contribute towards their personal goals outside home duties. It assists in my business needs and helps facilitate a healthy life balance by working on other tasks in which they can feel accomplished.

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

Myth: Having no personal time. If you stay organized and plan out your duties, process, and off time, and stick to them you can achieve a good work-life balance. Anything is possible with the correct amount of problem-solving and effort. If you find yourself having less time and can’t get work accomplished, you may need to hire someone and train them on particular processes so they are off your plate and you can put focus on other priorities.

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?

Everyone is not cut out to be a founder and that’s ok! Some traits that most definitely assist in being a founder include responsibility, confidence, accountability, persistence, problem-solving ability, drive for success, competitiveness, and determination that you are capable of success by putting forth the effort.

People who find themselves wanting to have a supportive role or contribute to a large corporation to earn a paycheck with a set number of hours worked should seek employment from a regular job. Entrepreneurs really don’t trade time for money. They see the value in developing strategies to implement, are growth driven, and are problem solvers to the extent of waking up early, going to bed late, and working off of a handful of sleep hours. Getting the job done right is the most important thing. Your payout in return will be of greater value.

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. How to manage taxes and deductions to maximize business prosperity.
2. You will have no set working hours. Every hour available can be spent on an idea or project.
3. To find ways to grow, you’ll have to think outside the box.
4. You’ll need to organize a creative growth schedule and stick to it.
5. The importance of finding your niche market and then developing that brand.

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

My services empower women to recognize their beauty and self-worth. I use beauty as a tool for sharing a touching moment and helping the client to appreciate themselves. Learning to see beauty in yourself is an important aspect of confidence for women and other genders across the spectrum. Since women’s value in society is placed so heavily on the appearance and attributes of celebrities, it can make a person miss the attributes that make them uniquely beautiful.

Having a company that provides services and celebrates a diverse clientele with the flexibility to provide cultural customizations, and being trained in all hair types, skin tones, and genders makes people feel welcomed, accepted, and not ostracized due to a lack of inclusion and training. We consider everyone to have features that can be enhanced. Not only does it enhance your outer appearance but it instills happiness and confidence inside.

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

I’ve seen people be brought to tears of happiness in their beauty transformations. Having worked with women from shelters and elderly clients that otherwise cannot experience the joy of applying their own beauty services allowed me to see firsthand how amazing a beauty transformation makes someone feel. They never imagined beauty can help you feel uplifted and stronger. There is strength in beauty! I always say when you’re having a bad day, put on lipstick. It can instantly fix your mood and allows you to take on your adversities with more confidence. I truly believe

#beautymakesadifferce.

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, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.

Tyra Banks. She is fierce, charismatic, and inspiring in her drive to succeed and see others live out their hopes and dreams by overcoming obstacles. I’d love to have a mini-interview on her personal climb to success and learn from her personal experience.

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

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Female Founders: Fiona Taylor of Faces by Fiona On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Founders: Elizabeth Faye of Hair Love University On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

I always joke that a lot of entrepreneurs just have a lot of wounds. They have a lot of abandonment issues, scarcity issues, they don’t feel safe with money, they have control issues. I’ve just worked with a ton of entrepreneurs and almost every single one of them has these things and that’s what swung them into wanting to build this empire where they could be safe, they could be protected, and they could call the shots on their own terms. Other people have a big mission and vision placed on their heart. I think a lot of entrepreneurs are both. You almost have to be a little crazy to want to risk and play that big or you are super conscious in wanting to trust yourself and go for it.

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

Elizabeth Faye is a certified business coach, trauma informed life coach & breathwork facilitator. She is the founder and CEO of Hair Love University, which is a conscious education company that helps beauty industry entrepreneurs & educators. She has over a decade of experience and has served thousands of entrepreneurs around the world step into their personal power & create massive impact & wealth in business through her coaching and world class retreats.

But what she believes most, is that you were called to make an impact & abundance is your birthright.

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?

Born in Las Vegas, Nevada, I was a troubled preteen who was sent to a different school every year of middle school and then lived with different families throughout highschool until I eventually dropped out. In this shuffle of schools, I was sent to a strict Christian charter school in seventh grade. In an attempt to get kicked out, I often stole box hair color from Walmart, destroying my hair and dyeing it crazy colors that went against school code. After getting expelled, I was sitting on the curb waiting to be picked up when a woman handed me a business card from a hairdresser, encouraging me to reach out to them so they could fix my hair. Looking back, I feel like this was a sign from the universe guiding and showing me the way.

Soon after, I made an appointment at the salon, got my hair fixed and got to experience a hair salon for the first time. I remember looking around and seeing the diversity of hairdressers in the salon and thinking “These are the coolest people ever”. I was in awe of the diversity of their outfits, hairstyles, and the way they freely expressed themselves. I absolutely loved the experience and bonded with my hairdresser. My dad was so upset with the expense of the hair treatment and said that I could not go back again, but I knew I had to go back, not just because of the cut or color, but because of how I felt there. I felt seen, heard, loved, and cool, which was something I had never felt anywhere else besides the hairdresser’s chair. After paying my dad back for the hair appointment, I saved my money for 6 months until I had enough to go back again.

When I went back, I put all the money I had saved on the counter and asked “What can I get for this much?”. He told me he would make a deal with my dad. If I got good grades on my report card, he would style my hair complimentary. Looking back on this, it was such an impactful and motivational act of kindness that changed my life. From then on, he would expect me to bring my report card where in return I would receive a complimentary session with him. When I dropped out of highschool at the age of 16, I no longer had a report card to present to him, which led to my first job offer as an assistant at the salon. Later in the week, dressed in all black, I showed up for my first shift, ready to start. What first started as serving clients wine and folding towels, ended with me becoming a hairdresser. I believe I am living proof that hairstylists change the world and that they can have an impact on others.

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

When the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out the hairdressing industry. My job was to help hairdressers make money at a time when they couldn’t work. It was illegal to host events, open up the studios, and carry on with our jobs during this time. Not only was I supporting this community of women out of work, but I also have a hair salon myself. This experience taught me how to heal, how to step into my role as a CEO, and validated that the work I was doing was what I really wanted to do. So many things changed, my business was revolutionized, retreats and events became digital and that sense of connection through business and mindfulness changed everything for me. In a time of chaos and change, it is important to remember who we are as leaders, and that we have the opportunity to step into power.

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

I think the funniest mistake I made was thinking that planning a retreat would be easy. There are so many logistics and legal issues that could have gone wrong that luckily did not. If you’ve seen the Hair Love retreat it’s a wild, festival-like hair show, mixed with a business conference and a retreat that I had not seen existing anywhere else. Doing the event was the only way to show my vision to my team. Between the event planning, the caterers, and all the moving parts, we did not sleep the first night. Everything seems so seamless to the retreat attendants but it was one of the hardest things we’ve ever done. Maybe if I had known how difficult it was going to be, I wouldn’t have been so naive to jump into it but it was a great experience.

We had planned a hike for the retreat days and as we were shuttling people out to Zion National Park. We had not kept a record of who was hiking and which retreaters were out in the wilderness on their own. We ended up losing the retreaters and my dad had to drive around the national park picking up retreaters and shuttling them in and out of the park until we found everyone. Luckily, everyone remembers it being a funny experience from the trip.

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

I have so many people to thank. Over the years, I have worked with over 20 incredible mentors, from consultants to spiritual mentors. It’s hard to pick just one considering they’ve all revolutionized my life. I love this quote from Ram Dass who said “We’re all just walking each other home”. All of my mentors have unlocked beauty, healing, and awareness in me and I wouldn’t be who I am without them. Investing in mentors and mentoring others has deeply changed my world perspective.

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?

There are masculine and feminine energetics that we all have within us that act as the yin and yang. The feminine includes flow, creativity, magnetism, feelings, and intuitions while the masculine is the linear, logical , structured, protective, and “get it done” energy. These spiritualities are a part of all of us and are polarities that create balance and energy. We are unbalanced in our world and, between these two, we want to find balance.

Women have not been taught wealth and business building skills. Most women that I have worked with have been under-resourced, whether that be financially, in knowledge, in proximity to the knowledge, or in access to the resources and connections that can get them into the room. These resources are gatekept and can only be accessed past obstacles like proximity, wealth, and connections. One of my friends runs an incredible community that is all about diversity and inclusion.

Back to energetics, I help people step into conscious leadership. This is leadership that is soul led, gut led, and intuition based. I talk about the keys of conscious leadership. The world is craving a different type of leader. We are craving leaders, not bosses, not gurus, not “I have all the answers”, but leaders who are leading by example and are embodying what the world needs more of. We talk about awareness and being self-led. We want to be conscious, self-aware leaders that look within, and that are aware of other people’s feelings and care. The next key is purpose driven. We’re in a world that’s so logical, so linear, so hustle, so “go, go, go. Do, do, do”. This type of hustle is being labeled as toxic and it’s making people sick. Conscious leadership is being heart and soul led, and coming from a place of purpose and mission. The next key of conscious leadership is “honors living in alignment”. This is being gut led and listening to your stomach and your gut telling you what to do. Does your life feel good or does it just look good? When we put alignment before the dollar bills and the check boxes in to-do list, everything else will fall into place. This is part of my conscious leadership talk and I think this is part of the issue is that we are leading in this wounded, masculine energy. The healed masculine energetic is healthy, protective, beautiful, “get things done ‘’ productive energy. But the wounded masculine is addicted to hustle and productivity. Their worth is in the doing. We’re seeing this as a society at large. That’s why so many people are waking up to consciousness, mindfulness, meditation, doing things differently, and getting back to nature. This is on purpose. We need the yin and yang imbalance to come back to homeostasis. We’re seeing people being more authentic, more raw, talking about home-life, work-life balance, honoring alignment, and being more heart and soul led business owners.

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?

Both masculine and feminine energies are good, but we just want them healed and unionized. Masculine energy is very linear and the feminine energy is cyclical. When you think of a woman, she has a womb, and every month she has cyclical energy. She’s not able to ride quite that linear energy and keep her energy up. A lot of females are trying to fit into a masculine mold of success and trying to fit the mold of “Well this is how men have done it. This is how this has been built. This is how this has been created”. I tell women to try to honor their cyclical energy, bursts of creativity, and all the energy that is natural with your cycle. As women leaning into leading differently and honoring our cyclical energy, we are really proving to ourselves that even though we feel more aligned being different, we can yield the SAME incredible results. And that gives other female leaders permission to lead in their divine feminine energy as well. It is a rise of honoring our own energy and unique feminine gifts rather than deeming them as too much or not enough. What if your sensitivity, intuition, femininity and softness was your edge and magic?! P.S — it is!

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?

Speaking from an energetic perspective, in spirituality we learn about the concept of polarity and how we have both masculine and feminine energetics. These are magical to learn about in general but when it comes to female founders we have a real edge and gift if we can lean into our DIVINE FEMININE energetics and leading differently. This requires you to lead differently than maybe society and hustle culture has shown you is the “direct path to millions and success”. The gifts of the divine feminine are intuition, creativity, collaboration and magnetism. Wow! I think about how this could really help any CEO go from business owner to CONSCIOUS LEADER and major authority figure. Being in touch with your intuition would help you make choices, lead and feel guided…which is priceless! Creativity would allow you to think abstractly. What if the answer or solution just requires a creative perspective? Collaboration is key to community building and leading a team of leaders. Think of women’s circles and how you gather together to share and move a mission, idea, or project further together. And greater magnetism would unlock marketing & sales power in your business, social media and calling in soulmate clients. So yes, I would say female founders are the future of conscious leadership, especially by leaning into their divine feminine gifts. We need more female founders because feminine energy is magnetic, collaborative, and trusts their own intuition. I want to show other female founders and leaders what it looks like to be the CEO differently than we’ve been taught, programmed and shown what success looks like.

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

A myth is that founders always know what they’re doing. We are all evolving beings of learning and unlearning experience the spectrum of life and we do not have it all figured out. As soon as you feel like things are flowing and good, you’re gonna go through a new evolution of self, upgrade, and want something new. The journey is all we have so let’s enjoy it.

Is everyone cut out to be a founder? In your opinion, which specific traits increase the likelihood that a person will be a successful founder and what type of person should perhaps seek a “regular job” as an employee? Can you explain what you mean?

I always joke that a lot of entrepreneurs just have a lot of wounds. They have a lot of abandonment issues, scarcity issues, they don’t feel safe with money, they have control issues. I’ve just worked with a ton of entrepreneurs and almost every single one of them has these things and that’s what swung them into wanting to build this empire where they could be safe, they could be protected, and they could call the shots on their own terms. Other people have a big mission and vision placed on their heart. I think a lot of entrepreneurs are both. You almost have to be a little crazy to want to risk and play that big or you are super conscious in wanting to trust yourself and go for it.

I think if you’ve come from a family that is big into entrepreneurialism then you could feel like you have the capabilities to do whatever you want. It’s also about what role you want and what you value in a role, which is something to be not taken lightly and is something to consider. Now that I’ve done a lot of healing work, I could happily work for someone else if that says anything. I do think I could be happy working for someone else if I aligned with their mission and vision.

Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started”.

1. You can be successful and not sacrifice your health, your wellbeing, your family, and the things that matter most to you.
2. Balance and harmony are not a pipe dream. They’re 100% real and very important to you enjoying and having a good healthy life.
3. Your wellbeing is not just what you eat, and how you move your body. It is spiritual and emotional and all of that ties together.
4. Always have mentors and proximity to power. Get yourself into rooms and places.
5. Play and have fun. All of my best ideas have come during times where I am living and enjoying life.

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

Healed people heal people. As I heal and my consciousness grows, I share it with other people and I help them. Every time I learn something as a business owner, from systems, to structure, to management, to leadership, to money, to all of it, I just turn around and give it back.

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

I just made a documentary called Hair Stylists Change The World. The global message is that YOU change the world. It’s waking people up to their own power, their own consciousness. That’s where our community’s going. It’s continuing to grow in that way and we’ve helped tens of thousands of people do it. Your spiritual and emotional wellbeing are so important.

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

I would love to have a private breakfast with Brené Brown…I would freak out. I also think Gabby Bernstein is really cool. Either one would be really, really cool.

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

https://www.loom.com/share/bddabe2ee6fe4be89cc8e00e119a78eb

https://www.loom.com/share/cbfe7c9d10ab4af9917c187d6100b983

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Female Founders: Elizabeth Faye of Hair Love University On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Disruptors: Caroline Vanderlip of Re:Dish On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Love what you do. It will energize you as a person and improve the quality of your work. To spend so much time doing something you don’t love, that doesn’t bring you joy, that you aren’t passionate about, will take its toll physically, mentally, and spiritually.

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

Caroline Vanderlip is the Founder and CEO of Re:Dish, a Brooklyn-based, WBE-certified corporation that offers a reusable dishware program that helps large organizations like Fortune 500 companies and school systems implement circular solutions that eliminate single-use food packaging waste. Caroline puts her passions and creativity into building businesses like Re:Dish and is excited to be able to tell its story of huge environmental impact.

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 figured out early on that I was happiest and most productive in an entrepreneurial environment. At 23, I was asked to launch a new business at a publishing company; I was so young and being paid so little that there was little risk to them. I, however, fell in love with the strategy, market analysis, and product market fit involved in identifying and building something new. While there have been a few corporate stints throughout my career, my most exciting roles have always been with startups. In 2019, a random conversation with my then-manager about the huge amounts of non-recycled waste in NYC caught my attention. Digging in, I discovered astonishing facts like in the US, food service packaging contributes 10 million tons of waste annually. The idea that something that is used for only minutes takes a toll on our environment for years, sometimes decades, is absurd and I knew it was a problem that had to be tackled. So why not pursue a solution?

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

While many people have called Re:Dish disruptive, I don’t see it that way. I think we are actually addressing the disruption created over the last 50 years by a world focused on discarding after consuming once; this throwaway economy has greatly contributed to the climate change issues we are all grappling with today. Returning our communities and supply chains to a local focus, and promoting thoughtful use of earth’s resources, is imperative to a sustainable future, or any future at all.

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

When we first started, we had no idea of the impact that we could, or would, make. We leased a space in Brooklyn to wash and sanitize our reusable product, and to house our inventory, with no idea of how much square footage we would need and how quickly we would grow out of the space. As it turns out, we outgrew the space in 2 months (on a 4-year lease!). Lesson learned? Don’t underestimate your idea and how it will resonate. Believe in yourself and your plan! And scaling well takes a lot of trial and error! Creating a ware washing system that can support more than 75K reuse items a day takes a lot of development of operational processes and automation to achieve excellence and efficiency.

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

I have been so fortunate to have a lot of people support me in my career, but I’d have to say my Dad and then, after he died when I was in my 20s, my closest friend. Both reminded me time and again that I have the stamina and the will to overcome obstacles and to push forward. Their belief in me early in my life helped me believe in myself, and that has been invaluable. I could not have done this without them.

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 an industry is often positive by virtue of the fact that it requires enough people buying into the idea to actualize change.

Determining whether a disruptive business is good or bad, whether it succeeds or fails, is another story. Companies are called disruptive when they create solutions for real-world problems in a way that upends societal expectations of how those problems can be solved. While disruptive companies are inherently innovative, they are still businesses, and many of the rules of good business still apply. The best, most disruptive ideas can easily fail or become toxic for the industry if they don’t have three things: (1) A clear sense of their ‘why’: identifying the problem that is actually being solved (beyond profit), (2) an ever-evolving balance between executing short-term and long-term goals, and finally (3) a decision maker that both believes in the company’s potential but can pivot based on new information and updated daily (market) realities.

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

Love what you do. It will energize you as a person and improve the quality of your work. To spend so much time doing something you don’t love, that doesn’t bring you joy, that you aren’t passionate about, will take its toll physically, mentally, and spiritually.

Keep pressing forward. We all hit obstacles, and we all have experiences where things don’t go as planned. You may not always be able to progress as quickly as you would like, but even one small step forward is a step in the right direction. Be resilient!

Stay nimble. There are always uncertainties, that’s a given. I try to stay calm and stay curious; I’m constantly learning. With new information, whether that comes in the form of a setback, an insight, or a shift in culture, I’m afforded the opportunity to make more informed decisions that better address the needs of the business.

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

We’re just getting started! We’re on a mission to make reuse mainstream. We’ve begun by tackling single-use food packaging because it’s a major contributor to the waste crisis, and we have launched Re:Dish’s reusable container program in institutional settings (i.e., companies and schools) so we can start exposing people to reuse and normalizing reuse behavior at scale on a daily basis. By building our own warewashing facilities, we can accommodate large volumes and have complete control of the process and quality output. While we continue to grow the Re:Dish business — expanding to new markets, audiences, and spaces in which we implement, and diversifying our product SKUs — having warewashing infrastructure and tracking technology allows us to offer reverse logistics solutions to existing companies that want to introduce circular solutions to their employees and customers. The reality is that building reuse infrastructure internally at companies can be timely, costly, and sometimes unrealistic. We largely service clients that don’t have the space, equipment, or staffing to implement reuse. By sharing our washing capabilities with others, we can accelerate the reuse economy as a whole and deliver large-scale impact to those who might not otherwise be able to participate in this kind of practical environmental solution.

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

Access to capital, access to capital, access to capital. With all the strides that women have made, we still represent a low, single-digit percentage of the money raised each year through the venture community. Also, access to capital.

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

I’m a big Malcolm Gladwell fan, and I find the insights in Dan Ariely’s “Predictably Irrational” on consumer behavior to be particularly illuminating. Both authors remind us that human beings do not act as rational actors but behavior, however, can be predictably irrational. This becomes really important when you are introducing (an old but now) new concept like circularity. The success of our program relies on not only the consumer embracing our solution but participating by returning our wares to a collection site. This is a small but mighty contribution that empowers those that use our system to actively move us all in the right environmental direction.

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

This is precisely what we are doing at Re:Dish. Reuse is a movement, and we are at the forefront working with everyone from Fortune 500 corporations, their CEO’s and their employees, to school children to inspire, fortify hope, and implement new practices to realize practical climate solutions. Two of the most critical issues facing everyone on earth are mitigating waste and balancing climate change. There are a lot of movements already underway to support this — everything from banning single-use items to promoting more circular solutions, to creating more sustainable business practices and calling for increased accountability — and plenty more that aren’t directly tied to reuse. I don’t feel I need to inspire a new movement as much as support the ones that exist. My hope is that in my lifetime, the idea of using a product for an hour just to throw it away is considered foreign and absurd.

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

“Don’t let the bastards get you down.” In the 80s and 90s, corporate leadership was predominantly male. As a woman, I often felt I had to work harder than my counterparts or justify why I should be in the room. Today there are a lot more women in C-Suite (though still not enough), and while I no longer feel the need to prove myself in the same way, this has become my rallying cry for facing the unknown. It’s all about resilience and rising to the challenge.

How can our readers follow you online?

You can find me online on Linkedin and follow Re:Dish on Instagram and LinkedIn! Or to learn more about us visit www.redish.com.

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

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

Thriving As A Woman In a Male-Dominated Industry: Carol Altieri of Bob’s Watches On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman In a Male-Dominated Industry

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Learn how to navigate conflict in the workplace. A woman, actually anyone, should handle all situations in a thoughtful manner, and not sound off, or overreact. I have seen a backlash on women who sound off that does not apply to men.

In the United States in 2022, fields such as Aircraft piloting, Agriculture, Architecture, Construction, Finance, and Information technology, are still male-dominated industries. For a woman who is working in a male-dominated environment, what exactly does it take to thrive and succeed? In this interview series, we are talking to successful women who work in a Male-Dominated Industry who can share their stories and experiences about navigating work and life as strong women in a male-dominated industry. As a part of this series, we had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Carol Altieri.

Carol Altieri is the Co-Owner and Chief Operating Officer of Bob’s Watches, the world’s largest online pre-owned Rolex exchange. She handles day to day operations as well as product pricing on both the buy and sell side of the business.

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

Born and raised in Los Angeles

Can you tell us the story about what led you to this particular career path?

Nothing led me, I got stuck. My husband started Bobs in 2009 and after 4 months he was not coming home, so I went in to assist, and in turn, I never went home; here we are 12 years later. We started with 3 people and have grown the business together to what it is today.

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

There are so many individual stories, but it’s the overall story that I find interesting. The growth rate of the secondary market, and the frenzy that comes along with it. We have customers that want to trade watches and will literally ask us to hold their watches until the desired model comes in. I have been a hamster on a wheel for 12 years, trying to keep up on pricing. In the beginning, our buy/sell prices were set for months with no changes, then the window started closing and we would change pricing monthly, weekly, and at the height of the market we were changing prices daily to keep up with customer demand.

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?

Don’t let up — there is always someone waiting to take your place.

Put the customer first — this is obvious, but our business is C to C. Every customer we buy from will tell 10 others. Every customer we sell to, will share with 10 others. There is no better PR than word of mouth. This is how we built our business.

Good HR — a positive, supported, staff, creates a positive environment, and this transcends to our customers.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Can you help articulate a few of the biggest obstacles or challenges you’ve had to overcome while working in a male-dominated industry?

I honestly do not find any obstacles with working with men. It’s all I know after working in film. The obstacles I have faced are listed below, and coincidentally involve men.

Working with my husband, who happens to be a man. When you work your ass off, and you are called “Bobs wife” — Bob’s name is actually Paul, by the way- it can be a bit depleting. I have learned to laugh it off. Once they work with me and witness my work ethic — whether man or woman — the attitude changes and the obstacle is overcome.

I am in a male dominated business, but the larger challenge is that it is an old school business, again which happens to be male dominated. Bobs Watches was a disrupter in the industry. The old schoolers pushed back and we had to overcome that with new ideas, and staying the course. Men — 40 and up, have always been the largest sector of the marketplace, but women who are a success in their own right, and the millennials, regardless of gender, are the future of our business.

Can you share a few of the things you have done to gain acceptance among your male peers and the general work community? What did your female co-workers do? Can you share some stories or examples?

Whatever the gender, I am always one of the hardest working people in the room. I am a scrapper and will simply figure it out and offer resolution. I am sure there are men out there that may look at me differently, but they have yet to tell me, so I just keep pushing on.

What do you think male-oriented organizations can do to enhance their recruiting efforts to attract more women?

Be vocal about your commitment to supporting women in business and their success. Lead by example by putting women in leadership roles. However, I would never suggest offering a role because of gender, but rather because it was deserved. We are not doing anyone any favor by giving them a role they are not qualified for.

I also think there needs to be an understanding as to women in the workplace that also parent. I do have a few single moms that work for me, that are simply amazing in their roles, but do need understanding and support as our kids come first. This clearly would be afforded to single dads as well.

Ok thank you for all of that. Here is the main question of our interview. Based on your opinion and experience, what are the “Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman In a Male-Dominated Industry?” (Please share a story or example for each.)

1. Confidence. Speak up, even if it’s to ask why. I guarantee many in the room will want to ask the same question. I have seen it happen.

2. Educate/Read. This offers information; information is key to success. There is much written out there by successful people. Learn from them. One book that made an impression was Blitzscaling which offered me insight into the challenges of a quickly growing business w/ respect to hiring, competition, etc.

3. Challenge yourself. Again, this is leading by example. If you are complacent, there will be no growth.

4. Learn how to navigate conflict in the workplace. A woman, actually anyone, should handle all situations in a thoughtful manner, and not sound off, or overreact. I have seen a backlash on women who sound off that does not apply to men.

5. Collaboration/put away the ego. — Working together not only props one’s self up, but those around them as well.

If you had a close woman friend who came to you with a choice of entering a field that is male-dominated or female-dominated, what would you advise her? Would you advise a woman friend to start a career in a field or industry that’s traditionally been mostly men? Can you explain what you mean?

Of course. It never stopped me. If the company aligns with your career goals and values, you belong there and have a lot to offer, regardless of if you are a man or woman.

Have you seen things change for women working in male-dominated industries, over the past ten years? How do you anticipate that it might improve in the future? Can you please explain what you mean?

I have two kids 25 and 30. Boy and girl, both successful. I can tell you that they do not see or speak of gender or race. I believe this is true the younger generations. They are the future, so yes we have come a long way

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.

It would be so hard to pick one. But I get the most out of meeting those that started something from nothing. Last month I met a married couple that started a large cabinet company. Nothing sexy. They sat up at night trying to figure out how to ship closets across the country, and now they ship all over the world. Their conversations remind me of me and my husband’s conversations. We are in so deep; it’s nice to know we are not alone.

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

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Thriving As A Woman In a Male-Dominated Industry: Carol Altieri of Bob’s Watches On The Five Things… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women In Wellness: Staci Barrett and Angela Dunning of LĀ SOL Collective On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Angela and I work from home, and it’s hard to squeeze in time to exercise especially running a business and having active kids. Angela tries to go on walks every day to get her 10K steps in. I have a set schedule in my calendar for my workout days.

As a part of my series about women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Staci Barrett and Angela Dunning of LĀ SOL Collective.

LĀ SOL Collective is a Newport Beach, CA-based dermatologist-approved sun-care brand, started by two lifelong friends, Staci Barrett and Angela Dunning. After 25+ years in their respective fields, they started talking about how fun it would be to create their own business together and found a gap in the suncare market for a truly clean mineral sunscreen that applies clear. The main drawback of zinc oxide sunscreens has been the chalky texture and leaving a heavy white cast on the skin whereas LĀ SOL’s CLEAR sunscreen works on all skin tones with SPF30, UVB/UVA protection and goes on like a smooth cream for easy application, leaving your skin feeling natural, not greasy.

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 attending middle and high school in Los Alamitos, CA, and UCSB together, we spent 25+ years in marketing (Staci) and the beauty industry (Angela). Our families love adventuring and traveling the globe together. With our newest endeavor, LĀ SOL Collective, promises to deliver suncare products with proven results and feel-good vibes for the whole family.

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

There is no “I” in the team, and seeing others succeed feels good. Angela and I have managed teams in our executive roles and loved helping others in their career development to accomplish their goals. It’s important to note that Angela and I rely on each other. We know we can’t run a business alone and are extremely lucky to have each other as friends and teammates.

It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about a mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

It’s essential to treat your vendors as partners. You can only run a business properly with a solid relationship with your vendors. We waited a few months too long to get our first order placed for product and packaging, thinking if we ordered and paid in October 2021 (6 months lead time), we would have product by March 2022. It didn’t arrive until late May (took 8 months), so we lost the valuable sales window for summer 2022. There’s been so much volatility with supply chain issues lately, and you should prepare for the unexpected.

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 is a lot of misinformation about sunscreen. Our sunscreen is formulated with only non-nano zinc oxide and excludes the toxic sunscreen ingredients that mass brands are still using. It’s important to wear sunscreen daily to avoid harmful UVA/UVB rays that cause skin cancer and to use a reef-safe sunscreen, like LĀ SOL to help save our oceans and dying reefs. We are doing our best to educate our customers that not every sunscreen is good for them or mother earth and that sunscreens with zinc oxide are the best.

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.

• Angela and I work from home, and it’s hard to squeeze in time to exercise especially running a business and having active kids. Angela tries to go on walks every day to get her 10K steps in. I have a set schedule in my calendar for my workout days.
• Drinking fluids — lots and lots of water. When you get busy, you forget to stay hydrated and may reach for a cup of coffee in the afternoon to recharge. It’s better to drink water for hydration, which helps you stay awake and refreshed.
• Angela and I try to keep our skincare regime which includes wearing sunscreen at all times, even driving… Wearing sunscreen on your hands is a good idea — exposure to UVA/UVB rays through car windows happens.
• Eating more fruits and vegetables — We encourage our households to grab an apple or carrot sticks instead of going to the cupboard for crackers and granola bars.
• Be informed. Read the ingredients in what you eat and put on your body.

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 have a friend that started a Mom’s Day off and actually got November 12th to be a National Holiday. It is such a good idea to remind parents to take time for themselves — a little self-care goes a long way for overall wellness (health and mental well-being)

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

1. How all-consuming starting a business can be
2. How much time it takes to make engaging content
3. The high cost of joining events to meet product buyers
4. Take a TIK TOK class
5. Take a Shopify class

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

These are all very important causes at the moment, but I’ll start with mental health. As busy parents (moms), we feel like there is so much more to think about during this time, especially after the pandemic. People need to tap into their empathy, pay attention to their friends and family and reach out to talk. Life can get so busy but it’s important to take the time out of your busy day to listen to what others are saying or not saying.

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

Follow our Instagram @lasolcollective

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

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Women In Wellness: Staci Barrett and Angela Dunning of LĀ SOL Collective On The Five Lifestyle… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.