Category: Featured

Women In Wellness: Amrita Sen of RoundGlass Living On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help…

Women In Wellness: Amrita Sen of RoundGlass Living On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Confront Your Fantasy Bubbles: The one thing I find to be so real in my appreciation of humanity is the suffering of people. And time and again, I am learning that suffering is directly linked to people’s fantasies and the gap those fantasies have with reality. Think about what fantasy bubbles you have created for yourself and if you have too many. If you have too many you have in effect created polka dots and those polka dots become noise because at the end of the day, you can’t focus. The opportunity is to make those Fantasy Bubbles into ideas through the use of collaboration and building coalitions for your fantasies. Coalitions around fantasies become ideas. Ideas change people and people change the world.

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

RoundGlass Living’s Music for Wellbeing lead, Amrita Sen, is a U.S.-based singer, artist, film producer, and designer of Indian-themed music, products, and entertainment for global audiences. In addition to serving as lead to the music category, she also composes music, sounds, beats, and moving art to support the dynamic platform. Her influences derive from classical piano, strings, and flute with a fundamental grounding in both Western Classical and North Indian motifs. Her longform melodic music is scored and accompanied by moving art drawn by Amrita from her various art collections.

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

I’m passionate about working in design, film production, and entertainment — but music has always been at the center of my creative process.

I’ve been a professional world music playback singer and musician for over 10 years and in 2009 I performed at the Academy Awards with music legend AR Rahman, singing Jai Ho from the Oscar-winning movie, Slumdog Millionaire. I’ve been lucky enough to perform and record with several global artists and groups including Justin Timberlake, Weezer, Timbaland, Pitbull, and the LA Philharmonic. Recently, I scored and performed in Leonardo DiCaprio’s HBO climate change documentary Ice on Fire.

I like to also work with my hands. My Bollydoll art collection was featured during Miami Art Week 2011 (when Art Basel Miami Beach descends on the city), presented by Timbaland. I’ve also created a variety of design collaborations with Mac Cosmetics, Barnes & Noble, and Pier 1, to name a few.

So you can imagine how delighted I was to lead RoundGlass Living music, it allows me tap into my passion for music and design. Creating new music for meditation and healing is fascinating. The history of music tells us a story of how different rhythms, frequencies and sounds affect our physical, emotional, and spiritual wholistic wellbeing. Collaborating with RoundGlass and leading its Music for Wellbeing is quite personal for me having been healed and seen others heal from music.

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

The most interesting observation I have had is how invested RoundGlass is in music. Music is part of more than half the pillars of Wholistic Wellbeing — from mental, physical, social to community and spiritual. Its vibrational form supports our lifeforce. I started my collaboration with RoundGlass thinking I would be doing my own thing in a department that was not necessarily integrated with the rest of the company. But very quickly, I realized that I had an army of advocates who themselves had remarkable ideas that we could incorporate into our offering. For instance, I never thought that trance music had a place in the genre of wellbeing music until the Global Head of Mental Health and Wellbeing with RoundGlass, Prakriti Poddar, suggested we try it. Today, the trance piece, “Liquid Metal” is our most viral piece. It reflects that our demographic for Wholistic Wellbeing music is broader and more diverse than we think.

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

The biggest mistake I made was not leaning into the specific skill that differentiated me from everyone else — it’s something I call my unique atom particle identifier. That specific skill is my ability to do a vocal that combines my western classical operatic training with my training in Indian classical with an emphasis on Ghazals from the Northwestern region of India and my knowledge of Bengali music. People oftentimes ignore skills that are so specific because it may seem silly at first. And that’s exactly what I did. I ignored it. I assumed it was too narrow and didn’t realize how to convert a narrow skill into something that I could leverage as an artist and composer. But the realization I had much later in my life is that, at the end of the day, a good vocal is just a well-tuned instrument, and a well-tuned instrument needs to be played with and experimented with. The more you experiment and practice, the more directions it can take and the more music and art you can bring to the world. A good vocal is an opportunity to create a new piece of original art that cannot be erased from history.

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

I’m very excited leading RoundGlass Living’s Music for Wellbeing category. RoundGlass is a global Wholistic Wellbeing company dedicated to empowering people on their personal wellness journey and we’re expanding the music offerings on its new RoundGlass Living App.

The Music for Wellbeing was created to enhance the app’s immersive meditation experience. It includes originally composed musical stories to inspire and help users on their personal journey to Wholistic Wellbeing.

To bring a variety of sound palettes to the category, we have invited composers and artists from different genres to collaborate with us. To start we have multi-platinum mega-producer and 3X Grammy Award winner Jerry Wond, who has created a unique musical journey called “Wondaland”. It’s a series of six long form and short version compositions customized to fit the mood of those on the path to wellbeing. Jerry’s work brings together world music, exotic vocals, Caribbean influence, and a multi-language format to immerse the listener in healing and meditative vibes.

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.

Walk and Talk or Fitness & Mindfulness: I read a book called Geography of Genius that validated a working theory I have had for a long time — the best ideas, whether they be left brain or right brain — happen during times of spiritual movement. Spiritual movement CAN and WILL happen with walking and talking. Try it. It works! If you are stuck, go outside, walk with a friend, and talk it out. Your idea will come closer to some sort of horizon even if you don’t want it to!

Yoga, Fitness, Martial Arts and more: You simply can’t ignore your body. It just doesn’t work. The mind, the body, and the self. The body needs movement.

Knowledge and Wisdom: There is no such thing as going into a corner and divining inspiration. It is a fallacy. Very few creators operate this way. Most people who do creative things share and collaborate.

Confront Your Fantasy Bubbles: The one thing I find to be so real in my appreciation of humanity is the suffering of people. And time and again, I am learning that suffering is directly linked to people’s fantasies and the gap those fantasies have with reality. Think about what fantasy bubbles you have created for yourself and if you have too many. If you have too many you have in effect created polka dots and those polka dots become noise because at the end of the day, you can’t focus. The opportunity is to make those Fantasy Bubbles into ideas through the use of collaboration and building coalitions for your fantasies. Coalitions around fantasies become ideas. Ideas change people and people change the world.

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

To embrace music as an integral part of your overall wellness journey. I think many people don’t realize the critical role that music plays in how we feel — and not just music but sounds. There are sounds that when brought together can impact us in ways we never would have imagined. Studies in scientific journals even find that specific sounds have the ability to target disturbances in the body like inflammation, sleep issues, stress and anxiety, indigestion or healthy eating, breathwork, mindfulness, and many more.

Music for Wellbeing in the RoundGlass Living app addresses these and more. The diverse soundscapes are so important to having an immersive meditation experience and helping us to create our own happiness, health, and peace of mind.

I’m also thrilled to be collaborating with Prakriti Poddar, the Global Head of Mental Health and Wellbeing at RoundGlass, as we dive into the connection between music and wellness.

What are your 3 Things I recommend to anyone starting at a new wellness career??

Be clear in your intentions and words. The wellness journey is deep, but you need to stay clear. That’s what I love about RoundGlass Living is that it isn’t esoteric. It makes Wholistic Wellness a less complicated journey.

Always aim to get along with everyone in the workplace. That will bring so much joy to you. Even if you think you are right, you don’t want to be right in the wrong way.

Don’t fall in the corporate hamster wheel. Remember you’re in the business of wellness, so it’s important to still stay well. Work hard but also work well.

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 a crisis around the world. We have got to get a grip on how to give people a better sense of community. If we don’t, we will have more false religions popping up all over the place. Community is a tried and true path to joy. It works! This is why I’m so thrilled to be a part of the RoundGlass community. This is why Sunny Singh created it. RoundGlass’ mission is to bring people together and establish a sense of community and support.

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

You can learn about RoundGlass Living’s Music for Wellbeing at Living.Round.Glass or follow on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. You can Download the app in the AppStore or GooglePlay.

Thank you for these fantastic insights!

Women In Wellness: Amrita Sen of RoundGlass Living 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.

The Future of Beauty: Indira Hodzic On How Image Spa MD’s Technological Innovation Will Shake Up…

The Future of Beauty: Indira Hodzic On How Image Spa MD’s Technological Innovation Will Shake Up The Beauty Industry

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Not to sound like a broken record, but the advancement of lasers is exciting. The treatments are becoming less painful, with less downtime, with better results and again, with so many new applications to help clients achieve results. Anything I incorporate into our practice is going to be because of the results.

As a part of our series about how technology will be changing the beauty industry over the next five years, I had the pleasure of interviewing Indira Hodzic.

Indira is the co-founder of ImageSpaMD, The Whole Wellness, the All Hands on Deck Foundation and FemMD (launching 2022). Indira consults for medical spa teams across the country and has built several successful businesses thanks to her results-driven approach and empathetic leadership style. Indira was born in Bosnia, and immigrated here with her family as Baltic War refugees. She currently lives in Encinitas, California.

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

My very first job was working at a medical spa called Nuvo in Washington. I was just a teenager, but I realized quickly that I was good at it and working hard was rewarding. From interacting with clients to business operations, I ultimately put myself through college doing this kind of work. I learned skills that helped me become a business owner and industry leader, but honestly, what hooked me was helping people see results. That became my passion, and the driving force behind my team’s success.

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

This might sound crazy, but Kimberlin Brown, a famous American soap opera actress, was a huge influence on my life from a young age. I grew up watching her on ‘The Young and the Restless’ and ‘The Bold and the Beautiful.’ First, we moved to Germany to escape war in Bosnia, then we came to the United States. Watching soap operas was one of the ways my family, including myself, learned to speak English. I always admired Kimberlin’s strong female characters, and of course, she was strikingly beautiful. I truly believe somehow, I manifested Kimberlin into my life, if that doesn’t sound ridiculous. When my partner Eddie Echegoyen and I started ImageSpaMD in Southern California, I met Kimberlin when she became a client. We’ve developed a wonderful friendship over the years. I now consider her a mentor and second mom. She’s a strong woman with a diverse business empire and a successful acting career.

Are you able to identify a “tipping point” in your career when you started to see success?

As I said, within the first few months of working in a medical spa, I knew I was good at it. I’d say the tipping point didn’t happen until I opened my own office. I realized how much it really took to get it going. Building my incredible team and creating an inclusive culture where everyone can thrive took probably 12 of my 16 years in this business to really get to that point. We’ve been so fortunate that we’ve always been successful, but we really rounded the corner when the right team came together. Any one of us can give a client good results, but as a team of professionals, we deliver even better.

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

Dr. James Chao has been a phenomenal mentor as both a business leader and as a medical professional. He’s a plastic surgeon, and the partnership between us has allowed all aspects of our aesthetics practice to grow exponentially. Sharing his acumen shaped my entrepreneurial drive and helped me see opportunities for success when you chase passion over money, and remain focused on patient results.

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

Aesthetics is always improving, whether it’s the technologies or the techniques. There is always room to learn, and to improve the results that can be obtained for a client. Here’s an example: I attended a dinner recently which included training on a product we’ve used for years. We learned the technique of shaking the bottle before injecting this product has changed, as has the manner of injecting it. No one taught that ten years ago, and the improvement in the results from such a simple change is astounding. Another example is lasers. They’re constantly getting better. You always want to have the latest and greatest, for patient comfort and to optimize results, both of which improve patient satisfaction and loyalty.

Researchers are also constantly finding that lasers, and other products, can have benefits for other ‘off-label’ conditions, which in some cases can be life-changing for patients.

I’m launching a new venture this year called FemMD, which will focus on broader aspects of women’s wellness. The treatments we offer include things like vaginal rejuvenation and bioidentical hormone therapies such as pellets. There are surgical and non-surgical procedures, even topical products to enhance libido, improve confidence and can treat difficult, even embarrassing symptoms such as incontinence. Many of these treatments are done with lasers that have evolved from being used strictly for the face and neck. The possibilities are exciting. We feel poised to help so many more women look and feel their best, navigating through some previously taboo topics that don’t scare us one bit.

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

I tell everyone to do their own research and be sure they know the provider they’re going to. Bargain treatments can be anything but, and that’s not specific to laser technology, it’s true of any treatment that is done by the wrong hands. There are risks to any procedure, and it’s important to know what those are, and how the provider you’ve chosen handles those situations ahead of time.

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

Not to sound like a broken record, but the advancement of lasers is exciting. The treatments are becoming less painful, with less downtime, with better results and again, with so many new applications to help clients achieve results. Anything I incorporate into our practice is going to be because of the results.

Another area that’s exciting is the education being offered to providers. It’s much more readily available than it ever has been. The pandemic has even helped with that, thanks to remote learning opportunities. You don’t need to travel to every conference to take advantage of the content and the education that is offered. That allows for more training, and more patient time, both of which are beneficial to everyone. Better education equals better client results.

I’m also pleased to see a greater emphasis on things like DNA tests for your skin and individualized treatment plans based on things like skin tests. Traditionally, across all of beauty and medicine, we’ve spent far too much time trying to fix problems and symptoms instead of tailoring treatments to maintain and improve health and beauty from the inside. We’re moving in a more holistic and more personal direction, and clients are responding.

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

I would say overall, providers need more training and to remove ego from the equation when it comes to the client relationship. I’d like to see more providers create treatment plans tailored to each patient, both for safety and efficacy. We don’t always think first about a person’s medical history and overall health before beginning treatment. Considering things like hydration, performing skin tests to determine what products and services should be recommended. We also need to take gut health and hormonal health into account in creating these treatment plans. Follow-up is also critical to success and can easily be overlooked.

You are an expert about beauty. Can you share 5 ideas that anyone can use “to feel beautiful”?

Hydration — simple self-care that can improve every aspect of your health

Exfoliation — sloughing a little skin makes us all glow, whether achieved through a dry brush or a facial scrub

Treatment — create a plan for your skin and calendar it, for instance schedule a monthly facial

Product — your skincare plan should include a tailored, individualized regimen

Diet — eating the top 5 foods for your skin (in our practice we encourage clients to follow Dr. Mark Tager’s ‘Feed Your Skin Right’ protocols)

Vitamins — also from the protocols, taking collagen and vitamins C and D

Oh wait, that was 6.

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. 🙂

Our mission for the new FemMD clinic is to empower women through optimum pelvic health. That is the movement we want to create through this new aesthetics concept: to help women achieve optimum health in areas that are often difficult to even discuss, from a whole host of sexual intimacy problems to incontinence and dryness. By balancing their hormones, rebuilding collagen in intimate areas, and using products to help balance pH and gut health we’re allowing women to thrive in new ways. For too long, we’ve shied away from talking about these taboo or difficult subjects, which has left too many women feeling isolated and alone. We are ready to be part of the solution.

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

“Knowing others is intelligence, knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power.” -Lao Tzu

This quote is timeless, and it has always reminded me that self-awareness is the key to true happiness and inner strength. It reminds me that I am in control of my own destiny. When I want to connect with other people, which is so crucial to what I do, first I need to be sure my house is in order.

How can our readers follow you online?

I’d love to connect through Instagram, imagespamd.com and linkedin

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

The Future of Beauty: Indira Hodzic On How Image Spa MD’s Technological Innovation Will Shake Up… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Modern Fashion: Suzanne McKenzie of Able Made On The 5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion

Modern Fashion: Suzanne McKenzie of Able Made On The 5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand Today

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Empower your team — It’s important to understand what motivates each person on your team, and to be clear on goals and mission. We have a great and passionate team, which is so important to scale a business.

Many in the fashion industry have been making huge pivots in their business models. Many have turned away from the fast fashion trend. Many have been focusing on fashion that also makes a social impact. Many have turned to sustainable and ethical sourcing. Many have turned to hi tech manufacturing. Many have turned to subscription models. What are the other trends that we will see in the fashion industry? What does it take to lead a successful fashion brand today?

In our series called, “5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand Today” we are talking to successful leaders of fashion brands who can talk about the Future of Fashion and the 5 things it takes to lead a successful fashion brand in our “new normal.”

As a part of this series I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Suzanne McKenzie, founder of Able Made.

Suzanne McKenzie is Founder and Chief Creative Officer at Able Made, a responsibly made athleisure brand for the active and the activists. After losing her husband suddenly to cardiac arrest while playing the sport he loved, she founded the Ucal McKenzie Breakaway Foundation in his name to support inner city youth through access to soccer, health and art education.

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

I grew up in Hollis, Maine, a town near Portland. Since I was young, I was three-sport athlete, playing soccer, basketball and softball in a highly competitive environment. Those lessons I learned on the court and field has really shaped my values and approach to adversity.

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

I lost my husband in 2009, and that loss has sent me on a journey to use my design, strategy and sports background to build my business, Able Made.

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

My friend Bill introduced me to the late design icon Milton Glasier at a NYC design gala. I usually don’t get nervous, but I was in this instance… he designed the I (heart) NY logo and made many other amazing contributions to the field. Bill made brought me over to him and intro’ed us. Since then, we called him “Uncle Milty”.

You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

Being brave –- don’t be afraid to ask because the if you don’t ask the answer is always no. I cold-called Anna Wintour at Vogue to inquire about a tee design collaborator and got a meeting with her team, which lead to the launch of Able Made.

Being creative — stay steady when you’re up against business challenges and have confidence you will get through them with creative thinking. During the pandemic, we pivoted our sock factory to make certified organic face masks and were one of the first face masks to market to help keep our communities safer.

Being positive — celebrate your wins. In fast-paced environments, it’s important to pause or take stock of milestones to keep a positive mindset. I was in our factory in the Garment District last week filming the making of our first full ready-to-wear line and all the people working hard make our collection. I allowed myself to just pause what I was doing take a moment to take it all in. Positivity will translate to your team, as leadership helps set the tone.

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

Our collections aren’t just sporty because of trend. We merge our collections with our soccer/sports heritage, so we are athleisure actually conceptually inspired by our athletic background.

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

“Fall down seven times, get up eight.” — Japanese Proverb

Achieving your goals takes a lot of hard work. I try to keep this quote in mind when challenges arise in business and in life in general.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Do you see any fascinating developments emerging over the next few years in the fashion industry that you are excited about? Can you tell us about that?

I see the fashion industry working on sustainability and cruelty-free initiatives, with commitments from both emerging and established heritage brands. Luxury parent company Kering is going fur free across all its brands, including Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Alexander McQueen and Balenciaga. There are massive CO2 emissions created by the fashion industry, and more brands, including Eileen Fisher and Patagonia are looking at natural solutions to remove carbon from the atmosphere, including implementing regenerative farming practices.

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

I started my brand to helping fund non-profit Ucal McKenzie Breakaway Foundation and its city-youth soccer and health camps in Boston and Hartford. The award-winning programming is going into its 13th year and looking to expand into our third market, New York City.

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

First we want the highest-quality product that feels great on and will be long-lasting, so we start with those design standards first. Then we layer on top our priorities on certified organic and cruelty-free fabrics and yarns, including cruelty-free Merino wool and fruit-based vegan leather alternatives, as well as reusing material that already existing by prioritizing deadstock or upcycled fabrics.

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

Fast fashion is a huge contributor to the pollution and waste coming from the fashion industry. Their business model is based on an endless amount of styles to promote buying and consumption, regardless of working conditions of their factories and the impact of synthetic fabric production and waste of poor quality product that creates high-churn and landfill. Able Made is part of the movement to be seasonless with less styles that last longer, with low-environmental impact of our natural fabrics, and responsible manufacturing with fair wages and safe working conditions.

Thank you for all that. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand”. Please share a story or example for each.

Don’t follow the crowd — Be authentic to your story and your own point of view. We are leaning into the heritage story as to why I started Able Made: to fund Ucal McKenzie Breakaway Foundation, a city-youth health and empowerment focused non profit created in honor of my late husband.

Be inclusive — Your end product will always be better if you have input from different ages, cultures and backgrounds. Since day one, Able Made has always employed and collaborated with an inclusive group of talent, from our investors, to management team, to the people we cast as models. Inclusivity is in our DNA and our team reflects the community we serve through our foundation.

Create a positive culture — Fashion has been notorious for being catty. At Able Made, we have created a supportive and collaborative environment where voices are heard and we work together really well. Many people on the team have been working with us since the launch.

Be open to change — Always stay open to improving no matter if you are in a leadership position. Taking the road less traveled has helped us push Able Made forward, from updating our factory list to exploring new fabrics.

Empower your team — It’s important to understand what motivates each person on your team, and to be clear on goals and mission. We have a great and passionate team, which is so important to scale a business.

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

I’d love to see more shared resources as it relates to sustainability. There has been more fabric information sharing I’ve seen recently which is amazing.

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

I hope to focus more on the goals we currently have to create healthier and more empowered communities via Able Made and our non profit partner, Ucal McKenzie Breakaway Foundation.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

Website ablemadeshop.com and @ablemade on IG, facebook and TikTok.

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

My pleasure. Thank you!

Modern Fashion: Suzanne McKenzie of Able Made On The 5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Modern Fashion: Eric Vicens On The 5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand Today

An Interview With Candice Georgiadice

Trust — Every good leader of a fashion brand needs to have complete trust in their creative vision no matter the feedback they receive from others. It is crucial for the life of your brand to trust and execute the ideas you are trying to express as a brand to distinguish yourself in the market. No one will understand the concepts you have until you execute them to the best of your ability.

As a part of this series I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Eric Vicens.

Eric Vicens has been in the eyewear industry for the past eight years. With his passion for design and well-crafted goods, he’s created a name for himself in Miami through his highly curated eyewear shop, twelvesixtynine, as well as his passion project, Johann Wolff. Raised in the Dominican Republic, Eric has a great cultural background that allowed him to jive with South Florida’s culture easily.

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

Sure, I’d love to. I had the blessing of being born in Columbia, South Carolina, the only person in my entire family to bear the coveted blue passport. Even though the memories of this adventure are long gone, my older brother and business partner, Lorenzo, got to experience it for 4 years. This stint in America made him feel more at ease conducting business in the states. After my father finished his Ph.D., my family relocated to the Dominican Republic, one of the most amazing places. I honestly can’t ask for a better upbringing. Growing up with a culture highly influenced by its Spanish settlers, you knew you were part of something special from early on. I attended an all English American School and mingled with a small group of friends — a classroom wouldn’t exceed 20 students. My weekends were usually spent at the beach or Casa de Campo, obsessing over the endless summer weather we tend to enjoy. Even though I enjoyed the outdoors plenty, one thing was obvious; I was captivated by automobile design from first sight. The only sport that I dared to entertain, and still do, is racing. The countless hours obsessing over old Car & Driver magazines, reading, observing and imagining one day of being able to appreciate these beauties in person is instilled in my mind.

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

Sure. Fast forward to 2006, I moved to Miami thanks to my dad. I wasn’t fully vested in the idea, but he made it a point for me to understand the benefits it would bring to me as a young adult. As any good son would do, I lightly refused and ended up caving in. Now that I was settled in Miami, my older brother Lorenzo started to visit and from the get-go, he started to source watch brands that he could represent in the Dominican Republic. Soon I became his gofer and from there, I decided to do my own side hustle, in comes eBay. Looking back now, I can see why I hit the ground running. eBay had created and polished an e-commerce machine without me even noticing. In 2014, Lorenzo struck a substantial deadstock (no longer trending merchandise). I wasn’t entirely in, but we followed our gut feeling. Low and behold, this transaction allowed us to purchase our first store in Coconut Grove, one of the most enchanting neighborhoods of greater Miami. The rest is history. After our first visit to Vision Expo East, my brother and I understood our path curated independent brands.

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

The way Johann Wolff started. Lorenzo and I left for Mido, Milan, Italy’s yearly eyewear show. With all the confidence in the world, we arrived at our hotel. We planned out how to comb the manufacturers’ pavilion and find our coveted factory. The days came and went with the show quickly coming to a close. Not only did we realize that there was a strong language barrier, but we had concluded that the quality that we were expecting wasn’t to be found. With our morale lower than ever, we decided to visit our good friend Shane Baum, owner of Leisure Society. His booth, at any eyewear shop globally, is considered a haven. With an abundance of Aperol Spritz and a fully staffed bar, we sat down to have a chat. As if it was meant to be, after explaining to him our lack of success, he texted a good friend he had worked with during his days at Bulgari. What we couldn’t achieve in 3 days, he managed to do so in 15 minutes. There you have it, that’s how Johann Wolff started.

You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

Drive: Friends and family are the first to encourage you to move forward with your dreams. Now, very few of them pitch in financially, ultimately taking a lot of work before they recognize how good you are and how far you’ve taken that idea that seemed so far out. Even though our family and friends believe in us, they never invested in the business throughout those first few years. We had to duke it out with our sweat and tears.

Passion: If we weren’t passionate about design, there’s no way we would have landed the brands that we did or curate the way we do. It takes a passionate owner who’s business savvy to make it work in the fashion industry. Success will be hard to come by if you lack one of these. During our initial phase, brand reps would love to push product upon us. With little understanding of our target audience, we caved. I remember the countless times we sat on inventory because we believed what someone else thought was good for us.

Courageous — Small businesses fail, it’s a fact. It’s a tiny percentage that can withstand the first few rocky years and enjoy the fruits of the labor. If Lorenzo and I didn’t act as a team and believed in our hearts that our vision could be translated to reality, we wouldn’t be here. We both had the education and possibility of working in the private sector and making a good living while we were at it.

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

Even though we collaborate with outside agencies or companies, we like to do most of the work in-house. This intimate process allows for a unique result that can easily be seen through our offerings compared to similar businesses or products. At twelvesixtynine the curation is immaculate, even though it targets a niche market. We’ve traveled the world visiting shops and we can confidently say we are one of the best in the US market. Through this process, we’ve managed to mold Johann Wolff into a brand that can hit every sector of the market, focusing on timeless designs while offering a fun, eclectic collection of light tinted lenses for a hip audience.

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

Be here now. Starting a business in my mid-twenties, I had a lot of distractions. Friends, parties, family, girls, you name it. Thanks to my mother and father who brought me up, I learned the value of hard work and perseverance from early on. Even though I still need to center myself and practice meditation, I know it has aided me to keep my cool, understand my goals, and focus on actualizing them.

Definitely, I’m a big fan of young consumers’ interest in the idea of repurposing clothing and upcycling materials/garments. The word ‘sustainability’ has been thrown around for years now. Still, ever since the world slowed down due to COVID-19 it seems as though many consumers have caught on to the importance of ‘slow fashion’. Lately there has been a visible emphasis on supporting independent designers that focus on small-batch productions that push the sustainability envelope.

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

We are one of the only brands that invest heavily in polarized lenses. 90% of our selection is polarized and the reason for this is that they do a better job at protecting from harmful UV/UB rays. Most eyewear brands in the market lack polarized lenses. Some of them even opt out on anti-reflective coatings on their lenses.

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

We work with cellulose acetate. Not only is it incredibly strong and beautiful, it is hypoallergenic and renewable. This plant-based material is mainly used by high-end eyewear manufactures. A lot of what you find in the industry is plastic or what you would call injection mold.

We are not fans of fast fashion. For us, eyewear is the most important accessory one can wear. In today’s culture, we focus more on shoes and handbags. Now ask yourself, how much time do you spend looking at shoes vs. a person’s face? Exactly. We believe in selling a product that withstands the test of time and is continuously wearable, no matter where fashion trends stand. This also allows our clients to build a collection similar to how watch, art, and automobile collectors do.

Thank you for all that. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand”. Please share a story or example for each.

Innovation — Be it quality, design, or giving back to the environment, a brand you need to develop and improve to maintain your competitive advantage continuously.

Design — There are numerous one-hit wonders out there. You need to push the envelope consecutively and develop designs that captivate a new audience and keep your existing clientele interested and engaged.

Trust — Every good leader of a fashion brand needs to have complete trust in their creative vision no matter the feedback they receive from others. It is crucial for the life of your brand to trust and execute the ideas you are trying to express as a brand to distinguish yourself in the market. No one will understand the concepts you have until you execute them to the best of your ability.

Respect — Paying homage to technical processes, fabrication methods and past designers is an essential trait of being at the forefront of the industry. As well as respecting your consumers through your brand’s transparency.

A Team — This might be the most important one of all. A passionate team that believes in your vision, aiding in supporting and actualizing your creative endeavors is the key to the continuous growth of your brand.

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

We need to step away from fast fashion and quick. The fashion industry is one of the most significant contributors to global warming. We need to reeducate consumers to move into a thrift/repurpose vibe. Nothing makes me more proud than a compliment on a well-thrifted item.

To cultivate awareness in every being. Awareness for our bodies, for our planet, for others. In this society, we are too caught up with upping one another instead of focusing on living the best life we can while respecting our planet and others.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

They can follow our Instagram posts and our blogs at both twelvesixtynine and Johann Wolff. We are working on a series of articles that will educate our readers on eyewear in a very romantic and story telling manner.

@twelvesixtynine

@jweyewear

Twelvesixtynine.com

Johannwolff.com

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

Modern Fashion: Eric Vicens On The 5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand Today was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Disruptors: Kirsten VandenBout of Helen & Gertrude On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up…

Female Disruptors: Kirsten VandenBout of Helen & Gertrude On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Allocate/resource your time — This was great advice when I needed to set time management boundaries. I would get so lost in contribution and making sure everyone else’s workloads were manageable from a mental health standpoint that I didn’t make time for my sanity. Especially allocating personal time for creativity and things that produced a better version of myself.

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

Kirsten is the Director of Creative Services at Helen & Gertrude, a women-owned, award-winning digital agency. When she isn’t working, you can find this soon-to-be-mama hanging with her dogs and husband, likely outdoors or in the middle of a home renovation project.

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?

As a kid, I always told people I wanted to be a “starving artist.” I had no clue what that meant as a five-year-old, but it sounded like a pretty sweet job. Ultimately, I knew my end goal was to be an artist of some kind. In middle school, I was homeschooled, so I had the flexibility to control my school schedule. I would race to get all my schoolwork done early in the day, so I had all afternoon and night to draw endlessly. After continuously hearing “you’re not going to make money in the art field,” I decided to collect some research. The pessimistic outlook surged a new drive inside of me; I had proven to my parents and those less-than optimistic teachers that you could be financially successful in careers like art direction. I worked hard in high school, entering scholarships and art award programs to build my portfolio. I was accepted into my dream school, The Fashion Institute of Technology, for fashion illustration. After graduation, I soon realized the industry was very niche, and there were more extensive opportunities out in the city of dreams. I reapplied to FIT this time in advertising design. The unconventional side of my story, which I don’t recommend to everyone, is that I dropped out my junior year, just shy of graduation. As a young 21-year-old, I reconciled with my mind that accepting a graphic design director job was wiser financially than accelerating my debt. That career opened up opportunities to agency life in content services at Brand Networks, which eventually spun off to Helen & Gertrude. After three years of determination and the spirit of proving myself, I became the director of creative services, leading the talented force of creative geniuses.

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

I encourage my teams to bring ALL the versions of themselves rather than fit into a cookie-cutter robot. The “female disruptor” in me promotes a creative culture that allows for mistakes to be embraced and creativity to be honest, which is the only way we can all improve and do better. I’m an “assertive” person, according to many career trait assessments. As Creative Director at a digital marketing agency, I’ll tell you that the word assertive doesn’t typically have a positive connotation. With that being said, I can’t pick and choose which version of myself I show up to work. I have learned to appreciate my “flaws,” whether internally or externally labeled. I have to identify “my weaknesses” as mislabeled strengths to accept my whole self. Too direct, assertive, and emotional can also be adapted to be a problem-solver, team advocate, or empathic leader. When I show up like this, I contribute to healthy industry culture and encourage others to do the same. By creating the space for others in our department who may not speak up, I seek ways to validate them and create safe environments for communication. I’m allowing creativity to come from excitement and safety, providing my teams with the ability to experiment without fear of judgment or failure.

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

In the first year of my career as a graphic designer, I created marketing materials before weekly auditorium events, including clothing merch, LED screen graphics, and printed materials that were handed out at the door. Every week, the titles and designs I created would be determined the week prior and communicated to me to be ready for the following week. The humor in this story involves a last-minute change to the message title. I take full responsibility for my lack of speaking up and clarifying (I’ll also note, we also changed our communication process soon after). The communication director stopped by my desk (hours before things were getting sent to print for the weekend) and said, “The new title would be called ‘Stuck in a Fence,’” (you know, very metaphorical, very creative, I thought). I immediately went to work, backspacing and adding the new title to all media outlets. On the eve of the event, our programming team and myself were all stunned to find out we had it wrong. The communication director could only laugh as he corrected us that the proper title was supposed to be called “Stuck in Offense.” Yes, we went with it because it was too late to change anything. And, yes, I was called out humorously in front of thousands to laugh at the mistake. The lesson I learned (and will always preach to future teams)? It all comes down to defining clarity and communication (… and a multi-person sign-off process helps, too!)

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

There have been a few important ones, so I’ll share some names and lessons I’ve learned from each:

Trina D, my first creative director, taught me how to make space to dream. Creativity comes from your personal experiences and expressions.
My therapist, Joanne M, taught me to see the world as a grey space (vs B&W) and allow for opposing ideas to co-exist. This outlook has translated to every aspect of my life and work life. It’s a solid foundation for cultivating compassion and empathy for others.
Becca P, our H&G CEO, taught me the most important lesson of always becoming better day by day and allowing space for failure.

Their impacts have given me permission to show up human and create space for others to do the same. I believe this mindset can encourage more harmonious and healthy environments in which we all want to live in.

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?

Positive disruptions, I believe, occur when we can have self-awareness and predetermine the outcome of the situation. Is the impact being made one of benefit or consequence? And who is benefitting? Are the needs of others being met? One positive disruption is advocating for others and creating space for human connection, where we feel we belong and are safe.

Harmful disruptions would have the opposite effect. When I lack awareness of my social surroundings, the results have been toxic, awkward, and unharmonious environments. When I insert myself, it takes away the opportunity for others to be empowered, involved, and even feel safe to engage.

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

Allocate/resource your time — This was great advice when I needed to set time management boundaries. I would get so lost in contribution and making sure everyone else’s workloads were manageable from a mental health standpoint that I didn’t make time for my sanity. Especially allocating personal time for creativity and things that produced a better version of myself.
Leadership requires self-awareness/consciousness of others’ needs — In my first year in a director position, I lacked significantly in this area. So much so that I was shocked when I received my EOY review. I needed to take an inventory of who I was, how I could rewire my strengths, and what I needed to be for others.
Vulnerability and validation can unlock and build trust — Trust is the measurement of a relationship’s quality. New people joining our creative department have no reason to trust me as their leader in their early career at H&G. It takes being an authentic human willing to take ownership over mistakes, validate others’ successes, and most importantly, listen.

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

Everything is shifting within the digital landscape. The speed at which content is being produced is at a record high, as is our mental health, and the ability to be agile, healthy, and an expert in the field is critical. My goal is to continue to empower all creatives and leaders within the industry to create space for humanity to express themselves freely and have the room to think imaginatively by playing. Expansive thinking within the workspace comes from the intersection of our stories, interests, passions, fears, and expertise.

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

The regret and mom-guilt we, as women, have on our shoulders. I’m almost half-through my first pregnancy, and the idea of maternity leave (and returning) is daunting. We have to deal with the guilt of balancing our time raising a child and excelling in our career goals. If you’re like me, we also have the conservative communities that outwardly judge us for being working moms in general and “sacrificing” the precious time with our babes for ourselves. It’s a lot to process and mentally build resilience through these seasons of motherhood.

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

“Dare to Lead with Brené Brown,” specifically her podcast recorded with America Ferrara called” Identity + Integrated Leadership.” These two women inspire us to refuse to categorize who we are as leaders, allowing a process of fundamental character trait transformation. While listening to this talk, I’ve learned to permit my whole self to show up and authentically be authentic in my process and workplace presence. Typically, I have a lot of self-criticisms — especially at the end of the day. I’m anxiously revisiting connections and conversations on how it “should have” gone. This new mindset has brought mental freedom. Self-forgiveness can eliminate the self-depletion we feed into at the end of each day.

In my early 20s, I started a blog “movement” to empower other early 20-year-old women to share their stories of overcoming life’s low moments. These stories were targeted to be shared with high school students going through the turmoil of young adult life — relationships, friend dynamics, eating disorders, etc., and defining who they are from their strength. I still identify with these values today. I always want to encourage others to create moments of vulnerability and lead by example. My “tool belt” is heavy with creative knowledge, adobe program techniques, creative idea prompts — but the essential tools that have proven accurate time and time again are being human and vulnerable. That is powerfully disruptive.

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

“Listen. Just listen. You don’t have to agree. Just see if you can understand that there’s another person who has a completely different experience of the same reality.” — Esther Perel

An easier said than done quote. However, even mentally trying can offer up transformation. If I’ve learned anything from life in these last three years of our polarizing current events, listening and waiting to speak can be culturally disruptive.

How can our readers follow you online?

LinkedIn @kirstenvandenbout

Instagram — @kirsten_vandenbout

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

Female Disruptors: Kirsten VandenBout of Helen & Gertrude 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.

Lindsey McMillion Stemann Of McMillion Consulting On How to Use LinkedIn to Dramatically Improve…

Lindsey McMillion Stemann Of McMillion Consulting On How to Use LinkedIn to Dramatically Improve Your Business

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

… Invest in Sales Navigator. While paying for LinkedIn is not the answer for everyone, if you want to dramatically improve your business, investing in LinkedIn’s premium subscription Sales Navigator is the next right move. It helps you find and target the right people and companies faster. With advanced searching and smart automation (not the kind referred to in #1), the lead feeder in Sales Navigator is hard to beat. One of the best parts of Sales Navigator is that the more you use it, the smarter it gets. Over time, it not only keeps you organized, but it also makes recommendations based on usage and past searches.

As part of my series of interviews about “How to Use LinkedIn to Dramatically Improve Your Business,” I had the pleasure of interviewing Lindsey McMillion Stemann, the Principal & Owner of McMillion Consulting. For more than a decade, Lindsey has trained thousands of professionals and teams to leverage LinkedIn as a profitable business tool, teaching them how to connect with purpose to increase their revenue; her clients have generated millions of dollars in revenue from her tactics. Whether she is on stage speaking at a global conference, training clients virtually, or interviewing clients to transform their digital footprint, Lindsey believes teaching should be practical so that learning is actionable. She and her team work with Fortune 500 companies, boutique advising firms and international brands. In additional to speaking nationally and internationally, she has also been featured on multiple sales, marketing, and financial podcasts.

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

I contemplated starting all the way back to when I was a young kid selling boiled hotdogs and lemonade in my neighborhood, but to expedite the timeline and put it simply: I was meant to be in sales. In college, I remember the frustration I felt during my two full-time graphic design internships when I could not explain my design and why it should be chosen to go to production. Ultimately, I didn’t like chained behind a desk all day so I decided, “If I won’t design it, I’ll sell it.”

I learned that one of my favorite aspects of a sales career is the opportunity to connect with lots of people. Early on, I gravitated to using LinkedIn to start new conversations and nurture existing relationships. Now, I get paid to share my branding and networking strategies with companies and business leaders — it’s a dream!

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

As a speaker, I am often hired by companies for annual meetings and sales meetings. I was referred to a company by a dear friend who had recently spoken at the company’s sales incentive meeting in Atlanta, Georgia. Lucky for me, I booked the gig and the meeting happened to be in Cancun, Mexico. Between the two locations, I definitely drew the long straw over my friend! It was my first time speaking internationally and it was an amazing experience; everyone was ready to learn and very happy to be there. You never know what doors will open and how opportunities will unfold when you take on new adventures!

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 am an early riser, but that does not always mean that I wake up with my engines immediately firing on all cylinders…Enter in one of my most memorable professional stories. I was leading a public workshop in the winter forty-five minutes from my home that began at 7:30am. Leading the workshop meant that I needed to arrive well in advance to get everything set up before attendees started showing up. I also picked up breakfast for everyone. To account for this pitstop and highway traffic, I left my house at 5:00am.

I got to the parking lot in plenty of time, but not enough time to drive all the way back home to get a pair of heels since the moment I stepped out of my car and looked down, I realized I was wearing my furry house slippers. My heart completely sank. It was the real-life version of the dream where you leave the house…Without your shoes on! Thankfully, luck was on my side, and I had a pair of extra heels in car. Crisis averted!

At the end of the day, if I did not have [what became] my emergency heels in the car, I would have made a joke to the group and hopefully they would have shown me grace and we would have continued with a phenomenal workshop. However, what I would not get to control, is the immediate first impression people got of me when they saw the slippers and didn’t get to hear my story yet.

I often share this personal story when I’m hired to speak about LinkedIn. First impressions matter. Are you showcasing yourself as an expert through your profile? Are you positioning yourself as a credible professional and resource to your network? We do not always get the opportunity to overcome a mistake that can change people’s first impressions, so take the way you look on LinkedIn seriously.

Which social media platform have you found to be most effective to use to increase business revenues? Can you share a story from your experience?

When used thoughtfully, I have found LinkedIn to be the most effective platform. In helping my clients generate millions of dollars in revenue for their businesses, we focus on their reputation first through their LinkedIn profile; ensuring their offline reputation is mirrored online through their profile is a paramount first step. From there, consistently applying the 5 strategic tactics below will result in new opportunities.

One of my clients implemented just one habit I taught him, and it yields at least 6 meetings each week in his calendar of which he typically closes into 3 new clients. An important piece to remember is that LinkedIn is an entry point for conversation; the goal is still to get offline to schedule the phone, virtual or in-person meeting.

Let’s talk about LinkedIn specifically, now. Can you share 5 ways to leverage LinkedIn to dramatically improve your business? Please share a story or example for each.

Be a human. There has been a significant uptick in artificial intelligence and automation tools used to blast the LinkedIn network. Does anyone really like to be on the receiving end of a blast? While automation is not inherently bad, it can be misused. When you put yourself in your recipient’s shoes, chances are high that you will take a more thoughtful approach before pressing the send or post button. “Is this something that I would respond to or engage with?” If that answer is no, considering rethinking your messaging.
A client of mine previously used automation to acquire new business. The tool he used certainly built his network (full of people he did not know), but it did not yield new conversations in his calendar. I gave him new outreach messaging to use and he finally started getting responses. In one particular exchange, my client courageously asked someone who had finally responded to him, “I’m curious, what made you respond to me this time?” The recipient replied, “You finally started sounding like a human in your outreach to me and like you actually care to learn about me now.” What is the quick lesson? Be a human, get a human response.
Speak in first person. Your LinkedIn profile should be written in your voice, that is, in first person. If your goal is to develop a human connection offline (i.e., having a phone call or a virtual meeting), you will increase your chances of someone being intrigued to learn more about you when you use your LinkedIn profile to tell a complete story about who you are professionally, how you to go where you are today and who you serve. When your profile is written in first person, it makes it not only more conversational, but also more approachable.
After one of my financial advisor clients went through my Profile TransformerTM process, his newest client commented to him that she was looking forward to working together after seeing his LinkedIn profile and feeling like he was so different from other advisors she had experienced before. She ended up becoming a great client for him and his team. Now that is money in the bank directly from LinkedIn!
Make it a daily habit. There are two primary reasons to incorporate LinkedIn as a consistent practice each day. The first reason is that LinkedIn changes all the time. New features are constantly being added and rolling off. When you use the tool every day you are more likely to notice changes and thus can stay efficient and effective with your time when using it.
Secondly, LinkedIn provides real-time updates on people and companies in your network — from work anniversaries and job promotions to birthdays and news aggregated into one platform, you will not miss important activity happening in your network. This timely information not only keeps you in-the-know, but it also gives you pertinent information to weave into your conversations.
When a client I worked with consistently participated in a LinkedIn group a potential client reached out to him. When they connected for a phone call, my client asked out of curiosity, “What made you reach out to me?” The person responded that he had learned a lot from his consistent engagement within the LinkedIn group, which led him to learning more about my client through his profile, colleagues on his page and ultimately his company website. Through this research (or vetting) process, my client’s reputation was validated. This potential turned into a $250,000 opportunity for my client.
Be a valuable resource. Being a good steward comes in many forms. As it relates to LinkedIn, when you share your expertise in a helpful way with your network, you are bringing value to them. When you publicly congratulate someone or give them kudos, you are giving them exposure they may not have had otherwise. When you introduce people to each other in your network, you are thoughtfully stewarding your relationships so that people can benefit from knowing each other through you.
When I think about my clients who have a giver’s mindset, their success is exponential on and off LinkedIn. I like to challenge my clients to not only position themselves as educational resources through their profile and what they post, but also consider how they can connect people in their networks who may mutually benefit from knowing each other; when it turns into a fruitful introduction, they look like the hero and often receive the same favor of introductions in return.
Invest in Sales Navigator. While paying for LinkedIn is not the answer for everyone, if you want to dramatically improve your business, investing in LinkedIn’s premium subscription Sales Navigator is the next right move. It helps you find and target the right people and companies faster. With advanced searching and smart automation (not the kind referred to in #1), the lead feeder in Sales Navigator is hard to beat. One of the best parts of Sales Navigator is that the more you use it, the smarter it gets. Over time, it not only keeps you organized, but it also makes recommendations based on usage and past searches.

When I trained a client and his lead associate how to strategically incorporate Sales Navigator into their prospecting process, they not only started consistently acquiring new clients that were sourced through Sales Navigator, but their team qualified for a top sales achievement group within their company for the first time ever. If you know how to use Sales Navigator, it can be a goldmine.

Because of the position that you are in, 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. 🙂

In 2019, I went through a program called Regeneration that changed (and saved) my life. This ten-month experience revealed my deep need for something bigger than myself. I was unsuccessfully managing my “kingdom of one” and found, not only, healing and restoration, but also a community of people who wanted to get well too. With so many people hurting in our broken world, if everyone who wanted to get well had access to Regeneration, more peace and perspective would be attained that can be life-changing and life-giving.

Some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US 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 🙂

When I first read Marie Forleo’s book, “Everything is Figureoutable,” I listened to her narrate it on Audible. Her candor, humor and wisdom empowered me to pursue ideas I’ve had for my business that had only lived in between my ears at that point. To grab a drink with her, learn from her, and (I’m sure) laugh with her would be an amazing experience! Let me add it to my bucket list ☺

Thank you so much for these great insights. This was very enlightening!

Lindsey McMillion Stemann Of McMillion Consulting On How to Use LinkedIn to Dramatically Improve… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women In Wellness: Jessica and Melissa Medri of FGBG Lifestyle on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That…

Women In Wellness: Jessica and Melissa Medri of FGBG Lifestyle on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Eat healthy and take vitamins: How you fuel your body will determine how your day goes. Providing your body with nutrients by eating healthy and taking vitamins will give you the energy you need.

As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jessica And Melissa Medri.

Jessica and Melissa Medri are twin sisters and managing members of PharmaCenter, a supplement manufacturing and packaging company in Davie, Florida. Health has always been a priority in their lives, but like most young entrepreneurs and college students, achieving a perfect wellness score was a challenge. That’s why they recently launched Feel Great, Be Great (FGBG), a wellness brand for busy women.

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

During college, we focused our time at PharmaCenter. We were juggling going to classes, studying, working and having a proper healthy lifestyle with meal preps and working out. We always spoke about the irony of being in the supplement industry but forgetting to take vitamins and supplements ourselves. This is when we noticed a major gap in the industry and realized that many millennial women struggle with similar issues as us. We wanted to create a product that is easy to take on the go.

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?

Starting FGBG, we wanted to take a different approach than the majority of supplement and vitamins brands. We wanted to remove the “chore-like”, medicinal feeling and we wanted women to feel excited to take their vitamins. That is why we created something that not only tastes great but looks great too. We love that our customers display our products on their kitchen counters and vanities. At first, we were nervous about doing something different, but the main lesson is to trust yourself and take the risk.

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?

Our biggest mistake is overthinking. We had been working on the concept of the brand for a few years before we actually launched. We wanted everything to be “perfect” in all aspects, from matching the colors of the box to the packets, to taste and shape of the gummies. Looking back now we realize nothing will ever be “perfect” and we can always make changes as we grow and learn from our customers.

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?

Our mission with FGBG is to be more than a wellness brand. We embody the philosophy that when you feel great, you are great. We are a whole lifestyle brand, because we support women as they handle everything life throws at them. As busy women juggling work, kids, health, social events, travel and life in general, it is critically important to remember to LOVE YOURSELF, not only by taking vitamins but also making time for other forms of self-love.

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 healthy and take vitamins: How you fuel your body will determine how your day goes. Providing your body with nutrients by eating healthy and taking vitamins will give you the energy you need.
Enjoy life: Sometimes we can get so caught up with daily responsibilities, that we forget to appreciate the present moment. It’s so important to enjoy life and be grateful for the people and places around you.
Get sleep: It’s vital to have a routine to end the day so you can get the sleep you need. While you rest, the body goes to work repairing cells and regulating hormones.
Move the body: Exercise helps release stress and clear your mind. We personally love working out in the mornings. It’s the perfect time for us to focus on ourselves before we take on the day.
Make time for YOU: When you take care of yourself you allow yourself to be the best you that you can be. Then you can support everyone else.

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

We are passionate about a self-love movement. Making yourself a priority and taking care of yourself is extremely important. When you love yourself, you’re unstoppable! We printed “Love yourself” on the back of our boxes as a reminder.

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

1) Enjoy the process: We get so focused on the result and forget to enjoy the process, which is actually the most fun part!

2) Trust yourself: It’s easy to doubt, especially if you are doing something different than everyone else. But if you believe in yourself then nothing gets in your way.

3) Don’t overthink it: This was our biggest mistake. We took longer than we needed to because we would overthink every single detail. This is still something we are working on today.

4) It’s okay to make mistakes. This is the hardest one, but at the end of the day, that’s how you learn and grow. We see making mistakes as a learning tool for our whole team.

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

We live in a world that is fast paced and so much happens in a day. Mental health needs to be a priority. You don’t know what people truly go through, so we always make sure we are available to our friends and family anytime. You never know when someone just needs a shoulder to lean on.

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

They can follow us on Instagram or Facebook @FGBGLIFESTYLE

Thank you for these fantastic insights!

Women In Wellness: Jessica and Melissa Medri of FGBG Lifestyle on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Disruptors: Jessica Sikora of 3ontessori On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your…

Female Disruptors: Jessica Sikora of 3ontessori On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Trust that everything will be okay: I firmly believe that releasing the fear of failure and thinking of every moment as an opportunity to learn has allowed me to take great strides in my career, and in my life. As I have taken leaps of faith, despite any apprehension, I always remind myself that it has always worked out in the past — it’ll all be okay.

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

Jessica Sikora is turning Montessori on its side at 3ontessori, as Co-founder and COO. By expanding access to Montessori education through curated boxed collections and monthly themed sensory activities that provide an all-in-one solution for at-home learning, the skills of our young budding leaders and future entrepreneurs can flourish.

She is also passionate about bringing Montessori education to those in low income and underrepresented communities because, in her eyes, every child has the chance to change the world.

I grew up in a traditional Asian-American household, and as a first-generation American, I was expected to pursue a career in healthcare as a part of my parents’ “American Dream.” While I knew early on that I was very much creative-focused, finding a love of art and storytelling, I quickly suppressed that side of myself to do what I was expected. Because of that, I felt that I never had a chance in my childhood to explore my interests, skills, and passions — and it wasn’t until I moved out as a young adult at the age of 23, that I finally had a chance to “meet myself” for the first time. For the first time ever, I had the opportunity to explore my strengths and weaknesses, seek out learning opportunities in the topics that I truly loved. Between corporate careers, I took up a nannying job and fell in love with the curiosity and wonder in the little boy that I cared for. Eager to preserve his love of learning and foster his confidence, I discovered Montessori education and was instantly drawn to this child-led learning. Spending hours researching activities and scouring the Internet to order the right toys and tools, I realized the gap in the market and wanted to make bringing Montessori education easy for busy parents.

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

Montessori education has been known for years as a school system for the wealthy. With sky-high tuition rates even for part-time enrollment in these schools, it is no surprise that many families across the world are actually unaware of what Montessori learning actually is. It has only been within the last few years that we have seen Montessori-inspired products emerge, and the natural wooden toys are flocked playroom shelves posted on social media. But the work I’m doing at 3ontessori with my co-founder Christian goes beyond the aesthetic, and instead focuses on the need to expand access to these crucial learning principles to nurture the innate curiosity and love of learning of our littlest leaders. We aren’t just providing a Montessori all-in-one solution for families to have these learning tools at home, but are working to ensure that every child has a chance to learn and to change the world.

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

Not sure I would necessarily classify it as a mistake, but when I first stumbled across the company at its very early stages, I bombarded my now-cofounder and business partner, Christian, with endless emails with my thoughts about the company, sharing about my own experiences with learning and Montessori education, and ideas about the company roadmap and its possibilities. Eventually, after maybe about 2–3 months, he did give in and schedule a call with me to discuss it further and, the rest is history.

Looking back on it, I laugh and wonder what would have happened had Christian not seen my flood of emails as a sign of passion for the company. I think in many other cases, business owners would have been annoyed with my constant communications and blocked me — thankful that he gave me that chance to chat with him about the company and be a partner to this adventure.

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 am incredibly thankful to have so many mentors across industries who have believed in me, and my many ideas. From building a nonprofit organization (SUPERBANDS) right out of college, to starting other small businesses — like a small creative agency plus a (failed) entertainment-focused subscription box.

I would say that one of my mentors came from a full-time job I had, where there was a mentorship program offered. I had searched through a list of available mentors and something about her bio stood out to me. I could tell she had a personality that would be a match for mine, and her role in the creative space really appealed to me as I was eager to pursue a creative role in the company. We spoke for months, and she constantly encouraged me to seek out new opportunities and calmed my fears about seeking roles externally. When I was finally offered a role that aligned with my creative pursuits at a startup, she was the one who truly encouraged me to take the leap. She reminded me of how opportunities like the one I had were few and far between and made me realize that if I didn’t take the chance, I would spend years wondering “what if.” While the startup role didn’t work out, it was the biggest — and best — decision I could have made in my career because it was my “proof” that my talents, skills, and passions could truly excel elsewhere, and all I had to do was to trust myself. Without her encouragement, I would have never taken the leap and without that leap, I would not be in this role at 3ontessori.

Disruption can be so powerful, in a positive way, when it opens up new opportunities for communities who may have been overlooked in the past, when resources are expanded across regions, and when new solutions are identified (or developed) to solve ongoing issues or pain points.

However, despite this, ‘disruption’ means change, and many people feel friction when it comes to changing their routines, lifestyles, and ways of thinking which can be frustrating or difficult for them. There are processes and systems that have been tried and true for decades, that people aren’t ready to change.

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

Trust that everything will be okay: I firmly believe that releasing the fear of failure and thinking of every moment as an opportunity to learn has allowed me to take great strides in my career, and in my life. As I have taken leaps of faith, despite any apprehension, I always remind myself that it has always worked out in the past — it’ll all be okay.
Networking is an investment in your business: I grew up being very shy and afraid to speak with people I didn’t know. I even remember telling people I knew about my first business idea and them telling me that they weren’t sure I would succeed because I didn’t know anyone — in any relevant roles or industries — who could help me. However, I had to silence my fears early on and I began cold emailing and cold pitching on LinkedIn, putting myself out there — and it was through building that network that I was able to grow, and I keep that in mind every day now too, ensuring I continue to surround myself with people who are smarter than me and more experienced than me, eager to learn.
Fail fast: I used to be so afraid of failure, which had stopped me for years from pursuing ideas I’ve had. I had to learn to stop thinking of small hiccups as failures, and instead re-frame them as learning experiences that allow me to pivot and find the right footing to progress forward.

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

Once we build our foundation through our curated boxed collections of Montessori tools and then roll out our monthly activity kits, we hope to open a network of Montessori schools that, for the first time, formally integrates the essential components of STEAM education with the foundational principles of Montessori learning. Not only that, but we will be offering discounted tuition and sliding scale tuition in low income communities or families that need financial assistance, as well as providing a “Giveback program” with our boxes, so that every child has a chance to discover (and retain) their curiosity and love of learning regardless of their background or location.

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

Coming from my own experience, I had spent a lot of time sitting in the shadows thinking that I was not “good enough” to take on roles of leadership, pursue business ideas, or jump into industries when I didn’t meet 100% of the qualifications. It can be easy for a woman to discredit themselves and take a backseat to their male counterparts, or to avoid speaking up when it comes time for a raise or promotion, but I hope we will continue to take great strides to show the world what we can do.

I also do think sometimes, a woman’s persistence when advocating for themselves, especially to be in a leadership role. can very easily come across as “annoying” while a male’s persistence is more likely to come across as “passionate and driven.”

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

One of the TedX talks that I reference all the time is “Montessori = Creativity Unleashed” by Judi Bauerlein. I stumbled across this video around the time that I began nannying for a 5 year old boy who gave me a glimpse of the love of learning that I had forgotten was so innately programmed into every child. As I started to research Montessori education and figure out what I could do in my 9–5 hours him, this lecture really opened my eyes to this child-led learning and I was hooked. I compared it to my past experience working in early childhood development centers and daycares, realizing the gap in the things we were teaching children and the gaps in the accessibility of Montessori learning across communities. While I continued to introduce Montessori education to the children I babysat in future years, it wasn’t until recently that Christian and I combined forces to really take action through 3ontessori.

I’m actually hoping to do that through 3ontessori! If you look around at existing Montessori schools and their tuition prices, it is disheartening to think that there are so many children who are unable to learn these foundational principles simply due to financial reasons. By bringing Montessori education to as many children as possible –

regardless of socioeconomic status, location, or background — 3ontessori is shaping our future leaders, our budding entrepreneurs, our passionate philanthropists, and our unstoppable creatives of tomorrow. We are allowing the child to lead us, and in the work we are doing, we will help them build a pathway to their desired future… and that’s how you change the world.

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

“To have something you’ve never had, you must be willing to do something you’ve never done.” As a kid, I spent a lot of time staying quiet, fearful of what others might think of my ideas or think of me as a person. I realized in my early adult years, when I had my first business idea, that I couldn’t let myself just stay quiet anymore and had to learn to step outside of my comfort zone. As new chapters of my life have unfolded, and new milestones have blossomed, I have learned to be more comfortable with being uncomfortable. Looking at my greatest blessings and biggest accomplishments, I realize more and more that these all came from taking a leap of faith and trusting that everything will work out.

The quote is something I still reference to this day, in all aspects of my life beyond just business. When making a decision, I constantly think to myself: Is my fear greater than my desire to have this outcome?

How can our readers follow you online?

You can follow the work we are doing at www.3ontessori.com, follow us on Instagram (@3ontessori), and sign up for our newsletter (on our website) to stay up-to-date on this exciting journey to turn Montessori on its side.

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

Female Disruptors: Jessica Sikora of 3ontessori On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Zara Silver: They Told Me It Was Impossible And I Did It Anyway

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Learn how to observe your thoughts instead of attach to them. Once you can do this, you can realize when you’re taking on limiting beliefs, fears, or doubts from the external world.

As a part of our series about “dreamers who ignored the naysayers and did what others said was impossible”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Zara Silver.

Teen dance and acrobatic phenomenon, Zara Silver, is a fierce soul with a tender heart posed to become a world-renowned dancer. Zara is currently a student at Hussain College In Studio, and travels between Miami and LA for dance and school. She enjoys making content to inspire young women to develop confidence and follow their dreams.

Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to ‘get to know you’ a bit better. Can you tell us your ‘backstory’?

I was adopted at the age of 4 by an American family. When I first came to the US, I was very sick and weak. I was fortunate enough to have a loving family who nurtured me emotionally and physically. I feel so blessed — they have allowed me the freedom to explore my dreams and passions instead of raising me in a traditional setting.

I have been able to find my love for dance on my own instead of being forced into a traditional school setting and activities that I would not have personally chosen.

When I was adopted and came to the US, I began teaching myself acrobatics. I spent countless hours watching Autumn Miller videos and copying them on my own. I worked one-on-one and in group settings with professional ballerina Kimberly Thompson (The Redhead Ballerina) and acclaimed Miami dancer, Julian Mireles (So You Think You Can Dance), among others, which inspired me to keep pushing forward.

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

As a first-year student at Hussain College in Studio, I am working on my academic portfolio, attending dance classes, while working on my content creation. I notice that my consistency helps me grow stronger mentally, which allows me to show up more confidently in my content and structure my time more efficiently to interact with my audience.

In your opinion, what do you think makes your company or organization stand out from the crowd?

I believe it comes back to my story. From a young age, I had the deck stacked against me. I was blessed to be given the privilege to get to where I am today. I never want to lose sight of that, and always remind my community the importance of gratitude and humility. I like to use inspiring quotes, affirmations, and mindset messages to remind my audience to connect with themselves.

Ok, thank you for that. I’d like to jump to the main focus of this interview. Has there ever been a time that someone told you something was impossible, but you did it anyway? Can you share the story with us? What was your idea? What was the reaction of the naysayers? And how did you overcome that?

When I was younger, I had a classmate make offensive comments about my appearance, and told me I wouldn’t be able to become a full time dancer. I was really hurt at the time, and believed this to be true for a long time. It really affected the way I showed up on social media for a while.

In the end, how were all the naysayers proven wrong? 🙂

Soon, I realized that it didn’t matter what anyone else said. At the end of the day, people will pick up on my character and energy as a person. I knew I had to keep going and show up as my best self, so I continued to make my videos, and built an incredible online community across my social platforms over time. I’m so grateful to them for reminding me why I do what I do, and thankful to myself for continuing to move forward even when others doubted me.

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?

My mom has been my biggest cheerleader along the way. She noticed my passion for dancing when I was watching dancers on TikTok, and encouraged me to continue perfecting my skills, auditioning for performances, and putting myself out there on social media. Without her support, I’m not sure I’d be where I am today.

It must not have been easy to ignore all the naysayers. Did you have any experiences growing up that have contributed to building your resiliency? Can you share the story with us?

Based on your experience, can you share 5 strategies that people can use to harness the sense of tenacity and do what naysayers think is impossible? (Please share a story or an example for each)

Prove to yourself what you thought you couldn’t do. I did this by putting myself out there on social media at a very young age even when I doubted myself.
Learn how to observe your thoughts instead of attach to them. Once you can do this, you can realize when you’re taking on limiting beliefs, fears, or doubts from the external world.
Be consistent. If you can remain disciplined, the results are bound to come.
Learn to validate yourself by identifying your strengths, positive traits, and how you’ve impacted others.
Continue to exit your comfort zone. The most magical outcomes tend to come from taking risks.

What is your favorite quote or personal philosophy that relates to the concept of resilience?

My favorite quote is “everything happens for a reason.” I am very hard on myself so when something doesn’t go as planned I get upset with myself but then I have to tell myself that there are many more opportunities to come and that one was just not the one for me.

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 start a movement to increase accessibility to dance schools for those who are socioeconomically at a disadvantage from doing so. I would like to promote equal educational opportunities for all youth, no matter their financial status or nationality.

Can our readers follow you on social media?

Yes!

Insta: @zarasilverofficial

TikTok: @zara.silver

Thank you for these great stories. We wish you only continued success!

Zara Silver: They Told Me It Was Impossible And I Did It Anyway was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Founders: Hanna Mandelbaum and Alison Blumberg of Evermore Pet Food On The Five Things You…

Female Founders: Hanna Mandelbaum and Alison Blumberg of Evermore Pet Food On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

A good founder will always prioritize the health of their business over their ego. Effective founders need to be self-aware and open to learning from others. They need to strike that fine balance between working autonomously while also remaining conscious of their own knowledge gaps.

As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Hanna Mandelbaum and Alison Blumberg.

Hanna Mandelbaum is the Co-CEO and Fairy Dog-mother of Evermore Pet Food. As a big picture, out-of-the-box thinker, she crafts a broader strategic vision for the Evermore brand. Whether it’s a dog-food eating campaign or canine office parties, she has innovated in ways that the entire “fresh food” category has followed.

Alison Blumberg is the Co-CEO and Sourcer-ess of Evermore Pet Food. In her role, she painstakingly researches and vets their ethical vendor partners, oversees all aspects of production and related logistics, works closely with the lab, and generally keeps order whenever it can fit into a spreadsheet. Her passion for animal welfare and sustainable food systems drives every decision about Evermore Pet Food.

We came together as two animal lovers — a dog walker (Hanna) and her health-supportive chef client (Alison) — in a moment of crisis. Another one of Hanna’s clients ran a home-cooked dog food business and suffered a life-changing, and ultimately life-ending, health event. We stepped in to help out on a temporary basis, but the universe had other plans. It was far from a turnkey operation, and we both completely shifted gears in our lives to start Evermore Pet Food. Doing so involved a steep learning curve, with a lot of work to develop a product we could responsibly sell to the public. It’s actually a remarkable story, which we wrote about here.

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

Very early on we had no marketing budget and decided that a good way to get our name out there was to “eat our own dog food.” We called the endeavor Evermore Me in a nod to the documentary Super Size Me and proceeded to stream live “feeds” of ourselves eating Evermore daily for the whole month of March (2011). We also limited our food intake exclusively to the ingredients in the food for this time period. The press around this snowballed beyond our wildest imagination, including Kathie Lee and Hoda eating it on The Today Show and Jeanne Moos coming to our office to interview us — the resulting segment aired on and off for a month. We even got international coverage.

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?

Besides the fact that we did all that work to pull off Evermore Me and actually got the attention we were hoping for BUT didn’t have the infrastructure in place to meet demand. We couldn’t have been in business more than a month, when ADP approached us about payroll services. Being the rookies we were, we assumed that we could take a salary right away. Needless to say, we ran a grand total of two payrolls before we realized that paying ourselves was a long way off — nine years to be exact. Those were two early cart-before-the-horse lessons that made it abundantly clear that growing Evermore was going to be a marathon, not a sprint.

We definitely had our angels along the way, especially the friends and family who have gone above and beyond over the years, but oddly one of our biggest debts of gratitude is to someone we have no doubt almost ruined our company. We initially felt immense pressure to raise capital and came very close to taking a deal that involved a significant amount of money. This would have forced us to pursue an aggressive growth strategy at the expense of our ethos and authenticity. At first, backing out of the deal put a lot of strain on us, but ultimately it helped us understand who we are — and who we are not — both personally and professionally.

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?

The expectations around motherhood and the lack of societal support for childcare are a huge factor — especially when there’s a cult of personality around the archetype of the single-minded founder who puts everything but their business on the back burner.

Many industries are so male-dominated that there is still very much a “boys’ club” mentality. Breaking in and being taken seriously requires an extra level of assertiveness. Women are socialized to be cooperative and even accommodating, but starting a company requires us to be demanding. Founders have to demand that they belong, that there is a need for what they have to offer, that they have the best (or only) version of whatever it is they do. We can get so paralyzed by imposter syndrome that it can be hard to unapologetically forge a path forward.

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?

Government-subsidized childcare would help women and the economy as a whole, not just founders. On a societal basis, we need to keep re-evaluating, questioning, and dismantling the expectations around gender. For better or for worse, certain attributes like empathy and collaboration tend to be perceived as feminine, regardless of who embodies them. Leading with these traits, however, can yield great results and need to be rewarded in the workplace as much as the traditionally masculine ones that have been historically associated with success.

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?

Maybe we’re biased by our own experiences here, but women do often operate from a place of community and relationship building. We’re able to build the sort of companies that we would want to work for and see our employees as people with lives outside of work, allowing them the flexibility and support they need. If you don’t buy into the idea that you need to be singularly focused and grow as quickly as possible, achieving a healthy degree of work/life balance is also easier when you are the one setting the benchmarks.

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

You can’t have a life outside of your company, and the only way to be successful is to work 24/7. Toiling nonstop may seem heroic, and it may lead to success, but it’s definitely a recipe for burnout.

Mistakes are bad and should be avoided at all costs. Frankly, some of our best outcomes began with some seriously worrisome mess-ups (don’t worry, nothing that put any dogs at risk). The reality is that mistakes happen, and there’s nothing you can do to avoid them. The most important thing is how you (or others involved) address them, because that speaks directly to your (or another’s) accountability and integrity.

Your business plan is your business reality. Once your pro forma and strategies hit the real world, any number of factors can derail even the most meticulous planning. As long as you are able to react and shift accordingly, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

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?

Being a founder is not for the faint of heart. It requires a high level of stamina and risk tolerance. A lot of people may not be interested in testing their limits on those fronts.

Running a business means living in the gray and adapting to change at a moment’s notice. If you are someone who likes things more black and white or wants predictability, don’t be your own boss.

A good founder will always prioritize the health of their business over their ego. Effective founders need to be self-aware and open to learning from others. They need to strike that fine balance between working autonomously while also remaining conscious of their own knowledge gaps.

At the end of the day, you’ll be remembered for the rules you broke and the risks you took. Thinking outside the box is a crucial trait for a founder, so people who prefer to play it safe might not thrive in this role.

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.)

It’s up to you to make people believe in your business. Even though we knew from the get-go that our food was special, it wasn’t immediately apparent to everyone else. Passion, however, can be infectious. In our first meeting with an important distributor, we were waxing poetic about the virtues of Evermore and Alison absentmindedly took a bite of the dog food. Her genuine enthusiasm won over everyone at the table, and we’re pretty sure that helped us secure the distribution deal.
Be ready to pivot. At the time, working with a distributor was THE way to do business in the pet food industry, but it wasn’t the best way for us to do our business. It took us years to recognize this. However, once it became clear that we needed to shift to a direct-to-consumer approach, it was like the seas parted and our business started to truly take off.
There’s no white knight. There have been times when running our company was a genuine struggle, and we couldn’t see a path forward. In some of these dark moments, we’ve been approached by business advisors, would-be investors, and other “experts” who claimed to hold the keys to our success. In every case, it quickly became clear that their proposals were more about lining their own pockets and taking advantage of our perceived naivete. If someone sounds too good to be true, they probably are.
There is not one way to define success. By conventional metrics, we are not the most successful food in our category. As far we’re concerned, however, we’re so proud of what we’ve accomplished: bootstrapping our way to profitability, providing health insurance, 401(k) plans, and a living wage to ourselves and our employees, and forging strong relationships with our vendors and customers — all while keeping our integrity and commitment to humane sourcing practices.
Savor the valleys, not just the peaks. We used to live for the highs — like the great Evermore Me press and breaking sales records — and get depressed when the dust settled. Over the years, we have come to be grateful for the lulls. Those “down” times keep us going because they allow us to take a moment to breathe and gather the energy needed to face the next hurdle.

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

We’ve certainly made the world a better place for a lot of dogs and their humans. Our customers are constantly reaching out to let us know that the switch to Evermore has been life-changing for their pups.

On a broader scale, we feel deeply about supporting a sustainable agricultural system that prioritizes animal welfare. The more dog food we make, the more we get to vote with our dollars and guarantee income for farmers and ranchers who are doing truly good work. We genuinely solve a problem for our vendors, by providing a regular source of income for parts of the animal that might otherwise go to waste or be sold to rendering facilities for far less than they are worth.

We often have to make the case to our customers for why we are more expensive than other brands. This gives us an opportunity to provide the education to help them distinguish genuine animal welfare practices from humane-washing claims.

We would love to inject nuance and awareness into the conversation around animal welfare. 99% of the meat in this country comes from factory-farmed animals — that’s 99% too much. Most education and advocacy around this gut-wrenching issue promotes veganism as the only solution. The reality is that dogs are not vegans, and this binary approach is alienating for many individuals. There are concrete steps that can be taken to both improve the lives of farm animals and have a positive impact on the planet.

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.

Each other! We are a bi-coastal business and have been working from our respective homes for more than a decade, so we don’t get to connect in person often enough. As two very different individuals (practically strangers) who were brought together in partnership by very unusual circumstances, it turns out we are eerily aligned on a very deep level and have come to share a strong sisterly bond.

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

Female Founders: Hanna Mandelbaum and Alison Blumberg of Evermore Pet Food On The Five Things You… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.