She Did It Her Way

Sarah is a venture partner at Future Perfect Ventures and Fortis, an investor, a contributing editor for Marie Claire Magazine, and a startup, incubator, and accelerator advisor. Sarah is also involved in philanthropic efforts where she serves on the board of Venture for America and is very active in Help Us Adopt. “From a really early age I realized that making money was fun because then I could buy whatever I wanted.”

Sara Davidson is the founder and CEO of Hello Fearless, The School for Female Entrepreneurs created to help women start, grow and scale companies, while unleashing their full potential as women. Hello Fearless offers Boss School, a 90-day online course and exclusive society of badass women getting equipped with the tools and skills to whip their dream businesses into shape and finally make the money they deserve.

Leah Caplanis is the founder of SOCIAL Enjoyments, an alcoholic beverage company with the mission to create the most health-conscious alcohol available today; to empower people to live vibrant, connected lives. Leah shares her incredible story defeating thyroid cancer with a natural diet. She found herself no longer wanting to live a restrictive life and desired the enjoyment she received from alcohol without the regretful feelings later.

Kim Harrod is the CEO and Founder of Keepsayk – The Instant Scrapbook of Your Life An iPhone app that allows you to create beautiful, sharable scrapbooks right from your phone using photos, videos, text captions and sharing via text, email, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, etc. For all of those who are “time starved but experience rich!” ← [we love this!]

Cassandra Bodzak is a #lightmaker! As a health and meditation expert, her main gig involves coaching women, one-on-one, to help guide them to creating a life that lights them up through CassandraBodzak.com. She also does speaking and conducts guided meditations for businesses of all sorts. Check out her guided meditations on her YouTube channel!

Katelyn started her blog the summer before she graduated from college. Not too long after, she developed the idea to open an online store. Katelyn challenged the status quo and chased after her dream right out of college. Now, the founder of the online store, Woodbury Lane and blogger at KatelynNow.com, she’s killin it! And we’re so excited to have her on the #podcast!

Melissa Jones is the Chief Encouragement Officer at theCEOffice, a management consulting boutique with a goal to create opportunities for creative entrepreneurs and small business owners to flourish and be successful. Along with running her consulting business, Melissa runs the very popular Creative Chic Coffee and Collaborations events, a unique and intimate networking event for creative female entrepreneurs.

Samantha Thomas, founder and host of SmallTALK Web Series, an online series focusing on the best People and Plates that Chicago has to offer

Boldface Co. is a boutique marketing firm, creating memorable marketing campaigns and events for clients in the fashion, start up, hospitality, retail and real estate industries. They deliver personal attention to every client and project. Carolyn and Sam become an extension of their client’s brands fulfilling all of their marketing, public relations, event management, social media and strategic partnership needs. Ep. 11: Title with Carolyn Pelissero and Sam Saifer Berngard, founders of BOLDFace Co. Boldface Co. is a boutique marketing firm, creating memorable marketing campaigns and events for clients in the fashion, start up, hospitality, retail and real estate industries. They deliver personal attention to every client and project. Carolyn and Sam become an extension of their client’s brands fulfilling all of their marketing, public relations, event management, social media and strategic partnership needs. 2 years ago Carolyn and Sam joined forces to combine PR, media relations, and events for Boldface. Carolyn started the company after being approached several times for her help in PR and marketing for new businesses. Sam came into the mix and added a social and events element to the company. “I always knew I wanted to work for myself” Partnership: They balance out each other’s strengths and weaknesses. They learn a lot from each other without having to learn every aspect of the business right away. Carolyn: “When it was just me it was hard to not have anyone to ask for insight. Not only is it nice to share the work and ideas, but to have that support system built in – It makes things a lot easier to have a partner.” On their work: “It’s a fun way to incorporate the people that we love into work.” Evolution of PR: “Social media is going to be a huge player in the PR world, more so then your typical print media” “If you’re not incorporating that strategic partnership and trying to get ambassadors on board by tapping into people with a large following, you’re really missing out on a huge part of what PR has become – You just have to evolve with it.” PR is public relations. It is how you are communicating your brand and what you have to offer to the public. It is also a very gray area. It’s going to continue to get blurred as long as social media allows people to become important in their own way. “People are very self-important now more than ever” Advice to become an influencer: Put yourself out there and go to as many events and network as possible. You need to look credible too. Look professional and spell check! The little things will set you apart. “Finding the unique spin on things - The unique ones that have their own twist really stand out - That’s really important. Be true to yourself, and be unique, and don’t try to mimic what other people are doing.” Overcoming Challenges: It’s hard not to be accessible when now you can be (accessed) at all times Creating Boundaries: Sometimes you’re at your home office and you want to get some work done at 10 PM, but sometimes it’s a good idea to leave it in the draft folder and send it the next day if you don’t want to open up the flood gates to encourage others to do it to you. Moment of Growth: “You don’t need a class in anything. You take what you’re good at, your strengths, and what you like to do and turn it into your own business. You’re good as gold.” Book Recommendations: Carolyn: Freakonomics – Steven Levitt & Stephen Dubner & The Four Hour Work Week – Tim Ferriss (a repeat that we love) Sam: Grace: A Memoir - Grace Coddington & Lean In – Sheryl Sandberg Other misc. mentions: Jenna Lyons Article “I’m very much inspired by other inspiring women.” Inspirations: Carolyn: “Working for yourself, you have to stay motivated and be a little bit of a hustler and a go-getter” | Like the news flash in college, when no one is making sure you do your homework, you have to be self-sufficient – it’s the same way when you have your own business. | “I’m way more productive now than I ever was at a desk job.” | You’re not going to get paid if you’re not doing anything or doing a good job. Sam: “Success is a feeling that keeps you motivated.” A Day In The Life: Carpool + Dress the same ;) + Early morning client meeting + Meet with Intern at Soho House + Accountant calls and emails + Keep each other up to speed working together “Every day is truly chaos – Every day is so different, and fun, and unique, and spontaneous!” Advice: “The way you get ahead is by doing something that you love and committing to yourself to do that, because then you’ll be happy, and you’ll work hard, and you’ll get noticed for that.” – Jenna Lyons Sam: Ask yourself - Why do I deserve this and why do I want this? | Love what you do so much that you don’t even really know that’s how hard you’re working. | The motivated and hard working person is hard to come by. “Work hard and love what you do.” Carolyn: Hand written thank you notes go a long way! | Know that business is cyclical, there are ups and downs, and you might lose a client, but be patient, and know that someone else will come about. | “Enjoy the risk because it does all work out.” “As long as we can continue to work where we are happy and confident about what we’re doing then that’s all we care about.” ::Find Carolyn, Sam and BoldFace: Instagram ( @BoldFaceChicago), Twitter ( @BoldFaceCo), BoldFaceChicago.com::

Nicole Regan is the Editor and Creative Director behind Cedar & Rush – a girl’s handbook and guide to Chicago. In addition to blogging, Nicole is a Social Media & PR Consultant; Founder of the women’s network, Garnish & Glam; and Contributor to the popular online magazine, CheekyChicago. Following Nicole’s college degree in business finance, she began her 7-year career in Corporate America. She did well, climbed the ladder, expanded her network, but she was unhappy… “I think my soul hurt” She began her blog as a passion project, on the side, as a creative outlet – something she undoubtedly kept suppressed during the workday. “There are different compartments of your life and I was very depressed in my career department” Enter: Cedar and Rush (formerly known as “Great Dates in The City”) Through her blog, networking, meeting people in PR, within companies and business owners, Nicole became exposed to the need for a Social Media consultant. She started getting experience with collaborating with other companies and getting her name out there. She leveraged her job to pay the bills while she became social media and networking savvy.

Michelle Blue – Cofounder of Bené Scarves Bené is an online collection of scarves, inspired by the culture where it all began and committed to providing an education to girls in Ghana by sponsoring tuition, books, supplies, and the uniforms for the girls to continue their education and fulfill their dreams. Michelle and her cofounder, Sasha, began building the business while in college and have moved ahead, full-force, after graduating to make their dream a reality. Bené partners with Sista Works to provide and support 5 girls through secondary school.

Hillary is the founder of A Drink With, a publication of weekly feature interviews with top celebrities, actors, artists, and other influencers. Hillary created A Drink With as a ‘side hustle’ to her full-time job after moving to Chicago and knowing she needed to figure out how to stay while doing something that she loved. “Put yourself where you want to be. Maybe you’re not there in the capacity you want to be at yet, but just get there somehow.” In our interview we dig into the evolution of A Drink With, current partnerships with exciting big names and Hillary’s vision for the company looking forward. We learn how the company came to fruition, how they get the big names to say yes to an interview, and Hillary’s most star struck moments. Hillary shares her interview prep routine, a day in her life, and quality advice for ladies, like us, looking to leave their mark on the world. “I do love talking to those big celebrities, musicians, and actors, but I never want to lose getting to know the local influencers and people in your town.” Find Hillary @: Instagram and Twitter (@HillarySawchuk) Find A Drink With @: Instagram, and Twitter (@ADrinkWith) and ADrinkWith.Com subscribe to get emails when pieces are posted!

Today we're interviewing Susanna Kalnes, a PR business owner, fitness trainer, TV host, life coach, and motivational speaker. Susanna is the creator of Chisel fo' Shizzel, a choreographed strength workout which she describes as "karaoke meets weightlifting".

Today on the podcast we had the opportunity to interview the lovely Kathryn Snellen, owner of Kathryn Elise Studio, a boutique agency and blog offering creative perspective for brands. Kathryn is also the co-founder of Go Blog Social, a Midwest blogger conference designed to educate, inform, and inspire.

Living with Routine