The Future of Beauty: Michael Blair and Marcus Slater of Deka Lash On How Their Technological…

The Future of Beauty: Michael Blair and Marcus Slater of Deka Lash On How Their Technological Innovation Will Shake Up The Beauty Industry

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Accessibility. Especially the option for virtual try-on, this can help consumers to feel confident about their decision in products and services because they are able to see exactly what different looks will look like on them individually. There is also so much convenience with being able to do things from your phone, interacting where you want, how you want, when you want, and on your preferred platform.

As a part of our series about how technology will be changing the beauty industry over the next five years, I had the pleasure of interviewing Michael Blair and Marcus Slater.

Michael Blair is the Co-Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Deka Lash, leading overall operations and technology strategy in order to advance the strategic goals of the enterprise. Marcus Slater, Chief Marketing and Technology Officer at Deka Lash, is an award-winning digital marketer and technology developer with over a decade of experience using marketing and technology to bring record-setting year-over-year growth to companies in almost every industry.

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

Michael: I’ve been an entrepreneur for most of my career, but my wife Jennifer is ultimately what led me to Deka Lash and the beauty industry. She got into offering lash services and I started to see the similarities between the beauty industry and the technology sector, which is where most of my expertise lies. Specifically, there is this recurring aspect to it. In software and SAAS companies, it’s completely normal to see recurring monthly offerings. In beauty, it’s the same because clients need to be coming back in for their upkeep. In lashes specifically, it was like clockwork seeing our clients come back in every couple of weeks for their fill services.

At the time when we started Deka Lash, the cross between beauty and technology was non-existent. Appointments were written in books. You had to call to schedule, reschedule and cancel appointments. I saw so much opportunity to bring technology into the space as a way to benefit both beauty companies and their customers and suddenly Jennifer and I knew we were onto something that could truly make a huge impact on the industry as a whole.

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

Michael: We started out completely self-funded. We would go into investor meetings and I honestly felt like I was being laughed at. We would get asked questions like, “how can you have a single business providing solely services on eyelashes?” Investors and other beauty professionals didn’t see the need to specialize in one area, especially one like lashes which weren’t mainstream whatsoever when we were first starting out. We chose to ignore the hesitation and critical comments and stay in our own lane with our vision, and that was our biggest driver to success.

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

Michael: Our biggest tipping point was definitely our decision to franchise. We had this Pittsburgh-based beauty company that was already doing quite well with four thriving locations. Pittsburgh isn’t exactly a beauty capital by any means, so deciding to franchise led us to growing from a local name to an international player in the lash and beauty space.

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

Michael: Jennifer is my rock. She and I are supportive of one another and we help get each other through tough times, through the natural highs and lows, and we keep each other motivated to always keep going. Business ownership is definitely a roller coaster ride, and I love that my life partner is also my co-founder and the one who is able to help me up when things get hard and celebrate with me when things are going great.

Ok, super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. The beauty industry today has access to technology that was inconceivable only a short time ago. Can you tell us about the “cutting edge” (pardon the pun) technologies that you are working with or introducing? How do you think that will help people?

Marcus: We have a perspective that we are more of a tech company in the business of beauty and lashes. Before technology was really available, you had to call into a receptionist to schedule your appointments and they would write it down in a book. We have a model that operates without a receptionist — you can book your appointments with a single click on our app or our website. We have a centralized Customer Experience Center that takes care of clients who have questions or are needing help and most recently we are introducing dekaAI. dekaAI is taking the technology we already have in place and amplifying it — allowing customers to text us day or night with their questions, with scheduling and rescheduling requests, and more. This allows our Customer Experience Center staff to focus less on incoming calls and questions and more on creating an even better outbound experience for our customers — making sure our current customers are happy and seeing what we can do to improve our customer experience in order to win past clients back. We’ve gone from a time where every appointment needed to be called in and written down with pen and paper to a more automated and digital process where we can incorporate personalization and efficiencies to every touch point in the customer journey.

Michael: Everything we have implemented has come from the same core question that we constantly ask ourselves: how can we create a better and more efficient experience for our customers, lash artists and our studio owners? We put a lot of emphasis on the scheduling experience since that is the most used feature within the customer journey — it is used for scheduling not just initial appointments, but all follow up points in order to maintain their lashes. By incorporating more technological efficiencies into this process we are making it easier for our customers and saving time for our studio owners and lash artists who are then free to focus on creating an amazing experience for their clients while they are in the studio getting their services done. Since my background is in technology, I knew all of these optimizations existed, we just needed to bring them into the beauty industry which is exactly what we did. We are constantly re-evaluating and looking for more ways that we can consistently improve the customer experience using technology as well.

Keeping “Black Mirror” and the “Law of Unintended Consequences” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?

Michael: One of the biggest potential drawbacks is becoming overly reliant on technology for consumer communication. It eventually creates a barrier between you and the consumer. There needs to be human interaction as well so that the brand doesn’t become too disconnected from the wants and needs of the consumer.

Additionally, beauty standards have been a hot topic. In the beauty space, technology has allowed for augmented reality in ways that completely change the way a person looks. Our focus has always been on giving women confidence, and filters these days are starting to provide women with unrealistic beauty standards that are literally unattainable — changing the size of a woman’s eyes, or thinning out her jawline. Our services are meant to help women feel confident about their appearance in real life, whereas these filters have started to make many women feel terrible about their appearance in real life.

One last one that I can see that is already beginning to be addressed on a national level is the standard around privacy. Nowadays though we seem to be moving in the right direction that encourages transparency around what information a company can access while providing the option to decline providing that information if the consumer chooses. This hasn’t always been the case — many people joke that “Facebook is always listening” based on how spot-on ads that pop up can be, but in reality this is because of this issue exactly, tech is able to pull data on what a consumer has been looking at and this was never previously disclosed outside of the fine print.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the “beauty-tech” industry?

Michael:

  • Accessibility. Especially the option for virtual try-on, this can help consumers to feel confident about their decision in products and services because they are able to see exactly what different looks will look like on them individually. There is also so much convenience with being able to do things from your phone, interacting where you want, how you want, when you want, and on your preferred platform.
  • Transparency. The ability to look comparatively at beauty services and products and access consumer reviews on-demand is game changing. More and more people rely on the reviews of others and their experience with a company. This also naturally encourages businesses to operate honestly because of the potential of one wrong move going viral on social media. Social media can provide excellent social proof around the quality of products and services that a company provides, but it can also expose companies who aren’t living up to the standards that consumers expect of them.
  • Ability to scale. Tech allows brands big and small to scale much more easily. Not only does the social side provide an opportunity to reach a broader audience, but it also provides the opportunity to automate and create efficiencies within the business and the chance to build high performing remote teams. Unfortunately over the years we have seen that those who didn’t adapt as willingly to technology fall behind. Those who adapted have grown to a place beyond anywhere they could’ve scaled before, helping even local businesses like our own reach audiences on a national and even international level.

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

Michael:

  • On-demand accessibility taking away from the experience or disconnecting too much from other people. What used to feel like a getaway in a day spa has now become a very in-and-out experience for most. For many this is a convenience and allows them to get back to their lives, but the relaxing atmosphere has definitely undergone a major change. I think it’s important that we make sure that the customer experience within the studio is still highly personalized so that they don’t lose touch with that lux experience that was once the expectation when getting these types of services.
  • Exclusively relying on tech — companies need to find a balance. Too much disconnect from consumers dehumanizes the brand, so it’s important to make sure that there are still enough human touch points with people that the customer feels connected and the company can stay aligned with what the customer is wanting and needing. When finding automated or tech replacements for different processes within the company, our approach is to find new ways for the people who used to manage those processes to still be involved in the customer journey to ensure that our customers are still receiving interaction from humans, too.
  • The newly developing standard that a woman should be all glam all the time. With apps like Instagram becoming such a key part of many women’s day to day lives, we are constantly seeing photos of women done up in their makeup, hair done, and dressed up. While we know some women do prefer that look the majority of the time, we also offer more natural looks that remind women that it’s okay to not look red carpet ready all day, everyday and that there is beauty in a more natural look as well.

You are an expert about beauty. Can you share 5 ideas that anyone can use “to feel beautiful”? (Please share a story or example for each.)

Michael: We decided for this one it would be best to get input from my wife and Co-Founder Jennifer Blair. Here are the suggestions she gave us.

  • Drink plenty of water. Water leaves you feeling good both inside and out and leaves your skin absolutely glowing.
  • Do something simple that makes you feel more “put together”– maybe that’s wearing your favorite color of lipstick or using a hair mask to hydrate your hair.
  • Exercise! Try new workouts that feel fun for you– exercise doesn’t have to be about trying to change your body as much as it should be taking care of yourself and celebrating your inner strength!
  • Practice mindfulness activities– taking up activities like meditation or journaling can help you to turn inward and serves as a great reminder that true beauty starts within!
  • Don’t skip your sleep– there is a reason they call it beauty sleep! When you are well rested, you look more energized and you feel much more clear-headed and productive.

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. 🙂

Michael: Changing lives has always been part of our vision. We use our company to help people achieve business ownership and lifestyle entrepreneurship — and tech is a big part of helping us to accomplish that. By introducing technology and different efficiencies within the business, we are not only impacting our business, but the businesses of all of our franchisees as well.

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

Michael:Working hard for something we don’t care about is called stress. Working hard for something we love is called passion.” — Simon Sinek. Focusing on the why behind the business and making sure that the business is something you are passionate about are always major factors on whether or not a business owner will achieve success. When you are passionate about your work, it’s easy to keep going through good times and bad.

How can our readers follow you online?

LinkedIn:

Michael Blair — https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-blair-6798402/

Marcus Slater — https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcusslater/

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


The Future of Beauty: Michael Blair and Marcus Slater of Deka Lash On How Their Technological… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Disruptors: Purvi Desai of Zaaina On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

“Be ready to pivot”. Every entrepreneur wakes up with an idea and a strong belief that that’s the one. The challenges and obstacles begin when you start working on that idea. It’s very important to know how and when to pivot during the process. During our journey, we felt very strongly about many of our initial branding and products. The best approach we took was to give a timeline for each concept, measure the progress, and make a decision to pivot or scrap.

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

Purvi Desai grew up in India and was taught at a very early age to adopt a lifestyle that promotes wellness in all areas of life. Having a strong interest and passion in beauty care, Purvi realized that there was a strong need for bath and beauty products made with simple yet effective ingredients. While retail shelves were filled with hundreds of products, none of the formulas were helping with her skin issues. So, she created Zaaina Skincare, a product line made with ingredients anyone can enjoy.

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?

Growing up in a middle-class family in the late 1970s and early 1980s in India, I was surrounded by women who were all boundlessly very creative. I was raised in a family who strongly believed in a holistic approach whether it was the food we were consuming or the products we were using.

Growing up, there were far less options available in the market for beauty care products. The limited products available were reserved for the affluent, so my mother would make homemade hair oils, body creams, and face packs using only raw kitchen ingredients such as honey, turmeric, oils, and herbs.

The importance of using natural products came in handy when I was facing my own skin issues in college. When I saw the difference it made, I quickly realized that there are many people just like me who need products that are safe and effective.

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

When we buy any product and try to read through the list of ingredients, we typically don’t comprehend what we are putting on our bodies. We love going to the Farmers Market on the weekends because we know the products are made with the most natural ingredients without any preservatives or chemicals. When we saw an initial success selling at local farmers markets, we knew it was time to make a change.

Etsy has effortlessly become a household name because consumers know the products they are purchasing are made with care. Our growth is 100% organic, and we have a very high return customer rate only because we believe our customers deserve products that are safe and effective.

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?

Our first 3 products we launched became an instant success. The products were made out of my own necessity, and it did the same for others. We were constantly told how unique our products are and how customers are loving them. We started becoming more creative and came up with unique blends, assuming they would also become an instant hit. We started making soaps, face masks, and creams with coffee, chocolate, beer, and wine. We thought customers would love the new concept, but they actually hated the scents!

People instead loved our premium quality essential oils found in the products. It was a lesson learned!

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?

Even though skin care has been my lifelong passion and I always was very curious to learn more, I received my degree in Finance. Although I was in the corporate world, I was continuously learning about beauty products to try or testing out DIY recipes at home.

My journey would have not started if Linda Curry, a local herbalist, didn’t come into my life. When I decided to launch my products, I had absolutely no idea about how and where to begin. When I reached out to many local herbalists and holistic practitioners, Linda was the one who replied! She agreed to show me how she was infusing oils and creating her creams. She showed me many aspects of how to get the products ready for customers and took me to the farmers market with her. She has been a great mentor; she showed me how to take baby steps so eventually I could run.

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?

In my opinion, being disruptive is good and bad, it depends on the situation you are in. Speaking about today’s parlance, we have witnessed many concepts like Etsy, Uber, Airbnb, Twitter, and many more, which has truly disrupted the way people think.

When it comes to the positive aspects, the wellness industry has changed the way people think. Consumers are much more aware of how they want to lead their lifestyle, what products to use, and are much more knowledgeable about the market.

We also live in the time where we see many more success stories, whether it’s a social media sensation or YouTube vlogger with millions of followers. While it can be an inspirational story for many, for others it could feel disheartening.

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

(1) “Be ready to pivot”. Every entrepreneur wakes up with an idea and a strong belief that that’s the one. The challenges and obstacles begin when you start working on that idea. It’s very important to know how and when to pivot during the process. During our journey, we felt very strongly about many of our initial branding and products. The best approach we took was to give a timeline for each concept, measure the progress, and make a decision to pivot or scrap.

(2) “Don’t expect good results overnight”. It is very stressful and frustrating when you don’t have enough funding, the right resources, and much needed mentorship. But it’s important to remember Rome wasn’t built in a day and good results take time. We fall down and get back up again!

(3) “Work on your one thing” It’s very easy to get distracted, especially when we are surrounded by so many other businesses who are doing exceptionally well. Focusing on one thing at a time with persistence and perseverance is the best thing you can do to yourself and your dream.

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

We still have a long way to go before we can even think we are done. We will continue to come up with more unique products which will change the way people look at skincare.

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

As an entrepreneur, initial challenges seem to be the same for both. We have many women disruptors who have already broken that stigma, but still women disruptors have to work harder and must have more achievements on their resume to be taken seriously.

I do believe mom disruptors are faced by a lot more challenges compared to dad disruptors. As a mompreneur, there are countless challenges and struggles on a daily basis like “mommy guilt,” poor self-care, finding balance, and managing many other things along with growing business.

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

My all-time favorite podcast is How I Built This with Guy Raz. Listening to each story feels like someone is narrating my own journey. Guy has an absolutely amazing story telling technique. There are many stories which have made a deep impact on my thinking, but the most impactful episodes were Spanx, Life is Good, Larabar, & Airbnb. When you listen to each episode, it provides you with a background on how these amazing founders came up with the idea for their business, as well as the struggle they had to go through to make it a success. They sum up their life story into a 60 minute podcast, but when you think about their story it makes you keep working hard till you reach your goal.

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

I would inspire people to do what truly makes them happy, dream big, and not give up until you get what you want.

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

My all-time favorite life lesson quote is “Dreams don’t work unless you do.” We all have dreams and whether we want to admit it or not, dreams come with a price tag. Some are driven enough to make it happen and the rest settle. I didn’t want to settle so the only way to make that happen was by working hard.

How can our readers follow you online?

Readers can visit our website to see our product line at zaaina.com or follow us @zaainaskincare on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn.

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


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

Female Disruptors: Bex Gold of Brite Hair Bar None On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your…

Female Disruptors: Bex Gold of Brite Hair Bar None On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

I should listen to other people more! I seem to have mashed all the advice into “keep your eyes open, head down, be strong, be observant, and keep moving in a positive direction. What you do everyday impacts others.”

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

Prior to starting The Department Of Brands, Bex Gold founded cleaning products specialist Cinderella, which was subsequently acquired by a manufacturer. The experience left her with a passion for creating products, particularly in the beauty category, that are not harmful to us or the environment. Based in New Zealand, Bex continues to work hard and determine additional beauty products that consumers may feel are missing from the lineup.

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 have a background in communications, marketing, research, and forecasting. Selling products into mass retail is a way to make the world a little bit better with each purchase. Partnering with ethical suppliers and selecting vegan ingredients and making them available through everyday shopping channels is a great way to make a difference.

My first brand was a green, ethical home cleaning range that was the first range in Australia to launch with plant based surfactants. I was personally motivated to create this product after seeing the impact of traditional products; at the time I was living in a property in a rainforest and was horrified that traditional cleaning products were killing the plants.

I sold that business (for a song) to my manufacturing partner when a long term relationship ended. While I was in London resetting my life I saw the buzz and excitement of high street brands. I wanted to bring that sense of excitement to supermarkets. I saw that there was an opportunity to do something different in the hair color category. Traditional box color in mass retail is full of toxic ingredients and typically has an over photoshopped woman on the front of the box.

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

We’ve brought clean color and disruptive packing to mass retail!

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?

For my very first manufacturing run ever I made two errors — I didn’t know that labels could be applied off a roll so I hand applied labels to 12,000 bottles! The labels didn’t even have a peel off sheet on the back and came off in segments. This was a rookie mistake, but I had no budget to reprint!

Those same 12,000 bottles were hand filled from 20L containers (that I’ve since found you can apply a tap to those big drums) I hand poured them over a sink after the first fill run (unlabelled due to my packaging mistake) went up in flames in a factory fire the morning they were to be delivered.

I had secured retailer orders for Christmas, so I took the offer for the 20L containers and hand filled 12,000 bottles. I looked pretty buff after lifting and pouring so many containers!

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 try to learn daily — if you aren’t learning daily you aren’t moving forward. I try to draw from every single interaction no matter how big or small.

I have a supportive family but the support of my suppliers that have stood alongside me since day one is always epically valued. We’ve ridden the ups and downs of mass retail together and people have gone above and beyond to meet insane manufacturing deadlines.

The support that I get everyday from people who work alongside me and the customers that buy the products reminds me to be grateful and invest energy into the people and things that matter.

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?

Single use sachets are an example of disruption gone bad. Mass retail is a balance of price, convenience, and innovation. The supply chains aren’t set up to be as kind to the environment as they could be. We try to work with the limitations that we have by using easily recyclable plastic and infinitely recyclable aluminium bottles that are easy to recycle at curbside.

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

I should listen to other people more! I seem to have mashed all the advice into “keep your eyes open, head down, be strong, be observant, and keep moving in a positive direction. What you do everyday impacts others.”

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

I would like to make sure that others are given some of the opportunities that I have had. Microfinance is one way that I feel I can make a difference.

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

I’m fortunate that I don’t feel encumbered by this — you can’t get caught up in the incorrect or negative thoughts of others — be you!

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

I read news from all over the world all day — the ideas and insights are constantly fed into my narrative. A random anecdote that I was talking about with a friend yesterday was from an old children’s program Fraggle Rock! The Doozers, who have their constructions eaten by the Fraggles everyday are happy with this relationship as without a purpose in life — which is to build — they have no direction. We all need purpose and direction — that thing that gets us up and moving everyday.

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. 🙂

Don’t be overwhelmed. Doing a little bit can make a big difference.

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

Keep moving forward. Life isn’t always perfect. I try to learn from my mistakes, put my head down, and keep going. If you stay in the memories of some of those gut retching events (and I’ve had perhaps too many) and dwell on them you will stay there.

How can our readers follow you online?

@britehair

@bar.none.co

@kyn.supply

www.britehair.com

www.bar-none.co

www.kyn.supply

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


Female Disruptors: Bex Gold of Brite Hair Bar None 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.

Dr Rachelle Reed of Orangetheory Fitness: 5 Lifestyle Tweaks That Can Dramatically Improve Your…

Dr Rachelle Reed of Orangetheory Fitness: 5 Lifestyle Tweaks That Can Dramatically Improve Your Wellbeing

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Make Time for your Family: As someone who is very much career-focused in this stage of life, it’s extra important to prioritize making time for my family. Work and life can change quickly, but family is always there. No matter how busy it can be, making time for family re-energizes me and reminds me of my ‘why.’

As a part of my series about “5 Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Dramatically Improve One’s Wellbeing”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Rachelle Reed, Senior Director of Health Science and Research for Orangetheory Fitness.

Dr. Rachelle Reed has a BS, MS and PhD in Exercise Physiology and brings forth expertise in body composition, metabolism, physical activity measurement and behavior change, along with 12 years of group coaching experience. She translates research about physical activity and behavior change into practice, bridging the gap between academia and the fitness industry to create science backed Orangetheory workouts to maximize fitness results.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share a story about how you first got involved in fitness and wellness?

Fitness, heath and wellness were always a passion of mine early on. I grew up in a large Italian family, where both academics and athletics were highly valued. Throughout middle and high school, I was involved in competitive cheerleading. It follwed me through college as I went on to cheer for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for the basketball and football teams. I’ve always been interested in exercise and how training and staying active can make a big impact on your performance and quality of life. When I found out that you could major in Exercise and Sports Science, it was a no brainer to pursue it.

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

I had been with Orangetheory for only 4 months when the world came to a standstill due to COVID-19. The pandemic brought on many challenges to most industries and individuals, however, through adversity comes many silver linings. It was a Thursday morning when we realized most of our studios would need to shutdown to keep staff and members safe. Our leadership team tasked my team with a new project — develop a new OnDemand fitness product over the weekend. We rose to the occasion and developed our Orangetheory At Home series, practically overnight, which helped members stay physically active throughout an insanely challenging year. Looking back, I feel very proud of what we accomplished during that time and how we were able to provide a crucial service to our members when they needed it most.

Can you share with our readers a bit about why you are an authority in the fitness and wellness field? In your opinion, what is your unique contribution to the world of wellness?

I believe combined experience in academic training, university teaching, coaching, and overall industry knowledge sets me apart from many others in the fitness and wellness space. I’m a highly trained scientist who also understands what it’s like to coach group exercise classes and have tough conversations with members to help them change their daily behaviors for their overall health and wellbeing. There is typically a gap between the amazing work academic scientists are working on and publishing, and the fitness industry. I see myself as having the ability to bridge that gap, bringing more science to consumers in a digestible way. Science communication, combined with conviction and credibility, may just be my secret weapon!

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 am so thankful for the many people and experiences that have shaped me along my career journey, both personally and professionally. From a personal perspective, I have to point back to my mom. She has modeled what it looks like to be a strong female, both in work and in life. From a young age, she taught me to use my voice, speak up when others won’t and believe in my convictions. I’m so thankful for it as it’s something that’s shaped me into the woman I am today, especially working in a male-dominated field. From a professional perspective, I’m so gratefeul for one of my very best friends and graduate school colleagues, Dr. Christie Ward-Ritacco. She has been my biggest supporter and confidante throughout my career. We spent a lot of time administering graded exercise tests and body composition analyses during graduate school and we now regulary text each other about our careers and motherhood. Everyone deserves a friend and colleague like Dr. Christie Ward-Ritacco.

Thanks for sharing those details! To now focus on health and wellness, we all know that it’s important to eat more vegetables, eat less sugar, exercise more, and get better sleep etc. But while we know it intellectually, it is often difficult to put it into practice and make it a part of our daily habits. In your opinion what are the 3 main blockages that prevent us from taking the information that we all know, and integrating it into our lives?

You’re absolutely correct. For many people, getting started with behavior change is difficult. In fact, behavior change researchers and practitioners use theoretical models to explain and understand how difficult it can be for humans to change their behaviors. The Transtheoretical Model, commonly known as the Stages of Changs, proposes that people move through stages of behavior change including precontemplation (not really thinking about changing behaviors), contemplation, preparation, action and eventually maintenance of the desired behavior.

Orangetheory Fitness recently conducted a national survey and found that almost 70% of Americans reported their fitness behaviors took a hit during the pandemic, despite their best intentions. We heard loud and clear through the survey data that 41% were also dissatisfied with their current routines and also lacked the motivation (43%) to improve or change those behaviors. When it comes to physical activity, research suggests that the most common barriers to regular participation include lack of time, motivation, access to equipment and/or a safe place to be physically active and social support and accountability.

Can you share your “5 Non-Intuitive Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Dramatically Improve One’s Wellbeing”? (Please share a story or an example for each, and feel free to share ideas for mental, emotional and physical health.)

  1. Incorporate Short Bouts of Physical Activity:

Recent research suggests that any amount of physical activity is better than none. Even small bouts of physical activity (5–10 minutes) is associated with health benefits.

2. Implement Walking Meetings at Work:

I encourage my teams to step away from their desks when possible and take meetings while walking. Whether that’s in person or virtually, this is a way to keep your body moving throughout the day while brainstorming or working simultaneously. My goal is to have at least 1 walking meeting a week to mix things up and help promote opportunities for physical activity throughout the day. It’s fun, too!

3. Schedule your Workouts in as Meetings with Yourself:

Planning ahead is ideal for many people when it comes to improving their exercise behaviors. Each Sunday, I sit down with my old fashioned paper planner and schedule in 2–3 workouts as meetings with myself. That way, I’m making the commitment to stay active during the week, which minimizes my chances of ‘something coming up’ to distract myself from my fitness goals.

4. Make Time for your Family:

As someone who is very much career-focused in this stage of life, it’s extra important to prioritize making time for my family. Work and life can change quickly, but family is always there. No matter how busy it can be, making time for family re-energizes me and reminds me of my ‘why.’

5. Make sure you Have a Hobby Outside of Work:

I learned this the hard way during graduate school. In a field that celebrates high achievers and deliverables, it can be hard to make time for hobbies when work goals are piled high. However, keeping up with hobbies — reading, exercise, listening to my favorite true crime podcast, etc. — allows my brain to rest from work and enjoy the simpler things in life.

As an expert, this might be obvious to you, but I think it would be instructive to articulate it. Aside from weight loss, what are some benefits of daily exercise? Can you explain?

The benefits of a physically active lifestyle are vast. Regular physical activity done at moderate intensity or higher is linked to massive health benefits and protection from several chronic conditions. We like to steer our members away from focusing on weight loss or weight alone (or caloric expenditure), as it really sells the health benefits of exercise short. Yes, it is possible to lose weight from exercise, but most research suggests weight loss primarily stems from dietary changes. One benefit of exercise during weight loss is to help you maintain lean mass. Exercise, however, is integral to weight management.

For someone who is looking to add exercise to their daily routine, which 3 exercises would you recommend that are critical?

I’d like to take this question in a slightly different direction, as there aren’t 3 specific exercises I recommend that are critical. I’d like to instead walk you through what the evidence shows about exercise and its primary components — aerobic and resistance training. First of all, major kudos to anyone looking to add exercise into their daily routine! The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommends that all adults participate in a minimum dose of weekly activity including least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous aerobic physical activity weekly, plus 2–3 days of resistance training on all major muscle groups weekly. Meeting this criteria of physical activity is associated with a slew of acute and chronic health benefits, including lower risk of cardiovascular disease, hypertension and type 2 diabetes to name a few.

It’s important to also keep in mind that any dose, even 5–10-minute walks, counts towards your weekly total. If you are new to exercise, I recommend starting ‘low and slow,’ selecting bouts of physical activity that work with your lifestyle and allow you to gradually progress in frequency and duration of your workouts.

You are a person of 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.

Thank you and I want to begin by saying that I don’t take my responsibility and influence lightly. I hope to start a movement about movement itself. I would love to continue positivey influencing more people to incorporate physical activity into their lifestyles, much like I’m able to do in my current role at Orangetheory Fitness. Our recent national survey found that 101 million Americans are unsatisfied with their current activity levels, further amplyfying the importance of incorporatng movement and physical activity into our routine. However, encouraging people to move and be active will take more than just one person to accomplish that. It requires change from every level — from individual behaviors, family units, communities to government and policy. We have a long way to go, but I am committed to making the largest difference I can.

What is your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Do you have a story about how that was relevant in your life?

I’m a country music fan and Tim McGraw’s song ‘Humble and Kind’ chokes me up when I listen to it. One part of the song goes, “when you get where you’re going, turn back around. Help the next one in line, always stay humble and kind.” I try to live by these words everyday — help and educate those making their way and always stay humble and kind. When I first heard the lyrics, it reminded me of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill men’s basketball team. Anytime a player scored during a game, the entire team and supporting students would point to the player who assisted with the shot. Think about that. If we encouraged and uplifted those around us more often, it would have a profound impact.

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

Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, or Twitter! I’d love to connect and talk all things science with you.

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


Dr Rachelle Reed of Orangetheory Fitness: 5 Lifestyle Tweaks That Can Dramatically Improve Your… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Disruptors: Irene Forte On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Years back, I helped develop a training program with the School of Life to help our Rocco Forte Hotel team with emotional intelligence. What I learned in creating this program from the School of Life team was the importance of empathy; empathy is the ability to emotionally understand what other people feel, see things from their point of view, and imagine yourself in their place. Essentially, it‘s putting yourself in someone else’s position and feeling what they must be feeling. This is vital to deliver good service to guests in a hotel, but also incredibly vital for business and life more generally.

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

Irene Forte is the founder and driving force behind Irene Forte Skincare, and a renowned leader in wellness. She is the daughter of Sir Rocco Forte, Founder and Chairman of Rocco Forte Hotels, where she is the Wellness Consultant, and she serves as an Advisory Board Member of the Global Wellness Summit. In 2018, Irene debuted her eponymous skincare line, which was initially launched into all Rocco Forte Spas and as hotel in-room amenities. Irene Forte Skincare is a line of 26 clean, natural products with formulations guided by science. Each of the approximate 75 active ingredients have been chosen to work in harmony with one another and complement the body’s natural biochemistry.

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?

Thank you for having me!

I had been working at Rocco Forte Hotels (my father’s luxury hotel chain) for the last nine years, overseeing their spa/wellness offerings, amongst a number of other things, and I only recently became a consultant for them to focus on my line. During that time and through my experience working with the spas, I saw the opportunity for natural and experiential formulations to be improved by scientific insight. I was also itching to do my own thing and really felt a need to prove myself having spent the majority of my working career in my family’s business. I had the perfect base from which to start a natural line with our organic farm in Sicily, but I knew that I needed a brilliant scientific mind to help me formulate. After a lot of research in Italy (I wanted to create an Italian skincare line given that I’m 100% Italian and our hotels are predominantly in Italy), I came across my formulator in early 2014: Dr. Francesca Ferri, who started formulating cosmetics and food supplements with an organic-cosmetic matrix 35 years ago. She leads EffegiLab that has been discovering effective natural skincare solutions for decades. This includes: working to develop a technology to extract active substances from red grapes to treat psoriasis and dermatitis; the discovery of vegetable melatonin, phytomelatonin, as a ‘super anti-ager’; as well as a focus on genetic studies and epigenetics to treat common skin concerns. Her philosophy lined up with mine, and I thought that she was the perfect fit to help me bring a ‘natural skincare line made better by the guidance of science’ to life. So together, over a number of years (and after trying and testing them with elite spa professionals at Rocco Forte Spas), we created: natural, plant-based formulations that are guided by science and clinically proven, using ingredients grown at our organic farm in Sicily; formulas that have outstanding fragrance and feel with low allergenic potential; a brand with sustainability at its core.

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

It’s definitely an oversaturated market, so it’s difficult to completely disrupt the way beauty products are created.

I think we were one of the first beauty brands to do ‘sustainable luxury.’ We really wanted to create luxurious products with truly sustainable packaging, 100% made in Italy, that didn’t skimp on price, and achieved control on provenance and quality from farm to formula.

Also, when I started formulating I felt that the natural category was often unsubstantiated, and I wanted to create a transparent and proven natural range. Aptly characterized as ‘Natural Science’, our collection moves beyond naïve natural formulations to rely on the power of proven science. Our clean, natural products are guided by science in both laboratory and clinical trials, ensuring that the collection delivers outstanding benefits with a gentle touch and low allergenic potential.

We also understand that not everything in nature is friendly, and that natural extracts, and in particular ‘essential oils’ used for their fragrances are complex blends with unpredictable allergenic effects. Most natural brands fragrance their products with essential oils. There are, however, natural brands that attempt to minimize the allergenic potential of essential oils by excluding fragrance from their products; however, for me, and given my spa heritage, fragrance is a key component of the spa experience as it stimulates the psycho-cosmetic emotional impact. So, we created lab-formulated fragrances that have been allergen-screened, ensuring that our products have beautiful organoleptic properties and low allergenic potential. Indeed, to prove that this is the case, we have clinically approved our products for sensitive skin.

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’ve made so many mistakes!

One of the biggest mistakes I made was when I first launched the brand. The production of our lids were so behind schedule and we were in such a rush to launch, so I didn’t ‘quality check’ them before the product was filled; they went straight to my lab. We went out with products to all of our spas, and also sold a number of pieces online, and quickly realized that our supplier had forgotten to top coat the lids. Paint from the lids was coming off on everyone’s fingertips/ skin the minute the lid had any product on it or was damp. So, I had to recall all the products — and had to manually change over 5000 lids at our fulfilment house in Glasgow (in Scotland) two days before Christmas.

There are challenges every day, especially with a start-up. I have learned to persevere, be resilient, and never give up. I have also learned to adapt!

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?

My father has always been an amazing mentor. He has always told me that the business world is tough and without working hard and giving it your all, you will never succeed. He founded a very successful business of his own, Rocco Forte Hotels, where I started my career. Though it had never been my set plan to join Rocco Forte Hotels, I nonetheless fell in love with the hospitality when I did a development program at our hotel in London (Brown’s Hotel) after graduating from Oxford University. I wanted to go into Management Consulting, but my father convinced me to do this program. Following this experience, I joined the central Rocco Forte’s Head Office team. Here, my father let me get my teeth into all sorts of projects for the company, as well as allowing me to sit on the Executive Committee so that I could understand all aspects of how the business was run. He allowed me to be very entrepreneurial. I initially helped determine the brand standards, which included a new service philosophy and values. I was then awarded £250k in government funding to create a careers and development tool for the hospitality industry, leading to the “Map My Future” app at Rocco Forte Hotels. While still overseeing elements of learning and development for the hotels, I also noticed that there was no unified approach towards the spas and so I was allowed to create Rocco Forte Spas, which included a new spa philosophy, as well as fitness and nutrition offerings. Work for the spas then led me to start working on my skincare line. I really learned a lot about business during this time and obtained many skills that are indispensable to me today; this is all thanks to my father!

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?

Disruption isn’t unusual — the way business is done is constantly changing with technological advances and fresh, new ideas. Whether you view the disruptions as negative or positive normally depends on what side you stand on. For example, if you’re in the movie theater industry, you may not be a big fan of streaming services, but the average consumer is thrilled with the convenience of watching movies at home. There is a sense of nostalgia — although digital cameras and camera phones disrupted the photography industry, many young people now purchase disposable cameras and Polaroid cameras because it reminds them of their childhood! Overall, disruption of industries normally aims to benefit consumers, but can harm certain businesses in time.

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

1. Empathy. Years back, I helped develop a training program with the School of Life to help our Rocco Forte Hotel team with emotional intelligence. What I learned in creating this program from the School of Life team was the importance of empathy; empathy is the ability to emotionally understand what other people feel, see things from their point of view, and imagine yourself in their place. Essentially, it‘s putting yourself in someone else’s position and feeling what they must be feeling. This is vital to deliver good service to guests in a hotel, but also incredibly vital for business and life more generally.

2. Resilience. My father taught me that the business world is tough and that you need to be resilient. I saw him go through the financial crisis in 2008 (where hotel sales dropped by 40% overnight) and now Covid (where he has had a year and a bit of almost zero revenue). He is incredibly resilient and doesn’t crumble when something goes wrong, but instead quickly adapts and takes considered decisions to make the best out of a bad situation. This is incredibly important to be a successful entrepreneur.

3. Passion. Many have told me that to be a successful entrepreneur you need to be passionate about what you do. Hence, I always knew that I was going to get involved with something that I was passionate about and loved. When days are tough at work, it doesn’t matter if you love what you do.

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

I’m not sure I’m going to shake things up, but given that I haven’t been travelling over the past year and a bit, I’ve really had a lot of time to work on new developments.

First and foremost, I have focused on clinical testing, as I believe that this is what ‘Natural Science’ is all about. We have clinically approved our products on sensitive skin. From new laboratory trials, we know how well our Hibiscus Serum and Hibiscus Night Cream fight free radicals. From new clinicals, we know how well our Hibiscus Serum, Prickly Pear Face Cream, and Hibiscus Night Cream visibly reduce wrinkles depth when used in combination. We also know how well our Aloe Vera Face Cream and Pistachio Face Mask improve hydration.

Responding to new scientific insight, 2021 also sees the roll out of a series of new products; five will launch in the next six months alongside the brand’s first travel kit, containing six hero products.

Following our guiding principle of sustainability, we’ve tweaked the aesthetics of our packaging and made it even more green. All packaging is 100% made in Italy and the boxes will continue to be made out of 100% recycled fibers with vegetable-based inks. Each bottle and jar will be made of recyclable glass with a stone finish inspired by Mount Etna’s volcanic stone. Most will be refillable with components that can be recycled via our recycling scheme. First Mile, a leading sustainability company, will be our official recycling partner. They will recycle the refillable components, as well the ‘hard-to-recycle’ non-refillable product lids and pumps, shredding them into flakes, which are then converted into plastic pellets to make new plastic products for things such as car parts and pipes. There will be a pre-paid address so that customers can easily recycle items. We’re introducing an olive wood spatula made by a carpenter in Puglia, Italy. We’re also integrating more zero waste upcycled ingredients, made from nutrient rich plant-based leftovers. I believe that sustainability is a journey and I’m constantly finding ways to improve. We already keep all aspects of production in Italy, grow ingredients on our organic farm in Sicily, use some upcycled Italian ingredients, support local farmers and artisans, and are certified for sustainable excellence by Positive Luxury, as well as newly certified vegan.

More generally, we’re really excited to properly be expanding in the US. We have had an amazing first retail partner with Shen Beauty in Brooklyn, and now are launching our dedicated direct to consumer in the US, as well as launching with Nordstrom.

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

I’m lucky that I work in an industry that is dominated by women, so, I haven’t necessarily faced a lot of the same challenges as other female disruptors. I haven’t had to work my way up in an industry dominated by men.

Either way, I think the biggest challenge facing female disruptors is the role in the home/children. Unfortunately, society still expects women to be more present in the home than men. Mothers are deemed ‘bad mothers’ if they aren’t spending time looking after their children, while men are never challenged or questioned on this front. I strongly believe in equal care, such as parental leave, and would love to see this change!

While this is a generalization, amongst older generations, I think there is still quite a patriarchal view. Women are not expected to have careers. And due to this, I’ve noticed that women often have lower expectations. The problem with having lower expectations is that we end up getting lower outcomes, as expectations drive behavior.

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

Shoe Dog! I love biographies, and I particularly love this one. I find it incredibly reassuring that it was not an easy road or journey. This is an example of how preserving and pivoting can often pay off.

Zero to One. Thiel is a bit contrarian but he has a very interesting and quite a unique perspective on how to build a successful business.

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. 🙂

There are so many.

I mentioned equal care, such as parental leave, above. This is something that would make a huge difference to women and to helping them have successful careers.

Another thing I really believe in is reading. Reading can transform a person; I think it gives someone a phenomenal advantage as it makes their mind more sophisticated, building experience, and an understanding of the world. A book is not something that is unobtainable; anyone can pick up a book. However, it’s not attractive to a lot of people (especially in today’s digital age). I would love to create a movement to ‘make reading cool.’

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

“Treat people how you would like to be treated.”

I really believe that we should be empathetic, kind, and respectful of one another — and that this is the most important thing in life.

How can our readers follow you online?

On Instagram:

@ireneforte

@ireneforteskincare

www.ireneforteskincare.com

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


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

Brennen Matthews of ROUTE Magazine: The Future of Travel in The Post Covid World

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Burnout and managing stress and fatigue is specific to every individual. It presents itself in different ways to different people. So, the key is to understand what works best for you. It is very easy to get overwhelmed and be emotionally, physically, and mentally exhausted when you are working with constant tight deadlines, distribution delays, undependable freelancers, advertisers who do not have their art ready in time for going to print, and all of the challenges that come with print magazine publishing. Burnout not only affects your creative productivity, but it also affects your mental health and sense of accomplishment.

As part of my series about “developments in the travel industry over the next five years”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Brennen Matthews.

Brennen is the Editor of ROUTE Magazine, the nation’s leading Route 66, classic Americana and road travel magazine. He has served as senior editor for several publications for more than a decade and an award-winning travel writer for more than 20 years.

Driven by a passion for road travel and unearthing people-focused stories that are insightful and inspiring, Brennen directs the editorial content of ROUTE Magazine, combining compelling journalism and stunning photography, with personalized conversations with some of the world’s leading celebrities and public figures, to promote and draw attention to Route 66 and small-town America as a priority travel destination. Brennen is also behind the development of the 2019 Route 66 Missouri Guide, the 2020 Route 66 Arizona Guide and other promotional and marketing tools.

Brennen is an active member of the Route 66 Road Ahead Partnership, a nonprofit, government funded organization tasked with preserving, promoting, and revitalizing the historic Route 66 corridor. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with a minor in Creative Writing and a Master of Arts in International Development Studies, with a minor in English Literature.

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

I was working at the director level with international global charities and writing freelance for magazines and newspapers on the side. After more than a decade in the INGO sector, I realized that I really enjoyed writing; it gave me a sense of fulfillment, so I made the decision to switch gears and move into it full time. This led to regular writing opportunities with respected publications and finally, to the role of Editor-in-Chief with Destination Magazine in East Africa. After six years with the publication, my family and I made the life changing decision in the summer of 2015, to leave our home, Kenya, and move to Toronto, for a change of scenery and new experiences. This transition was not without its challenges as I sought focus and direction for this new chapter in my life and career.

They say there’s nothing quite like a road trip to clear the mind, so shortly after relocating, we decided to hit the road and discover America. The route we serendipitously chose to follow was Route 66. We knew next to nothing about Route 66 at the time. That initial trip down the Mother Road greatly impacted us and resulted in the launching of ROUTE Magazine.

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

Some of the most interesting aspects of my editorial career have been connecting with people from all walks of life and being able to share their stories. With ROUTE, I have the privilege of connecting with fascinating people in small town America and along Route 66, which charts a course through the heart of America, from Chicago all the way to Santa Monica. The livelihoods of the people on Route 66 are largely dependent on tourism, with some of the businesses going way back to the 1930s. Their stories deserve to be told and both domestic and international readers will benefit from knowing them.

I also have the pleasure of having candid conversations with some of the world’s most noted celebrities such as Matthew McConaughey, Bryan Cranston, Jackson Browne, Michael J Fox, and many others. Combining these two spectrums and delivering original stories and interviews that are insightful and inspire readers to go out and travel the Mother Road, is a very rewarding experience for me.

One story that stands out is of a lady — Fran Houser — who owned a popular diner on Route 66 in Adrian, Texas. She shared with me how early one morning she was really busy at the diner and short on staff when a customer, seeing how busy she was, offered to help out with waiting tables. It was only sometime later when a waitress whispered to her that the gentleman helping her was actor Bryan Cranston. Fast forward a couple of months later and I am having a conversation with Bryan about his Route 66 road travel experience, and he shares the same story of how while on a motorcycle road trip, he stopped at this diner in Texas where he ended up waiting tables!

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 Destination Magazine was first being launched, I was very new to the publishing side of the industry, and I didn’t understand industry tools such as rate cards and media kits. I had a scheduled meeting with a potential advertiser and in my nativity, I quickly put together the concept of our media kit in a simple word document. It was an embarrassing moment when it was time to share the mock-up of the media details. I suddenly realized how DIY my documents were. He was obviously not impressed. Luckily, I was able to sell the advertiser on the vision and passion behind the publication itself, and he signed on for a multiyear contract. Looking back, it makes me smile to realize how green I was. Nonetheless, I learned to always be very prepared and reach out for help to those with more expertise than myself. Never be embarrassed to ask someone else to build your capacity.

Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”? Can you share a story about that?

Burnout and managing stress and fatigue is specific to every individual. It presents itself in different ways to different people. So, the key is to understand what works best for you. It is very easy to get overwhelmed and be emotionally, physically, and mentally exhausted when you are working with constant tight deadlines, distribution delays, undependable freelancers, advertisers who do not have their art ready in time for going to print, and all of the challenges that come with print magazine publishing. Burnout not only affects your creative productivity, but it also affects your mental health and sense of accomplishment.

For me, it is critical to understand yourself, be well organized, and when things start to simmer, step away. Personally, periodic road trips have been a great way to avoid burnout. There is something about being out on the open road that is therapeutic. Travel affords a way to step away from daily routine and reboot so to speak. So, I would encourage people to take time to travel. Step away from the familiar. It doesn’t have to be far.

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?

Launching ROUTE Magazine in October 2017 was only possible because of the amazing support that people connected to Route 66 provided. They gave insights into the politics surrounding the highway, they offered stories, photographs, and professional talents, to make the magazine the world class title that it is. They represent the hopes and dreams of America, and they have opened their hearts and lives and allowed us to share their stories. One of my favorite people who has been instrumental to the success of the magazine is renowned author and historian, Michael Wallis. His unequivocal support and wisdom from the very beginning have been essential. Our lead photographer David Schwartz and editor-at-large Nick Gerlich and many others like them, have committed countless hours to ensuring that the stories that we tell in ROUTE are not only fabulous, but impacting on behalf of the stakeholders along Route 66.

Thank you for that. Let’s jump to the core of our discussion. Can you share with our readers about the innovations that you are bringing to the travel and hospitality industries?

Route 66 is a legendary highway that was once the main artery cutting across middle America, from Chicago to Santa Monica. It has been immortalized into the American pop culture psyche through music, books, television and movies. When it was officially decommissioned from the US highway system in 1985 and replaced by the Interstate, many of the towns that depended on it and the traffic it brought simply died. There has been a resurgence and interest in the old road, but there are still many people who are not aware that 85% of it is still drivable today. It represents the quintessential Great American Road Trip.

And this is where ROUTE comes in. Many of the towns and businesses along Route 66, some of which have been in existence since the 1930s, depend highly on tourism. Route 66 holds economic, cultural and historical value not only to the towns and cities it crosses through, but also to America as a whole. What ROUTE is doing is presenting in-depth stories about the people, places, attractions, culture and history on the Mother Road, combining them with celebrity, and sharing them in a high quality, content rich and visually appealing print medium. For such an iconic and legendary highway that traverses through eight states, ROUTE is the only Route 66-focused, national publication to do this.

Which “pain point” are you trying to address by introducing this innovation?

We are trying to change the general understanding of Route 66. It is not a road just of memories, it has a living history. The road, with its towns and cities, is diverse and changing all the time. Often for the better. There is excellence along the road — vintage motels, luxury hotels, fine dining restaurants, ma and pa diners, well managed roadside attractions, fabulous neon, world class museums etc. — that represents a professionalism and luxury that rivals America’s larger cities. Many people believe that a trip down Route 66 has to be uncomfortable. It does not. Many people believe that Route 66 represents a dead history and a time that has lost relevance. They are mistaken.

Our readers discover great stories and amazing destinations and experiences in each and every issue. They come face-to-face with an America that they know very little about and it impacts them in a positive manner.

How do you envision that this might disrupt the status quo?

Route 66 has always enjoyed a robust market with international travelers. However, with COVID19, tourism revenue that international travelers were bringing to the Mother Road has been greatly affected. Towns, Conventional and Visitor Bureaus (CVB) and Destination Marketing Organizations (DMO) have had to pivot to target domestic tourism more. Budgets are usually quite tight, but these cultural and historic destinations still need to increase awareness and interest in their tourism assets, in order to attract domestic visitors to their towns and business. The economic opportunities for them are enomous and with ROUTE they have a partner and platform, to raise their bar and share their stories with an interested targeted market.

As you know, COVID19 changed the world as we know it. Can you share 5 examples of how travel and hospitality companies will be adjusting over the next five years to the new ways that consumers will prefer to travel?

COVID has necessitated that travelers look more locally than internationally for their traveling and vacationing needs. So, the demand for domestic travel will only continue to increase. America is such a large and diverse county with plenty of vacationing options. There will continue to be a renewed enthusiasm to discover and experience the vastness and diversity of the country and with this, an increased appreciation and pride in local heritage.

The increase in road trips will also continue, especially during the summer and fall months, as people will still be hesitant to fly, even after the pandemic is under control. I see this as opening up the opportunity for small towns and DMOs to harness their unique tourism offerings as people seek to travel to smaller, less crowded destinations, including National Parks.

The pent-up travel demand, saved up vacation time, and remote working options, will see people travel more frequently and for longer periods of time. As people take to the road, there will be a focus on enjoying the journey and the stops along the way, rather than rushing to get to a particular destination.

Safety will also be high on the list for many travelers. As 911 forever changed travel and security, I believe COVID 19 will also indelibly change traveler’s demands and awareness of health and safety.

You are a “travel insider”. How would you describe your “perfect vacation experience”?

Coming from Kenya my ‘perfect’ vacation was always a combination of a few days on a luxury safari, topped off with some sun, sea and sand at an intimate beach resort on the Indian Ocean. Now, while in North America, cruising down Route 66 and through the southwest has become the perfect holiday. America has enormous diversity, and a great holiday, especially by road, allows for a sort of travel buffet. It is easy to dive into a mix of culture, history, classic Americana, and luxury/comfort, all on one journey down the road.

Can you share with our readers how have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

My role with ROUTE has been very rewarding as I get to share amazing stories, inspire readers to make their own trip down the historic road, and strategically support the towns, DMOs and businesses along Route 66.

I hope that the historical and cultural narratives that we share foster a sense of pride in, and a positive impression of, America, and inspire people to get out and explore America.

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. 🙂

Get out and experience small town America. As I love to say, America is still out there! This is the time to invest in a journey through the country’s history and cultural diversity. Take your time, don’t rush. And get out and talk to the people on the ground as you travel. Ask about their lives and their personal journey. Invest in their businesses. If you want to be influential, connect with those that you meet as you travel. They have a tremendous amount to share.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

Twitter: @ROUTEMagazine66. / @BrennenME

Facebook: @RouteMagazine

IG: @ROUTEMagazine

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


Brennen Matthews of ROUTE Magazine: The Future of Travel in The Post Covid World was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Disruptors: Alice Kim of Hanalei On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry

LEARN TO DELEGATE — When we first started it was just me and my husband running the business. As we started to grow, we found it difficult to do everything, so we finally decided to hire employees. And now we have 15 full and 15 part time employees, I realize my job is mostly delegating and managing. So my day is full of following up with my employees via email or phone. It took me a while to realize that being productive is not necessarily doing a spreadsheet or PowerPoint, but making sure to delegate projects and empowering my employees to make decisions and drive projects forward without frequent touch bases.

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

As a Korean-American Woman of immigrant parents, Alice Kim has mixed cultures in her businesses. After years of working in the corporate world, she was ready to explore her passion in beauty and implement all she had learned working in New York City into creating her own brands.

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 had an interest in beauty, and actually worked in fashion in New York before we founded Hanalei. New York is also where I met my husband, Viraphanh, who was working in finance at the time. We both had a dream that existed somewhere outside of the corporate sphere, which inspired us to create our first cosmetics company, Elizabeth Mott, in 2010. Shortly after, we relocated back to Vira’s home in Honolulu, Hawaii. After the success of our first cosmetics company, we felt confident and inspired to start Hanalei Company.

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

We are bringing high-quality and high performing beauty to the masses at affordable price points, with our direct-to-consumer business. While we aren’t the only ones doing this in the beauty space, we have seen a shift, where only the big global brands dominated previously; we are part of a wave of indie beauty brands that is disrupting the old way of selling products and scaling via ecommerce and social media — creating multi-million dollars brands without significant brick-and-mortar presences.

In addition to this shift, both our brands are inspired by innovative product development. When we started Elizabeth Mott, K-beauty was still relatively new to the US. Korean cosmetics use innovative technology and are at the forefront of beauty trends. With Hanalei, we’ve recently developed a proprietary nutrient complex made of locally-sourced, Hawaiian botanicals. This complex is unique to our company allowing us to bring new innovative products to our customers via our DTC model and at prices substantially cheaper than comparable products from the bigger brands who distribute through traditional bricks and mortar channels.

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 launched, we thought we could just partner with a few bloggers and do some events and our product would instantly go viral, once everyone saw it! Of course, that’s not how it went, and it took us several years to realize that our first product wasn’t very good. This caused us to pivot our direction a bit, and we launched other products. We learned to focus a lot on social media and word of mouth, partnering with influencers and others with large audiences where we could get our products and brand in front of a lot of people. We also did a lot of online advertising using pay per click (PPC). Eventually, these efforts paid off, and what we know as Hanalei and Elizabeth Mott today was born!

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?

If I had to pick one person as my mentor, I’d definitely have to say my mother. I wouldn’t have been able to pursue my dream and become an entrepreneur if it weren’t for her. She immigrated from Korea to the US in the 70’s and graduated from college, which was rare at the time, especially for women. I realize now that she sacrificed a lot for me and my brother, which I am grateful for. Having a very liberal and open mindset, she encouraged us to do what we wanted to do, which made me confident about choosing my path in a creative field although it might not always be stable. She taught me to devote myself to doing what I am passionate for and it keeps me going everyday with Hanalei and Elizabeth Mott.

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 think the term “disruption” is overused in the business world and has taken on different meanings than what it was originally defined as. I don’t think every fast-growing business or new innovation is a disruption, rather it’s just the natural evolution of the industry. A positive disruption, to me, is usually a net benefit to the customers, whether through lower prices or higher quality for the same price. By definition a disruption has to add value to their customers. For example, as a direct-to-consumer brand, we eliminate the layers of markup, so we can provide high quality products that a customer would typically pay 25–50% more for at retail. As most brands use contract manufacturers to make their products, we are able to use the exact same contract manufacturers and labs that the large brands use, so from a technological and manufacturing aspect, we are on equal footing. On the flip side, a disruption can be “not so positive” as it disrupts the incumbents which not only ends up losing sales, (or even go bankrupt), which means lost jobs and lost shareholder value.

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

LEARN TO DELEGATE — When we first started it was just me and my husband running the business. As we started to grow, we found it difficult to do everything, so we finally decided to hire employees. And now we have 15 full and 15 part time employees, I realize my job is mostly delegating and managing. So my day is full of following up with my employees via email or phone. It took me a while to realize that being productive is not necessarily doing a spreadsheet or PowerPoint, but making sure to delegate projects and empowering my employees to make decisions and drive projects forward without frequent touch bases.

PRIORITIZE — As we grew bigger, there were so many tasks to digest each day, so I had to learn how to prioritize and have a system to know what to address first. I usually have a couple of criteria that I use: is it urgent/not urgent? And is it important/not important? And then based on those criteria, I tackle the urgent/important first.

DON’T UNDERESTIMATE COMMUNICATION — We’ve found that communication is key to our team working effectively, so we include all staff in relevant meetings and in our decision-making process — that includes our interns. When our employees feel that they have a stake in company decisions, they are much more motivated to see things through. They care about the future of the company because they are involved in the direction we take. This collaborative process opened up more opportunities for us in the beauty world.

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

We are launching skincare lines for both brands, we’ve developed a proprietary nutrient complex made of locally-sourced, Hawaiian superfoods such as spirulina, kukui nut oil and coffee berry that are infused in our skincare line for Hanalei, and exploring Vitamin C based skincare for Elizabeth Mott. We’re really excited to diversify our product catalog a bit this year and introduce people to a new way to take care of their skin.

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

I’ve been lucky, as I’ve been in the beauty industry which is female dominated, so I personally haven’t been faced with much gender discrimination as most of my business dealings have been with female counterparts, but that’s not to say that there isn’t any. I think women disruptors generally aren’t taken as seriously and need to work harder to get an audience than their male counterparts and don’t get as many opportunities.

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

I love the podcast How I Built This, and listen to it regularly. As an entrepreneur hearing the personal stories of other entrepreneurs and how they got to where they are today is both insightful and inspiring. I don’t want to single out any one particular episode, but just overall listening to all the great entrepreneurs, what I’ve come to realize is that almost all entrepreneurs go through the exact same things and encounter the same issues as they scale their companies out. And by listening to their stories and experiences, I’ve been able to apply those lessons. The big takeaway for me in terms of thinking about my company and its growth, I continually ask myself, “does it scale” or “how does it scale?”. When I first started, I drove most of the decisions and I managed most of the workflow, but as we grew bigger and added employees, I moved further and further away from the daily decisions and tasks, instead focusing on the big picture. I realized that without standardized processes, procedures, and workflows, things couldn’t get done quickly enough as I was the bottleneck in terms of approvals or instructions. So we started putting together SOPs, and checklists that would guide our processes and govern workflows, which empowered my team and freed me from all the daily minutiae.

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. 🙂

Treat people fairly. For me, I try to treat others how I would like to be treated. By no means am I perfect, but as an entrepreneur, I’ve learned how to course correct in my life, and it’s a continual process of trying to improve personally and professionally.

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

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did.” Mark Twain.

My husband and I left high paying jobs in NYC; he worked on Wall Street and I worked for a major apparel company. But we weren’t happy at our jobs and felt that the corporate life was not for us, so we decided to leave and founded our first company. We knew that when we were older and looked back on life, if we didn’t start our own companies, we would regret it. Looking back we don’t regret a thing, as we’ve built 2 global ecommerce brands with employees in the US, Korea, and Philippines.

How can our readers follow you online?

They can find both our brands on Instagram at @ElizabethMott and @HanaleiCompany.

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


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

Female Disruptors: Irina Kharina of Tsarina Gems On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your…

Female Disruptors: Irina Kharina of Tsarina Gems On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Know your worth. It may be tempting to say yes to every single client or project, especially when you are starting out. However, there will always be people who are looking for a bargain and I learned that it is ok to politely decline if the client is not right for you. I am always happy to share some knowledge or free resources with potential clients, however I also learned not to start the gemstone sourcing or jewelry design process until there is a financial commitment.

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

Irina Kharina is a GIA certified gemologist and a luxury jewelry concierge who takes pride in working with ethically sourced diamonds and gemstones. As the founder of Tsarina Gems, she is a millennial female entrepreneur who started her business during the pandemic after spending 12 years in the gemstone and jewelry industry. Irina now provides 1:1 private consultations on luxury custom jewelry to clients all over the world. Irina has lived in 5 different countries and is currently based in Toronto, Canada.

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?

Of course!

I am originally from Russia and I grew up in England, I also spent a lot of time in the Czech Republic and Spain.

In 2009, I graduated from the University of Birmingham (UK) with a Bachelor’s degree in Business and Hispanic Studies and moved to Toronto, where my parents were living at the time. I didn’t know what career path I wanted to pursue at this point, but after a successful interview for an admin position, I ended up falling into the diamond and jewelry industry. Working with Canadian diamonds everyday, it did not take long for me to realise that I wanted to be a part of this fascinating community.

To become a gemologist, I had to go back to school. While working full time at my new position at a gemological laboratory, I began my studies with the Gemological Institute of America, the most reputable gemmology school in the world. Three years later and several trips to New York and Carlsbad campuses where I participated in hands on training, I received my Graduate Gemologist diploma.

After receiving my diploma I decided to go back to London (UK) where I was offered a head office gemologist and a diamond buyer position. Two years later I was back in Toronto working for a coloured gemstone wholesale company.

Over the years, I was also involved in several exciting projects outside of work, involving private clients. By summer 2020, I decided I wanted to dedicate my time helping private clients achieve their jewelry dreams.

I now provide 1:1 consultations on luxury gemstones and custom jewelry. I source conflict-free diamonds and gemstones, working with CAD designers, jewellers, setters, polishers, gemstone suppliers and fellow gemologists to curate unique, high end pieces of jewelry. As the majority of these talented craftsmen and women do not work directly with the public, I act as the liaison, working with each one individually to curate custom jewelry pieces. My clients love being involved in the gemstone selection and jewelry design process without spending hours on doing research online.

I also create fun and educational gemstone and jewelry content on my Instagram page and a weekly blog on my website.

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

  1. I am empowering women to invest in their own jewelry. Although engagements and anniversaries are incredible milestones and should be celebrated, women should not have to wait for jewelry to be gifted to them or passed down as an heirloom. I encourage women to buy jewelry to celebrate their own personal or work achievements or “just because”. I am a great believer in self-purchasing.
  2. I am encouraging women to express their personality. I worked with a wonderful client who avoided wearing bright colours or statement jewelry to her office job for the fear of being judged or being seen as “unprofessional” or “flashy”. I understand that some companies require a certain dress code but I want to normalise showing your personality through the way you dress at work and in your free time, which includes wearing high quality jewelry on the daily basis, not just saving it for special occasions.
  3. I am changing what people think about custom jewelry. The idea of working with a private jeweler or a jewelry concierge is fairly new. Good news is that you don’t have to be a celebrity to do it! Many of us assume that we are limited to what we see in stores or online and that going custom will cost you an arm and a leg. I am here to assure you that this is not the case.

Although custom jewelry design can be a longer process than popping down to your local jewelry store or clicking the “add to cart” button on your computer, the personalized one-on-one experience truly is priceless. My clients are often pleasantly surprised by what their money can get them.

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?

Yes, I love hearing these.

When I was first working in diamond wholesale as an admin assistant I was required to do a lot of data entry. One day as I was typing away I must have misplaced some decimal points and some zeros and was essentially selling diamonds for a fraction of their price. I didn’t even realise I had made a mistake, it was still thousands of dollars and I had zero concept of how much diamonds cost, it just felt like data entry to me. Thankfully my manger caught the typo before the shipment went out.

I did learn the importance of checking calculations when doing quotes and invoices, and if you are going to write “great attention to detail” on your resume, you should probably double check your work.

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?

My parents are both entrepreneurs and have always encouraged me to strive for more and think outside the box.

They had the courage to move overseas several times including to the Czech Republic, Vietnam and Canada. Traveling opened my eyes to different people and different ways of living. Thanks to my parents, I realized that starting from the bottom and spending a lifetime working your way up, climbing the corporate ladder was not the only way to become successful. At a time when some thought it was a crazy idea to leave a comfortable 9–5 job in the midst of a pandemic, my parents and my brother supported my decision to start my own business, and for that I am truly grateful.

I had never worked with a mentor until I met Rebecca Cafiero earlier this year.

She is an incredible PR strategist for female entrepreneurs. Thanks to her, I am learning to grow my business and promote myself as an expert. As entrepreneurs we really can’t do it all by ourselves and it is ok to ask for help from those who are willing to share their knowledge and expertise.

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?

That’s a great question.

I strongly believe that the motive behind one’s actions is what makes your work positive or negative. If you are intentionally going into business to damage a particular industry and wreak havoc, you will not be met with a positive response.

To give you an example, I always found it fascinating that the diamond and jewelry industries are male dominated. Although the jewelry itself is primarily created for women, it is made and sold by men to men (to give to women as gifts). Some people are uncomfortable with change or are afraid of it and might see my message of empowering women to buy their own jewelry as “disruptive” in a negative way or going against tradition, but the women I work with love the idea!

I am not telling men to stop buying jewelry (that message would not be so positive) but I am creating awareness that women can and should invest in their own bling without feeling weird about it. It is a positive message that is coming from a good place.

I believe that any industry that withstood the test of time has also evolved and embraced change. The jewelry industry is changing, for example, several years ago the idea of synthetic diamonds being grown in a lab by scientist was unheard of and was believed to be disruptive to the industry in a negative way, but now, many are warming up to the idea and you can purchase a lab-created diamond engagement ring at your local jewelry store. Whether you decide to purchase it or not is up to you, but we cannot deny that it is a major innovation in the diamond industry and creates a whole new market to cater to a different type of clientele.

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

1. Promote yourself. Even if you have the best product or service out there, if no one knows about it, it will not serve its purpose.

As a young woman, I sometimes feel like I shouldn’t be bragging about myself or my achievements and I do not want to come across as salesy. But the truth is, if my expertise or my products can help someone, I want to share that with them.

2. Ask for help. You don’t have to do it all by yourself and asking for help it is not a sign of weakness. A big shout out to my boyfriend who helped me build my website and has the patience to take hundreds of photos of me, even when I ask for “just one more”.

3. Know your worth. It may be tempting to say yes to every single client or project, especially when you are starting out. However, there will always be people who are looking for a bargain and I learned that it is ok to politely decline if the client is not right for you. I am always happy to share some knowledge or free resources with potential clients, however I also learned not to start the gemstone sourcing or jewelry design process until there is a financial commitment.

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

After working with clients all over the world I realised that the custom process is not for everyone. I want to help successful, ambitious women who cannot commit to being a part of the 6–8 week custom jewelry project treat themselves to something one-of-a-kind. They should not be spending hours of their precious time doing research in stores and online, making the purchase and then realising their friend has the exact same ring or necklace etc.

With these women in mind, I am currently working on a Ready-to-Wear jewelry line featuring ethically sourced coloured gemstones. Each piece in this collection will be completely unique and will never be duplicated. I personally inspect each diamond, gemstone and piece of jewelry to ensure it is produced to the highest level. This way, all my clients can receive the Tsarina Gems experience.

Working with a mentor has sparked my interest in coaching and public speaking. Becoming a mentor who empowers women to follow their dreams is something I would love to do in the future.

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

I think as women we often have to prove that we can strive in leadership and work under pressure. I hear questions like “can she really do it?” and “does she have what it takes?” when people talk about female entrepreneurs way more than when they talk about their male counterparts.

I also don’t think that the question of age is as much of an issue when it comes to male entrepreneurs. Being young is often seen as being ambitious from a young age, where as in relation to female entrepreneurs it is often associated with being inexperienced.

Although I previously encountered some challenges as a young woman working in a male dominated industry, I have noticed a shift in attitudes and opinions, especially in the new generation joining the gemstone and jewelry industries.

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

Right now, I am really enjoying the “The Curated Closet” by Anuschka Rees. She has a strategic approach to discovering your personal style and investing in well made clothes rather than fast fashion which I completely support and can relate to. It is also the message I am trying to spread when it comes to investing in jewelry.

I also love the “Jewels That Made History” by Stellene Volandes. It is a collection of 100 stones, myths and legends which combines my passion for jewelry and its history. I often re-read and look through this wonderful book for inspiration.

A podcast that I find fascinating is “How I built this” with Guy Raz who interviews guests from some of the world’s best known companies. I especially enjoyed the episodes with Melanie Perkins, founder of online design platform Canva, Jenn Hyman, co-founder of Rent the Runway and Jo Malone, founder of her fragrance company.

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. 🙂

My movement would be to empower women to invest in themselves. Not only when it comes to jewelry but also mentorships, education and personal development.

I have met some incredible mentors and coaches in the last year. Each one offers a unique experience including programs on mindset, health, fitness, style advice, public relations and finances.

I think everyone should have a mentor to give them guidance and support.

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

F. Scott Fitzgerald once wrote: Most people think everybody feels about them much more violently than they actually do — they think other people’s opinions of them swing through great arcs of approval or disapproval” (Tender is the night).

I sometimes catch myself putting a great emphasis on what others think of me and my work. As entrepreneurs we should welcome constructive criticism and feedback but we should not be constantly seeking approval or concentrating too much on what others think.

After all, you can’t be everyone’s cup of tea.

How can our readers follow you online?

I invite readers to connect with me on Instagram @tsarinagems for lifestyle and educational content or via LinkedIn.

For my weekly Blog and Ready-to-Wear collection please visit my website at www.tsarinagems.com

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

Thank you for having me!


Female Disruptors: Irina Kharina of Tsarina Gems 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.

Female Disruptors: Samantha Cutler of Petite ‘n Pretty On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up…

Female Disruptors: Samantha Cutler of Petite ‘n Pretty On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Building Employee Morale Is Not Easy and Doesn’t Happen Overnight — Building your team is easy, but building a united team is hard. It takes time for your team to get into a “groove” and all work together for a common goal. Being in a start-up, there are days that are more challenging than others. At Petite ‘n Pretty, we will do fun team dinners, order lunch on Fridays, and do fun “out of the office” activities.

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

Petite ‘n Pretty founder Samantha Cutler has used her 15-years of experience developing esteemed beauty products to create the Beverly Hills-based brand for young creatives.Becoming a mother gave her new perspective and guided her on the journey to creating a new, essential category in the beauty industry. Having been makeup-obsessed from a young age, Samantha always viewed cosmetics as an outlet for individuality and self-expression, which has inspired her to set off on a glitter revolution, developing a brand specifically for the next generation. Petite ‘n Pretty sparks the imaginations of tomorrow’s creatives through product made just for them.

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 have a 20-year career working in prestige cosmetics. I started at the make-up counter in college, and then worked in product development for the prestige beauty brands, MAC Cosmetics, Stila Cosmetics, and Smashbox. I helped conceptualize and create some of today’s best-selling products such as Stila’s Liquid Lip, Stay All Day Eyeliner, Glitter and Glow, and more.

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

I always knew that I wanted to start my own brand in beauty. I always felt like my brand needed to have purpose, and for a long time I could not think of something that was “missing” from the current beauty landscape. But, once I was able to identify what I wanted to develop, I was so excited to start working on my brand.

Petite ‘n Pretty is a Beverly Hills-based, prestige beauty brand on a mission to empower young creatives to sparkle outside the lines while exploring, expressing, and embracing individuality with products developed just for them. With high-quality ingredients, age-appropriate shades and tools designed for growing features, Petite ‘n Pretty takes beauty (and fun) seriously. Introducing a new essential category in beauty, Petite ‘n Pretty is here to make everyone’s first beauty experience a positive moment that will stay with them throughout their journey.

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?

My kids LOVE going on my phone. My daughter Gia loves to search on my Instagram feed. One day, she had my phone and did an Instagram Live on the Petite ‘n Pretty account. She is only 6, and I had no idea what she was saying! The biggest lesson I learned is to not leave my kids unattended with my phone!

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?

There are many role models and mentors I have in my life that have helped guide my career. Aside from my parents, who have always believed in me and helped support my dreams and goals, I am thankful for my mentor in my career, Jennifer Balbier. Jennifer is a product development guru, who has built her career working in brand and product development. She is responsible for helping grow MAC Cosmetics, as she started with Estee Lauder in 1998. Over her career at Estee, she then moved on to oversee all Artistry Brands including Smashbox, Bobbi Brown, Too Faced, Becca, etc… I truly am thankful for her teaching me product branding and development.

Working at Estee Lauder was an amazing experience and taught me the fundamentals of development from a corporate perspective. I have since worked for smaller brands, like Stila, which without my experience at MAC [which is owned by Estee Lauder] would have been a more difficult transition if I did not come from a larger, more corporate world.

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 think there are many things that are “accepted” today that were considered “taboo” in the past. For example, periods have been something that brands are embracing through the women’s health movement. I think that this is an example of disrupting the industry in a positive way. Tween and teen girls are not embarrassed to get their periods, as it is something that is now celebrated.

Influencer brands can oftentimes get caught up in a “not so positive” environment. Many brands today are owned by macro influencers. Sometimes that individual can get brought into “drama” which can be detrimental to their brand and their reputation.

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

1. You cannot predict the future.

a. Covid is a perfect example. Covid is something that no one could have ever predicted or prepared for. I believe that being nimble and flexible has helped us react and be successful during this time.

2. You WILL wear a million hats.

a. Starting a company is a time where everything you know, plus everything you never knew will be imperative to your success and ability to thrive. I feel like my expertise was really in product development and brand marketing, and since starting my brand, I have learned about all departments.

3. Building Employee Morale Is Not Easy and Doesn’t Happen Overnight.

a. Building your team is easy, but building a united team is hard. It takes time for your team to get into a “groove” and all work together for a common goal. Being in a start-up, there are days that are more challenging than others. At Petite ‘n Pretty, we will do fun team dinners, order lunch on Fridays, and do fun “out of the office” activities.

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

There are many things that Petite ‘n Pretty has in store for the future! Our goal is to become the authority in the young creative [children, tween, & teen space] in personal care.

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

In my opinion, women disruptors have many challenges that they are faced with. These challenges are especially evident in the capital raising process. Male founders are able to raise money [and more money] at a higher percentage.

Source:

“In 2019, less than 3% of all VC investment went to women-led companies, and only one-fifth of U.S. VC went to startups with at least one woman on the founder team. The average deal size for female-founded or female co-founded companies is less than half that of only male-founded startups,” said Tech Crunch.

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

A podcast that I find extremely interesting and valuable to listen to is “How I Built This with Guy Raz” on NPR. It’s interesting to hear that founders from all industries have experienced many common issues in building their businesses. Listening to other founders helps me make sense of many issues that companies face in the early stages.

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. 🙂

Being a founder of a brand made for young creatives, there is nothing that inspires me more than supporting children, tweens, and teens to feel empowered through beauty. I think that I would love to host a young creative summit that brings boys, girls, and parents together from all over the country to connect in an environment that is inspiring, motivational, and promotes a bond between youth.

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

“Learning how to not take rejection personal, it’s so critical,” by Jamie Kern Lima, the founder of IT Cosmetics. Having a brand that falls into a white space category can be a challenge at times. I truly in my heart feel that children, tweens, and teens deserve their best experience in beauty. Petite ‘n Pretty is here to give them that.

How can our readers follow you online?

Instragram:

@samcutler8

@petitenpretty

www.petitenpretty.com

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


Female Disruptors: Samantha Cutler of Petite ‘n Pretty 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.

Women In Wellness: Geralyn Ritter of Organon on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support…

Women In Wellness: Geralyn Ritter of Organon on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Be open to different approaches and new experiences, no matter where you are with your life or career. When I was recovering from my accident, I was struggling with a tremendous amount of chronic pain and depression and feeling defeated. So, in the depths of my recovery — in a very dark place, physically and mentally — I opened myself to the idea that there are different ways of controlling pain. I never would have considered it before, but today I practice regular breathing exercises and make time to meditate, and that has created a new path for me.

As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Geralyn Ritter. Geralyn is the Head of External Affairs & ESG at Organon, where she is responsible for U.S. and global regulatory policy, government affairs, corporate responsibility and global communications. Organon is a new women’s health company dedicated to improving the lives of women.

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?

A really important element of my backstory happened about six years ago. I was in the midst of a successful and very satisfying career that straddled law and healthcare policy and corporate responsibility at Merck, a health company that I really admired and respected. I was on an ordinary business trip, coming home from Washington, D.C., when the Amtrak train that I was riding derailed outside Philadelphia, tragically killing eight people — many sitting right around me in the first car.

I was thrown from the train and critically injured and not expected to survive. My family told me the hardest part was the many hours through the night when I was listed as a Jane Doe in the hospital, and they couldn’t find me.

But they did find me, and I did survive. I was essentially crushed and on full disability for well over two years, but very slowly and gradually got my life back. All of the painful challenges of that experience — physical, mental, spiritual — but also all of the joy that came from the support and the love I felt from so many people, helped me reground myself and ask myself the hard question of what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.

I learned hard lessons in resilience in recovery from my accident. But prior to my accident, throughout my career, I had seen what I call heroic resilience. The resilience of women to overcome the most monumental health challenges is something I have always noticed in my life. So, when I learned that Merck was spinning off Organon, and Organon would be a new company dedicated to advancing women’s health, I leapt at the chance to join and help create a company with women at the center of everything we do.

This job change also provided for me a higher professional purpose — to be a fierce advocate for gender equity and gender parity in healthcare. The idea of improving women’s health is intrinsically tied to social justice and given the company’s vision, the commitment of its leadership, and frankly, this moment in history, makes me feel I am exactly where I need to be to address women’s disparities.

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

Earlier in my career, I was often too focused on what could go wrong and the mistakes I could make — and not nearly enough time envisioning the success and the impact I could have on the world. If I could go back and do that all over again, I would tell myself to worry less and dream bigger.

This changed for me in 2011, when I had a chance to join with the Merck CEO Ken Frazier and Secretary General Ban Ki-moon at the United Nations, as we announced a major commitment to address maternal mortality globally. It was a milestone moment of my dream assignment: I had led the development of a program called Merck for Mothers in response to the failing progress in the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals around maternal mortality. It was a half-billion-dollar commitment over 10 years to help address and reduce maternal mortality that really helped change the conversation and leverage the best of the private sector expertise and resources to address seemingly intractable social and health problems. And for me personally, I’ll always think about that moment as a reward for dreaming big.

Ok perfect. Now 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?

Addressing the unmet needs in women’s health is one of the formidable challenges we face as a society. When we keep women healthy, we keep entire communities healthy because women are most often the chief medical officers and caregivers of their families.

Just look at the work that needs to be done. Globally, more than 1 billion women have a need for family planning, but for 270 million of them, that need is unmet. Unintended pregnancies remain a significant public health issue, with nearly half of all pregnancies around the world unplanned. Health disparities are a major issue — in the United States for example, African-American women experience postpartum hemorrhage (PPH), a potentially devastating complication of childbirth, at rates 3- or 4-times more frequently than white mothers. I’m really proud to be part of a company that is running toward and not away from these issues in terms of finding and bringing forward innovations that can improve the lives of women everywhere.

Can you share your top lifestyle tweaks that you believe will help support people’s journeys toward better well-being. Please give an example or story for each.

It starts with listening. When I was recovering from my accident, it meant so much for people to just listen to me and hear what I was going through. As a result, I try to give space in my conversations to really listen. Listening is also the basis of Organon’s commitment to women, because women are talking, and we want to give them the opportunity to be heard.

Be open to different approaches and new experiences, no matter where you are with your life or career. When I was recovering from my accident, I was struggling with a tremendous amount of chronic pain and depression and feeling defeated. So, in the depths of my recovery — in a very dark place, physically and mentally — I opened myself to the idea that there are different ways of controlling pain. I never would have considered it before, but today I practice regular breathing exercises and make time to meditate, and that has created a new path for me.

Relationships foster resilience. You’ve got a sphere of your life that’s work with maybe a demanding career, and you may have family care obligations. And that can eat up all your time. When I was recovering from my accident, my job was taken away from me, and I had lots of support from family which was critical of course. But I had underestimated the importance of friends and investing in friendship, which pays dividends that return again and again.

Someone once told me that that the idea of work-life balance suggests that there is a perfection to achieve in life, and instead of balance, we should instead strive for rhythm. Perfection is a myth — if there is any perfection in life, it’s accepting imperfection. That kind of deep acceptance was essential to me in the aftermath of the accident. I will never be as healthy as I was. I will never be pain free. But accepting that — and realizing what I have gained in terms of strength and perspective helps me see each day as a new day, where anything can happen.

Finally, above all else, remember to laugh through life, almost no matter what you’re going through. I’ve always found that laughing is a critical part of our resilience as people and as women. I have a big, loud laugh and my three boys sometimes cringe when they hear me in a restaurant — but that has never stopped me because laughing is about the brightness in life, something we should all look for.

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

Fortunately for me, I don’t need to answer hypothetically. I really feel that I am helping to start a movement with my new company Organon. It is a new kind of company that is committed to giving women a greater voice in making their needs known and greater involvement in their care, and making larger investments to address the health problems that uniquely or disproportionately affect women. I would go back to that concept that keeping woman healthy and productive is a real key to a healthier, more prosperous world across all dimensions of society.

As part of our commitment to listening to women, we are asking everyone to go to hereforherhealth.com and contribute their voice about where women’s health needs have gone unmet.

What are a couple of things you wish someone told you before you started, and why?

Don’t look down. What I mean by that is, if you think of yourself as a tightrope walker, you never want to doubt yourself. Earlier in my career, doubt and fear could be very real, very controlling. And I think some of my failures have been because I doubted myself and thought about what could go wrong, rather than staying focused on what was going right. It’s related to imposter syndrome and not feeling that you deserve to be in the position you are. Believing in yourself is really important.

Find Geralyn Ritter on LinkedIn as well as hereforherhealth.com/

Thank you for these great insights and for the time you spent with this interview. We wish you only continued success!


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