Female Founders: Catherine Lang-Cline of Portfolio Creative On The Five Things You Need To Thrive & Succeed As A Woman Founder
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
Hold firm to your values. When we want to grow our businesses we might get involved with clients that do not see things as we do. Ones that believe in not paying their bills, paying fairly, belittling you to break you on price. If your clients or the people that you hire don’t believe in doing business the way that you do it is typically best to part ways. This is your business and you should have to be miserable doing it. That is why you started your business, right? To do things your way. This can get very muddy, especially when starting and you want to grow your business. But companies will try and break you, competitors will try and undercut you, but you need to embrace your value. And that is the value in your pricing and your own personal value.
As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Catherine Lang-Cline.
Catherine Lang-Cline is the President and Co-Founder of Portfolio Creative.
Catherine is an award-winning CEO and Portfolio Creative is an award-winning company founded in 2005 that specializes in assisting clients in finding the right people for all areas of marketing, digital marketing, and advertising. Catherine started this company after 15 years in marketing and seeing a need in the creative community.
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?
At a young age, I had a teacher tell me that I was an artist. From that point on, I leaned in heavily to explore this skill. That led to wanting to go to college to try and make a career of this, much to the disappointment of my parents, because art can’t be a career, right? “You will starve.” I have always been self-sufficient so I had to figure out how to make it happen. Funding that journey myself, it wasn’t until my sophomore year did I realize that I could do something called graphic design. I graduated and for the next 15 years, I was a graphic designer that worked as an employee and a freelancer for companies ranging from 5 people to Fortune 500. It wasn’t until I met my business partner, Kristen Harris, that the idea came up to try and connect people like her with people like me. Because I freelanced on and off throughout my career, I just viewed this as just another spin on freelancing. It would also give me a new challenge that I never realized that I needed. Looking back, I had the tools, I just needed to leap.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?
My business is located in Columbus, Ohio, the State’s capital. There was this one time when the Governor was looking for a small business to host a press conference because he had news about something he was enacting that was going to benefit businesses in Ohio. We offered our business as an option and got selected. On the day of the press conference, a couple of members of the Governor’s team show up to check out the place. A place for the podium, check… a back door for the Governor to enter and exit, check. A few hours later, press from around the State fills up our lobby. A short time after that, black SUVs swoop up to the front door. Governor comes in the back door, we get about 15 minutes in private with him to talk about our business. “Would you like to introduce your company on camera?” Of course, the response was “yes” even though I was unprepared. I did okay, but luckily, the Governor paid very good attention to what we told him about our business and he talked more about what we do. Loving, of course, the fact that we got jobs for the people in his State.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I am not sure that this is a mistake, but it does still make me laugh. There came a time in our business when we received a letter from Workman’s Comp that we were going to be audited. We completely freaked out. “Did we do something wrong?” “Was something misfiled?” We were doing our best to figure everything about business out as we went, it could have been possible that something went wrong. Very stressed, I ran into someone that evening that I would consider a mentor and not only brought this up but said how concerned I was and that I might need several drinks. Her response was, “You know, just about every company has to go through that, right?”
None of us can achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
It is so great that you asked this question because very recently I have given this the time it deserves. I would have never thought about starting the career I did without the kind words of a teacher. I never would have gone to college if I wasn’t allowed to attend an affluent high school, courtesy of my grandmother, where going to college was just the assumed next step. I am grateful for my husband who I told that I was starting a business and he simply said, “You will be great at that.” And mostly I am grateful for my business partner who does all of the tasks for me that are not my strength and I return the favor to her with my strengths. But without that balance, I doubt we would have succeeded as we have.
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?
It comes from a couple of places, outside and inside. Outside are the places that tend to support men’s ideas for business over women’s, that would be banks, crowd-funding, private investors. They ask the women how they plan to use the money, but ask men how they will grow the money. Women are overlooked for collaborating, partnering, and supporting when it comes to their dreams of business in general. People think that it’s a hobby, a side-project, or strictly a home business. On the inside, women need to be a bit bolder. They might start with making a job for themselves but never see themselves as a company. When needing money, support, etc., women are slower to ask. Women are more programmed to just take what they have and make it work. They might hold back on growing their business for fear that they will make more money than their partner or parents. They might not be bold enough to ask for the money and support they need because they don’t believe they are entitled to it, deserve it, or simply know the challenges they will face if they do ask. I know people that fit all of these examples, they are all true stories.
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?
To have more women founders, we need everyone to change their mindset and be more comfortable with women as leaders, founders, and breadwinners. People that hold the money can be trained better to look at the idea and not the gender of the person. It is challenging because we still discuss taking names off of resumes to get people to just look at the career history. I hate even talking about better child care will help women because the fact that this is only a woman’s problem is a bit unnerving. Even in the pandemic, it was almost always the women that had to restructure their lives completely to make virtual schooling work. But yes, child care that is affordable and accessible would be fantastic. Government aid for childcare could help women founders. But what if we looked at it like a man wanted to start a business? Who cares for his children? Until society sees this equally, we won’t see a rise in women founders. I started my business before I had a child and luckily, have a great business partner, and it was running pretty strong when I had my child so I could be home for a couple of months and then afford childcare.
This might be intuitive to you as a woman founder but I think it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you share a few reasons why more women should become founders?
Speaking from my own experience, becoming a founder and business owner, has been the best thing I have ever done. By embracing the idea that not only I was creating a job for myself, but allowing it to organically grow into a multi-million dollar business, I was able to not only help thousands of people find work and grow their teams but also create an impact on my community. Because of it, I was able to grow my leadership skills, be involved in speaking for women in business to political leaders, and mentor other women to grow their businesses and develop their independence and impact. I have been able to become financially independent and invest money for my future and the future of my family. If any of this appeals to a woman, they might want to think about putting together a business plan.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a founder? Can you explain what you mean?
One of the biggest myths is that we are all risk-takers. I don’t think that I have done anything in my life without overthinking it. I do the “math” on everything and cross-check it and if it keeps adding up then this is the decision. It doesn’t mean that this process takes a long time. Maybe that is why it looks like a risk from the outside? It is more of a series of quick, calculated choices with as little risk as possible as a founder has the most to lose.
Is everyone cut out to be a founder? In your opinion, which specific traits increase the likelihood that a person will be a successful founder, and what type of person should perhaps seek a “regular job” as an employee? Can you explain what you mean?
I love this question. The answer is “no,” not everyone can be a founder. I see this more clearly because I think when I started I thought, “anyone can do this,” but I was not giving myself enough credit. The traits that I believe every founder must have are 1) Great problem-solving skills. Every day you will be problem-solving from how to make the printer work to how to resolve a problem with a client. You have to completely love doing this. 2) You have to be Visionary and see the result. With this skill you will weave your way through anything and everything to get to that outcome, sometimes it is seeing what the client needs before they even know what they need. And, 3) be relentless and resilient. If you saw the movie Wonder Woman, we see our hero holding up her shield as she crosses “no man’s land.” I envision that scene often as I push through, letting things deflect, and keep marching forward. It does take a certain personality. I want to be really clear that people that don’t have these traits are so needed to help hold up a founder. There is a lot of success to be found standing right next to the founder and we appreciate every one of you.
Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. Based on your opinion and experience, what are the “Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder?” (Please share a story or example for each.)
- Know the rules of the game. You don’t show up for a basketball game with a hockey stick and you don’t show up in a man’s world expecting to play by the same rules that you do when working with women. Neither game is wrong, the game is just different. I learned this by attending a lot of events and being one, or sometimes, the only woman in the room. Offer to handshake first, make it firm. This is how men greet each other. Seems obvious, but I have seen many women not shake hands. Dress for the event. I have seen many women dress like it is a party and not something more professional. Dress to be taken seriously, dress for power with style in mind. Don’t be afraid to interrupt or talk over people to get your point across. Is that rude? Maybe. But this is also a part of the game as men do this all of the time. Again, not wrong, just the rules. When it comes to getting money from a bank or other firm, get your presentation together and be prepared to talk about how you plan on growing your business with their money. Don’t allow them to talk down to you, but also know that they can be taking a risk with you if you don’t have a solid business plan. Men sit at the table, not in the seats along the wall. Get to a meeting early and sit in a spot where you can be seen and heard. Arrive early if you need to. Bottom line is, people will believe in a founder that has a presence, has confidence, and can join in the game as an equal.
- Find your voice. Be brave and speak up, take the microphone, really know what you are talking about. Founders need to be informed on what they do and how it will work for everyone. Again, confidence is a game-changer. Look to include others in conversations and be a great listener.
- Make some business friends. Men, but especially women, will stick with their “pack” for help and advice. Find people in the business community to emulate, have a mentor, create an advisory board, or just a successful business person to ask advice. You are not going to know everything about starting a business and neither will your best friend, or your mom, or your partner. Search beyond your circle. Join a Chamber, a business group for women, or something like that to talk to people that are going through the same things that you are. Unless your best friend also owns a business, they are not going to understand your sleepless nights, biggest worries, or how you are going to make payroll. Other business owners have already had these issues or can connect you with someone that can help.
- Plot your payroll. At the very beginning of starting Portfolio Creative, we plotted out every role that we wanted to fill. We were two owners but we knew that someday we would want a bookkeeper, a salesperson, a recruiter, an administrative assistant, etc. We wrote out every job description and in the beginning, we did all of those jobs. As the company gained more success, we were able to hire for those roles. We would not have been able to see to that success if we didn’t plot it out first. We also would not be aware of every single job that needed to be done to run a business if we didn’t plot that out.
- Hold firm to your values. When we want to grow our businesses we might get involved with clients that do not see things as we do. Ones that believe in not paying their bills, paying fairly, belittling you to break you on price. If your clients or the people that you hire don’t believe in doing business the way that you do it is typically best to part ways. This is your business and you should have to be miserable doing it. That is why you started your business, right? To do things your way. This can get very muddy, especially when starting and you want to grow your business. But companies will try and break you, competitors will try and undercut you, but you need to embrace your value. And that is the value in your pricing and your own personal value.
How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
My service on boards is a direct connection to the answer to this question because of my years in business, I joined the board for the local chapter of NAWBO, the National Association of Women Business Owners. I eventually became the President of the Board and during my entire tenure of serving, I worked to create better opportunities and connections for other women in business. Many in the group are brand new founders and as I stated, I believe that collaborating with other founders is a key to success. I also serve on the board for the Columbus Chamber of Commerce which serves an even larger audience of small businesses as well as very large ones. The third board that I have served on is the board for the Greater Columbus Arts Council because the arts will always have my heart and many in that community are small businesses and solopreneurs that I believe I can help as well.
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 go back to that whole conversation about women being seen as equal in business. If I could create a movement with that as a result we could reduce poverty, create equality, and build a super-charged economy. More people could invest and invent and purchase goods. More people would be able to be educated and make a difference. We are currently holding back half the population, having everyone contributing can only have immense impact. Men would be able to share the load, and doesn’t that sound great for everyone?
We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.
I would love to spend a little time with Sara Blakely and thank her for making me look even more fabulous but to also … 1) what a brilliant idea and 2) be in awe of her for making this one fabulous business. Plus, she does her part to empower woman beyond looking fierce. And if her coffee cup collection is any indication of her personality, I think that we would get along great!
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
Female Founders: Catherine Lang-Cline of Portfolio Creative On The Five Things You Need To Thrive &… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.