Category: Featured

Female Founders: Elle Ballard of Women of the World Network On The Five Things You Need To Thrive…

Female Founders: Elle Ballard of Women of the World Network On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Start building your business with simple, cost-effective tools, then re-invest in your business and pay yourself. I overspent at the beginning of my business not realizing how many cost-effective tools are available. I also started paying myself later. Start developing a habit of re-investing back into your business and paying yourself a salary early enough.

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

Elle has built a successful career in marketing, helping companies promote their products nationally and internationally. Elle is a Personal Brand Coach, best-selling Author, Speaker, and Founder of Women of the World Network™. She has been leading different kinds of teams starting with the International oil and gas $3.2 billion crude oil system CPC project where she closely worked with the local government officials, continuing in the direct sales industry, and now expanding and growing Women of the World Network ™ (WOTWN). She has been a featured guest on the following podcasts: Expand Your Fempire, The Art of Feminine Marketing, Voice of America, and others. Elle is an open-minded, conscious, global leader who always striving to grow, overcome, and better herself while listening to her inner voice and trusting herself in the process. Having to start from point zero several times in her life, she knows how challenging the transition can be while maintaining your authenticity and individuality — that is the reason for creating WOTWN. Elle loves authentic women, women of substance and believes in developing a diversity-aligned and happy women leaders who then positively impact future generations. Elle loves coffee, beautiful views, ballroom dancing, and is interested in longevity and holistic health.

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 am originally from Kazakhstan and came here 20 years ago. I finished an MBA program in Marketing and worked in marketing at a couple of software companies. I enjoyed the work and I learned a lot of lessons but always wanted to create something that talked to my heart. I wanted to create my own brand that I deeply believed in and that I could build to empower and help others.

When I discovered the power of consistent, daily personal growth, I started wondering how many people are missing out on these daily growth principles that can improve their lives so much more. Coming from a different culture, I had to work with my personal beliefs and mindset to start creating something I truly wanted.

My company was sold and I lost my job and decided this is a great opportunity for me to start my dream project. Women of the World Network™ was launched.

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

When I started Women of the World Network™, I still had another business. That business involved a lot of travel, and I felt overwhelmed with building two businesses. Then, the whole world was faced with the pandemic, economic changes, and people leaving jobs. The whole world was under this pandemic influence. People stopped traveling and countries closed. People were not interested in travel anymore. This was when I left my travel business and decided to focus solely on expanding Women of the World Network™. I find it interesting how external circumstances can push you in the direction you are supposed to go. I was supposed to build my brand and my company.

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 remember I opened a merchant account when I just started my business and did not even get to open and start using it officially. Then, my situation changed and I did not need the services anymore, even though I was still paying for it sometime later. I learned an important lesson — watch my budget and only spend on items that I critically need at the moment. When we are starting our businesses, we get excited about opportunities and can over-commit financially. It is important to re-invest in your business wisely when just starting your business journey.

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 grateful for so may amazing women business owners that have mentored me, women who are already successful in their businesses. One of my commitments is continued business and personal growth and improvements. I met amazing women leaders who I consult and coach with. I also belong to a few outstanding communities that offer women support, encouragement, and business advice. I am grateful for their continued example of leadership.

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

I love the progress we are making as women but there is still work to be done. I believe one of the things that is holding women back is self-sabotage and lack of mentorship and guidance. When women can see the path and work on eliminating their own limiting beliefs and surround themselves with other women who are doing it — this can help reduce that gap.

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

Definitely! Women express their voice differently from men and we have to consider that. When we think she does not have an opinion, she is simply not sure if it is safe for her to open up. We have to create more mentorship for women for different experiences. Women with corporate experience might need different support from women who were stay-at -home moms and are now starting a business. In addition, we have to consider cultural differences and beliefs that women have. Just like Daisy Auger-Dominguez mentions in her “Inclusion Revolution” book: “I believe in you! You can never hear it enough”. We have several programs at Women of the World Network™ that help women with mindset, cultural beliefs that might inhibit their growth, and business and professional experiences.

This might be intuitive to you as a woman founder but I think it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you share a few reasons why more women should become founders?

I know I am a better mother, leader, and human being because I gave myself permission to follow my mission. We very often do not know what we do not know. Women tend to spend a lot of their lifetime taking care of others: first their kids, then their parents. A lot of women left the workforce during the pandemic to take care of their kids when schools and kindergartens closed.

We need to provide more financial and educational support and resources to women to help them succeed. When she knows she has support and believes that she can accomplish her dreams, she will succeed in whatever her heart desires. She will have the full freedom to create a dream life for herself and others around her. Also, statistically, when women make more money and are more fulfilled, they tend to give back more to the communities they live in and their families.

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

One of the big “myths” is that we can accomplish our mission ourselves. It is simply not possible. We need other people to help us. Founders need to ask for advice and delegate when needed so that they can focus on what they are good at and what they know. In my own experience, having a team of dedicated, diverse women allows me to use their expertise while also supporting them financially in the process. Both parties win.

The other big “myths” is that it will be easy. It is important to recognize it will be a fulfilling and learning experience, but not an easy one. We have to become that person and grow in order to have what we dream about. I love this quote: “Do not let success go to your head and do not let failure go to your heart”.

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

I think everyone can become a founder. It takes time and discipline to build something meaningful but it is not impossible. We learn the best while we are doing something. It is important to be flexible with situations and people, and with the fact that things sometimes do not turn out the way we plan. But it is an amazing experience to be a founder. As for a regular job, I personally learned some of the most important lessons while having a job and now I am creating a workplace for others. If the person has that awareness about themselves and what exactly they want to accomplish they can then choose which route to take: business ownership or a corporate career.

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

Start building your business with simple, cost-effective tools, then re-invest in your business and pay yourself. I overspent at the beginning of my business not realizing how many cost-effective tools are available. I also started paying myself later. Start developing a habit of re-investing back into your business and paying yourself a salary early enough.
Delegate. Start delegating small things to contractors whenever you are ready. This has been an important aspect of my business growth when I started delegating day-to-day tasks to others and focusing on business building and the vision for my business. It is also very important to have people who believe and support your vision fully.
Focus on your end goal and manage your disappointments. Business building is not easy. I compare it to a baby. My business is my baby. I nurture it and invest my time and effort so that it will grow into an amazing empire that will in turn inspire others. When disappointments happen, and they will, I remind myself why I started, why am I doing it, and what matters to me. Once I remind myself of that, I am ready to focus on a solution.
Be flexible. It is never a straight road in business. We make plans and things change, pandemics happen, people change their minds, clients can no longer pay. Whether it is external circumstance or internal, be patient and flexible with yourself and others. I launched a new program that did not reap the results I planned for, but I was able to take the lesson from the situation and start planning a new program with new objectives using my lessons learned.
Learn from others and surround yourself with people who have done it before and succeeded. I listen to the opinion of people who are doing similar things like me and succeeding. I have a few women coaches and mentors and I am part of a couple amazing business women masterminds and communities that provide valuable support for my business growth.

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

My mission is to see more multinational, intersectional, minority, immigrant women grow, develop, be happy while being financially free and doing what they love.

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

I would open a global organization educating kids from poor and under-represented families in USA, as well in Crimea and in the country I am from. I would like to give them access to education and the freedom to create and learn to think outside the box.

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

Madonna or Irina Hakamada (Russian economist and publicist)

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

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

Women In Wellness: Krysta Huber of The Fitness FYX On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help…

Women In Wellness: Krysta Huber of The Fitness FYX On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Unplug. If you’re like me and get wrapped up in your work or a social media scroll, take advantage of the Sleep Timer and Do Not Disturb functions on your phone. It’s a lot easier to put your phone down when you’re not being bombarded with notifications. Bonus — you’ll win some time back that you probably thought you didn’t have which could mean more time for movement, meal prep, reading… and more.

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

Krysta Huber is a certified nutrition coach, personal trainer, and group fitness instructor. Her unique coaching program, The Fitness FYX, blends nutrition, fitness, mindset, and stress management into one holistic approach. Krysta specializes in helping group-fitness lovers lose weight without tons of cardio, hours in the kitchen, or passing up on the foods they love most. Krysta hosts a weekly wellness podcast, called The FYX with Krysta Huber, where she focuses on nutrition tips, goal setting, and a healthy mindset.

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

I found my way into the health and wellness industry in college, although at the time I honestly never thought I’d pursue it full-time. I studied journalism and my 18-year-old self was dead set on becoming a business journalist. After a few internships in newsrooms and in finance, I ultimately landed in finance right after college. It didn’t take long to figure out that I couldn’t sit still behind a desk. Less than two years later, I ditched my business professional attire for athleisure and sneakers. I was living in Charlotte, North Carolina at the time, where I went on to help open and grow a franchise boutique fitness studio. In that first full-time fitness role, I started 1:1 nutrition coaching. It was only a small component of that position, but the more I focused on my own nutrition, the more I recognized what an important — and frankly overlooked — component of wellness it was and continues to be for the majority of people today.

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

That first full-time fitness job was my first experience in working for a startup and there are countless lessons I learned from that role. The biggest? Knowing my worth. A little over a year into helping build and grow that studio, the leadership team presented me with a pay cut. I spent several months contemplating whether I had made a “mistake” in making the leap into fitness full-time and seriously considered going back into finance and Corporate America. I wound up quitting without a firm backup plan and the timing was only a few short months prior to the start of the pandemic — there was no predicting that the fitness industry, economy, and our lives were about to change dramatically. The decision to walk away from that position was the best thing to ever happen to me because it pushed me to get really clear about what I wanted to accomplish with my career, and how I hoped to make an impact on my clients’ lives.

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?

While this might sound like a cliché answer, but I’m not a big believer of mistakes. I don’t remember exactly where I heard this from — probably another podcast — but it’s an expression about mistakes that has stuck with me: “A mistake is a mistake only if you make it twice.” Life is really an accumulation of experiences that we’re constantly learning from — as long as we choose to look at it that way.

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?

When it comes to nutrition, my number one goal is to help people understand HOW to eat — not simply WHAT to eat. Diet culture (especially among women) has just completely confused and manipulated people into believing that certain foods are “good” and others are “bad.” Whether you work with me 1:1 or simply interact with my content, my hope is that your mindset around food shifts to a place of abundance versus restriction. Nothing happens in a vacuum — what we choose to eat is all relative.

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

Keep it simple: short-term fixes with 30 different rules on what you can and can’t eat are just calorie restrictions in disguise. Don’t love to cook? Start with protein options that are already prepped and ready to eat, like a rotisserie chicken. It’s one less thing for you to need to prepare.
Consider habit stacking: James Clear’s Atomic Habits is probably my most recommended book among clients. If you want to start a journaling routine, for example, but feel like you can’t commit to it consistently, consider scheduling it before activities you do regularly — when you make your morning coffee, keep your journal nearby. Don’t pour your coffee until you’ve opened your journal.
Start small: A lot of new or potential clients come to me with goals and plans that are a complete 360 from their current lifestyles. Let’s look for the lowest hanging fruit: What are the easiest changes we can make, first? Let’s guarantee our success.
In a workout rut? Get started with something you actually look forward to whether that’s because it’s a new routine, a different environment like a new gym or a new class.
Unplug. If you’re like me and get wrapped up in your work or a social media scroll, take advantage of the Sleep Timer and Do Not Disturb functions on your phone. It’s a lot easier to put your phone down when you’re not being bombarded with notifications. Bonus — you’ll win some time back that you probably thought you didn’t have which could mean more time for movement, meal prep, reading… and more.

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

I like to think that my work as a podcaster is already contributing to my overall goal of spreading credible information on health and wellness to as many listeners as possible. More specifically though, when it comes to nutrition, I strongly believe that we need to educate children on nutrition in a much more practical way, starting at a much younger age. I’ve recently started working with a handful of high school athletes to improve their performance through proper nutrition: our conversations have confirmed just how important it is for parents, teachers, educators, social media influencers, etc. to equip kids with actual tools and resources to understand HOW to eat, not simply WHAT to eat. I’d love to see a shift in school health courses away from outdated government guidelines toward hands-on application.

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

The world isn’t designed for fat loss — and for that reason, when you have a physical transformation goal, ask for help. There are professionals who genuinely care about their clients, and are committed to sharing smarter tools to reaching your goals.
Planning makes your life easier: Want to buy a house? Making a budget and reviewing expenses are steps we can all agree are worth taking. For some reason, when it comes to exercise and nutrition, similar approaches are met with excuses. Take these same principles and apply them to your health and wellness.
Be clear with your boundaries: You are in control of your own happiness and that starts with your non-negotiables. We spend too much time looking externally for what makes us happy — it’s time to really trust your gut.
Every “yes” is a “no” to another opportunity.
Growth is uncomfortable and our brains are quite literally wired to prefer what’s familiar: it’s easy to think about this in the context of changing career paths or moving to a new city, but the same can be said for nutrition. What worked for you four years ago probably won’t work for you now — and that’s okay, as long as you’re willing to meet new options with an open mind.

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

Mental health is extremely important to me — as someone who has lived with seasons of depression and anxiety, I’m committed to being open about my experiences. It’s refreshing and reassuring that mental health is such a big topic because it takes talking about it to normalize it. And in talking about it, we’re all collectively empowering one another to share the resources that have helped us restore and prioritize our mental wellness. Personally, I’ve found support and guidance through therapy, journaling, and a number of books.

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

Check out my podcast, The FYX with Krysta Huber, on Apple, Spotify or anywhere you listen to your podcasts. Send me a DM on Instagram @thekrystahuber or @thefyx.officialpod — I’d love to hear from you! For more information on my 1:1 nutrition coaching program or to book a complimentary consult, please visit: www.thefitnessfyx.com.

Thank you for these fantastic insights!

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

Female Disruptors: Feminine Leadership Coach Ela Staniak On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up…

Female Disruptors: Feminine Leadership Coach Ela Staniak On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

A high percentage of women today experience continuous resistance, feeling frustrated or stuck without clarity on how to achieve the next milestone whether it is in their career/business, finances, intimate relationship or wellbeing. Being overlooked, unsupported, unappreciated, struggling to find your voice, getting promoted over, allowing disrespect from the male fraternity. Until you address what’s impacted you in the past you will never achieve the heights of what it is you are standing for!

As a part of our series about women who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Ela Staniak — Founder of Feminine Leaders.

As a Feminine Leadership Coach to female C-Suite & Business Leaders, Ela champions unprecedented results for women ready to break through the perception of the ‘glass ceiling’ and gain their rightful place at the boardroom table or claim their space in their entrepreneurial zone of genius.

Ela spent the last nearly 15 years working with high calibre female leaders internationally in a broad range of industries from government, technology, finance, mining, media, to athletes, millionaires, entrepreneurs specialising in vertical (consciousness) & horizontal (skills and capabilities) behavioural change in female leadership development.

‘Feminine Leaders’ was born out of a passion to empower women to champion their ‘inner game’, reclaim their moxie and feminine leadership qualities to lead and live THE ULTIMATE LIFE personally and professionally.

Ela landed coverage in hundreds of print and broadcast outlets around the world including her 2020 TED Talk “Diversity & Inclusion are logically impossible”.

I was born and grew up in the south of Poland. Growing up with an alcoholic father and a mother who suffered obesity and heart problems was challenging. Losing both of my parents before I turned 15 years of age impacted my life tremendously. Looking at the silver lining in my upbringing this experience propelled me to relocate first to Ireland and then to Australia to do a college degree. Studies in motivational psychology and athletic performance awakened an incredible passion within me to explore the power of human potential. For over a decade I immersed myself in revolving around behavioural change and studied Fitness & Sports Coaching, Wellness Coaching, Neurolinguistics, Hypnotherapy, Leadership & Business Coaching and Intuitive Coaching.

I established a career initially in fitness and wellness specialising in behavioural change and later in feminine leadership coaching. Over the years, I understood that without the right tools to navigate adversity human beings often disconnect/ dissociate/ escape emotionally. I had to disconnect to survive at a young age. Disconnect = lack of self-value. Lack of self-worth continued to impact my health, my relationships and my finances until I embarked on a journey to self-actualisation and with that my LIFE went through a metamorphosis.

I reshaped my body and lost 15kg of body weight. I faced poor leadership and navigated direct and indirect discrimination in the workplaces in three different countries due to my own differences and some of them being speaking English as a second language, being a woman working in male dominated environments, and apparently being way too positive and optimistic for some. I have been called a “fruit cake” before and now I take it as a compliment! I steered through abusive relationships to find what self-love really means. Here’s what my biggest lesson was in life. “Unless you acknowledge what’s impacted you in the past and “do the work” on unconscious beliefs, you will continue repeating destructive patterns”. It wasn’t until I faced my biggest fears, and became a self-aware and well integrated human being that I understood what it truly means to be a leader.

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

There is a negative listening to the word “feminine”, a misconception that feminine is weak, unsubstantial, submissive. That there is no place for feminine in the c-suite and business for masculine tendencies have been predominant in leadership successfully for decades.

In some cases, women have been modelling masculine traits for so long, that now they reject their feminine qualities which they perceive as foreign. DISCONNECTION ALERT LADIES!

The essence of true femininity is powerful and magnetic. Feminine Leadership I believe is an art of ‘owning your presence’. Those leaders who become wholly and completely integrated in all facets of their identity and can strategically draw from masculine and feminine qualities, are the leaders who become incredibly impactful, influential and truly lead by example. These leaders walk the talk and demonstrate the significant difference between DOING leadership vs BEING leadership.

I believe that the world needs more empowered, thriving and confident women at all levels of decision making to assist with finding sustainable solutions to some of the most horrendous and preventable issues we face in our global society.

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

The biggest mistake I made in business was putting all of my eggs in one basket! I spent years building my sales funnels, communities and my following mostly on Facebook. In the middle of 2020 due to online hacking I lost access to all my accounts, groups and business page. Just like that, it was all gone. Deleted! I felt that I had failed my community given the years of hard work and trust that I had built were violated overnight.

I am a big believer that “Everything happens for me, for it is my own creation” so I took it a sign to go to the next level of trajectory. I reinvented myself, my business and I rebranded. It was the best and most life-changing decision I could ever make, however it took something to rebuild my business and my identity as a business owner differently. Two of the most important the lessons I learned are: A) Protect your business and your communities with urgency and care B) You must have multiple lead generation strategies to create sustainable income flow in your business. Work smart, not hard.

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

Absolutely! One of my biggest learnings is this: “Support is your greatest strength and never a weakness”. One of the most profound mentors I have had to date is Sally Anderson — Leadership Coach To The Influencers. Sally has privately coached key influencers nationally and internationally over a 2 decade period: CEO’s, politicians, global influencers, visionaries, celebrities, millionaires, billionaires,. Those looking for ‘sustainable’ leading edge performance.

Sally’s Linkedin Profile is: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sallyanderson-leadershipcoachtotheinfluencers/

Sally partnered me in changing my life, took my leadership skills to a completely new dimension and transformed my business from 0–100 in a matter weeks!

If you have a serious calling in life and want to fast forward your results by decades I suggest you invest in one of the BEST leadership coaches on the planet.

I have invested under $200,000 in business mentoring and education in my life, Sally tops any coach I have ever hired, WITHOUT A DOUBT.

This journey is not for faint-hearted, but if you are serious about leading and living your legacy in this lifetime it is beyond worth it!

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

When I launched ‘Feminine Leaders’ I knew I was challenging the status quo. It was obvious after nearly 15 years of working with women at all levels of leadership in multiple industries that making a sustainable change where Feminine Leadership and its positioning in C-Suite and Business is concerned was going to be a journey which would require resilience while navigating resistance and persistence to stand by my message.

I knew I was challenging decades of leadership structures where masculine tendencies have been predominant. Truth to be told the unconscious bias in our society relating stereotypical roles of men and women in the workplaces and beyond are still present.

Many men and women run confusion on how to work together, support each other and co-create extraordinary outcomes in the modern world where modeling our old workplace and home generational patterns does no longer apply. Vast majority of women are left feeling unsupported, undervalued and unacknowledged.

All that being said I know the world is beyond ready for change. More diversity through female voices I believe will result in more productive equitable outcomes worldwide.

I believe what is happening today in the health & wellness industry is not so positive. The global wellness industry, including spiritual self-care, has grown to $4 trillion. Despite the global market being overflooded with solutions to personal & professional development, weight loss, happiness and health, the effectiveness of these products and services is questionable.

Sustainable results where complete physical and emotional transformation is concerned is elusive. Focusing on treating the symptom of dysfunction keeps people stuck in the same destructive behavioural patterns.

Doing the ‘inner work’ and becoming a powerfully connected human being where all facets of one’s identity: physical, emotional and spiritual are integrated is the key to experiencing real transformation.

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

Stop giving lip service to your spoken word. Results will always remain elusive if you do not transform your relationship with your spoken word.
Stop being so nice, so appropriate, so accommodating to others needs to the deficit of your own — put yourself first and foremost.
Understand what it means to be ‘committed’ — stop selling out to excuses.

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

Oh, I am only getting started! My vision can be articulated in 5 key objectives:

1. Advocate for ending domestic and family violence period

2. Advocate for building legislation in relation to supporting immigrants who experience domestic and family violence in Australia

3. Advocate for mental wellness in all sectors of society

4. Advocate for female representation at the highest levels worldwide

5. Advocate for providing sustainable solutions to the obesity issues we face globally

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

CHALLENGE 1. A high percentage of women today experience continuous resistance, feeling frustrated or stuck without clarity on how to achieve the next milestone whether it is in their career/business, finances, intimate relationship or wellbeing. Being overlooked, unsupported, unappreciated, struggling to find your voice, getting promoted over, allowing disrespect from the male fraternity. Until you address what’s impacted you in the past you will never achieve the heights of what it is you are standing for!

CHALLENGE 2. Women who feel disconnected, “at full capacity” or “out of alignment”
There is a distinct difference between DOING leadership vs. BEING leadership. You are human BEING and not human DOING. When you are connected, you are full of life energy, in a heightened state of awareness, incredibly receptive to receiving insight and assessing your environment. Once you are in alignment you become powerful beyond limitations. When you are guided by your intuition and connected to your feminine essence anxiety, overwhelm and busyness disappear.

CHALLENGE 3. Many women tend to be professional saboteurs when it comes to putting their needs first. They support EVERYONE else but sadly do not support themselves to the same degree. Until you put the oxygen mask on yourself first and address the self-debilitating beliefs that are sabotaging your potential nothing will change. You teach people on how to treat you, so if the standard of how you are treated is not of the standard you deserve you and only you can change this dynamic.

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

“Three Initiates: The Kybalion” is a study of the hermetic philosophy of Ancient Egypt and Greece. The book presents the Seven Principles of Nature. These principles represent the power of Truth and Knowledge, and thus they will endure forever, no matter are they studied and questioned with the terms of different religions or fields of science. I highly recommend for those people who are wanting to discover the roots of universal knowledge known to humankind.

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 want my son to grow up in a world where women stand in their power of feminine leadership, where instead of fighting for diversity & inclusion we champion equality and embrace each other as valuable people with unique strengths and talents. I see a world where women find their voice at all levels of leadership, earning their worth and their rightful place at a boardroom table/ or entrepreneurial zone of genius or any personal aspiration. I see a world free of domestic and family violence, where safety and love is available to all people. I dream of our society being free of obesity and instead being healthy, thriving where a pathway to emotional, physical and spiritual wellbeing is understood and available.

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

André Gide — ‘You can never cross the ocean until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore’

Navigating adversity only to discover new horizons has been my life’s journey from a young age. Every time I decided to achieve more, to become a better version of myself I had to let go to the old disruptive paradigms. If you truly want to evolve as a leader, I suggest you (1) Fall in love with resistance (2) Embrace uncertainty as your ally and (3) Be willing to lean in when you want to back out…

How can our readers follow you online?

LINKED IN

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ela-staniak-feminine-leadership-coach/

WEBSITE

https://www.elastaniak.com/

INSTAGRAM

https://www.instagram.com/ela_staniak/

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

Female Disruptors: Feminine Leadership Coach Ela Staniak 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.

Female Disruptors: Charity Hill of EPIC Entertainment Group On The Three Things You Need To Shake…

Female Disruptors: Charity Hill of EPIC Entertainment Group On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

“Stay nimble” was something we were told by someone very successful, that we adopted as a motto. It was something so simple that I hadn’t considered. And honestly, I am not sure our company would have made it through the pandemic if we hadn’t taken that advice to heart. We work hard to stay lean and nimble as a company so it’s easier to roll with the punches of our ever-changing industry.

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

Charity is an award-winning creative producer and experience architect of immersive attractions and themed entertainment. She is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Epic Entertainment Group — a collective of executive producers, experiential operators, creative designers, and technical builders focused on developing, producing, and operating live events and immersive entertainment experiences.

Paving the way for female leaders of color in the live entertainment space, Charity is known for executive producing some of the most well-known annual attractions in the country, including Dark Harbor and Chill at the Queen Mary in Long Beach, Holiday by the Bay in San Diego, and Dark Horizon in Orlando.

From creative direction to strategic execution, Charity’s entertainment experience spans two decades including film, television, theater, themed entertainment, festivals, haunted attractions, fashion shows, sporting events, and brand activations.

I grew up entertaining on stage and in front of the camera. I realized early on that I wanted to be the creator of my own entertainment and not the performer of someone else’s. I studied Marketing in college and became one of the founding members of USC Spectrum, an on-campus production company made up of faculty and students who booked and produced all the entertainment coming onto campus. From world-renowned thought-provokers like Iyanla Vanzant to up and coming artists, I found fulfilment in shaping young minds through engaging entertainment. It was then that I realized education could be entertaining. That was really my first taste of being a producer. From there, I went on to work for WET (Water Entertainment Technology) Inc. — the company behind the Bellagio water feature. It was there that I noticed a gap that I would eventually seek to fill; one that married destination attractions and themed entertainment with live immersive events. I honed my skills producing hundreds of large-scale public events in a myriad of genres at the legendary Queen Mary in Long Beach before my business partner and I launched Epic Entertainment Group in 2016.

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

I like to think that I am creating a disruption in people’s perceptive parameters through culture-forward, themed entertainment. I thrive in immersive storytelling that celebrates the traditions of other nations, and work to show the world how uniquely symbiotic we all are as a race.

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

Oh, there are so many mistakes I have made along the way! One that stands out was when I was still getting my feet wet in production. I was producing a private concert series in West Hollywood and had the opportunity to bring in Eddie Van Halen to perform a few songs. Without thinking, I jumped at the chance without considering the budget implications of what his rider might include. I found myself scrambling to meet his needs and having to navigate what could have been a very sticky situation. He was wonderful and ended up springing for the cost to crane in his own piano into the space, but it could have been a total disaster. I was saved by a very seasoned veteran who just found my scrambling amusing. I can tell you, I’ve never booked another artist without first redlining the rider.

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

One of my mentors in storytelling came while I was attending the University of Southern California. Working as a founding member of USC Spectrum, we booked and produced the entertainment series of artists, musicians, poets, and speakers on Campus and one of them was Ice-T. Later I was able to tour Europe with him along with his rock band, Body Count. Being an early adopter of disruption, he taught me that some controversy can be good if it will provoke out-of-the-box thinking. I found it so amusing that he turned his rebel rap persona into a heavy metal movement through storytelling. Being able to enjoy the vantage point of his impact from the stage looking out over a sea of nearly 100,000 people was magnetic. It sparked something in me — the need to become a thought-provoking disrupter in my own way. Equally, growing up in Minneapolis, I had the privilege of working with Prince starting at a young age. Being exposed to such early adopters of disruption has definitely made an impact on how and what I produce from a creative perspective.

I think that disruption can be monumental when it is clever, and well thought out with a clear and concise positive intention. However, disruption for the sake of disruption can be reckless and very damaging. For instance, if I want to shed positive light on cultural differences, I might juxtapose two cultural celebrations in one event to highlight their beauty and show similarities in their origins to invoke a better understanding of both. Conversely, if I drop a foreign cultural celebration into the middle of a differing community without a narrative, it may be seen as obtuse or offensive. It will certainly disrupt, but not necessarily in a positive way.

Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each. As a partner in a start-up, we made sure to seek out the advice of other successful entrepreneurs. The three best words of advice we have been given along the way are:

“Stay nimble” was something we were told by someone very successful, that we adopted as a motto. It was something so simple that I hadn’t considered. And honestly, I am not sure our company would have made it through the pandemic if we hadn’t taken that advice to heart. We work hard to stay lean and nimble as a company so it’s easier to roll with the punches of our ever-changing industry.
“Never take no for an answer”. Some of our largest clients are the ones who first told us “no”. As a creator, it’s easy to get caught up in the rejection of our ideas, but I think spending my early years pounding the pavement as a performer, I learned to let rejection roll right off my back. It has been proven to serve me well in my career to this day.
“Your team is your commodity”. For us, our team really is the secret sauce. Our work culture celebrates our team members. We don’t operate in a hierarchy; we are a collective. We learned very quickly that a fun positive work-hard-play-harder environment with little parameters and a great deal of trust promotes greater creativity, over-achievement, and efficiency. It’s the sweet spot for our team to thrive.

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

I am not sure I will ever be done. Ha! But my next project is with an iconic brand, Hershey. I can’t say much about it at this time, but I am so honored to have been chosen to shake things up with them this fall. Stay tuned.

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

Well, quite simply put, when a man is a disrupter, he is seen as an innovator and when a woman is a disrupter, she is often seen as disruptive.

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

I don’t. I wish I had more time to read and soak up podcast chats. Time is something that I am always chasing, my most precious commodity. The few moments I have to myself, I usually tend to take advantage of the silence.

I have spent most of my life trying to tear down stereotypes of who I am as a woman, and that of a woman of color. If I didn’t see myself represented, I would push myself into the center of it for sport. I guess I have always been a disrupter. For example, when I was growing up, I never saw women, let alone women of color on a golf course. So, I took up golf and became the youngest woman of color to have a whole-in-one plaque on the wall of Robinson Ranch clubhouse. I spend many days in war rooms across the country as “the only” — the only woman, the only person of color, but I stand boldly in it. If I could impart any advice to young women, it would be tear down those walls one by one by standing boldly in it. Ignore those parameters set upon you by society and go out and get it. You can be ANYTHING you want to be. #sobeit.

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

“If you are standing still, you are moving backwards.” I think that we only have this one precious life, and too little time to live it. I have always had this feeling of responsibility to lead the collective whole to connectivity. However big or small, if I can share something that changes the trajectory of where someone is headed, then I am contributing in a positive way to bettering humankind. There are a lot of people in this world, and a lot of experiences left to create. I believe shared experiences are what we will measure life by in the end, so if I am standing still too long, I am missing it.

How can our readers follow you online?

Visit www.epicentertainmentgroup.com for our latest projects. On Instagram, you can follow my work @epicentertainmentgroup and my travel antics @1worldwithcharity.

@epicentgrp on Twitter and Facebook and @Epic-Entertainment-Group on Linkedin

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

Female Disruptors: Charity Hill of EPIC Entertainment Group On The Three Things You Need To Shake… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Founders: Niha Amin & Shanzey Al-Amin of Zeyl Beauty On The Five Things You Need To Thrive…

Female Founders: Niha Amin & Shanzey Al-Amin of Zeyl Beauty On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Learn something new every day. We like to reflect each night and come up with something new we learned each day. As a founder, there is no shortage of daily lessons! Learning a new skill or information helps us sharpen our brains and use our knowledge to improve future situations.

As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Niha Amin and Shanzey Al-Amin.

Founded by Niha Amin and Shanzey Al-Amin, the Canadian-based skincare brand Bridal Glow by Zeyl Beauty, combined 15 years of experience and Mother’s Nature’s finest ingredients from Ayurvedic remedies to create high quality products. After a mutual obsession with beauty, Niha and Shanzeyl honed earth’s simplest ingredients to detox, nourish, and treat skin for an instant glow. The gals behind the glow share their best kept beauty secrets with the intent to provide exceptional plant-based skincare for everyone — no matter your age or skin type.

Shanzey: My education is in medical aesthetics and dermal science, which gave me a deep understanding of what makes our skin look and feel its healthiest. Additionally, I was the National Director for Anastasia Beverly Hills for ten years, where I got to apply my corporate knowledge to all things skin, makeup, and beauty.

Niha: For me, my love of skincare was refined by working with brands including Estée Lauder, Saje, Kiehl’s, and Morphe. Over the years, I have honed in on the importance of healthy skin and how it can transform any makeup look. Most of all, I have fallen in love with holistic wellness and the incredible benefits of using elements from the earth to treat all skin types and needs.

As sisters and first-generation immigrants, we developed a deep appreciation for all-natural remedies. With 15 years of combined experience in the industry, Shanzey and I had the opportunity to study skin health from all angles and become skincare enthusiasts.

Our shared experience is what makes Bridal Glow by Zeyl Beauty one-of-a-kind. It is not simply about what goes into our products. It is the fact that healthy, glowing skin can change a person’s life — and we’re committed to crafting products that give every woman that feeling, regardless of their skin color.

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

It is hard to pick the most interesting story as we truly believe we have learned something new every day since starting our business!

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

One of the first renditions of the Bridal Glow Masque is one of our favorite moments. During the heart of COVID, we were working with our lab remotely and were very excited to receive our product samples. When the masque arrived, it looked a lot yellower than we remembered. There was way more turmeric in it than the amount we agreed on and when we applied it to our faces, we looked like the minions from Despicable Me!

This issue was remedied promptly and is something we look back and laugh at regularly with our team whenever we see the minions. We learned that some work is best done in person. Since then, we have made it a top priority to visit our lab to oversee and finalize our products before production.

None of us can 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?

Shanzey: Having worked closely with Anastasia Soare, founder of Anastasia Beverly Hills, I had close exposure to her entrepreneurial spirit and journey. This experience taught me what it takes to create and successfully execute a thriving business by always persevering and being solution-oriented.

Niha: My legal statistics professor has played an integral role in my ability to persevere through difficult situations. While taking his course, I struggled with the course material and was very overextended through my extracurriculars as a resident advisor and sorority leader. His office hours turned more into life coaching sessions where we worked through prioritization skills and problem-solving. I still use his tips and advice in our business and personal life.

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

Creating a business is very risky, and women tend to be more risk-averse than men in financial decision-making. This risk aversion leads to women choosing more traditionally stable and secure career options. Women also often have lower financial literacy compared to men because men tend to specialize in making household financial decisions and acquire financial education, whereas women tend to specialize in other household functions. Common in the South Asian community, women are responsible for the household even if both partners work. Since owning a business can be more time consuming than a traditional job, this can be an obstacle when pursuing business ownership. Often reinforced by societal pressure, working more is believed to be connected with ignoring your gender enforced household responsibilities. Additionally, it is rare to see women-owned businesses in the mainstream, making it hard for other women to see this as a viable career path.

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

Women business owners get nearly 50% less funding than their male counterparts, which is a major obstacle we must remedy in our society. Studies have shown that for every dollar invested into businesses, those founded by women generate almost twice as much revenue than businesses started by men. While this should result in better funding for women, it doesn’t due to gender biases. The majority of funding platforms are led by men who are less likely to understand the creative visions of women-owned businesses; however, most consumers are women who are more likely to align with women-owned businesses.

Providing better funding options for women-owned businesses will go a long way towards helping more women create their businesses, which should be a top priority for banks and government organizations to reduce the misogyny seen in current financing options.

Additionally, greater access to mentorship options by women and for women would be integral in helping women start their businesses and succeed in a male-dominated career path.

This might be intuitive to you as a woman founder but I think it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you share a few reasons why more women should become founders?

Entrepreneurship has allowed us to materialize our creative visions, achieve self-sufficiency, and improve the well-being of others through glowing, confident skin. Additionally, we can help give back to our communities. Our advice to women interested in creating their businesses is to “feel the fear and do it anyway.” If you have a great idea, build a supportive team to get started. The world needs more extraordinary women doing extraordinary things that will change the world!

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

The biggest myth about being a founder has to be that it is easy. From the outside looking in, being a founder often looks easy as you get to create your work schedule and determine what your work looks like. As a founder, we work more hours than we ever have compared to our previous careers. These hours are often all over the place as we have to work through odd hours to account for the different time zones of our global team.

Another myth about being a founder is that you are on your own. While this is true, this experience can often feel lonely. However, help is always available should you seek it — all you have to do is ask. Other founders are always willing to lend a helping hand or listening ear as they can best understand the unique situation and experiences one goes through when creating a business.

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

This career path provides freedom but requires hard work and dedication to sustain it. To become a founder, you have to be self-sufficient, a self-starter and disciplined to work independently without any instructions. As founders, we had to embrace being Jack of All Trades and juggle multiple hats. Each day brings forth a completely different experience and a new role that we must achieve to succeed. Founders need high-level leadership skills to inspire and encourage those who work with them. Above all, you need to be passionate about your business. As long as you have this passion, you can learn new skills daily and make your business an absolute success while doing what you love.

The ultimate difference between being a founder and having a regular job is the ability to leave work at the office and not take it home — work-life balance is often hard to manage as a founder. Regular jobs are also fantastic because it provides financial security, stability, and structure. As founders, we are responsible for the success of our business and the well-being and success of our team members and customers.

Above all, we believe that everyone should do what they love, whether running their own business or working for someone who does. As long as you love what you do, you can overcome any obstacle and live a fulfilling life.

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

Learn something new every day. We like to reflect each night and come up with something new we learned each day. As a founder, there is no shortage of daily lessons! Learning a new skill or information helps us sharpen our brains and use our knowledge to improve future situations.
Learn from the experiences of others. As founders, your efforts directly impact your business and your success. Learning through the successes and mistakes of others helps manage your risks and improves your chances of success, as there are many transferable lessons you can take from the experience of others.
Have a strong support system. Being a founder can often feel lonely. We transitioned from a large team to a pair, and now we work as a small team. Initially, it was difficult not having many people to rely on, and it felt very isolating. However, no woman is an island, and finding a great support system has helped us immensely, as we now have others to reach out to for help and advice.
Success is a direct result of perseverance. You often hear stories about how success happens overnight, but this is not the case in most situations. Your ability to persevere through difficult situations and see them through will bring you success, as climbing the ladder to success is done one step at a time.
Take breaks often and find a hobby to energize and engage your mind. Initially, we were so focused on the business that we even dreamt about work! Overworking can be mentally exhausting. We had to learn the importance of taking much-needed breaks. Busying our minds with things outside of work has allowed us the opportunity to recharge and come back to work clear-minded with creative ideas.

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

Giving back and building communities is crucial to us at Zeyl Beauty. Our motto is “Glowing for Good” and a portion of all proceeds goes towards helping those in need. Zeyl Beauty is skincare with purpose.

Each quarter, we choose a cause close to our hearts. Our mission is to support education and diversity, eliminate famine, empower females, and build communities. Therefore, formulating skincare products that are good for you and those around you is of great importance to us! In addition, creating collaborative campaigns to support our vision for philanthropy is a core focus for everyone involved at Zeyl Beauty. We want to make a difference that radiates and resonates with those in need!

“Glowing for Good” is an integral part of Zeyl Beauty, and we believe in giving back to our communities and those in need. We would love nothing more than to encourage others to follow these principles. No matter how big or small your donation, every amount makes a huge difference, and it is the act of giving and the kindness that we show to others that makes this world a wonderful place full of love and compassion.

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

Our answer would without a doubt be Oprah! We grew up watching The Oprah Show after school and we love her energy and all she continues to do for others. Her story is a huge inspiration and reminder for us that success comes from hard work and perseverance. It is also a great reminder to give back from your success to pass the baton.

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

Female Founders: Niha Amin & Shanzey Al-Amin of Zeyl Beauty On The Five Things You Need To Thrive… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Disruptors: Lorna Hawthorne Of Golden Krust Caribbean Bakery & Grill On The Three Things You…

Female Disruptors: Lorna Hawthorne Of Golden Krust Caribbean Bakery & Grill On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

SUPPORT-: To succeed in any venture a support system is imperative. That support can come in a plethora of ways- mentally, emotionally, financially, spiritually, or physically. Your support system is similar to beams on a house- they are pillars that hold you up and aid you in establishing a solid foundation. I have learned to garner support from family and friends along my life’s journey. It is always important to remember that support is a perpetual necessity. The old adage that no man (or woman!) is an island, still reigns true today.

As a part of our series about women who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Lorna Hawthorne, Co-Founder of Golden Krust Caribbean Bakery & Grill, Co Founder of LLHOMD.

My career began in the restaurant and food manufacturing industry. My late husband and I co-founded Golden Krust, which grew to be the largest Caribbean Franchisor in the United States. After he passed away in 2017, I wanted to start my own path and pursue another passion, self and beauty care. I am an avid user of these products, but constantly struggled to find skin and hair products that fit my goals, which I felt were quite simple- I wanted my skin products to keep me looking youthful and healthy. I wanted hair products that made my hair soft and strong: with an ability to hold up in the harsh environments of a hardworking, everyday woman.

The lack of satisfactory results coupled with the high cost of these products would often leave me frustrated. I also realized that these products were much more available and affordable, for non-minority women. I felt other women with my skin tone must be going through the same frustrations, which is the reason why I created this brand. I spoke to my sons about the idea and they supported it 100%. Just like that, LLHOMD Beauty Care was born.

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

Most of the brands within the niche of African American women’s beauty care focus on one or two beauty categories. This strategy leaves us (women of color) having to purchase products from several brands to complete a full beautification regimen. LLHOMD endeavors to be an affordable one-stop shop for skin, hair care, and makeup (coming soon).

We are an affordable luxury beauty brand, our products deliver quality with exotic ingredients like; aloe, argan oil, prickly pear, date fruit extract, Tahitian gardenia, chamomile, peppermint, lemongrass, castor oil, and shea butter, without the exorbitant prices being charged in the current market.

Our focus was delivering a high-quality product to every day women of color without them breaking the bank! A woman should never have to choose between sacrificing her beautification or providing for her family. With LLHOMD, women can enjoy top-quality products at an affordable price.

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?

One lesson we learned, is with high standards, comes a lot of work. The R & D process was grueling; adjustments, changes, samples back and forth, gaining consensus from the team, the entire collaborative process. There were debates, discussions, and varying opinions, but out of that process came some great products that I love and I want to share them with my fellow women of color. They can all be found at LLHOMD.com

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

I have been very fortunate in my life to be graced with a myriad of support. That support has come from my children, family members, business associates, and friends. The most notable person of them all is my amazing and supportive Mother, who continues to be a pillar in my life. She has supported me through my educational, familial, and business decisions for my entire life. Her love, light, encouragement, and passion provide me with the energy I need to tackle any venture, including this one.

Disrupting an industry is using innovation and ingenuity to think outside of the box and retool some or all parts of how offerings, products, or services are made to interact with consumers. Oftentimes, disrupters go against the grain of what is normal within a particular industry, in an attempt to change it, forever.

Our intention in launching LLHOMD was to deliver an affordable luxury beauty line with high-end ingredients, but consumers can purchase the products for less than half the costs. We were very intentional about how the products were developed- quality first, always. After we perfected the quality, our next focus was to have optionality for consumers, for a low cost.

We decided early on that we did not want to fall into the fray of being another high-priced beauty brand with a limited and narrow offering.

Now, not all disruptors are beneficial to the industry. Some enter an industry and provide inferior offerings under the guise of value. Those disruptors actually damage other brands across the industry, and can negatively impact consumer sentiment about an industry, as a whole.

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

OPPORTUNITY: Opportunity is one of the greatest tools that a person can grasp. I fully support the old saying that “Opportunity knocks, but once.” The trajectory of the beauty industry is changing, especially now, when women of color have a greater voice. The last two years of staying indoors have given all of us the opportunity to rethink how we want to live our best lives. It has allowed us to focus on ourselves and fully understand what we want and need out of certain facets of our life. This is also a part of the reason why I started LLHOMD.

DETERMINATION-: Success is impossible without determination. I have juggled being a wife, mother, entrepreneur, and student, at the same time. However, I was determined to be the best version of myself in each one of those roles- failure was not an option.

SUPPORT-: To succeed in any venture a support system is imperative. That support can come in a plethora of ways- mentally, emotionally, financially, spiritually, or physically. Your support system is similar to beams on a house- they are pillars that hold you up and aid you in establishing a solid foundation. I have learned to garner support from family and friends along my life’s journey. It is always important to remember that support is a perpetual necessity. The old adage that no man (or woman!) is an island, still reigns true today.

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

Our number one focus right now is to complete our product offerings of LLHOMD with our makeup line. After we launch this line we will truly be a one-stop-shop for beauty care made for women of color. You know we can’t spill everything at once, but stay tuned !!

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

I would submit that women, as a general matter, face bigger challenges than males when it comes to business. It is not only reserved for those attempting to disrupt a particular space. The proverbial glass ceiling is a clear example of the incremental challenges that are more specific to women. Men typically hold the most influential and high-powered jobs in this country. Moreover, women are still fighting for simple things like equal pay for equal work. These inequalities are not just limited to disruptors, but one can imagine the additional skepticism that a woman disruptor would face, based on women’s current status.

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

My favorite story is that of Madam C.J Walker — a trailblazer, who faced harsh adversity, but found the courage, the grit, the tenacity, and determination to produce the first products for women of color. Our ancestors had the courage to take action to advance women of color, and I am looking forward to building on that progress.

I’ll give you two:

I believe women’s self-care is paramount. As I mentioned earlier, women often put themselves last when it comes to care. It is important for women, more now than ever, to ensure that self-care is at the center of their existence. This is one of the things that inspired me to launch LLHOMD.

Second: My late husband and I have always been passionate about education. He became well known for his saying that “ a positive community is everybody’s business, and through education, we can uplift all people ‘’. I created the Lowell F. Hawthorne Foundation to honor his love of education. The foundation will award scholarships to minority students. 10% of all LLHOMD sales will go to this foundation.

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

In life we encounter many situations; some that are great and some that are not so great. However, there is a lesson in all of these encounters. We each have the ability to take steps towards our goals and ultimately do our parts in shaping the world we want to see. I live by an acronym, LLHOMD, and I encourage other women to also follow this train of thought:

L- Love Yourself; L- Live your best life with laughter; H- Create your own happiness; O- Be optimistic; M- Be Motivated; D- Be determined.

How can our readers follow you online?

www.LLHOMD.com

https://www.instagram.com/llhomdbeauty/

https://www.facebook.com/Llhomd/

https://twitter.com/LLhomdbeauty

https://www.pinterest.com/Llhomdbeauty/

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

Female Disruptors: Lorna Hawthorne Of Golden Krust Caribbean Bakery & Grill On The Three Things You… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Founders: Ananda Saba of Nua Swim On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a…

Female Founders: Ananda Saba of Nua Swim On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

You will probably never sleep again. From late nights to early mornings, to not being able to fall asleep because you have an endless to-do list on your mind. So yeah, starting a business is like having a baby. Especially in the early stages where you have to be very hands-on and wear many hats.

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

Nua Swim Founder, Ananda Saba, is a mom, business-owner, and influencer now residing in Florida. When creating Nua Swim Ananda wanted to captivate the sensuality and beachside glamour of her Brazilian upbringing and hertiage alongside her love of fashion. Nua, meaning ‘naked’ in Portuguese, produces swimwear that stands out from the crowd. All pieces are made in the USA with eco-friendly and recycled fabrics along with only ethical factories and manufacturing sites. A portion of all sales is donated to the Brazil Foundation’s Amazon Fund. With fans including Alessandra Ambrosio, Nua Swim will help you to feel effortlessly glamourous the next time you step on to the beach.

I was born in Miami, FL to Brazilian parents and grew up in São Paulo, Brazil. My early years spent in the beautiful country of Brazil only fed and nourished my connection with the beach. For as long as I can remember, many weekends and mostly every holiday was spent on the sandy, packed, and beautiful beaches of Brazil

So needless to say, bikinis have been a thing for me, for a long time. My college days led me to New York City, where I grew an even stronger passion for fashion when I got to work at a few fashion powerhouses and magazines while living in the city.

The idea of creating my swim brand had been at the forefront of my mind for a very long time. So after settling down, having kids, and seeing myself with the time and opportunity to do so — I had to jump on it! Creating Nua Swim allowed me to feed my passion for fashion, for my country, my entrepreneurial side, and my unending love for the beach (and tiny bikinis)!

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

I think for our brand the most memorable moment so far has been seeing Alessandra Ambrosio wearing our Valentina top and bottom. That was a true “fall off the chair” moment for me. I couldn’t believe my eyes and my heart was racing. She has been an icon and muse for many of the creations of Nua Swim so to see her wearing one of my pieces was truly special!

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?

A funny mistake that could have led to a disaster! I accidentally ALMOST ordered 5x the amount of fabric I needed for my collection. Thankfully I caught myself within minutes of sending the email and was able to correct it. So the lesson was — do your math, many times, before ordering and pressing that send button!

My husband has been by far the most important person and mentor when it comes to Nua Swim. As an avid entrepreneur himself, he has guided me in an endless amount of ways. That’s not to say that I always listen to him, he’s my husband after all! But it has truly been an amazing and much more productive experience to have his knowledge and expertise along this journey.

I think as women we find ourselves many times trying to wear 1000 hats, and that is even more vivid if you are a mother. The guilt of juggling and balancing family vs work is real! This is why I believe as women we need to empower each other to constantly chase our dreams and go after what makes us happy. After all, a happy woman is a better mom, wife, daughter, friend, sister. So if being your own boss and chasing your crazy dreams is what makes you happy, then I feel that the ones around you should try to support that as much as possible.

Nua Swim represents my support for all women. Our current team is made up of myself plus 5 amazing women, my manufacturing company is women-owned and so is the media production company we work with. We are a true women-run business and I am very proud of that!

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

I believe as individuals, supporting and empowering each other is the most important thing we can do. Being mentally and emotionally present to your team, understanding their needs, and helping them achieve their individual goals can surely facilitate the overcoming of obstacles. Something truly magical happens when women come together to support and empower each other, I think it’s the most beautiful thing to witness and amazing accomplishments can — and do happen!

This might be intuitive to you as a woman founder but I think it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you share a few reasons why more women should become founders?

It is a challenge to be the founder of anything as there are many mental obstacles, especially when juggling family life. However, I do believe in the voice, strength, and uniqueness that women possess and how we see business from a different viewpoint. So many times I hear women tell me how I made bikinis the “right way” — that’s because I understand women’s bodies and what we want a bikini experience to feel like. A lot of times men-led companies creating products targeted towards women miss that mark and special touch that could only come from a woman’s perspective.

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

I think social media these days paints a very beautiful picture of what things look like. You see a company’s founder on social media with a growing business receiving praise and admiration from followers. However, many people are clueless about what goes on in the background and what has taken them to be where they are: many late nights, super early mornings, high stress, and therapy sessions! It is so rewarding, but you have to be super passionate about what it is that you are doing to be able to face those challenges.

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

You will probably never sleep again. From late nights to early mornings, to not being able to fall asleep because you have an endless to-do list on your mind. So yeah, starting a business is like having a baby. Especially in the early stages where you have to be very hands-on and wear many hats.
However long you think it will take to launch your business, it will take much longer — When I started developing Nua Swim, I intended to launch the brand at the beginning of the Summer of 2021. Long story short, I ended up launching at the end of Fall 2021 (not ideal by any means). But with production delays, samples having to be redone over and over until we got it right and everything in between, the process took much longer than expected.
Whatever budget you have to start your brand, double it. Just like renovating a house always ends up costing more than you planned, the same goes for starting a business. There is always an extra cost, charge, fee, a setback that you didn’t expect or accounted for in the planning stages.
You will start making money on day 1. Now that is such a myth! Just because you launched your business doesn’t mean there will be a flood of people visiting your website or walking through your door buying all your products (unless you are a Kardashian, of course). But for us regular people, it takes time, marketing, PR, and a lot of push to get seen by your customers.
Being a founder sounds glamorous, but it’s not always the case. And it’s truly not, especially in the beginning stages. I have lost count of the number of times I’ve been buried in boxes, driving back and forth to UPS, sweating at Ikea furniture for my packaging facility, and building it all. Being a founder is not always glamorous and it is most definitely not just sitting pretty on the computer all day drinking my matcha as one may think!

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

Giving back has been an important aspect of my brand since day 1. We manufacture all our swim ethically in LA and work with mostly sustainable and eco-friendly materials. We also partnered with the Brazil Foundation, where a percentage of all sales are donated to the Amazon Fund which contributes to the sustainable livelihoods of people in the Brazilian Amazon by investing in biodiversity conservation and local, socio-economic development.

I believe that if every business gave back in some capacity, it would be a great start! Whether it is hiring minorities, donating a percentage of sales to an organization they admire, a cause they support, or simply making ethical decisions when it comes to the production and manufacturing of their products. Small steps can make a big difference, especially if we all jump on board to committing ourselves to leave this world a better place.

I’ve always admired and loved Eva Chen, and actually had the amazing opportunity of running into her during a family vacation in the Bahamas not too long ago. We spoke for a bit and she gave me some incredible advice in the short time we engaged, but it wasn’t enough! I would absolutely love to be able to have a one-on-one moment with someone so knowledgeable and influential as she is. Especially as a minority woman who made it so incredibly big as she did! Alessandra Ambrosio wearing our brand was amazing, but It would be a dream to have Eva Chen as a mentor and supporter of Nua Swim!

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

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

Women Of The C-Suite: Layne Dempsey of Chervò On The Five Things You Need To Succeed As A Senior…

Women Of The C-Suite: Layne Dempsey of Chervò On The Five Things You Need To Succeed As A Senior Executive C-Suite

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Always be ready to be creative and think on your feet. This year I’m honored to be able to share the story of 40 yrs. of Italian style in sport combined with Italian heritage, considering I also just turned 40, this an true honor.

As a part of our interview series called “Women Of The C-Suite” , we had the pleasure of interviewing Layne Dempsey.

Layne is a Managing Partner at Chervo, USA Inc, a subsidiary of Chervò S.p.A. Layne is a driven visionary with an entrepreneurial spirit and disciplined approach.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! 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?

Well, I’m a small-town girl from Western Nebraska with big dreams. I grew up in a town with 400 people, 21 kids in my graduating high school class. I was lucky enough for it to be where one of the world’s most famous golf courses was built Sand Hills. That course and the people I worked for at the club changed my entire life. As a young girl, I was able to meet some of the most influential and famous people, who all came there to escape the world and play links golf. As a young caddie I would get to spend 4+ hours with them, learning more about their lives and them about mine. I was lucky enough to be chosen as one of the first Evan’s Scholars from Sand Hills, which is a life-changing opportunity. The Evan’s Scholarship is a full tuition and housing college scholarship for caddies nation-wide. This amazing honor let me to New York after college and ultimately all the way into my full career in the golf/sports industry.

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

Honestly there is a new story every day. Because it was so recent, I will never forget the day in March 2020, when I received a call from my business partners in Italy, just at the beginning of COVID. There were so many unknowns, especially with all that was transpiring early in Italy. It was what was said to me that I will never forget. “Layne, we don’t know what is going to happen, but all we can say to you is that you are going to have to figure out how to make the business float through all this. We can’t and won’t be able to help you, we’ve never been through this before either and there are a lot of unknowns in all our markets, so good luck, figure out how to float.” I hung up the phone and my stubborn only-child mentality came over me and I felt a sense of strength that I can’t describe. I’ve never been a quitter and it was almost like they threw down the towel and challenged me to something unknown. Quit, are you crazy, I rallied my small team, we rolled up our sleeves and we grew our direct to consumer business to new levels that year. Float… hardly, we swam like Michael Phelps.

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?

Thinking that I shouldn’t be in the role or wasn’t capable of being in it. That’s funny now, but at the time I had this delusion that my previous bosses and others leading brands had all the answers. The funny thing now, is I know they don’t… nobody does and when you think you do, someone else will have a better one.

Honestly, there are so many people that have shaped me into who I am today, but I wouldn’t be where I am without my Mother. She raised me as a single Mom and she taught me everything about being a good person, having high self-worth, being self-sufficient, trusting people but never being self-reliant on anyone. She took me to so many cities and gave me so much as a young woman, all while driving 70 miles one way to work and working from Midnight to 9AM. So much of what she taught me wasn’t by what she said to me, but by what she did and had to do for me, in order to give me the opportunities I have today.

In my work, I often talk about how to release and relieve stress. As a busy leader, what do you do to prepare your mind and body before a stressful or high stakes meeting, talk, or decision? Can you share a story or some examples?

Manifestation and positive self-talk. I’m working hard on trying to make sure the things I’m saying to myself in my head are as kind as the things I would say to others. I often hear myself saying things to myself that I know I would NEVER say to one of my friends or colleagues. I think that’s one of the biggest things we don’t realize we are doing to ourselves and that’s telling ourselves stories that aren’t true. I’m working on making sure the stories in my head that I tell myself have purpose, passion, confidence, and courage.

As you know, the United States is currently facing a very important self-reckoning about race, diversity, equality and inclusion. This may be obvious to you, but it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you articulate to our readers a few reasons why it is so important for a business or organization to have a diverse executive team?

More now than ever, we are a global community. Things happen quickly and information is instantaneous. It’s key for the leadership of an organization to be able to react to this by working together with colleagues from different backgrounds. We all bring something unique to the table and this diversity is what propels organizations forward. A good leader understands that they don’t know everything about everything, but that they know a little bit about it all, which is why we surround ourselves with experts and work tirelessly to motivate them to achieve the best results for the company.

As a business leader, can you please share a few steps we must take to truly create an inclusive, representative, and equitable society? Kindly share a story or example for each.

Goes back to a fundamental childhood lesson, “treat others as you would like to be treated” It’s basic human decency and respect, a manner that’s gotten lost or diluted by situations that do not apply. One person should not deserve a role or job or placement above another because of the color of their skin or their religion. People are people, show what you are made of and may the best candidate win.

If every human took that fundamental lesson, we were all taught in elementary school, lived by it and demonstrated basic respect for others by simple gestures each day imagine how different our world would be.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Most of our readers — in fact, most people — think they have a pretty good idea of what a CEO or executive does. But in just a few words can you explain what an executive does that is different from the responsibilities of the other leaders?

Pivot, adapt and pivot again. We’ve learned a lot about ourselves as a society and leaders over the last couple of years and the saying was always there, but it’s never rang truer. Change is inevitable. I’ve always been prepared and ready for change, now I am more than ever… every day.

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

That the path to the position was probably one with very few twists and turns. This was not and is not true in my case. There are daily twists and turns, lots of hours of hard work, determination, discipline, and believing in yourself when not everyone else is.

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

None that can’t be overcome. It all comes down to believing in what you do and who you are. That self-worth can and will change everything. It’s 2022, I feel extremely lucky to be a woman in these times. I’m forever grateful for everything that that our country has done in the past to get women to where we are today. There’s always room for improvement, but not just for women, for all of us as humans. We have a responsibility to leave this world and society a better place than when we entered it and we have a lot of work to do.

What is the most striking difference between your actual job and how you thought the job would be?

When I started this journey, I don’t believe I really knew what my actual job would be. What I can say is that my work is not a job, it is my passion. It’s what I think about all day long and usually almost all night long. I don’t do what I do because it’s my job, I do it because I love it. I love the people I do it with, the family I’ve created in the brand, and the memories we make along the way. I’m very lucky, I’ve never “worked” a day for this brand.

Is everyone cut out to be an executive? In your opinion, which specific traits increase the likelihood that a person will be a successful executive and what type of person should avoid aspiring to be an executive? Can you explain what you mean?

I’m not qualified to answer this question, nor would I ever project my opinions to get in the way of some one’s dreams. I believe so much of what we can do is all about who we surround ourselves with and what we say to ourselves in our minds. Nobody will ever believe in you, if you don’t believe in yourself and what you’re doing. So, the best advice I can give someone is know what it is that you want to do, run after it, chase that passion with all that you have and be kind to yourself along the way.

What advice would you give to other leaders to help their team to thrive?

Someone once said to me, two ears one mouth. So, I’d say, listen. You chose to surround yourself with these individuals, take risks on them, because they are on you.

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

Someone’s world yes, everyone’s…… well, not yet.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)

1. Prepare for a global pandemic, period the end.

2. Channel your inner “Emily in Paris” as this will be your new role working with a 40 yr. old Italian Company and its Founders.

3. Always be ready to be creative and think on your feet. This year I’m honored to be able to share the story of 40 yrs. of Italian style in sport combined with Italian heritage, considering I also just turned 40, this an true honor.

4. There is no formula to luxury retail and if you think you have one, you are already antiquated and don’t even know it

5. Learn to pivot and then learn to pivot again from the initial pivot. Have you seen that Friend’s episode? Never had it been more relevant that it was in 2020/2021…and well 2022.

Am I? I’m just a person like everyone else, with dreams, desires and luckily a platform to tell my story to.

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

This is not a life quote I applied in my past, but it is relevant now and our mantra…GSD, “Get Shi* Done” it is applicable in EVERY realm of life and in every situation. I’m a doer, always have been and always will be.

Beth Dutton. Do you think she reads this?

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

Women Of The C-Suite: Layne Dempsey of Chervò On The Five Things You Need To Succeed As A Senior… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women In Wellness: Jeannie Lymath Of Sole Care Healing On the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help…

Women In Wellness: Jeannie Lymath Of Sole Care Healing On the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Always set a part of your day that is just for YOU — half an hour of reading, an undisturbed bath, meditation, a nature walk. This gives you quiet time to reflect or prepare for your day.

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

Jeannie Lymath is a mum-of-two from Portsmouth, UK, who runs a reflexology and healing business, SoleCare Healing. She is a former forensic scientist and NHS worker, who switched careers to follow her passion 10 years ago alongside raising two children under the age of two. Her aim is to create a community, to help people look after their mental health and practice mindfulness — something she feels a lot of people need to focus on during lockdown, with added anxiety and stresses often creeping in heavily. She hopes to make people feel stronger, sleep better, reduce anxiety and chronic pain, feel more content and give them a stronger sense of wellbeing.

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

I started my holistic journey when I was pregnant with my 2nd child. I was in and out of hospital with false labour and extremely anxious that my pregnancy would end in premature labour and NICU like my previous pregnancy. A midwife suggested reflexology and I began visiting reflexologist weekly. I had never experienced such relaxation and I truly believe this holistic therapy calmed my whole being down so that my daughter was born 5 days late and twice the size of my first born. This sowed the seed for wanting to help others and make a difference. It began with Reflexology and has evolved into crystal healing and moon cycles.

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

When my mother was seriously ill and admitted to the high dependency unit, I honestly thought she was going to die. I went home and created a crystal mandala to invoke healing, I called all my angels, guides, guardians and ancestors to help. I went to the hospital and taped healing sigils I had created on the back of photos of me, my sisters and grandchildren and I brought crystals for my mother to hold in her hand. I read healing stories about goddesses, ascended masters and anything that would help her believe in miracles and the power of healing. Three weeks later at the absolute disbelief that she had survived my mother, my Superhero was discharged and swears it was this continual healing that gave her the will to live.

You do not have to be an expert or a master within your passion, but you do need clear intent and the belief that you can make a difference. Never think you are not enough to make miracles happen!

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

I think every businesswoman will have made their share of small mistakes from advertising, renting rooms and collaborations. I haven’t made a huge mistake as I like to say yes to as many opportunities as possible but if they do not work out it is part of the learning curve and my journey.

Mistakes are the best way to learn!

Let’s jump to our main focus. When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world?

The world we live in wants us to believe success is big houses, fancy cars and exotic holidays. My work is focused on what brings you happiness and creating a sustainable world around that, there are crystal meditations that will take you to every inch of the universe on the back of dragons. Deep relaxation is the first step to quietening your mind so that your soul can speak, understanding what YOU truly want and using crystals to empower these changes or beliefs. I hope that each person I reach can step forward confidently in their life away from societal expectations so that it inspires others to make that move to a more spiritual way of living.

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

1. Always set a part of your day that is just for YOU — half an hour of reading, an undisturbed bath, meditation, a nature walk. This gives you quiet time to reflect or prepare for your day.

2. Train your brain to pick up on the negative words you say about yourself and your life. Learn to reword what you are saying to yourself. You are what you say.

3. Journal as much as you can — subconscious writing is a simple tool that exposes your deepest fears and desires — all of it needs to be unearthed to heal.

4. Life is not meant to be easy, there will always be challenges and heartbreak — the key is always finding the positive and reminding yourself how to be grateful.

5. Do not expect someone else to make you happy — you are responsible for your own happiness — buy your own flowers, jewellery, weekends away, spa days. Nourish yourself with unconditional love!

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

A free collective that is available for every gender, colour, age, sexuality that explores spirituality openly throughout the country and the world, from crystal healing to chanting, where there are funds available for study and self-improvement.

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

1. Time is an illusion; it does not matter if everything happens in 5 weeks or 5 years — the key is to keep going and believe in yourself.

2. Patience is required.

3. To swap saying “I don’t have enough time” with “what are my priorities today” — that mantra is a game changer.

4. Being self-employed can be lonely, so find your work tribe for support.

5. To be kinder to myself and understand there are good days and bad days.

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

Mental health has always been a huge part of my life surrounded by people who suffer daily; there is not enough support that is available quickly enough and I have lost friends who have not felt they could be any more of this world.

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

Instagram — @solecarehealing

Facebook Group — Solecare Healing Community — https://www.facebook.com/groups/solecarehealingcommunity

Website — www.solecare.org

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

Women In Wellness: Jeannie Lymath Of Sole Care Healing On the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women In Wellness: Laura Erlich of Mother Nurture Wellness On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will…

Women In Wellness: Laura Erlich of Mother Nurture Wellness On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Take care of your heart and maintain good boundaries. Life is hard, and relationships can be even harder. Keeping your lines of communication with loved ones open and clear, and taking care of yourself through having good boundaries is key to managing your emotional wellbeing.

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

Laura began her career in holistic wellness after studying Traditional Chinese Medicine with an emphasis on fertility and obstetric care. After graduating summa cum laude from Emperor’s College, she founded Mother Nurture Wellness, a Los Angeles-based women’s health practice specializing in fertility optimization, pregnancy, and postpartum care. As an integrative health professional for over 20 years, Laura has helped thousands of families grow by creating a custom roadmap that targets each individual’s needs from nutrition, supplementation, herbal medicine, acupuncture, meditation, mentorship, and beyond. In 2015, Laura co-authored Feed Your Fertility, A Guide to Cultivating a Healthy Pregnancy with Chinese Medicine, Real Food and Healthy Living.

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?

My career working with women in the realm of holistic health dates back to the days of yore, the late 1990’s, when I hung out my shingle as a prenatal massage therapist in New York City. About a year later, I moved back to my hometown of Los Angeles and began my career as a doula and prenatal massage therapist. Wanting even more tools to work with, I got a masters degree in Chinese medicine and started bringing all of my skills together in my private practice, going on to co-author a book, Feed Your Fertility, and found a wellness center, Mother Nurture Wellness. Lately, I’ve pivoted to do more teaching and online coaching, which I truly am enjoying.

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

Years of witnessing incredible women give birth makes it almost impossible to narrow it down to one amazing story. A few awe inspiring moments include watching a mom go from early labor to pushing her baby out in under 5 minutes, after stimulation from one acupuncture needle! Another powerful badass mom labored for 5 days straight, others had emergency c-sections and I held their hand while their partner attended to the new baby. As an acupuncturist and herbalist, I’ve witnessed the magic of seeing people who struggle to become pregnant finally realize their dreams of parenthood. I’ve witnessed couples walk away and choose a childless life. Every day in my career is interesting, heart opening and inspiring, because of the pure grace, grit and resilience I witness.

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?

This is a hard one to answer. I think my biggest mistake was choosing to go into a business partnership with a friend. We were both very green, and we were functioning more on a series of leaps of faith than a solid business plan. We ended up parting ways, and I’d honestly rather have skipped the partnership and kept the friendship, when all was said and done.

The lessons I learned from this were some of the hardest of my life. Most notably, to be very thoughtful about entering into business arrangements with friends, and to be crystal clear about how you set up a business structure with someone you have a personal relationship with. I am grateful to have moved on and recovered both personally and professionally, but the relationships I lost in the process were a steep price to pay.

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?

Working as an integrative fertility and obstetric specialist has afforded me the incredible privilege of supporting women to achieve pregnancy, and to bring their babies earthside as peacefully as possible, as well as helping them ease their shift into the postpartum phase. Throughout my career, I have applied the same philosophy to supporting my patients who are trying to conceive, by supporting their heart and emotional health with as much concern as I have for optimizing their physical wellness. Chinese medical philosophy opines that we are microcosms of the greater macrocosm- the world around us, which means that we are only as healthy as our environment. Through my work, I seek to educate as many people as I can about the importance of living clean, through nutrition, lifestyle, and our carbon footprint. Mothering means caring about the planet as much as our individual selves, and I seek to share that message whenever possible.

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

Eat whole foods as much as possible. Eating processed foods increases your carbon footprint and taxes your body. Eating foods that have been altered as little as possible is a major component of better health. I have seen women’s cycles regulate, moods stabilize and pregnancy nausea vanish when real food is the mainstay.
Meal-plan! In order to achieve the goal of eating real, taking the time to plan and prepare meals for the week is an invaluable tool. Cut your veggies, marinate your proteins, think about what you are going to prepare and make it as easy for yourself as possible when you’re staring down making a weeknight dinner! One of my favorite things to do is to make a “salad bar in the fridge,” so all I have to do is mix and match veggies and protein for a quick meal.
Get enough sleep. In order to give your body adequate time to detoxify and repair, sleeping a minimum of 7–8 hours a night is really important
Make sure your digestive system is working properly. That means ensuring enough veggies and fluids and movement to ensure a daily bowel movement. It also means managing your tendency to worry and overthink, which can damage digestion (think nervous stomach) and lead to IBS-like symptoms.
Take care of your heart and maintain good boundaries. Life is hard, and relationships can be even harder. Keeping your lines of communication with loved ones open and clear, and taking care of yourself through having good boundaries is key to managing your emotional wellbeing.

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

Given the moment we are in, the movement that would bring the most wellness to the most people would be to wean ourselves off of fossil fuels, which are the drivers of pollution, climate change, and political upheaval in our world. If we devoted as much energy to clean energy as we do to war, we would all be much healthier, and so would our planet. I wish I could start a movement that compelled humans to think more about the impact of their actions on the future, rather than choosing short term convenience.

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

Plan for a pandemic.
Never have just one revenue stream
Business ownership is not for the faint of heart, be prepared to work!
Combining being a mom with owning a business is a lifelong balancing act that you’ll always be striving to get right
Keep strong boundaries in everything you do

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

A through line in my work is the relationship we have to our environments, and working with people to make small daily changes to help their values line up more with their actions. While this definitely falls under the umbrella of climate change, I think it actually encompasses all of these hot button issues. Veganism is often an effort to be kinder to animals and the planet, our mental health is frayed from living in a sick world, and our climate is affected to a degree that stands to cause us great harm. As humans, we will only make it if we find our way back to what matters most, bringing health to our world through bringing health to ourselves.

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

www.mothernurturela.com and @mothernurturewellness on Instagram

Thank you for these fantastic insights!

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