Podcast - She Did It Her Way

How do you cultivate a significant following for your social media? Are you spreading yourself too thin across platforms? Is the quality in your posts showing so? Is the message and aesthetic across your account consistent? Tracy Nour, founder of She Just Knows, takes all of this off of fashion brands and budding entrepreneurs hands with her social media managing business.  Her services range across all social media platforms, but her specialty is posting and engaging audiences on Instagram. She said a common mistake that a lot of brands make is having multiple social media platforms, because a lot of brand's are taught that they need to be accessible at every point of contact. By doing so, Tracy said she sees the content depreciating, and useless platforms that don't match a brand's objective and are empty. She said a brand should find a social media platform that reaches their audience quickly, effectively, and in the most visually stimulating way. Right now, she said Instagram is the best way for brand's to share their products and for entrepreneurs to showcase themselves. Once a brand has landed on their key social media accounts, she said they should do their research on the voice of their target follower and consumer, and replicate that with their posts, aesthetics, and images. After that's been determined, they should choose one person to be in charge of a social media account. This allows a brand to create a consistent voice, because followers can tell differences in writing styles. Next is developing a cohesive photo style, especially if a brand has chosen Instagram as a platform. She first asks her clients to send her the links to five other brand's social media accounts that they like and carry similar products. She then tries to replicate their photos using a combination of their aesthetics to see what fits her client's brand and if it makes their products look appealing. When using filters for your photos, she said to avoid using Instagram's filters, andto use an outside program, like VSCO instead. Instagram filters lower the resolution on what could have been a clear photo, and makes photos look cheesy.  Tracy also said to only choose one filter and use it for all of your photos with minor adjustments to brightness and contrast. This allows a brand's photo to not look so edited and create a cohesive account. By practicing this, she said that it creates a signature look and feel as well, and allows followers to know an image belongs to a specific brand without them even seeing the name. After all these steps have been taken, the most important thing for a brand to do is to keep up with their posting. Tracy said this is key to stimulating engagement and should ideally be done once a day. Brand's should also open their posts up for comments to create interaction amongst followers. Along with handling other brand's social media accounts, she has developed herself into a fashion influencer with her own social media. Once a month, she posts a trend forecaster featuring her knowledge on the retail fields of home, beauty, and fashion. Get cozy and listen to more about how Tracy ended up as social media manager, and other tips to cultivating a significant social media following! In this episode you will... Learn how to tailor you business venture based off of of the needs of your market Find out how to stimulate engagement with you social media account Know how to choose and use filters for your Instagram pictures Figure out what social media accounts work best for your business and only nourish a few of them Understand how to create a consistant voice and cohesive aethetic with your social media platforms Know what organization methods and work tactics suit your business the best INSIGHTS "You could have a really good idea but if nobody is doing it or wants it, it doesn't really matter. You have to listen to the feedback that you're getting." - Tracy Nour "I think that it's important to treat people with respect and to not forget that everybody is still figuring stuff out...most people want to help and I want to help others also." -Tracy Nour "[Keep] doors open...and be confident in what you do...The more confident you are in talking about what you do, people aren't going to question you." -Tracy Nour "I think you have to be really postive in your own head and not let yourself get down about mishaps and setbacks that happen in your business." -Tracy Nour RESOURCES She Just Knows Website Tracy Nour LinkedIn She Just Knows Instagram She Just Knows Facebook She Just Knows Pinterest VSCO The Universe has your Back by Gabrielle Bernstein The Game of Life and How to Play it by Florence Scovel Shin

As a growing business, it goes without saying that need funds to do so. But how do you gain sponsors? Better yet, how do gain corporate sponsors? Is your business even attractive to corporate sponsors? What does that entail? Well Shayna Rattler has the answers to all of those questions with her business, Corporate Attraction, where she coaches businesses on how to land corporate sponsors and teaches business owners how to be productive, effective, and efficient. When Corporate Attraction started in 2009, her clientele consisted of individual buyers and small businesses. Unfortunately, she found that her services and products weren't in their price range. This caused her business to start sinking and she found herself on the verge of foreclosure on her home and almost having to file bankruptcy. However, Shayna didn't consider quitting her business as an option and instead shifted her customer base. She decided to market towards management and corporations because they had the money to pay her. The only problem was that there was no one to tell her how to take on such a task; but Shayna figured it out on her own through trial and error. She developed a three step system to attracting corporate sponsors: Position, Package and Pitch. The first step has to do with determining your company and brand's position in the marketplace. If your presence isn't known, a corporation won't care about your proposal or sales script. She evaluates your position and determines your company's package through a 360 Degree Activation assessment. This consists of finding all the ways online and offline you're engaging your target market throughout the year, and how you are able to package these platforms for a corporation's access and profitability. If you are able to show corporations how many ways you are able to market their business, and your status in those platforms, you are seen as a more attractive candidate. If you want to reach out to a corporation, she suggests you find the person in charge of the department that correlates to the direction of your business and reach out to them. In that initial contact, you should let them know you have noticed the audience they've been trying to reach, you have access to that audience and their trust, and you connect with them in unique and successful ways.  Then simply suggest that you should "support one another" and leave discussion of a partnership for when it's been decided that this is a fruitful collaboration. This aspect is extremely powerful because Influencer Marketing has become the best way to advertise and reach consumers in this new generation. If you show that you have access to their target audience and that the audience trusts what you tell them it let's corporations know that consumer is more likely to buy from them based on your recommendation. Also, you can give them direct access and engagement to this audience. Get comfortable and soak up as much as Shayna Rattler has to say about obtaining corporate dollars in today's episode! In this episode you will... Know if changing your target customer will change the success of your business Learn how to establish yourself in a marketplace to create a notable presence Figure out how to increase the visibility of your brand in order to appear more attractive to corporate sponsors Find a price point that reflects your quality of service and demands that your business be taken seriously Understand how to build a personal relationship with someone in a corporation you'd like to sponsor your business Know how to make your clients feel special and set your business to a higher standard INSIGHTS "I really just became committed to how [I would] teach other small business owners, especially women, [on] how to change the trajectory of their businesses in their lives by going after those big boys who have those big checks." -Shayna Rattler "You can actually reach out to people that are in your backyard tomorrow...that's still going to be a revenue stream that you didn't have access to and give you the confidence and the past performance to go after the Coca-Colas in six to nine months" -Shayna Rattler "Don't worry about your proposal and your deck until you know that this is a sound business case to be made...stop proposing products and services and solutions until people tell you what they want and need" -Shayna Rattler "As women we need to stop telling ourselves that we're too small...that we haven't been in business long enough, we don't have it all figured out. So what, just start. Stop getting ready to get ready and just start." -Shayna Rattler "The biggest thing I have learned in my eight years is that I have to keep going even when I don't feel like it and even though what I know I've been promised and what I know is possible is not actually evidence that I see right now." -Shayna Rattler RESOURCES Corporate Attraction's Website Corporate Attraction Facebook SPIN Selling by Neil Rackham

When you decided to become an entrepreneur, was your market nonexistent? Did you have to educate consumers on your market, then pitch your product? Did it ever occur to you to help other small businesses in your market flourish as well, and grow together? As the co-founders of La Bella Figura, Victoria Fantauzzi and Karen King, began their natural and organic skin care line, they found that their consumers didn't know that they needed simple and green ingredients in their cosmetics products. In fact, Victoria and Karen didn't know they needed these qualities in their cosmetics either, until Victoria took a trip to Spain. While there, she was exposed to an enormous amount of organic and handmade cosmeticsthat reminded her of the products her grandmother's and great-aunt's swore by. Upon returning home, she asked Karen, her fellow coworker as a teacher, if she wanted to start a skin care line. With Karen settling on the fact that Victoria was crazy because they knew nothing about the cosmetics industry, Victoria took the opportunity to educate herself on the market. After doing her research, she was shocked by the long list of horrible ingredients that brands were using in their cosmetics. After sharing her findings with Karen, the two decided to launch their first product with $400 and a single ingredient. However, they faced a couple of challenges. One being that a lot of women and men didn't see the need for their product at the time so they had to educate consumers about what was in other cosmetic brand's products,  and how it affected their skin. Only then could they introduce their product , and explain how they were different, and their product's health benefits.  With this process in line, they then needed to figure out how to present this information to their customer clearly and succinctly without overwhelming them. Their second problem was that their singular ingredient was extremely rare and expensive. With a limited budget, they decided to produce a small amount, and look for an effective platform to get the word about their new product to get their business rolling. By connecting with a writer for Refinery29 and landing a review in the online women's lifestyle publication , they were able to turn a profit so they could reinvest in their business and expand their product. As their La Bella Figura took off slowly but surely, Victoria had the idea of collaborating with other green cosmetic brands, so they could help one another promote their market. A lot of brands and retailers were hesitant about promoting their competitors, but Victoria convinced them that it was an opportunity to grow, and help their niche and other consumers live a healthier lives, and strengthen their market and get their foot in the mainstream cosmetic door. So they organized they started A Night for Green Beauty in New York in August of 2012. With the promotion efforts of their friends, they invited editors from green beauty magazines, like EcoSalon, beauty bloggers, and the public to highlight and showcase brands inthe organic beauty industry. The event was a hit and the following year, it was held in LA and was even more successful. The event ran annually for three years and during that time raised over $75,000 in donations for charities and nonprofits. Tune in to learn more about this wonderful company andtheir desire to educate! In this episode you will... Know how to create an edge for your brand by educating your audience about your market and explaining the benefits and difference of your product Figure out what business ventures are worth your company time and energy Find ways to grow your business based off of customer feedback Learn how to grow with your competitors that have the same values and cross promote each other Know how to create brand and market awareness for your business and other similar brands Discover whether connecting with your customer through a PR team or a directly to you is the most effective INSIGHTS "There's nothing more powerful than being in the process of knowledge. Just soaking it in and wanting more." - Victoria Fantauzzi "It's okay that you juggle so many things because you're the mom to your business...you're juggling a whole bunch of things... just breath and figure out today." -Victoria Fantauzzi "Sometimes I think I can do anything...it's a crazy thought, but the fun part about having that thought is actually trying to do these crazy things." -Victoria Fantauzzi RESOURCES La Bella Figura Website La Bella Figura Facebook La Bella Figura Instagram La Bella Figura Twitter Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

How do you reflect yourself and your life through a product? Have you thought of doing so through a character? If so, how do you keep it relevant? Joanna Alberti, founder of philoSophie's Stationary, uses the character Sophie in stationary and gift sets along with positive quotes and sassy sayings based off of the events of her and her friend's lives. With her business being 10 years old and Sophie being a few years older than that, she keeps her character relevant by branding her as an "everyday girl", making her relatable and timeless to all women. Sophie was hatched when Joanna worked at an advertising agency in the mid 2000's. Wanting to get more into the creative side of the media department, she began making greeting cards for her company's arts and crafts fair, and Sophie was born. People loved the simplistic and cute character, and she decided to make greeting cards as a hobby. She soon got two other jobs as a birthday party planner and a spa receptionist to nurture her budding business. As a birthday party planner, she was able create a clientele for customizable greeting cards.  Working as a receptionist, she distributed her greeting cards at the front desk to get her product out to the public. Joanna finally left her advertising job in 2005, and started taking her newfound hobby seriously in 2007. After creating a business plan, doing her market research, and seeing how much it would cost to print her designs, she moved to Rochester, NY to open up a small store front. With her new space and growing business, she began licensing her artwork onto gift products, and to other greeting card companies like Recycled Paper Greetings, and Pavillion Gift. Those companies put her designs onto 3D ornaments, little trinket boxes, statues, and mugs among knick knacks Listen in as we learn more about how Joanna has carried Sopjie through the years and has developed a company with a loyal following and at her own pace! In this episode you will... Find out how to leave the corporate world and chase your entrepreneurial dreams while still keeping that door open as a back-up plan Appreciate how far you've come with your business and not get stressed by the day-to-day Learn how to build your business off of what you have and can produce at the time Figure out what your strengths are and how to delegate different aspects of your business to others Know how to stop and analyze opportunities when they are presented to you, instead of jumping at every proposal Learn how to customize a consumer's experience with your product and brand INSIGHTS "I have a core group of women and familiesthat I've worked with over the years that have allowed me to really do what I love and it's growing and it's crazy to say that it's been 10 years in the making. I don't think I'd still be in business if I didn't grow the way that I did." -Joanna Alberti "I think people see me first as an artist, I think I see myself that way too, but I am a business owner. So I have to be mindful [of] my spending, my growth, and how am I going to evolve." -Joanna Alberti "If you stay true to what you're set out to do there will always be a core audience of people who will support you because they see the love you've put behind something." -Joanna Alberti RESOURCES Essentialism: the Discipline Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown

What ignites you? Is it helping others? Is it your kids? Career? Giving guidance? Wine? Arabelle Yee, a Life Strategist and High Performance Coach, thought her passions lay in the corporate world. However, as she looked around at the excitement and joy of her coworkers at a celebration for their company's newest business venture, she found it hard to match their happiness. After spending 10 years with them, she knew nothing was wrong with the company. It was just the fact that her values were no longer in alignment with them, and she had to find something that "lit her up". She knew that whatever she decided to do, she had to work with a lot of people and provide support for them. Two years later she opened her practice as a clinical psychotherapist, and helped people with anxiety, depression, and confidence. But she quickly realized that she was taking on their problems as she worked with them, and became drained. After reevaluating her clientele she wished to have, and the type of life she wanted to live, she decided that she wanted to help people, but not at the expense of her own mental health. She also wanted freedom and flexibility in the work place. She then moved her business entirely online and wanted to help people change their mindsets. She began coaching people on improving themselves, how to live their life to the fullest, and developing confidence, among other things. With the success of her business change, people also started coming to her for entrepreneurial advice as well. Through her new clientele, she found that a lot of them shared common problems: they hadn't found their passion, didn't know their true values, and were being controlled by their fears. First she helped them become aware of a disconnect between their values and their actions and habits by asking three questions: where do you spend your money most? Time? And energy? Arabelle feels values consist of the things that are the most important in a person's life and change as they get older. She also feels that a lot of people carry "borrowed values" that they adopt from influential people in their lives and society. Her goal with her clients is to demolish the idea that values are stagnant, and find what values are true to them, and are reflected in their actions. Once she's gotten her clients to this space, she begins to help them find their purpose Come and learn more about how Arabelle helps people be the best versions of themselves and reap the benefits of a positive mindset and life! In this episode you will... Find a career path that you truly love Know how to find your own values and not adopt someone else's Understand how to go about changing the course of your life once you find your values Be aware of your thought process and how it is affecting your mood and mindset Figure out what your mindset is in accordance to money and where it came from, and if they are aligned with your values Learn how to speak and think things into existence INSIGHTS "Become aware of your money stories. What thoughts are you thinking about money and what energetic instructions are you giving out to the world. How are you blocking money? Just become aware of the things you are receiving already." - Arabelle Yee "We can sit down and complain about our situation. Or we can look at our situation and really understand where we are, because that situation is really inviting us to shift our thoughts and change our behaviors if we want different results in our lives." -Arabelle Yee "You have to meet life halfway...the other half where life comes in...we don't have control over it, but it will respond to where we are. We still need to set goals. If you don't set goals you're just going to go with the winds...so set budgets...it's about being smart...and knowing my numbers...knowing exactly what I'm doing with my money...but at the same time feel like a millionaire." -Arabelle Yee RESOURCES Arabelle Yee's Website Arabelle Yee LinkedIn Arabelle Yee Facebook Arabelle Yee Instagram Arabelle Yee Twitter Dr. John Martini's Website Millionaire Messenger by Brendon Burchard

The universe will test you anytime you're attempting to ascend to a high level of consciousness. Experiences I'm sharing how the universe has tested me over the years: - May 2011 - tempting me with a $1,000 gift card if I would had stayed with Target for another month vs leaving when I did - March 2012 - injured my knee in indoor soccer and need to replace a $1,000 shifter in my Jeep Liberty all within a week and 3 weeks before leaving for Europe for the first time ever - April 2012 - Being offered a full-time position with Wells Fargo as a recruiter and passing on the opportunity without knowing what was going to pan out with my relationship with Chad Carden at the time - May 2017 (heyyyy that's like now!) - Opting out of a consulting project that would have been a solid, steady gig for the next 6-8 months, lucrative income but would have pulled me away from She Did It Her Way and not aligned with what lights me up along with my true purpose. Faith is believing in the unseen and willing to act upon the unseen. The second part is talking about having the right attitude, understanding your thoughts and how to rewire them to serve you. With the right attitude we can accomplish anything we want in life. ANYTHING. Possessing the right attitude requires 4 phases. #1 - We have to see the NEED for ourselves. After every need, ask yourself, "Why?" *Knowing our WHY behind what we do will drive us to succeed and give purpose to what we do. For example: "I need to sleep more." Why? Because it will lower my stress, make me more alert, give me energy. #2 - We have to WANT to do something. "I WANT to sleep more." #3 - We CAN do something. *We thoroughly believe we can accomplish whatever it is that we want. "I CAN sleep more." #4 - I WILL do something. *The will is our commitment to ourself. "I WILL sleep more." If we can confidently say to ourselves, "I NEED to, I WANT to, I CAN and I WILL," we will have successfully created the right attitude to move forward and turn our goals into reality. Think of 1 thing that you've been wanting to accomplish yet can't figure out why you haven't been able to do so. Walk yourself through the 4 Phases of Attitude, identify where the breakdown is happening. Remember, "Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude." - Zig Ziglar

What are the things in life that give you fulfillment? Passion? Could you meld this in to a business or a product? Where do you begin to connect these dots? For Tonya Dalton, she found that her passions in life were teaching, organizing, and empowering business owners and other women. And so, she created inkWELL Press, a company centered around productivity, and designed to help and educate women prioritize, and set up an organizational flow and system that works the best for their lives. inkWELL Press does so with products such as weekly planners, meal planners, organizational notepads, and other items. They even have videos on how to streamline customer's organizational process on their website. Tonya found that the majority of the time, the most organized people aren't actually productive, and use organization as a procrastination technique. With inkWELL Press, she hoped women and female business owners could reach productivity first, and have organization follow naturally. However, finding her passions didn't come easily. It took hours of Brain Dump and Mind Mapping exercises to narrow down the things that fulfilled her. She found that her greatest fulfillments came from her time as a former teacher and investment banker, and through her organizational exercises, she figured out how to link them to create a business and product, and create a mission statement for her brand. Once she was able to develop an overall message and direction for her brand, she created an entire roadmap of how she was going to get her business off the ground. She set up her business development plan in mini milestones, with each end goal representing hurdles that she would have to overcome,  and detailed how she would solve them, with a timeline for when they needed to be accomplished. One of her biggest milestones was how to budget her family's finances, and survive six months without an income as her and her husband shut down their jewelry business, and developed inkWELL Press. But because they knew that they were chasing her big dream and ultimate purpose, they found saying no to the little splurges in life were challenging, but easy when they took in the big picture. After whittling down her milestones, they developed a marketing and advertising strategy on Facebook and with lead magnets to find their target consumer and generate excitement around their brand. By giving out free downloads of the it productivity and organizational videos and programs in exchange for emails, as well as teasers on the product, they launched with 500 orders! Pop a squat and learn more about what made Tonya want to be an entrepreneur and her and her husband's journey in going into business for themselves! In this episode you will... Know how starting a business can help you gain control of your life and priorities Find out when and how to walk away from a business endeavor that you are no longer passionate about Figure out your action plan in getting your business off the ground Learn how to find your business's mission statement Understand how to budget your income while starting your business Begin to prioritize your hurdles and solve them one at a time INSIGHTS "When you're figuring out your end, that's where you start...because when I decided what my personal mission statement was, I built on that to create the mission behind Inkwell Press...I already knew it needed to be tied to something that made me feel fulfilled and that I would be passionate about" -Tonya Dalton "Every time you say 'yes' you're saying 'no' to something else...My 'yes' was starting this business, so my no's were so much were so much easier." -Tonya Dalton "It's not about being organized, it's about having a productive life. Productivity, to me, is not about doing more things faster, it's about having a life that you love and really focusing in on your priorities and getting those things done." -Tonya Dalton "Failing is the best way to learn...When everything is sunshine and lollipops you're not really growing... It's those things that were really kind of painful...but looking back at have made the biggest difference." -Tonya Dalton

How do you spice up a monotonous market with your product? How do you gain the resources for these innovations? Today's guest, Katerina Schneider, wanted to bring a new spin to the vitamin industry by providing transparency about ingredients in her women's vitamin line, Ritual. When she was pregnant with her daughter, Katerina's  conscious about what she put in and on her body was even more heightened. Already health-conscious, she began to take a deeper look into the ingredients in her family's foods , body products, and cleaning supplies. She found  they were filled with poor quality ingredients, and  a lot of those ingredients were in her prenatal vitamins, such as: blue coloring, titanium dioxide, carrageenan and other questionable products tested on rodents and humans. She started to ask her friends and peers about the vitamins they took and if they knew better quality brands. She discovered most people did not pay attention to the ingredients and never really saw a difference in brands. She even noticed how hard it was to find all the ingredients in vitamins and where they came from. She decided should start her own vitamin line. And she wanted her product to be based an evidence based company that was rooted in science. She hired Dr. Luke Bucci, head of research for the Airborne vitamin, to be a part of her team. They spent a year looking at studies on vitamins on the market and narrowed their nutrients to nine ingredients.  Some of those ingredients include: a fourth generation folate from Italy that women can process and utilize, vitamin D3 from lichen instead of sheep's wool or Omega 3 from algae instead of fish oil. Ritual's vitamins also have a vegan capsule that is made of non-GMO corn protein instead of TALE shellac protein and PDP! All of Ritual's ingredients and nutrients are listed on their website and informs consumer's of their origins and features interviews with the company's suppliers. What sets Ritual apart even more is their in-house team of scientists that are available to answer questions from consumers about their vitamins, and nutrition in general through their social media platforms. Join us with a healthy boost of entrepreneurship  and learn more about Ritual! In this episode you will... Know how to set your product or business apart from others in your market Figure out how to find quality ingredients for your product Learn how to set a price point and a selling strategy Discover how to create a customer service and marketing strategy that appeals to your target audience Understand how to develop a strong pitch for investors Learn to create innovation from the "noes" INSIGHTS "Going through childbirth makes you a stronger founder [and] leader; you feel like you can take on anything and there's more purpose behind what you do." -Katerina Schneider "As a founder you have to be a really good storyteller. It's what inspires investors..hiring a team, and gets you through the hard times. Having a story that tells your vision really well is really important." - Katerina Schneider "We're not just a vitamin company. We're really going to transform women's lives and make them feel their best every single day." -Katerina Schneider "All the 'noes' that we got forced us to create something radically different. One of our values at the company is  'we like noes.' It means it's never been done before." -Katerina Schneider "You have to start a company when you think you'll be excited about your idea 10-20 years from now. You start a company for the long haul.There's a lot of highs [and] lows, but unless you're so passionate about what you're constructing, it's not worth it. It's that passion that drives you every single day.If you don't have that long term conviction and interest, I don't think it's worth starting a company." -Katerina Schneider RESOURCES Ritual Website Ritual Facebook Ritual Instagram Ritual Twitter Katerina Schneider LinkedIn Katerina Schneider Twitter The Hard Thing about Hard Things by Ben Horowitz

What is stopping you from going after your business idea? Is it the people around you? Lack of knowledge? Or your own fear? The co-founders of UBooker, Claudia Wagner and Diana Gaertner, mulled over the idea of streamlining the model booking process for 7-8 years. Being models themselves, they had even been conducting unofficial market research over the span of their careers, which was about 20 years. They found that a lot of models were frustrated with the tedious process of booking jobs, as well as clients with finding models for their project. After seeing that the modeling industry wasn't going to adapt the process to the fast-paced, technological times, Diana and Claudia made the decision to finally go for it. With the help of their two other co-founders, Andrea Losso and Nicola Scagnolari, they took their idea and translated it to a well-thought out business plan, and created a website. With UBooker launching Februrary of 2017, Claudia and Diana were able to take a process that typically lasted a couple days and shorten it to around 10 minutes. Check out how UBooker achieved this great task, and how they maneuver the hectic, but exciting life as lady bosses! In this episode you will... Know how to streamline a tedious process with your business Learn to create a well-balanced leadership team with contrasting personalities Understand how to work with a team that is located around the world Gain the courage to go after your business idea Figure out how to attract audiences across different demographics Begin to encourage others who want to start their own business and not put them down INSIGHTS "To think about all the possibilities that could come up for the booking process...what could the client want, what could the model want, and how can we make things even better and more comfortable...more efficient...it was very complex, but also very exciting. It's a great thing for me to learn, it's wonderful." -Diana Gaertner "The first hurdle a lot of people have when [you] start a business is to gather the courage to do it; because we had this idea to do something for seven-eight years [and] we started to say there's something to be done here." -Claudia Wagner "There is a fear there. There is a fear of change...I believed so strongly that this [could] be done successfully...every time I hear this can't be done it [gives] me the motivation to work even harder." -Claudia Wagner "I still can't always see the dimension of our project, it's growing literally every day. It's getting more an more complex...but deep inside I knew this was going to be a project that was going to work and I believed in it 100% and it is working...no one needs to tell us anymore that it's not going to work because it actually is." -Diana Gaertner RESOURCES Toolsberry You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche

What has brought you courage and strength? Have you ever thought of blending it with your personal brand? What would that manifest into? A product, a business, a space? After dealing with sexual harassment in her workplace, feminism erased Erin Bagwell’s insecurities and feelings of invisibility. She started reading feminist journals and blogs and decided to create her own, Feminist Wednesday, that provides women like her a forum to share their stories; as well as a platform for women who have overcome those situations and regained their confidence and found success. She became so obsessed and empowered by these women, that she quit her job at the ad agency, and started a kick starter to produce the documentary, Dream Girl, that tackled gender issues in the corporate world and acted as a visual medium for some of the women of Feminist Wednesday. It took her 6 months to get her kick starter off the ground, but within 30 days she had reached her goal of $100,000. Originally, she thought that it would resonate with strong females in Fortune 500 companies, but found that her documentary scared them. She said they weren’t ready to discuss gender issues in the workplace and thought it would turn off incoming and existing Millennial employees. However, she took pride in the fact that her film was so powerful, that it created discomfort in that very ecosystem. Her documentary was embraced by Influencers, people who were active in their community, such as mentors, and women in charge of uplifting women organizations. Dream Girl premiered at the White House in May of 2016, and since its release to the public that following June, it has been seen in 81 different countries. Stick around and hear more about how Erin turned a soul-sucking situation into motivation to challenge societal norms with art! In this episode you will… Know what avenues of fundraising and investing to take when building a business, product, or kick starter Understand how to stretch and work within your budget Figure out how to disassociate yourself with your product enough so you can monetize it Learn to be comfortable with the discomfort of being an entrepreneur Find the best way of distributing your product Know how to shift your product and business model in accordance to a target audience change INSIGHTS “Sometimes the cards are stacked against you, when you have all old white male, suit wearing superiors. Feminism kind of gave me the tools to dissect that and understand that just because I’m a young woman, doesn’t mean I’m not of value or worth to a company.” –Erin Bagwell “I became so obsessed with the women I was meeting on Feminist Wednesday. The entrepreneur’s journeys about quitting their jobs and running a company and being successful seemed so romantic to me…I was at such a cross road in my life where I was really open and ready to receive a big idea...I had been so creatively stifled at work, so I was ready to dive all in, and do a kick starter.” –Erin Bagwell “As artists, we feel this shame and this guilt around selling something we’ve poured our heart and souls into. And in the beginning I felt a lot of discomfort around money and charging for it, because it felt so close to me…it took a couple of months for me to get over and for me to view the film as a product, and as something we need to monetize.” –Erin Bagwell. “I have no idea what I’m walking into day-to-day, or what’s going to happen, who’s going to need me…actually letting go has been something I continue to work on and think about and try to get better at.” –Erin Bagwell RESOURCES Erin Bagwell LinkedIn Erin Bagwell Facebook Erin Bagwell Twitter Dream Girl Film Website Dream Girl Facebook Dream Girl Instagram Dream Girl Twitter Feminist Wednesday Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert A Gal’s Guide to Making a Movie by Erin Bagwell The Brooklyn Mermaid by Amy Shearn

SDH156: How to be Strategic When Scaling Your Business with Rosalyn Arntzen

Hi guys! Happy Thursday! I’m so excited to dive into today’s solocast with you. I’m sharing how incredibly powerful the female intuition is, cycle syncing and diving deeper into the past 10 months of life.  As I’ve shared in previous solocasts, the past year has been one for growth, pivoting and not feeling like myself. Up until a month and a half ago I found myself in this fog like state, I was emotionally all over, felt lost, found it a struggle to chose happiness (because it truly is a choice), found myself being envious of others, lack of motivation or desire to do anything. I stopped reading, I barely listened to podcasts and didn’t have a strong appetite for personal development. THIS was when I knew something was extremely off. I’ve always been hungry for growth and at that point I didn’t care. Some periods of time were better (and easier) than others but still I knew I wasn’t myself.  With the help of WomanCode (thanks to @leeFromamerica), it was the first book I read and it made me realize just HOW powerful our bodies are as women from leveraging the power of our intuition, cycle syncing (coordinating activities and workouts with the phases of our cycle for maximum performance) and just how important it is to stabilize our blood sugar for consistent energy.  Also, every time I record a solocast I always get a little self conscious that I’m all over the place with my thoughts so A) I’m working on getting better B) Thanks for still tuning in :) Lastly, I’m working on a project and need your help! If you have taken the LEAP, left your corporate job to pursue entrepreneurship or if the podcast has inspired you in some way, I want to hear from you!

When was the last time you were moved by a magazine? The images bringing a smile to your face. The content inspiring yo to keep going. The pages themselves creating an experience. Brooke Saxon-Spencer, founder of Belong Magazine, hopes that she can be the answer to that question. Belong Magazine is a digital and print publication that is geared towards female entrepreneurs, primarily in the arts, blogging and social media fields. However, it speaks to female entrepreneurs at all levels of growth; whether you're established or still in the idea phase. It tis meant to provide tools, resources, and a community for women business owners alike to connect and support each other. The concept for the Belong was hatched from previous blogging attempts by Brooke. As she was figuring out the best plan of action for her blogs, and in need of support when they failed, she wished there was an easy to find, and established community of women like her to talk with. And so, she decided to be the one to make one. She launched Belong in September of 2015, and by it's third issue, it was already picked up by Barnes & Noble. Even though the publication has a digital medium, she prides herself on the print form of the magazine, with vivid images, unique finishes, page weight, and as she put it, life-giving content. Her magazines are so visually stimulating, that they have even been the subject of Instagram hashtags, Pinterest tags, and used as decorative home pieces. Learn more about how Brooke doesn't balance her life, tends to her family, and invigorates her readers by encouraging them to power through the turbulent road of entrepreneurship! In this episode you will... See the growth and accomplishments in the slow rise of your business Know how to create a business out of the curation of a broader field Understand how to effectively and strategically defy modern advancements with your product or business Figure out how to create a supportive and nourishing community with you business or brand Know your limits as an entrepreneur financially, mentally, and personally Find out ways to turn your idea into a tangible product or business INSIGHTS "You have to put yourself out there. Just by existing you're not going to just grow relationships. You actually have to do the work." -Brooke Saxon-Spencer "As a business owner...there's always something about getting your finished product...and being like 'oh my gosh I did that'." -Brooke Saxon-Spencer "Not only did I do it...something that was this loose concept and idea, but I had no background and knowledge on how to accomplish this, but I did it on my own. That'd really rewarding on it's own" -Brooke Saxon-Spencer "My life is more than just about the magazine...yes there is work to be done, but am I making a good choice right now?" -Brooke Saxon-Spencer "I don't balance it all there's no possible way...when you do choose one thing over another, that other thing is getting let go and sometimes that's okay." -Brooke Saxon-Spencer "Knowing that [the magazine] is going to be in the hands of other women and encourage them is so live giving, and rewarding, and just keeps me going." -Brooke Saxon-Spencer

Are you in an industry where you see areas for improvement? Do you think you can be the one to reinvent the wheel, and branch out on your own? Without a doubt, Victoria Reitano, founder of CreatiVix Media, knew she could. After being recruited for an agency and working with them for 9 months, she saw how their service could grow and expand. She took on her first freelance project while working for them. Within five weeks she got all the accounts she needed to break off on he own, and CreatiVix Media was up and running. Not only that, she matched her six figure salary in that time as well! CreatiVix is a digital agency that manages the digital content of brands, entrepreneurs and influencers. Depending on who you are, the services vary. For brands, Victoria provides full management, which can consist of writing posts, creating social media strategies,  determining and creating image aspects, as well as creating a video strategy. When dealing with entrepreneurs, she can provide the same services, but she also offers training sessions to help them understand how to take the reins themselves. For influencers, Victoria mostly trains them so they can make smart business decisions and understand the true value of their worth and influence. Now let us dabble a little into the awesome career that she had before she started CreatiVix. Gaining a degree in journalism, she started out as a local reporter for a trade publication and other odds and ends writing jobs. By studying journalism, she learned how to effectively communicate with audiences based off of their psychographics and sharpen her interviewing skills. From there she became the Managing Editor for a blog in 2011, and started a Twitter Chat so successful that a producer at the Today Show got a hold of her, and she appeared on the show. With her love for TV ignited, she was hired to be the Digital Producer of LIVE with Kelly & Michael at the age of 24. She managed their Facebook and Google + accounts, and brought them from 200 to 600,000 in nine months! (Needless to say, the girl was good.) From there, she went to Telepictures and worked on the web content for the Bethenny Frankel show and developed a digital brand for the Meredith Vieira show for NBC. Listen in as you get to learn more about Victoria and her Sparta self! In this episode you will... Learn how to start a business out of another industry by seeing how you could optimize certain aspects of it Building strong enough relationships with clients so that they will follow you How to balance your life and responsibilities when you're building your business How to be the positive influences to others that you have experienced How to have your own back but ask for help when you need it How to negotiate a salary or a deal Learning to actually do things your way INSIGHTS "Content always has to come first before you create a community...it's about what you're going to give your community, not necessarily what they're going to give you." - Victoria Reitano "I'm creative with a business mind...how are you going to make money from your craft."- Victoria Reitano "Success is getting to do what you want with the people...or pet...you want to be with" - Victoria Reitano "I love this company and this work that I do more than anything...I'm here to go big...I'm not going anywhere else." - Victoria Reitano "They used to call me the Olivia Pope of social media...there is nothing that I can't handle." - Victoria Reitano "Who has your back except you...I think it makes you stronger...and having that fierce fire in you is something you need to really succeed." - Victoria Reitano "Get on the white horse and save yourself, because it's always much better when you do!" ­- Victoria Reitano "I think there's a lot of talk about you need someone to tell you what to do, as opposed to you need someone to work through this with you." - Victoria Reitano "Your best is what you say, not what anyone else says." - Victoria Reitano

Does entrepreneurship run in your family? Has your entrepreneurial journey been more challenging than you anticipated?  For Becky Galvez, CEO of Shop4Ties, her gift for gab, and love for connecting and helping others was in her DNA. Becky inherited Shop4Ties from her father, and what they both loved about their business was getting to know their customers to the point that they became family. Shop4Ties is a custom neckwear company that specializes in ties, bowties, scarves, and as of a few years ago, Hawaiian shirts. The company was founded by Becky's father, Arnie Kapp, in their family's basement in 1982. Becky's earliest memory of the family business was the sounds of her dad plugging away on the phone and their fax machine going off. Working with the entrepreneurial landscape of the early 1980's, he advertised everywhere he could to get the name out there. He also negotiated manufacturing deals with factories in Korea, which was not the easiest task, due to the use and price of calling cards and level of communication needed for smooth operation. With the invention of Internet, Shop4Ties became more accessible anywhere. Becky didn't join the company until January of 2011, when she returned to America after working as a Spanish teacher in Chile for seven years at an international school. Before joining the company, she dabbled in the tie industry with her e-commerce site Silk Sensation, which sold fashionable silk ties. However, she based it out of South America, and didn't analyze the market. She assumed that since her dad's business flourished, so would hers. Unfortunately, that was not the case and she was left with 10,000 silk ties in her apartment. She decided to learn from the best, and worked at her dad's company stuffing envelopes at a desk and watching him perform the day-to-day tasks of running an established business. When he was diagnosed with cancer she had to take more of the reins. Since then, she continues to successfully grow the business and uphold her father's rapport with his loyal customer base and partners. Get comfy and listen to the endearing story of how Shop4Ties came to be and learn more about Becky's genuine love for people and connecting. In this episode you will... Learn to be OK with not knowing everything Know how to grow your business in innovative ways Discover how to turn your customers and business partners into family and friends Understand the basics of international manufacturing Know how to be transparent with your business Find what aspect of your business you're best at INSIGHTS "We don't meet most of our clients; we talk on the phone with them. And we can talk with someone for 10 years and know their whole life story but have never met them." -Becky Galvez "I'm not just going to be your Al Bundy of the tie world. I want to know about you and I want to help you with things. It's about these deep rooted relationships." -Becky Galvez "One of the biggest things companies need to invest in is showing appreciation for your staff. People just want to be appreciated for what they do." -Becky Galvez "Anyway I can connect with someone and find a way to help them, that's really what drives me." -Becky Galvez RESOURCES Shop4Ties Website Shop4Ties Facebook Shop4Ties Instagram Shop4Ties Twitter Four Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss InstaCart Amazon Fresh Peak by Chip Conley Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh