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In this final episode, Amy talks about what she has learned doing this podcast and why she is ending the podcast now. 

Today Amy introduces us to Bailey Surtees.  It won’t be the last time you will hear about her as the work she and a team of cofounders are doing is consequential.  Her career pivot is in progress, and we’re on hand to witness as she and her work evolve.   Bailey tells us she was interested in science at an early age.  She loved biology in high school, and she loved what she had learned to that point about engineering and problem solving.  As she headed off to college from home in Oklahoma to Johns Hopkins University in Maryland, she wasn’t yet sure how her two interests would coalesce, but once she arrived, she fit in nicely as a bioengineering major.   Bailey’s career journey began in earnest during her senior year at JHU.  As an assignment in a senior design program, she and some fellow students were challenged with a problem solving project. They teamed with field clinicians and what they eventually came up with was   remarkable work they hoped would be game changing. Their project eventually led to the founding of a business, and Bailey became the lead.    Originally, the team’s goal was to study both breast cancer diagnoses and treatments for patients in low resource countries.  But they soon modified their study after they learned professionals in the field were far more concerned about treatment than about diagnosis. This was because they had no viable way to treat in the field following a diagnosis. This revelation caused the team to put their focus on finding a way to provide treatment methods that would work in field conditions. They determined they’d spend a year researching this, and by the end of that year, they had come up with their own treatment method which was unlike anything else available.    The team applied for grants to sustain their efforts post-graduation.  They wanted to work full time on the project as they’d become convinced that it had commercial potential.  They eventually were ready to move from research to development. Six years have passed and Bailey’s company, Kubanda Cryotherapy, is growing.  But what is this treatment?   It is a minimally invasive cryotherapy technique for lumps and bumps and is currently being used on pets, Bailey explains. Kubanda started in the pet therapy market to help them fast forward to human treatment.  It is a cost effective alternative to surgical resections, and right now it’s being used by veterinarians with the hope for an eventual go-ahead for human trials.   Bailey says the treatment trades a “knife for a needle”. She describes the simple procedure and emphasizes how inexpensive it is.  All that’s needed is a CO2 tank. No electricity is required.  A needle is inserted into the lump or tumor.  The needle is then chilled to -70 degrees.  This rapidly creates ice in the tissue, and those sharp ice shards quickly attack and burst the cells.  The patient experiences minimal pain and does not have to go through the traditionally long recovery period.   As they move hopefully forward to human trials, they continue to rely on grants but are now raising money through investors too. Bailey has nothing but confidence in the viability of their cryotherapy treatment, and she hopes her enthusiasm is contagious as fund raising is a part of her job now.  The founding group plans to continue expansion by reaching out to even more veterinarians around the country. She manages this task as part of what she does on a day to day basis as well.  She often fills in or helps out with the work being done by the other founders too. She describes how she loves being a jack of all trades for the business.  She says at present she’s learning about HR functions as the company takes on new hires.   Bailey gave Amy some advice and takeaways she would pass on to other entrepreneurs:   It’s more doable than you think. Don’t be intimidated Reach out to other entrepreneurs for their support. There is a powerful network of people willing to help you the same they were helped when they began. Network with people who are a step ahead of you Be patient. It takes time to reach your ultimate goal Be open to taking on unexpected roles as you might learn something new about yourself in the process.   Links:   com com/in/bailey-surtees

Today we meet Sharon Werner who will share with us the story of her fascinating career pivot from New York thespian to Senior Vice President at Home Box Office. Sharon begins her narrative as an undergrad at Bryn Mawr.  She initially thought she would study medicine, but after experiencing some related classes, she changed her major to English and turned her focus to studying the rich literature of both the Renaissance and Medieval periods.    By graduation, she had not found her career direction yet, so she took a job as a “gofer” at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. The job paid very little, but it gave her more time to explore and think about her future.  With a great interest in theater, she signed up for a scene study class at the Herbert Berghof Studio but felt she should pursue something more conventional as well.  Thus she sent out applications to graduate schools where she hoped to continue her English literature studies.  Just as she was accepted at Princeton, she landed a plum part in a musical she had auditioned for.  The production was the Fantasticks and she was cast as The Girl (Luisa), a leading role.  This posed a career dilemma for sure, but in the end, the road less traveled led off-Broadway.   Sharon learned quickly that you need to know a thing or two about business if you’re going to live on actor’s wages.  She was young and inexperienced but learning quickly.  She left the Fantasticks role after almost 2 years, and did summer stock and small parts in other off-Broadway productions.  A series of theater gigs, and jobs like being a gift wrapper or a salesperson at B. Altman, followed.  Where was she going?   A friend suggested to her that she possessed skills that might make her a good attorney.  Sharon scoffed and thought being an attorney was “one step up from being an accountant.”  But since nothing else was coming her way, she decided she had nothing to lose by taking the LSAT. She was sure she wouldn’t do well, and she could chalk off that occupation from the list of possibilities.  Fortunately, she was very wrong and she received a high score. Still reluctant, friends encouraged her to apply to top law schools with her stellar test performance.  She again mailed out applications, while she continued to keep her theater options open.    While her applications were out to various law schools, she received a last minute call to back up a singer in a musical revue. (The actress who had the role was not feeling well, but she thought she’d still be able to go on.) And though the music didn’t match Sharon’s style or range, she took the job since the production was in a pinch, and she was available. Again, fate stepped in and she actually had to perform as the original actress could not.  Sharon did well and was hired to understudy all the female parts for the show.   Sharon intended to stay with the revue through its run, but again there were other plans afoot for her in the universe.  With only 2 weeks left for the show, Sharon received an acceptance letter from Harvard Law School. And this would not be the only acceptance letter she received.  She had come once more to a fork in the road. Should she take the route towards the more conventional law school choice or stick with the ever quixotic theater work?   She decided to give law school a try. Harvard was not offering the scholarship money she needed, so she chose to attend Columbia which proved more generous. Amazingly, she loved law school.  She found the coursework engaging and stimulating. She made law review and Law Revue!  Keeping her love of theater alive, she and some of her fellow students put together fun sketches and parodies about life at law school.  Her time at Columbia was greatly successful, and when her studies were completed, she was hired as a clerk for the Honorable James Oakes of the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.   She was in the clerkship for a year when another opportunity came her way.   Sharon was hired for a position in the entertainment department at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. This prestigious firm had the reputation of being the best in entertainment law in New York City. Although her friends assumed this was exactly what Sharon should do, Sharon reserved judgment as to whether this was really the right course for her.  She began tentatively but found out she was well-suited.  She truly enjoyed her work and learned a lot in the 3 years she was there.    She next moved on to a position at MTV but was there for just a year when she was recruited by HBO.  It was at HBO where the rest of her career awaited her. The work was immensely fun, challenging and gratifying, and Sharon retired from HBO recently as a Senior Vice President.  Listen to her recount the growth and changes that took place at the media giant while she was there. She describes for us what it was like to work at HBO and we catch a glimpse of some programs and stars she encountered.    Amy asks if she is happy she made the pivot from theater to law.  Sharon tells her she enjoyed both occupations, but law “is the kind of career that makes sense.”  She also discusses how she’s handling her recent retirement as after a merger, HBO offered many employees near retirement age the opportunity for a buy-out.  Sharon describes how coming to terms with a new lifestyle has unfolded, especially during the pandemic.  She says she was surprised at how the pivot from work to retirement was emotionally more difficult than she anticipated, and how the first year of retirement was a struggle.  You will enjoy hearing about Sharon’s unique career pivot.  If you’re like me, you’ll find yourself wishing you could hear some more of the fun anecdotes she surely could tell about her times as both an actress and an entertainment attorney.   Sharon offers some advice and some takeaways today in her interview: When you are just starting, if you lack confidence, listen to the advice of those who know you. They will send you in directions you might not dare to go without a push Keep an open mind to all possibilities, even those that seem unlikely You don’t have to rush with your career choice. It’s okay to have some life experience first Find joy in whatever work you are doing There are transferable skills in all types of work

Dr. Pinkey Patel grew up helping her parents run motels.  Her mother and father had come to the United States with no education and no money and were determined Pinkey would eventually go to college. Pinkey was an excellent student, especially in math and science, so although she would have to pay her own way, she was in agreement with her parents that college was in her future. As her high school class valedictorian, she was well prepared to gather scholarships to help pay her college expenses. Interested in studying some area of healthcare, she chose pharmacy to be her major. She went directly from undergraduate school to her Pharm.D degree, finishing in 6 1/2 years by 2011. As she scouted for scholarship opportunities throughout that time, Pinkey looked to the Miss America Pageant system as a scholarship source. On a second try she won a regional level pageant. In order to advance to the state competition, among other things, she was required to work with a fitness trainer. It was at this point that Pinkey was introduced to both fitness training and body building, interests that would influence and steer her career for the future. Through the pageant experience, she became very interested in muscle mechanics and physiology.  She decided that she was more than just an enthusiast, so she eventually gained certification as a personal trainer through the National Society of Sports Medicine.  She taught fitness classes during both her graduate and undergrad years, and after her marriage, she participated in a couple of body building competitions.  Her education coupled with her fitness avocation came together to form the foundation for her career pivot. In order to keep her fitness certification, Pinkey enrolled annually for continuing education classes.  She decided to put her focus on pre and post-natal fitness.  Though she had no children of her own yet, she was listening to the concerns of other women as they talked about a myriad of health and fitness problems they experienced before and after they gave birth. She began to investigate some of the fallacies that traditionally drove fitness and health care in this period of women’s lives.  Her investigation finally culminated in The Snapback, an all-inclusive and intuitive postpartum app, but it didn’t happen overnight.  Her first move in the app’s eventual creation was to launch a like-minded community in 2018.  She interacted with other women on topics of concern they brought up like bladder control, breast feeding, etc.  This community convinced her she definitely had found an audience in need of sound, factual information, and it reassured her that an app to address their many needs would be extremely useful. In this interview, you will hear her detail some of the creative features she’s developed for her app to address the vast variety of questions new mothers have. In September of 2019, she launched The Snapback in 166 countries. Her app has grown sufficiently that in April of 2021, she gave up her full time clinical pharmacy position to oversee her growing online presence. She continues to do one-on-one consulting though in order to stay close to the market she serves. Amy broaches the question of motivation. She asks Pinkey what drives her and makes her so passionate about her new work. Pinkey responds by saying that leaving her pharmacy position was the hardest thing she has ever had to do. She had focused all her early years on building that stable career and walking away from it was a big risk to take.  But she says she had seen too often unqualified people badly advising vulnerable, exhausted new mothers.  She knew she had the knowledge and tools to do better for them.  Pinkey also tells us about her continued search for funding now and how The Snapback is currently operating financially. She confesses what a big learning curve she is grappling with when it comes to business practices. She’s often engaged in on the job training.  The pandemic made it even harder to learn, but now as things open up, she’s able to take advantage of the more available resources for learning.  She points out that less than 3% of women receive venture capital funding, but she is working hard to be included in that statistic.        Takeaways:   Don’t be in a rush. Give yourself ample time to think about your options Patience is very necessary. Your big idea won’t come to fruition overnight.  Be prepared to have some failures but keep tweaking You can balance your side hustle(s) with your new venture, but know at some point if you’re successful, you’re going to have to go all in It’s important to identify and build your values into your enterprise from the beginning Build your business culture from the ground up.   Links   https://www.linkedin.com/in/pinkeypatel/   com

Meet Viola Brumskine, a woman with many talents and interests.  Viola was a curious child who had many questions about everything.  With lots of energy and even more curiosity, her parents thought steering her towards journalism was appropriate.  By the time she entered Howard University, she was settled on a major in communications with a minor in journalism and public relations.  This initial plan was modified near the end of her undergrad years however, and at graduation, she had earned her baccalaureate degree in intercultural communications with an emphasis in public relations.   During the time she was working on the communications degree, Viola enrolled in a debate class.  She found she had an affinity for debate, and when her professor noted this talent, he passed along a favorable word to the Howard mock trial coach. The coach asked her to join the team and when she did, she found most in the group were prelaw majors. Viola then began to give thought to law school too, especially since she found success with mock trial.  She had family who really encouraged her as well, but she felt obligated to complete the undergrad major in communications she had first embarked upon. So at that point, though interested in law school, she was not ready for a commitment yet.   Her first job post-graduation was with a lobbyist firm. She spent 18 months in that position during which time she gave much thought to where her career was going.  At the end of that period, she had made a final decision to go to law school and eventually enrolled at the University of Kentucky in Lexington.   Following law school, she moved home to Maryland and prepared for the bar exam.  Upon completion, she landed a clerkship with the Montgomery County Circuit Court, an impressive early career accomplishment and a solid addition to her resume.  Her heart was still with the mock trial skills she had gained though.  Thus, when the opportunity came along, Viola signed on as a litigation associate at Saul Kerpelman & Associates where she stayed for 6 years.    Midway through her time there, she became restless.  She felt something was missing from her career even though she knew she had a great job many others would envy. She continued to think about what the missing “it” might be.  Finally, she revisited a goal she had considered during her youth. She had wanted to work in some capacity for the United Nations. Now she became focused on bringing that old dream to life.   One of the partners at the litigation firm helped her out.  He had a relative who worked for the U.N. who might give her some valuable insight. What she learned was how hard it was to get a job there.  But undaunted, she applied for nearly 100 positions, none of which resulted in a job.  Still she didn’t give up.  At this point she dug in and decided to turn all her attention and focus to her U.N. goal.    A former classmate gave her a call and told her about a potential position she had learned of from friends working at the U.N.  Viola knew what she still needed was to find out the apparent secret to getting hired there.  She discovered through them that she hadn’t understood the recruitment system nor how to communicate what she really had to offer.  Learning this, she was able to fine tune her application and rework her resume, and in a few months she was offered a U.N. position in Dakar, Senegal.    Viola had recently married and had a husband to consider if and when she accepted the post.  He was supportive of her desire to work there, but she explained how being with the U.N. would mean among other things, moving frequently. There would be potentially other sacrifices too that would impact on them as a family if she followed her dream job.  They made the joint decision that Viola would try out the position and see if it was truly what she wanted. Later then they would take a more informed look before she made a firm commitment.   Viola’s U.N. employment only lasted for 18 months. She had become ill in Dakar and required medical treatment in the United States.  While being treated in the US, she reflected on the time she had spent in Dakar.  She realized that she had learned a lot from her short stint, but this had not turned out to be the missing “it” job she was searching for.  She explains she felt the U.N. position was a stepping off point for her to something greater though, and after much thought, she believed her next move might be in the area of consulting.     One of the valuable lessons she had gained from her time with the U.N. was how a business reorganization is done.  Since the U.N. was going through a huge reorganization process while she was with them, she was able to observe much about streamlining, facilitating change, evaluating processes, etc.  As she observed, she was fascinated by it all and found herself  closely evaluating every step that had been taken to restructure the vast entity. She now wanted to know more about change management.   In fall of 2019, she began exploring the available university study programs in organizational development.  She decided that an executive certificate program offered at Georgetown University in organizational consulting and change leadership might be what she was looking for.  The year-long course was designed for mid-level executives ready to pivot in their careers, and this was exactly what Viola was planning to do. So in January 2020, she began the Georgetown course and learned about the framework for successful consulting.  She was anxious to apply her own experiences, talents and competencies to that framework so she would have the confidence to find her place in the consulting field.   Since finishing her certification this past January, she has found a position as a Senior Consultant with a company called Corner Alliance in the Washington, D.C. area. She describes to Amy the work she’s doing there now and gives great advice about what she’s learned in order to make a successful pivot.  Here are some of the takeaways and advice you might find valuable to listen for in today’s podcast:   Takeaways: Viola set up daily Zoom coffee meetings and networked with many of the professionals she had been taught by, gone to school with or worked with. This extensive networking opened lots of doors She hired a career coach/consultant; (her enthusiasm for doing this is truly worth listening to) She advises not to despair if you if you don’t know your “dream job” right away, or if you think you’ve found your “dream job” but it doesn’t work out She says learning about yourself is crucial if you want to find a position you will truly want to stick with   LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/violalbmoves

  Colin Levy knew his strengths as an undergrad at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut.  He was only torn as to which interest he should pursue for his degree.  He chose public policy with a concentration in economics over an English major.  During his time at Trinity College, he determined he would follow his BA with a law degree, but not immediately.  He took a year off and worked for a large New York law firm as a paralegal.  There he received some first-hand legal experience and was introduced to technology as it applied to the law profession.    When that year was over, he entered Boston College Law School.  As law school began, he already knew he had no interest in being a litigator.  His focus became transactions and contract law, and he aspired to work as an in-house counsel some time in his future.  At the conclusion of his law studies, he had no job lined up, so he spent the following year exploring opportunities.    Eventually he took a position at Update Legal, a startup, in Boston.  There he did contract review and financial audits while he advanced in his knowledge of legal technology especially. He began to recognize a new interest in how computers could facilitate the work of legal professionals.  He created a contract management and review tool in the year he was employed there.   He moved on to a few brief stints as a compliance and contract attorney while he engaged his curiosity in the technology tools that were currently used in the field.  The short duration positions he took moved Colin along from contracts administrator to contract counsel.   In 2014 and 2015, he went to work with the Velcro Group.  As a contract counsel there, he was able to improve contractual systems and revise existing templates.  He maintained contractual records and assisted with corporate restructuring matters.  He often worked across departments, and he provided training to other employees. He frequently did research as well.  All in all, Colin experienced a broad spectrum of work that continued to refine his special interests, especially those involving applied technology.   After a year off for some health issues, Colin returned to law and signed on at C&W Services as a temporary contract counsel during the summer of 2016.  After this short term situation ended, he became the Manager of Contract Negotiations at Pearson Education where he was the sole in-house counsel.  He found this to be a period of great growth experience where he gained many transferable skills to carry him into the future.    In the summer of 2018, Colin moved on to be corporate counsel for Salary.com.  For the next 2 years he was the strategic advisor to both the CEO and CFO concerning cyber security.  During this time, he expanded his own brand which he had been working on for some years.  He was becoming the “go to” person in the world of tech advice for legal professionals.    In May of 2020, Colin spent some time as legal counsel for Lookout, a cyber security company.  While there, he learned even more about security technology and enjoyed a supportive team.  It was at this juncture that he really expanded his own brand.  And what is that?  Colin explains to Amy about his blog, his tweets and his all-important LinkedIn posts.  As Amy notes, he’s developed quite a following as he educates and inspires about legal technology. He has become an authority as he posts every day on a variety of legal tech topics. His interactive posts afford a great networking opportunity for all who engage with him on topics surrounding technology for legal professionals. Colin defines the subject of legal technology as a set of tools that allows attorneys to perform their work more effectively and efficiently.  It encompasses a growing movement to push the legal industry into the 21st century.   This past February, Colin became the Director of Marketing and Business Development at WordRake.  This represented a big pivot for him as he is no longer an in-house counsel.  Instead, he now spends his days immersed in the legal technology which has become his passion.  He has managed to merge his personal brand with his professional work.   At WordRake, they provide a product that is an add-on for Microsoft Word.  It’s an automated document editor, as you will hear Colin explain further.   They help legal professionals produce documents with clarity and without complicated legal jargon. With his love of both technology and writing, Colin has found his niche.  He shares with Amy and her listeners some of the lessons he’s found valuable in his career journey.  Perhaps he has some advice that will help you enhance your personal brand.   Links: LinkedIn- linkedin.com/in/colinslevy Website- colinslevy.com/     Takeaways: If you are overwhelmed with the growing amount of law technology, know you are not alone. Take on only the specific area you are involved with rather than trying to absorb all of the law tech that’s out there Learn about all the branding tools that will help you. LinkedIn is underutilized and a great place to learn and build your brand Always be consistent when you blog, tweet and post Respond and comment on other people’s posts Deliberate relationship building on LinkedIn and other professional sites is the new way to network. Learn to take advantage of these resources and use them to your best advantage

In her early school days, Jamie wanted to be a doctor.  When she headed off to her first classes at DePaul University in Chicago, she was dismayed by just how long science lab classes were, so her childhood career choice was dashed shortly thereafter. She decided to stick to the core classes until she was forced at the end of her sophomore year to declare a major.  She decided to go with business. While taking a variety of business related classes her last two undergrad years, she encountered business law. Finally, she had found a discipline that truly interested her.   Since De Paul has a community service component to its curriculum, Jamie chose to mentor group home boys who were wards of the state. She enjoyed this work and thought as she went off to law school, she would explore child advocacy law.  She enrolled at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota, which offered a concentration of courses on children and the law.   Midway through law school it occurred to her that she was amassing a lot of student loan debt.  She began to think about how she would eventually repay it and she came upon an idea she thought would help her. It happened that Hamline offered a dual degree program with the nearby University of St. Thomas where she could earn an MBA to accompany her JD. When she finished these two degrees, she felt she would be better prepared to land a good first position and relieve some of her debt.   Jamie’s first job out of law school was as a business litigator.  She did this for 2 years and got her feet wet, and as she did, she was able to define her career direction further.  She felt she wanted to be an integral part of building a business and creating new systems.  She left this initial job then and hired on at US Bank where she might find more opportunity to grow.   At U.S. Bank she was brought in to support the IT department. In that role she did everything from litigation to software licensing to contract negotiations.  Each of these areas offered her more experience to help her continue to define and develop her career path.  When she had finished at US Bank, she felt better prepared to step up to the role of an in-house counsel.   Jamie’s next move was to Kroll Ontrack as a contract negotiator and then associate legal counsel.  Besides contract negotiations she did compliance and document discovery. After a 3 year stint, she moved on as counsel at St. Jude Medical where she continued to do contract law.   In 2017, she was hired as the first in-house attorney at Gitlab.This was her first remote job.  During her time there, the company enjoyed tremendous growth. They went from 150 to 1200 employees. Jamie built the legal team from just herself to 7 others.  It was exciting and a lot of work, she tells us.  She felt an integral part of the team, and this was the type of work she had been building towards.   When the pandemic hit, Jamie took a sabbatical.  During her time off, an opportunity came to join Mattermost, an open source collaboration platform for developers.  The entire company works remotely.  Jamie took the position and has found remote work affords her the flexibility she needs. With four children and her academic responsibilities at Georgetown University where she is a candidate for an Executive LLM in Securities and Financial Regulations, flexibility is essential. As the first in-house attorney at Mattermost, Jamie is busy setting up the requisite legal systems for the company. Her responsibilities often include reworking contracts, document discovery and compliance issues too.   Jamie discusses with Amy some of the work she does to promote rising people in technology fields and other areas. For example, she works as a mentor with TechStars, an incubator program with United Health Care. Recently she’s developed a list serve for attorneys who work for remote businesses, many being technology startups. (You can find the link below). The list has grown to 60 or 70 lawyers so far.   So at this stage of her ever-evolving career, she wears many hats.  She’s happy with her current work and lifestyle and shares some advice about what she’s learned as an attorney at several startups.  She says networking is vital.  She tells the listener exactly how she networked to make her way into the startup world. She has pivoted successfully because she has acquired an impressive array of transferable skills, learning and adapting as she moves forward.  During a time of rapidly changing technology, her ability to stay current makes her highly valuable to every organization she chooses to be involved with.   Takeaways:     Network and develop relationships of trust Keep learning Lawyers working with startups experience a unique set of challenge Not everyone follows a career path plotted early on   Links: linkedin.com/in/jamiehurewitz www.allremotelegal.com

In junior high school, Fatin was sure she wanted to be a doctor like others in her family. But by high school, and after a few science courses, she was convinced medicine was not in her future.  She did however love French and English classes, especially those in composition.  One goal she fostered was to travel abroad eventually, so when it came time for college, she decided French would be her major.    Fatin chose to attend Kenyon College in Ohio for her undergrad years. When she finished, she wasn’t sure what direction she was going to take, but she tells us she had no desire to teach at that point.  After some thought, she decided to explore the possibility of a career in publishing. She had a college friend who knew someone at the Oxford University Press, and so she interviewed and was hired there in an entry level position.  Although she found her work to be boring, it gave her an introduction to what publishing was all about.  It also allowed her to put some relevant work experience on her resume.   Her next job was as an editorial assistant at Savoy Magazine, an African-American lifestyle and business publication.  While there, she had the opportunity to interview many interesting and influential people.  As she listened to their stories, she was impressed by the contributions so many of them were making. Given to serious reflection, Fatin was prompted to ask herself what she was doing professionally to impact the lives of others. This lingering personal question would take some time to answer.   Fatin next decided to study for a Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing. She enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh in their 3 year program, and to help pay for tuition, she received a graduate assistantship. This meant she was required to teach freshman composition classes. Though she had no teacher training, she stuck with her assignment and surprisingly enjoyed it.  Upon finishing her master's degree, she gave thought to her next move.   Most of her graduate school peers chose to be teaching artists. These were active writers who held teaching positions to make ends meet. This choice enabled them to continue to be in an academic environment as well.  Fatin considered this option, but she was primarily a poet.  For her, the poetry she wrote was intensely personal and the thought of sending her work off to publishers with the chance for rejection was untenable. Then what to do?   She had enjoyed teaching freshman composition, so she thought perhaps she might like a teaching career after all. But of course now she knew she needed professional training and credentialing.  She enrolled in the School for International Training, Graduate Institute in Vermont in order to earn an MA in ESOL (English to Speakers of Other Languages).  Her degree  work would enable her to travel to Saudi Arabia and Palestine where she taught EFL (English as a Foreign Language) students. These positions were fulfilling as they made her feel she was finally using her talents to help others.  After finishing a practicum in Saudi Arabia, she returned to SIT to finalize work for her degree. Once completed, she moved home to New Jersey and began teaching as an adjunct professor at various community colleges in the vicinity. Her experiences as an adjunct provided crucial on the job teacher training but not much in the way of job perks. She continued for nearly 11 years however, but eventually she wanted to find a teaching position that offered more in the way of financial security and benefits.   This took her to public education where she entered the world of high schools and adolescents.  Prior to this, she had taught students who were often highly motivated.  She had not dealt much with classroom management problems, behavioral issues, special needs students and so forth. She felt unprepared to wear all the hats of a public high school teacher who must work with the whole child, rather than solely teaching academic content to eager minds. She struggled but gave this 5 years. In the end, she decided the many responsibilities were too overwhelming for her and so once more she considered her options.    Without a plan in place initially, she decided to get back to basics.  She began to ponder the idea of opening her own business to “do what you know”.  And what Fatin knew was how to write. She also knew poetry wasn’t marketable, so she eagerly began to tackle copywriting, marketing, content writing and a variety of other specialized written genres she hadn’t worked with much in the past.  When crafting these specialized writing tasks, one must achieve specific goals in order to engage the reader effectively.  Fatin dug in.  She loves learning new things and so she began to absorb all the information she could about writing for business.  She engaged a copywriting coach and had a supportive peer group too. She observed once more that she would need to wear a lot of hats, this time all of them belonging to a business owner.  As she immersed herself in learning everything she could, she began to market her brand on LinkedIn.  She found how effective networking got her name and business in front of the right people.  She says she’s discovered marketing is much more difficult than writing!  Slowly clients began to find her, and through her diligent networking, referrals materialized.   At first she worked for all sorts of clients in order to get her feet wet and to find a specific niche for herself. Her priority was to become known.  But now, after a year and a half, she’s narrowed down the type clients she takes on. Her work concentrates currently on the nonprofit and education markets.    And so while her fledgling business takes hold, she must also work an outside job to keep it  going.  She is currently applying for work as a storyteller and research lead for a curriculum company.    Fatin has pivoted many times throughout her career, but writing is the thread that has run through it all.  She took her love of language and the written word with her wherever she’s been.  Each position she’s held gave her new experiences that enriched her and her work.  She’s developed a variety of transferable skills over time, and reminds us never to discount how valuable those old skills can be in a new job. Her advice to listeners is to tap into our inner compasses to find the best directions.   Topics in this episode: How to make the most of every job you have   How to make the most of your valuable transferable skills   How to deal with the fear of pivoting   How social media and networking can get a new business off the ground   Contact:  fatin@lovelivingcopy.com LinkedIn-https://www.linkedin.com/in/fatinabdalsabur/ Worthy Quote: “Tap into your inner compass.”

Michael Cox is a real career pivoter. Unlike many of Amy’s guests who have “spun off” from one related career to another, Mike has changed fields entirely. He chats with Amy today about the thoughtful process he followed to find his eventual career fulfillment. If you are fearful of moving away from work and a career you don’t enjoy, listen to how one man managed a deliberate and brave major change for his own life and career.   Mike grew up in Maryland and the Washington, D.C. metro area where he became an avid reader, yoga enthusiast, hockey player, skier, kayaker, hiker and rock climber. He participated as a youth in the prestigious National Outdoor Leadership School in Alaska as well.  His academic interests in high school were government and politics with a special curiosity about international affairs. So, with this background, Mike chose the University of Colorado at Boulder for undergrad school. There he could easily pursue his hobbies as he studied for a double major in international affairs and philosophy. While attending, he developed a particular interest in Latin America. It was at this time when he began to focus on foreign service as his ultimate career.   After graduating magna cum laude, Mike received an opportunity to be a paralegal and the assistant to the Honorary Consul of Mongolia at a law firm in the greater Denver area. This was good experience while he considered the best route to take forward to his foreign service goal.  He decided his next step would be to enhance his resume further with a law degree, so he enrolled in the University of Denver, Sturm College of Law. While there, in the summer of 2011, he traveled to Argentina with the Southwestern Law Study Abroad Program and became fluent in Spanish. It was also during law school that he determined to take the foreign service exam.  The FSOT is part of a rigorous 6 step process for entry into foreign service. He was cut at step 5, the oral evaluation phase.  He could have easily retaken the exam as many do, but the experience caused him to rethink this long time goal. He sought out conversations with people in the foreign service and others who could help him better understand the reality of what life would be like. Did he want to move every couple of years?  What would family life be like if he did? He had a myriad of questions that needed honest answers. As he explored more deeply, he was inclined to think that a career in the foreign service was not really what he wanted after all. But then what was?   He was still in law school, and he needed to finish while he continued to think things through. He hadn’t entered the law program with the intention of eventually practicing law, but that’s what happened next. It didn’t happen right away though.  It was 2013 and graduates were having a difficult time finding work in the post-recession job market. (The unemployment rate for this group was 18.3% at the time.) It took Mike 9 months, but he landed a position in a law office in the Washington, D.C. area.  The firm specialized in government contracts and construction, neither of which held much interest for him, but it allowed him to gain yet more experience. He stayed for 3 years. He learned some necessary legal fundamentals, but that period of time assured him this was not the fulfilling work he sought to spend his career doing. He began a process of self-examination which included quite a few tough questions.   Mike explains a “red flag” for him was the realization that there was no one’s position there at the firm he had an interest in or aspired to.  This was a clear indication to him that he had no goals to accomplish or strive for where he was.  He also realized that no one was going to come along and offer him the perfect job.  He was going to have to become proactive. But how? Where would he look?  What work would he find joy in doing? As it turned out, the answers were waiting to be discovered within himself.   During high school and college, Mike had enjoyed many outdoor sports and activities.  Throughout his school years, he had spent his free time in competition with others or just challenging himself. He had even entertained passing his love of all his favorite activities on to others as an instructor. These thoughts were fleeting as he never seriously considered turning his recreational pastimes into a career.  He had pushed ahead with his more intellectual interests in political science and international affairs.  But now he revisited thoughts of this old passion that was still an integral part of his life.    Amy inquired how he made this big transition.  Mike said he began by looking to outdoor travel companies, outdoor education organizations and so forth.  This led him to the then Baltimore based Chesapeake Bay Outward Bound School, conveniently close to Washington, D.C. where he lives.  The school had an administrative opening, so he applied, hoping to get his foot in the door.   Outward Bound is a non-profit, experiential education organization. It serves people of all ages and backgrounds by offering challenging outdoor programs of many types designed to inspire strength of character, leadership and service to others, both in and out of the classroom. This organization seemed like a perfect fit for Mike, and hopefully he would be able to have some direct interaction with the students who participated.    His interviewer (later his mentor and supervisor) called him and told him she could tell he really wanted to be an instructor, not an administrator.  Mike had to admit that was the case.   So, she offered to place him in an apprenticeship program that would teach him the basics he would need to begin as an instructor.  Mike accepted the offer, took a deep breath and resigned as an attorney.  Listen to him describe how this hugely difficult decision changed his life. He shares with listeners how he summoned the courage to reinvent his own personal narrative.    After four years as a field instructor, he is now the Associate Program Director of the Chesapeake Bay Outward Bound School. He still gets out in the field with students and enjoys sharing his passion for nature and outdoor adventuring. He has some good advice to offer for those who might also struggle to make a major career change as he did. If you’re on the career fence, listening to this podcast might just be time very well spent.   Topics in this episode:   How to face the tough questions   How avoidance and regret can catch up with you   Why to become proactive and how to go about it   Networking with people in the know   How to recognize what you can control and what you cannot   Worthy Quote: “I didn’t want anyone’s job there.  If I’m not striving, going for the next position, that means something’s wrong. That was a red flag.”   Links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-cox-82929970/   www.outwardbooundchesapeake.org  

As a teenager Tatia Gordon wanted to be a model.  She thought this might be her calling after she won some contests and landed a few jobs, but eventually the reality of the limitations of her 5 ft. 4 inch height sunk in.  Luckily she had a teacher who would not let her become discouraged.  Her teacher took a special interest in her, and Tatia credits her for inspiring and convincing her that she had potential in other areas.   Even so, Tatia’s first year of college did not go well.  She felt overwhelmed and unprepared.  She dropped out for a year, and when she returned, she took only one or two courses at a time.  By the time she graduated, she had matured and gained the confidence needed to build an admirable 3.8 average.    She went to work as an accountant, as she had very little exposure to other career possibilities. An uncle, impressed by her grades, suggested she might consider going on to law school.  Tatia hadn’t thought too much about a graduate degree yet, but this idea intrigued her.  She began researching, and within a year, she was accepted and enrolled at the University of Baltimore School of Law.   It was her time in law school that helped her discover her love of writing. How would she follow this path? She decided journalism classes might be in order, and rather than waiting until she finished law school, she signed up for some journalism courses at another college nearby.  She had been watching legal analysts on TV during the OJ Simpson trial and decided with a law degree and some journalism skills and practice, she too could stand before the cameras.  She managed to get as far as auditioning for Court TV, but when her husband was hesitant about pulling up stakes in Baltimore and moving to New York, she rethought her goals.   Tatia didn’t give up on either journalism or law though.  Instead, she found a job as a reporter for the Daily Record, a legal paper in Baltimore.  There she was in charge of the legal beat and wrote newsletters. She put in 3 years at this work and gained a lot of skills including writing with deadlines to meet. The job also gave her the opportunity to interact with many movers and shakers.  It was at this time she met the influential Representative Elijah Cummings from Maryland’s 7th District.  The congressman took a liking to her, and within a few short months of knowing him, he offered her a job as his press secretary in Washington, D.C.   She jumped at the chance for this new and exciting prospect.  She was constantly busy, but the job was disappointing in that she found she really didn’t like politics.  But again, the work taught her many new skills and provided a helpful addition to her resume.    Tatia next moved on to a small law firm in Baltimore to practice law for the first time. The position reaffirmed for her that neither politics nor the practice of law truly were her forte.  She stayed for a couple of years before moving to an association for immigration attorneys, the American Immigration Lawyers Association. She wrote, edited, collaborated, proofread and did a myriad of other related tasks.  She helped grow the association through her work and spearheaded the efforts to publish the award winning, first-ever member magazine, Immigration Law Today.  She eventually became the Director and Senior Legal Editor. She also was the founder and publisher of Attorney at Law Magazine, an edition published for attorneys practicing in some of the Washington, D.C. suburbs.   Fifteen years passed and Tatia loved the work she was doing. But it occurred to her she might have found yet another fulfilling role to explore. She didn’t pivot too far though, because she would still do what she loved. Tatia became an entrepreneur, starting her own publishing company with the goal of helping other attorneys self-publish.  Ramses House Publishing LLC has existed for over 6 years now. In her role she educates and guides attorneys who want to have their works published.  She offers assistance at any and every step of the publishing process. She also consults, calling on the experience she has gained, making organizations not only sustainable but also profitable.    Tatia has found her business very rewarding. She successfully managed to blend her law degree with her love of the written word. Her law school experience taught her how to think outside the box, and that skill has been invaluable to her every day.   She tells Amy she would advise anyone starting their own business to know what they are getting into.  “Running your own business is a 24/7 hustle,” she says. She suggests if you fall flat, it’s because you didn’t realize you have to do everything on your own. She works hard to nurture new professional relationships. She writes two regular columns on LinkedIn to reach out. You can find these on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. “The What Nots” which offers advice on what not to do if you want to be published.  The second column is “Behind the Book”.  Here she gives advice on the ins and outs of publishing, and serves up great food for thought.   Enjoy listening to this affable entrepreneur describe her climb to success by staying true to herself and making the very best of her innate talents.    Topics in this episode:   A law degree can prepare you for much more than practicing law   It’s important when you own a business to steadily network and build relationships   Build on your often discounted “soft” skills too when you’re deciding on a career   Find online resources that help you make connections with clients and others who are doing what you are   Always seek out new skills to develop in a job that you can carry forward to your next step     Links:   publishingforlawyers.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/tatiagordontroy/ tatia@ramseshp.com  

We meet Dr. Therese Canares today, an extraordinary physician and entrepreneur.  Not only will she tell us about her current practice, but she will also explain how her medical career helped her pivot into a new role as the founder of an innovative AI product. She will demonstrate for listeners what is possible when motivation and great organizational skills come together. Therese is a pediatric emergency physician, an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and the founder and CEO of CurieDx, a new and exciting concept she is developing. But first, let’s learn a little about her background. Therese was raised by a single mother who came to the U.S. from the Philippines. She credits both her mother and an aunt for providing lifelong inspiration.  They taught her a strong work ethic and the importance of achieving good grades.  Her mother, an architect and engineer, and her aunt, a physician, were the influential role models then who made sure she always had the support and guidance she needed. Their influence led her to choose medicine as her first career. Therese was a biology major as an undergrad at Penn State University.  After finishing in 2003, she took a year off before starting med school. She made the decision to defer because her boyfriend, now husband, survived the 9/11 attack on the twin towers in New York City. The time felt too traumatic to her to begin medical school studies, but she found other work to occupy her that was significant and would help her when she was able to return to academics.  Therese went to work in the lab of Dr. Henry Pollack, a pediatric infectious disease specialist.  While there, she assisted with his research.  The work was worthwhile and cemented her commitment to pediatrics. That experience was also helpful for her as she planned to resume her medical school application.   After acceptance at NYU, she spent nearly 10 years in preparation to become a physician.  She is currently at Johns Hopkins where she sees patients, teaches and continues research work.  She and her husband have two children, and as you will hear, she gives her husband much credit for being a true equal partner, and without whom, she would be unable to follow the career path that she has chosen.  So certainly Dr. Canares leads a busy life.  But like many other people doing complicated daily work, she saw possibilities and opportunities others might not recognize or consider. As a pediatrician and parent, this happened to Therese.  She realized there were times as a busy parent her child needed to be diagnosed by her own doctor, but it seemed difficult to get to the doctor’s office when the need would arise.  Sometimes it was in the middle of the night.  Sometimes either she or her husband would have to squeeze the time from within their frequently long work schedules. And it seemed most times the needed visit was on very short notice.  Therese began to think about how to help solve this universal problem.  In doing so, she came up with CurieDx. CurieDx is a software platform which offers point of care medical tests from a picture you send from your cell phone.  But how did Therese get from her concept to a functioning website?  Although obviously capable in many ways, tackling the inception of an AI software platform was not something she thought she could successfully do with the skill set she had at the time.  But she felt passionately about her idea, and with the support of her husband, she decided to go back to school for an MBA so she could acquire the knowledge she knew she would need to move forward. You will hear her describe to Amy some of the many hurdles that came her way including gender bias, but in the end, she achieved her degree. She found a variety of benefits in the program, all of which gave her the knowledge and confidence she needed to move forward on her start up company. In her final month before completing the MBA program, she and her team took first prize in the Johns Hopkins Business Plan Competition. The prize has provided some seed money to get her idea going.   She explains her next step is to build the product and test the algorithms. With success there, she’ll need to raise more funds. Her ultimate goal is to make her product available to every telehealth company that can use it.  What has she enjoyed about starting her own business? She tells us it’s the “start to finish aspect” or closure that is achieved as she sees things through. She also likes the ability to think creatively while bringing organization to the chaos.  All in all, she is happy with her additional yet very busy career. Dr. Therese Canares is a model to follow for those overachievers out there.  She has la ot of irons in the fire and is thriving.  Here are some takeaways from her story today: Early influences are often the most important You are capable of more than you think and your talents can take you in more than one direction Biases are a reality. Choose how to deal with them before you encounter them so you can stay on track Self-care is vital to multitaskers and overlooking it can derail you A supportive partner makes all the difference   Links: Therese (Waltz) Canares, MD | LinkedIn curiedx.com

Today Amy takes a peek behind the curtain to learn the trick of pivoting from “almost famous” magician to keynote speaker, coach and workshop presenter. You will enjoy hearing Brian Miller tell his very unusual career story.   Brian comes from a family involved with music, math and science.  Those influences brought him, at the end of high school, to a decision to study rock guitar at a very prestigious school. He was delighted when he was accepted there, but shortly thereafter he realized the money spent for that education might never be returned through a career in music.  So as a 17 year-old, he made the sobering decision to enter a local college on a full scholarship as an audio engineering major.   During his freshman year, the music industry nearly collapsed with the advent of Napster and uncontrolled file sharing.  This brought Brian to reconsider his thoughts of continuing his major because a future in audio engineering was beginning to look bleak. He returned then his sophomore year with the intention of studying to be a math teacher.  Although he thought this might be a good fit, it wasn’t, and by the time he finished his last undergrad year, he had earned a dual degree in math and philosophy.   What to do with this new degree?  He decided to go directly for a Ph.D in philosophy.  He applied and was accepted to the program he wanted. But Presto Chango! The would-be doctor of philosophy was now going to be a professional magician! What?   Brian had always been interested in magic, and as a kid, he often performed in magic shows. He had continued performing in college and was often tapped to entertain for college events. It was a sideline interest and hobby that occasionally brought in some spending money.  Listen to him explain to Amy how this major reversal on his career path took place.   But how do you become a professional magician?  Can someone really do that?  Brian detailed his process.  He had already developed a website and had business cards printed.  He began working for very little as an entertainer in restaurants ad each time he performed at a table, he handed out one of his business cards.  His earnings were hardly enough to live on, and he went through all his savings in no time.  Luckily his college Director of Student Activities had taken an interest in him, having put him on stage for several events during his undergrad years.  Through him, Brian was introduced to the owner of Neon Entertainment where he signed on. Little by little he began to be hired for more professional gigs.    A second lucky break occurred when he was in the right place at the right time and was hired by Foxwoods Resort Casino, one of the 2 largest casinos in North America.  He became their exclusive magician, and he hadn’t been out of college a year yet. Over the following ten years, he became a better magician and “was about as successful as he could be without being famous.”  But in 2015, his career took another turn.   He had been performing at colleges and doing corporate events for some time, and this set him up for his transition from magician to public speaker. He began by giving a few speeches and incorporating a little of his magic in them.   He was somewhat surprised to see how much audiences loved his blended performances.  They lined up to thank him for his insightful presentations afterwards, and this was when the real magic happened.  Brian realized he was having a different kind of impact than he had when he performed solely as a magician. He found this extremely gratifying, enough so that he pursued even more speaking engagements.   At about this time, he was invited to give a TEDx talk.  He was hoping the video might get at least 5000 hits so that he could justify raising his fees a bit.  As it turned out, it received over 3.3 million views!   Why was his speech so successful? Brian listened to the presentations of other magicians and realized they were discussing topics that were generally of real interest only to other magicians.  He found himself thinking about what he could take from his magician’s life to share with a general audience that would be of more consequence.  What he arrived at was “perspective taking”.  He explains to us what that is and what a valuable tool it can be for anyone if they learn how to use it properly.  As a magician, he had intuitively used perspective taking all through his life and now he was ready to share his insight through his speaking engagements. Thus, was born his speech, “How to Magically Connect with Anyone”. This speech explains the power of perspective taking and how it can help anyone who cares to use it.   His talks were so well received that at this point he became fully involved with public speaking.  But as his popularity grew, he began to feel inadequately prepared.  How could he be an “expert” without having done any formal research or learning?  He decided to remedy the situation by delving into the psychology behind what he was delivering in his presentations. He explored every avenue he could think of to gather data and proof of his assertions.  After a year or two immersing himself in the topic, he felt more qualified to speak authoritatively about “human connection”. His speaking engagements gradually then became his mainstay, dedicated to promoting the benefits of perspective taking to make meaningful human connections.   What advice does he have to share from his unusual career?  He says don’t worry if you don’t know what your passion is.  You will find it by putting yourself out there.  Meet new people, try new things. Take risks. Step out of the box. Yes, hard work, talent and persistence are vital, but a measure of luck is also involved. Open yourself up to opportunity.  Who knows what’s in the cards for you?   Takeaways:   Risk taking is often rewarding but may also involve a lot of work   People skills can be improved and in turn can improve your life   Staying positive helps you to find and focus on the good in seemingly bad situations   Allow yourself to step outside the box   Networking is a skill that puts you at great advantage, so it pays to learn to network well   Prepare in school as best you can for the road you think you’ll take, but don’t be afraid to take a detour, as it may be the better road   Contact:   softskillsarehard.com   Podcast-Beyondnetworkingpodcast.com   https://www.linkedin.com/in/bmillermagic/

Xi Chen is the Founder and Designer of Sonderlier, a sustainable clothing brand offering women camera-ready clothing they could sleep in. Xi dreamed of fashion design since she was a little girl. Yet, no one around her worked in a creative capacity, so she initially pursued “more practical” careers. Likewise, she also did not have any entrepreneurial role models. She opted for a degree in mathematics, with intentions to transition into finance. By leveraging her unexpected experiences into her career as a fashion designer, Xi’s story will inspire you to embrace your individual background to disrupt any industry.   However, like all great founding stories, Xi strayed from her initial path. When she came across industrial engineering, she knew this field was a strong match for her “optimization brain.” After graduation, she focused on how sustainable policies affected companies’ supply chains. Xi earned her M.S. and PhD in industrial engineering at University of Minnesota. She also became an engineering professor at University of Michigan, Dearborn.    Despite enjoying teaching and researching in the industrial engineering field, Xi wanted a career immersed in creativity. She still thought about her life-long dream of becoming a fashion designer. After struggling for years to find clothes that would allow her to be comfortable yet still feel inspired and put-together, she discovered that many other women had the same problem. Specifically, she and her friends worked from home and felt like they had few occasions to wear their fancier clothing, other than her kitchen table. Yet, while they wanted to be comfortable, they still wanted to wear something that made them feel special, as opposed to sweats/athletic apparel. In 2019, she decided to fill this gap and finally pursue a career that would allow her to introduce herself as “Xi Chen, fashion designer.”   When starting and naming her company, Sonderlier, Xi stayed true to her motivations. She resonated with the word, “sonder,” meaning, the realization that everyone passing by has a life as vivid and as full as one's own. The name’s root word pairs perfectly with Xi’s vision, as she aimed to create apparel that draws attention to the every-day. With the suffix, “lier,” she included it to emphasize that “sonder” is her clothing line’s guiding principle.   Xi has found that her background provides a unique perspective in her design. Channeling her industrial engineering “optimization brain,” she did not want to create apparel for the sake of designing, but rather, she intended her clothes to provide long-term multi-functional value to customers. With her passion for sustainability, Xi also noticed how much waste the fashion industry created, as pieces were only meant for certain occasions. She calls her designs “camera ready,” easily worn for an event, but that also functions as sleepwear or working attire. All materials used are certified eco-friendly. Driven by wanting to fight unethical approaches in the fashion industry, Xi partnered with a women-owned production company, where all the seamstresses are women and are paid a living wage.   She enjoys combining her love for fashion with a focus on functionality that allows the pieces to fit seamlessly into everyday life. In March 2021, Xi launched Sonderlier’s first collection on Kickstarter, which was successfully funded in under 24 hours. Aligned with its mission to decrease waste, Sonderlier only fulfills orders that are placed. Following making prototypes, doing wear tests, and the Kickstarter campaign, the company is now producing its first line. She has also been featured on Nasdaq as a woman founder disrupting her industry.   Through Sonderlier, Xi hopes to create clothing that serves women’s everyday wellbeing so that they feel beautiful and inspired whether it’s a special event or a regular Tuesday. Let this “regular Tuesday” (or whatever day you listen) be one that creates a lasting impression on you. Xi’s ability to combine her background in supply chain management with her passions for sustainability and fashion will encourage you to bring your full self to any sector you pursue. Topics covered in this episode: How a fashion designer really starts their career (it’s not just drawing a design and getting someone to sew it) Advice on conducting an effective Kickstarter campaign  Xi’s take on fashion’s “million dollar question”-How Covid has/will transform the industry The importance of seeking out mentors in your field and to achieve specific goals, like starting a Kickstarter campaign from the ground up How two unlikely areas-sustainable policies and fashion-can pair together to reimagine an entire industry Why an unlikely career path to a new industry can enable you to be a changemaker

Goals. Drive. Adaptability. Passion. Follow through. To start your own business, especially if you are completely changing your career, you need to have a combination of all of the above qualities. Not only does Jamion Berry possess these qualities necessary for him to found the apparel start-up, Execumask, but as a multipreneur executing FIVE business pursuits amid a pandemic, he exemplifies each of these traits to the fullest.   Evident that these characteristics are innate to Jamion’s personality, his story of doing whatever it takes to achieve his professional goals begins 20+ years ago. Classmates with host Amy Rowland, he graduated from the small liberal arts school, Kenyon College, with a degree in chemistry. He’d also always aspired to be an engineer. So, Jamion opted to do a partnership program with Washington University St. Louis’s engineering department. He graduated with not one, but two—Chemistry and Chemical Engineering.   With his degrees in hand hand, Jamion did not hesitate to push himself out of his comfort zones to achieve his professional goals. When given the opportunity to gain experience with capital and process improvement projects as a project manager for Kraft Foods, he moved from the Midwest to Florida. His vibrant personality and interest in finding ways to “continuously improve” enabled him to excel in this role, in which he was traveling to and making recommendations to increase efficacy at Kraft’s multiple southern plant locations. In line with making his dreams a reality, he networked with the right people to move up the corporate ladder as a continuous improvement lead engineer in Atlanta, a city where he’d always wanted to live. Jamion thrived finding ways to better Kraft products’ efficiency, procurement, and quality. He especially enjoyed that in this role, he was able to travel globally, adapting to solve international plants’ needs.    His drive for learning was not just confined to improving business practices, as he decided to pursue an Executive MBA at Emory University in 2013. Likewise, so that he could pursue his MBA while working full time in his management/engineering role, he needed to adapt his already driven self to leverage unprecedented levels of determination and eagerness. Simultaneously, Jamion also bought a condo and became a landlord/property manager. Despite how demanding it was to be a full-time student, manager, and landlord, Jamion reflects on his time at business school as “one of the best decisions [he] ever made.”    His commitment to personal growth paid off; shortly after graduating from Emory, Jamion received a call from McDonald’s to join its executive team, located in Chicago. Jamion had always aspired to live in Chicago, but was only willing to make the move if he could afford to live in the city. As McDonald's new Director of Continuous Improvement, Jamion saw himself as a change agent, building the improvement program “from the ground up.” Between training 1000+ employees and working in Germany, he reflects very positively on this career step. However, it was also at this time that Jamion realized that after 20 years in corporate America, he was ready to transition to a career that allowed him to be his authentic self.    Driven to find a fulfilling career hallmarked by his happiness, Jamion left McDonald’s in February 2020-a month before the pandemic. Through reflecting upon “what [he] wanted to focus on… and create,” Jamion realized that he could adapt his interest in men’s fashion to fit a growing need in the apparel industry-luxury face masks to match custom pocket squares. With the encouragement of his peers and professional connections, as well as thorough research into the mask market, he founded Execumask. Where many Americans were deterred by the pandemic, he adapted to the situation, following through to become an entrepreneur. Execumask marked the beginning of Jamion’s success in pivoting from 20 years in the food production industry to his new saga as a multipreneur.    Not one to settle, Jamion simultaneously pursued his dreams of owning/managing a luxury apartment building. Despite the obstacles in quitting his corporate job and applying for loans in a pandemic, he overcame the odds, opening his building in August 2020. From both not paying rent and garnering an income through his residential building, Jamion is investing in himself so that he can also accomplish his goals of being a public speaker. In mere months, his YouTube channel of motivational videos gained a large following, large enough that it caught the attention of a fellow Kenyon College graduate. She urged him to invest in himself by studying to become a life coach. Jamion is also in the preliminary stages of opening his own consulting firm.   Jamion’s story is one of allowing yourself to rise to the occasion to achieve your professional goals. Be inspired by how, for his entire life, Jamion radiated positivity needed to persevere through challenges. The only move that makes sense for Jamion so that he can manifest his happiness and career aspirations. Having the courage to pursue five of your entrepreneurial goals at once? You will be encouraged by Jamion’s resilience and energy in this episode to accomplish any (or all) of your ambitions.   A recurring theme in Jamion’s interview is “creating your own life.” This episode will motivate you to shape an idea or aspiration you have into reality.   Topics in this episode: Advice on transforming your interests and/or hobbies into a career The importance of both leveraging connections to support your business pursuits, as well as in being open to new ideas or opportunities those in your network suggest How to fully observe/analyze a problem to then create a marketable solution A keen sense on problem solving to accomplish every step in developing a start-up Why visualizing and writing your goals out is key to achieving them How a multipreneur compartmentalizes his very busy day Seeking out relationships and pursuits that are rooted in appreciation

Fashionably Late is proud to release our Female Founder Series. Each week in April, Fashionably Late will feature a different female founder. From the tech space to the wellness industry, our four business leaders are eager to share their journey, advice, and fun personal tidbits. For our final episode in the series, we have She is the creator/founder of SoChill.io, “The world’s first meditation and digital wellness platform focused on helping companies take an integrated approach to mindful leadership and corporate wellbeing.” Amy discusses with her the pivot she made from working in the international hospitality business to forming this innovative program focusing on mindfulness and meditation.   Although in her early career years Xochitl was involved with public relations and creating partnerships for luxury hotels, she was always offering meditation and mindfulness coaching on the side.  These methods are second nature to her as she grew up with them from childhood as a result of her parents’ teaching and involvement with the techniques. She has also found inspiration over the years from more formal sources such as the writings of Deepak Chopra. She has continually attended seminars offered by many others influential in these anciently rooted practices too. Thus immersed, Xochitl began to formulate an idea that would take her away from the hotel industry and move her towards a new career encompassing her extensive knowledge and interest in mindfulness and meditation.   So, what did she come up with?  In essence, her platform focuses on assisting two groups.  First, it focuses on business leaders.  It educates them to the many benefits of integrating mindfulness into the culture of their companies and teaches them how to gain personally from engaging in mindful behavior.  SoChill.io can also work then with employee groups to carry through with infusing mindfulness habits within their daily work tasks and their lives outside of the office.   SoChill.io was born of the Covid 19 Pandemic.  Xochitl had written her business plan before the pandemic, but she was waiting for the opportune time to take action.  When the pandemic struck, it was the right moment to dust off the business plan and get to work.  The launch took place on July 1, 2020, and things have been busy since then as concern for mental health issues of employees has moved to the forefront of nearly every type of business.   She explains to Amy that the most difficult part of preparing for her launch was doing the necessary research.  She describes herself as impatient, but holding off for the right moment was obviously a good choice. She has lots of future plans for her company, but she’s learned to unfold her ideas in a measured way. Her newest service will be unveiled 5/5/21, so watch the website for details!   Amy inquires about crossover skills she was able to transfer from her previous work.  Xochitl explains that although on the surface the two businesses don’t have much in common, she did learn a lot in the hospitality field about public relations.  Marketing strategies might differ, but she had learned how to make effective cold calls, create brochures, write good promotional emails and develop a powerful website.  The biggest difference was starting everything from scratch as opposed to working for a well-oiled and established international brand.     What can a business gain from engaging with SoChill.io?  Leaders and employees will learn how to focus better and stress will be reduced.  People will find they are more resilient.  Ongoing surveys will help refine the personalization of the program for individuals and groups.  Xochitl uses the word “sculpted” to describe the process by which the program becomes highly individualized to each leader or group.   What advice can Xochitl give from the experience she’s gained on her entrepreneurial journey? She tells us that establishing and being aware of your personal values is a crucial first step. Once you have these in mind, you can better put in place the values you want your company to support and advance.  You must have these values in mind as you write your business plan because they will guide decision making going forward.  “It’s your company’s DNA,” Xochitl says. She also reiterates the need for patience. Don’t try to do everything at once. Timing is critical.    Xochitl Ivory gives us a very contemporary story to consider.  She is energetic, thoughtful, passionate and a risk taker.    Topics in this episode:   Getting to know yourself is important Why patience is invaluable The differences between mindfulness and meditation How can mindfulness benefit me? When is the right time to start your own business? What are some of the necessary steps in crafting a good business plan? What crossover skills can you put to work for you? What are the steps from concept to launch?   Links: https://sochill.io/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/xochitl-de-groot-ivory-10809794/    

Fashionably Late is proud to release our Female Founder Series. Each week in April, Fashionably Late will feature a different female founder. From the tech space to the wellness industry, our four business leaders are eager to share their journey, advice, and fun personal tidbits. This week we have Caroline McCaffery, Co-Founder & CEO Her story is one about following your passions, using them to drive your professional trajectory, and trusting yourself to transform your career at any point. Driven by her desire to constantly learn and solve problems, Caroline has met job, career, and industry shifts with an openness integral for her success of founding her own company. Her adaptability and excitement for online privacy, her company’s sector, will empower you to take the risks necessary for finding professional fulfillment.    Starting her career when the .com bubble burst, Caroline has always been intrigued by and worked in the tech space. A lawyer by training, Caroline’s first role as an attorney was at Gunderson Dettmer, a firm that works with startups in the tech and life sciences spaces. As a Corporate Securities Attorney, she aided startups with financing, often debt and equity, as well as mergers and acquisitions. Spending almost ten years with the firm, Caroline was able to get a lot of experience working with startups.    Excited and challenged by supporting startups, in 2011, Caroline transitioned into her first in-house role. Still eager to work in tech, she joined the marketing and advertising automation company, Sailthru. She notes that she started this position at a transition moment in the internet space, as big data emerged as the leading technology. As Sailthru processed online users’ data, Caroline recognized a problem: how could users ensure how/if their digital information would be protected? Following her budding curiosity in data while still staying in her industry of expertise (tech), Caroline shifted her focus as an attorney to commercial and privacy.    These new interests in data security and privacy led her to seek another general counsel role at another tech start-up, Clarifai. She entered the AI facial recognition company in its early stages. She found her role morphing outside its job description, as she also supported the company’s strategy and operations. By leveraging what she learned about startups while at a firm and as Sailthru’s privacy-focused general counsel, as well as embracing her intuition and openness, Caroline became the VP of Business Affairs while retaining her General Counsel title.   Continuing to focus on privacy law while tackling unfamiliar strategy-based challenges as VP of Business Affairs gave her “a taste of the entrepreneurial side of [her]self.” As the “type of person who loves to constantly learn new things,” she recognized that new challenges and new opportunities to develop solutions fuel her drive.   In addition to expanding her hard skills while at Clarifai, Caroline also gained a much deeper understanding of AI and cybersecurity, contributing to her growing passion for technology and data privacy. From there, she developed a hunger to create tech to ameliorate issues affecting users’ online protections. After meeting George Rosamond, her future co-founder and CTO, a conversation about anonymity online evolved into a problem they were determined to solve. The security questionnaires that companies send to potential vendors who process online information can 1000+ questions long, plaguing vendors. These are sent pre-sale and in some cases the vendor will spend hours to complete the questionnaire without even landing a sale!   Since she and George clearly identified the challenge they wanted to solve and through discussions, discovered potential software solutions, it seemed as if the natural next step would be to start their B2B SAAS company, ClearOPS. They even had large goals for ClearOPS working as a “wheel in the spokes” type of mode, in which their services can connect other businesses and ultimately improve privacy communications. George was ready to commit full-time to transition their idea into an executed product. But starting a business is never linear. For Caroline, first came her “professional identity crisis.”    Caroline wavered between staying at the job she loved, finding a new GC role, or following her dream to start ClearOPS. She asked, “Am I a lawyer? Am I capable of being a COO? .Or am I a founder?” As a lawyer, she is trained to circumvent risks. Pursuing a career marked by innumerous risks seemed like the choice to avoid. Even when she conducted extensive research to evaluate if there was a market for their security/privacy product- there was- she was still uncertain. Until one day at breakfast, she got the push needed to “take a leap of faith” to begin identifying as a founder.   Listen to Caroline’s journey of founding and becoming ClearOPS CEO and you will realize that you do not have to be just one career label, as she constantly adapted to execute whatever work she wanted to get done. You will be motivated by how she and George completely pivoted their initial model after taking potential investors’ “fair critical feedback.” Despite ClearOPS losing its biggest deal during the pandemic, as CEO, Caroline again adjusted to the circumstance, conducting business so that their company finished the year with a product on the market and multiple customers. ClearOPS’ founding story is one of balancing the line between following your passions and adapting to meet the needs of your business, ever-evolving market, and customers’ needs. Both Caroline and ClearOPS continue to meet goals, providing the team confidence that ClearOPS will be a central player in the growing privacy tech space.   A recurring theme in Caroline’s narrative is that a passion for learning, then trying new things offers fulfillment and fuels success.   Topics covered in this episode:   Why it is in a startup’s best interest to be proactive and hire a lawyer early Insight into evolutions within the internet space, including the emergence of big data and privacy  A lawyer’s take on overcoming and managing risk The different lessons learned from working at a firm, as an in-house GC, and as a founder The importance of leaning on your support network and only taking “fair critical feedback” Why execution is more imperative than conjuring an idea    Links: https://www.clearops.io/

Fashionably Late is proud to release our Female Founder Series! Each week in April 2021, Fashionably Late will feature a female founder. From the tech space to the wellness industry, our four business leaders are eager to share their journey, advice, and fun personal tidbits. This week we have Susannah Bailin, Founder & CEO of AC-Health. She is an enthusiastic entrepreneur and a staunch supporter of women in the “second commencement” of their careers.  Susannah shares some great advice in this episode.   Susannah began her professional life after earning an MBA from Harvard Business School.  In fact, she set up her first business, RPC, in Harvard Square. She sought out angel funding and modeled her business plan after the successful Kaplan, Inc. educational preparation programs. Her business focused specifically on career development training. The company was successful with its students and also provided for Susannah’s own development as an entrepreneur. She learned through trial and error how to manage a business and she did so until selling it 6 years later.   While deliberating on her next career move, Susannah provided career counseling, and sat on several nonprofit boards which focused on concerns such as fundraising, literacy and women’s health issues.  She had learned that she loved being a problem-solver and she liked being her own boss as well.  After a period of time, she made the decision to return to the for-profit world, and so she began collecting her ideas and doing research.    As she considered what she would do, she sought out advice and opinions from others. During this time, she experienced a very painful physical condition. Her shoulders were “frozen”.  This impediment actually helped prompt an idea, and she began to gather input. Eventually she found that she, as well as many she interviewed, were often frustrated with the “follow through” aspect of their caregivers’ treatment plans. She learned many people don’t follow the advice, exercises or other post-treatment directives given because to keep track of the instructions was sometimes cumbersome or confusing. Rather than try to get clarification, many people just ignored what their caregiver had instructed. Susannah saw a problem and began work on a solution.   What she came up with is now AC-Health, a digital platform that customizes a patient’s follow up instructions and helps him or her to achieve the treatment goals set by caregivers. No more looking for loose sheets of paper that may or may not make it home!  Patients can see live demonstrations of the exercises they are to do and they don’t have to fidget through a lengthy menu to find what they need.  Patients easily retrieve customized, live and recorded videos from their trusted provider as well as behavioral motivation and rewards to redefine their engagement. Trust, Easy Access and Rewards!   As an entrepreneur, Susannah finds fulfillment in several of ways.  She says entrepreneurship goes to her core values.  She values creativity, those things new or novel, and she loves to problem solve.  She is fascinated by how technology can be used as well.  Her work offers her all of this, and more.   Her experience has taught her that an entrepreneur has to deal with the limits encountered for  many needed initial resources.  Of course, your financial resources and ability to raise funding are major primary concerns. You are also limited by your own implicit biases.  You can’t understand or immediately take in the perceptions of others, so you must seek those perceptions out in order to study and address them.   Susannah was initially helped by angel investors when she started out and now she’s become one herself.  She has an interest in helping other women entrepreneurs and angel investing has given her the opportunity she sought to encourage and help other women who want to begin their own businesses.   On the topic of the Covid health crisis, Susannah explains that the pandemic has unintentionally advanced telehealth.  Patients have been forced to become more familiar with using computers in order to interact with their caregivers.  This has pushed the fledgling telehealth field ahead by ten years, Susannah estimates.    Susannah has good advice for aspiring entrepreneurs.  Start a new business?  Yes!  Start now, she says, but you must do your research, and this could take some time so make sure to allow for it in planning.  Spend wisely.  Susannah learned this through her own experience.  If need be, start your business as a side hustle.  She also says to put your focus into making a quality product, not into making money at the start.  It will pay off in the long run.    As for AC-Health, Susannah says her future will be in strengthening its offerings in occupational and physical therapies.  She wants to continue to emphasize user involvement and engagement.      Topics in this episode: Why you need to identify your core values before starting a business; How your career focus in the first part of your work years can change radically in the second part Methods to determine what kind of business you want to start How to equip yourself to start a successful business Why you have to study implicit biases carefully How to thoughtfully strategize for success. Links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susannahrabbbailin/ https://ac-health.com/ susannah.bailin@ac-health.com

Fashionably Late is proud to release our Female Founder Series! Each week in April 2021, Fashionably Late will feature a female founder. From the tech space to the wellness industry, our four business leaders are eager to share their journey, advice, and fun personal tidbits. This week we have Alexandra Zatarain from Eight Sleep.   Identify a problem. Develop a solution. Sell that solution. This is the roadmap for many startups and budding entrepreneurs, including for Alexandra Zatarain. Co-Founder and VP of Brand and Marketing for the pioneering mattress company, Alexandra explains just how intricate, scientific, and collaborative the process was in founding her start-up, as well as in establishing its trajectory for long-term success.   Nearly a decade ago, Alexandra’s husband and soon-to-be co-founder and CEO of Eight Sleep, Matteo Franceschetti, struggled with sleep to the extent that it was beginning to impact him. Looking into the sector for relief, Matteo discovered there were three options for helping with sleep: mattress companies, sleep trackers, and pharmaceuticals. Both having worked for tech startups, the couple identified the need for a product that used innovative technology to actively improve sleep. Thus, the idea for Eight Sleep, the world’s first sleep fitness company, was born! Eager to utilize her background in marketing/PR, Alexandra left her job at a successful fintech startup to be “all-in” in founding the tech-based mattress company.    Driven by their fundamental belief that technology is key for improving sleep, Alexandra and Matteo set out to develop their general concept into a tangible effective product. The first step included moving to San Francisco to join their cofounder and Chief Technical Officer, Massimo “Max” Bassi. The team faced their first challenge: they were creating a “smart mattress cover,” a product that was the first of its kind.    Once they set up their office- an apartment full of desks- Alexandra believed it was most important to validate that people besides her husband desired their tech-based sleep product. She dedicated months to inviting “everyone they knew in San Francisco” to view a prototype and share their sleep experiences. Alexandra used this data about most pressing issues regarding sleep, as well as information about sleeping environments, to completely inform their product design and eventual crowdfunding campaign. Likewise, she spoke to sleep experts/medical professionals, ultimately leading them to develop technology that regulates biometrics including a sleeper’s temperature, heart rate, humidity etc.   The thorough research in learning about the sleep problem, who was affected, and the contributing factors proved vital when the team launched their Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign in 2015. Alexandra employed her marketing/pr experiences to Eight Sleep, spending 5-6 months connecting with potential customers and working entirely on the campaign. She found that consumers resonated with her startup’s two-fold approach in personalizing and improving sleep through tech, as well as tracking data so someone can make individual changes to achieve sleep fitness. The campaign was extremely successful, raising over $1.2M.    Both the original model, the smart mattress cover, and their latest mattress, The Pod, have redefined the sleep market. Since 2015, 30,000+ restless sleepers have relied on Eight Sleep. This immense popularity has led to the company securing over $65M in venture funding. Alexandra’s leadership in helping Eight Sleep reach these achievements did not go unnoticed, as in 2017, she was named as one of Forbes’s 30 Under 30 in Consumer Technology.    Listen to her describe the most valuable lessons she has learned on her continuous journey as a co-founder, including how she balances working with her business and life partner, Matteo. You will be motivated by her thoroughness, especially in how it enabled her to accomplish Eight Sleep’s goals during the pandemic, despite difficult challenges, including layoffs. Few companies can say they supported their staff and adapted their business plans to accomplish their best year in revenue in 2020 and are already rehiring employees. More so, Alexandra has no plans for stagnating Eight Sleep. Hearing how she envisions continuing to disrupt the sleep and tech industries by transforming their technology to detect preventative health signs will help you understand how to pilot and grow your startup.    A recurring theme in Alexandra’s interview is that you have to be “all in” in order to surpass your goals; get ready to be “all-in” for this informative, down-to-earth, and refreshing episode.   Topics covered in this episode:   How to market new revolutionary products/innovations in an already robust market The importance of validation from prospective customers before developing a product, and how to attain this necessary step The significance of mental health and self-reflection for a founder What it’s like to start a company with co-founders, especially when one is your spouse Why it’s beneficial not to have a “plan-B” and why your ideas should always be ambitious   Links: https://www.eightsleep.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandrazatarain/

Today you’ll meet audacious Austin Kaiser. Austin is not following a career path, he’s forging one. He is a media pioneer. You will be fascinated by his creative, synergistic thinking and how that thinking is helping him carve a niche that spans current media and artistic endeavors of every sort.   Austin began his journey at Rutgers University. He majored in economics and environmental science. Both areas interested him but he found he was not passionately driven to pursue either, so he made his first pivot before he even had a career. At the end of his junior year, Austin decided he needed to find quickly what he was truly meant to do.   He and his housemates spent a lot of time watching YouTube and visiting many other popular media sites. Austin was very enthusiastic about social media and began to think that maybe this was the path his career should take. As he considered the possibility, it occurred to him that every major company and the smaller ones as well, were hiring media managers to advance their products effectively on sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. He began to shape a plan to make his way into the social media world.   During his senior year, many of his friends were taking internships, hoping to segue effectively into their respective careers. Austin decided to do the same. Unfortunately, none of the major social media sites seemed to be offering media manager internships as the field was so new. Not to be daunted, Austin created his own internship by making contact with popular YouTubers offering his volunteer services. He became familiar with as many tasks as he could that a media manager might encounter. For example, he ran surveys, collected memes and was a willing gopher. He was building a unique resume targeted at a market which he knew had already or soon would have, positions for someone with his unique background.   His diligence paid off. Austin landed his dream job. He was hired by Complex Magazine in his first media manager position. He loved it. He says it changed his life as he then knew this was exactly the kind of work he wanted to do. How is it then that he only stayed with the magazine for 9 months?   He decided he didn’t know enough. He began reading everything he could to bring himself up to speed. His scope continued to widen as he realized the concept of “media” was far greater than he realized. He was not only learning from the content he was devouring, but he was also observing how the authors wrote. As he continued to educate himself, Austin says he was increasingly enthralled with writing and the power it has. Cue the pivot.   While at work, he became curious about anything that caught on and went viral. Why do some things take off and become instantly popular? As he considered that, he says he realized he was asking a “golden goose “ question. He was so curious about this that it prompted his big pivot. He exited his great job to work full time researching and writing a book exploring viral ideas from past to present. He thought this might very well be the opportunity to be one of the first to write about this 21st century topic.   Luckily, his parents remained supportive, and he moved back home so he could tackle his writing and research full time. Amy was curious as to why he didn’t keep his job and work on the book in his free time. Austin says he needed to be fully immersed in the writing in order to produce the outcome he wanted. His efforts took 25 months and became much broader in scope than he originally anticipated. When he finished, he self-published Putting Wings on Ideas.   He wanted to say even more than he did in that first book, so he wrote yet a second and a third. (He has now been writing for 5 years.) But he realized all of his work would probably go unnoticed if he didn’t develop a following. Who better than a social media expert to advance that? Thus, he opened an Instagram account called Advice for Artists where he currently has a whopping 30,000 followers.   Artists and talent of all types interact with him and each other on Advice for Artists. Austin gathers inspiration from them all, he says. He now also has a newsletter that comes out each Saturday, and his next big venture is a digital magazine called Artfest, a compilation of contributions from his myriad Instagram followers. Eventually, if it’s successful, there will be a $10 charge for the magazine with its over 5 hours of creative content, and artists will be paid while helping to support each other. Austin Kaiser sparks creativity from his daily interactions with artistic people from every field. His passion and enthusiasm for his own creative work and the managing of his Instagram community is obvious and infectious. You will enjoy listening to a genuinely excited Austin Kaiser explain how he is creating a 21st century career path for himself and others who will follow. Topics in this episode: Inspirational Quote: “Everybody in their life uses creativity. The artistic process is relatable for everybody.” Find something that inspires you to jump in with both feet How art is important to daily life and how to promote it How passion creates persistence; How to develop media followers How and why you can be fearless and create real meaning in your career life Links:www.artfest.com Instagram: Advice for Artists Putting Wings On Ideas: How Content Travels And Becomes Popular: Kaiser, Austin: 9798618288507: Amazon.com: Books Feel Free To Feel Free: Secrets Of The Universe Condensed Into Clever One-Liners: Kaiser, Austin: 9781702639347: Amazon.com: Books

Anu Chadha is a delightfully upbeat entrepreneur who sits down with Amy to discuss her most remarkable life and career. Her message of empowerment and positivity and her indomitable “can do” attitude will leave you inspired.   Anu attended school in the northern part of India at Sacred Heart College where she studied psychology and English. When she finished there, she was just 18 1/2 years old and wasn’t sure what she might be able to do with the education she had received to that point. She decided to go to Delhi. There she took a 9 month secretarial course to prepare her for a what seemed to an inexperienced young Anu to be a practical job. It was the late 70’s, and she was still thinking about what direction she might take with her life when her parents intervened.   She was then nearly 20, and in her culture, it was time for her to marry. After a short two-month courtship, it was arranged she would be wed to a man from a well-to-do family. Her brief courtship and social mores disallowed her from learning much about her fiancé prior to their vows. This was unfortunate. He turned out to be an alcoholic and prone to violent outbursts. She endured 12 years with him in all, but because she by then had two young daughters, she felt she couldn’t leave the abusive situation. Intimidated by her husband and his parents, she stayed in the union until she finally found the courage to take her children and return to her parents. Although she didn’t know how they would react, she determined through prayer that she would go and ask for their help.   She found they were supportive, and they took in the family of 3. They advised her to find work and they would look after the children. She was ready and willing to do this, but she still had no past work experience to show. Luckily a member of her extended family ran a textile business, so she went there, not knowing what she could possibly do. Undaunted, for 6 months she was a focused observer. She also made friends with the buyers and the customers during this learning period. Her knowledge of English was very helpful, but her genuine and friendly approach proved her greatest asset.   She continued eagerly to demonstrate she was up to any work assigned to her. She set about cementing that impression in the minds of everyone she interacted with. She made herself indispensable, and little by little, she learned the textile business from top to bottom. As her confidence grew, and she proved her value to the business, she knew what she wanted her permanent assignment to be. She wanted to travel overseas as the business’ product representative. She had not only proven her worth to the company by then, but she also had proven it to herself.   In 2004, Anu made her first career pivot. The company was moving the plant to the outskirts of town. This involved a 2 hour commute each way on public transport for her. Anu would rarely see her children if she stayed on. As she thought about what to do, fate once more stepped in to guide her. As always, the universe had her back. She was in Delhi for work when she met a Danish man, also in the textile business. He told her he was looking for someone to help him expand his company in India. She took this as a much-needed sign and gladly agreed to this big new job which involved going out on her own. For 2 years she worked with him and after that time, he told her he was having health issues. He said he needed to retire and intended slowly to shut down his business. Again, Anu faced a dilemma. What would she do now?   In January 2004, she was on a business trip to Norway. She happened into a shop and saw some exceptional Indian made merchandise there. She bought a few samples, and decided she wanted to make contact with the buyer who had sold the items to the shop. The salesperson gave her the number, and the next day she was able to make the contact. As Anu explained who she was and her interest in the samples, she discovered the person on the other end of the line was someone she had worked with for over a decade at her first job. Fortuitously, that phone meeting began a whole new association and the growth of Anu’s business.   That business today, 3A Clothing Company, is housed in a 12,000 square foot factory where Anu hires and mentors her many female factory workers. She and her company have won numerous awards for their ethical practices and leadership in the fashion industry. Anu is a sought after speaker and shares her philosophy liberally with Amy throughout today’s discussion. Most remarkable in Anu’s story is that she built her business without any help. She will convince you that you can also meet your goals with some simple practices. Her incredible work ethic, grit and belief in karma make this an interesting and inspiring story that will help inspire you in your career journey.     Topics in this episode: How to make the most of on the job training How you empower others along the way and how those efforts later return to you The critical importance of building a networking habit How determination and positivity will drive your towards your goal Using meditation to stay balanced Inspirational Quote: “Don’t be jealous of the success of others. It destroys you. Be happy for others, but in your heart say, ‘I want you to do well, but I want to do it better.’” Links: 3Aclothing – 3Aclothing