Career
How to Close the Gender Gap? Throw Business Showers!
Many of us have gone through this. Society celebrates women choosing marriage and motherhood, but for women choosing unconventional paths like entrepreneurship, there are no parties.
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business woman
Profiles
What I Learned From Interviewing Entrepreneurs All Around the World
The Big Secret I learned from speaking to incredible, ambitious, and visionary female business owners on how to grow a successful business is this…there is no one strategy, one fail-proof plan, or one path to follow that will lead to success.
Culture
Five Essential Lessons to Keep in Mind When You're Starting Your Own Business
"How did you ever get into a business like that?" people ask me. They're confounded to hear that my product is industrial baler wire—a very unfeminine pursuit, especially in 1975 when I founded my company in the midst of a machismo man's world. It's a long story, but I'll try to shorten it. I'd never been interested to enter the "man's" world of business, but I discovered a lucrative opportunity to become my own boss—even if it involved a non-glamorous product. I'd been fired from my previous jo
Business
Please Don't Tell Me I Am Being Difficult
"I think you need to stop being so difficult and just let this go," the senior leader said exasperated, handing my sheets back to me. He was annoyed. I took my sheets back and walked out. It was a battle I wasn't about to win.Those sheets outlined my compelling case for delaying the launch my team had been leading. The proposition wasn't differentiated. The media plan was underfunded. The estimates from sales teams were coming in lower than expected. My persistence, my persuasive business case,
Career
Nearly Two Decades Ago, I Accidentally Became an Entrepreneur. Here's What I've Learned
We're living through an unprecedented time. It's scary, but I've been here. I started my career working for design firms in 1993, then added a side venture in the mid-90s, a custom kid's bed linen business that I ran for 10 years. In the late 90s, I added a second moonlighting layer (because who needs a social life in their 20s): smaller, then bigger interior design projects in whatever waking hours I had. In 2004, I got an opportunity from one of those side clients to launch my own interior d
Business
Purpose & Profit: The Way Forward For Businesses
A decade ago when I graduated and was about to foray into the professional world, I was very clear on the end goal: social impact. Having grown up around the globe and been exposed to the circumstances of the developing world, I was always very aware of "the bottom billion."
Career
Tips To Help Women Move Beyond #OKBoomer at Work
When I first heard #OKBoomer, I cringed and thought — here we go again. Yet another round of generation bashing, this time Millennials against Baby Boomers. This new social media conflict will not help workplace dynamics. Throughout my career, I've heard countless rants about long-established workplace norms that younger generations perceive as overly repressive rules that subvert identity, familial obligations, civility, and respect for the environment.
Business
Why Conscious Capitalism Is The Future
When we think about being "conscious" anything, it's easy to fall into the subject of new age spirituality or just focus on leading a conscious lifestyle through regular yoga sessions, composting, and keeping chickens in the backyard. All of these things are great (when aligned with our personal values), and these actions can enhance our day-to-day lives and inspire others to do the same. But when it comes to the world of business, can the word "conscious" not only play a role, but also help pro
Career
6 Leadership Qualities Displayed by Women World Leaders During COVID-19
In recent weeks we have been seeing a string of articles praising the exemplary ways that women political leaders of various nations throughout the world have been handling the COVID-19 crisis. Some of these articles suggest, overtly or tacitly, that women are simply better leaders, period.
Culture
What It's Like To Operate An Essential Business During COVID-19
Our world has changed so much these past few months. But Fresh n' Lean, the pre-prepped organic meal delivery company I founded in 2010, has remained open during the coronavirus pandemic after being deemed an essential business. Operating amid the spread of COVID-19 has been a humbling, challenging and profound experience. We've ramped up our safety measures in order to protect employees.
Culture
It's Time For The Fashion Industry To Stop Ignoring Older Women
A few months after I left my corporate job as the Head of Merchandising for Old Navy Online, I walked into the Everlane concept store in preparation for an upcoming meeting at their corporate office. As I looked around trying to find an outfit, a feeling of alienation came over me. From the perky twenty-something sales associate that looked at me askance when I walked in, to the array of androgynous, box-llooking, nondescript apparel, it was clear that I didn't belong. I finally landed on a stre
Frontier
How I Turned My Trauma Into A Thriving Business After Major Brain Surgery
The first pic you see of me here is from November 2018, roughly 3 weeks after having brain surgery. It all started one morning in January of 2018. I flew from LA to San Jose en route to Santa Cruz for several meetings I had set for the day. I was driving on Highway 17 heading to Santa Cruz from the San Jose Airport. I was on the freeway for all of 20 minutes, and out of nowhere a car comes out from a residential area to the right of me, attempting to make a left turn onto the freeway where there
Culture
My Unfiltered Struggle In Launching A Product To A Neglected Market
Early spring 2018, I walked into the building of a startup accelerator program I had been accepted into. Armed with only confidence and a genius idea, I was eager to start level one. I had no idea of what to expect, but I knew I needed help. Somehow with life's journey of twists and turns, this former successful event planner was now about to blindly walk into the tech industry and tackle on a problem that too many women entrepreneurs had faced.
Frontier
Dermalogica Founder Shares The Story Behind Her Skincare Empire
It was blood, sweat, tears and plenty of "cheekiness," as she says, that propelled Dermalogica founder, Jane Wurwand, to create a multi-million dollar skincare business available in more than 100 countries around the world.
Career
This Is The Wake Up Call You Need When You're Ready To Quit Your Job
They say when one door closes another one opens, and for me the reality of that is more than just a catchy phrase. When I moved to London I had nothing with me but my ambition for an exciting career and the desire to live out the dream of 19-year-old me, who hoped one day to become an international, successful businesswoman.
Career
Seven Tips For Working Remotely From A Pre-Covid Remote Founder
I feel I'm at my most productive when I am free to travel, learn, and create without the constraints of geography, an office, or a time card. So, when I founded Final Straw just over two years ago, I sought to develop a company culture that inspired people to approach everyday problems with ingenuity, and was determined to create a team that was 100% remote. Initially, there were people who pointed out all of the reasons that a company operating remotely couldn't be successful; however, I knew t
Practice
My Journey From Mismatched Corporate Suits To Pushing The Boundaries Of Tailoring
This is my journey from being forced to wear missmatched suits in my first corporate role to bringing women everywhere clothes that will make them confident and reflect their inner-power (suit).
Futures
Female Founders Deploy Fashion Tech Company N.A.bld During COVID-19 Pandemic
Amanda Curtis shifted the focus of her on-demand manufacturing platform, N.A.bld, from fashion to face masks when federal health officials advised healthcare workers to bring scarves and bandanas to work when caring for COVID-19 patients.
Profiles
How I Built My Business From The Side Of My Daughter's Hospital Bed
It all started when I began documenting my daughter's 436-day hospital stay on Instagram. She was a perfectly healthy 3-year-old and out of nowhere had a ruptured appendix made worse by a failed immune system. Sepsis began to consume her body and talking about it on social media was my way to cope with the fear of the unknown...
Career
How I Incorporated My Festival-going Philosophies Into My Work As A CEO
My love for these festivals runs as deep as the ocean in me...
Frontier
How My Bestie And I Are Changing The Future Of Period Care
We often talked about going into business together but never really had the 'lightbulb' idea that suited both our skills...
Business
Taking My Own Advice: How I Learned To Let Go Of The Things That Are Out Of My Control
It seemed like everything happened overnight because, well… it did. One moment, my team and I were business as usual, running a multi-million-dollar edible cookie dough company I built from scratch in my at-home kitchen five years ago and the next we were sitting in an emergency management team meeting asking ourselves, "What do we do now?" Things had escalated in New York, and we were all called to do our part in "flattening the curve" and "slowing the spread."
Culture
Why I’m Working For Sexual Assault Awareness In The COVID-19 Era
Our world is currently hindered, scared, and uncertain due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Career
Men Told Me Boob Sweat Isn't "A Thing," But I Built My Business Anyway
It's absurdly difficult to launch a product for women, by women. When I moved to NYC, I was bright and full of dreams, my hopes pinned on a colorful career and exciting new friends. Within one year, exciting new friends in tow, I was fully engaged in learning the ropes and climbing the ladder at a global investment banking firm. It was an exciting time of learning new things and my capacity for growth was enormous.