She Did It Her Way

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.

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.

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.

Have you been back and forth with dieting your whole life? Has body confidence been an issue that you've dealt with, but never felt comfortable discussing? What factors led you to feel as though you needed to change your image to be happy? Well Sarah Anne Stewart, a Holistic Health coach, wants to get to the bottom of it. But she doesn't want to just tell you to eat your greens and exercise. She wants to get to the source. Sarah became a model at the young age of 14, and was so for about 10 years. While a model, she developed an eating disorder that nearly killed her and left her hospitalized for some time. All she could think about was how this could happen to her and where did it stem from. Growing up her father was heavily into meditation, holistic health, reprogramming subconscious beliefs, and even cured himself of terminal cancer through proper nutrition.  First she realized that she needed to truly change her diet and stick with it. While her health improved, her anxiety and depression remained. She soon figured out that she needed to change her thought process as well, and improve her mental health.

Have you noticed a need for the product in your daily life for decades? Are you tired of waiting for someone else to create it? Do you want to be that person? The Co-founders of Birdies, Marisa Sharkey and Bianca Gates, took action against this constant void that they faced. For them it was a fashionable pair of slippers that they could wear around the house, entertain in, or wear in other people's houses. They were tired of having to go barefoot, having to wear their socks, or slippers more designed for their pj's. They wanted something that wouldn't compromise their stylish outfits, but also compliment their lives as working mothers on the go.

Are you seeing a void in the market place that is opposite of yours? Do you feel you have the knowledge, passion, and drive to fix it yourself? Mia Saini-Duchnowski, and Laura Cox, Co-founders of Oars + Alps, did extensive market research, and based off what they found,  most women are the gatekeepers to men's skin care products. According to the data Mia and Laura collected, this can start as early as puberty for most men, when their mother's buy them their first skin products; and follows them to adulthood with their spouses or significant others. Mia and Laura can personally attest to this latter notion, because the urge to start Oars + Alps began when their husbands would use their skin care products. (Yup! We've been in the same boat ;) They then found themselves replenishing their own products faster, and women's skin care products can cost around 5x more than men's, said Mia. But also because men's and women's skin are different and their products serve different purposes.

Are you able to see potential in others to be entrepreneurs? Do you want to help them grow into the leaders you know they can be? The ability to see potential and desire to help is what sparked one of the businesses of today's guest, Dr. Gabrielle Pelicci, who is a Wellness Business Coach for Women in Wellness Career Training, and a leading expert as a Holistic Health Professor. Growing up with her father, who was a physician and constantly treated with antibiotics and other Western medicines, she realized she simply didn't feel good as a whole in her college years. Her diet was poor, as well as her physical health and her mindset as she coped with stress and anxiety. So she began delving deeply into the holistic health scene and fell in love. She even wanted to create a career out of it and help others discover the wonders of the field; gained a Ph.D. in holistic health practices. She then began teaching Mind-Body Medicine and Holistic Health at universities across the country for about 10 years. As a professor, she noticed a lot of her graduating students, who showed immense drive and leadership potential, were having trouble becoming entrepreneurs. She decided she wanted to help them too. She also wanted to help the students who may not exactly know what business they wanted to start in holistic health, but had an immense passion for the craft. She created a coaching business, Women in Wellness Club, for these budding healers and allowed them to have a community of likeminded individuals and resources to start their careers, but also continued to help people who wanted a healthier lifestyle change.

What if you had to create your market? If your product would only sell if you spread awareness to a neglected topic? For Jordana Kier and Alexandra Friedman, founders of LOLA, the hardest part was making their product a segway to a lifestyle change. LOLA is a 100% organic cotton feminine product brand, and started when Jordana and Alex were struck with the question, 'What's in our tampon?'. Upon further research, they found that big tampon brands didn't have to answer that question because the FDA didn't require it.  This notion angered them, because they felt women had the right to know the contents of what they were putting into a fundamental part of their anatomy on frequent basis. Upon intense market research, they found that other women felt the same. They also found that, like them, the question never crossed their mind about what their tampons and most feminine products were made of.  Alex and Jordana then knew that by raising the question, they had sparked concern about a broader topic, and wanted to be the ones to fulfill that void.  So they started with selling organic cotton tampons and have since spread to panty liners, pads, and non-applicator tampons. Also, LOLA has customizable packaging that allows you to choose how many of each tampon you need (11 regulars, 9 supers, etc.) and they have a subscription service that has them delivered to you!

How well do you know your clientele? Do you know their needs or wants? How can your product or service improve their lives? Rebecca Sholiton, founder of Eat Pakd in Chicago, found out from one of her friends that her business idea could help their kids not have M&Ms for breakfast. Eat Pakd operates with the goal of helping the modern family provide healthy meals for their kids. The lunches are completely prepped, and are either customizable or customers can chose from an assortment of packages. Through meticulous and extensive market research, Eat Pakd has taken off tremendously since it's opening in August of 2016 and has continued to grow by the week and has already expanded to most neighboring states. Take a minute to listen to how Rebecca continues to sustain that growth through trial and error in this week's episode!

Tune in to hear this week's solocast!

What have you always been told you're good at? If it hasn't been told to you, what do people always rely on you for? Have you thought of honing those skills and creating a business from it? For Jen Glantz, founder of Bridesmaid for Hire, the answer was a solid no. When she posted her services as a professional bridesmaid on Craigslist, she just wanted to be there for brides in need of emotional support and advice leading up to their wedding day.

As you begin to start your business, you may have all the groundwork done and your business plan in motion, but not sure where to start? Katya Siddall, Co-founder and SVP of Sales and Marketing at Syndio, started out as an investor turned entrepreneur.

Hi She Did It Her Way listeners! I'm super excited about today's solocast - lots of different things I'm covering so stick with me! Do you ever get so busy sometimes doing life that you forget to live? Where things become a checklist rather than experiencing it? For example, you’ve got back to back events, meetings, celebrations (that are all amazing and exciting I might add) but sometimes you find yourself not even being able to enjoy them because you’re thinking about the NEXT thing you’ve got coming up. Whether you look at your schedule as a “get to” or “have to” which I always like looking at it from the former point of view. Yet still, sometimes you can't help it slip to the latter.

What was your dream job when you were younger? As you got older did you realistically see yourself doing it anymore? Was your predicament one that nurtured your dream, or was it a far fetched goal?

Imagine if you quit your job to start a luxury business based on want and confidence, the day of 9-11? That was the predicament of today's guest, Donna Mondi, owner of Donna Mondi Interior Design. The odds were stacked against her and the growth of her business was slow and steady, but her immense drive and passion to be the best interior designer kept her going.