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18c4bf8f06d5cd254f5804f684fb3d92 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghanbiro/2015/07/07/hr-meets-technology-the-ten-facets-of-culture/ | HR Meets Technology: The Ten Facets Of Culture | HR Meets Technology: The Ten Facets Of Culture
HR is experiencing a watershed moment. It’s not like the massive shift from virtual punchcards and e-forms to Cloud-based applications and analytics. It’s not the sudden appearance of millennials texting in the staff cafeteria, or the first Internet conference call. It’s the shift to a new paradigm: HR and Technology is essential to the success of an organization. This is culture.
Simply put, HR has become an integral, critical component in the functioning of business, from strategy to operations, customer experience to culture. It’s no longer a tangent, or a bunch of middle managers working in a bubble of regulations and number-crunching somewhere on the seventh floor. Not that we ever saw ourselves that way.
At least that’s the model. It’s not always the reality. But I’m being asked what’s next a lot these days, because, for a range of reasons, there is a tangible, different, next happening in this field. When the pundits and thought leaders are all being posed “what do you see as the future of” questions, I know from experience that the future is probably already happening. It’s a different culture and ecosystem, and we’re already living in it.
Here are my 10 facets of HR meets technology and why culture remains a top priority:
Photo Credit: Big Stock Images
1. HR as a discipline is gaining traction. The ability to execute serious power lifts using the fact-based, predictive framework of analytics, the Cloud and Big Data has changed the outside’s understanding (and perception) of what HR is capable of.
2. HR is connected to strategy. As the world of work shifts from local and regional to global, human resources is being reframed as human capital; a total strategic investment and far more than just a facet of operations.
3. HR is critical for success. The full-spectrum presence of business on the web, social, mobile and live means an even deeper and constant tie to customer experience. And that constant need for a quality customer experience necessitates the best human interface (as in employee) possible, which means a fuller, more far-reaching program for employee engagement.
4. HR is part of a competitive reality. Back to analytics here. They’re no longer an option; they’re a competitive necessity. A 2014 Aberdeen/IBM study showed that best in class organizations are 3.7 times more likely to train for analytics skills and 5 times more likely to hire analytics professionals – including talent analytics.
5. HR is insight plus imagination. To leverage the best metrics and insights requires a tremendous scope of imagination; a vision based on more than streaming data. To fully capitalize on tailored, bespoke metrics that provide strategic intelligence takes top-tier leadership — as in a CHRO.
6. HR is insightful. A useful stat from Bersin here: 14% of companies that have invested in data-focused HR far outperform those that haven’t. Recruitment efforts are two times more effective, and stock returns outperformed their peers by 30 percent over the last three years. It’s a clear example of the future as now.
7. HR is a data-driven culture. Culture has to be generated with leadership to be internalized by an organization: only leadership can embody that culture into every facet and function. The new HR leader has a mandate to embrace analytics and metrics to problem solve, and stitch them into every function of talent management.
8. HR is multifunctional. Part of seeing HR as a 3-D function is covering all the phases of search and employ: recruitment and an ongoing talent search; performance tracking; training and onboarding; engagement; succession; compensation, recognition and rewards; and pipelining. All are approached with the same data-driven focus, and all are correlated to each other. Rather than disparate functions, these are all seamlessly related.
9. HR functionality is centralized — or at least compatible. Organizations no longer leap-frog over analytical functions, landing on separate islands of knowledge. All are consolidated into a larger, unified system that is shareable, agile, responsive. But let’s be realistic: given the constellation of single vendor tools now, some organizations may have already begun the investment in HCM in one area, but not in another. In the future, these facets do play well with each other, so the ROI is still a happy one.
10. HR is brilliant. HR professionals are adept at tracking performance of the past, the needs of the current, and projections for the future. They’ve evolved a skillset that’s sensitive but fact-based, in which talent analytics are the hinge around which a whole range of strategic decisions are made. And that’s how we transform the organization — now that we’ve been transformed ourselves.
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30b0d88d139043f665af67c328e5ea9b | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghanbiro/2015/07/10/keeping-it-real-3-fundamentals-of-an-authentic-employer-brand/ | Keeping It Real: 3 Fundamentals Of An Authentic Employer Brand | Keeping It Real: 3 Fundamentals Of An Authentic Employer Brand
Pondering the recent data breach of 21.5 million Federal Employees, I’m in one of those bottom line moods, so let’s talk bottom line. For many brands, that means a genuine relationship between employer and employee, and that has everything to do with a strong, firmly rooted employer brand.
One common misconception: that a good employer brand starts with pricey image consultants. Yes: marketing that awesome employer brand is a great idea. But let’s take care of the inside first. Top talent often comes equipped with a healthy dose of self-preservation, and that’s a good thing — it breeds savvy, competitiveness and self-reliance. Without an authentically trustworthy employer brand, that same instinct for self-preservation will turn against you: it says you’re more interested in façade than fact, and that leadership really has other priorities. And all the fancy logos in the world won’t save your ROI.
When employees don’t trust an organization, they naturally hold back from wholehearted engagement, with far-reaching, corrosive consequences — churn and retention among them, some far more subtle. And really, we can’t get around this one: a truly authentic, engaging employer brand starts with an authentic, engaged concern for your workforce.
Here are three ways, glamorous or not, to keep it real.
Prioritize Security
Not glamorous, but critical: the latest glaring security breach is a perfect storm of a fallible personnel system and the unwieldy, apparently very permeable frontier of Big Data (not the adjectives we want to use about the future of work). Just ask those 21.5 million government workers whose sensitive (and very personal) data was hacked right out of personnel.
That they willingly provided extremely private information as part of an HR screening process to gain security clearance: the essence of HR irony. Now that we dwell in the Cloud, do your workforce a solid and invest in the strongest security systems you can, and then maintain it, improve it, and invest some more. The worst kind of disengagement is one based on fears that turn out to be justified.
Photo Credit: Big Stock Images
Take A Holistic Approach
My friend and colleague Susan LaMotte defines a solid employer brand as founded on an understanding that employees aren’t driven by their jobs, they’re driven by their lives. The friction between real-life needs and work lives is another tremendous disengager — but a workplace that supports and develops all sides (what LaMotte calls the whole self) of an employee is one of the clearest signs that you care about your talent.
A strong, engaging, and clearly defined employer brand provides an arena where employees can engage themselves and be productive. This can and should happen across all levels, from recruitment to onboarding to training to business as usual.
Always Check In
Not just for engagement, but for success, you need the opinions and input of your workforce. Never assume things are fine. Never stop looking for better ways to check in: the workforce’s pulse has to be taken in myriad hard and soft ways, from pop-up surveys to interviews, on screen, video conference, face to face.
Don’t underestimate the value of regular debriefing meetings: our ability and need to practice hindsight after major efforts is as primal as our instinct for self-preservation. All those tales around the campfire after the hunting party have stayed in our mindsets. Providing multiple channels for feedback conveys a respect for your employees’ positions, personal preferences, and the nature of what they have to say. Then innovate ways to dovetail that input into every facet of the workplace.
Authenticity dwells in action, not image, and one common misconception posits that a good employer brand starts with pricey image consultants. Actually, it doesn’t start there, but it does need to be there. Take care of the core first: the very folk who make it happen. Then, yes, the active promotion of that well-rooted, beautifully clothed employer brand can and should happen: a strategic, multi-platform branding campaign that reinforces the reputation you know you have a right to promote.
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017e79fe25ca6f1635b33a0ef0fddcce | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghanbiro/2015/09/05/make-technology-compliance-sexy-embrace-the-culture/ | Make Technology Compliance Sexy: Embrace The Culture | Make Technology Compliance Sexy: Embrace The Culture
Technology compliance is a necessity. But it isn’t sexy — yet. Certainly, innovating ways to approach compliance has contributed to a greatly transformed world of work. It’s underscored the need for the power and scope (Cloud) and for agile processes and insights (talent analytics). It’s leavened a sense of mission with an edict for ethical conduct (I’m speaking generally here), and that’s certainly a trend given the trending values of a changing workforce population.
And the topic elicits sighs among most of those not charged with its administration. It’s not sexy because it’s complicated, and it’s required. It’s like the buttoned-up older brother who insists we eat our vegetables at the picnic. HR wants to focus on talent acquisition across all the shiny platforms; to forge new paths for talent management; to help create amazing employer brands that practically vacuum eager talent our way; to futurecast. But we can’t ignore compliance. And given the profound global shift in our workforces, whether Fortune 500 or SME, it’s an even larger challenge given the need to address not just state and national, but international regulations.
Photo Credit: Big Stock Images
But we need to love it. We need to make it sexy. How?
Make a clear part of the employer brand. As the future brightens, though not necessarily as bright as before — I’m thinking of the jobs report out Friday from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which showed that the U.S. added a modest 173,000 payroll jobs in August, and that unemployment was at 5.1 percent (down from 5.3 percent in July). Given the pervasive concern with successful recruitment, make compliance clear not only at the level of hire, but as part of candidate experience.
Dovetail it into the company culture. This is different than the employer brand: this is about what happens in the workplace — and certainly has an effect on engagement and retention. There are countless compelling arguments for this. Again, the majority of the workforce (yes, millennials) has made it clear that values , transparency and accountability are key. Compliance is part of that: a functional reflection of positive integrity and deeper ethics.
Make it functional. In its Predictions for 2015: Redesigning the Organization for a Rapidly Changing World, Deloitte reports that HR technology is now an industry in excess of $15 million, and that organizations are “scrambling” to replace their existing HR technology. Despite the incredible growth — the LMS market and talent management software markets each grew by about 24 percent, the capabilities are not improving as fast. Less that 14 percent of those surveyed stated they had made significant programs in terms of talent analytics and workforce planning. As we evolve to the next phase of HR tech, it needs to embrace all requirements, including compliance. To leave compliance out of a revamp is to have to revamp the revamp.
Make it work for us. Leverage compliance as a structure for increasing diversity by adopting compliance software that addresses diversity and other workplace issues. Dismal statistics noone was surprised by showed that Silicon Valley has a long road ahead, and there’s a stunning lack of minorities and women in STEM pipelines. Google, for instance, reported that its tech workforce is 60 percent white and 1 percent black. Yet it’s been made abundantly clear that without reaching into these population we’ll never be able to fill the rise in STEM jobs coming up — which prevents our ability to compete in science and tech moving forward.
The legacy of HR meets Technology is that we’re endlessly bringing talent and organizations together and aiming for the best; tech and trends aside, sometimes, the marriages work; sometimes they don’t. By including compliance in the equation from the onset, we may not only increase the chance of employee engagement, we may also decrease the risk of external complications. And everyone’s happy, right? Well, maybe.
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1fe61755da7a84434304f0525b1d97b2 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghanbiro/2016/02/20/leadership-reboot-4-ways-we-sabotage-our-own-authority/ | Leadership Reboot: 4 Ways We Sabotage Our Own Authority | Leadership Reboot: 4 Ways We Sabotage Our Own Authority
It doesn’t take a study to know that the link between effective leadership and employee engagement runs deep. But it’s a lot of fun to use a superhero or television show or zombies to glean pointers from; sometimes it’s easier for a hero in comic-book spandex (men or women) than someone in a tangible suit. Why? Leading can be painful.
Yet we all face having to take the reins in some form. And some of us even want to: A recent Deloitte survey of 7,700 Millennials (from 29 countries) found that 63% are more apt to choose a job opportunity if it gives them a chance to develop leadership skills and take on a leadership role. There are others that put on the game face, hope they’re passing, and just kind of wing it. Don’t.
I know we’re all tired of being told what to do. Let’s focus on four unequivocal things not to do.
1. If you don’t buy your own story, no one else will.
If you’re not convinced, you won’t convince anyone. That troubling hashtag #amiright doesn’t do the trick: you’ve got to own it. The Harvard Business Review decided to pinpoint the key traits of innovative leaders. They happened to focus on a top telecommunications company, a field that eats weak authority for breakfast.
HBR located 33 individuals who colleagues, subordinates and bosses “graded” as on or above the 99th percentile in innovation. Winnowing down to bedrock qualities, they found 10, including a clear vision of the future and an unshakeable compass for doing the right thing, not to please superiors but because it’s right for the company. That kind of conviction is worth its weight in gold. Note, too, that innovation, which includes thinking outside the box, is still about effectively bringing your team with you on that renegade journey.
2. Don’t be tone-deaf.
We’ve all had that experience with a boss whose peculiar tone (or lack thereof) makes us want to walk/run/disappear/take over ourselves. Back to Deadpool, the antihero, that Marvel comics character marked by a serious tendency to biting sarcasm. The lesson: You’ve got to know your audience.
Why? People take being offended personally, but it translates into instant disengagement. What may be funny to you may not be to your employees. No need to alienate your team by letting loose a sharp tongue that bites too hard: sarcasm has a tendency to set everyone on edge — and erodes positive collaboration. Moreover, consider the blended workforce, and the fact that globalism is the new norm. Culturally, it’s just too much of a risk.
3. Don’t disown your own accountability.
Accountability is the twin sibling to transparency. It’s also a biological imperative for leaders: hardwired into all of our survivor brains is the capacity for self-protection in the form of mutiny. The leader has to be where the buck stops; taking responsibility for actions and decisions made. And if you don’t convey your own accountability, you can’t expect your employees to show it — thus building in a glaring disconnect between employee engagement and a key metric.
4. You’re not an island.
Among the key stressors affecting leadership is the “I versus Us” approach. But the leader who stays tucked behind a desk isn’t really leading. As been pointed out for years now, effective management includes walking around. And it’s those myriad opportunities to reinforce and reward on the spot that prove the daily glue between multi-generational employees and deepening engagement, underscoring a workplace culture that energizes itself in a positive feedback loop.
Particularly in less hierarchical organizations, this is critical. When I looked at Basecamp, I found that it was the constant inclusivity of leadership that made all the difference. Even if it’s just to try on the leadership jacket for size, it’s an incredible incentive.
Authority is earned, I remember being told. But it takes a lot longer to earn it than to have it taken away. If you’re guilty of the four sins above, fix it right quick.
Watch on Forbes:
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90fd9250004cdf46d661eada17677d04 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghanbiro/2016/04/22/5-great-ways-to-hack-your-leadership-style/ | 5 Great Ways To Hack Your Leadership Style | 5 Great Ways To Hack Your Leadership Style
Our world is run by leadership decisions, good or bad. We learn that the FBI spent about 1.3 million to hack an iPhone, when director James Comey finally divulges just enough information. A top talk show host steps off the set in a legitimate huff and the network is caught short. Google the word “leader” and you’ll get, on a given day, some 1,070,000,000 results — partially because someone made decisions in what we’d see. Leading is a hot seat and some of us embrace it and some of us don’t. And there are always ways to do it better.
Photo: Shutterstock
But whatever you do, it’s going to be reflected in the organization. So here are five ways to shift to a far better model:
1. Turn it inside-out. The hyper-collaborative, ideaphoric culture at Google is nowhere more apparent than with the X team, tasked with the most audacious problem solving there is. To save time and resources and push their own vision, they conduct pre-mortems to kill their best ideas, trying to predict in advance why an idea is going to tank.
Gallery: How To Be A Better Leader: Four Essential Tips 5 images View gallery
2. Forget nice. Despite the trend to see leaders as benign, ethical, moral, centered people, they’re not always. Some theorize that it’s not even necessary: in fact, sometimes good behavior is actually counter-productive, and slows down implementation. Forget about finding your emotional true north. Just get it done.
3. Hands off, but be present. A leader having her or his hands in every single task may seem like a nice idea, but it jumbles up the works. Let the managers do their jobs but don’t absent yourself from the day to day: far more validating to let them run with it, and then be there when you’re needed. Enabling your teams to find their way out of a snag is far better and probably more cost-effective than grabbing the wheel to drive a solution.
4. Embrace difference. Organizational true north is when all are working towards a shared mission: That’s where the conformity should be. A leader sets the compass point so everyone else can get on the same path. But that doesn’t mean everyone takes the same route, or handles it the same way. Shoehorning behavior is a myth: It’s action that needs to conform. Don’t mistake shared mission for uniform conformity.
5. Stay open. The world of work is vertical: It’s nearly impossible to not be thrust into a position of having to lead whether they want to or not. So practice. Try different techniques. Get the books and test out their theories. If someone’s approach appeals, take a closer look. Collect those good quotes, those chestnuts of wisdom that make you feel a little bolder. Align that sense of growth and wonder with your culture.
Gaining a true, well-honed self-awareness of what makes you tick as a leader and what doesn’t will drive you to be far more authentic. It won’t go unnoticed. The one thing you can’t change about leadership is that it will drive the company culture, like it or not. Among the famously worst leaders of last year was the beleaguered head of Volkswagen, whose relentless pursuit of numbers led to a culture of scandalously bad decision making. No question of responsibility there. But the world is filled of terrific examples of great leaders making remarkable decisions that changed the world. You’re probably using one to read this.
Does an organization ever act on its own, despite a leader? Even if they do, they’re inheriting that unilateral impulse from the leader — what looks like despite is actually because. The truth is, regardless of size, scope, mission, or brand, an organization cannot run without a leader, and no leader is an island. You can quote me on that.
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a8c8ea640b6a1491d8dfee7c16d6bf7c | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghanbiro/2016/07/08/4-ways-to-capitalize-on-employee-strengths/ | 4 Ways To Capitalize On Employee Strengths | 4 Ways To Capitalize On Employee Strengths
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Facebook, consistently named one of America's best employers, believes in strength-based organizations, and is working to shape its culture to reflect that ideology. Those who are passionate about the topic of individual strengths rolling up into organizational success believe that there can be a direct correlation between the two. If you understand a person's deepest values and motivations, there are ways to connect them with the organization's mission and goals. It's a win-win, right? Simple! Not so much.
I am a fan of this whole idea. Capitalizing on people’s strengths allows them to shine. It allows organizations to grow by tapping into the inner-passion and abilities of people that sometimes can't even be taught. But easy? Doesn't seem so. It takes commitment, diligence and a whole lot of care for individuals -- which let's face it, some companies say they care about but don't have time to implement.
Gallery: 10 Powerful Ways To Empower Your Employees 10 images View gallery
Josh Allan Dykstra wrote something in his blog the other day that really resonated with me. "You can pay me a whole bunch of money, but if my heart’s not in the work, I’m just not going to care about it for very long (businessperson translation: retention problems, excessive turnover, ballooning talent acquisition costs, etc.).” If that doesn't get leaders thinking about the importance of individual nurturing, I don't know what will.
So while the model of strengths-based organizations is working swimmingly for some, how can others who are new to the concept even begin to emulate them?
1. Observe employees’ strengths. Unfortunately, observation is often relegated to making sure people aren't slacking off -- or even worse -- stealing. What if the observation was purely to see when people light up? When they are in their stride and cranking out quality work? Take notes of this and align it with what they are actually doing -- and see how to replicate this behavior in future assignments or job roles. It will pay off.
2. Encourage employees to share their strengths. Nope, I am not recommending motivational posters. What I am suggesting is some strategic encouragement by leaders to employees to speak up and act on their strengths. Depending on the situation, there may not be an organic opportunity to see an employee’s best strengths. But with the right verbal encouragement and a culture of “bring your best,” sparks may fly. An article from Harvard Business Review outlined some ways to encourage employees to speak up, including modeling candor and creating an ownership culture. Even though what you want them to discuss is positive, the door must be open.
3. Match up people with varying strengths. OK, this isn’t Earth-shattering. But how often are we still building teams full of similar personalities and skills, seeing them stall and sputter because there are gaping holes? Once you understand who are the dreamers, doers, the meticulous and the creative, the diligent and outgoing, build teams that comprise a variety of strengths – and be strategic about what you see people doing. Yes, there may be some magic in letting the team reveal their strengths to each other, but it’s okay to guide the process a bit. And, yes, I realize this is just a random sampling of adjectives and some people can be all of the above or none of the above. Play along…
4. Reward strengths. Trophy time. Just kidding. But when you do see people utilizing their strengths in ways that are positively impacting a project, motivating a team, raising the bar of the organization – or any other applicable scenario – it’s worth saying something or considering other creative rewards. By doing so, the culture starts to shift into one where people are motivated to bring their very best. If it seems unnoticed, you know the drill.
It’s also worth noting that the entire weight of these initiatives doesn’t need to fall exclusively on the employer. Have you heard of the Strengths Challenge? It’s empowering people to take on personal research, cultivate their strengths and apply it at work. Fantastic. Now, ask your employees if they are participating (in this or some other introspective exercise) and see what they’ve learned. Their responses could be fascinating.
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7d3bd5727c271456b5dba6976f0709f4 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghanbiro/2018/01/27/think-you-dont-need-a-chief-people-officer-4-reasons-to-reconsider/ | Think You Don't Need A Chief People Officer? 4 Reasons To Reconsider | Think You Don't Need A Chief People Officer? 4 Reasons To Reconsider
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People management is a priority for so many organizations. But it’s still not a success. Why? People. Like any branch of a business, it takes a leader to forge and implement strategic change. Employees are still disengaged and something like 55% of all people in current jobs are planning on looking elsewheres this year. Key reasons for leaving include boredom, frustration, and feeling devalued — the “just a number” syndrome. And let’s not overlook the booming, thriving, growing job market, which can strike terror in even the most level-headed HR people.
What’s ironic to me is that here we are in the business of people management and yet the very issues we have in people management are preventing us from hiring someone to oversee people management. So let’s take a step back for a moment. Set aside the gizmos and innovations and bells and whistles and look at your C Suite. Do you have a CPO? Do you have a CHRO? Do you have a senior people manager, and if so, are they in the C-Suite?
Here are the reasons I hear from organizations who don’t, and here’s why that excuse is full of hot air:
1. We’re focusing on tech this year, and we’re really excited about it. Good for you. That’s a great direction for charting strategic growth. But who sets the policies and procedures? Who is spearheading the procurement? If you’re counting on the outside HR tech organization to customize a program for you, who is making sure it fits with your workforce goals? If the answer is the outside organization, you may wind up with some unintended friction. What happens if there’s a problem? Without going into details, there are countless detours the best intentions can take. Among the key competencies of a C-Suite level executive are solving problems and having a strategic perspective. That might be a good way to harness your brilliant new HR tech.
2. We really see HR as an administrative role, and we don’t want to overwhelm our HR managers. Okay then, let’s see how we might be able to make that burden easier. How about outsourcing the administrative roles? Digitization is meant to help allay the incredible burden of spreadsheets and pushing paper with a far more efficient and powerful alternative. And it does. There are endless resources to partner with, from benefits and payroll to onboarding and training manuals. Which frees up your managers’ bandwidth for focusing on strategy instead. Best practice is thinking bigger, so make it possible. And maybe promote your managers.
3. We’re young and growing, and want to wait until we’ve grown more. It doesn’t require 100,000 employees to smarten up about managing people. You may not be Microsoft, but you need a scaleable approach that entails a consistent culture and consistent standards. Group Nine Media is still young — it started in 2016. But it’s grown from 200 to 600 people — and its HR infrastructure simply didn’t work anymore. One of the biggest challenges was expanding a small-scaled commitment to caring about people to an organization three times its original size. It took hiring a Chief People Officer, Stacy Green, to put that mission into practice on an executive level. It’s an unequivocal way to stand behind the values the company started with — and it should help as well with keeping the talent they have and attracting more in an extremely disrupted, competitive market.
4. We’re really trying to think outside the box here and prefer a more agile structure. It is true that organizations are looking to flatten the hierarchy and shift to a more independent framework of interconnected but autonomous teams. That’s great. I’m all for wirearchies — a term I think we’ll be hearing a lot more of as we evolve into the next phase of the world of work. But authority, trust credibility, and “interconnected technology and people” doesn’t mean there’s no one in charge. No matter what, you know employee engagement is critical for organizational success. You can’t prevent attrition if your organization doesn’t attend to employee experience. And you can’t strategically build succession plans without someone watching the whole picture.
I often focus on innovations. I’m fascinated by the intersection of tech and people, and by the visionaries building new tools for HR to leverage in the endless quest to do our job better. But sometimes what you really need is a human being at the helm who can really manage the ever-loving everything out of the organization’s people. I know a whole lot of HR teams strategizing for the coming year, and many are focusing on hiring. So here’s a suggestion. Hire a Chief People Office if you don’t have one. If you do have one, make sure they’re empowered on the C-Suite level. It will be one of the most invaluable decisions you make.
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9af61986ce85cbdc85c4d58c95e8ad71 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghanbiro/2018/03/09/3-ways-to-embrace-ai-without-losing-what-makes-us-human/ | 3 Ways To Embrace AI Without Losing What Makes Us Human | 3 Ways To Embrace AI Without Losing What Makes Us Human
Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg
Here’s the recent dinner talk: “So: is AI going to replace humans or not?”
The technologist said “Oh, totally.”
The executive said, “That’s not the right question.”
And the HR executive — nothing.
Even a year ago we would not have been talking about any of this. But here we are: I think the truth is probably that AI is indeed going to replace humans in the workforce in many capacities — not just on the factory floor. It’s already happening and it’s going to continue happening at a faster rate than we may understand. So what do we do about it? Be ready. And celebrate one silver lining. We’ll be better at our jobs by facing the fact that we are human, and by improving on how we treat each other. And here are a few other pointers for surviving the AI-copalypse:
Stop Pretending
Do ostriches really stick their heads in the sand to hide? We certainly shouldn’t. I came across a startling article by an AI executive who recounts telling an anxious Uber driver it will be another 15-20 years before autonomous cars render his job obsolete. On the other hand, it will only be around 10 years in China.
The articles makes a case for tech companies telling the truth: Yes, human jobs will be replaced, and we should stop pretending it’s not true. If we don’t start facing the future we won’t be able to handle it. A Towers Watson study from December of last year found that U.S. companies will nearly double the amount of work done by automation (to 17%) within the next three years. 94% of companies already using robotics and AI will increase their use of automation by 2020.
Start Planning
Even if your own organization is still, as we might someday say nostalgically, made of “flesh and blood,” preparation needs to start now. Chances are you’ll partner with a company that uses automation if you don’t. Chances are also that you’ll be using AI in your own performance management strategies, but that’s another discussion for another day.
But start planning. Step forward 15 years. Create scenarios that include AI and robots within your workforce. Anticipate the pain points. How are you going to get people to work alongside robots? What about teams that are collaborating with machines? Some work processes are going to depend on complex algorithms and cognitive machines — computer programs that don’t need a human to learn and improve their own performance. In that case, how are you going to show who, or what, should be in charge?
Skill And Reskill
Companies are beginning to look at themselves with a different perspective, particularly in HR. It’s interesting to me that for all the discussion about workforce engagement and better people management, it’s taken the rise of automation and digitalization to push the envelope. One moment we’re talking about how to circumvent a skills gap, and the next, more appropriately, we have to look at skills from an entirely new perspective. The World Economic Forum published a compelling global report about reskilling that’s drawn from powerful data on training and job transitioning, but the discussion may not provide quite the practical grist some organizations need. That’s another reason AI is going to have such an impact: there’s no more room to argue.
The TW survey found that a number of companies were already taking action on preparing for the future. 51% are re-examining jobs and deconstructing them into tasks that can be automated and those that can’t. 41% are considering how to provide “reskilling pathways” for their employees — so that the work taken over by automation can be replaced by other skills. 49% of employers are looking at how automation is going to change which skills are at a premium. And that same percentage is already planning on how to revise their rewards and benefits to fit the future workforce.
Be Mindful Of Our Humanity, Please
A recent Washington Post piece about robots coming to replace factory workers took a point of view I find troublesome. The rationale for replacing workers with robots was that robots didn’t drink and they don’t get the blues. The workers being replaced were in rough shape: sad, drinking, prone to depression, and therefore undependable. Can we please see the irony in that? There have to be positive reasons to throw someone out of job besides being depressed. I’d be depressed too if I was told I’m being replaced because I was late to the line Tuesday morning. And at some point, that approach is going to turn around to bite employers right square in the profit margin.
If you’re still asking are the robots coming you’re not paying attention. But at the same time, we can’t abandon the human workforce or we won’t be able to sustain ourselves. Until or if we’re entirely replaced by AI, the best strategies are to anticipate the practicalities of an augmented workforce, take the long view and make good decisions, leverage tech (please), and make sure steps are in place to support the shift that has to made on all fronts.
That’s probably going to require a specific commitment to protect the human workforce — not from progress, but from being rendered obsolete. Even technologists say we should have a clear statement of ethics in place as guardrails — before it’s too late. Ethically, emotionally, and in the end, practically speaking, we really have no choice. Wouldn’t it be such an irony, as one of my dinner companions proposed, if instead of our stopping progress, progress stopped us?
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381ee2663f31ad49fd52fd3aba94c726 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghanbiro/2018/04/09/six-insider-tips-for-landing-a-job-right-out-of-college/?__twitter_impression=true | Six Insider Tips For Landing A Job Right Out Of College | Six Insider Tips For Landing A Job Right Out Of College
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Long ago, in a galaxy not very far away, I was a recruiter for high tech firms. I dealt with talent on all levels, including cream of the crop executives and wet behind the ears college grads. Even future college grads — whose foresight and take-action approach put them on the radar. I came across some remarkable future stars, and it’s an experience I’ll always value.
Then, as now, the same tactics hold true for landing a great job before graduation — and from a former recruiter’s perspective, I’ll tell you that there’s nothing more sure-fire than these common-sense strategies. Boring as they may seem, you need to get these right. They’re a way to train yourself in the etiquette of being a professional, no matter the field.
Somewhere along the road from application to interview, this kind of prep work is going to make the difference — and set you apart:
1. Practice Face To Face. We exist in our screens now, yes. We are social media profiles, sure. But whether it’s a remote interview or face to face you want to be a crisp and presentable as possible. Businesslike. Put on those clothes and practice talking about your professional goals and interests with a friend or a mentor. The point is that you get far more comfortable presenting yourself in a professional context.
2. Get Feedback On How You Appear To Others. After you put on the jacket and nice shirt and good pants (for instance) and pretend-discuss why you want Job X or Y, take a measurement. How do you appear? Ask your friend or mentor to be bluntly honest about it. Do you seem sure of yourself? Interested in learning more? Reluctant to talk or unmotivated? Do you keep brushing your hair back as you speak? Do you pepper your sentences with “Um” or “literally”? All of these little quirks are part of how we deal with uncomfortable social situations. The first step to appearing polished and professional is to see yourself in someone else’s eyes. Impressions happen fast and the first impression is indelible to a harried recruiter. These days you may also apply and land an interview for a job in the same day — so there’s no time for a second impression. Make sure you’re ready in advance.
3. Put The Phone Down. We all do this: We sit in a room with other people and we keep checking our phones. Don’t do it. Do. Not. Look. Down. Americans check their phones an average of 80 times a day. You need all your focus to be on the actual conversation, even though the actual conversation is fake. Get used to putting your phone down and disconnecting from it in your head. Try saying, I am not my phone. I am talking to a human being. Why? Because that singular moment — when the recruiter or interviewer is asking you a question but you duck into your phone out of habit — may be the very moment you lose the job.
4. Learn All You Can About The Company You’re Applying To. Here’s the one single reason you will not get considered as a viable job applicant: you don’t know anything about the company you’re applying to. I once had a really promising potential candidate who shocked me with his cavalier response to my asking him, “Why this company?” The question was an easy pitch, designed to give him the chance to shine. Instead, he said, “Well, I’m looking for a high-paying entry-level job in tech, and this company has those.” That was it. Pressed for specifics, he added, “I’d like to be in a big company and you’re a big company.” Two chances, both blown. About 250 people were applying for the same position — the reigning average these days for a corporate job. Later in an endless round of interviews, I remembered him — but not for a good reason.
5. Learn More. Being online is a different ecosystem; we’ve shortened our attention spans and tend to hop across islands of information without necessarily getting into any depth. But that means if you want to stand out as you apply to a job, show that you really did some due diligence. Learn whatever you can and then investigate further. Dig into employee reviews on job portals and then look for connections in the organization’s web presence itself. Find the consistencies. Companies want to stand for something and they want their mission to be reflected in how their employees talk about their jobs. something strikes you in your cover letter, an email to a recruiter, even a text, even a tweet about the company can all make it clear that you have done your homework. What makes this company stand out? If you already notice it, you may be on your way to being noticed as a potential candidate that stands out. From a recruiting perspective, the job applicant who gets the company makes the process that much easier. And tech has very little to do with it. It’s more about hearts and minds.
6. Don't Fake Your Skills. Seasoned recruiters look at the whole package — and they don’t expect college graduates to come leaping out of the ivied halls with all the requisite skills. If you’ve got them, terrific. But it’s more important that you have ability than all the skills, research shows. Even when it comes to AI searches for candidates, there are plenty of ways to focus on potential. The most important thing: don’t fake it. If you say you know something and you don’t, that will stand as a more serious negative if it’s discovered than a positive if you admit you don’t know something. And it’s a gamble you don’t need to take.
Where you look to find a job is another story: you need to tap into any and all channels, from alumni networks to mentors and professors — it’s often a point of pride to help a promising student land their first job or internship. A well-crafted resume and a great Linkedin profile, edited, proofread cover letters, even your own website and social media pages, tapping into every social and job network you can — all of this goes into the mix. But no matter how good your resume, it’s often that personal first impression that’s going to clinch the deal. You are who you are. Make it the best you can be, and you’ll be on your way.
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a2f4d692f51372ef7880270bac2f53bd | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghanbiro/2020/11/24/exhausted-employees-4-surprising-ways-to-better-lead-them/ | Exhausted Employees? 4 Surprising Ways To Better Lead Them | Exhausted Employees? 4 Surprising Ways To Better Lead Them
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Recently an Associated Press photo made the social media rounds: it featured two health care workers by a hospital bed. They’re both cloaked head to toe in PPE and masks. One looks like she’s just collapsed from strain, grief and frustration as the other puts an arm around her shoulder. The image heads up a powerful article in the Atlantic about the untenable stress and exhaustion hitting health care workers hard — just as we navigate another surge of the virus that’s proving worst than the first.
Across countless organizations and industries, organizations face the same reality: employees are exhausted. A survey by Monster in mid-July found that a whopping 69% of employees working from home were experiencing serious burnout. But no matter where we work, it’s exhausting. In 2019 — before Covid-19 hit — 76% of all employees were already experiencing burnout at work. As we head into the fall and winter surge, cases climb and any semblance of normality is disrupted once again, our employees need a break.
As leaders, there’s an imperative here. This isn’t a pay and pray scenario. While we can’t undo employee exhaustion, there’s a lot we can do to reduce it. But it may require you rethink how you lead:
Redefine Occupational Stress
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Let’s try something: see coping with life and work during a plague as a full-time occupation now. Gallup’s list of the top triggers of employee burnout includes a sense of being treated unfairly at work. Expand that into the present and think about the expectations you have on employees right now. Do you factor in the whole package of pressures employees face — performing, caregiving, parenting, just dealing? Functioning on all fronts is an unremitting challenge that takes an enormous amount of mental, emotional and physical energy. Moreover, a key sign of occupational stress is feeling like we’re not prepared for the job we have to do. I don’t know anyone who feels prepared for this year, do you? The only way to fully — and fairly — address the sense of overwhelm so many employees feel is to see it for what it is.
Require Time Off
While a common complaint among worn-down employees is that they aren’t given enough time to do their work, again, take an action here that seems counterintuitive. Don’t give them more time to do their work. Make people stop working, if only for a day or half a day. Mandate it. Of that massive cohort of burned-out employees in the Monster study, 59% chose to take less time off than normal, and 42% had no plans to take any time off at all. Don’t just allow absences, welcome them. Eliminate any reprisals for an employee that needs to take Wednesday afternoon off, whatever the reason. Consider the resurfaced 2014 memo from Joe Biden to his staff, which encourages them to take time off from work for family commitments (including illness or loss), or he’ll be “greatly disappointed.” What a positive and affirming way to issue a reminder.
Model Vulnerability, Put Up Boundaries
Forget about projecting an omniscient, all-capable facade to inspire confidence and trust in your employees. Just leave that one alone for now. Handling this period of peak VUCA requires leaders to act with self-awareness and flexibility or as a smart piece in the Harvard Business Review called it, “act in an urgent, honest, and iterative fashion, recognizing that mistakes are inevitable and correcting course — not assigning blame — is the way to deal with them when they occur.” Blending authority and candor isn’t easy. If you want to lift some of the pressure off your teams so they can take a breather, admit your own vulnerability and limitations. Find the means to communicate it across the organization, and encourage managers to do so as well. Open up the conversation in regular town hall style meetings. Ask for feedback. A simple start is to cease working at 8 hours, no matter how they fit into a given day. Make it an organizational challenge and recognize those who achieve it.
Stop Managing Everyone
This may be the toughest action to take, but it’s just as critical and just as effective. Stop managing and start leading. Leave your people alone. It’s been hard to strike a balance in remote workplaces — between over-communicating and not communicating enough; between staying close to teams and letting them work; between jumping in to make sure tasks are getting completed and letting the process unfold. But over-managing takes time away from the work process. It interrupts the collaborative flow, can hamstring initiative and certainly prevents teams from gelling. Further, helicopter leadership makes managers feel devalued and may compromise their own ability to lead. Give people the tools and support they need to collaborate (and make sure they know how to use them) and then let them work.
In HR we often talk about crucible moments, crossroads, tipping points — and whatever word you want to use to describe it, that’s exactly what’s happening now. The pandemic’s turbulence, disruption and uncertainty has summarily thrown life and work into the same lifeboat — and to push that metaphor, we’re all rowing as fast as we can. The leaders I see succeeding right now are those who recognize these unprecedented times as a call to take a very different approach to leadership — to let down our guards, let go, and be kind. Exhaustion, we know, has broad impacts on the bottom line. So maybe time isn’t money, as the old adage goes, but really, your people are. They’re the key asset and the prime currency. So take care of them first.
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fd72fbf58ae04c9f0db27a98a65532f5 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghancasserly/2010/10/06/i-like-it-on-the-kinky-facebook-meme-for-breast-cancer-awareness-month/ | 'I like it on the...' Kinky Facebook Meme For Breast Cancer | 'I like it on the...' Kinky Facebook Meme For Breast Cancer
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October's only just begun and I'm already getting pink overload. Pink football games (to be fair, at least there is a considerable amount of money being raised by the NFL--the referee's association presented $14,000 to Susan G. Komen for the Cure), pink water bottles, pink can openers, irons and blow dryers all over the shelves of my Bed Bath & Beyond.
Breast cancer awareness month has bugged me for years--I imagine the cheap plastic factories overseas churning out all manner of things, rubbing their palms over how quickly American women open their wallets to anything pink or emblazoned with the Susan G Komen ribbon. I may be the biggest cynic in the free female world, but it's a marketing charade I just can't get behind.
Before I'm lynched, I'll put it out there: I am not anti-breast cancer research. I've known too many women lost to the disease and their families devastated to be that cold-hearted. Like everyone, I pray that a cure is found for breast cancer.
It's just the crap I can't abide.
Not surprisingly, when I found out that this whole "I like it on the..." Facebook meme was a flirty trend that somehow was meant to "raise awareness for breast cancer," I was equally grossed out.
Over at Salon, Tracy Clark-Flory says:
"This time, ladies are telling us how and where they "like it." For example, "I like it on the bed." A sampling of recent "I likes" include: the kitchen table, the backseat of a car, my nightstand, the floor, in the closet, on the stairs, on a bar stool and on the washing machine. This is meant to raise awareness -- not about kinky female fantasies, but, inexplicably, breast cancer."
The thinking behind this anonymously started trend (which, in the end, is supposedly where ladies like to put their purses, and not, surprisingly, their breasts) is to get guys thinking about sex (silly boys, always thinking about sex!), and then the not-so-surprising leap to breasts. And from their love of breasts to "breast cancer" to, i guess, "i should donate some money to breast cancer research," or "maybe my girlfriend would like a pink can opener for Breast Cancer Awareness Month."
As Clark-Flory points out, this Facebook phenomenon is an echo of January's "bra color" campaign. Back then, we asked our community whether or not they agreed with marketing or social networking campaigns that take "awareness" viral. It seems to me, that, especially when it comes to bra colors, or where you "like it," the impact on the actual fight against actual breast cancer is actually nill.
I may be ranting, and I may be making enemies of even my own Facebook friends, but as a girl who owns no "pink" gear and doesn't plan on it anytime soon, I stand my ground. I think it's crap. What about you?
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0441d084087933c533ae4fc34b3a9422 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghancasserly/2010/10/26/dress-boss-working-wardrobe-milly/ | How To Dress Like The Boss | How To Dress Like The Boss
At the age of35, Linda Arroz made a major career change: from a working on the assembly line at a General Motors plant as a spot-welder to an image consultant in the corporate and fashion worlds. After a stint as a spokesmodel for women’s fashion company Spiegel, her new job was to assist business women hone their fashion sense.
Sound unlikely? Well Arroz, 50, the author of the soon-to-be-published If You Can Wear That, You Can Be That, recognizes that a major part of her personal success came from dressing the part.
In Photos: Eleven Corner Office Wardrobe Essentials
“I took leaves of absence from my job [at the plant] and went to New York and Los Angeles and networked my way into an image consulting certificate and a new career, based not only on talent, but the credibility that I looked the part.” Since then, and throughout the decades of experience Arroz has since enjoyed in dressing women and speaking to audiences about image and self esteem, where she proselytizes the value of dressing for your audience.
A 2001 study conducted by consumer research firm Yankelovich Partners, Inc., titled “Work Your Image: The Importance of Appearance on the Job” reported that 76% of respondents believe that a woman’s appearance affects whether she is taken seriously, asked to participate in meetings with upper management or is well regarded by colleagues and supervisors. Sixty four percent believe that her appearance will lead to consideration for raises or promotion.
“The old adage is true,” says Sheri Cole, executive director of The Career Wardrobe, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit that helps women prepare for reentering the workforce, “dress for the job you want, not the job you have.” Call it shallow or superficial, but the bottom line is that when it comes to fashion, if you’re looking to climb the corporate ladder--dress for the top rung.
“It’s important to understand the culture of the company you work for, especially any quirks and expectations the company has regarding wardrobe,” says Arroz. To succeed within the confines of any corporate culture, playing the part is a key to getting ahead, she says.
Cover of Working Girl
Why look to your boss and not the pages of Vogue? “Women in leadership roles exude confidence,” says Arroz. “Remember the film Working Girl?” she asks, in which Melanie Griffith takes over her boss’s position and makes deals far above her own position as a secretary. “She almost pulls it off,” says Arroz. How? “She wore her boss’s clothes.”
In Photos: Eleven Corner Office Wardrobe Essentials
Michelle Smith, the fashion designer behind Milly, a contemporary line for women with workplace-friendly flare doesn’t suggest stealing the look of your female superiors, but says that when in doubt about workplace fashion, taking cues from them can be incredibly helpful. “Your boss and other high level women in your company can give great insight to what’s expected of women in your corporate culture, whether you work in a creative field like fashion or the legal profession where guidelines tend to be more conservative.”
It should go without saying that your boss’s Chanel is out of your entry-level budget. Bear in mind that her Birkin Bag was likely unattainable even for her at the start of her career, and shop accordingly. Read: do not max out credit card after credit card in order to dress like your boss. Instead, use her style for inspiration, and shop within your means to keep your savings in good shape. As your make your corporate climb, not only will it begin to grow, but your budget--and your style along with it.
“Women should invest in basic pieces that can be mixed and matched,” says Joi Gordon, CEO of Dress For Success. No matter the career, building a professional wardrobe starts with the basics—but doesn’t have to break the bank.
“Splurge on the staples,” says Coles. “You want to buy the most expensive, conservative suit you can afford that will be timeless and get you through every interview, performance review and client meeting.”
“Black is the workhorse,” adds Arroz. “Avoid double-breasted jackets (which can make women look boxy, particularly if they’re busty), but don’t shy away from a jacket with an interesting collar or feature.”
The classic white blouse is a timeless piece and one that can be found at every price point. Smith recommends a feminine blouse, perhaps with a bow to offset a conservative suit, while Coles stresses that trendier pieces such as bows and ruffled tops should be “frugally fashionable.” “This season ruffles are a big trend but may be out by next winter, so don’t buy a $100 ruffled top from a chic boutique when you can spend $20 and have the same look that won’t leave your checking account sad!”
In Photos: Eleven Corner Office Wardrobe Essentials
A good rule of thumb to follow with any on-trend wardrobe add-ons or finishing touches including jewelry, scarves and accessories. Take a look at the bag your boss is carrying and the shoes on her feet, our style advisors say. “Your shoes and bag complete your professional look as long as they don’t weigh you down,” says Coles, who notes that the perfect executive tote can fit everything from a portfolio to a water bottle to a granola bar to get you through your day.
“Shoes, handbags and accessories are the easiest pieces to find [on a budget],” she says. “You can update your wardrobe with a designer handbag from an outlet like TJ Maxx or consignment resale stores that are brand new or gently used for a fraction of the cost.”
Smith says that in designing a working wardrobe for Milly, or advising young women on dressing for work, the important thing is to incorporate a feminine feel without losing credibility. With that in mind, when shopping, be conscious of hemlines (not too high) and bust lines (not too low). Her top pick for a workplace purchase that gets the most wear in any season for any body type? A fitted sheath dress. “It works belted, with a fitted blazer, a boxy tweed jacket, a belted cardigan and on its own,” she says, “It’s really quite perfect.”
In Photos: Eleven Corner Office Wardrobe Essentials
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37bfc62683806a4bccaf5f74b67f69da | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghancasserly/2010/12/10/on-sexual-harassment-hey-ladies-man-up/ | On Sexual Harassment: Hey Ladies, Man Up! | On Sexual Harassment: Hey Ladies, Man Up!
When it comes to the workplace, do women want equal treatment, or do they want to be treated like ladies?
One of this week’s hottest financial news stories centers around hedge fund manager Russell Abrams, who is being sued for allegedly misleading investors at Titan Capital Group. But this isn’t the first time he’s been under legal scrutiny. Just last year, Abrams was accused by two former assistants of sexual harassment.
Did he make unwelcome sexual advances? Demand sexual favors? Talk dirty? No, no and no. The two women allege Abrams asked them to print out nude photos of his wife. Abram’s wife alleges the two women attempted to blackmail her with the photos. Two separate legal cases ensued.
Is this sexual harassment? In the complicated and sensitive legal realm of sex discrimination in the workplace, it really remains to be seen.
Sensitivity to sex roles on the job has been a topic of conversation since women entered the workforce during World War I. You don’t have to have been around to remember this marked change in business as usual--just look to TV. Mad Men leans heavily on the shifting attitudes of Americans in accommodating female employees. Should men remove their hats in the elevator when female coworkers step on? Should they hush their frank sexual discussions when she's in earshot?
In a more contemporary example, an all-male crew of firefighters on the FX drama Rescue Me struggle to curb their antagonistic (and often sexually charged) language when a female firefighter joins their house.
And if they don’t, is it creating a sexually hostile environment--and de facto sexual harassment?
Conventionally held wisdom says yes. But Kingsley R. Browne, a law professor at Wayne State University Law School in Detroit, Mich., author of Biology At Work: Rethinking Sexual Equality and an expert in gender roles in work environments, begs to differ. “When women enter all-male work environments they often have a preconceived notion that there will be hostility against them," says Browne. "And that it [the hostility] is sexually-driven.”
This year several high-profile sexual harassment cases have made headlines:
A Tullett Prebon trader was accused of targeting female employees and stepping on her breast at work. DebrahLee Lorenzana, a former Citibank banking officer, who claimed she was discriminated against because she was "too hot" for the office. Sideline reporter Inez Sainz, who found the locker room behavior of the Jets just a little too “locker room.”
But while workplace sexual harassment is very real, Browne says there is also a predilection for women to equate hostility as harassment. Roughly 12,000 sexual harassment charges filed each year in the U.S., according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Browne’s work on sexual harassment is controversial, and the basis of his argument is this: Women seek to be treated equally to their male counterparts at work. In fact, the federal law Title XII, which is invoked in sexual harassment cases, interprets harassment as a form of sexual discrimination—of treating women differently than men. And while some women have had to endure foul, crude or sexually raw working conditions in the form of language, intimidation or degradation, Browne argues that men have long subjected each other to the very same abuses at work.
He continues: This behavior is a part of the male tool kit for competitive situations--a means of weeding out the strong from the weak that dates back to the era of hunter-gatherers.
The upshot is that if women want to be treated as true equals, then they better get used to it.
“When someone wants to challenge or disrespect someone, they tend to chose words that they know the person will be upset by. A fat person might be called fat, a homosexual person gay. For a woman it might be her gender and sexuality that’s the real dig. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s motivated by sex. Sexual names don’t have to equal sexual animosity,” Browns concludes.
Come again?
“Men grow up accustomed to large hierarchical groups in which they struggle to be top dog,” says biological anthropologist Helen Fisher, professor at Rutgers University and sex expert. “They tease, they degrade, they give each other bloody noses. Men are used to putting each other down,” she says, and even attacks on each other’s sexuality—particularly their heterosexuality and masculinity—is commonplace.
She refers to "dominance matching" in men. “Men seek power. And beyond their predisposition to aggression or put-downs as a means of achieving it, men expect their opponent to turn around and give it right back.”
Women, she continues, are not brought up that way. Instead of hierarchical groups, women are more concerned with being “in” or “out” of social cliques. Once on the inside of a social group, women seek harmony. Rather than meeting social discord head on, fighting for dominance within a group, women instead tend to throw in the towel.
But when people who seek power (men) butts heads with people that seek harmony (women), there’s bound to be trouble, Fisher says. “The person seeking power thinks the person seeking harmony is weak. The person seeking harmony thinks the person seeking power is aggressive to a fault.”
Fisher’s example? “Even as little girls playing a game—if there’s an argument or someone breaks the rules—we simply stop playing.” In the workplace, a woman can't exactly "stop playing" or quit if a colleague makes a lewd comment about her perfume. Rather they have been told—some say conditioned—to march to the HR office and file a sexual harassment complaint.
“As managers we train our employees that anything remotely sexual in the workplace is sexual harassment,” says Lee E. Miller, co-author of A Woman’s Guide to Successful Negotiating and longtime HR executive with USA Networks and TV Guide. “As a result, the number of allegations are high—but from the company’s perspective, it’s worth risking any liability. If the allegation turns out not to be harassment, then it’s all the better. But if it is, the employer has to know.”
It’s these sort of company policies that Professor Browne says are partly to blame for the quick jump to conclusions. Women, he says, are primed by society to look for sexual harassment. It is assumed that they will meet it in the workplace.
“Part of it is just pervasive,” says Browne, “but one of the substantial culprits is sexual harassment training. It primes people to taking offense at things. An awful lot of the take home message is: if somebody says something that makes you uncomfortable, that’s harassment and the appropriate response is to tell HR and complain.”
Well isn’t it? Judy Lindenberger, president of the Lindenberger Group, which offers seminars, training and one-on-one coaching for companies on the sexual harassment, says it’s exactly what a threatened employee should do. “The idea that training is a culprit or a catalyst for more women crying “wolf” over sexual harassment is nothing but a myth.”
Readers: I’ve got so many questions for you. Do you think you’ve been primed to think you’re being sexually harassed by every man who treats you poorly? Is it fair to say that women wanted to be treated equally? If that means putting up with questionable or uncomfortable language, do you still want it? Or would you rather be treated like a lady? And if so—what does that mean for women’s lib?
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96551d7790fb34a28350113d7adbce68 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghancasserly/2010/12/13/the-best-shopping-cities-us-macys-walmart-outlet-malls/ | The Best Shopping Cities In The U.S. | The Best Shopping Cities In The U.S.
Move over New York. When it comes to shopping, everything’s bigger in Texas. Forbes’ first-ever ranking of the best U.S. cities for shopping takes a look at the real numbers behind what makes retail sparkle in the 25 biggest cities in America. One look at the top 10 shows that NYC, long thought to be the best city for style, sophistication and putting your pocketbook to work, is nowhere to be found.
What? Why? How? The truth is, in deciding what makes a city “best,” it all depends on what you’re looking for.
Click Here For The 25 Best Shopping Cities
When it comes to shopping, everyone has their own style. Some of us are in-and-out. We know what we want, we know where to find it and we’d like to be on our way, thank-you-very-much. Others are in heaven strolling through well-lit retail centers, window shopping to our heart’s delight, even if there’s nothing we “need.” And some of us are on the hunt for a bargain—if it isn’t on sale, it’s not on our list.
In compiling our list of America’s best cities for shopping, we took the interests of all types to heart to find the urban centers with the best combination of options, ease and affordability.
Of the 525 major shopping centers in the country’s biggest cities, there are nearly 257 million square feet of gross leasable retail area, according to data provided by Esri, a geographic information systems firm that tracks the leasable area of major U.S. shopping centers of over 225,000 square feet. Of that, nearly a quarter of the retail space (87,879,057 square feet) is in the Lone Star state, more than explaining how three Texan cities landed in our top ten cities for shopping. Like their football and BBQ, Texans take their shopping seriously.
Houston comes in at No. 1 on the list. “Houston might be a big city, and sure you can spend days buying up the shopping malls, but for me the best thing has always been the boutiques that are somehow both 100% Southern and completely chic,” says stylist Kate Barash, a Houston native now living in Los Angeles.
Barash, who describes her own fashion sense as “date night feisty,” shares her two favorite Houston stops for shopping: 310 Rosemont (1965 W. Gray Ave.), where she stocks up on jeans from trendy 1921 and Seven For All Mankind and also scores pieces from Milly and James Perse; and Lot 8 (6127 Kirby Drive), where she finds “the best L.A. designers without the Los Angeles inflated prices.”
Click Here For The 25 Best Shopping Cities
If one-stop shopping is more your style than hunting for boutiques in humid Houston, take a drive to Texas’s biggest mall, the Galleria, which boasts 2.5 million square feet of retail pleasure.
Click Here For The 25 Best Shopping Cities
Dallas, No. 2, is dwarfed by its southern cousin in shopping malls at only 28 locations according to Esri, but its over 16,000 retail stores in the city more than compensate. Like Houston, a Galleria mall is the epicenter of retail in the city, but Barash describes Dallas as “more urban,” and its shopping style follows suit. Dallas (200.227) also has a higher price index than Houston (195.165), knocking it down a few rungs from the top position.
The rest of the top 10 is filled out with surprises like Baltimore, San Antonio, San
Baltimore's trendy Holly G Boutique.
Diego, Columbus and Jacksonville, and a few towns who’ve long been proud to make retail a tourist draw: Philadelphia’s outlet center Franklin Mills, for example, houses over 1.5 million square feet of retail and even has hotels on-site to lodge bargain shoppers, and Castleton Square Mall in Indianapolis, Ind., is the biggest in the state.
Another surprise, Phoenix, Ariz., at No. 8. It may be another steamy city for shopping, but its large number of shopping centers and retail stores (over 11,000 according to the BLS) make it an ideal location for a shopper looking for options. Don’t get stuck on its desert location. Phoenix boasts retail choices that range from Gucci to Cartier at its upscale Biltmore Fashion Park to a surprising six Walmarts within city limits, (second only to San Antonio and Charlotte, with seven each). A 2010 increase in sales tax keeps the city out of the top five contenders for most wallet-friendly, but the presence of so many Walmarts speaks volumes for its thrift. For a city of just over 1.5 million, that’s a whole lot of Walmart.
So how did big cities—and notorious shopping hot spots--like New York, San Francisco and Boston fall to the bottom of the ranking? It’s in the numbers.
Click Here For The 25 Best Shopping Cities
San Francisco has one of the highest combined sales tax rates in the country at 9.5%, and New York is not far behind at 8.8%, coupled with a consumer price index of 241.147, the highest of any city on the list. NYC’s low number of major shopping centers also holds it back, although seasoned shoppers will know that New York City abounds in free-standing retail stores (over 75,000). Like New York, Boston is also penalized for its high prices and low number of malls--showing that shopping in cities might not be all it’s cracked up to be.
What do you make of the ranking? For those of you who think big-box shopping is best, be sure we took the number of Walmarts into account when deciding what’s best. Like you, we can’t pass up a deal. Also taken into consideration were the number of major shopping centers (as provided by Esri from the U.S. Directory of Major Malls), retail locations (U.S. Census), the Consumer Price Index (BLS data) and combined sales tax for each city. Click through the slideshow of our top cities by the numbers to find what’s important to you—and what city is really “the best.”
Click Here For The 25 Best Shopping Cities
*Data Note: Esri updated demographics are 2010 estimated. Copyrighted 2010, Directory of Major Malls.
**An earlier version of this story published an error on Phoenix, Arizona's recently increased sales tax rate. The error has been corrected and the list retallied. Phoenix remains in the top ten best U.S. cities for shopping. Thanks to reader @thedaizie for pointing this out.
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26e60968aeff6e31a607714248a39849 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghancasserly/2011/01/20/indra-nooyi-forbes-power-women-best-age-success-lady-gaga/ | For Nooyi and Other Power Women, The Best Age For C-Success | For Nooyi and Other Power Women, The Best Age For C-Success
Indra Nooyi, CEO of PepsiCo
A recent post at Psychology Today based on the 2010 list of Forbes’ Most Powerful Women pointed out an interesting trend: of the 100 powerhouses on our list, more than 70 are over 50. Among C-level executives the power of the 50s is even clearer: Indra Nooyi, Irene Rosenfeld and Gail Kelly are in the club while Angela Braly of WellPoint, a major U.S. health care company, is the lone CEO on our list, clocking in under 50—just a few months shy at only 49.
To be sure, these trends did not go unnoticed when building out the list this year. We mused about how different categories--business, politics, media and lifestyle--seemed to lend themselves to success at different ages. In lifestyle, for example, the most successful women trended the youngest—Lady Gaga, a notable #7 on our list is only 24. This made sense. Hollywood’s elites often include the most attractive (read: youngest, most nubile) people on the planet.
But what, then, does it mean that female CEOs are only nearing success—or at least the most powerfully ranked well into their 50s? It’s commonly accepted, particularly in marketing to women, that in terms of wealth and sense of confidence and well-being, women in the 50-plus age group are in the prime of their lives. But according to the Psychology Today post by Anjana Ahuna and Mark van Vugt, they are also in the prime of their careers.
Why? The answer, they say, lies in evolution.
The womb versus the boardroom … our brains, and psychology, have been shaped primarily by our long time as a species on the savannah, and we carry, without knowing it, the psychological souvenirs of our ancestral past. One of those souvenirs is the instinctive, evolved belief that a woman's role is primarily domestic, and that any other roles she chooses - such as CEO or ambassador - are simply add-ons. But this conflict only exists for women of child-bearing age. Once a woman reaches menopause, or once her children are grown up, the contradiction evaporates. This might explain the very noticeable presence of post-menopausal women in the Forbes list. Is it possible that older women not just have the advantage of experience and authority, but also are taken more seriously once they are no longer perceived as biologically necessary for group survival?
Of course, as Ahuna and van Vugt’s post points out, many make the argument that sexism and discrimination are elements to keep women from achieving rapid (and young) success. Young women who climb quickly up the corporate ladder often must manage both family and career—and those that opt to supplement their parenting with a nanny in order to focus on work are often looked upon as choosing success over children.
This “choice,” which doesn’t seem to exist for working fathers who are able to integrate family and career (most often with the help of a devoted partner or wife) is unfortunately not considered the popular option. “Career women” are often seen as work-before-family types. Should she make the opposite choice and opt for a flexible schedule to care for her children, she’s seen as uncommitted to the company’s bottom line.
But again, this is a dilemma that only faces the young. Peri- and post-menopausal women are normally no longer looked upon as carrying the same child-bearing responsibilities (and scheduling complications that come with) as young women. With children in college and beyond, these years may prove the golden pasture of a woman’s success.
If she makes it that far. The Center For Work Life Policy estimates that some 45% of women to take a career “off-ramp” (a voluntary, non-job guaranteed leave of six months or more) prior to age 44. Many more describe their career paths as non-linear, choosing a meandering route to success that includes periods of “downshifting” to focus on family or personal needs. It’s entirely possible that these scenic routes and off-ramps are a root problem to many women attaining C-level goals.
The underlying truth here? As Indra Nooyi says, being a woman is certainly a strike against you—but rather than complain, “You just have to work twice as hard.” ]Being a working mother this means building a support system to help you through the “balancing” years while battling towards your ultimate goal of top-level success.
Nooyi, CEO of PepsiCo, has been working without a break since 1986—and is the mother of two, including her youngest who was born the year she joined PepsiCo as senior vice president of strategic planning in 1994. At age 51, she was named Chief Executive and Chairman. Nooyi’s bottom line: You want to be a CEO? Don’t opt out, drop out or downshift for motherhood. Stick it out for long-term success.
Readers: What do you think? Is it possible to take the "scenic route" and still reach career goals? Or should a woman who hopes to take time off to care for her family abandon her hopes of C-level success?
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4ba5e9752fb92aeea5b22b52de51ae75 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghancasserly/2011/02/10/the-happiest-careers-in-america/ | The Happiest Careers In America | The Happiest Careers In America
A new study reveals employees value coworkers and personal control over compensation.
If you think your administrative assistant hates her job, think again. A new survey from job site CareerBliss.com shows that they actually value their work, their colleagues—even their boss—more than dozens of other professions. This week, survey results revealed the top ten happiest professions in America. And yes, your secretary’s was one of them.
Gallery: The Ten Happiest Careers
To evaluate the data, CareerBliss conducted 200,000 independent employee reviews from 70,000 jobs all over the country to collect 1,600,000 data points on nine factors of workplace happiness. These included the employee’s relationship with their boss and co-workers, their work environment, job resources, compensation, growth opportunities, company culture, company reputation, daily tasks and job control over the work that they do on a daily basis.
Each factor was followed by a ranking of how important that element was in the employee’s overall happiness. These numbers were combined to find an average rating of overall employee happiness for each job type.
Gallery: The Ten Happiest Careers
Related Story: Seven Steps For Happiness At Work
What the results make clear is that employee happiness doesn’t come from high paychecks alone. Instead, the three components of a job that employees overwhelmingly responded were the most important factors in keeping them happy were:
*the specific tasks a job entails on a day-to-day basis
*how much control the employee has over his or her daily tasks
*relationships with co-workers and customers, including supervisors and colleagues
In fact, according to Heidi Golledge, CEO of CareerBliss, while “Salary is always an important component of every job…the research shows that money is not enough to keep good employees happy. From the employer’s perspective, realizing salary is not one of the key drivers of workplace happiness can help employers focus on the areas which will drive job satisfaction to create a happier environment for all.”
Biotechnology ranked the No. 1 happiest job in America, according to CareerBliss. “In biotech, the people that they work with, and more specifically the person that they work for, tends to rank higher in terms of importance, and employees are overwhelmingly happy with those conditions,” says Golledge. Biotechnology employees were also among the most happy with their daily tasks and the level of control they feel they have over that work. She adds that the field of biotechnology is currently a growth industry, which makes growth opportunities in the field another key ingredient to its workers overall happiness.
Gallery: The Ten Happiest Careers
Matt Miller, CTO of Career Bliss says he was surprised at the No. 2 career on the list, customer service. But a look into the employee responses sheds some light on what might otherwise be considered a thankless job. Miller points to customer service representatives’ appreciation for the amount of control they have over their daily tasks and the ability to talk to people every day. “They also tend to value their coworkers more than most industries,” he says.
In contrast with biotech, where employee-boss relationships were most highly valued, for education employees, who land at No. 3 on the list, the importance of the supervisor fell to the bottom. Teachers valued (in order of importance): the work that they do, the way that they work and the people they work with. Translation: educating children, control over their daily tasks and their fellow teachers. Other career paths included in the top 10 ranking are administrative, purchasing, accounting, finance, nonprofit, healthcare and law.
The bottom-rung placement of legal professionals at No. 10 is striking. While lawyers earn some of this highest wages, its placement well below much lower-paying fields indicates that money can’t buy love--even for your job.
One interesting note is how employees on different career paths emphasize different elements of their job in contributing to their overall happiness—or unhappiness. Still, the overwhelming results of this new data reveals that the key driver for work happiness in all employees does not come in the form of a paycheck, but in a persons’s sense of accomplishment, their relationship with their peers and the feeling of personal control over day-to-day tasks.
What do you make of the top ten list? What do you value most in your career? It is your colleagues? Growth opportunity? Or is it really all about the money?
Gallery: The Ten Happiest Careers
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0399e1505e148fc0b6817037547a210a | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghancasserly/2011/02/14/how-to-snap-yourself-out-of-a-bad-mood/ | How To Snap Yourself Out Of A Bad Mood | How To Snap Yourself Out Of A Bad Mood
Sarah Kay, a Phoenix-based CPA, says knows her worst moods are most often triggered by stress, or feelings of being overwhelmed, especially at work--and especially as she prepares for tax season. First her neck starts to ache and then her mouth gets a metallic taste. The next thing she knows, it hits her: a full-blown bad mood.
A bad mood can be a tricky condition to treat, says Simon Rego, PsyD., director of psychology training at Montefiore Medical Center. “Like pain, it’s very subjective since there’s no accurate or agreed upon scale to define it.”
For some people, a bad mood takes the form of depression, anxiety, guilt, shame, panic or anger, he says, and all are perfectly normal. And because everyone’s definition of a “bad mood” is different, it can be particularly tricky to dole out advice on combating it.
Gallery: 12 Fool-Proof Ways To Shake A Bad Mood
Should you attack the root cause of the bad mood head on? Distract yourself? Take the fake-it-till-you-make-it approach to bouncing back?
Rego says that because a bad mood rarely has a single cause, there is no single treatment. But as a cognitive behavioral therapist, his best advice is to forget about the cause and focus on the mood itself.
“A bad mood is like a snowball careening downhill,” says Rego. “You can pinpoint what pushed it off the mountain, but it’s what’s keeping it rolling that really matters.”
No matter the cause--stress from an aging parent, romantic loneliness, a terrible, horrible boss—there are three modes of attack: distract, diffuse or deal with it.
Distract
A 2010 study by psychologists at Harvard University tracked subjects' happiness levels during different activities. One key finding was surprising: bad moods were most likely to strike when the subject’s mind was wandering. "We hypothesize that it [distraction] is a cause [for unhappiness]," said Matthew Killingsworth, the lead author of the study. The moments of highest happiness were when the subjects were most focused on the task at hand.
With that in mind, when the beginnings of a dark, depressive mood take hold, stop brooding. Snap out of it and focus your attention elsewhere. Erika Oliver, author of Three Good Things: Happiness Every Day, says “snapping out of it” can be as easy as changing your physical space. “Sit on the floor," she says. "When we change our physical position, we can snap our mental position to a new location.”
Other expert suggestions for distraction include dancing, shopping or calling a close friend.
Gallery: 12 Fool-Proof Ways To Shake A Bad Mood
Diffuse
Rego’s camp of cognitive behavioral therapists focuses more on diffusion than distraction. Their goal is to help people deal with their emotions rather than to put them off. To that end, he suggests finding finding ways to talk yourself down from the bad mood ledge. For example, he says, “If the thing that’s getting you down is a problem that you can solve, then solveable problems shouldn’t put you in a bad mood anymore.”
You=master of your own mood universe.
But a lot of life’s problems are unavoidable and unsolvable. That's when it's time to "suck it up," says Rego. So while you may not be able to solve the cause of the funk, you can correct your behavior in the mean time.
“Don’t wait for your mood to improve,” he advises. “Start acting opposite. People’s moods often drive their behavior, so if in a bad mood, people will be predisposed to engage in negative behaviors, such as isolating themselves, listening to sad music or looking for signs that life is unfair.”
The result is often a much darker, depressive mood. Instead, Rego says the task is to do, read, watch or listen to things that generate an opposite emotion. Tell a joke. Shake someone’s hand. Go out into the world and be social.
Rego says that data suggests a two-way street between physiology and mood. We smile when we’re happy, but the act of smiling has likewise been shown to improve happiness. Other diffusion methods include aromatherapy, light therapy and the half-smile approach.
Gallery: 12 Fool-Proof Ways To Shake A Bad Mood
Deal With It
First, get to the root of your doldrums by asking yourself what is really bothering me? Think about what might have happened earlier in the day, week or month that could have triggered your irritable or depressed feelings. Keep thinking back in time until you hit an incident that really resonates with you—and can be connected with the way that you are feeling. Pinpointing the cause is the first step in solving the problem, says author Larina Kase.
In her book, Anxious 9 to 5: How to Beat Worry, Stop Second Guessing Yourself, and Work with Confidence, Kase says that acknowledging the root of your anger can help to alleviate your bad mood. We all know it’s easier to blame your boss’s bad attitude than your own role in the bad relationship with him or her.
Is there a nagging problem—growing credit card bill, resentment towards a family member that’s been building since Christmas—that you’ve been loathe to address? There’s no time like the present.
“Write it down,” says Linda Haneborg, an Oklahoma-based marketing professional who's had her own share of bad moods. Her sound advice: “Make a list of good versus bad of everything that is going on in your life. No doubt the good will outweigh the bad. Seeing things on paper can have a magical influence.”
“Remember when you feel yourself doing in the direction of a foul mood, " says Rego, "that as quickly as you can be sucked into that negative vortex, with the right decisions you can just as quickly spin yourself right back out.”
Gallery: 12 Fool-Proof Ways To Shake A Bad Mood
Readers: What’s your method of choice in kicking a bad mood—distraction, diffusion or dealing?
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32849753ab0ea385b373c4bdc577754c | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghancasserly/2011/02/14/justin-bieber-esperanza-spalding-grammy-twitter-attack/ | Bieber's Army Takes On Grammy Winner Esperanza Spalding | Bieber's Army Takes On Grammy Winner Esperanza Spalding
Best New Artist Esperanza Spalding
When the nominees were called at last night’s Grammy Awards in the category of Best New Artist, all eyes were on Justin Bieber, the category favorite. Instead, another name was called: jazz newcomer Esperanza Spalding.
The reaction was an overwhelming and instantaneous “Who?” Since then, all eyes—and all the fury of Justin Bieber’s most loyal and Twitter-adept fans—have been focused on Spalding.
The Twitter taunting began almost immediately, with a few (now-stale) jokes making the rounds: “Justin: knock knock. Esperanza: who's there? Justin: Esperanza Spalding. Esperanza: Esperanza Spalding who? Justin: exactly,” tweeted @ellyLOVESbieber and a few thousand others.
PopEater noted the phenomenon this afternoon:
Bieber nation blew up Twitter as soon as Esperanza Spalding's name was announced instead of the Biebs' (or even, gasp, Drake), running the gamut of emotions (in 140 characters or less, of course) from anger and sadness to downright cattiness at the unsuspecting Spalding. Others took it a step further, attacking Spalding's Wikipedia page and teaching her that Bieber Fever has many of the same symptoms as Sore Loser.
Call them Bieber's Army, call them Beliebers, but they've been known to get mean before. Just this summer, Bieber fans made teen Sydney Dalton Public Enemy No. 1 when she posted a video in which she "broke up" with the teen idol. At the time, #IHateSydneyDalton was a top trend on Twitter for 48 hours.
Spalding's now getting the same treatment.
When asked for her reaction to the controversy, the graceful winner reportedly said this to the Washington Post's Reliable Source: "He has great hair, and I have great hair."
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b9d426e6409c70119a7c97ebff25dfbd | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghancasserly/2011/03/01/your-aging-parents-and-tax-season-a-getting-started-guide/ | Your Aging Parents And Tax Season: A Getting-Started Guide | Your Aging Parents And Tax Season: A Getting-Started Guide
With the first baby boomers reaching retirement age, many adult children are now or will soon be caring for elderly parents and family members. The U.S. Census Bureau tells us that the retired and retiring populations are growing and those born between 1945 and 1964 are now tasked with the care of the previous generation.
From managing healthcare costs to determining a final resting place, as parents reach their twilight years responsibility for their well-being, health and financial stability can increase on their children. All too often, these concerns are exacerbated by the death of one parent, leaving the surviving spouse in a state of confusion or despair.
In Depth: How To Claim Your Parents As Tax Deductions
Tax season is an ideal time of year to help your parents assess their financials. With the right preparation, what might seem an overwhelming process of collecting paperwork and scouring for deductions can become relatively pain-free.
Here, a getting-started guide to helping your elderly parents in tax prep:
“Do my parents even need to file?”
According to the Tax Policy Center, more than half of all seniors in the U.S. won’t have to file income tax returns this year because their incomes are under the IRS filing requirements. To help your parent decide, the first step is taking a look at their gross income. If their “gross income” is below the IRS filing limits, they do not have to file a federal tax return. Gross income includes all the income received that is not exempt from tax, but does include Social Security benefits.
For a single person over the age of 65, the ceiling for gross income is $10,750. For a married couple, $20,900.
However, in helping your parents make the decision of whether or not to file, be aware that special financial situations make filing a requirement, even if the gross income falls below the IRS threshhold. For example, net earnings from self-employment of $400 or more or any special taxes owed to the IRS such as IRA tax penalties might make filing necessary. At www.doyouneedtofile.info, the IRS offers a list of likely financial situations and a series of questions that will help you determine whether your parent is required to file, or, if they’re not required, when filing might be beneficial.
Once your parent has decided to file, choosing how can be just as critical—and potentially as confusing. Single? Married filing jointly or separately? Particularly in the case of a newly widowed parent, the lines can be blurry. But Tariq Shafi, a CPA and professor of accounting at Stratford University, says it’s important to know that in the year of the death of one spouse, the surviving parent can file a joint return to receive all deductions for the deceased spouse, provided they have not remarried. This can be critical, he says, for elderly parents who are faced with financial strain after the loss of their partner.
In Depth: How To Claim Your Parents As Tax Deductions
Where to begin
Greg Rosica, tax partner at Ernst & Young and one of the authors of the company’s 2011 tax guide, says that the best place to start when preparing taxes for mom and dad is by looking at a copy of last year’s tax filing. “Often children find themselves dealing with elderly parents who may not recall everything that went on in the year so it falls on the child to gather up the pieces,” he says. Last year’s filing will help to paint the picture of their taxable and untaxable income as well as what forms need to be located prior to filing.
Be on the lookout for: Social Security income paperwork and investment or retirement accounts. Most of these filings take the form of IRS 1099 and should arrive in the mail, although Rosica notes that some people elect to receive them electronically. If that is the case, locating passwords to email accounts can be critical, especially in the event of the parent who was previously responsible for tax prep passing away.
Two additional resources to seek out are IRS 2120 and IRS publication 501—which explains exemptions, standard deductions and filing information in what CPA Jim Schnell, a partner at Mengel, Metzger Barr & Co. in Rochester, describes as layman’s terms. “It’s not a tax-based manual,” he says, “but it is an excellent resource for common tax issues surrounding senior citizens.”
In addition to helping seniors and their adult children evaluate their tax situations, publication 501 also includes information regarding support and declarations of dependency. One often-overlooked but growing trend in senior and taxes is the role-reversal that is taking place as the baby boom generation increasingly becomes responsible for the financial support of their elderly parents. Publication 501 includes a worksheet for determining support that can help families decide if this is the most beneficial tax route for both children and parents.
In Depth: How To Claim Your Parents As Tax Deductions
Deductions and exemptions
“Understanding [elderly parents’] situation regarding deductions, credits, exemptions and how they apply can be incredibly confusing,” says Rosica. Because they are often based on age, income, types of income and more, they often change each year. He advises clients to rely on a tax professional to know the ins and outs: “No discussion can replace going through the checklist for the eligibility.”
Still, there are several key tax breaks for seniors to be aware of. The elderly or disabled credit is the most common. “At the end of the day this credit ends up being a maximum of about $1,125 and it’s a direct function of a person’s age or disability. The individual must be either over 65 or fully disabled.” It’s important to remember that it’s a credit that each person is entitled to—so for two parents filing, each can receive the credit.
The Earned Income Credit, though less common for senior citizens, may apply depending on living situations as there is no age restrictions. Other situational credits include child or dependent care credits of the senior cares for a grandchild or other relative. If the child tax credit applies, Rosica says that the senior may also be eligible for the education credit provided they are responsible for tuition fees.
Shafi adds that the green tax credit is often an easy credit for senior citizens. Because many elderly parents have lived in their homes for years, he says, they tend to be much older homes—and tend to require repairs. By ensuring those repairs are energy efficient, they can become eligible for what Shafi calls a “goody” of a tax credit. “If they can install energy efficient improvements, air conditioners, furnaces, solar things, then they can get a very good tax credit of up to $1,500 dollars.”
“Bottom line,” concludes Shafi, is that while you can—and should—help your parents prepare for tax season, the most important rule is to remember is: you’re no expert. “Each year people lose billions and billions of dollars for not claiming all of the credits and deductions they are entitled to.”
While adult sons and daughters have the best intentions, they unfortunately may not be all that familiar with the ever-changing tax laws. “Remember the most recent lame duck session,” he advises. “So many items were pushed through at the last minute that have affected tax regulation this year. It’s a very dangerous time to prepare your own taxes right now. And that applies for your loved ones as well.”
In Depth: How To Claim Your Parents As Tax Deductions
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97a9a8cdb64ff712a1bb9e7dd7304a47 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghancasserly/2011/04/15/atlas-shrugged-ten-lessons-from-dagny-taggart/ | Atlas Shrugged: Ten Lessons From Dagny Taggart | Atlas Shrugged: Ten Lessons From Dagny Taggart
Who is John Galt?
So opens Ayn Rand’s capitalist opus Atlas Shrugged which is released today as a self-financed film that will appear in limited release in theaters across the country. If you haven’t lifted a copy of the 1,000 page novel since college, here’s a brush-up: Dagny Taggart struggles to run a railroad in a not-so-distant future in which business leaders keep going AWOL and society seems ready to fall apart. Government regulation is constantly getting in her way and her self-righteous do-gooder friends and colleagues are no help either.
Taggart is a beautiful, powerful female executive who Rand holds up as an example of her objectivism philosophy. Some call the book propaganda masquerading as art. Critics are panning the movie, saying it fails to live up “even to the level of ‘eh’ suggested by its title” (see the trailer below and let me know what you think) and the libertarians have already staked their claim on it. But as a girl who’s read Atlas Shrugged an embarrassing number of times for someone who believes herself both intelligent and assertive, I can say one thing: Dagny Taggart is a kick-ass role model for women in business. She knows what she wants, how she wants it, and most importantly, what she’s willing to do to get it.
Ignore The Haters.
Taggart is met with opposition at every turn in managing the railroad. But she learned at an early age that it was more important to be competent than to be liked.
“I’ve always been unpopular in school and it didn’t bother me, but now I’ve discovered the reason. It’s an impossible kind of reason. They dislike me, not because I do things badly, but because I do them well. They dislike me because I’ve always had the best grades in class. I don’t even have to study. i always get A’s. Do you suppose I should try to get D’s for a change and become the most popular girl in school?”
Don’t Argue, Just Do.
When the government puts a moratorium on steel production, instead of wasting her breath making presentations at board meetings, Taggart’s tact is to simply find someone who’ll do the job regardless. The board doesn’t like it, but it works.
It was useless to argue, she thought, and to wonder about people who would neither refute an argument nor accept it.
Don’t Let A Man Boss You Around—Unless, Of Course, You Like It.
Taggart seems the perfect feminist: single, defiant, not in need of a man. But she takes a certain pleasure in pleasing the people she loves.
James Taggart: “You haven’t any pride at all. The way you run when he whistles and wait on him! Why don’t you shine his shoes?“ Dagny: “Because he hasn’t told me to.”
And then there’s this…
She knew, only when he did it, that she had known he would. He seized her, she felt her lips on his mouth, felt her arms grasping him on violent answer, and knew for the first time how much she had wanted him to do it.
Praise Good Work.
You want to be recognized for your own accomplishments, and Taggart is quick to congratulate her colleagues, competitors and even enemies for theirs.
The sight of an achievement was the greatest gift a human being could offer to others.
Go With Your Gut.
It was the greatest sensation of existence: not to trust, but to know.
Don’t Let Your Ego Get The Best Of You.
“Don't ever get angry at a man for stating the truth.”
Beauty Is A Weapon—Especially When Battling Other Women.
Taggart may be beautiful, but her appearance isn’t something she gives much thought to—her interest lie in building her business more than, say, trips to Elizabeth Arden for a blowout—but when she gets done up for a party, the surprise appearance of her femininity throws a nemesis off-kilter:
Lillian moved forward to meet her, studying her with curiosity. They had met before, on infrequent occasions, and she found it strange to see dagny taggart wearing an evening gown. It was a black dress with a bodice that fell as a cape over one arm and shoulder, leaving the other bare: the naked shoulder was the gown’s only ornament. Seeing her in the suits she wore, one never thought of dagny taggart’s body. The black dress seemed excessively revealing – because it was astonishing to discover that the lines of her shoulder were fragile and beautiful, and that the diamond band on the wrist of her naked arm gave her the most feminine of all aspects: the look of being chained.
Don’t Walk Around When You Can Cut Straight Across.
“The straight line is the badge of man, the straight line of a geometrical abstraction that makes roads, rails and bridges, the straight line that cuts the curving aimlessness of nature by a purposeful motion from a start to an end.”
Don’t Threaten To Do Something Unless You Can Follow Through.
Once her plans to build a railroad out of a new experimental metal are thrown out by Taggart Transcontinental’s board, Dagny doesn’t even threaten, she just announces she’s gone—and walks out the door. If that’s not impressive, this should be: Her startup is in business in days and is more successful than anyone dreamed.
Just Do You.
Dagny shared her view with her shrinking violet sister-in-law:
“You don't have to see through the eyes of others, hold onto yours, stand on your own judgment, you know that what is, is–say it aloud, like the holiest of prayers, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.”
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85a535a65125558d2111d0547733ccf2 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghancasserly/2011/05/12/the-best-diet-plans-out-there-whoever-you-are/?sh=4cfb68881efc | The Best Diet Plans Out There, Whoever You Are | The Best Diet Plans Out There, Whoever You Are
When looking to lose weight, there are a number of serious--and not-so-serious--issues to consider: Will the food taste bad? Will I always be hungry? Will I go broke buying into a meal plan? Will it be convenient? Will I still get to eat out with friends? But for most of us, the bottom line is this: Will I be able to lose weight and keep it off?
Gallery: The Most Nutritious Diet Plans
This week Consumer Reports released its latest data on the leading diet programs on the market. Jenny Craig, Slim Fast and Weight Watchers take the top three spots by way of an aggregation of hundreds of published studies from the past six years. The measuring sticks for the rankings are nutrition, daily calories, drop-out rates and both short- and long-term weight loss scores from published clinical studies.
Unsurprisingly, Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers are also the two best-sellingdiet programs on the market, according to revenues published by MarketData Enterprises, a research and consulting firm that follows the industry.
Regardless of what the latest consumer research says, though, there's no one right answer to which is the perfect plan for everyone, something that agrees with. "People have very different ideas about food and dieting," says Consumer Reports Nancy Metcalf, a senior program editor. "It makes sense to me that one person might do great on Ornish, a mostly-vegan diet with lots of kale and whole grains, while others do great on Atkins eating mainly protein--based on what they like to eat and what they're willing to give up. Take Jenny Craig, for example: You have to buy their food. If you don’t like to cook or want someone else to do the measuring this might be the perfect diet for you. But others don’t like to eat that way.”
Gallery: The Most Nutritious Diet Plans
The truth: Your answers to the tricky dieting questions can make the difference between sticking to a diet or falling off the weight-loss wagon.
One key differentiator in dieting programs is convenience, says Erik Larsen, CEO of Next Advisor, a Web-based product and service review hub which also runs its own research on diet programs. In findings released this month, the Next Advisor list cites Jenny Craig and eDiets.com as leaders in the marketplace based on taste, nutrition, price and convenience. Nutrisystem is singled out as a particularly easy-to-stick-to plan.
"The nice thing about Nutrisystem is that they make it really easy," says Larsen. "Good online tools and food delivery that make the plan simple to follow. If you order their main meal plan they give you three meals plus snacks a day. They’re all shelf-stable meals--which means that even if you travel there's no reason to cheat."
Larsen also points to Weight Watchers for convenience, as the company has increasingly begun working with food manufacturers like Smart Ones to include their Points system information on packaging. This allows more simplicity and clarity when shopping on their diet. The mega-chain restaurant Applebee's, for example, includes Points information on certain menu choices."The Points program is so widely known that dieters can easily find resources to translate the points in their favorite foods," says Larsen. "Plus, you can cook your own meals to be more consistent. It's incredibly convenient."
For some dieters, convenience means not having to plan, and so delivered meals or easy-to-shop-for menus are helpful in sticking to a weight loss plan. On the other hand, for the budget-conscious, diet programs can be narrowed down by their cost. That’s where Nutrisystem shines again. Nutrisystem, which came in seventh on the Consumer Reports list, is the least pricey of the meal delivery diets measured by Next Advisor at just $5.50 a day, including the cost of food. Jenny Craig, Consumer Report’s No. 1 pick, comes in a distant second at up to $19 a day.
Gallery: The Most Nutritious Diet Plans
(Both Larsen and Metcalf stress that no report of diet programs can be fully comprehensive as there is not enough published information to include every plan.)
In most cases, enrolling in do-it-yourself diets where you prepare your own food seem less costly. Larsen points out eDiets.com as a cost-effective online program at $13.47 a month. “eDiets is inexpensive and they have great online tools,” he says. “There are thousands of recipes with cool features like you pick a recipe and it makes a shopping list for you. They have an online fitness tool that shows you how to perform each exercise. And eDiet is also a standout since it’s not one-size-fits-all. Every person fills out a questionaire when you register for the site and it finds the program that best suits your goals and needs.” Lastly, Larsen says, eDiets has a large online community of participants--commiserating and bonding are commonplace.
That sense of community and support, Metcalf says, might make all the difference. While the Consumer Reports study was not able to measure the effectiveness of counseling, community or a support system element in a successful diet program because of the lack of published information, she stresses that it’s something they strive to make note of. Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig and Nutrisystem all are known for their counseling and support systems, whether in the form of weekly meetings, phone counseling or online forums. “Research shows that people who go to counseling have to be accountable,” she says. “Somebody [who is] pushing them to think about their diet and to strive to do better.”
Will the food taste bad? Will I always be hungry? Will I go broke buying diet food? These are the questions, experts say, that can make or break a weight loss plan. Yes, the food may taste bad (Metcalf jokes that Consumer Reports tasters call Nutrisystem “just OK”) but if you can stomach “OK” you’ll do just fine. You might be hungry, but you’re on a diet. Metcalf says to look for programs that incorporate “volumetrics,” or high-fiber foods that help you feel full. (Hint: Jenny Craig is one.) Will you go broke buying diet food? Not if you plan carefully and make the right choice for your wallet.
Bottom line, both Metcalf and Larsen agree: no one diet is perfect for every dieter, and even clinical studies look only at “average” results. “These studies and publications are interesting,” Metcalf says, “But think about the way your friends eat, or your family. No two people are the same, and so no diet is a cure-all.”
Gallery: The Most Nutritious Diet Plans
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1ce033c29a8dc7a82051835bc2a40c0f | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghancasserly/2011/05/23/what-were-not-eating-the-potential-danger-of-gluten-free/ | What We're (Not) Eating: A Potential Danger Of Gluten-Free | What We're (Not) Eating: A Potential Danger Of Gluten-Free
Gallery: Gluten-Free Celebrities 8 images View gallery
When a former high school cheerleading coach from Tuscon, Ariz., first noticed that something was off with her squad, the symptoms were upsetting, but not instantly cause for concern: usually full of teenage energy, at least three girls had recently turned lethargic.
“One of my girls actually fell asleep during practice,” says Lara, who asked to use only her first name to protect the privacy of her squads. Within weeks all three teammates, aged 16 and 18, began to complain about upset stomachs after eating just about anything. Their joints ached, they were always thirsty, consuming liter after liter of water--what their coach thought was an extreme amount, even for athletes. She was even more disturbed that the girls had all dropped a significant amount of weight. The youngest, just 16, weighed in under 100 lbs, slim even for her five-foot-nothing frame.
“I ultimately decided to confront my team as a whole to address what I thought to be pretty obvious signs of eating disorder,” Lara says. But she walked away from the team meeting even more confused and concerned than she had entered it.
It wasn’t anorexia or bulimia, the girls stressed. One of them, she says, burst into tears as she described her recent struggle with a different problem altogether: an allergy to wheat and gluten that can cause severe indigestion, fatigue and an insatiable thirst. “The fact that all three of them were ‘diagnosed’ with a similar problem just seemed unrealistic to me,” she says. “But their parents each came to me separately to confirm the news."
Oat grain husks are a source of gluten
A decade ago, celiac disease, gluten intolerance or the gluten-free lifestyle diet were relative unknowns in the lexicon of dietary conditions and considerations. Today, some 25% of Americans are concerned with gluten consumption. People affected are unable to eat foods with gluten, the storage proteins found in wheat, rye and barley. Celiac disease, the harshest end of the gluten-as-allergan end of the spectrum is a serious condition—but one estimated to affect a scant 1% of the population. In celiac patients, gluten causes their bodies to produce antibodies that attack the intestine. If untreated, the disease can lead to other auto-immune disorders as well as osteoporosis and, in some cases, infertility. Others have less severe reactions to gluten proteins. Alessio Fasano, M.D., director of the Center for Celiac Research at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, estimates some 6% of Americans have some degree of sensitivity to gluten.
Whether confirmed as celiac disease through blood tests or self-diagnosed as intolerance through the process of elimination eating—removing certain foods from one’s diet to identify the potential cause of a symptom--the condition requires treatment by way of a highly restrictive diet. As the digestive symptoms are triggered by consumption of the protein gluten, which is primarily found in foods containing wheat, barley or rye, eliminating all breads, pastas and most alcohols is the first step. In many cases, it also requires monitoring trace elements of protein present in foods or its preparation becomes necessary lest upset stomachs, painful GI tracts or other debilitating symptoms strike.
Elisabeth Hasselbeck has promoted gluten-free living and penned a cookbook
Somehow though, despite the incredibly restrictive nature of the diet, the “G-Free” lifestyle is on the rise, even among those not formally diagnosed. According to marketing firm NPD’s Dieting Monitor, nearly a quarter of American adults are working towards reducing or cutting gluten from their diets. It’s all about cutting out a food group that the general public has come to see as bad. The gluten-free diet has become a sign of enlightened eating, an intellectual diet supported by a slew of studies and a passionate cadre of celebrity supporters. Jenny McCarthy professes gluten contributed to her son’s autism. The View’s Elisabeth Hasselbeck says it caused her years of chronic pain and subsequently penned a cookbook. Gwyneth Paltrow, newly minted domestic lifestyle guru, credits gluten-free eating for her lithe limbs and preternaturally taut stomach. Just last week, tennis star Novak Djokovic sang the praises of his new gluten-free lifestyle, and all but gave the diet credit for his astounding domination of tennis top seed Rafael Nadal.
Amazon.com has added a whopping 178 new gluten-related titles since January of this year, including several children’s books to help youngsters ease into the lifestyle, including Freddy Has An Ouchy In His Tummy. An additional 25 titles are already on pre-order for coming months. According to CNBC and EuroMonitor, gluten free foods racked up $2.5 billion in global sales in 2010 and are predicted to continue to grow as high as $3.4 billion by 2015. General Mills currently has 300 gluten free products on shelves.
It’s no wonder, then, that the young cheerleaders found the increasingly prevalent condition of gluten sensitivities the perfect cover for what turned out to be very real cases of anorexia. By the end of the school year, two out of the three girls were in treatment for eating disorders and the third was taken out of school by her parents.
According to a slew of pro-ana (or Pro Anorexia) sites online, a gluten free diet is an ideal cover for "restrictive eating." A commenter with the handle Ima_Be_Thin on Pro Ana Angels puts it as bluntly as possible in a thread called “best diet trick ever:”
Hi all. I wanted to share my secret with all of you. I told everyone I was going to the Dr. because I was having stomach issues. I never went and then a week l8r I told everyone that it was suspected that I was gluten intolerant. It's extremely common and Gluten is in EVERYTHING. It's in almost all salad dressings, it's in most marinades, soy sauce, breads, noodles, beer, oatmeal, almost All cereals just everything. You can't eat out because you can get glutened through cross contamination as well. You can't eat anything at fast food places except salad. Even Mc D's chicken on salad has gluten. My sister has it and she lost a bunch of weight because there is nothing she can eat and it's just such a common allergy no one 2nd guesses me. Hope u guys are all well and good luck!
Julie Dorfman, director of Nutrition at Philadelphia’s Renfrew Center, the country's first residential facility for the treatment of women with eating disorders, is not surprised. “With the eating disordered population, I’d say that 110% of them are using intolerances or food ‘problems’ as a means to avoid eating these foods in a socially acceptable way. Gluten just happens to be the fad right now.”
Stacey Rosenfeld, Ph.D, a psychologist who specializes in eating disorders is in the camp of those who believe that using medical or pseudo-medical reasons for restrictive diets is often a cover-up for disordered eating. “Nobody wants to be called out on an eating disorder or obsessive eating,” she says, “so anything they can do to hide it, they will.”
**A writer’s aside: Less than a month ago, I was asked to cater a luncheon for a friend of a friend whose dietary restrictions included gluten, dairy, meat, fish and eggs. Her additional preference for low carbohydrates (fruit, potatoes) made planning the menu tricky. Trying to make polite conversation while a 100 lb 26-year-old picked through her watercress salad bordered on impossible. Does she have an eating disorder? Her family and friends say no, and point to multiple conditions including gluten- and lactose-intolerance. Or has she just caught on to Ima_Be’s number one trick?
Rosenfeld and Dorfman agree that setting rules around foods can start a vicious cycle in people prone to eating disorders, or those looking to lose an extreme amount of weight. The gluten-free lifestyle, while life-saving for the minority of Americans who suffer real consequences from grains, can be a slippery slope—or simply a means of denial—for some. According to Dorfman, the mentality is “restrict, restrict, restrict.” “You set a rule that you’re not going to eat dairy, maybe, and the amount of food you can eat becomes limited. Then maybe you’re a vegan. And now you can be gluten intolerant.”
What’s left to eat?
Next to nothing. And for some, that may be exactly the point.
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f0a6e80bb9bf7cde0fda48e5ea79cf09 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghancasserly/2011/06/21/career-love-recession-unemployed-and-engaged/ | From "What Do You Do?" To "I Do" | From "What Do You Do?" To "I Do"
Image by epSos.de via Flickr
Singles say ‘No Thanks’ to unemployed engagements.
“So…What do you do?”
For Chris Darrin, it was the question he dreaded more than any other from an attractive woman. Single, and eight months out from a round of Yahoo! layoffs that left him pinching the last of his savings, Darrin, 31, knew that telling the truth might not be the best for his romantic future. “Nobody wants to marry an unemployed loser,” he says.
While the unemployment rate has hovered around 9% for the past few months, it’s widely known that men were more affected by layoffs in recent years than women. Eighty two percent of jobs cuts over the last four years were in industries like construction and manufacturing, and largely affected one gender: men.
But for ambitious singles like Darrin, where career can measure at the top of their priorities, the “what you do” question can become synonymous with “who you are.” And when “what you do” is send out resumes, unemployment can spell out an equally bleak love life.
ForbesWoman recently teamed up with relationship site YourTango to take a snapshot of where women stand on career, love-life, and the intersection of the two. Not surprisingly, unemployment was a hot-button topic. A telling 75% of survey respondents told us that they would never marry a partner who was unemployed.
Are women being selfish, held back by antiquated notions that their husbands should be capable of supporting them “as long as we both shall live” or simply prudent, anticipating the rising cost of living and cost of raising a family? But more importantly, will there be any long-term effects of “steady paycheck or the highway” mandates when it comes to lifelong commitment?
“It goes back to the classic notion of no money, no honey,” says Bradford Wilcox, director of the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia. “When men are not gainfully employed, couples are often unwilling to move forward to that next step.”
“This viewpoint stems in part from the conventional (albeit old-fashioned) notion that many women expect to be supported -- at least in part -- by their husbands,” says Hilary Black, author of The Secret Currency of Love. “[But] that expectation is shifting, as many households today require two incomes to keep afloat. As for whether it's selfish for women to not want to marry an unemployed man – well, selfish isn't the word. I think it's more of a pragmatic point of view, especially if the plan is to have children. But again, I believe in the concept of a two-way street.”
In defense of our survey respondents, the unemployment and marriage divide is a two-way street, at least from the female perspective. While 75% said they could never marry someone who is unemployed , nearly 65% said they also wouldn’t feel right about tying the knot if they were the one collecting government checks. But as the median number of weeks a person was jobless in 2010 was a little over 10 weeks, and 11% of unemployment stretched to over a year, the long-term effects of putting off marriage if jobs are nonexistent or less than ideal could mean further upticks for the already-climbing marriage age.
Image by Getty Images via @daylife
“We’ve been engaged for over three years now,” says Jessica Lohr, 29, an out-of-work nurse in Boulder, Co., of her fiancé Adam. (“Gainfully employed,” she adds). “It’s just important that we both be able to contribute equally to our life together before it really starts. Until then, no rings.” She laughs. “Well I have one, but Adam won’t till I’m back to work.”
Career (or lack thereof) can be a reason for couples to holding off on marriage while maintaining a single-but-together status that can last for years--just one reason the age at first marriage has been climbing steadily for all racial, ethnic and socioeconomic groups. Unmarried couples made up 12% of U.S. couples in 2010, a 25% increase in 10 years, according to Census data. The median age is now the oldest since the U.S. Census started keeping track in the 1890s: just over 26 for women and 28 for men.
"Couples whose employment opportunities are more precarious tend not to marry," Stephanie Coontz, sociologist with the Council on Contemporary Families said recently. Many "are hedging their bets — waiting to see if they can improve their long-term odds by making sure they're economically and emotionally secure with each other,” which, according to Wilcox is accelerating the rising age of first marriages in the U.S.
Wilcox says that it’s important to point out that marriage-as-business is currently en vogue, despite being somewhat unromantic. “For decades, Americans thought about marriage as a soul mate situation—that instant love connection, passion, sparks. The economic basis of marriage, of establishing a joint bank account, buying a home together, having an economic future together had fallen out of perspective.”
In recent years, it’s back. “The recession has reminded people that marriage may be about love but it’s also about simple economics.”
Check out YourTango's coverage here.
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b6ee3cfe63879cbee53d0fdc8e5901ae | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghancasserly/2011/07/15/expensive-coffee-and-other-lifetime-spending-mistakes/ | The $32,000 Cup Of Coffee And Other Lifetime Spending Mistakes | The $32,000 Cup Of Coffee And Other Lifetime Spending Mistakes
Gallery: Budget Breaking Discretionary Spending 11 images View gallery
When it comes to spending, what’s your morning M.O.?
If you’re like most Americans, you’re stopping on the way to work to grab a cup of coffee.
And all that coffee adds up.
At a national average cost of $1.38 per cup, that’s an annual spending of $358. Spin that out over the course of your career and you might find you’ve dropped over $14,000 on morning joe.
Pick your jaw up off the floor.
“The money we spend every day is so easy to overlook,” says Alexa von Tobel, founder and CEO of LearnVest. “What’s important is to help people really frame the little spending and how it adds up.”
In the interest of scaring you straight, we’ve broken up how all of those little discretionary purchases add up over the course of an average 40-year career of living—and looking--good.
Click here for a breakdown of life’s most ubiquitous budget breakers
“Most women get their hair cut and/or colored six times a year,” says Steph Goldwin, a NYC-based stylist. While costs for these services vary widely from city to city and surely from salon to salon, American Salon, a publication for beauty industry professionals, reported the numbers as $21 for a cut in a salon with fewer than 6 chairs, and $44 for a salon with more than 13 chairs for an average of $32. Annual spend? $192. But Goldwin, whose cuts run upwards of $80 a session, warns that adding a color treatment can add close to $100 to each visit. For simplicity’s sake, we’ll call a cut and color $125. Annually? $750. After 40 years that’s a salon bill of $30,000—how’s that for keeping your roots from going gray?
Are you a woman who falls prey to the weekly manicure trap? At $10 a week you’ll drop $520 each year. After a 40-year career of perfectly manicured fingertips, you’ll have shelled out nearly $21,000.
Buy a daily paper? $11,000.
Go out to lunch during the workweek? $72,000.
Prefer a Starbucks latte to your average cup of coffee? $32,000.
The list continues.
When Nancy Trejos opened her eyes to her spending in 2008 she had already hit rock bottom. Like many young Americans, she was at a breaking point with her finances. She was living in a city on a sub-par salary, trying to live a haute couture lifestyle on a Walmart budget. Student loans, credit card debt, a failed mortgage and a car payment left her deeply in debt, and she still couldn’t bring herself to withhold her morning latte.
Lucky for Trejos, she wasn’t just any single urbanite—she was a Washington Post financial reporter with access to the best personal finance advice at her fingertips. Access that she put to good use as soon as she opened her eyes to her errant spending ways. With the help of a financial planner, she built a pared-down budget that cut nearly all discretionary spending from her life—including the daily Starbucks. “And after that I started living on it,” she told me. “Or trying to--it's not easy to go from not having to plan to having to plan every expense. There were times when I slipped up. There were times when I shouldn’t have gone out to dinner but did.”
Financial whiz and LearnVest CEO Alexa von Tobel
Soon enough she began to see the light at the end of the tunnel as her finances began to turn around and her hard-won savings account began to grow. This is what Learnvest’s von Tobel calls the “silver lining” at taking a hard look at your spending habits.
And she means savings. “It’s not magic, it’s math,” von Tobel says of the benefits of the decision to swap spending for saving when it comes to seemingly small expenses. “It really is alarming how much money you can accrue by saving even just one dollar a day, simply because of compounding interest.”
Consider this exercise, inspired by FORBES contributor Liz Davidson on her blog, Financial Finesse. We’ve used a LearnVest tool to take the cost of your daily coffee ($1.38) and measure its growth if invested in a Roth IRA at 6% over a 40-year career instead of getting guzzled down during your commute. The calculations are crystal clear—and shocking enough to be the perfect note to end on: that $358 a year can either cost you $14,320 in lifetime earnings—or add $58,729 to your retirement savings.
To think if you were a Starbucks drinker! It’s three times as expensive. You do the math.
Now that’s a priceless cup of coffee.
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4977acf315a9dde47fb25ef9f0967d10 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghancasserly/2011/07/27/the-10-toughest-interview-questions/?sh=bec0dde73d40 | Why Are Manholes Round? The 10 Toughest Interview Questions | Why Are Manholes Round? The 10 Toughest Interview Questions
Gallery: 10 Toughest Interview Questions: Answered 10 images View gallery
A job interview at one of Google’s 75 campuses around the globe might seem to have more in common with pledging a secret fraternity than job-hunting. An often months-long interview process, iron-clad non-disclosure agreements and back-to-back hours of interrogation in windowless offices are a matter of course, but the added intrigue of allegedly absurd interview questions takes the experience into cloak-and-dagger territory.
Why are manhole covers round? How do you measure 4 gallons of water using only a 3 and 5 gallon jug? How many gas stations/dogs/windowpanes are there in the United States? According to career community Glassdoor.com, these are a few of the more obscure queries asked of wannabe Googlers.
You have to give it to them, the questions are creative. But are they effective in finding the right candidate? And more importantly, will answering them correctly land you a job?
The Forbes E-book: Find And Keep Your Dream Job The Definitive Careers Guide From Forbes encompasses every aspect of the job hunt from interview to promotion. Written by some of Forbes' best careers and leadership writers, it is available now for download.
“This kind of question is used to determine poise and the ability to think on one’s feet,” says Dale Austin, director of career services at Michigan’s Hope College. “But also to assess creativity and problem-solving.” In other words, Google is looking for a quick answer that proves you’re not only agile but logical, adaptable and math-minded.
That’s all well and good for the analytical minds of Googlers, but veteran Bay-area executive headhunter Chuck Pappalardo says it really all depends on what you’re looking for. For Google, whose ranks Pappalardo describes as “engineer from top to bottom,” they can prove telling. “These kinds of questions measure whether someone can work in the crazy environment [of a young tech firm] and have the right engineering background to make them a good employee. They show quick, analytical thinking, and the ability to pivot.”
But what these “trick” questions can’t highlight is a quality that Pappalardo sees as not only more human, but more vital to the majority of careers--positions where customer or client interaction is essential. That quality? Integrity.
“A good interview requires more than just good questions. It also requires a deep understanding of the traits and behaviors you’re seeking or avoiding,” he says. “By crafting questions designed to elicit “evidence” of the desired characteristics, you’re able to draw conclusions about candidates’ ability to perform in an authentic and meaningful way.”
Fine, if you’re on the questioning side of the desk. But for those of us in the hot seat, prepping for questions designed to “elicit characteristics” can be quite tricky. Pappalardo concedes they can be among the most difficult to answer, because they require much more than rattling off resume points. Here, the 10 toughest—but most telling-- interview questions, and best of all…how to answer them.
1. Why is there a gap in your work history?
“Employers understand that people lose their jobs and it's not always easy to find a new one fast,” says Susan Nethery, the director of student affairs marketing at Texas Christian University, who often advises recent grads on the interview process. When answering this question, list activities you’ve been doing during any period of unemployment. Freelance projects, volunteer work or taking care of family members all let the interviewer know that time off was spent productively.
2. Can you think of a recent problem in which old solutions wouldn’t work?
This question is seeking a creative answer. The interviewer is trying to identify how knowledgeable you are in today’s work place and what new creative ideas you have to solving problems. Ex: Your workplace swears by fax machines for signing contracts. Until the phone lines go down. Did you save the day with a scanner and an emailable .pdf? You may want to explore new technology or methods within your industry to be prepared for. Twitter-phobes, get tweeting. Stat.
3. What would the person who likes you least in the world say about you?
“The people who can’t answer this question are the people I worry most about,” says Jim Link, managing director of human resources at staffing firm Randstad. “I can honestly say I’ve never hired one of them.”
Link says that this tricky question, a twist on the “what’s your worst quality or weakness?” standby, often leads to pregnant pauses as the interviewee struggles to present an answer that won’t present them in a bad light. “I’m not saying answer it quickly, because you should definitely answer it thoroughly.” Highlight an aspect of your personality that could initially seem negative, but is ultimately a positive. His example? Patience—or lack of it. “Used incorrectly this can be bad in a workplace. But always driving home deadlines can build your esteem as a leader.”
4. What is the biggest risk you’ve ever taken?
“Some roles require a high degree of tenacity and the ability to pick yourself up after getting knocked down,” says Dale Austin, director of career services at Michigan’s Hope College. Providing examples of your willingness to take risks is important because it not only shows your ability to fail and rebound, but also your ability to make risky or controversial moves that succeed.
5. Have you ever had a supervisor challenge your behavior? How, and how did you manage that?
Pappalardo shares an anecdote from an interview he recently conducted. “The head of IT was rolling out a new technology to the sales team that required two days of training. He wouldn’t back down despite sales pushing back saying they couldn’t make time for it. Finally the president of the company challenged him about his actions, forced him to rethink his stance. He was a senior executive standing on propriety, not creativity.” In the end, Pappalardo says the executive rebounded and a compromise was reached—but it’s the lesson learned, not the situation, that the interviewer is looking for.
6. Describe a time when you were part of a project or planning team that could not agree…
Lynne Sarikas, director of the career center at Northeastern University’s business school, stresses that questions pertaining to difficulties in the past are a way for potential employers to anticipate your future behavior “by understanding how you behaved in the past and what you learned.” It’s important to clarify the situation succinctly, she says, to explain what specific action you took to come to a consensus with the group and describe the result of that action.
7. If you could change one thing about your last job, what would it be?
Beware oversharing or making disparaging comments about former coworkers or supervisors, as you never know what bridges you may be burning. But Taylor warns that an additional trouble point in answering this query is showing yourself to be someone who can’t vocalize their problems as soon as they arise. A good rule, she says, is to steer clear of people. Problems with technology are safe ground.
8. Explain a database in three sentences to your 8-year-old nephew.
This frequent Google question is no trick, and Taylor says it can be tailored to any sector. “Explaining public relations, explaining mortgages, explaining just about anything in terms an 8-year-old can understand shows the interviewer you have solid and adaptable understanding of what it is they do.” Do your homework, she says, “Know the industry and be well-versed.”
9. Tell me about yourself…
Seems simple, right?
It’s not. “This is difficult because people tend to meander through their whole resumes and mention personal or irrelevant information in answering,” says Dawn Chandler, professor of management at Cal Polytech’s business arm. Jana Fallon, a VP of staffing and recruitment for Prudential, agrees. “Keep your answer to a minute or two at most. Cover four topics: early years, education, work history, and recent career experience. Emphasize this last subject. Remember that this is likely to be a warm-up question. Don't waste your best points on it. Keep to your professional career! (e.g., don't cover your family life, weekend activities, pets, collections, etc.)
10. Why should we hire you?
The most overlooked question—and also the one most candidates are unprepared to answer. Chandler suggests that this is often because job applicants don’t do their homework on the position, and as a result aren’t able to pinpoint their own unique qualifications for the job. What they are really asking is why you are more qualified than everyone else. “You need to review the job description and qualifications very closely to identify the skills and knowledge that are critical to the position,” she says, “and then identify experiences from your past that demonstrate those skills and knowledge.”
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1636416fae3c3c48e4bcd2d6660c9745 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghancasserly/2011/09/29/best-cities-for-women-in-business/ | Best Cities For Women In Business | Best Cities For Women In Business
Gallery: Best Cities For Women In business 20 images View gallery
A by-the-numbers look at the best U.S. cities for female entrepreneurs to get started—and thrive in business.
While women make up 50% of the U.S. adult population and account for 46% of the workforce, when it comes to entrepreneurism, they’re behind the curve. All told, women account for only 35% of all people who get involved in starting a business.
According to a new survey by the Kauffman Foundation on the Entrepreneurship Gender Gap, women trail men not just in share of entrepreneurial activity but in revenues (just 1.8% of female-led firms have revenues of over $1 million vs. 6.3% of male-led firms), patents (5.65% of female firms seek patent approval versus 13% of men) and job creation (36% of women-led firms create jobs to 44% of male-led firms).
It’s not all bad. “The great news is that we’re absolutely seeing the number of female entrepreneurs skyrocket in the last year,” says Leesa Mitchell, author of the Kauffman study, Overcoming The Gender Gap: Women Entrepreneurs As Economic Drivers. As an indicator she references female applicants to Astia, a community of entrepreneurs committed to the development of high-growth women-led firms: “In 2010 there were roughly 100 applicants. This year it was well over 400. The momentum is there—it’s happening, and I think it’s going to mean some significant change on the playing field.”
It is against this backdrop that we present the ForbesWoman first annual list of the top 20 cities for women in business. Where are women best-poised for success and why?
To create our list, we began with the FORBES Best Places For Business and Careers, as ranked by my colleague Kurt Badenhausen, for a pool of cities with high projected job growth, education levels and quality of life, and low cost of business. Then to tighten the scope for female entrepreneurs, we added new metrics: What cities have seen the biggest growth in the number of female-led firms in recent years? Where are the most SBA-backed loans going to women, and where are women turning those loans into million-dollar profits?
With the numbers crunched, it wasn't surprising to see who came out on top. New York and San Francisco--the Alley and the Valley--are the cities where not only are more women launching businesses, but thanks to SBA-backed loans, they have an easier time finding funding and resources which they are quicker to parlay into big-time profits.
“Both cities have strong ties to Web 2.0 activity and social media,” points out Mitchell. “But they’re also among our most diverse cities. In cities where diversity is the norm, we’re seeing women stepping up more readily and far more readily embraced by the community.”
Rachel Balik, a communications writer at Achievers, a San Francisco-based employee rewards company which saw $24.5 million in Series-C funding this week attributes the boom to the unique communal energy of the startup community in Silicon Valley: “Despite being the tech capital of the world, it still has a leftover Hippie vibe, where everyone genuinely wants to support each other. For women, there’s none of that breaking the glass ceiling or trying to get into the old boys club. The playing field is level.”
But just a few steps down the list, real surprises emerge. Tampa, Fla., is known as a city of retirees and not entrepreneurism. But according to research by WomenAble and American Express OPEN, Florida brags the second fastest-growing state in terms of the number of new firms opened between 1997 and 2011. Women-led firms in the city received over $19 million in SBA-guaranteed loans in 2010. On the ground, a keyed in observer of the startup scene in Tampa, Liz Bollinger, the co-founder of Biz-E Chicks, a networking and development community for local women building startups, has seen her own explosive growth. Since 2006 the group’s mailing list has grown from 10 subscribers to well over 500 women entrepreneurs, most entrenched in creative services like copywriting, marketing and photography.
Bethesda, Md., and Washington D.C. both benefit from government contracts in the area, and women’s earnings there are among the highest in the country, so their place among the top cities seems well-deserved. Then there's dark horse Columbus, Ohio. In 2008, FORBES named it the No. 1 pick for up-and-coming tech cities, largely due to the Battelle Memorial Institute, a research center that supports multiple federal agencies including the Department of Energy.
Not surprisingly, in recent years, women-led firms are taking root there as well. Tech Columbus, a members-only resource for tech entrepreneurs in the Columbus metro area has seen an uptick in women-led ventures and has instituted a new series for women in technology. "In fact, we just funded this past spring our first business that was 50% founded and run by a female," says Senior Director of Fund Management Allison Finkelstein. " This business has now gone on to receive Series A funding and, in fact, just came back from California where it was the first Ohio company to ever present at Demo Day." she notes that the number of female investors in Columbus is also on the rise.
But as a Midwestern city, Columbus is in the minority among the top cities on this year’s list. Anna Harvey, the assistant administrator of Women's Business Ownership for the Small Business Administration and head of the 110 Women’s Business Centers (WBCs) across the country, attributes the lack of small business activity among women in the region to a lack of resources. According to American Express OPEN, Iowa and Indiana are at the bottom of the list of growth.
“I see an anecdotal correlation between the number of women in political positions, or positions of power in those communities, with the number of women launching small businesses,” says Harvey. While there isn't hard data to support this theory, Mitchell agrees that it’s valid. “Look at the diversity on the Chamber of Commerce for a city,” she says, “and it will be indicative of the make-up of the startup community.”
But beyond diversity and in some cases, a deeply-rooted traditions in business, what makes one region more friendly to women in business than others? Julie Weeks, president and CEO at WomenAble, the consultancy responsible for the number crunching behind this year’s American Express Open report, points to a few factors that can set cities apart for women in business—above and beyond a city that’s just good for business, period: The legal environment, government procurement goals for women- or minority-owned firms, the existence of women’s business organizations in a community and enabling resources like SBA WBCs.
“The most successful business owner is one who is plugged into her community through organizations. Cities that have a lot of those opportunities,” says Weeks, pointing to the NAWBO and Women’s President Organization as examples of a must-join organizations, “are going to be the cities with people and businesses that rise to the top.”
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65dfc72e628d37dddf254fec5a28623e | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghancasserly/2012/01/12/millennial-women-burning-out-great-for-business-entrepreneurs/ | Millennial Women Are Burning Out At Work By 30... And It's Great For Business | Millennial Women Are Burning Out At Work By 30... And It's Great For Business
Gallery: Boardroom To Business Plan 5 images View gallery
Rochelle Behrens spent five years in political affairs as both a White House intern and an associate at a bipartisan lobbying firm. She loved the political scene but by age 25, something began to bother her. Like many of her Millennial peers, Behrens says she was raised on a diet of encouragement to live her dreams. “The attitude was very much, ’Do what you love and success will follow,’” she says, “and so there’s this pressure to not just succeed at a young age, but to be fulfilled and passionate about your day-to-day.”
For Behrens, that sense of passion was missing. “I began to feel a sense of ennui that I wasn’t doing what I loved.” And that’s when things got interesting. Rather than enter the sophomore slump of career dissatisfaction, Behrens took her life’s savings of $50,000 and struck a new path as an entrepreneur. Her year-old, single-product company, The Shirt, a patented button-down oxford for women that claims to eliminate bust line gapping, has been featured on the Today Show and Oprah Winfrey named it her “Must-Have Fashion Item” of 2011. 15,000 units were sold last year alone. Not bad for a passion project.
In late 2011 a wildly popular ForbesWoman post argued that Millennial women are “burning out” in the workplace by age 30. Citing “career flameouts,” contributor Larissa Faw pointed to McKinsey numbers to illustrate a stark drop-off of women in the corporate ranks: 53% of entry level jobs are held by women (presumably the aforementioned “Millennials”), but women hold only 37% of mid-management positions and 26% in senior management. By this measuring stick, it’s easy to see that not all women are making it up the ladder. Faw points to “unrealistic expectations,” muddied career goals and short-sighted thinking as reasons why unhappy women aren’t advancing.
But what if that’s not a bad thing?
The silver lining of a generation of malcontents just might be an indicator of an explosion of new business. A recent Kauffman poll shows that Gen-Y may be poised to be the most entrepreneurial bunch the world has seen. "Fifty-four percent of the nation's Millennials either want to start a business or already have started one,” says Carl Schramm, president and CEO of the Kauffman Foundation. Paired with data on the rise of female entrepreneurs, the outlook for young women is promising. As Lesa Mitchell, Kauffman’s vice president of innovation pointed out "Women's entrepreneurship is an economic issue, not a gender-equity issue." The next 10 years are being called the 'Decade of the Woman Entrepreneur'.
If Faw’s “unrealistic expectations” are schedule flexibility, increased control and unlimited earning potential, then the jump to entrepreneurship from a traditional climb up the corporate ladder is easily explained for Millennial women. More and more anecdotal evidence points to the search for independence, fulfillment and control as the real driver of Gen-Y women to pursue aspirations of entrepreneurship. According to a 2010 poll conducted by Gen-Y evangelist Lindsey Pollak, which aimed to measure the sentiments of 1,000 Millennial women worldwide, 96% listed being independent as their most important life goal, with more than 87% defining success as the ability to shape her own future. Perhaps this, then is the real reason women are abandoning the corporate ladder to strike out into the often much scarier and demanding arena of entrepreneurship. If necessity is the mother of invention, career dissatisfaction just might be the necessary driver of the next economic boom.
Rebecca Woodcock, whose Cake Health is touted as the “Mint.com of health insurance” and was a darling of TechCrunch Disrupt says she was driven to leave her career in market research to find increased decision making power. “At the end of the day, the person in charge could do what they wanted with my recommendations. I had a strong desire to make a bigger impact on the companies I worked for and often felt stifled. This frustrated me, and as a result, l started something of my own.”
In San Francisco tech startups are as commonplace as cable cars, which mean leaving corporate culture for the greener pastures of self-fulfillment is the natural course of action for young employees. Not surprising then, that, Foodspotting cofounder Alexa Andrzejewski’s decision to strike out echoes Woodcock’s. At only 26, after four years as a design consultant working on the projects of others, control became an issue. “It’s a fact of life in consulting that most of the things you design will never see the light of day, at least not quite as you imagined them,” she says, hedging that her position at Adaptive Path was a “dream job” and both inspired and encouraged her entrepreneurial goals. “I rarely had the opportunity to oversee my research, strategy and design work into the execution phase.”
In stark contrast, at Foodspotting, which was launched in 2010 and has since seen nearly $4 million in funding has given Andrzejewski the opportunity to watch her dreams become reality. “A few months into Foodspotting, I had this moment where I realized that whatever we could imagine, we could actually make real,” she says. Of course, the reverse is also true: with independence comes responsibility. “Being a founder of a project that’s caught on worldwide and grown to almost 2 million downloads has been incredibly satisfying,” she says, “But running your own company comes with this weight of responsibility that I’ve had to learn to embrace.”
For some, that responsibility can level of commitment came as a surprise, but a welcome trade-off. “I lose a lot of sleep over my business,” says Nicole Ravlin, the cofounder of PMG Public Relations, a Vermont-based firm that she launched at 32 after ten years in sales and corporate PR in a bid for better work-life balance after starting a family. “I make just as many compromises, if not more, than I did when I was someone else’s employee. But these compromises are done on my own terms, not to line the pockets of my boss or some corporation. This time the trade-offs are for me.” Chantel Waterbury, founder and CEO of jewelry company Chloe and Isabel, which recently announced an $8.5 million series-A round, and who spent 15 years in corporate merchandising puts it succinctly: I can’t change the fact that I’m going to put 150% of myself into whatever I do. Would I rather do that for someone else, or for me?”
Whether burnt out on corporate culture or inspired by the prospect of better work and better lives, the energy of young female entrepreneurs is palpable. They’re committed not just to the bottom lines of their companies and the fulfillment of their own “have it all” dreams, but to the fostering of a community of female business owners to ensure the trend continues. Andrzejewski, who recently spoke at a Women 2.0 Startup Weekend event, says she’s seeing an explosion of entrepreneurship in women in the past few years with more “energy and optimism than ever.” “I think it’s amazing,” echoes Woodcock. “Women entrepreneurs tend to seek each other out and really feed off of each others’ support.”
But despite all this positive energy, the continued growth of female entrepreneurs is not a sure thing. While research is encouraging on the growing number of women-led startups, it’s clear there’s room for improvement. We know the specific barriers out there--including the inability to access capital, lack of knowledge needed to run a small business and lack of mentors—are higher for women than for men. Women currently comprise only 35.2% of entrepreneurial activity in the U.S., and we’re far less likely to launch firms with revenues of over $1 million than our male counterparts. But with so many Gen-Y women looking to entrepreneurship as a resolution to dissatisfaction with corporate culture, early predictors hint these numbers are poised for change.
Meaning hating your job just might be the best thing that ever happened to you.
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01466e117a9a93186ceb01ceb5ca4eb1 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghancasserly/2012/02/24/bethenny-frankels-skinnygirl-family-expands-to-include-wine-and-vodka/ | Bethenny Frankel's (Skinnygirl) Family Expands To Include Wine... And Vodka! | Bethenny Frankel's (Skinnygirl) Family Expands To Include Wine... And Vodka!
Oh hey, girl(s). Welcome to the family!
Beam Inc. announced today that they are expanding their line of Skinnygirl Cocktails to include vodkas—an addendum to the news reported last week that the Bethenny Frankel branded products would include wine in 2012.
Beam, Inc., the brand behind Jim Beam whiskey acquired Skinnygirl Cocktails from celebpreneur Frankel in March of 2011 for an estimated $100 million. Since then they’ve seen rapid growth of the Skinnygirl brand—from the margarita launched in September 2009--by expanding to include sangria and white cranberry cosmopolitans. Beam says that sales of the brand soared 486% in 2011.
But from ready-to-drink, Beam president Bill Newlands is looking to expand into the wine and spirits categories to further entice the female consumer. “Ten million women in the U.S. drink ready-to-serve cocktails, 26 million consume vodka and 42 million enjoy wine," he told me, "So why not broaden the Skinnygirl line to give women everything they want across the cocktailing spectrum?"
It will come as no surprise that women are considered to be the "deciders" of nearly 70% of alcohol-related household purchases, and Beam has been ahead of its competitors since last spring's Skinnygirl acquisition. At the time, Newlands told me the company's partnership with Frankel was a match made in (big-bucks) heaven. "Bethenny's hit on some megatrends with Skinnygirl that are incredibly attractive right now," he said. "Premiumization, convenience, low calorie and the targeting of the female consumer." Ann Gurkin, a Davenport & Co. analyst, told Dow Jones that the female market for spirits-based beverages has been growing faster than the overall category in the past twelve months.
This new launch, which Newlands told Dow Jones as "well into the eight figures," is one of the largest Beam will undertake this year, demonstrating their continued belief in the Skinnygirl brand--as well as an ongoing commitment to the female consumer. The company has also seen XX-success with its Red Stag flavored bourbon and Courvoisier Rose.
Of course, because it’s Skinnygirl, the wines and vodkas will be as calorie-conservative as its ready-to-drink predecessors. Skinnygirl vodkas—which will hit liquor stores this May-- will feature a non-flavored (called “Naked”) vodka, as well as three flavors -- tangerine, coconut and cucumber, all with under 77 calories per (shot glass sized) serving. In comparison, Grey Goose has 103 calories in each 1.5 ounce serving. As reported last week, the brand is also selling three 100-calorie wine varieties boasting under 100 calories for a 4-ounce serving. Also new for Spring 2012? A fourth ready-to-drink flavor: pina colada.
What a difference a year can make. Last spring, when I profiled Frankel for our Celebrity 100 issue, she hinted at "huge" expansion for the Skinnygirl line and this month's announcement show her (or Beam's) money where its mouth is. Since the acquisition Skinnygirl cocktails portfolio has grown by an astonishing 1,000%.
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a48dc915b49c40d13b582dc72dcc9c05 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghancasserly/2012/05/17/how-jcpenneys-coupon-problem-discounts-women/ | How J.C. Penney's Coupon Problem Discounts Women | How J.C. Penney's Coupon Problem Discounts Women
Early this year JCPenney tried out a new gimmick: they decided to do away with gimmicks. The original 30-second spot of the campaign contained no dialogue, only female consumers screaming “Nooooo!,” at signs and advertisements announcing price reductions. “No more getting up early for door buster deals!” they shouted in spots starring comedian Ellen DeGeneres. “No more slashed prices!” But most importantly, especially to new CEO Ron Johnson, “No more coupons!”
Their customers were annoyed with clipping to save, posited Johnson, and so the retailer went cold turkey on coupons. But just one quarter into the experimental new strategy, sales have dropped; JCPenney reported a $163 million loss in the first 90 days of the year and executives at the company were forced to link the coupon strategy to a 10% drop in customer traffic. They didn’t realize how “into” coupons their customers really were, said COO Mike Kramer. Johnson was shocked at their commitment to the “little scraps of paper.”
It seems like Johnson and his team overlooked one critical component in the decision to eliminate coupons from Penney’s marketing strategy: the female consumers who make more than 67% of mall purchases each year.
Immediately after the campaign began airing, customers began voicing their concern. "I am complaining about the obnoxious television commercial aired announcing your new pricing campaign," wrote a shopper on consumeraffairs.com. "It has to be one of the most irritating, annoying commercials ever created for television. If you think this will make anyone shop at your stores, you are mistaken.” Many others spoke out on JCPenney’s fan page on Facebook with no response until this week’s earnings announcement.
But can Johnson really be blamed for underestimating the budget-conscious female consumer? His resume reads more attuned to the high-end retail than the mommy market. During his 10-year stint at Apple he was credited for developing The Genius Bar. At Target he helped introduce “cool” to the retailer; he was responsible for the introduction of designer lines like Michael Graves for Target.
Target, to be sure, is a believer in coupons—they use them to predict purchasing patterns in consumers quite effectively. But they’re not the only ones in the know. Well-documented research shows that women find coupons, sales promotion codes and other time-sensitive incentives to be not just relevant, but essential. A recent study by Burst Media entitled “What Mom Likes Online” found that moms in particular are more than willing to click to get coupons– 45% of moms age 18-34 and 55% moms age 35-54 make it part of their daily routine.
“Taking coupons away from a couponer is like taking vodka away from an alcoholic,” says Faith Popcorn, a consumer trend strategist and CEO of BrainReserve in Manhattan, who stresses that at this particular moment in time, savings are important to every consumer, from the richest to the poorest, especially where coupons are concerned. Far from annoyed with couponing, she says that we’ve become a nation obsessed. “Everybody’s hooked on the things,” she says. “You just can’t make a move like that without asking people first—and he couldn’t have asked.”
Steven Boal, CEO of Coupons.com, knows a thing or two about the importance of coupons to female consumers: 71% of users on the site are women and he’s quick to point out that whether she’s the one who presents them at the cash register or not, she’s the key influencer in the vast majority of household purchasing decisions. “She’s influencing if not dictating every major purchase,” he says.
From online coupons to store circulars, coupons are a powerful tool for reaching these household influencers and convincing them to try new products. Boal confirms: “When there’s competition in a market, the retailer that delivers a coupon for both e-commerce transactions and in-store purchases tends to get a higher share of the customer wallet.”
But for JCPenney, admitting that the coupon strategy was short-sighted may not be enough to fix their very-public faux pas. “I'm offended that your COO wants to ‘wean me off’ those ‘scraps of paper,’” writes one customer on the store’s Facebook wall. “Those scraps of paper are what allow me to feed my family.” She adds that she plans to take her home goods purchases to competitor Kohl’s “since they (like me) ♥ coupons.”
Popcorn, who is the author of a book titled “Eveolution: The Eight Truths of Marketing to Women,” says that Johnson and company are going to have to do some serious damage control to win back angry customers. One of the principals she discusses in her book is the importance of branding with your consumer rather than to her. “what they failed to do was to ask their customers what they wanted. They just went ahead and did it—and now they’re feeling the repercussions of that.”
So what should they do? Popcorn says DeGeneres could play a key role. “I’d come back with a very strong apology campaign showing Ellen cutting coupons in secret, and making it very clear how important these pieces of paper are to their consumer base,” she says. “He needs to get on the same page as his consumers before he alienates them forever.” Rather than deprive them of something they value, she says Penney’s execs should focus on “surprising and delighting” their customers through the very promotions and gimmicks they hoped to do away with just three months ago.
“He’s got to give them stuff; he’s got to be couponing to the max,” she says. “He may consider coupons annoying bribes, but he’s got to know that they’re bribes that work.” They may be distasteful to his upper-class male sensibilities, but to atone Johnson first has to realize that, when it comes to keeping customers, his tastes aren’t the ones that matter.
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72c6e23bebc3255ce55c017b7b5a205f | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghancasserly/2012/05/22/facebook-wedding-photographer-it-was-a-surprise-for-me-too/ | Facebook Wedding Photographer: 'It Was A Surprise For Me Too!' | Facebook Wedding Photographer: 'It Was A Surprise For Me Too!'
AP Photo/Facebook, Allyson Magda Photography
How photographer Allyson Magda is tapping into Zuckerberg’s social network.
When 33-year-old wedding photographer Allyson Magda was tapped to bring her camera to Mark Zuckerberg’s Palo Alto home on Saturday, May 19th, she, like everyone else who was invited that day, was under the impression she’d be photographing the surprise graduation party of girlfriend Priscilla Chan. Of course, it’s been well-documented by now that the Zuckerbergs employed an old celebrity bait-and-switch tactic for their marriage: Promise your friends a party, then spring a wedding on them. Everybody’s on hand, but no gossip leaks to the press. (Although our very own Brian Caufield did call Zuck out on Friday for his party planning skills).
As a result of all that secrecy Magda wasn’t given much time to be awestruck at the notion of photographing the tech world’s wedding of the year. “As time got closer, I put a few pieces together,” she says of her sneaking feeling that what had been described as a graduation celebration might be something a bit more romantic. “A few days before I finally figured it out,” she says. “It was surreal!” But while the wedding was a secret affair, one thing’s for sure: Allyson Magda’s photo business stands to benefit from being “friended” by Facebook.
Magda, who marks her 13th anniversary as a wedding photographer this spring, studied photography at the University of California at Santa Cruz and, like everyone close to Saturday’s event, agreed not to disclose any details about the celebration or the newly married (and new to NASDAQ) couple. Very few details are known. The menu included sushi from two local restaurants and the dessert course featured mouse-shaped chocolates which is said to be a nod to the couple’s first date. Zuckerberg wore a suit and designed his bride’s wedding ring, a simple ruby. By all reports, for a high-profile affair, it was far from lavish: Zuck’s pal, Greenday’s Billy Joe Armstrong, even played for free.
But once Magda and her two assistants got over the shock of the billionaires’ backyard nuptials on Saturday, they got down to business. “Since it was such a surprise, I didn’t exactly have a lot of time to digest the facts,” she says, “But then I started thinking: they hired me for a reason, and so I simply need to do what I do at every wedding.”
Talk about a woman who knows her worth, although she’s far from blasé about the experience. “I was obviously completely honored and thrilled at this amazing opportunity,” she told FORBES.
An opportunity, to be sure, that may change her reputation as an understated—and under-the-radar—wedding professional. Until now, Magda has relied on word of mouth from an “amazing” client list for references and new opportunity. Like Zuckerberg, she knows the power of the social network for business. “It’s easy to buy something from someone your friend endorses,” she says, both online and off. “Word of mouth has been the best promotional strategy for my business. Past clients not only come back year after year, [but] they also tell other potential clients—in their same socio-economic status—about my work.”
But with a couple we last valued at $17.5 billion her client roster, and millions of impressions of her work flying across the web this week, she just might have entered a new socio-economic stratosphere. Only time will tell what word-of-mouth references Mr. and Mrs. Zuckerberg will send her way, but one thing’s for sure: she has a very busy wedding season ahead of her. “Let’s put it this way,” she says of a flood of new requests that have come her way since Saturday. “I’m pretty far behind in my emails!”
Facebook stock prices have been fluctuating by the minute since last week's IPO. To track the couple's wealth in real time, check out FORBES Real Time Billionaires.
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4c9ace6f37115e9b42c9713d03a8eaf1 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghancasserly/2012/07/02/why-womens-networking-groups-fail/ | Why Women's Networking Groups Fail | Why Women's Networking Groups Fail
I’ve always taken a bit of a contrarian's view when it comes to networking for women. Sure, I join them, but it troubles me that these events and the groups that host them are self-segregated groups meant to help women to succeed by building a solid community of women to help lift each other up.
No matter how many meetings I attend and business cards I pocket, I can’t stop asking myself this question: can a women’s networking group help a young woman break into the boy’s club, no matter how many strong their numbers are?
Three years into covering women, business and the myriad struggles that entails, I’m not so sure I buy it.
So when I read a recent HBR blog post by Athena Vongalis-Macrow who offered four questions to ask when assessing the value of a network, I was struck by how helpful they were in looking both at my own professional networking groups and the many I come across on the job. Where too many focus on the strength of numbers, the real sign of a healthy—and helpful—professional networking group is who’s there and how they communicate.
Who is in the network?
Research from IDEO and Stanford University identifies the ideal make-up of a network: “Part pack-rat, part librarian and part Good Samaritan.” The pack rat brings documents and resources collected over a long career that can be tapped to create new ideas and connections; the librarian brings the latest data and pertinent information; the Good Samaritan, though, might be the most integral player—she’s there to help out at every turn. According to IDEO this combination is the best balance of resources, information and good intentions to make a network not just functional, but beneficial to all members. Missing one part? You might want to move on.
How well does the network connect?
Does your network get together on the first Wednesday of the month and operate with a policy of radio silence for the next 30 days? Many do, limiting networks and connections to within the confines of events. For the young women among us (read: me) this can leave you unsure of whether or not to follow up with that brilliant executive you met. Will your persistence annoy her? Will she think you’re rude? Maybe better to wait till next month…
But healthy networks don’t limit themselves to monthly (or worse, quarterly) meetings. Vongalis-Macrow describes a more functional group that’s “Like a spiderweb,” drawing many different people together. What kinds of events and on-going projects? Look for “Invitation-only reading groups that led to research collaborations, grant applications, and proposals for joint books,” she writes. “These meetings and projects could entail a senior person working with someone more junior in a mentoring capacity. Joining a network that has professional associations means that the connections can share and enhance common goals, goodwill, commitment, and interests.”
Is there functional communication?
“If your network operates under an ethos of support,” Vongalis-Macrow writes, “It means that your frustrations and disappointments will be heard in order to resolve problems, lend support, and provide assistance to overcome your frustrations and prevent burnout.”
I don’t think I’m only speaking for myself when I say we aren’t always “our best” when we straggle into networking events at six thirty on a weeknight. Our feet might hurt, our days might have been stressful, we might even have gotten reamed out for leaving the office before seven—even though we came in early to make up the difference, for god’s sake. If your networking group isn’t a place where you can share your concerns—even your frustrations and defeats—then it may not be the most fostering environment for your career aspirations. Best-case scenario? One where you can share the events of the day with a group member, and be encouraged by their response, advice or future solution to the problem.
Who are you talking to?
Looking for groups whose members are well-connected should take precedence over groups who are simply large or well-publicized. Vongalis-Macrow uses the example of the golden skirts, a women’s networking group with a super track record of placing women on corporate boards in Norway. “Members of the golden skirts, who are also members of other networks, are able to represent and speak on behalf of their other golden skirt members among a diverse range of other business, corporate, and education networks,” she writes. “They are almost twice as likely to be invited to other boards.”
Of course, I’d add what Vongalis-Macrow left out: the importance of diversity, specifically of the gendered variety. Because of that oversight, don’t think her post presents the whole picture. I’d revamp this list with “Who are you talking to?” double-underlined, bolded and italicized. Because in my experience, networking is about proximity to power. It’s not called the “corporate ladder” for fun—there is a serious element of climbing to do to succeed in any industry, and the value of networking is a well-placed helping hand to pull you up. And those hands—it’s been well-documented so it’s not just me saying it—most happen to belong to old white men.
While I love having cocktails with the mid-level reporters from my organization and others in the city, the medicine I actually need in networking is having conversations with editors who are far my senior. Veterans who understand the big picture of the business and, most importantly, could someday be helpful in landing a plum position higher up the food chain.
Still, Vongalis-Macrow’s list is valuable, and helps to put into perspective the fact that not every network—women’s group or not—is created equal. How does yours stack up? Do you feel comfortable with the women (and hopefully men) in your professional groups? Do you share your defeats along with your triumphs? Ask yourself these four questions and let me know in the comments how your organization stacks up. Who knows? Maybe I’ll join.
Talk to me here, on Facebook or on Twitter.
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a89377c38741d34934dfec8666272439 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghancasserly/2012/07/16/marissa-mayer-named-yahoo-ceo-new-most-powerful-woman-in-tech/ | Marissa Mayer Named Yahoo! CEO: New Most Powerful Woman In Tech? | Marissa Mayer Named Yahoo! CEO: New Most Powerful Woman In Tech?
Gallery: Marissa Mayer 17 images View gallery
By naming engineer Marissa Mayer its new president and CEO, Yahoo! puts its 37-year-old leader in the running for the title of the most powerful woman in tech.
Marissa Mayer, 37, Google’s vice president of location and search, has been named the newest CEO of Yahoo!, rocketing her to the front of the line of the most powerful women in tech, not to mention one of the youngest CEOs on the books of the world’s largest companies. And with degrees in symbolic systems and computer science, she’s not just an executive figurehead at the top.
With her appointment as the president and CEO of Yahoo, Mayer becomes the successor to a series of failed leaders at the company, most recently Scott Thompson, who was fired shortly after it was revealed he had fudged his resume. But it also makes her the newest addition to the powerful—and rapidly growing—women’s club in Silicon Valley. Among the most prominent new additions to female leaders, her computer science background sets her above the competition.
Meg Whitman, named CEO of Hewlett Packard in September, holds an M.B.A. and a degree in economics from Princeton. Sheryl Sandberg, the COO of Facebook who finally took a seat on the company’s board of directors in June also has a degree in economics and an M.B.A. from Harvard. In fact, of her peers in the upper echelon of Silicon Valley, only Virginia “Ginny” Rometty, who took the lead at IBM in October, holds degrees in tech. She graduated from Northwestern University with a bachelor's degree in computer science and electrical engineering.
Mayer, though, has never been interested in the conversation surrounding “women in tech.” when we spoke recently she stressed that her interest is, and always will be, putting the most qualified technical talent to work regardless of gender. In fact, she’s grown prickly over the question “where are the women in tech?” in the past. One can only imagine that’s a question the new CEO will be hearing a lot more of as her public profile rises at Yahoo!
According to the Times, today will be her last day with Google and will report to work at Yahoo! on Tuesday.
Mayer, a self-described “geek” and Stanford-trained engineer who was Google’s 20th employee, was tapped to lead the company’s location services, including Google Maps, in October when she moved from VP of search to VP of local and location-based products. The move put her squarely in charge of the Internet giant's next key growth driver: maps, geolocation services and local advertising. She was also named to Google's operating committee, an elite group of executives that oversees every major product launch and decision.
This spring she was the force behind Google+ Local, an integration of the Web giant's search technology with its social media network to capitalize on what she calls "this amazing local/mobile/social moment." The service, which is primarily a mobile one, recommends places "based on places you've liked and reviewed in the past, places your friends have liked."
In a statement, Mayer says: “I am honored and delighted to lead Yahoo!, one of the internet’s premier destinations for more than 700 million users. I look forward to working with the Company’s dedicated employees to bring innovative products, content, and personalized experiences to users and advertisers all around the world.”
According to Yahoo!, Mayer's appointment signals a "renewed focus on product innovation to drive user experience and advertising revenue" for the company, whose leading properties include Yahoo! Finance, Yahoo! Sports, Yahoo! Mobile, Yahoo! Mail, and Yahoo! Search.
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dfdcb8f0a43d0f41031f903c23fba4c5 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghancasserly/2012/08/10/janet-napolitanos-office-sexual-discrimination-claims-are-unfounded/ | Janet Napolitano's Office: Sexual Discrimination Claims Are 'Unfounded' | Janet Napolitano's Office: Sexual Discrimination Claims Are 'Unfounded'
Gallery: Janet Napolitano 56 images View gallery
A 21-page federal complaint filed in May made headlines this week alleging that Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano (FORBES No. 15 Most Powerful Woman in the World) has been discriminating against male employees of the department in favor of female cronies.
According to the NY Daily News, “blistering federal discrimination suit accuses agency honcho Janet Napolitano of turning the department into a female-run ‘frat house’ where male staffers were banished to the bathrooms and routinely humiliated.”
Most specifically, the suit, filed by James T. Hayes, a special agent of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (A DHS office) in New York City, alleges that under Secretary Napolitano’s direction female staffers were routinely promoted over males. Additionally, female officials under the DHS umbrella are accused of fostering caustic and “sexually offensive” workplaces for men.
Brian P. Hale, the Director of Public Affairs for ICE, the DHS department hardest-hit by these claims, responded to a request for comment, saying: “ICE doesn't comment on unfounded claims and will respond to Mr. Hayes’ allegations as appropriate through the judicial system.”
According to Hayes’ claims, Dora Schriro, who now runs New York City’s Department of Corrections, was named special adviser to Secretary Napolitano on Detention and Removal Operations despite having no “experience in managing a federal law enforcement department.” Hayes formerly served as the director of ICE Detention and Removal Operations in Washington D.C., but says he was demoted following Secretary Napolitano’s appointment to the top DHS post in 2008. Schriro, he says, began her climb in his stead.
One can’t help but to detect a whiff of jealousy in the details surrounding the suit. Schriro, as it turns out, previously led both Missouri and Arizona’s Department of Corrections, which does put her close to Napolitano (the DHS Secretary served as Governor of Arizona between 2003 and 2009 while Schriro was running the DOC) but does sound a lot like law enforcement experience. Further, Hayes' allegations don’t seem to jive with his own career trajectory. He’s held high-ranking assignments prior to- and post-2008, including his current position in New York where he oversees 8,500 government employees and a budget of $2.5 billions.
But Hayes' issues with Napolitano don’t stop with his own hampered career path. He also names Suzanne Barr, the current chief of staff for the ICE, and alleges she knowingly created a hostile environment for her male staffers.
Among the complaints detailed in the suit: in May, 2009, Barr “moved the entire contents of the offices of three employees, including name plates, computers and telephones, to the men’s bathroom at ICE headquarters,” and once called a male employee and screamed at him using “sexually humiliating language" including saying she wanted his "c--k in the back of [her] throat."Hayes also claims Barr once stole a male staffer’s Blackberry and sent emails to a high-ranking woman indicating he “had a crush on [her] and fantasized about her.”
If there’s truth to the allegations, they certainly could be “blistering” for the DHS, and for Napolitano’s credentials as a fair and focused leader of the third largest department in U.S. politics. The temperature in Washington, however, and among staffers under the secretary’s purview seems cool and collected on the issue. With public relations aplomb, they responded quickly to a request for comment and seem assured that Hayes' claims will be proven false in short order.
Still, for a prominent female politician, allegations that her leadership could be tainted by discrimination of any kind are problematic. Napolitano, who I recently spoke with, is keeping her focus forward. This summer she testified before congress on the three biggest threats facing the nation: aviation procedures, cyber security and homegrown violent extremism.
The lawsuit was first reported Wednesday afternoon by Debbie Schlussel, a conservative blogger.
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9b215007dbd39d8212a3f47faac76a22 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghancasserly/2012/09/06/brogrammer-startup-culture-addressed-at-democratic-national-convention/ | 'Brogrammer' Startup Culture Addressed At Democratic National Convention | 'Brogrammer' Startup Culture Addressed At Democratic National Convention
This morning at the Democratic National Convention, Startup America hosted a panel titled “Creating Jobs: Female Founders” that underscored the growing opportunities (and lingering stereotypes) affording women in the entrepreneurial landscape, and I have to admit—although thrilled to see women representing, I found myself less-than-impressed.
The panelists, which included USA Network’s Kay Koplovitz, Molly Barker, founder of Girls on the Run and Change the Ratio lead Rachel Sklar, rattled stats on women graduating colleges more than ever before and shared the usual platitudes about the need for gender diversity (“we need to move the needle!” “the full participation of women’s talent in the marketplace”). I very nearly turned off the uStream video and went back to work.
And then I heard the question on brogrammers, one of the hot-button issues of women in tech for the past 12 months--and one I took an interest in after Millennial product manager Shanley Kane was attacked on Twitter for calling out a culture of oppressive sexism in Silicon Valley. Sklar, who acts as an adviser to a slew of young female entrepreneurs, was quick to address the issue.
“Listen,” she said, “Brogrammer culture isn’t new. We’ve seen this “bro” culture in every industry where there are bros.” At this the panelists laughed together; as executives in a variety of industries they know the unspoken truth of Sklar’s statement—that there isn’t an industry in existence that bros haven’t inhabited.
That there is a predominance of men in tech startups isn’t a singular phenomenon. Men outnumber women in finance, medicine and the legal arena. In those professions, but in them the “bro” culture is simply called sexism. That the young princes of the startup scene—think Facebook, Zynga and Instagram—who dominate business news coverage are twenty-something in hoodies, drinking beer and surrounding themselves with attractive young women is really nothing new (except for the hoodies). Instead, the brogrammer debate (“does it exist?” “is it as bad as it seems?”) is only the latest—and perhaps most public—look at workplace sexism in recent years.
“That we’re seeing a reactionary notion that it’s actually not the coolest workplace environment to drink beer and put your headphones on and code and have hot babes serve you beer is actually a real sign of progress,” Slar told her panelists this morning. “I’m used to seeing provocative, sexist comments being made all the time without backlash. This backlash is encouraging.”
She likens the online reaction to “brogrammers” to that against Rep. Todd Akin’s recent remarks about “legitimate rape.” Politicians regularly make statements that are less-than progressive, particularly about woman, their bodies and healthcare. But rather than going unrecognized, Akin’s comments caused a firestorm on social media that demanded the mainstream news outlets take note. This morning, a Google search on Akin returns over 62 million mentions, and according to Social Mention they’re overwhelmingly negative.
“In the context of programmers,” Sklar says, “It’s a backlash against sexism and a new awareness that this brogrammer stereotype isn’t indicative or representative of the startup culture as a whole. And that can only be considered a good thing.”
I’d go one step further than Sklar. The fact that startup culture and its young (albeit highly funded) entrepreneurs are the new demi-gods of the business world means that culture-watchers are paying attention. And the fact that the insudstry is so self-aware and present on social media is only compounding our interest. As a result, we’re looking to startups to set the bar for acceptable behavior—particularly when it comes to gender parity. And by “acceptable” we don’t just mean they accept women into the club—but a positive environment for both men and women to create.
Koplovitz chimed in with her own suggestion of what the new acceptable normal might look like—and I can only assume she was half-kidding. “Women don’t like the up all night, smelly armpits, chugging redbull coding nonstop environment,” she said. “Now if only we could make a coding event a little more like a spa.” (Cue my giant eye roll).
But the USA chief ended on a more realistic note for women, that’s indicative of what’s happening both in big business and entrepreneurship. “Look,” she said, “I just want to see parity for women; to have equal access and to be treated with respect in the workplace. And we’re getting there. It’s no secret that we’re late to the game, that we have work to do, that we have to prove ourselves… but we’re breaking through.”
The brogrammer conversation is indicative of real change. As Sklar would say, it’s a conversation that’s been not happening for more than a decade. A whisper would be progress. Debating the issue at what’s arguably the most important political convention of the year is a breakthrough on a whole new level.
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a67b5e94261ee1fcb4e38e0ac8e661ac | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghancasserly/2012/11/01/drybar-how-one-woman-and-a-hair-dryer-became-a-20-million-operation/ | Drybar: How One Woman And A Hair Dryer Became A $20 Million Operation | Drybar: How One Woman And A Hair Dryer Became A $20 Million Operation
It's 11 a.m. on a Tuesday in Drybar's underground salon in the basement of Manhattan's Le Parker Meridien hotel. With Adele belting it out over the sound system, rising above the roar of nine blow-dryers on full blast, women ages 21 to 62 are spun out sleek and smooth. One by one the stylists spin their clients to face the mirror and show the results. "You look incredible," says Drybar founder Alli Webb to a middle-aged attorney who admires herself. "Great job," Webb nods to the stylist, who, in turn, sighs to a co-worker, "God, she's amazing."
What's amazing is how Webb, a 37-year-old mother of two, has made a $20 million (sales) business out of nothing but hot air. Four years ago she was peddling her services from a 2001 Nissan Xterra, driving around L.A. "Between gas and babysitters, I doubt I ever broke even," she recalls. Today, with 23 salons in six states (26 by year-end), Drybar is styling the hair of more than 50,000 women every month. At 40 bucks a pop--for just a blowout; no scissors, no dyes--it adds up. Drybar has the usual expenses of labor, real estate and utility bills. But each store nets 15% to 35%, says Michael Landau, who is CEO and Webb's brother. Hair salons usually clear 11% or so.
The Drybar phenom may feel like a throwback to the weekly hairdo our moms (or grandmothers) used as a way to pamper themselves. But its success rests on a replicable formula that Webb, husband Cameron, Landau and architect friend Josh Heitler have labored to perfect--down to every step along the 40-minute process of beautification, the decor and layout, even the soundtrack playlist. "I know what works, I know what doesn't," says Webb. "What we're really selling is self-esteem."
Brother Michael, 41, had doubts--especially after Alli came to him begging for $250,000 to open her first location in Brentwood, Calif. "Alli has always been overly confident that this was a service that women wanted, needed and would love," says Landau, who served as a vice president of brand marketing at Yahoo before cofounding his own marketing company. "What does a guy with no hair understand about why a woman would need a blowout, much less why she couldn't do it herself or would ever pay for it?"
The first few weeks turned his shiny head. In pro forma projections he and Webb had figured it would take 20 to 30 blowouts a day to keep the doors open. But demand blew the doors off--even before they opened. After an e-mail blast went out, alerting Brentwood women about Drybar's opening, thousands of appointments were in the books--six weeks' worth in just eight hours by Landau's count. He laughs in hindsight. Twenty to 30 blowouts "would be the single worst day we've ever had."
Within weeks they were overwhelmed, understaffed--and in danger of losing business. They'd planned on answering the phones at the receptionist desk like any other salon but wound up not being able to hear clients over the noise of the blow-dryers, resulting in dozens of missed appointments. Within weeks they switched to a VoIP phone system and hired a receptionist to take calls in her living room and then communicate with the salon over instant message--a process still in place today, although the call center now employs more than 50 customer-service reps. Thanks to a classy, simple website designed by Alli's husband, Cameron, you can book and pay for a blowout online.
Still, as Drybar began to scale up, new concerns surfaced. Three new stores opened in 2010--in West Hollywood, Studio City and Pacific Palisades--while Landau held his breath. He worried the new locations weren't chic enough and that the concept wouldn't translate. "I really thought the women of Brentwood just had too much time, too much money and cared too much about their appearances," he says. "Turns out it's universal."
Rapid expansion strained the war chest. Since each new outlet cost $500,000, Drybar looked to franchising in late 2010, and quickly moved into seven new markets in California, Georgia, Texas and Arizona. They turned, for the most part, to longtime friends--even a pair of Landau's fraternity brothers who head up Atlanta operations. But the model was short-lived. "It was a great growth vehicle for us, and we couldn't ask for a better group of partners," says Landau. "But in the end you can't control consistency when they're just not you."
Consistency is all. Every Drybar looks roughly the same: a plate of cookies and a large pitcher of flavored water at the front desk; soft, warm (read: flattering) lighting; furniture and design elements in white, buttercup and slate. Clients sit facing a U-shaped or single-stretch bar, with their backs to the mirrors since no woman wants to see herself until she's properly done up. They can listen to music (the daylong tape of different tunes ensures that stylists won't lose their minds) or watch chick flicks with subtitles. As for the "station," where a woman gets worked on, "we don't compromise on that and it never changes," says Heitler, who has a 5% share of the business. "There's a lot of embedded knowledge from the very first location about the choreography of our blowout."
Ah, yes, the choreography (in fact, more like a square dance than Alvin Ailey). It begins with a consultation at the "bar," where a stylist asks you which of five looks--all coyly named after girlie drinks--you want. Then you're escorted to a quiet washroom in the rear where your hair gets washed and wrapped in a bun. Would you like a drink (water, coffee, champagne)? Any allergies to hair products? Then to work, starting with the front, blow-drying into curls and pinning them to the top of your head, sectioning your hair and pulling it in front of your shoulders to make finishing touches in precisely the same way. Right before you're done, out come the pins--"Are you ready?"--and you're spun around. A little readjustment, followed by extra spray. "Doesn't she look great/fabulous/so good?" your stylist addresses her peers.
All stylists--there are now 1,000--undergo a week of training at the hands of ten master coif-feuses. That cadre endures a month of tough drilling with Webb, learning her techniques and sensibilities, as well as how to teach her method to new hires.
If "the Drybar way" is science, it's hardly particle physics. The barrier to entry is so low that "we're seeing new players come to the market in droves," says Mintel market research analyst Amy Ziegler. "It's about whether one or two players really emerge from the group."
That's where Drybar may have an edge. Aside from being first, Webb has been fast. Same-store sales will jump 30% this year over last. While not all stores are profitable yet (and the company as a whole still loses money), Landau insists most earn back the $500,000 investment within 12 months. A $16 million cushion from Castanea Partners in Boston will help finance growth. Next year Drybar plans to open 17 new locations for a total of 43.
Landau scoffs at the competition: "A Starbucks is still a Starbucks, no matter how many other coffee shops open on the block." Turning Drybar into a comparable brand will take all of his highly caffeinated marketing magic and then some.
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Splitting Hairs
The blow-dry wars are heating up--and differentiation is tough when you're dealing with the likes of BloPro, MyBlow, BloBar and Blowlux. Some of Drybar's rivals:
Blo fired the first salvo, launching in Vancouver, B.C. in 2007 and heading south in 2010; it now has 23 locations.
DreamDry is celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe's entry, recently launching a 2,000-square-foot location on Manhattan's 21st Street.
Frederic Fekkai Blowout Bar charges $65 to $85, depending on hair length and thickness, and offers a summer special for a mere $50.
Hair Party 24hr really means they're open all the time, but the rates go up the later you and your hair drop by.
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3793960d790097b19ee1d5951575afb5 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghancasserly/2012/12/06/sandberg-ranzetta-roizen-success-secrets-of-silicon-valley-women/ | The Five Success Secrets Of Silicon Valley Women | The Five Success Secrets Of Silicon Valley Women
Sheryl Sandberg? "There's nothing flashy about her. She's all business."
When Deborah Perry Piscione, the serial entrepreneur behind Betty Confidential and the creator of the networking powerhouse Alley To The Valley, moved from Washington DC to Silicon Valley in late 2006, she experienced a culture shock that she never expected.
From their style of dress to the way they do business, Silicon Valley entrepreneurs were a breed all their own, she says, but it was the women who really opened her eyes. “I hadn’t met women like this before,” says the former lobbyist. Overnight Perry Piscione had to learn a new language and adapt to the lifestyle of the West Coast entrepreneurs she found so inspiring. Six years and two companies later, she’s become fluent.
In her forthcoming book, “Secrets Of Silicon Valley,” Perry Piscione writes the tell-all on the most innovative and success-driven community in the world, from the places of power where deal-making goes down to insider tips on building a team and raising investments. It won’t be available until April 2013, but Piscione says the demand has already been so high—particularly internationally—that her publisher has given her the okay to speak to us far in advance. What’s the secret of “Secrets?”
Everyone’s looking to recreate the Valley,” she says, from booming tech towns in India to pockets of America where innovation is beginning to take root even in corporate positions. There’s a lot to be learned, she says, particularly for women. “The women of Silicon Valley are truly a force to be reckoned with. From the way they walk, talk and dress to the way they treat each other, the secrets we can learn from them are invaluable.”
They ask big.
“We know too surely that women ask for too little money when seeking funding for their businesses,” says Perry Piscione, but she’s seen the women of Silicon Valley start to self-correct when they approach the investors of Sand Hill Road. “The strategy is asking for twice as much as you believe you’ll need.”
But it isn’t just in fundraising that Perry Piscione says Silicon Valley women excel in the “ask.” Several years ago friend and venture capitalist Heidi Roizen mentioned she was having trouble adding another corporate board seat to her resume. “I sort of shyly asked her if she’d be okay admitting this to the women at an Alley to the Valley event,” she says, thinking Roizen might be embarrassed to share that she was struggling. Roizen’s response was the opposite. “She said ‘Of course I want to talk about it!’”
Long story short, Roizen received two leads for board seats from audience members. Perry Piscione says the secret of the ask is a rare combination of Silicon Valley hubris and humility. “With all of the hubris that comes with excelling in Silicon Valley comes the humility to ask for exactly what you need.”
They don’t run for Homecoming Queen.
“I wouldn’t say East Coast women are superficial, but authenticity is such a fundamental characteristic that entrepreneurs simply can’t succeed without it.” As an observer, Perry Piscione could see that the authenticity she’s experienced in Silicon Valley is unique n that it comes from founder’s unflinching belief and passion for their business pursuits.
As a result of that commitment, the women of Silicon Valley succeed because they’re willing to speak their mind. “Silicon Valley women are not concerned about likeability,” she says. “They are women who speak what’s on their mind without giving a rat’s ass about what’s being said about them or who’s in the room. There quite simply is no editing before speaking.”
Perry Piscione's title will be available in April but can be preordered on Amazon.
They’ve traded stilettos for sneakers.
“Back East you have a big meeting so you go into Nordstrom and you walk out looking like everyone else,” Perry Piscione says. Heels? Check. Stockings? Check. Suit, pearls, coordinating handbag? Check. In contrast, she says, West Coast women are not about looking the part. “There’s no conversation about the right pantsuit or the must-have accessories between successful women in the Valley, which refreshingly puts the focus on ideas and innovation.”
Similarly, Perry Piscione says she was initially surprised by the way women network on the West Coast—walking the “Dish” for example, a hiking path on the outskirts of Stanford University’s campus rather than meeting for cocktails and conversation. “I was floored the first time someone asked me to walk the dish for a business meeting,” she says. Turns out it’s the norm—working relationships are formed over hikes, bikes and jogs, eliminating both corporate dress and calories from the equation. “It takes all of the BS away,” she says. “I don’t have to spend the time impressing you with the visual, so I’ve really got to impress you with my smarts. The value of relationships here is based solely on brilliance.”
They don’t apologize –for anything.
“Women here don’t’ apologize for their successes,” Perry Piscione says, “They own them.” She says the all-too-common female trait of saying sorry is nowhere to be found in the Valley. “From the salaries they earn to the deals they close to the time away from their kids, the successful women of Silicon Valley are not sorry about their successes—or the sacrifices they’ve made to achieve them.”
She points to powerhouses Sheryl Sandberg and Accel Partners’ Theresia Gouw Ranzetta for illustration. “The thing about Sheryl and Theresia is that, even when you’re talking about family, there’s no idle chit chat,” she says. It’s scheduling, process flow and accountability. “It’s the business mentality that makes them successful, and it’s something we can all learn from.”
They’re all in it together.
“It’s hard to put into words,” Perry Piscione muses. “But the sense of community in Silicon Valley is something to be marveled at. She recalls a recent interaction with a neighbor. “I don’t know her well, but I was on a run and passing her farm when I noticed one of her cows had given birth. I was so proud of her and had to stop to congratulate her on her success.”
“Maybe it’s because Silicon valley is a town that’s quite literally built on innovation,” she says, “It’s all we do—innovation is the religion we believe in, the sport we play and the air we breathe. As a result, living and working here creates a culture that celebrates success like nowhere else.” Being a part of that culture of supporting the triumphs of others—and receiving that support right back—can be an enormous tool for success.
Gallery: Top 10 Career Lessons From Powerful Women 11 images View gallery
Readers: Have you experienced the success secrets of East Coast and West Coast entrepreneurs first hand? What have you seen to be the most obvious differences—the good and the bad?
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adb365c7f07681b13a3ad0ca5f4bc210 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghancasserly/2012/12/13/hillary-clinton-beyonce-10-most-talked-about-women-of-2012/ | The 10 Most Talked-About Women Of 2012 | The 10 Most Talked-About Women Of 2012
Possibly the best photo of 2012
Content curator News360 ran the numbers to track the news-making women of 2012—from celebrities to politicians, what ladies dominated the news cycle this year?
“We collect news stories all year long from more than 40,000 sources,” says News360 chief executive Roman Karachinsky. “Between the start of 2012 today that’s more than 50 million pieces of news to measure from.” To determine the most talked about women the company drilled into the news to find the women whose names appeared the most frequently—but only counted headline hits.
Had they measured the full body of the text Karachinsky says this list would look quite different. German chancellor and Power Woman Angela Merkel, for example, would likely have climbed to the top. “Angela Merkel is quite popular in that there is a massive amount of articles mention her but she is rarely the central figure of a story or mentioned in the headline,” she says. Not that rarely though—headline mentions alone make her the fifth most talked-about woman on the planet this year.
Gallery: The 10 Most Talked-About Women Of 2012 21 images View gallery
Keep reading for the top 10 news-worthy women--and the successes and failures we were talking about in 2012.
No. 10 Jennifer Lopez: 9,683 headlines
The Latina performer may be the most powerful entertainer on the planet. She raked in an estimated $52 million last year with projects in almost every corner of the industry. She has successful fragrance and clothing lines, several lucrative endorsements and a revived film and television career. Through her company Nuyorican Productions she produced and starred in Latin singing competition show Q'Viva for Fox and is developing an hour-long drama for ABC Family. In 2012 she launched her first international music tour--making stops in the US, South America, Europe and the Middle East--but decided not to return to reality competition series 'American Idol,' where she was a judge for two years. "I'm a little bit tired now, I'm not going to lie," Lopez told FORBES. She still makes time to give back. Her philanthropic arm, the Lopez Family Foundation, which she founded with her sister to improve the health and well-being of women and children around the world, is developing telemedicine programs in Puerto Rico, Panama and Los Angeles. Lopez is also the first female spokesperson of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America in its 152-year history.
No. 9 Angelina Jolie: 10,141 headlines
Of course Angelina Jolie is an Academy Award winning actress, a UN Goodwill Ambassador, and, as of April 2012, a special envoy to the High Commissioner of the UNHCR, the UN's special agency for refugees, a growing global crisis, but it’s most often her personal life that’s news fodder. The mother of six has had a busy 12 months. No big blockbusters but she had her directorial debut with 2011's "In The Land Of Blood and Honey," and she pulled in $20 million thanks to residuals and smart endorsement campaigns. As a fierce advocate for refugee rights, in June she donated $100,000 to the UNHCR to assist Syrian refugees, telling reporters that "Every individual refugee matters. Each has their own story. Each has suffered more than I could ever bear." In April, Jolie and longtime partner Brad Pitt announced their engagement. The couple is rumored to be tying the knot this winter.
No. 8 Rihanna: 10,355 headlines
The Barbados-born diva lands on our list for the first time thanks to hits including "We Found Love" and "Talk That Talk," as well as endorsements with the likes of Vita Coco and Nivea. Her fragrance, Reb'l Fleur, adds millions more to her coffers, as does her heavy touring schedule that included over 85 shows in the past 12 months. With over 53 million Facebook fans, she's second only to Eminem by FORBES count. But it wasn’t just her massive commercial success that made headlines in 2012—Rihanna famously spoke out in an interview with Oprah Winfrey on her controversial relationship with singer Chris Brown, who was arrested in 2009 for brutally assaulting the “Diamonds” chanteuse. The pair reportedly reunited in 2012 and the on-again-off-again relationship has been an ongoing saga for the Hollywood press.
No. 7 Kate Middleton: 10,433 headlines
Even before Kate Middleton became a princess, the world was anxiously following her every move, but ever since her marriage to Prince William the waiting game began in earnest: would she or wouldn’t she give Britain its next heir to the throne of England? Middleton announced she’s expecting her first child with Prince William in December after being admitted to the hospital for extreme morning sickness, ending a calendar year of magazine covers predicting the blessed event—and giving the world much to look forward to in 2013.
No. 6 Beyonce: 10,954 headlines
In Beyonce's 2011 anthem, "Girls (Who Run The World)," she champions women who are "strong enough to bear the children, then get back to business." And in 2012, she did just that. After giving birth to daughter Blue Ivy Carter (with rapper Jay Z) in January, Knowles hit the stage in May for a sold-out four night performance she dubbed "Back to Business." She still earned big in an off-year, cashing in on old hits and new album 4, which went platinum in the U.S., as well as non-musical ventures like her House of Dereon clothing line and endorsement deals. One of the best-selling musicians of all time (she's earned 16 Grammy awards), Knowles has become a role model for women of all ages. She famously teamed up with the Obama reelection campaign in 2012, hosting star-studded fundraising events and writing letters of support. 2013 looks promising for the star: she signed a massive endorsement deal with Pepsi in December, is directing an HBO documentary that will air in February and is expected to release an album.
No. 5 Angela Merkel: 13,171 headlines
The world's most powerful woman is the backbone of the 27-member European Union and carries the fate of the euro on her shoulders. Merkel's hard-line austerity prescription for easing the European debt crisis has been challenged by both hard-hit southern countries and the more affluent north, but it, and she, are still standing. Merkel has served as chancellor since 2005, but one of her biggest challenges still lies ahead: bolstering her government's sagging popularity before the 2013 German general election. 2012 HIGHLIGHT: The European Union won the Nobel Peace Prize.
No. 4 Lindsay Lohan: 19,828 headlines
It isn’t all good news that makes headlines. Lohan’s year had a promising start—she was cast as screen legend Elizabeth Taylor in the Lifetime biopic Liz & Dick and in February was praised by a L.A. court for “getting her life back together” after DUI and theft charges-- but as has become the norm for a member of the tumultuous Lohan clan, the actress’s year soon went downhill. Her “comeback” performance on SNL was trashed by audiences and soon after Lohan was accused of a hit and run. The court of public opinion came down hard. Two more car accidents, a 911 call and some family drama later, Liz & Dick aired in November to disappointing ratings. Lohan should continue to create buzz in 2013: her next project is the Brett Easton Ellis Hollywood thriller, The Canyons and after her longstanding probation was revoked in December, the New Year could see Lohan briefly behind bars.
No. 3 Lady Gaga: 22,058 headlines
Lady Gaga may have been ousted by JLo on the top spot of FORBES 2012's list of the Most Powerful Celebrities, but she still holds court over some 32 million Little Monsters. She raked in $52 million over the past year, a massive haul for the artist, whose "Born This Way Ball" tour kicked off in April. In addition to the platinum success of her latest album, and the launch of her very own social network, Gaga focused on philanthropic work in 2012. She continued her work with the MAC AIDS Foundation and announced the launch of her own non-profit, the Born This Way Foundation, which is underwritten by the MacArthur Foundation and Harvard University. Always one to flex her muscle, Gaga enlisted friend and mentor Oprah Winfrey for the kick-off event in February. In July, Office Depot officials say they hope to create a "braver, kinder school year" for students by partnering with the Born This Way Foundation for back-to-school. The retail outlet pledged $1 million to Gaga's campaign.
No. 2 Michelle Obama: 24,451 headlines
More popular than her husband in this important election year, Michelle Obama's positive approval ratings register at 66% while POTUS's first-term average hovered just below 50%. The First Lady keeps a high profile with her mission to end childhood obesity, her commitment to military families and her stylish fashion picks. This year the Harvard Law School grad led the U.S. Olympic delegation in July's opening ceremony in London, penned a coffee table book, "American Grown," about growing veggies and tomatoes on the South Lawn of the White House and waged a war on sugary fruit juices as a part of her Let's Move! initiative. She made more public appearances this year than usual--not surprisingly the campaign used the Mrs. as a tool to widen the gender gap over Romney--appearing as a judge on an episode of Bravo's Top Chef, chatting with the ladies of The View and joking with funny guys Jimmy Fallon and Jon Stewart.
No. 1 Hillary Clinton: 26,838 headlines
The former Presidential candidate has faced a formidable past 12 months: She's navigated treacherous territory when WikiLeaks released sensitive diplomatic cables in November, urged Syrian President Bashar Assad to hand over his power and leave his country warned North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to chart a different course than his militant father and took heat for the attack on the U.S. embassy in Benghazi. And she went viral: the tumblr blog "Texts From Hillary" became a popular meme in April. Clinton has steadfastly said that she plans to move out of public life at the end of the year, but supporters are breathless over the possibility of a 2016 Presidential bid—and rumors have swirled of another potential office for the former first lady: Mayor of New York City.
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News 360 is a consumption platform that helps users find news smarter and more efficiently. Founded in 2010 in Sunnyvale, Calif., Karachinsky’s goal is to take the pain out of filtering news sources. “We spend 90% of our time looking at headlines we aren’t interested in,” he says. News360 analyses its more than 2 million users’ social activity and news consumption to predict sources and content to meet their needs.
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ade606af73a52a1114aa400fbf38299e | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghancasserly/2013/03/19/how-100-year-old-j-w-hulme-is-reinvesting-in-americas-manufacturing-roots/ | How 108 Year Old J.W. Hulme Is Reinvesting In America's Manufacturing Roots | How 108 Year Old J.W. Hulme Is Reinvesting In America's Manufacturing Roots
J.W. Hulme CEO Jen Guarino in her St. Paul factory.
Like so many small business owners, 2008 was the hardest year of Jen Guarino’s life. After moving to Minnesota from San Francisco and orchestrating the miraculous turnaround of a 100-year-old legacy handbag brand, the 51-year-old CEO of J.W. Hulme found herself in a near-empty factory and in debt up to her eyeballs.
“Some people would tell you we were weeks away from the bank taking our keys, others would tell you it was days,” she told me on a recent visit to FORBES, recalling the months after banks pulled the line of credit, leaving the company in tatters. “We were dying on the vine. I took out another mortgage on my house, I maxed out all my credit cards. I had to let go all but four employees and production came to a standstill. I was literally answering phones and mopping floors.”
Times were tough for Guarino and Hulme, a company that in five years she’d grown from losses on revenues of $450,000 to a profitable $1.4 million. And while she couldn’t have imagined during those dark days that a Wall Street Journal write up of her flailing company would have been the beacon that attracted the investor who saved J.W. Hulme, she absolutely wouldn’t have dreamt of the challenge that she faces today.
The company, it should be known, is doing incredibly well these days—luxury luggage and handbags are sold through catalogues, showrooms and high-end retailers like Barneys to the tune of $5 million projected revenues this year. What’s the problem then? Despite the success and ever-growing clamor for her company’s products, Guarino is plagued by an aging workforce and serious dearth of trained artisans and sewers to replace them. She’s got a great product that’s selling like hot-cakes, but when it comes to finding employees to manufacture it in her St. Paul factory, she’s coming up short.
The manufacturing floor of J.W. Hulme, where artisans manufacture more than 250 leather and canvas products from small leather goods to luxury luggage, has been dominated by baby boomers and their parents for the past decade. “We have a good chunk of sewers that are 55 plus,” she says. “But what seems to have happened is that a whole generation has been skipped in the workforce. When manufacturing started going to China, America stopped investing in training in trades, and we’re seeing the repercussions of that in U.S. factories who are trying to stay alive.”
When she looked to her right and her left at chamber of commerce and trade organization meetings in the upper Midwest, Guarino quickly found that she wasn’t alone. The complaint in the Minnesota manufacturing community—once a hotbed of outerwear and shoe manufacturing -- was unanimous: not only were business owners unable to find enough skilled workers to meet demand, they were missing out on contracts because of it. “We’re turning down work,” they told her. “We get called all the time to bring production back to the states and we can’t take it.”
Their workforces were simply maxed out. “None of it was about money or equipment,” Guarino says. In every conversation, the pain point was about finding skilled labor.
But rather than resign themselves to defeat, Guarino, an executive with a fine-art background who has come to consider herself a “guardian of trade” and a band of 20 local business owners in the cut-and-sew industry, have banded together to form The Maker’s Coalition. Guarino describes it as a hands-on movement to revitalize the industrial sewing heritage of the Midwest, but stresses that it’s a model that could easily be brought to other nascent manufacturing hubs around the country. “We’re working together to find, train and employ a workforce for today,” she says, “And for future generations.”
Guarino, the former brand manager for The Sak, moved to Minnesota in 2000 for love and had long dreamt of building her own company from the ground up. “That [relationship]ended, but I stayed,” she says, and she was working as a consultant in St. Paul when her future business partner, Bidwell, came to her with a unique opportunity. “He handed me this one inch by one inch classified he’d found in the paper that read ‘Bag company approaching 100 years old needs capital partner.’” A bag company? In St. Paul? Guarino says she felt her future become clear.
Guarino's efforts brought the average age of artisans down--and revenues up.
The pricetag for the struggling J.W. Hulme? A reported $600,000 for the company that was losing $150,000 a year on about $450,000 in revenue, mostly manufacturing private label goods for big-shot hunting and fishing brands. The company’s biggest contract—producing canvas luggage and hunting gear for Orvis, which Guarino says accounted for something like 80% of revenues—had just been lost to China. J.W. Hulme needed a new strategy—and fast.
Guarino set the company on an upstream path with just two years to go before Hulme’s 100th anniversary. She was impressed, more than anything else, by the skill-level of the artisans and sewers in the factory, and decided to cut private label manufacturing from the company’s books. “Rather than continuing to compete with Orvis, we started working with leathers, picking better materials, we expanded and upgraded in every way possible.” By 2006 the company had turned a profit on revenues of $1.4 million—up 89% in the three years under Guarino’s leadership.
The triumphant high was, of course, followed by those darkest of days, but Guarino likes to think of the recession years—and the months that followed the company’s 2009 hail mary pass from private equity firm Olympus Partners-- as a lesson in the importance of her number one priority: her human capital. “I cried on the day when I had to let them all go,” she says, “And I cried on the day when we managed to hire all but two of them back.”
Getting those employees back on the floor in the fall of 2009 after Olympus revived J.W. Hulme with a $550,000 investment (Guarino and Bidwell retain a 35% stake) was of the utmost importance. Olympus expected a profitable Holiday season, and were particularly optimistic about the company’s positioning as a home-grown brand. “I’m always interested in companies that actually make things in the U.S,” said Olympus CEO Dean Vanech at the time. “And the Americana theme is really strong right now in retail, so I think this is a good time for Hulme.”
But the increased focus on made in America goods was more than just a retail trend—and Guarino credits the movement across industries with the energy and excitement behind her initiative to retrain Americans in traditional craftsmanship. Along with the Maker’s Coalition (and with funding from The United Way) she has led the charge in creating curriculum at local community colleges that she believes will be the answer to her own business needs as well as the industry’s. “And that’s not even going into how many kids are graduating from college with no job prospects and mountains of debts,” she says as an aside. The low-cost 22-week program established in St. Paul costs students just $3,800. The first class will graduate this May.
“Look, what this is really about is being able to say yes when someone calls us wanting to bring their manufacturing business back to the U.S.,” Guarino says. “I’m not a purist. I’m not saying that everything in our homes should be made in the U.S.A and I’m not saying we could produce every shirt in WalMart. I know we can’t! But if we can train workers well enough to be able to bring even 10% of the manufacturing industry back to the country, the economic impact would be undeniable.”
Gallery: The Best Cities For Manufacturing Jobs 10 images View gallery
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3fb3fb70feb945223317f511606a56d9 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghancasserly/2013/04/30/where-have-all-the-facebookers-gone-employee-retention-v-promoting-entrepreneurship/?utm_campaign=forbestwittersf&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter | Where Have All The Facebookers Gone? Employee Retention v. Promoting Entrepreneurship | Where Have All The Facebookers Gone? Employee Retention v. Promoting Entrepreneurship
Gallery: The Facebook Launchpad: Nine Employee Startups 10 images View gallery
Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg
In a 2011 presentation at Startup School, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg made his position on employee retention abundantly clear: if people want to work at startup for a year or two and then pursue a business idea of their own, more power to ‘em. In fact, Zuckerberg said, he’d be proud.
It’s a funny statement for a company that's been entrenched in talent wars since its 2004 founding. Facebook employees are offered myriad perks, cushy office space and benefits to bring them into the fold and even more once they’re onboard.
But there’s one perk of working at Facebook that’s gone largely unexamined: the bragging rights employees take with them when they move on. Online recruitment and human resource firm Careerify found that a full 10% of former Facebook employees founded their own companies upon leaving Zuckerberg’s fold—and many enjoyed a serious bump in funding (and buzz) thanks to the Facebook name on their founder’s CV.
According to Careerify, 113 former Facebook employees are currently serving as founder and CEO of their own startups—from Asana to Cloudera to Path. According to Careerify:
Of the 113 CEOs that we observed, over 10% are Stanford University Alumni. And 27% of the start-ups founded by former FB-ers’, are located in the San Francisco Area/Palo Alto area (indication of the strong hold that the Silicon Valley has on their residents). According to Angel List data, those that have listed their start-up average a valuation of $4.6M, trailing only MySpace ($5.5M), Google ($5.2M), PayPal ($5.2M), Adobe ($5.2M), Apple ($4.8M), Accenture ($4.8M), Electronic Arts ($4.8M), and Sun ($4.7M). Facebook founders are also likely to raise higher than the average entrepreneur in the US.
That former Facebookers benefit from the brand association their relationship with Zuckerberg is no small consideration. To Zuckerberg, it seems a fair trade-off, a symbiotic relationship really. Talent contributes to Facebook for as long as their onboard (by Careerify's measure some for as little as a few months), but when they move on they can leverage their experience and the high-wattage of the Facebook halo.
Check out the infographic for highlights--and Careerify for more insights.
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20704e38ab142b5b081b15feaf5e6322 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghanmccormick/2018/12/19/3-ways-to-support-african-artisans-this-holiday-season/ | 3 Ways To Support African Artisans This Holiday Season | 3 Ways To Support African Artisans This Holiday Season
Creatives who sell through The Shop Accra incorporate classic motifs into modern designs. Photo Courtesy of @akoufashion via @theshopaccra / @theshopaccraabidjan
Aid or trade? The debate continues. But after browsing these artisanal products from across Africa, you’ll be all for trade (at least for a moment). If you want to spend your gift-giving budget in a way that empowers women economically, here are three ways to get started.
One. Bedazzle yourself with handcrafted jewelry from Soko.
Soko is the gateway drug for handcrafted, African goods. Designed in San Francisco and crafted in Kenya, their enviable jewelry is made from materials such as recycled brass and reclaimed animal horn with an American aesthetic in mind. Their true innovation is the way that they empower Kenyan artisans through their supply chain. According to Ella Peinovich, one of Soko’s founders, they “turned the mobile phone into a tool that offers artisans access to international markets – and new livelihood opportunities.”
Two. Run your last-minute errands in comfort and style in a pair of Sole Rebels.
Sole Rebels has both humble beginnings and global ambitions. Founder Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu started making shoes in her grandmother’s home in Ethiopia. Today, she runs Africa’s fast-growing footwear brand and in doing so, according to their website, “shifted the discourse on African development from one of poverty alleviation orchestrated by external actors, to one about prosperity creation driven by local Africans maximizing their talents and resources.” In addition to creating employment for hundreds of workers, her shoes are environmentally sustainable, using organic cotton, free-range leather, and recycled tires as the primary materials.
Three. Immerse yourself in the world of creatives at The Shop Accra by Eyetsa.
If you need a wider selection, just head over to The Shop Accra, one of their sister shops in Lagos or Abidjan, or for those not lucky enough to be spending to December in the tropics, their Instagram @theshopaccra. According to the Shop Supervisor, Edie Quaye, The Shop, as it is affectionately known in Ghana, is a creative hub formed “to bridge the gap between creativists and their consumers.” You can think of it as a window into the diverse world of modern African artists and artisans. They sell everything from local food products, to retro dolls and carved furniture. They are particularly known for their exclusive mudcloth and indigo dyed collections which include unisex clothing as well as home goods made from the indigenous fabric.
According to the Aspen Institute, artisanal products are a $32B global market. The sector is also the second largest employer, after agriculture, in emerging markets. By supporting Soko, Sole Rebel, The Shop Accra, or any of their peers, you can express yourself through unique, stylish, and handcrafted goods while creating jobs and raising the profiles of women and their cultural heritage. This holiday, pick up your last-minute gifts and spread the joy globally.
You can make purchases from Soko at their website, www.shopsoko.com, their flagship store in San Francisco, or from one of their 400+ retail partners worldwide. Sole Rebels are available from their website, www.solerebels.com or through one of their dozens of stores worldwide. You can buy from The Shop from their locations in Accra, Abidjan, and Lagos, or through their Instagram account @theshopaccra.
This post has been updated since it was originally posted. Edie Quaye is the Shop Supervisor of The Shop Accra, not the founder. The Shop was founded and is owned by Lorraine Eyetsa Ocloo.
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f5ccc5533b1dfb0c1ab952b4b436a574 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghanmccormick/2018/12/31/for-founders-the-new-year-is-a-time-for-business-resolutions/ | For Founders, The New Year Is A Time for Business Resolutions | For Founders, The New Year Is A Time for Business Resolutions
A good resolution planted at the New Year will bear fruit by the end of 2019. Photo Credit: Getty Getty
As 2018 comes to a close, our attention turns to the new year. We make resolutions. We imagine how we will be different after a full year of acting on them. We hope that this year will be the year that they stick. For a startup founder, the line between life and work, between personal and professional, is so blurred that resolutions often morph into business goals. When a founder is picturing themselves at the end of 2019, they may well be thinking about 365 phone calls they made to their mother, but it is just as likely that they are thinking about revenue targets, company culture, and the number of customers whose lives they will have changed.
Genevieve Barnard Oni, the co-founder of MDaaS Global, wants to spend 2019 really getting to know her business. MDaaS builds and operates modern, tech-enabled diagnostic centers in clinically underserved communities in Africa. According to Oni, “Through a combination of brick-and-mortar facilities and our tech platform, we provide high-quality and affordable x-ray, ultrasound, ECG, and lab services to patients and their doctors.” They are currently serving patients in Nigeria. Her resolution is “to learn something new about our business every week.”
Last summer, the MDaas team was part of the inaugural Techstars Impact cohort. Within the structure of an accelerator program, running weekly micro experiments became part of their routine. For example, one week they surveyed 50 of their patients on their experience at the flagship MDaaS diagnostic center. The next week, they experimented with providing mobile ultrasound services to a partner hospital. Outside of the accelerator, the practice has been harder to maintain. Oni shared, “As a small team, my co-founders and I often get swept up in execution and firefighting. Over the past few months, we have struggled to set aside time for experimentation and reflection. In the new year, we are re-committing to weekly experiments, documenting what we learn, and sharing with our team.” Oni is committed to sticking to her business resolution because she “believes that curiosity and continuous learning are critical to the development of our company and our ability to meet the dynamic needs of our customers.”
If you want to make continuous learning part of your business resolution for 2019, start by writing a list of 10 fundamental questions that you need to answer. Then design experiments to gather evidence and test your theories. Most critically, set meetings to share what you have learned. Include key team members, but also a few external trusted mentors. It will be much harder to put off your experiments if you know that you have a deadline to present your findings to important stakeholders.
Bequita Mahama is committed to developing her company’s culture in 2019. She founded and runs AquaFarms Africa, a social franchise agribusiness geared towards continental and diaspora Africans. The company “strives to grow clean, fresh, organic produce using the most efficient, sustainable, and safest technology available while combating poverty and food insecurity across Africa.” Mahama, who has worked both in the United States and West Africa, has experienced how different cultures can impact how your company operates in both productive and unproductive ways. Her resolution is, “to explore different business practices that are culturally sensitive to different orientations toward time management yet are still profitable and productive.” As a fresh-foods business, their work is very time-sensitive. Mahama shared, “One of the obstacles we find culturally across West Africa is the laid-back atmosphere. While we want to be culturally sensitive, we need to remain profitable and productive.” She is committed this year to find practices that respect local cultures while also ensuring timely delivery of products.
If you are hoping to influence your company culture in 2019, start by figuring out what your culture actually is by studying how it manifests. Ask all of your employees to write down what they believe your company values and to list three tangible practices or anecdotes that illustrate that value. If you say that you value transparency, but your employees struggle to cite a time when transparency was put into practice, it’s time to do some work. Once you have uncovered the gap between values and practices, build one new practice a month into your team’s routine and culture.
Understanding your business and building an effective company culture enable you and your team to deliver products and services to the people who need them. Peris Bosire, the Co-Founder of FarmDrive, is focused on scaling up their service delivery in 2019. FarmDrive provides loans to smallholder farmers in Kenya via their mobile phones. According to their website, 50M smallholder farmers are “struggling to support their families and communities through agri-business because less than 10% have their economic needs met by the financial sector.” By the end of 2019, she plans to serve 1M more of these farmers. In order to reach this goal, Bosire is not just focused on marketing, as one might expect. With a degree in Computer Science, the engineer is focused on building a business model that resilient to competition and the infrastructure needed to reach the masses.
Is your 2019 resolution to scale-up your business? Partnerships with established organizations and companies can be a strong channel reach the masses because it allows you to piggyback on their existing infrastructure. Bring your team together to list all potential scaling partners. Learn what you can about their businesses (hint: other startups they have partnered with are great sources of intel) to understand what they have to gain and lose by working with you. Go into negotiations with your eyes wide-open to the ways they could take advantage of you and a clear understanding of how you can help their business so that they want to work for your mutual benefit.
No matter what your goal is for 2019, setting an intention in the form of a resolution can be a great way to make sure that your business is where it needs to be by the end of the year. Once you have decided on your resolution, make it public. You can post it on the wall of your office, tweet it out to your followers or share it with a group of friends. While sharing your resolution does not guarantee that you will make it happen, keeping it a secret almost certainly means that you will not.
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3aeb33a75a43a492d43f737759c98abd | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghanmccormick/2019/06/16/africa-needs-more-angel-investors/ | Africa Needs More Angel Investors | Africa Needs More Angel Investors
Women, in particular, can benefit from more Angel Investors bridging the gap between concept and... [+] revenue across the African continent. This is magnified when women become the Angel Investors. Getty
Epic Games, Uber, Juul Labs, Magic Leap, Instacart, Katerra, Opendoor, and Lyft share many common traits. As you might have guessed, they are U.S.-based, male-led, venture-backed technology companies. What you might not have realized is that each of them individually attracted more venture capital in the last year than was invested in the entire continent of Africa in 2017. The top three, Epic Games, Juul Labs, and Uber each attracted $1.2B, or more than twice the amount of venture capital invested in Africa.
African-based or -focused venture firms have seen substantial growth over the last three years. Of the 22 Africa-based funds, 41% have been formed since 2016. Jumia’s IPO announcement has gotten the world interested in “African” startups and there is for sure more startup capital available in sub-Saharan Africa today than a few years ago, but that capital is not coming from the sources that really matter for early-stage startups.
Africa needs more angels.
Angel investors invest their own money in early-stage startups. Even more so in communities where “friends and family” do not have the wealth or expertise to invest in startups, angels play a key role in financing the business from the concept stage to the revenue generating stage. They are especially critical for women in these communities who need to overcome a higher "proof of concept" to attract institutional capital. While it’s hard to pin down the total dollars invested by angels in Africa, it’s clearly not significant enough. In 2018, $133.5M of venture capital was invested in Nigeria, the continent’s leading destination for venture investment behind South Africa. That same year, the Lagos Angel Network, the most active angel investment network on the continent, invested only $1.5M.
Startups lament a lack of capital to get them started. Venture capitalists say they would invest more in Africa if only there were more viable companies in the pipeline. A robust angel network would solve both of these problems by serving as the bridge between startup idea and growing company. And in building that bridge, angel investors may help entrepreneurship fulfill its promise as a generator of youth employment and innovative local solutions to local problems.
Africa does not lack high net worth individuals (HNIs). According to South Africa's Business Report, there are more than 40,000 millionaires in South Africa. Nigeria leads the world in the growth of millionaires. It’s projected that the number of millionaires will grow by 16.3% annually until 2023. There are two main reasons that these HNIs do not invest in startups. First, they don’t understand the asset class. In the US, where over $24B was invested by angel investors last year, 6 out of the 10 richest people made their fortunes through technology. Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, made his fortune in cement. Only 1 out of the continent’s top 10 richest people made their fortunes in tech-adjacent spaces. Naguib Sawiris’s wealth comes from the telecommunications industry.
Second, there are stable returns to be made elsewhere. Nigeria’s treasury bills have returns higher than the average annual growth of the U.S. stock market and new luxury apartment buildings shooting up in Accra are promising 17.5% annual returns. So why would you invest in an unproven technology market where, exits, if they come, are notorious for taking years?
Angel investment could be more catalytic than institutional venture capital for the sub-Saharan entrepreneurship ecosystem. Angels tend to invest in a broader geographic scope. Research from the Wharton Entrepreneurship and Angel Capital Association showed that in the US, 45% of all venture dollars are invested into San Francisco, New York, and Boston, while only 37% of all angel dollars are invested in those same three cities. Similarly, in Africa, most capital is invested in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Lagos, and Nairobi. HNIs investing on the ground in Abidjan, Accra, Gaborone, and Kampala would bring capital to second-tier venture investment markets creating success stories and pipeline opportunities for larger funds.
Second, angels can be more patient with their funding. Venture fund managers have a strict date by which they must return capital to their investors. It is no secret that things can take longer than anticipated in Africa. Founders find themselves not just building their company, but also building the technological, financial, and talent infrastructure that they need to grow. As angels are investing their own money, they do not have the same timeline constraints as institutional investors and can stick with an entrepreneur as they are building a market.
Angel investing is not for everyone. While the returns for successful angels are higher than other traditional investment areas, they are also riskier. Angel investing is a field where your returns improve as you get more experience and diversify a portfolio. Both of these things take time in a nascent ecosystem. Investors need to be comfortable with potential -100% returns in the short run. But if an individual can tolerate that risk, the financial and social returns will be higher than form any other instrument available to them.
The private and public sector both have a role to play in accelerating the development of angel investing. HNIs with exposure to startups need to promote angel investing in their networks. There is a lot to be learned from organizations like Golden Seeds in the US who are responsible for increasing women’s understanding of and participation in angel investing. Rising Tide Africa in Nigeria is replicating the model for the region.
Second, the government should provide tax incentives to make investing in angel investing more attractive. In South Africa, Section 12J of the Income Tax Act makes investments in funds that invest in small business 100% tax deductible. The combination of education and incentives could drastically increase the number of HNIs investing in startups leading to more investible companies for larger venture funds and eventually an investment ecosystem where no single American company attracts more capital than the entire African continent in a year.
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f6973a1b9782d433d0dccddb06ba47d5 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghanmccormick/2019/07/09/could-heritage-and-culture-become-as-important-to-ghanas-economy-as-fashion-is-for-france/ | Could Heritage and Culture Become As Important to Ghana's Economy As Fashion Is For France? | Could Heritage and Culture Become As Important to Ghana's Economy As Fashion Is For France?
Ambassador Johanna Svanikier, Founding President & CEO of The Heritage and Cultural Society of... [+] Africa (HACSA), Hon. Samia Nkrumah, former Party Chair, MP & daughter of the first Ghanaian President Kwame Nkrumah and Lisa Mensah, former Under-Secretary of State for Agriculture, USA together at the African Diaspora Homecoming Conference. Photo Courtesy of HACSA
In Twi, the language of the Akan people in Ghana, the word ‘Sankofa’ literally means ‘go back and get it.’ It is expressed by an Adinkra symbol, icons used in the Ashanti culture to convey traditional wisdom. The Adinkra symbol for ‘Sankofa’ is a bird, feet facing forward and head reaching backward, often to pick up an egg. Adinkra symbols decorate everything from fabric to architecture. The Sankofa symbol also forms part of the logo of the ‘Heritage and Cultural Society of Africa’ (HACSA), an organization founded to “create awareness about the importance of heritage and culture for global economic development, progress and security.” It’s a very fitting logo.
You can see the Sankofa bird in the logo of HACSA. HACSA
HACSA was founded in 2016 by Ambassador Johanna Odonkor Svanikier. Pride in Ghanaian culture was a part of her upbringing, but it was not until she became Ghana’s Ambassador to France, Portugal, and UNESCO that she fully understood the extent to which culture could also be a major force for economic development. “We in Africa neglect its potential for increasing GDP, creating jobs and improving standards of living. The French rake in billions from food, beverages, cosmetics, and fashion. At UNESCO, cultural diversity and its importance for peace, security and economic development were celebrated.” Ambassador Svanikier’s ambition has been to work to strengthen socio-economic development in Africa. In France, she realized the best way that she could go about it.
She put her ideas into practice by founding HACSA which highlights African excellence and promotes and celebrates African heritage and culture and its important role in development. In 2017, she organized the African Diaspora Homecoming Conference to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Ghana’s independence and to demonstrate the rich historical connections between Ghana and the African Diaspora. Now in 2019, ‘The Year of Return’, Ambassador Svanikier expects the HACSA Summit to be even more vibrant. Sankofa is a powerful symbol in the context of the 400th anniversary of the first ships of enslaved African people landing in North America. “The symbol teaches you that you can only move forward if you examine the past, learn from it and take action. The meaning is quite deep because it counsels us as humans that we may make mistakes, but all is not lost. Through learning from our mistakes, we can go back and recover what was lost. In our case you could say we’re recovering the value of unity amongst our scattered diaspora,” she reflected.
HACSA understands that a relatively small country like Ghana does not have adequate resources to maintain the almost 30 historic slave forts and castles situated on its coast. HACSA takes on the role of advocate for the protection and preservation of these UNESCO World Heritage Sites as well as the many “slave routes” that reach from the interior of the country out to the coast. The organization views this work as a joint national and international responsibility that needs collaboration between the public, private and nonprofit sectors. For Ambassador Svanikier, preserving this history is necessary to “bring awareness to the importance of learning from this history in order to move forward and develop healthy and prosperous societies.” Sankofa.
HACSA also celebrates living culture and African cultural icons from all eras. Their events include artistic and archeological exhibitions, cultural fairs, music concerts, film screenings and book launches. Recently the organization brought renowned Nigerian opera-singer, Omo Bello, to perform in a first of its kind opera and chorale concert in Accra accompanied by the Winneba Youth Choir from Ghana. They also organized an exhibit of the works of James Barnor, an iconic and innovative Ghanaian Photographer in 2017. Barnor, who turned 90 in June, will be returning to speak at the HACSA summit this year.
HACSA does not just speak about a prosperous future for all Africans across the continent and around the world. They invest in it. In collaboration with UNESCO, they helped to fund a “Girls Can Code” program to ensure that young girls have the skills to compete in a modern African economy. This year’s summit also boasts an impressive array of female speakers including the First Lady of Ghana, H.E. Rebecca Akufo-Addo who champions the “Girls Can Code” program in addition to the Vice-President of Liberia, Jewel Taylor; Lisa Opoku, the first African woman partner and managing director at Goldman Sachs and Lisa Mensah, former U.S. Undersecretary of State for Agriculture.
The Summit aims to be more than a 3-day conference. Ambassador Svanikier is working to create “the Davos or Aspen of Africa with the goal of changing the prevailing narrative on Africa, reuniting the African Diaspora and putting them to work for the benefit of their communities and the continent as a whole.” She hopes that the Summit will become a key event in deploying heritage and culture for development; an event that people will surely look back to for inspiration as they move forward.
The 2019 HACSA Summit runs from August 7th-9th at the Kempinski Hotel in Accra, Ghana. There are supplementary events happening from the 5th to the 11th. For more information, or to attend, visit www.thehacsa.org.
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ac368507eeda8f6d9fb0091e138df363 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghanmccormick/2019/08/02/bcg-report-uncovers-how-to-add-5t-to-global-gdp/ | BCG Report Uncovers How To Add $5T To Global GDP | BCG Report Uncovers How To Add $5T To Global GDP
Harambeans getting to know each other at a retreat in Bretton Woods. Jurien Huggins
Want to add up to $5T to global GDP? It’s simple. Women just need to become entrepreneurs at the same rate as men. According to new analysis from the Boston Consulting Group, if women and men “participated equally as entrepreneurs, global GDP could rise by approximately 3% to 6%, boosting the global economy by $2.5 trillion to $5 trillion.” For those who follow women’s economic inclusion and entrepreneurship, these results are not surprising. Almost 4 years ago, McKinsey & Co. had their own report finding that if women “played an identical role in labor markets to that of men, as much as $28 trillion, or 26%, could be added to global GDP by 2025.” That report looked beyond entrepreneurship to all types of employment which is why the number is significantly larger. The World Economic Forum comes at it from another angle. According to their report published in June of 2018, if “women had the same lifetime earnings as men, global wealth would increase by $23,620 per person…for a total of $160 trillion.” Gender equality in the workplace will lead to economic growth. A lot of economic growth. We got it.
What was interesting in the BCG report was not the effect of increasing female entrepreneurship, but their idea on how we can. While lack of access to funding is a known problem, the root cause is “women’s relatively limited access to robust support networks.” Venture capitalists have made it clear. The best way to get a meeting with them is to get an introduction from someone in their network. Of course, you can have a network and still be underfunded, but without a network, funding your venture becomes an even steeper uphill climb.
Nowhere is this more important than in Africa. The IFC found that from 2012 to 2017, only $30M of investment went to companies with female founders in Africa. In the U.S., that’s the average raise for one company’s Series B. Luckily for women striving to be founders of Africa’s next high-growth startup, there is the Harambe Entrepreneurs Alliance.
The Harambe Entrepreneurs Alliance is a network of Africans, both on the continent and in the diaspora, who have “pledged to work together as one to unlock the potential of Africa.” And while Harambeans, as members of the alliance are called, can be both men and women, the founder, Okendo Lewis-Gayle shared that, “At the beginning, women were the ones who applied and shaped the environment and the men came later.” Over the first 10 years of its existence, the network has always had gender parity.
Just having a network is not enough. In their experience, BCG found that three elements are critical to effective networks. These are intent, inclusion, and interaction. Harambe has all three, but the strongest is the intent.
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Ugwem I. Eneyo, a Harambean, former-Stanford Ph.D, and Co-founder & CEO of Shyft Power Solutions said, “Harambe differs from most [networks] because it’s not a degree or a profession that brings us together; nor is it a political ideology that serves as the glue. Instead, it is something much deeper; it’s a conviction, a common set of values and a sincere commitment to the social, political and economic development of a continent.” Harambean Yasmin Kumi, founder of the Africa Foresight Group echoes this sentiment. “Harambe clearly stands out because of the strong focus on values and belief systems. I would not even call Harambe a network. Harambe is a tribe,” she said. This intent has served as a north star as Harambe grew from an idea to one of the most exclusive and impactful networks of African entrepreneurs over the past decade.
According to BCG, “inclusion” means that networks need to have diversity in the membership base, culturally and in terms of levels of experience. Again, Harambe checks the box on this one. Harambeans were born all over Africa from South Africa to Egypt, Ghana to Kenya, and live in Lagos, Paris, and San Francisco just to name a few cities. Some started their businesses in the last year-or-so, while others have been entrepreneurs for a decade.
"We have all climbed at least one mountain and now, we were heading to a new valley all together." Nelly Wandji
BCG’s third critical aspect is interaction. The Harambe experience starts at a retreat in Bretton Woods. It is a foundational experience for Harambeans. Harambean and founder of MOONLOOK, Nelly Wandji said that when she walked into the retreat, “I pinched myself to acknowledge that I was actually there and wasn't just dreaming… I was proud to have come so far with only an idea and a big will, even if there was still a long road ahead, we have all climbed at least one mountain and now, we were heading to a new valley all together.”
Even after they leave, the network remains strong. Harambean Naadiya Moosajee built the first female-founded engineering and tech accelerator in Africa. WomHub has run programs in 19 countries and relies on the network to bring in female founders and engineers to share their expertise. And like BCG recommends, it’s not all about work. Moosajee owns two restaurants in Cape Town, South Africa where the network gets together.
Looking back on the last 10 years, the members acknowledge that female founders have come a long way in Africa and that Harambe is key a part of it. Overall, companies founded by members of the network have created more than 3000 jobs, raised over $400m in capital, and have a collective value of more than $1b. But, there is still a long way to go to reach gender parity in entrepreneurship. The statistics on Harambean success in raising capital are heavily skewed by some male-founded companies such as Flutterwave and Andela. Over the next month, we’ll take a look at some of the female Harambeans driving this change. If fostering inclusive, intentional, and interactive networks for women is the key to adding $5T to our economy, we have a lot to learn from them.
If you are an African entrepreneur, you can apply to the Harambe Entrepreneurs Alliance here. Applications are open until November 11th, 2019.
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d6f3102520c21787470d9acd7cb9e55d | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghanmccormick/2020/01/31/not-launching-in-nigeria-how-to-attract-investment-in-an-overlooked-market/?sh=1e73f5233df3 | Not Launching In Nigeria? How To Attract Investment In An Overlooked Market | Not Launching In Nigeria? How To Attract Investment In An Overlooked Market
Launching your startup outside one of the main African markets that attract investment requires ... [+] business model innovation and a deep commitment to solving a problem. AquaFarm Africa grows niche produce in greenhouses using a unique franchising model. AquaFarms Africa
There has been a clear and steep increase in venture investing in African companies. Much like in North America though, the majority of dollars are being invested in a few geographies while large swatches of the continent are getting left behind. Specifically, Nigeria and Kenya attracted more than 80% of the capital invested on the continent in 2019. In general, English-speaking countries are riding the wave of increased investment enthusiasm, while French-speaking countries are overlooked. Maxime Bayen reported that only 4 of the 91 companies that raised more than $1M last year were in Francophone countries. Only 2 were in Sub-Saharan Francophone countries.
There are several different arguments for why this is happening. For one, the Francophone economies are generally not as robust. While about 40% of African countries have French as an official language, these countries only account for 19% of the continent’s GDP. For another, there is a language barrier between these countries and the United States, the traditional home of venture capital.
Whatever the case may be, in a bullish African investment market, Francophone countries may finally have the chance to start closing the gap. Venture Burn reported that Dmitry Fotiyev, Managing Partner at Brightmore Capital even expects investments in 2020 to come into smaller Francophone economies “like Benin, Togo, Burkina Faso, and Guinea.” The question is, will entrepreneurs in these markets be ready?
The late Clayton Christensen published research in the Harvard Business Review about how companies can succeed in frontier African markets. He used Tolaram, the company responsible for making Indomie noodles a food staple in Nigeria, as an example. He found that the company had to take over both their upstream supply chain (not just growing ingredients, but also training graduates) and downstream distribution channels to build a sustainable business.
Wiatta Thomas, the co-Founder of AquaFarms Africa (AFA), a Guinea-based agritech company, has seen this play out on the ground. She explains, “What we often find in West Africa is that a new entrepreneur must manage the entire farming value chain, which is difficult and costly,” she said. Costly is especially important to note in a market that does not attract much seed capital. AFA has adapted to the local context by designing a unique business model. “The social franchising concept gives new entrepreneurs a business-in-a box opportunity allowing them to focus on production, while AquaFarms Africa manages other areas of the operational value chain such as site selection, procurement, marketing, sales and logistics,” she added.
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AFA trains young women to become "AquaFarmers", franchise owner-operators. In this photo, AFA ... [+] co-Founder, Bequita Mahama, poses with some of the women she has trained. AquaFarms Africa
And while traditional venture investing has also overlooked women, this model empowers them. On average, women perform half of all agricultural labor in sub-Saharan Africa, but depending on the country, earn 15-60% less than male farmers. Lower rates of land ownership and access to inputs, including financing, are major contributing factors. In partnership with local NGOs, AFA trains women to become franchise owners of their own AFA aquaponic system.
Political stability, poor infrastructure, high import costs, and low access to talent remain a challenge for entrepreneurs in Guinea. Despite this, Thomas sees benefits to starting in this market. “Guinea is also in some ways the ultimate testing ground for the AFA business model given the relative under-development of the country. Practically speaking, if AFA can be successful in Guinea, the company will likely be successful in most African markets,” she said.
For entrepreneurs looking to attract investment in up-and-coming African markets, they need to understand that the bar will be higher for them, but not unsurmountable. Nnamdi Chiekwu, the chairman of Namdex Group and an investor in AFA said, “What most impressed us about AFA, was not just their ambitious aspirations about addressing food sovereignty in Africa, but rather the analytical rigor that we saw in their financial and operational projections. It did not occur to us that the exact size and weight of maggots for fish feed would be given such detail in a financial model – but it was, and that level of attention to detail encouraged us to invest in the AFA team.”
Innovation can come from anywhere. Entrepreneurs in small Francophone African markets are still fighting an uphill battle, but the pitch of the hill is becoming less steep. Leaders who are mission driven, who focus on the whole value chain, who serve local needs, and who are driven by data have the highest likelihood of success.
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8326f538044750d90767d61927a0f730 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghanmccormick/2020/02/28/aquafarms-africa-is-using-aquaponics-to-grow-food-and-entrepreneurs/?sh=3a239e512aea | AquaFarms Africa Is Using Aquaponics To Grow Food And Entrepreneurs | AquaFarms Africa Is Using Aquaponics To Grow Food And Entrepreneurs
Mahama and Thomas pose with a crate of their fresh produce. Wiatta Thomas
The way we grow and choose our foods are changing. Climate change has made weather unpredictable, threatening the productivity and livelihoods of small holder farmers. It’s not just a big deal for the farmers, it’s a big deal to anyone who eats. According to the United Nations, family farms grow 80% of the world’s food.
Many consumers are making choices to improve our food system whether they are buying imperfect produce or lab-grown beef. Consumers with the disposable income to do so are increasingly choosing organic options. Market research indicates that the global market for organic foods will continue to grow by 15% annually through 2024.
Two entrepreneurs are not just changing their consumption patterns; they are fixing the system. Bequita Mahama and Wiatta Thomas met in an online African repatriation group, a forum for people in the African diaspora thinking about moving to the continent. They realized that they both shared a passion for economic development and an idea that aquaponic agriculture could be a good tool for increasing incomes and reducing food insecurity.
“I needed to figure out how to grow food while being environmentally conscious and to remedy those [economic and environmental] problems, so that I could not only grow food for my family but also be a service to those in my community. After much research and trials, aquaponics was the answer,” said Mahama.
Instead of becoming competitors, they joined forces and co-founded AquaFarms Africa. Mahama had the technical expertise in aquaponics and Thomas had been building businesses in Guinea for years.
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Aquaponic systems are well suited for the world we live in today. You can start one in an urban environment. The systems require +90% less water than traditional agriculture and are completely organic, removing the threat of toxic runoff. They are also climate controlled, giving the farmer power to make the most unpredictable input in their production completely controlled.
At AquaFarms Africa, the farmers are growing high-value niche products for local supermarkets, restaurants and hotels. They are replacing imports and keeping revenue in the pocket of the farmers.
Although it replaces soil with water, AquaFarms Africa's greenhouse in Conkary, Guinea uses 90% less ... [+] water than traditional agriculture. Wiatta Thomas
The company’s unique business model is also designed for the realities of the market. Youth unemployment rates in Guinea are more than 60%. And due of the difficulties of starting, financing, and operating a business in the country, it’s nearly impossible for youth entrepreneurs to launch something that provides consistent income. AquaFarmers, on the other hand, get training, access to inputs, and connections to buyers.
While Guinean lawyers working in France or Development Finance Institutions in New York can invest in an AquaFarm, the company also provides financial solutions so that young Guineans can become owner-operators. “The financial ownership model is particularly effective because it empowers almost anyone to be an AquaFarm owner, therefore creating a win-win scenario for both investors and aspiring African entrepreneurs,” explains Thomas. Marly Saran Diane, a young woman who was trained to become a future franchise owner said, “I feel for the first time that I’m ahead of the curve. I feel like I’m doing something that’s more innovative in the farming sector than anything I’ve seen in Guinea.”
That’s the real beauty in the model. Each individual AquaFarmer does not just contribute to mitigating climate change and increasing food security through their consumption choices. They become powerful entrepreneurs acting collectively to change the system. And considering the status quo, that systems change is exactly what the world needs.
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9557b8bbad779fde074dc587c7ce3e76 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghanmccormick/2020/06/21/how-ethical-is-your-ai/ | How Ethical Is Your AI? | How Ethical Is Your AI?
Wendy Gonzalez, interim CEO of Samasource, poses with Agents in Nairobi, Kenya. Samasource employees ... [+] young Kenyans and Ugandans to work in the AI supply chain, upskilling them up for a career in technology. Samasource
Conscious consumers demand fair-trade when it comes to products like coffee, and when it’s quality coffee, they are even willing to pay more for it. When it comes to our technology products though, many consumers don’t even know that “fair-trade” is possible. Behind many acts of AI “magic,” there is a human in the loop. They are often under-paid and over-tasked. In May, Facebook was forced to pay a $52M settlement to content moderators who, in exchange for wages as low as $28,000 per year, were constantly exposed to violent images which caused PTSD. There has to be a better way. Samasource is setting out to prove that ethical data-labeling is not only good for people, but is also good for business.
Samasource provides “high-quality training data and validation for the world's leading AI technologies” and, according to their website, serves 25% of the companies on the Fortune 50 list. Founded in 2008 by Leila Janah on the principle that while talent is evenly distributed, opportunity is not, the humans in the loop are young Kenyans and Ugandans who get access to training, meaningful work, and a career path within the company. Janah passed away earlier this year at the age of 37 after a battle with epithelioid sarcoma. The company is now run by Wendy Gonzalez, formerly VP and COO of Samasource.
Gonzalez joined the company because she had a “deep desire to marry her passions of social impact, science, and technology.” This comes through strongly in the balanced approach that she brings to her work. She focuses on how the innovation that Samasource offers their clients is strengthened by the way it positively impacts their workforce. “The real power behind our solution is the combination of our software platform and our humans,” she said. To support their impact mission, Samasource brings their workers into facilities where they have secure access to computers and quality internet. Caroline Ayieko, an agent at Samasource said, “What has surprised me is unlike other companies, Sama makes the office space more safe to feel like home.” In Nairobi, they work with youth and women from the Kibera informal settlement where only 20% of dwellings have access to electricity and unemployment rates are as high as 50%.
This type of data work can be seen as a commodity. Over 80% of time on an AI project can be spent preparing and labeling the data set for use. This had led many startups to turn to a distributed network of gig workers who annotate data for cents on the dollar. But bringing their employees into a “highly secured facility with biometric access”, Samasource also allows for stronger data privacy standards and increased trust with their clients. The fact that they formally employ their workers (and gives all workers the same access to benefits regardless of if they are in Kampala or San Francisco) also reduces a revolving door which allows their labelers to build skills and codify those learnings in their technology platform. “They are not doing the same work they were doing years ago. They're doing increasingly highly complex and interesting work. And we continue to move them up the value chain,” said Gonzalez. This has allowed Samasource to compete on quality, instead of price, and fulfill their social mission in concert with financial goals.
Samasource also doesn’t just offer their employees jobs; they offer them careers. Grace Irungu, a Samasource Agent, said, “Joining Sama back in 2007 was a turning point in my life...I grew skills-wise. Samasource exposed me to technology which is ever-changing. I admire the leadership qualities that are practiced in Sama as well as the equal opportunities that are offered up the corporate ladder. I have been exposed to various environments, creative minds, new skills, and different trainings.” Gonzalez shared that 99% of people who enter pre-employment training complete it because, “people know that if they're going to the training, there's a good opportunity, they could be considered for a position.” About 80% of trainees go on to be employed by the company. Samasource promotes internally, but even for people who leave, career prospects are strong. “Roughly 82% go into higher paying jobs or university education and of those that go to jobs, well over 50% stay in the ICT space,” said Gonzalez.
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Their care for their people is apparent in how Samasource dealt with the outbreak of COVID-19 in Kenya. One can imagine that their secure centers, once a source of competitive advantage, could easily become sources of an outbreak. “First, we created SamaHome to responsibly respond to the COVID-19 crisis by providing our employees with a safe, hygienic place to live and work during the pandemic,” said Gonzalez. The company has also been actively piloting different work-from-home solutions which include providing employees with the equipment they need to do their jobs alongside with care packages of sanitization products and guides on how to stay healthy.
The employees have noticed this care. “With the recent pandemic that has caused many employees to lose their jobs, surprisingly all Sama staff are still working. Considering the way the economy has drastically gone down, Sama still found a way to give to its employees who are not working, something at the end of every month, including the relief bag of goodies that they received when the office was closed,” said Ayieko.
Samasource has been successful not in spite of their investments in impact, but because of them. And so, they take impact very seriously. Each quarter they do a “learnings call” alongside their earnings calls to report on their impact. And about 5 years ago they started the process for a Randomized Control Trial, the gold standard in evaluating social impact, in partnership with two professors at MIT. The results should be out later this year. Beyond all of the good jobs that they are creating, this could be the real legacy that Janah left when she founded Samasource. Samasource is on track to prove empirically that creating good, high-impact jobs and pushing for an ethical AI-supply chain is not just feasible but a good business strategy. Gonzalez hopes that this will show that “ technology is not only disruptive in a good way for business but can be disruptive in a good way for people.”
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831537672316c3b862086e697f7e5700 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/megykarydes/2015/07/27/happy-hour-any-time-of-the-day-with-cocktail-courier/ | Happy Hour Any Time of the Day with Cocktail Courier | Happy Hour Any Time of the Day with Cocktail Courier
There are days when we want to enjoy a cocktail but either at the comfort of our own home or want to take it along with you to enjoy while listening to live music. Or maybe you want to try your hand at making a cocktail. Whatever the reason, Cocktail Courier makes it easy by providing everything in one box.
I recently tried my hand at making a NorthSide Collins cocktail created by David Perez of Dolce in The Godfrey Hotel in Chicago. "When I think of summertime drinks, I think refreshing," says Perez. "I want something delicious, hydrating and crisp - exactly what this Tanqueray cocktail embodies."
Cocktail Courier makes it easy for anyone to make a cocktail since all of the ingredients are... [+] included in the package. (Photo courtesy of Cocktail Courier.)
The package came complete with everything I'd need to make it, except the highball glassware:
1 bottle of 375ml Tanqueray London Dry Gin 1 bottle of 375ml Combier Pamplemousse Liqueur 1 bottle of honey syrup 2 bags of fresh lemon juice 3 bags of fresh mint 2 bottles of Fever Tree Club Soda 2 bottles of Peychaud’s Bitters
The NorthSide Collins recipe was designed by David Perez of Dolce in The Godfrey Hotel. (Photo by... [+] Megy Karydes.)
The recipe was easy to make since everything is already in front of you, down to the garnish, and it's fun to play bartender for the day. My friends were most impressed with my skills as they watched me measure and pour ingredients. They gave me a thumbs up and said it was just as good as what they'd get at a bar which basically means if I can do this, it's really fail-proof.
Each package contains enough ingredients to make at least four cocktails (many offer 6 to 8) and you can either subscribe to a weekly service or choose among the current options (which change monthly). All of the recipes are created by local bartenders so if you have a favorite, this is a nice way to enjoy new recipes they've created. In Chicago, the Strawberry Piscorita by Amy Probasco from Pub Royale looks tempting while Le Grand Fizz by Guillaume Jubien from Consultancy in New York City looks mighty refreshing, too.
Cocktail Courier puts a whole different spin to booze in a box. It comes complete with garnish.... [+] (Photo by Megy Karydes.)
Also convenient is the fact that you can order a package by 11:00 a.m. and your package will be delivered to your home or office by late afternoon but note the service is only available Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
The service currently is only available in New York City and Chicago but there are talks about expanding service area soon.
Cocktail Courier puts a whole different spin to booze in a box.
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ac355daec75601ab657844d743410038 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/megykarydes/2016/08/12/the-hottest-and-easiest-gifts-to-give/?sh=7e71d5344b16 | The Easiest Gifts To Give (without the Guessing) | The Easiest Gifts To Give (without the Guessing)
What if you could give a gift to someone that allowed the individual to customize it as opposed to you guessing what to send that they might like? Or you wanted to send a sweet treat to someone but didn’t have their mailing address? Whether it’s a corporate gift, a thank you to a friend or colleague, companies are reinventing the way people gift.
Rather than you choosing the gift to send, those who receive a SugarWish gift gets to choose which... [+] sweet treats to receive. (Photo credit: Sara Ford.)
Among those disrupting the gift giving industry is Sugarwish . Rather than you choosing the gift to send, the receiver of the gift chooses their favorite treats to have sent to them. In Sugarwish’s case, the treats are in the form of some of your favorite candies such as Jelly Belly’s, Champagne Bubbles and Mini Swedish Fish.
According to Sugarwish, the gift itself is going viral. Over 20% of those who receive a Sugarwish turnaround and send one to someone else.
Rather than sending yet another promotional mug or meaningless gift basket, sending something like SugarWish is more fun and cost-effective since gifts start at $16.50. An ecard is sent to the recipient who decides how to customize their gift and then it arrives in the mail a few days later. The “Wish and Dish” gives them four refills for $95. Talk about a sweet, regular gig.
Giftagram gifts can be sent, even when you don't have the recipient's address. (Photo courtesy of... [+] Giftagram.)
Another company that is doing something similar is called Giftagram. Giftagram is an app that lets you send gifts without needing the recipient’s physical mailing address – a constant issue for those who work in the gig economy or you want to send a gift to someone and you don’t have their best shipping address.
Unlike Sugarwish, with Giftagram you get to choose the gift but, again, for those who like to send gifts regularly but don’t have the time to hunt down shipping addresses, go buy the gift at the store and ship it out, Giftagram is a nice option. Categories range from wedding and graduation gift ideas to gift ideas for all the major gift-giving holidays like Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and Christmas. Gifts include everything from home accessories to items for those with a sweet tooth. They start at $16 and inch up into the hundreds.
The idea behind sending these types of gift appeals on so many levels. It’s easy and it’s personal. And, as the holiday season is approaching, it’s timely.
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d7d0f8cad792e36480e02228c7a2a454 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/megykarydes/2017/01/27/the-rise-of-mead-the-craft-movements-next-big-thing/ | The Rise of Mead: The Craft Movement's Next Big Thing | The Rise of Mead: The Craft Movement's Next Big Thing
Is mead the oldest fermented drink? Maybe, says Brian Rutzen, Cider Director, at The Northman Cider Pub & Bistro in Chicago’s Lincoln Square neighborhood.
What is mead, and why are we just now starting to see its rise on bar menus?
“The trend toward ‘craft’ food and drinks has been well underway for decades,” says Rutzen. “Organic and locally-sourced foods, beer made by your friends, artisan distilleries, inventive cocktail recipes, and now the recent rise of cider have all been a part of rediscovering lost traditions and searching for new horizons. It was only a matter of time before this new generation of thoughtful beverage makers turned their attention towards mead.”
As we witnessed with craft beer’s explosion, mead it starting to take off as more people want to experiment with new flavors and ingredients. In mead’s case, honey plays a starring role and one of the reasons mead might have come to be.
Brian Rutzen, Cider Director, at The Northman Cider Pub & Bistro in Chicago, believes rediscovering... [+] lost traditions and searching for new horizons are among the reasons we're seeing a rise in mead. (Photo courtesy of The Northman Cider Pub & Bistro.)
“Many fruits and vegetables were often kept in jars of honey as a way to preserve fresh foods,” explains Rutzen. “Over time and exposure to natural yeasts, the honey fermented and created the first alcoholic substance. The rest is history.”
Mead, is should be noted, is sometimes referred to as honey wine since the majority of fermentable sugar comes from honey. “It has some properties and notes similar to champagne, but usually sweeter and more viscous,” describes Rutzen, who adds that one can also blend honey with fruit juice (melomel) or spices (methaglin) to make it lighter and balance out the sweetness. The ABV usually ranges from 6 - 20%, with an average of around 11%, he adds.
Finding it on the menu isn’t always easy, although it’s certainly getting easier as more bars are starting to stock one or two brands and more meaderies open and bartenders experiment. It’s also a popular alternative to beer for those who are gluten-intolerant since mead is fermented honey and water or juice in its natural form. Note, though, that braggots marries mead and beer, meaning it might include malt, hops or yeast which will be problematic for those with a gluten intolerance.
The American Mead Makers Association has a whole area on their website dedicated to those interested in opening a meadery and the HomebrewersAssociation.org includes a section on Mead Making on its site, for home brewing enthusiasts.
For those seeking to try it, seek out bars with a respectable cider offerings. Of the 22 cider lines at The Northman, one has always been dedicated to draught mead. Wild Blossom Meadery and Winery offers a Mead Club for 3, 6 and 12-months that sends two new bottles selected for members.
“In mid-February, we will launch a new ‘by-the-glass’ program offering several options for bottled meads,” adds Rutzen. “They can range in flavor profiles, from hopped blackberry or chili pepper meads, to a modern take on an Arnold Palmer, by blending honey with lemon juice and black tea.”
He admits that his guests tend to already be adventurous drinkers, and are eager to explore mead as well.
“In many ways, it is the happy medium between a cider and a cocktail,” he says. “The wild flavor combinations could even lend themselves as welcome additions to creative new cocktail recipes.”
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8efe11103c98a197373bbe329c99c878 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/megykarydes/2017/02/24/from-behind-the-bar-to-bottlers-3-veteran-bartenders-launch-their-own-businesses-part-ii/ | From Behind-The-Bar To Bottlers: 3 Veteran Bartenders Launch Their Own Businesses - Part II | From Behind-The-Bar To Bottlers: 3 Veteran Bartenders Launch Their Own Businesses - Part II
In the first of our two-part series, we shared why three veteran bartenders launched their own businesses. While bartenders have the advantage of knowing the ins and outs of their industry should they decide to start their own businesses, like any new business owner, frustrations come part and parcel. And in typical entrepreneurial parlance, frustrations are thinly-veiled opportunities.
Frustrations of An Entrepreneur
Miles Thomas, founder of Scrappy’s Bitters, a Seattle-based company that has been making handcrafted bitters since 2008, admits he wouldn’t call it a frustration, per se, but maybe more of an annoyance?
“I wouldn’t say it frustrates me, but specifically with bitters, there’s been this huge boom in the category and as a result I think a lot of new companies aren’t putting the time and attention into the products that they deserve, or at least would need in order to be successful and sustainable,” he says. “I have a library of every single bitters product out on the market, and the thing I see most frequently in a lot of these newer products is that they often have nice and pleasant flavors, but the strength and bitterness needed to stand up in a cocktail just isn’t there, and I think that’s where we excel.”
Lauren Myerscough, co-owner and operations manager of Cocktail & Sons, gets frustrated when people refer their syrup-based products as bitters.
“We're not bitters,” explains Myerscough. “We’re one integral part of your cocktail making experience that is here to make your life better. So, get your Cocktail & Sons syrups, add some citrus, your favorite liquor, ice and drink up!”
All US P.F. Chang’s locations will be serving the Dirty Olive Martini and using Dirty Sue Premium... [+] Olive Juice’s bottled olive juice. Eric Tecosky started his business more than 10 years ago out of his apartment in Los Angeles. (Photo credit: Natasha Mishano.)
Why They Do It
Despite the frustrations, these business owners and veteran bartenders wouldn’t have it any other way.
Like any smart entrepreneur, they’ve made the shift because into business because they believe in what they’re doing and making cocktails that much better.
“Not just with bitters but making a product with quality and efficacy in mind is a moral privilege that we enjoy,” says Thomas. “I want to do my part to help people find pleasure and fulfillment in their lives. That’s what this company is about.”
Max Messier, co-founder and Myerscough’s husband, and Myerscough are kind of like those chefs who write cookbooks about fish or other ingredients that tend to scare novice home cooks, except in their case the setting is the bar and the ingredients are a cocktail.
“So many guests would come in and enjoy their cocktails with us and share their passion for cocktails in general but confess they didn’t know what to do once they got back home with all the ingredients,” she admits. “Plus, they didn’t know how to replicate the great cocktail experience they had at the bar. We decided someone needed to put those tools into everyone’s hands.”
Messier’s grandparents raised him learning to mix drinks in their living room and back then, that was the norm. “Now that we’re all entertaining at home again, everyone should be as good at it as pre-teen Max was,” she adds. “And it should be a simple pleasure. We hope Cocktail & Sons brings that simplicity and confidence into people’s happy hour.”
Eric “ET” Tecosky, founder and owner of Dirty Sue Premium Olive Juice which bottles premium, twice-filtered olive juice for cocktails like Dirty Martinis, Bloody Marys and Micheladas, didn’t thinking owning and running his own business would be easy, but he didn’t realize how much work was involved and the hustle non-stop. “Every day is an adventure,” he says. “But that is also what is great about it – it’s challenging and at the same time exciting and ever changing.”
He admits that like any business owner there are days where he thinks he’s going to lose his mind but the great thing about being in the drinks business is that there really is no recession.
“When the world is happy, the world drinks,” Tecosky says. “And when the world is miserable, the world drinks!”
We’ll drink to that.
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908258b5f123746c47a0d209c2387d03 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/megykarydes/2018/05/09/is-this-chicago-suburb-the-next-hot-foodie-town/ | Is This Chicago Suburb The Next Hot Foodie Town? | Is This Chicago Suburb The Next Hot Foodie Town?
Is Naperville, Illinois, having a moment? It’s not easy to get Chicagoans to trek to Naperville, which is located about 30 miles west of Chicago and since the best way to get there is by expressway (and it’s a solid hour and then some, depending on time and day you go). Still, food lovers will go wherever good food is to be enjoyed, and it seems like Naperville might be worth packing for provisions and heading westward. Here are three reasons why Naperville is having a foodie moment.
Bien Trucha Group has expanded with the opening of its fourth restaurant in downtown Naperville, Santo Cielo, which is conveniently located diagonally across from its third restaurant, Quiubo. Since 2006, husband-and-wife duo Ricardo and Dolores Garcia-Rubio (also known as “Loli”) have grown the brand’s portfolio from a tiny, four-table restaurant – Bien Trucha in Geneva, Illinois – to a reputable restaurant group renowned for its Mexican cuisine at Bien Trucha, A Toda Madre and Quiubo. Their motivation to open Santo Cielo, according to the duo, was their desire to offer an elevated restaurant concept unlike anything Naperville had seen.
Santo Cielo, a restaurant that recently opened in Naperville, Illinois, offers guests a menu infused... [+] with subtle notes of worldly cuisines from the owners' travels such as scallop chowder, sweet cucumber brisket sliders, charred Spanish octopus, saffron tagliatelle, aji-miso glazed sea bass and more. Santo Cielo
To make that a reality, they enlisted restaurant experts Patrick Neary (owner of Wildwood restaurant in Geneva) and J.C. Gonzalez-Mendez (who held a 30-year career at McDonald’s Corporation) as well as sons Rodrigo and Julio Cano, to carry on the family’s legacy while introducing a completely new menu infused with subtle notes of world cuisines from the family’s travels, such as scallop chowder, sweet cucumber brisket sliders, charred Spanish octopus, saffron tagliatelle, aji-miso glazed sea bass and more.
Part of the Bien Trucha Group, Santo Cielo is conveniently located diagonally across from the... [+] restaurant group's third restaurant, Quiubo, in downtown Naperville, Illinois, a suburb about 30 miles west of Chicago. Santo Cielo
Santo Cielo hopes to take the group to new heights– quite literally, as the restaurant is located atop Hotel Indigo in Naperville, featuring sleek, monochromatic interiors and retractable windows that bring the views of Naperville’s downtown indoors year-round. You may also catch Rodrigo expressing his true passion as DJ in the VIP area on a good night.
Chef Mark Grimes of Che Figata, a new restaurant opening in Naperville, Illinois, wants to offer... [+] patrons a truly unique Italian menu with carefully crafted homemade pastas, artisanal Roman-style pizzas, rustic dishes from the wood-burning grill and more. Che Figata
Later this month, another restaurant, Che Figata, will be opening in Naperville. At the helm is Chef Mark Grimes, with more than 100 restaurant opening-credits to his name, who wants to offer patrons a truly unique Italian menu with carefully crafted homemade pastas, artisanal Roman-style pizzas, rustic dishes from the wood-burning grill and more. The culinary team is dedicated to recipes featuring not only fresh but rare ingredients that are flown in regularly and authentically represent Italian cuisine. As a special highlight, Che Figata features outdoor seating in the summer months as well as a European-style marketplace with ready-made dishes, pastas, sauces, wines and seasonal ingredients for the home cook.
Finally, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention CityGate Centre. The multi-use campus is filled with retail shops and restaurants, a world-class spa, Hotel Arista, and office space. Coming up is CityGate Centre North Entertainment Complex, a new, 25-acre facility being developed at the CityGate Centre, which will be DuPage County’s largest multi-use entertainment facility.
Chicago is an embarrassment of riches when it comes to great restaurants. To be sure, the hot restaurants in popular neighborhoods attract visitors because they're great restaurants. But I'm on the hunt for those restaurants that are great but may not have those pedigree addresses, like the restaurants I mentioned in my article on this underrated Chicago neighborhood. Is Naperville the next foodie hot spot? If restaurants like newcomers Santo Cielo and Che Figata are any indication, we might find more people trekking out to the western suburb to find out.
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20b998468e2d0663c18e529f53ce21bf | https://www.forbes.com/sites/megykarydes/2018/05/29/aldi-u-k-is-selling-halloumi-fries-and-the-internet-is-going-crazy/ | Aldi U.K. Is Selling Halloumi Fries And The Internet Is Going Crazy | Aldi U.K. Is Selling Halloumi Fries And The Internet Is Going Crazy
Aldi just announced a new product in their United Kingdom grocery stores and I’m starting a campaign to bring them to the United States, although I’m pretty sure my ancestors might give me the side eye. Halloumi fries are now available in the freezer section, as of May 18.
I had read about my beloved halloumi being made into fries and I had to try some. Would they taste like how my mother would prepare them on the grill as I was growing up? Are they like mozzarella sticks since halloumi is a cheese?
Stupid me, I thought they were at the Aldi stores in the United States so I’ve been dragging my kids and husband to any Aldi we’d find as we were running errands or returning home from school and go on a treasure hunt to each freezer. After asking at each store, we’d leave with cauliflower or smoked gouda – but not with any halloumi fries.
Megy's kids enjoying their first halloumi and lountza sandwich in Cyprus. Megy Karydes
After a week and long weekend of disappointment, this morning I decided to track down these fries and learned they’re only available in the U.K. for now. According to the press release I found on Aldi’s U.K. website: the halloumi fries were inspired by a similar offering from popular Portuguese chicken eatery, Nando’s. “Aldi’s Specially Selected Haloumi Fries are made with scrumptiously soft - and slightly salty - halloumi cheese from Cyprus and a lightly seasoned crispy coating making them the perfect side or snack for sharing,” the press release details continue.
“Halloumi is very popular right now and we are delighted to be the first supermarket to bring our customers halloumi fries, a snack we think will be a big hit this summer and which isn’t currently available from any other supermarkets,” adds Julie Ashfield, Joint Managing Director of Corporate Buying at Aldi UK.
Ashfield is right that halloumi is very popular right now. Granted, I’ve been eating the cheese since I was a baby since both my parents are from Cyprus but I’ve also begun seeing it at grocery stores like Trader Joe’s. I get my stash from my mother, who imports bricks of it at a time but I still want to try these fries.
If Twitter is any indication, they are going to sell out fast. One fan recently remarked on Twitter: "Aldi is selling Golden & Crispy Halloumi Fries and we can't even deal" while another couple was so excited that they found them: "Lisa has located the Aldi halloumi fries! What a day for Aldi!"
Sigh. We cannot enjoy this kind of grocery shopping experience in the United States.
WASHINGTON, DC- APRIL 29, 2015: Fava Bean and Spinach Pilaf With Fried Halloumi photographed in... [+] Washington, DC (Photo by Deb Lindsey For The Washington Post via Getty Images).
Beyond making them into fries, halloumi can be grilled as a burger since it's a versatile, semi-hard cheese made from a mixture of goat's and sheep's milk, and sometimes also cow's milk. It's originally from the island of Cyprus, where it's still made, but demand for the cheese worldwide has expanded its geographic footprint and now the cheese is even made in the United Kingdom and Australia.
In the absence of enjoying them state-side, my husband offered to make some for me using a halloumi fries recipe we found on BBC. Short of us hopping on a plane to the U.K., that might be our best option for now.
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d000425d118f22c9a7f77e888a69984d | https://www.forbes.com/sites/megykarydes/2018/08/27/5-ways-to-feed-your-family-well/ | 5 Ways To Feed Your Family Well | 5 Ways To Feed Your Family Well
This month is back-to-school for many American children. With the return to routine comes the dreaded question: what’s for dinner? In her new book, How To Be A Happier Parent: Raising a Family, Having a Life, and Loving (Almost) Every Minute, KJ Dell’Antonia devotes an entire chapter on food, fun and family time to help parents with children at home, no matter the age.
“Convenience can be cheap, or it can be healthy, but it is almost never both,” Dell’Antonia writes. We’ve been fed a bunch of lies by major corporations that try to sell us on the idea that their food is healthy and nutritious and perfect for families on-the-go. The reality is that while convenience may be “cheap,” it’s actually costing us in the long run because our health is being compromised. Being mindful of this fact reminds us that if we want to feed our families healthier meals, we have to plan for it.
In her new book, How To Be A Happier Parent: Raising a Family, Having a Life, and Loving (Almost)... [+] Every Minute, KJ Dell’Antonia devotes an entire chapter on food, fun and family time to help parents with children at home, no matter the age. Megy Karydes
Do we want to work for it, though? It’s a question we do need to ask ourselves. “The first step toward happier family meals is to really want happier family meals,” she adds. To make the case that we do want to work for it, she shares a quote by Jenny Rosenstrach, a popular food blogger and the author of Dinner: A Love Story, that hits to the heart of the matter: “For me – like most people – it’s sometimes the only time all day I have a meaningful conversation with my kids.”
As Dell’Antonia says, no one single dinner makes a family. “It’s the accumulation of all that time together, in the kitchen, at the table, eating whatever it is you’re eating,” she adds.
So how do we do it? Here are five takeaways that I loved from this chapter, and can easily be incorporated into any family habits.
Sit down and create a meal plan for the week. It will save you and your family both time and headaches in the long-run. It’s also a healthier alternative and less expensive than drive-throughs. Have ingredients for at least three go-to meals on hand and put a list of meal ideas where you can find them so you can create something fast since you already have the ingredients on hand. Rather than having unhealthy snacks around as temptation, ask your kids to choose their own snacks when you go grocery shopping as long as they don’t come in a bag or a box. Also, Dell’Antonia tries to add healthy snacks on her shopping list that are as convenient as a bag of chips such as bagels, cherry tomatoes, frozen fruits to make easy smoothies or cheese tortellini and smoked salmon. Part of the appeal is snacks is that they’re fast and easy to grab so make yours a healthier version but still something fast and easy for them. Batch-cook on weekends or when you have more time. Batch-cooking is how Ellen Spirer Socol, a working mother in Westchester County, New York, can crank out six meals (plus cookies!) within three hours on a Saturday morning. Batch-cooking on the weekends and cooking double of everything so you can freeze another meal is key, according to Socol. While Socol does it on her own, Dell’Antonia does something similar with a friend a couple of times a year. They each cook double of two or three freezable meals and swap them. The bonus is that you not only have pre-made and healthy meals at the ready, but it offers a variety for each family. Make it even more fun by making a day of it with your friend and cook together in the same kitchen. Picky eaters? Have a deconstructed meal. Rosenstrach calls it “Venn diagram eating” and the idea is you let each family member choose what to include in their meal. For example, I can’t eat mushrooms or corn for dietary reasons but that doesn’t mean my kids can’t enjoy those ingredients in their meals. I love this idea even for those who aren’t picky eaters – it’s a way to make having meals together fun.
Dell’Antonia reminds us that mealtime isn’t really just about what everyone is eating. It’s really more about being together. The former The New York Times Motherlode lead writer and editor has decades of experience on what it takes to make us stronger family units and it's such a treat to read what she's learned over the years in this easy-to-read and accessible book. Meal times can be stressful for many families and she's devoted an entire chapter on the subject as well as offering ideas that are reasonable and do-able for most of us.
“You’re talking, you’re laughing, you’re together, you’re modeling a good relationship with food and family,” she says. “You can get supplements and vitamin D from sunshine. You can’t get a happy family meal together anywhere else.”
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4d4580767030713df7d5f1a385dc5b7e | https://www.forbes.com/sites/megykarydes/2019/03/26/how-to-maximize-your-gardens-to-produce-more-fruit-and-vegetables-and-minimize-food-waste/ | How To Maximize Your Gardens To Produce More Fruit And Vegetables And Minimize Food Waste | How To Maximize Your Gardens To Produce More Fruit And Vegetables And Minimize Food Waste
Many of us living in the north are counting the days until we can get our hands dirty and start planting flowers and vegetables. As in years past, the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences had another excellent booth at this year’s Chicago Flower and Garden Show with several displays that shared ideas on everything from what types of fruits to consider growing (hint: think berries), how to compost, and even what to consider when building your own greenhouse.
For those of us itching to play in the dirt, here are some of the ideas Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences students shared:
The Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences shared a number of great ideas on everything from... [+] what types of fruits to consider growing, how to compost, and even what to consider when building your own greenhouse during this year's Chicago Flower and Garden Show. Megy Karydes
Increase fruit production: three easy-to-grow and source berry varieties, some of which can be grown in containers or hanging baskets for those with limited space, include blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries. Blueberries do fine in containers and the blueberry plant has scented flowers in spring, fiery-colored autumn foliage before giving us its nutritious crop in late summer. Note that blueberries do need acidic soil, which can be bought at local garden centers.
Using a 3-bin compositing system will help you turn yard and food waste into black gold. Megy Karydes
How to compost: compost is an organic matter that has been decomposed and then used to retain moisture in the soil. This helps reduce the need for fertilizers, encourage the growth of beneficial bacteria and lower our carbon footprint. Still, there are some things you shouldn’t compost, most of which are animal products such as meat, fish, butter, yogurt or animal fat.
One option to maximize your food waste and other “green” materials like grass clippings and fresh plant waste is to create a 3-bin composting system. Add yard waste to one of the end bins and then mix in those green materials or other fresh plant waste with “brown” materials like dried leaves, wood chips or shredded branches. Throw in kitchen scraps because they have a lot of nitrogen compared to carbon which means you won’t need to add fertilizer with nitrogen in your pile.
Check the temperature, ideally with a compost thermometer, and once the middle area has reached 140 to 150 degrees Fahrenheit, turn the pile from the original end bin into the adjacent center bin.
Soon all of those heaps will turn into black gold that you can use in your garden. For more information on Composting 101, the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences shared this resource on one of its posters which includes excellent information.
Before building a greenhouse, consider how much growing space you will need as a greenhouse is a... [+] long-term investment and you may find yourself wishing you had more space to grow more as the years add on. Megy Karydes
Build a small greenhouse: before embarking on building a greenhouse, consider how much growing space you will need as a greenhouse is a long-term investment and you may find yourself wishing you had more space to grow more as the years add on.
Location matters so it’s advised to pick a location closer to your house or garden and easily accessible to electricity and water. Another consideration for where to place your greenhouse is its exposure to the sun. Look for an area with maximum exposure. “If possible, find a location where the greenhouse will be getting at least 6 hours of direct sunlight per day during the winter. By orienting the greenhouse east to west, the largest side will get full southern sun exposure. If you don’t have an area with enough sun, grow lights can be added to compensate,” according to Planet Natural Research Center, which also sells greenhouse kits.
Finally, you’ll want to consider the glazing that is appropriate for your site. Glazing is the covering around your greenhouse frame and responsible for letting the sunlight and warmth in while keeping the elements out. The best glazing is glass, although it can be expensive to cover your entire greenhouse in glass. Other options include plastic sheeting, which is inexpensive in the short-term but will deteriorate quickly. Polycarbonate is a good alternative to both as it’s less expensive than glass, lightweight and retains heat better than both glass and plastic. Also, it is flexible in use since it can be used for both flat and curved surfaces, transmits light well and extremely strong.
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abbaddfc8a4d6dde2dff9dfde80663ca | https://www.forbes.com/sites/megykarydes/2019/04/08/chicagos-growing-home-is-using-food-and-farming-to-help-nourish-more-than-the-body/ | Chicago's Growing Home Is Using Food And Farming To Help Nourish More Than The Body | Chicago's Growing Home Is Using Food And Farming To Help Nourish More Than The Body
Food nourishes our body and in some cases, food can save us. Growing Home is a nonprofit organic farm that provides employment training and organic produce in the Greater Englewood community of Chicago. Colette learned about the organization when a representative came to talk about the job training program at her parole facility. She knew she needed to change her life and seven years after she’d start the program, she now helps others who were in similar situations.
“Our work helps promote food justice, eliminating barriers to employment, recidivism, reentry, and generally supports economic development in Englewood,” says Danielle K. Perry, executive director of Growing Home. Whenever she asks Colette to share her story, she’s always eager to share, Perry says.
When Colette was 11-years-old, things started to become difficult for her and her family. Her father’s business was failing and her older sister, the caretaker of all five siblings, started to show signs of paranoid schizophrenia. Then the family was evicted from their apartment. They had to move into a Salvation Army shelter and Colette couldn’t understand why this was happening to her.
Growing Home is a nonprofit organic farm that provides employment training and organic produce in... [+] the Greater Englewood community of Chicago. Andrew Collings
“I felt ashamed, like I was living a double life because other people at school didn’t know,” she shares. Trying to deal with the hardships she as being dealt, she began stealing food and clothing a year later and by the time she reached 14, she would serve her first sentence at Warrenville Illinois Youth Center for burglary. She’d return to jail four more times for non-violent convictions and become addicted to heroin. She was unable to hold down a good job and ran through a string of low-paid work.
She knew she needed to make a change but wasn’t sure what to do. Still, she knew she needed to figure out something because her son was beginning to follow in her footsteps as he was serving a sentence in the same institution she was. “I needed to lead by example so he didn’t repeat my lifestyle,” she says.
Growing Home's work helps promote food justice, eliminating barriers to employment, recidivism,... [+] reentry, and generally supports economic development in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood. Andrew Collings
Colette participated in the drug treatment program in prison and developed a passion for gardening so when Growing Home came to talk about the job training program at her parole facility, Grace House, Colette thought, “Wow! This is perfect for me.”
She started the program in March 2012 and has been loving her experience since.
“I love smelling the dirt and everyone was so nice and supportive,” adds Colette. “Growing Home taught me the importance of teamwork and how to build positive relationships. It felt like a family.”
Growing Home introduced Colette to Cabrini Green Legal Aid (CGLA) who helped her seal part of her criminal record. Over time, Colette built a relationship with the agency and now holds a full-time job with benefits at CGLA.
Growing Home's 14-week employment training program uses farming to teach transferable skills to... [+] individuals with barriers to employment, giving them the opportunity to secure full-time, stable jobs. Andrew Collings
“I’m able to help people, to be an inspiration,” says Colette now as she helps kids and mothers reunite, lobbies for political reform, and works to eliminate sex trafficking. “This job is meaningful. I’m not going anywhere.”
Colette is currently enrolled in the social work program at Harold Washington College in Chicago to continue building her career and help others find a positive path in their lives through leading by example.
Stories like Colette are common at Growing Home.
“Growing Home’s mission is to operate, promote, and demonstrate the use of organic urban agriculture as a vehicle for job training, employment, and community development,” Perry shares.
Their 14-week employment training program uses farming to teach transferable skills to individuals with barriers to employment, giving them the opportunity to secure full-time, stable jobs. “We operate two USDA-certified organic farms located in the Englewood neighborhood of Chicago and distribute our produce at markets throughout the city and to Greater Englewood residents,” Perry adds.
The results have been impressive. In 2018, 86% of their graduates found employment while the farm produced over 25,000 pounds of food.
For those who want to dig in the soil, learn more about the organization or get involved as a volunteer, Perry encourages those interested to get in touch now as most of the volunteering happens during the farming season. Training began last month and will continue through November during weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Other volunteer opportunities include helping with events and assist with administrative projects.
“Please email for a list of scheduled volunteer days, to sign-up, to inquire about recurring volunteer positions, and to inquire about group volunteer opportunities,” Perry recommends.
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b96c6b1fcdeda90c27d987ad557fc676 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meimeifox/2016/08/08/5-reasons-why-social-entrepreneurship-is-the-new-business-model/ | 5 Reasons Why Social Entrepreneurship Is The New Business Model | 5 Reasons Why Social Entrepreneurship Is The New Business Model
Today’s young people are as concerned with making a positive impact on the world as they are with making money. A whopping 94% want to use their skills to benefit a cause. Meanwhile, only half of Americans have confidence in the free market system, down from 80% just 15 years ago.
Against this backdrop, social enterprise has taken off as a new formula for success, combining capitalism with a do-gooder mentality. These self-funding, for-profit businesses also have a mission to tackle global issues such as alleviating hunger, improving education, and combatting climate change. To achieve their high-minded goals, the companies might fund specific programs, partner with governments or existing philanthropic entities, or follow a one-for-one donation model, and work on either the local or international level.
I spoke with several leading social entrepreneurs, all of whom are incredibly enthusiastic about what they do for a living because it allows them to live their passion, embracing a career with meaning. Here are five reasons why they believe social entrepreneurship is the new business model:
It connects you to your life purpose.
Honeycomb is a social impact SaaS platform bringing businesses and philanthropy together to make the world a better place. The company has facilitated over $2.4 million in social impact to over 500 non-profits in less than four years.
Melissa Levick has aligned her career with her life purpose. (Photo by Studio Emp)
Honeycomb cofonder Melissa Levick said, “ Having social impact built into your business model allows you to live your life on purpose. It's about connecting your brand's why with how it can be used authentically to serve the world. It's not a gimmick or a marketing tool. It's a genuine mechanism to solve social problems while feeling connected to a higher purpose.”
It keeps you motivated.
Ido Leffler had tremendous success with one of his first businesses, the natural beauty brand Yes To (Carrots, Cucumbers, etc). When thinking about what to do next, he and his business partner Lance Kalish decided to build their company on three key pillars: working with incredible people, making great products, and benefiting an impactful cause.
Leffler created Yoobi to make school supplies fun again and solve a big problem along the way: Teachers in the U.S. spend an average of $500 out of their own pockets every year on school supplies, and millions of kids don't have the tools they need to realize their potential in the classroom. For every Yoobi item sold, the company donates supplies such as colored pencils, staplers, and notebooks to schools in disadvantaged neighborhoods.
Ido Leffler handing out Yoobi school supplies. (Photo by Kendal Lovejoy)
Why found a social enterprise? “I think the biggest question once you’ve reached success is one of motivation,” Leffler said. “What keeps you going? For us, it was this idea that we didn't want to just be ‘widget guys.’ We wanted to make a real and lasting impact on people’s lives. It's that simple. At the end of the day, giving back in the way that we are is much more rewarding than any business success I can think of."
It brings you lasting happiness.
Corporate360 is a multi-million dollar outbound marketing data software start-up that founder Varun Chandran created without external funding. The company also runs an NGO in Chandran’s hometown of Padam, in Kerala, India.
The social enterprise’s main programs include improving sanitation, drinking water, and housing for the villagers. The company has gifted a school bus and an ambulance to the local government. Every academic year, the Corporate360 team distributes school kits consisting of bags, books, umbrellas, and lunch boxes to the local students. In addition, through its SmartWorker software, Corporate360 hires women, youth and physically challenged individuals from low-income families, training them to perform simple digital data tasks and connecting them to a life-changing source of income.
Varun Chandran finds happiness giving back to his hometown. (Courtesy of Varun Chandran)
Chandran himself grew up in Padam extremely poor, the son of a farmer. This is a big reason why, for him, the definition of success includes making a difference in other people's lives. "I have discovered a larger purpose,” Chandran said. “My biggest happiness so far in life is being able to go back to the village where I was born and 'adopt' it. When I first made money, I traveled to 32 different countries and bought everything that I had ever wanted, but I realized that I still wasn’t happy. I found real, lasting happiness through my social impact work. At the same time, it makes me feel more responsible for working hard to build the business so that I can contribute even more. It’s a win-win situation, and I enjoy it to the fullest.”
It helps you help others discover their life purpose.
NEWaukee, based in Milwaukee, is the only social architecture firm in the country that operates on a social enterprise business model. “We believe that the place in which a company is located and how invested that company is in the local community have a direct correlation to the ease with which it sources the talent needed to make its products and the customers needed to buy its products,” explained NEWaukee co-founder and CEO Angela Damiani.
Angela Damiani enjoying her hometown and primary cause, the city of Milwaukee. (Photo by Jason... [+] Klein)
The social enterprise model allows NEWaukee to offer hundreds of events and programs annually to the public for free, build public parks and works of public art without the need for taxpayer or philanthropic investment, and support twenty-four different non-profit organizations at no charge. “We’ve developed a mechanism for corporations to put the human back into human resources while simultaneously making the Milwaukee community a more equitable, accessible and vibrant place for all to enjoy," Damiani said.
On a personal level, Damiani feels honored to “live and breathe this work every day.” She said, “Not only have I found my own passion through creating this business model, but also I am delighted to help others find their own life purpose through our projects and programs. We are serving our clients while shedding light on their potential to be their best and brightest.”
It is what today's consumers want.
WE’VE provides hand-selected, skilled artisans from Cambodia, India and the U.S. with a global online marketplace for their goods. All the eco-friendly products are sustainably created. In addition, WE’VE collaborates with the artists to support their families and local communities.
Eve Blossom believes today's consumers want products with a purpose. (Photo by Rick Dean)
WE’VE Founder and CEO Eve Blossom said, “As consumers, we have redefined ourselves as citizens of the world. More and more people are interested in products and services that align with their values. We are considering our purchases in a holistic sense, examining the price of products not only in terms of the amount paid at the register, but also the total cost of production along the way, including pesticides and poisons used, sweatshops employed, and other, broader human consequences. A whole industry has grown around this revelation, as businesses are being built on a smarter framework of ecological, economic and social sustainability. The most fulfilling goods and services are those that connect us in relevant ways to other people and help us live in concert with our values .”
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222a57ce4350c8c61c242c8db79fde6b | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meimeifox/2016/09/20/a-creative-with-a-burning-passion-for-branding/ | A Creative With A Burning Passion For Branding | A Creative With A Burning Passion For Branding
Adam Padilla at the BrandFire office. (Courtesy of BrandFire)
“The greatest thing about pursuing a career that has value and meaning is that I don’t have to segment my personality into my ‘work self’ and my ‘out of the office’ self. I can be the same person all the time. I am constantly feeding off of my real-world experiences in my work, and constantly coming up with client ideas in my day-to-day life. I don’t consider my work a chore or a burden, I consider it my passion .”
So says Adam Padilla, cofounder and Chief Creative Officer of BrandFire, who is a self-described “professional brand creator.” BrandFire works with new and emerging brands to take them from obscurity into the public forum, and helps well-established companies make genuine connections with their core consumers. BrandFire has represented Zico coconut water, which was acquired by Coca-Cola for over $300 million, as well as small clients with new products and services who are struggling to find their true identity. These days, their portfolio includes an “eclectic, lively mix” of many different types of companies, including a pharma giant, a moving company, a gourmet salsa company, and RUN DMC.
Padilla enjoying the creative process. (Courtesy of BrandFire)
Padilla is involved in every phase of the business, from client acquisition – formulating BrandFire’s marketing strategy and attending first meetings with potential customers – to execution of the final product. When it comes to the creative side of the business, he works alongside agency veteran Bryan Black, who spent a majority of his career at Deutsch advertising. “We work very closely preparing creative strategy and presentation materials for our clients, the process of which is inevitably a mix of creativity, logic, cultural insight, brutal arguments, laughing fits, and eureka moments,” Padilla said with a smile.
Padilla first tapped into his life purpose where he was just three years old. “My grandfather would draw with me, using a pencil that he hand-sharpened with a knife,” Padilla said. “It was a real old-school process. It always made me feel like art was a timeless thing.” Later, Padilla began to draw at school, where it became clear that others considered him a good artist and a pretty funny person. He enjoyed combining humor and art to elicit an emotional response from his classmates, teachers, and parents.
Also, Padilla was fascinated from a young age by the magic of brands, wondering how one product his mother bought at the grocery store could feel like it was inherently better than the next one. He would sketch logos and product packaging “in an attempt to replicate that alchemy.”
These days, Padilla says, what he does for a living gives him tremendous satisfaction and joy, because “it is the perfect fusion of technical skill (20 years of multimedia computer graphics practice), improvisation, intellect, cultural awareness, humor, art, and science. I have the yin-yang of relentless logic and boundless imagination in my DNA, and love to use those tools on a daily basis.” He derives a sense of self from the quality of his work and watching his clients become successful.
“You can’t fake true passion, and I overflow with it,” Padilla said. He admitted that this dedication to his career can be painful at time. “But if you are looking for a path without pain, you are missing the point. Pain is the only thing that corrects you, teaches you what isn’t working, and makes you uncomfortable enough to make lasting change. Pain is the teacher, and the more you care, the more it hurts. Happiness comes from coming to terms with that dynamic, facing your pain, and understanding that fear and doubt are only your imagination’s attempt to shield you from it. You have to move through it. On the other side is growth and progress.”
Padilla’s wife, Willow, has accepted the fact that they can’t watch a television show or walk through a grocery store without Padilla commenting on every single brand he sees and getting into philosophical conversations about the usage of certain phrases or the placement of products. But he feels confident that this passion is what gives him his edge. “The fact that I care so deeply, and can do so with partners, friends, and co-workers whom I truly love and enjoy being with, well, that makes me the luckiest person on the planet.”
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9c104cd48f89d5d681bbe197e96c9778 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meimeifox/2016/09/23/entrepreneur-never-imagined-ethical-eco-conscious-fashion-line/ | How The Millennial Behind This Eco-friendly Fashion Startup Became An Accidental Entrepreneur | How The Millennial Behind This Eco-friendly Fashion Startup Became An Accidental Entrepreneur
Sofia Melograno is the founder & CEO of Beru Kids. (Photo by Stephanie Plomarity)
Although 27-year-old Sofia Melograno has always been in touch with her life purpose, which is to “work in a space that benefits the greater good in some way,” she is surprised at how she got there. Growing up, her family was dedicated to philanthropic giving. Her grandparents have a foundation that supports the arts, advancing cultural and social causes: The Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation. Her grandfather often said to her, “ There’s nothing wrong with a little capitalism... as long as you try to make a difference. ”
Today, Melograno runs Beru Kids, an ethically-made children’s clothing line based in downtown Los Angeles, which she founded. Beru manufactures all their garments by repurposing surplus fabrics, also known as deadstock. Since day one, the company has been committed to producing responsibly-made items and providing jobs to the local community. The clothes are comfortable, easy-to-wear, in mix and match colors that “let kids be little.”
Kids playing in Beru clothing. (Photo by Kelly Sweda)
Melograno’s favorite part of her job is working closely with Beru’s Creative Director on design and choosing the prints/colors for each collection. But the young entrepreneur also takes care of the daily operations, responding to customer questions, organizing retail and wholesale shipping, crunching numbers, and completing many other less exciting tasks that are part of running a start-up.
While she loves her job, Melograno never thought that she would work in fashion, let alone have her own line. Throughout college and grad school, she studied and worked in poverty alleviation and international development, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa. She was on track to have a career at an NGO, and wanted to be in the field doing research or humanitarian work. However, she quickly became frustrated with the lack of impact the NGO world had due to inter-country politics, corruption, and lack of funding. “I believed there had to be a better model for having an impact while remaining sustainable,” Melograno said.
During a trip to Tanzania, Melograno met a woman who had started a sewing cooperative employing HIV-positive mothers. This inspired Melograno to start looking into other social enterprises. Around that time, TOMS Shoes became popular, but Melograno was unconvinced by their one-to-one, buy one/give one model. On the plus side, she saw ethical products and social impact entering the fashion space and ultimately inspiring consumers to be more aware of their purchases. This is when Melograno noticed a gap in the market for a children’s clothing line that had a positive impact: ethically made in the USA, using environmentally friendly and organic fabrics.
Melograno selecting fabrics. (Courtesy of Beru Kids)
The greatest reward of building a company that aligns with her life purpose, Melograno says, is that it never feels like work. Nevertheless, she does find being an entrepreneur a challenge. “Start-ups are tough. You’re constantly ‘on.’ You eat, sleep, and breathe your company. Also, fashion is a saturated space, so you have to make a very strong effort to differentiate your brand and give consumers a reason to purchase from you.”
Melograno doesn’t believe that people can simply set out in search of their life purpose – she feels it is something that comes to you. “I never would have thought that my passion or purpose would include fashion,” she said. “I think part of how you find what’s right is through a process of elimination. You try a bunch of things that you don’t like and eventually stumble onto something that you’re into.”
That having been said, she encourages other young people to take a chance and go for it. “You’ll never feel like it’s the right time or that you’re in the right situation. Listen to your gut. If I had listened to those who told me that quitting my job and starting Beru Kids was a terrible idea, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”
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4db535580d00dbabbd0fe6aec1142eba | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meimeifox/2016/09/30/five-ways-to-find-passion-and-purpose-in-your-current-career/ | Five Ways To Find Passion and Purpose In Your Current Career | Five Ways To Find Passion and Purpose In Your Current Career
Millennials are most driven to achieve when they align their careers with their life purpose. Half are even willing to take a pay cut in order to follow a path that has personal meaning for them. And yet research shows that nearly 50% of American workers are unsatisfied with their current employment.
With all the time you spend on the job, it’s worth the effort to be in the half of the population that enjoys what they do for a living. Not only will it bring you greater day-to-day satisfaction and success, but also, studies show, fulfillment at work is correlated with long-term health and happiness.
Finding meaning in your work leads to long-term health and happiness. (Photo courtesy of Pexels)
Still, not everyone already in a career has the option of starting over right away. Perhaps you have financial or family obligations that restrict you to earning a certain salary or living in a specific location. Furthermore, not everyone fresh out of school or on the job market will find the “perfect fit."
So what happens if you feel stuck having to take or keep a job that doesn’t completely align with your life purpose? Are there ways you can find meaning and passion in your current career?
The answer is yes.
You have the power to tap into purpose in your present job, and to reframe what you do so that it has more personal meaning to you. So that it inspires you and makes you feel like going to work in the morning. So that you have the energy to make a positive impact on your organization and your colleagues, all the while building your own self-esteem. Here are a few ideas for how to take charge.
Make a list of what you most and least like about your current job. (Photo courtesy of Pexels)
Cut and Paste Your Responsibilities
Most jobs involve certain duties and obligations that we don’t want to perform, and others that we look forward to attacking with gusto. The question is, are there some duties you strongly dislike that you could off-load or share with someone else? Are there certain tasks you love that you could offer to take on more of within your current role?
Spend some time listing what you most love and most revile about your job. Then see if there isn’t room to make a few adjustments. You may never get out of quarterly financial reporting, but can your manager alleviate some of your duties in exchange for your taking on greater responsibility in another domain? If you positively adore leading meetings, perhaps you can talk to your boss about providing you with more opportunities to do just that.
A little bit of “cutting and pasting” job responsibilities can go a long way towards improving your day-to-day experience.
Look for a higher purpose at your company. (Photo courtesy of Pexels)
Tap into a Higher Corporate Purpose
As a professional writer, I have to spend many hours for every book project I complete copyediting – doing the tedious work of fact-checking, correcting spelling and punctuation. I don’t enjoy this process, but I know that it’s one of my responsibilities. I won’t ever get out of it. I have accepted the reality and dig in when the time comes.
In order to motivate myself during these weeks of drudgery, I tap into a higher purpose. I reflect on the value the book or article I’m writing is contributing to the world. I remember that the loathsome detail work is required if I want to create something worthwhile. This helps me stick with the copyediting and not lose focus.
Even if you don’t connect to your organization’s primary objective of, say, selling more shoes or developing the best database software, is there some aspect of what your company is doing that inspires you? Many businesses these days have explicit goals not just for maximizing profit, but also for the triple bottom line impact: social, environmental, and financial.
What is your company doing to contribute to a larger cause – whether that be employee development, going green, or directly supporting a philanthropic effort such as ending childhood hunger or combatting illiteracy? Speak to your manager about how you can get involved with one of these initiatives. View how your work is contributing, through these corporate efforts, to the greater good. Perhaps you can find meaning there.
Side projects can help give your work meaning. (Photo courtesy of Pexels)
Foster a Side Project
An MTV survey revealed that 78% of Millennials believe it is important to have a side project that can grow into a different career. Many companies today officially support programs in which their employees devote ten or even 20% of their time to passion projects. Making time for doing what you love, either on the job (if possible) or at home in the evenings and on weekends, can contribute significantly to your daily happiness.
One of my life coaching clients, Larry, worked at a top-notch tech company in Silicon Valley, a dream job for many. While he felt honored to have a position with so many perks, he silently suffered. Larry admitted to me that he didn’t enjoy his role of managing a small, unsuccessful mobile phone division of the enormous company. It didn’t align with his values or get his juices flowing.
I encouraged Larry to focus on a side project. He told me that he loved fidgeting with technology in order to improve mapping software. While he never did parlay this hobby into a full-time job with his corporate employer, Larry did eventually build a product decent enough to leave his job and strike out on his own as an entrepreneur.
Think creatively when reframing your job. (Photo courtesy of Pexels)
Give Yourself a New Job Title
Do you feel like you’re just not that important? Your job doesn’t matter? That you’re a tiny cog in the huge corporate wheel? Perhaps there is an opportunity here to reframe your career. Can you redefine it in a way that makes you feel more passionate?
A recent CNN article pointed to research in which hospital cleaning staff wrote themselves new job titles. Instead of "maintenance workers" responsible for emptying bedpans and sweeping floors, they were encouraged to think of themselves as "caregivers" and "ambassadors from the hospital." This simple cognitive step helped the staff find greater enjoyment in their jobs. Furthermore, they ended up performing their duties with more care.
Can you do the same with your job? Give yourself a new title, and have fun with it. Instead of “personal assistant,” call yourself “Organizational Maven.” Rather than “retail salesperson,” how about “Champion?” Go beyond “consultant” to “Visionary.” Top executives at major companies invent wild titles for themselves – of note, Chade Meng-Tan, one of my heroes, who calls himself Google’s “Jolly Good Fellow." Why don't you do the same?
Supporting your family can provide meaning enough for many. (Photo courtesy of Pexels)
Relish Your Personal Contribution to the World
In the end, you may find meaning simply in knowing that by doing your job, showing up, and earning money, you are supporting yourself, as well as potentially a spouse, children, and/ or aging parents. You can gain fulfillment in appreciating your role as a caretaker and provider. Take pride in that. Find the value in your work in your own heart.
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2fa2fb7d563408e821bab74c1fd6d469 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meimeifox/2016/11/11/why-are-tech-workers-so-satisfied-with-their-jobs/?sh=64f9adc5a059 | Why Are Tech Workers So Satisfied With Their Jobs? | Why Are Tech Workers So Satisfied With Their Jobs?
According to a recent survey of over 20,000 community members by Experts Exchange, the leading network of technology professionals, a vast majority of tech workers are satisfied with their jobs. When asked whether or not they feel appreciated on the job, 72% of respondents replied yes. 71% said they feel their career allows for solid work/life balance. Their biggest complaint? Sitting for long hours – a problem that is being alleviated in part by stand-up desks.
A recent survey showed the majority of tech workers are satisfied with their jobs. (Infographic... [+] courtesy of Experts Exchange)
Research shows that when employees are satisfied, they--and therefore, their organizations--perform better. So the question is: Why do tech workers tend to be happy with their careers? And what lessons might other businesses glean from this information?
I asked a diverse group of technology professionals from both genders and a variety of industries and geographical locations to share their thoughts. Here is what they had to say.
Tech companies encourage creativity on the job. (Photo courtesy of Flickr and Women of Color in Tech... [+] stock images)
You get to be creative.
Maureen, a director at a Fortune 500 tech HR firm in New Jersey, said, “I think of myself as a creative problem solver. Technology enables me to develop extremely creative solutions, often beyond what I initially could have imagined. I've always been ready for a new position after a year or so in a job. But when working on the latest technology, the change is so rapid that I never get bored.”
“When I was a kid and I got to make or do something cool, I’d say with pride, ‘Mommy, look what I made!’ I now get to do that at work,” offered Melissa, who works at an internet company in Washington D.C. “I get to fix things and make things. Add in a 'cool factor' that I take pride in, and I get just as giddy as a child doing my job. The tech industry appreciates energy and creativity.”
"The excitement of creating something evolutionary using technology is priceless. It isn't work; it is pure delight,” concluded Rokeya Jones, a Strategic Partner at Verizon in Atlanta.
Many tech companies allow flexible hours and working from home. (Photo courtesy of Pexels)
Your workplace tends to be family-friendly.
Michelle Laffen, Senior Finance Manager at LinkedIn in Silicon Valley, wrote, “LinkedIn is incredibly supportive of moms and their tiring schedules. I have two kids under four years old, and am constantly having to change my schedule to deal with the various complexities of managing a household, being a good mom, and working a full-time job. Currently, my life is a perfect storm, and LinkedIn is my safe harbor. I know my career will continue to flourish with the support I get from LinkedIn as a working mom.”
“I work from home and my entire team is also home-shored,” Maureen from the New Jersey tech HR firm explained. “That is a big key to employee satisfaction. Instead of being stuck in horrible traffic, I'm able to give my son and husband extra snuggles in the morning. I'm home when my son gets off the school bus in the afternoon, and can get a quick kiss even if I'm on a conference call. It helps me feel like I don’t have to make a choice between being a mom and having a career. Which makes it so much easier to do both!”
Tech workers often feel they fit in at their companies. (Photo courtesy of Pexels)
You feel like you belong.
“The technology tribe is ascendant,” said Everett Harper, CEO and Founder of Truss, a technology infrastructure company based in San Francisco. “People who used to be unpopular, solitary, ridiculed, awkward, and even socially anxious now create the social fabric, coded language, and behavior patterns for many companies. Not only have they found each other, but the skills they've honed since they were teens have become prized and lucrative. In short, they're now the cool kids.”
Bill Wright, Director of Global Business Development for Red Hat, wrote, “I’ve worked at some groundbreaking firms—ATG during the internet boom, VMware during the beginning of the cloud movement. Tech is a business open to new ideas and non-conformity, and you're never locked into any one role. I've enjoyed working in corporate strategy, global sales, and product management. I now work at Red Hat in the open source software area, which is a fascinating social movement based on a community approach. Business competitors and customers work together on developing products for the common good. This place feels like home.”
Many tech workers feel their career is aligned with their life purpose. (Photo courtesy of Pexels)
Your career is aligned with your passion and purpose.
“I originally thought my purpose in life was something different,” said Wright of Red Hat. “I started out of college as a freelance artist for ad agencies and worked nights as an aspiring screenwriter. One day, my brother called and said he had the perfect day job for me: an inside sales role at a software firm. It was my introduction to the tech business, and I soon found that this industry is anything but boring. I feel I’ve found my purpose in tech because it’s always interesting - I love the work, the people, the science, and the excitement.”
Vandana, an engineer at a Fortune 20 telecom company in New Jersey, said that she cannot imagine life without technology. It has led to automation, problem-solving, connectivity anytime and anywhere, and many other amazing advances. Getting to be part of a life-changing business and helping to create exciting new developments makes her a happy employee.
“We are solving a lot of the world’s problems using technology,” added Neena Naidu, a technology manager at Cox Automotive in Atlanta. “Seeing such products come to life is very rewarding and fulfilling.”
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ee5bede436ee98aa903db5f8abeee8ba | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meimeifox/2017/03/07/how-the-top-real-estate-tycoon-in-la-overcame-ms-to-achieve-success/ | How The Top Real Estate Tycoon In LA Overcame MS To Achieve Success | How The Top Real Estate Tycoon In LA Overcame MS To Achieve Success
In spite of being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in 2001, Tami Halton Pardee, a self-made entrepreneur, is currently ranked the number one real estate broker in Los Angeles. In addition, she is a mother of four and dedicated philanthropist.
Tami Halton Pardee is the most successful real estate broker in LA. (Photo by Gregg Segal)
Pardee is the founder, CEO and principal broker of Halton Pardee + Partners, a company that has sold over $2 billion worth of residential and commercial real estate. She takes a unique leadership approach that builds a strong culture of teamwork, capitalizes on the strengths of each member, and avoids employee burnout.
Her father instilled in Pardee a sense that she could do anything she wanted in life and that there wasn’t a glass ceiling. “He taught me that I should dream big and accomplish those dreams.” Never was that lesson more important than when she was diagnosed with MS. “The first three weeks after my diagnosis I literally couldn’t get out of bed. Each night I went to sleep terrified that I wouldn’t be able to walk when I woke up in the morning. It was so mentally crippling.”
This is when Pardee realized that she needed to adjust her mindset. “I acknowledged that MS was something that was going to change my life dramatically. Then I had to figure out a way to live in the now, without that crippling fear of tomorrow.”
Pardee speaking at the Skirball Center. (Courtesy of Tami Halton Pardee)
Pardee took a year off from working to focus on her values and what was most important to her. She attended the LifeForward program through the Hudson Institute of Coaching in Santa Barbara, which gave her the tools to get her life under control. “I was able to hone in on what was important to me in each area of my life – personal, family, friends, business and community. I had to make a commitment to live within my values and be true to myself. I had to learn to give up things I could not change. I made visions boards for my life that incorporated creative ways to live in the moment and truly appreciate every day. Rather than letting the MS diagnosis set me back, I took control of my life and made an actionable plan.”
Pardee knew that she was passionate about connecting people. Going into the real estate business allowed her to create a company that serves as a powerful connector between people, properties, and neighborhoods. “Every day we meet incredible people – ones who have worked hard to buy their first home, ones that are selling a home they’ve built over time, and ones that are making the first significant investment in their future,” Pardee said. “Those connections are what I value the most in what I do for a living.”
A Monday management meeting at Halton Pardee + Partners (Courtesy of Tami Halton Pardee) Tami Halton Pardee
Pursuing a career that is aligned with her purpose enables Pardee to “live a fully charged life. Every day, I’m able to bring joy to people during one of the most stressful times in their lives . Doing this, while also helping those in need, is how I define success.”
The greatest challenge Pardee faces in her everyday life is dealing with criticism. She explained, “For some time, I took criticism personally. Now if people aren’t talking about me, I worry that I am not at the top of my game. I take criticism as an incentive to keep striving for greatness. I’ve learned to focus my energy on my clients and employees – as long as I’m making them happy, that’s the ultimate compliment.”
The business leader is also passionate about giving back. Recently, Pardee was nominated by Los Angeles Business Journal for Philanthropist of the Year for her Life-Changer Program, which offers active participation and significant financial contributions to local charities, including Teen Project, Harvest Home, Homeless Task Force, Venice Community Housing Corporation, and more. To date, the program has donated over $875,000 to non-profits.
Pardee says that she created the Life-Changer Program because she feels that with success comes the opportunity to help others. “At Halton Pardee + Partners, our tagline is Opening Doors. Lifting Hearts. Changing Lives. We are connectors and strategists. We make a point to know our clients and the market better than any other company so we can always produce great results. And as we place our clients in their dream homes, we also strive to help those who do not have a safe home for themselves and their families.”
Pardee also loves being a mom to her four children. (Courtesy of Tami Halton Pardee) Tami Halton Pardee
To other people looking to find a career they’re passionate about, Pardee offers this advice. “Take a step back, create a vision board, and then lay out the precise baby steps towards accomplishing your goals – not just the giant leaps. By looking daily at progress and celebrating successes, you’ll have the encouragement and drive to take on the challenges of each day. Before you know it, the small steps will lead to great advancement in your career that furthers your passion and life path. Believe in yourself, celebrate your steps, and enjoy the ride of doing what you love!”
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0b095cf136cbe55d750cbfe97bf67896 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meimeifox/2017/12/01/meet-the-expeditionary-entrepreneur-helping-puerto-rico-recover-by-rebuilding-small-business/ | Meet The 'Expeditionary Entrepreneur' Helping Puerto Rico Recover By Rebuilding Small Business | Meet The 'Expeditionary Entrepreneur' Helping Puerto Rico Recover By Rebuilding Small Business
Shortly after Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico in September, news began to spread that conditions on the island were catastrophic. Most people had no power and limited or no access to fresh water and food.
This was Jesse Levin’s call to action. As the 32-year-old founder and CEO of Tactivate, he brings the concept of expeditionary entrepreneurship to disaster response and recovery operations. “In this realm, entrepreneurship is massively applicable from a lifesaving and economic stability perspective – but its role is relatively misunderstood to date,” Levin said. “We can benefit from reimagining how response and recovery transpires through an entrepreneurial lens. Our intent is to bring resources to the impacted local communities to empower their own response initiatives rather than creating dependency on external aid to facilitate recovery. ”
Jesse Levin, founder and CEO of Tactivate, deploying for The EBT Project in Puerto Rico. (Photo by... [+] Mike Atwood) Mike Atwood
How that happens is perfectly illustrated by Tactivate’s creation of The EBT Project in response to Hurricane Maria. Steve Birnbaum, director of operations for Tactivate, was pre-positioned a day prior to Maria’s impact in support of another group, and relayed information to Tactivate. The rest of the Tactivate team arrived shortly thereafter. On the ground, they quickly realized that many local food markets were well stocked and running off generator power. Even in the hardest hit regions of the island, store owners had worked hard to ensure that they had adequate supplies of food and water stocked. So why couldn’t the people of Puerto Rico access these resources, which they so desperately needed?
The issue was that vendors’ credit card processing systems were offline due to damage to Puerto Rico’s telecommunications infrastructure. As a result, the community could not use their social assistance (EBT) credit cards – and 45% of the island’s residents depend on EBT cards to make food and water purchases. People also had no access to cash, as ATMS and banks had gone offline, as well. Thus, the problem was not a lack of food and water due to logistical challenges, per se, as the traditional aid community was viewing it, but instead a connectivity issue.
Levin collaborating with the US Navy. (Photo by Mike Atwood) Mike Atwood
While the aid community worked to fix supply chain issues and made food and water drops to towns across Puerto Rico, Tactivate went to work connecting local market point-of-sale (POS) systems via satellite, thereby returning purchasing power to the impacted population and empowering local merchants. The organization’s efforts made food and water available immediately and helped to reinvigorate the local markets and restore economic stability. “The local community has the greatest vested interest in facilitating recovery and hence is often the best suited to do so from a sustainable perspective,” Levin explained.
Tactivate initially self-funded this project in order to be able to move quickly. The CIO of the Puerto Rican Government, Luis Arocho, and the Office of Family Services served as collaborators in the initial stages of The EBT Project. Technology providers Focused Mission brought the satellite solution to the island, and has installed 13 satellite units in strategic locations across Puerto Rico so far. The Foundation for Puerto Rico saw how The EBT Project was working to both alleviate immediate needs within the community and stimulate local economic activity, so they partnered with Tactivate to fully sponsor the equipment and data plan hard costs, which totaled just $33,000. This expense is far smaller than the costs associated with external aid drops.
Luis Arocho, CIO of Puerto Rico, collaborating with Tactivate. (Photo by Mike Atwood) Mike Atwood
To date, approximately $700,000 in EBT social assistance purchases and $600,000 in credit card transactions at grocery stores have been enabled by Tactivate’s project. This equates to over 31,000 individual purchases of food and water made locally, which have significantly reduced the community’s reliance on external aid during the emergency response phase. It also stimulated local commerce, helping to re-energize the economy and ensuring that small business owners could continue to pay the salaries their employees depend upon to support their own families.
Although he doesn’t feel he has identified a “life purpose,” Levin says that he is “happiest, most productive, and fully switched on when engaged in projects that simultaneously allow me to earn a living while having a tangible impact.” He enjoys several aspects of Tactivate that have enabled him to pursue several of his passions: his love for start-ups, working with Special Operations veterans (SOF) and helping them find career paths that inspire them post-service; and doing disaster response and humanitarian assistance work internationally in order to help local communities recover. “Watching the chain reaction of positive impact that our organization can have on individuals and communities is incredibly rewarding and far more valuable to me than monetary gain,” Levin said.
Tactivate collaborating with the Foundation for Puerto Rico. (Photo by Mike Atwood) Mike Atwood
As an entrepreneur who has been working with the SOF community for some time in various capacities from disaster response operations to start-ups, Levin offers this advice to people – and, in particular, veterans looking for meaning in their post-military jobs – who want to align their careers with their life purpose.
Asking for help and humility are two of the strongest forms of currency you have. These are not a weakness but a strategic advantage. Work to find people you admire and court one or two as mentors. The culture of startups and corporate America is vastly different than the military, as working with the SOF veteran community demonstrates. It is not necessarily team-oriented. View this as a design challenge where you can work to slowly morph the culture of the company to be more supportive and collaborative. Finding purpose in the private sector can be a slog. It’s okay not to discover the perfect job right out of the starting gate. Whatever you do, though, do something. It has been our experience working with the veteran community that the most detrimental element of transition is unstructured downtime. You may potentially have to take a lower paying short-term job or apprenticeship to get exposure, experience, and a foot in the door prior to making a more permanent or long-term commitment. Take advantage of these opportunities. Don’t view them as a waste of time – they can offer you a chance to learn a great deal.
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8ee78a1b822fd582b326b72d72fe8195 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meimeifox/2018/04/04/three-tips-social-enterprise-from-founder/ | 3 Tips For Starting Your Own Social Enterprise, From A Founder | 3 Tips For Starting Your Own Social Enterprise, From A Founder
Zane Wilemon is the cofounder of the for-impact company Ubuntu Made, which serves marginalized communities in Kenya. The social enterprise arm of the business creates meaningful jobs for women with special needs children through a product line that includes customizable shoes, a collaborative coffee business with Whole Foods Market, and a bottled water business. The profits of these ventures help sustain the Ubuntu Special Needs Centre, which serves to educate and provide healthcare for children with special needs. The goal of both ventures is creating opportunities that empower the local people by growing their skillsets so that they can lead dignified lives.
Ubuntu Made founder Zane Wilemon empowers mothers of special needs children with jobs. (Photo by... [+] Alice Oldenburg) Alice Oldenburg
Here, Wilemon offers three tips for founding your own social enterprise:
1.Invest in transformational rather than transactional relationships.
Ubuntu is where we are today in part because my cofounder Jeremiah Kuria and I were bold enough to create it, but mainly thanks to the key people we partnered with, including David Lannon of Whole Foods Market, Jeff Beaver of Zazzle, and Tara Cross of Allegro Coffee. Sure those are all noteworthy businesses, but even more importantly these very talented people believed in us and grew us as leaders. As Jeremiah often reminds me, "It's not just who you know, it's how you know them." Ubuntu strives to build lasting relationships with customers, employees, students, suppliers, and donors. Our approach is a mile deep and an inch wide, which means we commit long-term to the communities we serve. People talk a great deal about sustainability in this line of work, but there is nothing more sustainable than trusted long-term relationships. No matter if it’s a business deal or a joint development opportunity with our Ubuntu Kids, it all comes down to the authenticity of the relationships.
Case in point, today marks the launch of Ubuntu Made's Afridille, the world's first customizable shoe made in Africa. The Afridrille is a product built on a relationship that Ubuntu has been growing for over a decade with Zazzle's Jeff Beaver. Together, Beaver and Wilemon have been working on the product for years now, overcoming many obstacles thanks to the bonds of their long-lasting and trusted relationship.
A man wears a pair of Ubuntu Made shoes. (Photo by Claire Schaper) Claire Schaper
2. Be aware of your weaknesses.
Recognize your weaknesses and lean into them just enough so they don't blindside you. Then get the right people on your team to balance you out. If you don't, those weaknesses will determine the limits of your growth. I'm an advocate for playing to your strengths, but too much of your strength without some balance across your enterprise will sink your ship. Once those weaknesses are balanced, your trajectory is endless and you can start having some fun! My greatest inspirations are the people of Kenya and, specifically, the "Maker Mums" who create our Ubuntu products. Kenyans have a communal way of living and believe that we are all connected. Ubuntu means "I am because we are." The people we work with have taught me that our greatest value is one another. I’ve learned firsthand from empowered women who, when I first met them, were seen as outcasts in society because they had birthed children with special needs. Walking alongside them for over a decade, watching them work together with immense courage and drive to pull themselves and their families out of poverty, has been amazing and tranformational for me.
Joyce Njeri is an Ubuntu Maker Mum. (Photo by BC Serna) BC Serna
3. Take care of yourself.
I always say that if you want to see the absolute best and the absolute worst in people, then choose a life built on service to others. It’s a bizarre and painful thing, but when you are at the front lines, you see people overcome the greatest of odds to make their lives better. You also see unfulfilled commitments and unmet promises that in turn mean someone else is going to really struggle. This is the reality of life. Entering into each day with a sense of optimism in the face of overwhelming odds, that is my greatest challenge. It's important to keep your heart, mind and body healthy when you're working to tackle major issues. It's easy to get off-center fighting for what you believe in and growing a for-impact business, but your cause needs you to stay healthy so you don't lose the culture and passion that started your social enterprise in the first place. Stay healthy. The world needs you to build something that matters and that's built to last.
Wilemon first discovered his life purpose during his senior year of college, when he asked himself three questions:
What does it feel like to help people? What do I believe in? Who would I be if you dropped me in the middle of nowhere?
To figure out the answers, Wilemon purchased a one-way ticket to Kenya. The rest is history. He realized that his life purpose “is to be anchored in my beliefs yet open to what it means to be a global citizen, and to be part of creating something that matters.” To achieve this purpose, he started Ubuntu with his Kenyan cofounder, Jeremiah Kuria. “Ultimately, my desire is to equip people, whether that is our empowered women and children in Kenya or the customers that buy our products, with choices that enable them to live more fulfilled lives.”
The payoff for Wilemon is also immense. “To wake up every day creating something purposeful alongside people you love and fighting for a cause that you believe in: It’s the greatest feeling in the world.”
To other young people looking to align their careers with their life purpose, Wilemon offers this advice. “First, slow down and listen. Listening is probably the most important thing anyone can do to discover your life purpose. Our hearts are always speaking to us. Second, once you hear what your heart is saying, jump! Those moments of inspiration bubbling up from the heart into the conscious are often faint and subtle. The more you act on them, the stronger and more pronounced their voices become.”
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65fdf5eb9ba7d8aaf24c148a7ef52388 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meimeifox/2018/08/22/why-expecting-perfection-sets-you-up-for-failure/ | Why Expecting Perfection Sets You Up For Failure | Why Expecting Perfection Sets You Up For Failure
Despite efforts to diversify, women remain underrepresented in the world of fintech. Jess Liberi, Head of Product at eMoney Advisor, wants to shatter the misconception that women can’t have it all – be a C-suite exec, a loving wife, and an adoring mother. She has successfully climbed the corporate ladder at the second-biggest wealth management platform in the U.S. while also being a hands-on mom and raising three children under the age of six.
Jess Liberi is Head of Product at eMoney Advisor. Ahmad El Ajouz
At work, Liberi is responsible for defining eMoney’s companywide product vision and strategy. Her team synthesizes information from customers, internal stakeholders, and market research to come up with the most effective path forward. “I love that my career is always challenging. There is never a dull moment,” Liberi says. “The quick pace of innovation facilitates creative problem-solving. Our team effort to bring financial stability and insight to more and more people makes me feel good.”
At home, Liberi is a wife and mother to three young children. She admits that “It’s not always easy.” But she finds it helps to think of work-life balance as more of an integration of the two. “The beginning of one and the end of another aren’t always clear, and that’s what makes it work really well. The two – career and family – are both part of who I am.”
Liberi believes the key to success as a career parent is work-life integration. Ahmad El Ajouz
Liberi makes a conscious effort to disconnect from work each night and give her family her undivided attention over dinner. Additionally, she feels fortunate to have “a great partner. My husband and I are truly a team who divide and conquer dinner, bedtime, school, drop-off, sports practice, etc. We’re comfortable relying on unconventional methods to get the job done. Sometimes, we have to ask others for help, and that’s okay, too.”
Speaking to her success in both career and family life, Liberi emphasizes that seeking perfection sets you up for failure. “In the words of Voltaire, ‘Perfect is the enemy of good.’ That has been a lesson I’ve carried with me for years. At work, I have seen that the product doesn’t have to be perfect; it just has to be good. If you strive for perfection, you’ll never deliver, because you’ll never be fully satisfied. ”
But perfectionism can be damaging in all aspects of your life, Liberi emphasizes, because “perfection is subjective. Too often we compare ourselves to others and forget about our own journeys. There will always be someone who seems more successful, whether they seem like a better parent because they can volunteer in the classroom more, or they have a nicer, cleaner house, or are in better shape than you. Be proud of the decisions you have made, and if you’re not proud, don’t be afraid to make a change. Life is too short to try to live up to someone else’s expectations.”
Liberi (center) poses with eMoney's Head of People Experience Tessa Raum (left) and Head of... [+] Marketing Susan McKenna. Ahmad El Ajouz
Liberi says that she stumbled into her life purpose. Working in financial services, she found herself wondering early on if she was actually helping people. Fifteen years later, it has become clear to her that people desperately need financial advice and retirement planning. Her own mother was a single working mom who passed away before retiring and without a will. Partly due to her mother’s experience, Liberi feels her purpose is “to inspire others to believe that the futures they desire are attainable.”
To young people seeking a career with purpose, Liberi offers this advice. “I think too often, people make career decisions based solely on financial upside potential, forgetting about the things that innately drive or motivate them. Don’t underestimate the importance of purpose. If you can find a career that makes you truly and deeply happy and satisfied, generally success will follow. Look for ways to combine the financial upside with your passion. Don’t let people tell that you can’t have it both ways.”
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c25625fcc195c03b0bc49fb9f48ca2aa | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meimeifox/2019/02/19/8-mission-driven-companies-reinventing-the-packaged-food-industry/ | 8 Mission-Driven Companies Reinventing The Packaged Food Industry | 8 Mission-Driven Companies Reinventing The Packaged Food Industry
The packaged food market in America is valued at over $800 billion. In recent years, consumers have been demanding products with higher nutritional content and more organic ingredients, and ones that meet dietary restrictions such as gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free and vegan. Smaller companies are achieving success as people seek healthier, locally-made, more authentic goods and avoid mass-produced items offered by the food industry giants, such as Kraft and Campbell’s. In fact, a 2015 report showed that 43% of adults under 30 did not trust large food manufacturers, and 59% said they’d stop buying food that they deemed “unethical.”
Here are eight leaders whose companies are taking advantage of current consumer trends by creating packaged goods that are healthy, allergy-free and nutritious in addition to being tasty.
Annie Ryu, The Jackfruit Company
Annie Ryu is the founder and CEO of The Jackfruit Company. The Jackfruit Company
The Jackfruit Company is the global leader for jackfruit products, bringing meal starters and frozen entrees to the U.S. market. It was founded on a core commitment to making a positive impact on farmers’ livelihoods, humanity’s eco-footprint, and health and wellbeing by mainstreaming the planet’s meatiest plant. The company works with more than 1,000 farming families in southern India to source organically-grown jackfruit. For the past three years, The Jackfruit Company has experienced annual growth at nearly a 3x rate, and it continues to expand.
Founder and CEO Annie Ryu was inspired to create The Jackfruit Company in the summer of 2011. She was 21 years old and working in India to implement a maternal and child healthcare program that she and her brother had developed. Upon discovering jackfruit, Ryu saw an incredible opportunity to convert an underutilized crop into nutritious, delicious food, while also providing an income opportunity to local farming families. She established the company during her junior and senior years at Harvard, and simultaneously won Harvard’s Women in Business Competition, Harvard’s i3 Innovation Challenge, and the Resolution Project’s Social Venture Challenge, helping to kickstart the support needed to grow the business.
With low awareness about jackfruit as a principal challenge, the barrier to trial of new products and concepts is even higher than usual, and so is the barrier to repeat. But Ryu is determined to educate consumers about what jackfruit is, why they should eat it, and how they should eat it, all with a megaphone that's small relative to the size of the awareness gap. Thankfully, The Jackfruit Company is able to capitalize on the rising tide of plant-based consumer options.
“Building a company is a marathon – but an uphill marathon where speed is important,” says Ryu to aspiring entrepreneurs. “Don’t be surprised by challenge – learn to expect challenges and make overcoming them part of your routine.”
Robert Rech, Hope Foods
Robert Rech is the cofounder and CEO of Hope Foods. Hope Foods
The seeds of Hope were sown over weekend get-togethers where cofounder and CEO Robert Rech and his friends enjoyed delicious food and conversation. It started with Spicy Avocado Hummus, a product that no one else was making and Rech felt could revolutionize the dips and spreads category. The group’s idea caught on at the Boulder Farmers Market, and the brand quickly became the first nationally-distributed organic hummus. The company now creates hummus and guacamole products using plant-based ingredients like organic EVOO, black garlic, and kale pesto. Hope Foods has experienced double-digit annual revenue growth every year since its founding, and grew more than 20 percent in 2018.
Although the brand has met with much success, Rech will be the first to admit that being an entrepreneur has its challenges. Specifically, for Hope Foods, those include fluctuating ingredients costs; recent fundamental shifts in the grocery landscape; copycat competitors; and the never-ending quest to create the next outstanding flavor. What keeps Rech excited about this journey is his passion for the Hope Foods mission. “ Every truly fulfilled entrepreneur, no matter the industry, is driven by a belief that they are making the world a better place, ” he says.
Denise Woodward, Partake Foods
Denise Woodward is the founder of Partake Foods. Lauren Volo
Partake Foods makes nutritious, allergy-friendly snacks. Since launching in August 2017 with one full-time employee, the company’s first product, cookies, now can be found in Whole Foods, Wegmans, and over 100 other natural foods stores.
Founder Denise Woodward started her career at Coca-Cola. But when her daughter turned one, she realized that her little one had multiple food allergies. Unable to find options that excited her from a nutrition or taste perspective, Woodward left her high-powered job to launch Partake Foods. The company’s cookies are vegan, non-GMO, free from artificial ingredients and preservatives, and contain no nuts, dairy, eggs or soy, which are common allergens.
Woodward admits to making mistakes at the beginning. When she first came up with the idea for Partake Foods, “I spent hundreds of dollars at Whole Foods thinking that I could create a magical delicious, healthy, allergy-friendly cookie - and quickly failed. Luckily I found a food scientist to work with me,” she says. It also took months for her to find a manufacturer willing to work with her as a first-time founder running a start-up. She had to work tirelessly to convince them how passionate she is about her purpose.
“Our mission is to bring peace of mind to people with dietary restrictions, and simple enjoyment to those without,” says Woodward. To aspiring entrepreneurs, she offers this advice – borrowed from Dory in Finding Nemo: “Just keep swimming.”
Cynthia Tice, Lily’s Sweets
Cynthia Tice is the founder of Lily's Sweets. Marc Piscotty
Lily’s Sweets is a natural products trailblazer, offering chocolate sweetened by stevia rather than sugar. Business doubled in size in 2018, expanding from 3,000 to 10,000 stores and introducing a new chocolate bar, with plans to introduce several more products in 2019.
Founder Cynthia Tice got her start in the natural foods industry “before green juice was cool,” she says. She opened a natural foods grocery store in Philadelphia in 1978. Then, in 2003, she “decided to kick sugar for good.” The only problem was chocolate, which she just couldn’t give it up. So, in 2011, based on her extensive knowledge of and passion for natural foods, she created her own no sugar added chocolate and founded Lily’s Sweets.
Along the way, Tice has faced challenges in making her chocolate taste good. Stevia, a plant used to substitute for sugar, has a strong flavor that many people dislike. Luckily, Tice says that huge progress has been made in recent years in making the stevia flavor more mellow, and also, it happens to be disguised well by chocolate. She now has a product that everyone can enjoy.
“As luck would have it, I turned a personal passion into a professional endeavor, so I urge aspiring entrepreneurs to engage in an idea that motivates the heart and soul, not just the bank account,” Tice says. “ I am convinced if you believe you are inspiring people to make a change, to live better in some way, then you have a better chance for success. Also, being resilient is key. In developing the Lily’s Sweets offerings, I tasted some of the worse chocolate I have ever had in my life. But, through perseverance, I ended up with chocolate that tastes amazing, and now people obsess over it!”
Doug Radi, Good Karma Foods
Doug Radi is the CEO of Good Karma Foods. Good Karma
Good Karma Foods is one of the fastest-growing plant-based brands, offering food and beverage based on the flax seed. Although small in size, the seeds deliver omega 3’s and a smooth, creamy texture that make them an excellent dairy substitute. Since its founding in 2011, the brand has expanded to offer several flax-based milk and yogurt products, and the company has more than tripled in size.
CEO Doug Radi has always followed the “golden rule,” treating others with respect and trying to inspire goodness. So, it feels like his life purpose to be leading a brand called Good Karma. A self-described “hippie in a business suit,” he is happy to be helping the food industry and families find better plant-based solutions.
Nevertheless, Radi feels that building a new brand and company can be very difficult work. “Good Karma faces challenges, like many other brands, including a hypercompetitive marketplace with a rapidly expanding number of brands; limited resources; changing economic conditions and costs; and an evolving retail landscape.” What keeps him going is being grounded in a shared purpose to “ripple goodness outward,” he says. “When people work together, goodness multiplies.”
Leeann Rybakov, BuckWHAT Foods
Leeann Rybakov is the founder of BuckWHAT Foods. Brenda Bush
BuckWHAT Foods offers convenient snacks and meal replacements made with the buckwheat seed. The company launched with Noshes, a line of snacks made with just a few all-natural ingredients and no added sugar. They are naturally gluten-free and vegan, and three of the flavors are nut-free, making them safe for kids to bring to school. Revenue has tripled in recent years, and BuckWHAT products will be carried in 500 stores by the end of 2019.
Founder Leeann Rybakov, who is also a mother of two, says, “There are many convenient snacks out there that are geared towards kids and even adults, but made with ingredients that you cannot pronounce and some form of added sugar. As moms, we often have to choose between convenience and health. I designed BuckWHAT Noshes to provide a solution to that problem. You don’t have to feel guilty about giving it to your child.”
Rybakov has faced challenges launching her business while also birthing two children. Twice, the company had manufacturing problems before finally finding a high-end manufacturing facility that she is happy with. “I’m surprised I didn’t give up!” she says. “But I look back now and I am grateful for sticking with it.” As a mother and business owner, there have been times when she has had to make sacrifices at home and at work. Long term, however, she believes that doing both gives her strength.
To aspiring entrepreneurs, Rybakov offers this advice. “Be prepared to make a lot of mistakes. The beauty of this business is the learning curve. And talk to everyone and anyone. You never know where the best advice will come from.”
Ashi Jelinek, KidsLuv
Ashi Jelinek is the founder and CEO of KidsLUV. Ashley Randall
KidsLuv produces a sugar-free juice alternative that delivers 12 essential vitamins and minerals. Since its founding, the company has grown from two to five employees, launched in 36 retail stores and two online retailers, and begun working with an overseas distribution company.
“My work with the company and my life are one and the same,” says Founder and CEO Ashi Jelinek. “I wouldn’t have this company or mission if it weren’t for my kids. I grew up with a mother who believed that plant-derived medicine and herbs were the purest forms of nutrition. It was the learning of eastern and western medicine and becoming a mother that made me want to create KidsLuv.”
The biggest challenge Jelinek has faced as an entrepreneur is making it as a woman in a male-dominated industry. “The 'proving yourself' curve that is higher for women,” she explains. “I have learned to use this challenge to my benefit. By being tenacious and thinking outside the box, I have learned that you can change people’s minds. As a mother myself, I am my consumer at the end of the day. This has allowed me to stand out from my competitors.”
Jelinek’s advice for aspiring entrepreneurs is to stay naive. “Being naive keeps you curious and open to new ideas, and optimistic during hard times, which are inevitable. Also, as an entrepreneur, you really need to believe in yourself.”
8. Dawn Anderson, OHi Food Co.
Dawn Anderson is the founder and CEO of OHi Food Co. Kirk Hensler
OHi Food Co. makes healthy, protein-rich energy bars that are non-GMO, predominantly Paleo, low glycemic, and free of grains, soy, refined sugars, and dairy. Each product is also certified vegan and gluten-free. Launched on the mainland U.S.A. in January 2018, OHi bars already are carried in 900 stores including Whole Foods, Wegmans and Safeway, and also are available on Amazon.
Founder and CEO Dawn Anderson was a chiropractor and college athlete. When she started a new career, she found herself with a hectic travel schedule and stressful workload that led her to make unhealthy food choices. She often reached for the closest energy bars, only to find out later that they were full of artificial ingredients, fillers, and chemicals.
Inspired by the flavors and healthy lifestyle of her home in Hawaii, Anderson started eating a plant-based diet. After traveling the country for a year and attending a raw culinary school, she began handmaking and packaging plant-based superfood bars in her Maui kitchen in 2013. She began by going door-to-door to find local retailers for distribution. Her success on the islands led Anderson to meet with the Boulder Food Group, who invested in OHi at an early stage. She then approached the Southern California Whole Foods and expanded to the mainland US.
“I took a leap of faith and moved both my business and my personal life to Los Angeles last year to grow OHi Food Co. and expand our retailer distribution," says Anderson. "This huge shift was difficult, leaving Hawaii and my close friends and family. The demands of growing the business take away from my personal life and relationships – it’s definitely a sacrifice, but one I wholeheartedly believe in.”
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2a8969c460a6c35f0d8486ac1a2c873d | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meimeifox/2019/03/08/8-tips-for-returning-to-work-after-having-a-child/ | 8 Tips For Returning Smoothly To Work After Having A Child | 8 Tips For Returning Smoothly To Work After Having A Child
According to a report by the Maven Clinic, most expecting mothers in America say that they are excited to go back to work after giving birth, yet 43% of them end up leaving their careers. Quitting their jobs is often a disappointing outcome for the women, and it’s also a costly one for their employers. Furthermore, placing more women in leadership roles has emerged as a major issue in U.S. corporations in recent years, alongside adequate parental leave. As a result, today many companies are focusing on ways to retain new parents.
Barbara Palmer is the founder of Your 4th Trimester. Jessica Sterling
Barbara Palmer developed the Your 4th Trimester (Y4T) program for Broad Perspective Consulting based on her 30-plus years of experience as a corporate executive in the entertainment and technology domains, board member for US Auto Parts and Ithaca College Alumni Association, and single working mother of two. Y4T provides confidential support to employees to help them transition into their new roles as working parents, contracting primarily with tech companies and digital agencies, as well as some law and finance firms, where women are missing in the upper ranks.
Prior to their taking parental leave, Your 4th Trimester works with employees to address concerns along with a timeline for return. During leave, Y4T attempts to manage employees’ fears and expectations and prepares them for re-entry. Upon returning to work, Y4T offers two months of transition coaching, designed to meet each working parent’s needs.
“I developed Your 4th Trimester because inevitably women start to take on leadership positions around the same time they are expanding their families,” says Palmer. As a corporate executive, she often has been the only woman in the executive suite or at the board table, not to mention the only single mother. Her coaching practice stems directly from her passion for sharing her three decades of experience in order to help working moms navigate their careers. “This work is so fulfilling and natural. It is my calling,” she says.
As people transition from employee to working parent, Palmer offers this advice:
Accept that life after baby is not – and should not – be the same. Accept your new normal and enjoy it. Do a full dry run before going back to work. Get out of that house and through your morning routine as if you were going to the office so that you can navigate pitfalls ahead of your return. Return to work on a Wednesday or Thursday so you have fewer days to face during that first week. Let this be your mantra: For now. Everything is temporary and subject to change. Go with the change rather than fighting it. Focus on abundance. Pay attention to spending quality time with your child rather than the scarcity of what you might miss while you are at the office. Remember: It is okay to love your work. You are successful and should be proud of your accomplishments. Know that every parent has guilt. Stay at home parents feel like they abandoned their careers or education. Working parents just experience a different brand of guilt. Put down the bat. Don’t beat yourself up for missteps. Course correct and do your best at home and at the office.
Y4T helped Molly Stock return to work after having her first child. W20 Group
Molly Stock is a senior leader at W2O Group, a healthcare-focused marketing communications company based in San Francisco. She participated in Your 4th Trimester while welcoming her first child, now age two. “Y4T launched while I was out on maternity leave, and I jumped at the chance to join,” Stock says. “I love my son more than life, but I also love my job. Even though I was excited to come back to work, I felt anxious and ill-equipped to manage my new normal.”
In addition to providing her with “a laundry list of tangible skills like setting boundaries and managing work trips,” Stock says that Y4T helped her smash the myth of the perfect mother. “Thanks to Barbara, I now constantly remind myself that I’m doing the best I can. Just having that perspective has made me a better mom, a better employee, and a better person.”
Becky Vonsiatsky enlisted Y4T when returning to work after having her second child. W20 Group
Becky Vonsiatsky has spent over 12 years at W2O Group. She enlisted in Your 4th Trimester in order to navigate a smooth transition back to work following the birth of her second child. “I expected the second time to be easier, but I learned pretty quickly that was not the case,” Vonsiatsky says. “The planning, coaching, and support of the program were essential for me as I navigated this pivotal life transition.”
Like Stock, Vonsiatsky found herself challenged by “mom guilt.” Working closely with a coach through Y4T, she gained valuable perspective and insight to overcome her harmful mentality, she says. “The program helped me come to terms with my family’s new normal and set up a game plan that involves some short cuts (i.e. food delivery) and realizations (i.e. dirty dishes are okay). This makes me a more effective employee, and offers me less distracted mom time when I’m not working.”
Abby Stone hired Y4T after 13 employees at Elite SEM had children in one year. Abby Stone
From the employer’s perspective, Abby Stone is a senior vice president at Elite SEM, a digital marketing agency. She engaged Palmer and Y4T because 13 employees at her firm became new parents within one year. “We were getting a lot of feedback from our employees regarding maternity benefits, and recognized that we needed to do more to support new moms,” Stone says. “The program helps them adjust to life as working parents. They’re learning valuable skills like how to thrive at home and at work, how to manage feelings of guilt, and how to better manage their time.”
Eric Bacolas is the chief people officer at Newsela. Eric Bacolas
Eric Bacolas serves as chief people officer for Newsela, an education tech company serving 90% of K-12 schools in the US. He engaged Y4T because he finds that becoming a parent is one of the most challenging and stressful times in people’s lives. “The program is incredibly empowering for women and men,” he says. “It tells everyone that the company cares about them as a whole person, improves both home life and productivity at work, and retains great female talent who might otherwise have left the workforce.”
Deborah Hankin serves as chief people officer at W20. W20 Group
Deborah Hankin, the chief people officer at W2O, believes that in a hyper-competitive labor market, offering innovative benefits such as Your 4th Trimester enhances employee retention. “Deciding to return to work after parental leave can be a difficult decision,” Hankin states. “It’s a critical time. Y4T enables us to create a situation in which there is more joy and less friction for our employees. It shows our commitment to our people at a time in their careers that may be tricky. It also demonstrates our philosophy that work/life integration matters.”
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928620d476c75a19fcef3f5c16433fcd | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meimeifox/2019/03/15/this-immigration-attorney-uses-ai-make-legal-access-affordable/?sh=1d8b85b85887 | This Immigration Attorney Is Using AI To Make Legal Access Affordable | This Immigration Attorney Is Using AI To Make Legal Access Affordable
Iranian-born Bahar Ansari is an immigration attorney who has helped countless families obtain U.S. citizenship by creating a cost-effective way for people to hire lawyers: 2nd.law. The first virtual law firm, which she cofounded, offers legal services to clients hoping to receive over 20 different types of U.S. visas, and already has assisted many immigrants in qualifying for work in America. 2nd.law also offers services in employment law, family law, estate planning, business law, and personal injury law.
Bahar Ansari is an immigration attorney and the cofounder of 2nd.law. Oleg Bogdan
By utilizing artificial intelligence (AI), or what Ansari calls “robot lawyers,” the firm is able to provide legal services at up to 75% lower rates than those offered by traditional firms, and also in rural areas where people typically would not be able to find lawyers. In addition, thanks to the robot lawyers, the human lawyers of 2nd.law are able to spend more time working on high-priority issues for their clients rather than completing reams of paperwork.
“I helped to create 2nd.law because I believe in equality for all,” Ansari says. “In most countries, it takes a law degree to understand complex laws and regulations — and those laws often limit or control your rights. Greedy lawyers line their pockets by ‘helping’ clients deal with these laws. At 2nd.law, we believe in hacking the law, using robots to make the law work for you.” By disrupting the global legal market, Ansari hopes to “make justice more accessible to everyone.”
Ansari, who moved from Iran to the United States when she was 16, always knew that she wanted to be a lawyer. “I see being a lawyer as a social responsibility. I wanted to be a human rights activist and help change the world,” she says. Having gone through the immigration process herself gives her a unique perspective, enabling her to truly connect with her clients and their challenges.
Ansari believes there is no justice without access to affordable legal help. Oleg Bogdan
Although Ansari loved earning both her MA of Laws and JD, upon joining a law firm, she quickly realized how much time is spent buried in paperwork and struggling to meet unrealistic billing requirements. “The hopes and dreams quickly faded,” she reports. “I grew more and more frustrated because it never felt like I was doing enough or could reach enough people. I grew unhappier with time.”
Eventually, Ansari realized that while she was “successful” from an external point of view, she wasn’t happy because she wasn’t passionate about what she was doing. She wasn’t following her life purpose. She had become a lawyer to fight for equal rights, to make the world a better place. Yet she knew that while there are over 1.2 million attorneys in the U.S., many people cannot afford or access them. “There is no justice if there is no access to lawyers, ” she says.
So, Ansari’s new dream and passion became clear: “To close the access to justice gap and restore the legal industry to what it was meant to stand for: truth, justice and order.” She believed that she could increase access and affordability through the development of innovative and effective technology. To that end, in 2016 she cofounded Case.one Inc., a California-based legal tech company specializing in the development of legal process automation tools. In 2018, she cofounded 2nd.law based on the Case.one technology.
Ansari's company uses AI to reduce the time human lawyers must spend on cases. Bahar Ansari
Today, Ansari feels that her career is aligned with her life purpose. She is increasing access to justice for low and moderate-income people and other vulnerable populations. “Success, to me, is a chance to be impactful on a system that has shaped human behavior for centuries, restoring fairness and justice to the legal system,” she says.
Ansari definitely faces challenges in her work. The legal industry is a conservative one, not known for its early adoption of technology. To wit, most lawyers still work on paper. But Ansari feels that is exactly why 2nd.law is so needed. “We are hoping to do for the legal industry what AirBnB has done for the travel industry, what Uber has done for the transportation industry, and what Apple has done for the music industry.”
As for how others can align their careers with their life purpose, Ansari urges you to simply do something you love every single day. “Be driven by your passions, not possessions. If there is nothing that makes you happy at work, then it’s time to find a new career. You have to think limitless to feel limitless to live limitless.”
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a6b750a2f8987bdaf5b18436d83cb9a9 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meimeifox/2019/03/18/this-entrepreneur-has-found-her-purpose-in-cannabusiness/ | This Entrepreneur Has Found Her Purpose In Cannabusiness | This Entrepreneur Has Found Her Purpose In Cannabusiness
In 2017, North American cannabis buyers spent $9.2 billion. That number is projected to grow to over $47 billion by 2027. The market for cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychoactive cannabinoid found in cannabis and hemp, began exploding in 2017 and is predicted to reach $22 billion in the next three years.
Julianna Carella is the founder of Auntie Dolores and Treatibles. Treatibles
Entrepreneur Julianna Carella has been at the forefront of the cannabusiness movement since 2008 when, as a result of the economic downturn, she found herself searching for ways to pay her daughter’s college tuition. She saw a need for healthy THC edibles, and so founded Auntie Dolores. As soon as hemp-derived CBD started taking off in 2013, Carella formed Treatibles to meet another consumer demand: CBD products for animals. Both companies have doubled revenues year over year since their founding.
Carella says that she stumbled into her life purpose by recognizing an economic opportunity. That having been said, building a cannabusiness is aligned with her core values. “I truly love helping people and animals with alternative health options,” she explains. “But the success of both Auntie Dolores and Treatibles has everything to do with timing. We filled a void in the marketplace just as it was taking off. Being first movers meant that we could tap into what was really needed.”
Carella advises aspiring entrepreneurs to understand where market opportunities lie by doing extensive research into what new products or services may fill a void or satisfy a need. Some of the best advice she ever received was being told, “All things materialize best when the timing for a new product or idea is advantageous, and all good inventions and creations fill a void that is present in our lives and the lives of those around us.”
Carella is passionate about helping people and their pets live healthier lives. Treatibles
The continuing growth of Auntie Dolores and Treatibles confirms for Carella that her current career is aligned with her life purpose. “It is rewarding to make products that my friends and family members benefit from. That reward is amplified when the popularity of the brands reaches hundreds of thousands of customers,” she says. She loves hearing from people how much her products have helped them. “I get to open up my email inbox in the morning to read stories about elderly dogs with arthritis running around like puppies again, or a cat who no longer has separation anxiety, or people with seizures who no longer suffer from them,” Carella explains. “These are reminders that no matter how challenging business can become, we are making an important difference.”
As an entrepreneur in the cannabis/hemp space, Carella faces unique stumbling blocks. This is a relatively new industry, so banking, taxes, regulations, and many other aspects of the business are changing all the time. “Cannabusiness founders need to be unwavering in their persistence to succeed, willing to educate folks who do not understand the purpose of the hemp industry, and passionate about their business model,” she says. “This space has taught me a lot about tenacity and follow through as well as an ability to be adaptive and fluid.”
Carella’s advice to anyone embarking on a new career or new direction is to do as much research into the new field as possible. “Changing direction is always exciting, but excitement can easily turn into stress if we are not prepared for some of the unexpected roadblocks ahead. Entrepreneurs should consider the time, effort and energy required to start something new, and not become overwhelmed by the mountain of challenges that present themselves every day. This takes positivity and resilience. Often it can feel like two steps forward, one step back. I suggest focusing on the forward motion.”
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54140f88c28a6fdf738c3845408f9185 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meimeifox/2019/03/25/use-this-process-to-find-lasting-happiness-in-your-career/ | Use This Process To Find Lasting Happiness In Your Career | Use This Process To Find Lasting Happiness In Your Career
Could it be that our basic beliefs about how to achieve lasting happiness are wrong? That’s what Dr. Alex Lickerman, a primary care physician, and Dr. Ash ElDifrawi, a clinical psychologist and marketing professional, claim in their book The Ten Worlds: The New Psychology of Happiness. The two doctors argue that we have erroneous beliefs deeply embedded in our thinking that produce a fragile and temporary sort of happiness, which we often mistake for happiness that will last. Based on two decades of research into the latest science and real-life patient experiences, Lickerman and ElDifrawi offer a new understanding of how to attain happiness that endures.
Ash EiDifrawi is a clinical psychologist, marketing professional, and happiness expert. Redbox
ElDifrawi says he discovered his life purpose when he found out that he was accepted to medical school and instead of feeling joy, he was gripped with overwhelming anxiety. In processing this event with his best friend, Lickerman, the two discovered that ElDifrawi did not want to be a doctor after all. “I was on autopilot to fulfill the wishes of my parents,” he says. “In examining what truly made me feel happy, I realized that what I wanted was to pursue a life in which I helped other people figure out how to solve their problems, how to develop and grow in some way, how to become happier.” That is when he decided to become a clinical psychologist.
After studying at the University of Chicago, ElDifrawi trained as a forensic examiner and drug abuse counselor, and also became a certified marriage and family therapist. In order to earn extra money, he conducted focus groups and consumer research. Soon he found himself changing professions. Drawn to the world of consumer psychology, he transitioned to a career in marketing and product management. He spent several years at McKinsey & Co. before going on to hold senior positions at Wrigley, Google, and Gogo. Eventually, he landed at Redbox, where he serves as the chief marketing and customer experience officer.
“I’ve had the good fortune of working for several great companies in various roles, but the common theme has been my focus on developing people and helping them realize their full potential,” says ElDifrawi. “To be clear, I really enjoy what I do and make a good living at it. But what I am most proud of is that I’ve had the opportunity to help people grow and develop, and that I’ve gained even more personal growth in return.”
ElDifrawi enjoys spending time with his family. Ash ElDifrawi
ElDifrawi believes that finding a career that blends what you love, what you are good at, and what can support you and your family is rare. In fact, if you set that as your expectation, then you might be disappointed, he cautions. Careers sometimes must be seen as a means to an end. “Not hating what you do is important, but if working allows you the opportunity to pursue other things that make you happy, then that is okay – that is why it’s called work,” he explains. “Now, if you can find a career that also creates meaning for you, then consider yourself truly blessed. That is a gift.”
At the same time, doing what you love for a living can present a paradox that is worth noting. For example, Lickerman, in addition to being a doctor and ElDifrawi’s coauthor, is a gifted painter. Gifted enough that at one point he was hired to do a commissioned painting for a significant sum of money. He took on the project, but not far into it he realized that painting no longer gave him the pleasure that it had in the past. In fact, he had come to dread the task. Why? Because now he “had to do it.” It had become work. What had changed? Only his mindset.
“The lesson here cannot be overstated,” says ElDifrawi. “ Whether what we do provides us with a sense of fulfillment or a sense of misery is really about mindset . Put another way, how we approach our job might be more important than the job itself. As research has shown time and again, our mindset can transform the same external event from misery to ecstasy, and how we feel about what we do for a living is no different.”
In order to find lasting happiness in your career, Lickerman and ElDifrawi recommend the following process:
First, ask yourself what you believe, at your core, that you need to be happy. Is it a particular job? A person? Money? A life filled with basic pleasure? The adoration of others? The ability to create value? Freedom from pain? Then, ask yourself what choices you’ve made, both personally and professionally, that were driven by that belief. Ask yourself, have those choices served you? Have you played it too safe because you believe a life free of pain is the key to happiness, so you’ve avoided risks? Have you ruined relationships, both personal and professional, because you believe the key to happiness is being better than everyone else? Learn to recognize when the action you want to take is driven by a belief about what you need to be happy that hasn’t served you well in the past. Decide which beliefs about what you need to be happy will serve you better and seek to cultivate them. We have to think beyond the day-to-day choices that are so easy to rationalize and imagine the mosaic of the life we are creating as we reflect back on the life those choices have created.
Specifically, in order to tap into your life purpose, ElDifrawi says you need to accept that it might change over time. “Don’t burden yourself with coming to some perfect insight that will be your guidepost for the rest of your life. Start with asking yourself what truly makes you happy. What gives you energy? What are you passionate about? Don’t worry initially whether or not it creates value in the world. That will work itself out in time. At the same time, don’t shy away from pragmatic questions about making a living. There is nothing wrong with wanting to pursue fame and fortune, as long as your entire ability to be happy is not wrapped up in achieving a particular goal. But for most people, the answer to the question ‘What is your life purpose?’ is not so obvious, so you need to venture forth on your own personal journey of discovery.”
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3bafc79eb4b8f819fd8744bc68b782f3 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meimeifox/2019/05/05/how-10-2019-global-good-fund-fellows-are-saving-the-world/ | How This Year's 10 Global Good Fund Fellows Are Saving The World | How This Year's 10 Global Good Fund Fellows Are Saving The World
The Global Good Fund is a nonprofit organization that supports high-potential social entrepreneurs in more than 25 countries globally, collectively impacting the lives of over 8.5 million people. Since its founding in 2012 by Carrie Rich, a faculty member at George Washington University in Washington, DC., the Fund has supported 105 Fellows from three continents with over 18,000 hours of mentoring and coaching. Entrepreneur.com has named The Global Good Fund one of its Top 30 Startups to Watch.
Here, meet The Global Good Fund’s seventh cohort of Fellows. This select group of ten social innovators, chosen from among thousands of applicants, come from around the globe. Yet each of them is striving to create a ripple effect of change around our world's most pressing social issues, including health, education, and finance.
Michelle Arevalo-Carpenter is the CEO and Cofounder of IMPAQTO. Francisco Alvarado
Michelle Arevalo-Carpenter, CEO and Cofounder of IMPAQTO
IMPAQTO has developed a network of social innovation spaces in emerging cities in Latin America, places that hold promise but are often overlooked. Currently, a new generation of change agents are seeking to build a new, sustainable economic model. However, the mortality rate for most startup businesses on the continent is exceptionally high due to lack of access to capital, high rents, low social mobility, and gender-based obstacles.
IMPAQTO assists Latin American entrepreneurs by providing co-working spaces, business acceleration programs, and social innovation consulting. In addition, IMPAQTO Network & Consulting serves leading public and private sector organizations, such as Nestlé and the City of Quito, thereby helping to sponsor scholarships for entrepreneurs in incubation programs.
Seven years ago, CEO and Cofounder Michelle Arevalo-Carpenter returned from a powerful job in Switzerland to her home country of Ecuador with the dream of starting an impact business around affordable housing. However, reality quickly set-in. “In a polarized society like Ecuador, the idea of a social enterprise was an oxymoron,” she says. “People questioned my enthusiasm and optimism.”
Nevertheless, she networked to discover a cofounder, and together they started hosting meetups for the change-maker community. Through this process, Arevalo-Carpenter found her life purpose: Empower an entire generation of Latin American changemakers in furthering the social innovation revolution.
To aspiring changemakers, Arevalo-Carpenter offers this advice: “Surround yourself with a community that inspires you and understands your mission. Your work as a changemaker will sooner or later put you to the test. When you run out of fuel, when the context seems too complex, when you doubt yourself, having a community to rely on is what will help you back on your feet.”
Hyasintha Ntuyeko is the CEO and Founder of Kasole Secrets. Kasole Secrets
Hyasintha Ntuyeko, CEO and Founder of Kasole Secrets Company, Ltd.
Kasole Secrets develops and distributes organic sanitary napkins. The company also consults and runs menstrual hygiene management campaigns at a national level in Tanzania.
Although trained as a telecommunications engineer, Founder and CEO Hyasintha Ntuyeko started Kasole Secrets due to her own personal challenges. “My discomfort during my menses made me decide to dedicate my career as an entrepreneur to improving the menstrual experience for women and girls in Tanzania,” she says.
When she started advocating for menstrual hygiene management in her country, Ntuyeko faced many obstacles. “People thought it would be a losing battle,” she says. But she kept at it, working tirelessly for nearly a decade to push her agenda. And now, she feels that Kasole Secrets has managed not only to change the narrative in Tanzania but also to have a ripple impact across other countries.
In addition, Ntuyeko had to confront family and community members as well as potential partners and customers telling her that she was too young to be an entrepreneur. However, she remained consistent in her dedication to the task and eventually was able to win their trust. “Everything is possible if you are willing to walk the distance, focus and commit your full self to it,” she says.
Rachel Connors is the CEO and Cofounder of Yellow Leaf Hammocks. Yellow Leaf
Rachel Connors, CEO and Cofounder of Yellow Leaf Hammocks
Artisan activity is the second-largest employer in the developing world, yet the vast majority of global artisans are mothers living in extreme poverty. When you combine that fact with women’s power to wrench their families, and by extension their communities, out of poverty, it becomes clear that the artisan sector needs to be brought into the 21st century as a tool for ending global poverty.
Yellow Leaf transforms “bottom of the pyramid” communities through sustainable job creation for women. By working with artisan mothers, the company produces hammocks that improve employees’ as well as customers’ lives. “The mothers we work with are able to make long-term investments in the health, nutrition, and education of their families,” says CEO and cofounder Rachel Connors. “This manifests in incredible ways. 100% of their children are able to go to school instead of working in slash and burn fields, and the first group ever are now attending college based on their mothers' savings from weaving work.”
Bootstrapping the business from the beginning proved a huge challenge to Connors and her team. At the same time, it forced Yellow Leaf to be results-oriented. “When you bootstrap, you're very in touch with your customers and your supply chain, which leads to a higher level of intelligence about every aspect of a new business,” she says.
“Bring your A-game,” Connors says to aspiring changemakers. “It's not enough to have good intentions. You need to make sure you have the skills, hustle, and dedication to live up to your mission.”
Vaibhav Lodha is the Cofounder of ftcash. Amanda Bensel
Vaibhav Lodha, Cofounder of ftcash
Every year, millions of people into poverty due to health problems, financial setbacks, and other shocks. Most of those living in or near poverty lack even the most basic banking services. This means they use cash, physical assets, or informal providers such as money lenders to meet their financial needs—from receiving wages to saving money. However, these informal mechanisms can be insecure, expensive, and complicated to use.
ftcash, one of India’s fastest-growing financial technology ventures, converts cash to digital payments and provides pre-approved advances and loans that can be disbursed at the click of a button. After a successful launch in India in 2015, the company was incubated by PayPal and accelerated by MasterCard. By enabling small businesses to accept electronic payments, ftcash empowers lower and middle class individuals, giving more people access to better health, education, and nutrition.
A series of early failures in the corporate world led Cofounder Vaibhav Lodha to re-examine his ideas about success in career and family. “I started to explore my true north, and aligned myself to more people who share a common purpose: To empower lives and create a just society,” he says. “Through entrepreneurship in financial inclusion, I believe I am doing good.”
Lodha compares life to a series of trapeze swings. “We are either hanging onto a trapeze bar trapeze bars,” he says. “Most of the time, we hang onto the same bar. But every once in a while, we look out into the distance and see another trapeze bar swinging toward us. It is our next step, our growth, our aliveness coming to get us. We know that we must release our grip on this present, well-known bar and move to the new one. Each time, we are filled with terror. This is where we need to rely on ourselves. Hanging onto that old bar is no longer on the list of alternatives. Transitioning to the new bar is the only place where real change occurs and we truly grow.”
Abbey Wemimo is the Co-CEO of Esusu Financial. Johnny Vacar
Abbey Wemimo, Co-CEO of Esusu Financial, Inc.
Esusu uses data to financially empower marginalized Americans, students and immigrants. A smartphone app helps individuals save more money and access larger sums of capital through the digitization of rotational peer-to-peer savings and loan practices that are popular in immigrant communities. And by reporting rental payments to credit bureaus, Esusu helps individuals boost their credit scores. Both service offerings work to help more people gain access to affordable credit.
Co-CEO Abbey Wemimo was inspired to create Esusu by his personal experience. He immigrated to the USA with his mother, a single parent, when he was young. She had no credit score, and without that, she struggled to access bank loans and establish a financial identity. As a result, Wemimo is passionate about promoting financial inclusion for all Americans, regardless of their background. “It is easier for people to pursue their dreams when they are not burdened by crippling debt and when they are not ignored and shunned by mainstream capital providers,” he says.
The biggest challenge Wemimo faced in starting Esusu was winning over the trust of prospective customers. After some time, the company adjusted its go-to-market approach to partnering with nonprofits, community development organizations, and colleges in order to reach the core customer base. “The key takeaway: be persistent, nimble, and humble,” he says.
As an African-born American, Wemimo is fond of an old African proverb: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” He advises aspiring changemakers to “surround yourself with people who inspire you, and who you can collaborate with. Teamwork will sustain you when the going gets tough.”
Kevin Gibbons is the Cofounder and Executive Director of Health Access Connect. Ronnie William Kyazze
Kevin Gibbons, Cofounder and Executive Director of Health Access Connect
Health Access Connect is a nonprofit organization that links Ugandans living in remote areas with healthcare resources. Through its Medicycles program, Health Access Connect uses micro-financed motorcycles to transport health workers to outreach clinics, where they focus on anti-retroviral treatment, HIV testing, antenatal care, family planning, and other essential health services.
“It is often difficult to see the global implications of our work because we spend so much time managing the day-to-day operations and trying to find funding and partners,” says Cofounder and Executive Director Kevin Gibbons. “But one of our main goals is to set up an open-source system for sustainable healthcare delivery that can be applied to many countries around the world.”
Gibbons joined the US Peace Corps as a volunteer after graduating from college in the US. He lived in the Philippines for three years, working for a small forest conservation nonprofit in remote communities. “I was never happier or more fulfilled than when working toward a goal larger than myself,” he says. Later, when traveling to Uganda to conduct Master’s research, Gibbons noticed that people kept mentioning the lack of access to healthcare. He decided that there must be a way to get the free, life-saving healthcare offered just a few miles away to people in more remote areas.
The biggest obstacle Gibbons has faced with Health Access Connect is funding. “We don’t quite fit into the way that donors give money,” he says. “We don't build hospitals or give out medicine. We set up a sustainable way for communities to get health services. It is difficult to get people to understand that vision when they do not live in Uganda.”
To people thinking of starting a business or nonprofit, Gibbons recommends first working or interning at a similar organization. “Try to understand how work gets funded, what the important facets and vocabulary are, and how the organization is managed,” he says. “If you understand those three things (not easy!), you'll be well-placed to make the change that you want to.”
Eyitayo Ogunmola is the CEO of Utiva. Utiva
Eyitayo Ogunmola, CEO of Utiva
Utiva is a talent accelerator that seeks to rapidly develop Africa’s motivated young people with skill sets to transition into entry-level positions within startups and large corporations. The company is currently working with students across 25 universities. “When you teach someone to be successful, she becomes a model of excellence to others,” says CEO Eyitayo Ogunmola.
Ogunmola himself was jobless after graduating from school and “almost lured into cybercrime,” he says. “I grew up in a community where most bright young people graduated from school without any opportunity in the job market. I experienced the same thing and I know the reality.”
Two years later, Ogunmola met a mentor who helped him chart a new direction. He started learning new skills and got a job in consulting in Lagos, Nigeria. “I was excited, but I felt a deep sense of frustration because other youths around me were left without hope,” he says. “I discovered that unemployment in Nigeria is not caused by a lack of jobs but the unemployability of the youth population.”
The first struggle Utiva faced was finding quality faculty to commit time and resources to students. So, Ogunmola started doing the trainings himself. Within a year, he had found over 50 volunteers, professionals from different backgrounds. Today, Utiva has partnerships with firms and brands working to train college students through staff volunteers.
“While it is easy to do small things because they make a difference, building scale into your model should be your focus,” Ogunmola advises to aspiring changemakers. “ From day one, think of how to scale your intervention. We need to create solutions that address big problems at scale.”
Tonee Ndungu is the Founder and CIO of Kytabu Inc. Mwangi Kirubi
Tonee Ndungu, Founder and CIO of Kytabu Inc.
Kytabu Inc. is an education technology company that provides students in Kenya with affordable access to required textbooks via their mobile devices. With an increase in access to both devices and data connectivity, more students are looking for technology solutions to access learning content. Kytabu has influenced the Kenyan government to pursue a digital policy that allows devices in schools.
Founder and CIO Tonee Ndungu grew up dyslexic and with ADHD, so he knows from first-hand experience the challenges students in the Kenyan education system can face in accessing affordable, relevant and relatable content. He hopes to scale his technology to a country-wide level in order to improve education for the young people of his country.
Fundraising is a huge challenge for an African-based African founder, according to Ndungu. “The majority of angel, venture capital, private capital, and seed investments come from Europe and the Americas. Most funders invest in those they can relate to. This has sidelined a majority of African founders,” he says.
His advice is to practice “patience, persistence, and planning. With a clear and tested strategy, in those three words are the totality of starting and running a meaningful intervention.”
Neha Arora is the Founder of Planet Abled. Planet Abled
Neha Arora, Founder of Planet Abled
Planet Abled, which recently was named one of the best innovative practices by the Zero Project Conference at the United Nations, provides inclusive travel solutions to people of all disabilities and the elderly. “A lot of times people with disabilities and senior citizens are apprehensive of traveling in India because they are at a loss of information about accessibility,” says Founder Neha Arora. “Planet Abled strives to break that barrier. One can travel solo, with family, as an institution or organization or join a group tour at over 35 destinations across the Indian subcontinent.”
When she first started Planet Abled, Arora says, people would look down upon their travel groups and make rude comments because it was something they’d never seen before. So, the company organized get-togethers at coffee shops and in pubs, at cultural places and festivals. “We’d go in large numbers, with a mix of people with various disabilities and people without disabilities all enjoying their time together. These get-togethers were then joined by other disability-focused organizations across the country,” she says.
Arora herself wasn't able to travel much as a child owing to the disabilities of her parents. This is what inspired her to found Planet Abled. Nevertheless, she worried about the company’s commercial viability, laying the groundwork for three years prior to launch.
“If you find a problem and feel that you can solve it, do not wait for the perfect time and perfect circumstances to do it,” advises Arora. “It will never be right. Jump into it and get your hands dirty. The solution and problem both will evolve.”
Hitesh Tolani is the CEO of Virtudent. Jeffrey Danford
Hitesh Tolani, CEO of Virtudent
Today, 40% of Americans can’t access basic oral healthcare. Virtudent makes high-quality dental care convenient and easy to access through a combination of onsite and telemedicine technologies. As the trusted onsite dentist for Fidelity Investments, Wayfair, LogMeIn, Hubspot, and many other companies, Virtudent is able to take a portion of its proceeds to serve 5,000 children who otherwise wouldn't have access to basic oral healthcare.
CEO Hitesh Tolani, a child of immigrant parents, fell into “immigration limbo” for 22 years. During this time, he lost his father, his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, and his family was left destitute. Fortunately, their story went viral throughout the U.S. and 35,000 people wrote to their Congressmen and Senators to help Tolani's family. “As I watched people go to bat for us, I wanted to do the same one day for others,” Tolani says. “I am a pure product of their generosity. As a dentist, I feel I have the ability to pay it forward.”
Although Tolani faces obstacles daily with Virtudent, he is determined to work hard, be tenacious, be kind, be humble, ask for help, and keep going. “No is not an acceptable answer,” he says to aspiring changemakers. “Respect rules, regulations and laws, but to get where you want, dig deeper. You have to look beyond and find the path that leads to the ‘but.’ No, but you could… that is when you know that you’re on the right track.”
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9925f9c6522fbb6885f0fbaf178b8086 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meimeifox/2019/09/13/how-the-founder-of-swell-found-her-purpose-in-driving-sustainability/ | How The Founder Of S’well Found Her Purpose In Driving Sustainability | How The Founder Of S’well Found Her Purpose In Driving Sustainability
Sarah Kauss is a former CPA and international real estate developer who found her passion as the founder and CEO of S’well, a global brand on a mission to create positive change in the world by minimizing single-use plastic consumption. Best known for its iconic 17-oz bottle, S’well has introduced more than 10 types of bottles as well as numerous accessories in more than 200 designs across 65 countries. Recently, the brand launched reusable stainless-steel straws complete with flexi necks, a two-in-one travel bowl called S'well Eats, and S'nack by S'well food containers.
Sarah Kauss is the founder and CEO of S'well. S'well
In 2009, Kauss was looking for a professional path with more purpose – a career that felt more meaningful and altruistic. A hike with her mom in Arizona proved to be a transformative moment. “I took a sip of warm water from a reusable bottle and realized that if I could create a bottle that looked better and worked harder, I might be able to do some good in the world,” Kauss says. “And with that, S’well was born.”
Since attending college at CU Boulder, Kauss always had carried a reusable bottle with her. But she saw it more as a camping accessory than a climbing-the-corporate-ladder fashion accessory. She realized on that hike that she could create something that would sit proudly on the table in boardroom meetings. And she believed that if she was in need of such a product, then others probably were, too.
Her “north star” in life has always been finding ways to help people and the planet, Kauss explains. She grew up recycling before there were city-wide programs and felt a powerful need to help communities around the world gain access to clean, safe water as she learned about the water crisis as an adult. And so, she began to focus on creating solutions that could help fight single-use plastic bottle consumption and support organizations that empower communities, particularly young women, by providing access to clean, safe water. To date, S’well has committed $1.6 million to UNICEF to fund such initiatives.
S’well’s Million Bottle Project aims to displace 100 million single-use plastic bottles by 2020. The company recently launched a Million Bottle Corporate Challenge to work with other brands to create positive change. And, Kauss says, she is constantly looking for new ways to give back and sustain positive change in the world.
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Kauss is driven by her passion for sustainability. S'well
As a person who just gets started even when she isn’t sure what comes next, Kauss says she has faced challenges knowing when is the right time to act. But her network has helped her to find the answers when she needs them most. In addition, she finds it difficult to turn off work and enjoy other aspects of life. Fortunately, her son, who recently turned one year old, has helped her find perspective. And she loves being able to run a business that is making the world a better place.
To young people looking to align their career with their life purpose, Kauss says, “If possible, go all in. Starting a business takes a ton of time and energy. You have to be dedicated to the cause. Balancing a day job while bringing your dream to life can make it tough to prioritize that entrepreneurial endeavor. If quitting your day job is not an option though, make sure to maximize the opportunities in your current role to gain the skills necessary to move closer to bringing your dream to life. Take on different projects, learn new skills and keep expanding your network.”
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5da79269cdb3527bd71853ba9bba907a | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meimeifox/2019/10/08/how-a-life-threatening-diagnosis-led-this-entrepreneur-to-discover-his-life-purpose/ | How A Life-Threatening Diagnosis Led This Entrepreneur To Discover His Life Purpose | How A Life-Threatening Diagnosis Led This Entrepreneur To Discover His Life Purpose
Several years ago, Stefan Weitz was diagnosed with an incurable autoimmune disease: Multiple Sclerosis. He faced the prospect of being confined to a wheelchair and early death—neither of which jived with running a global software team on four continents and raising a young daughter. He turned to probiotics to help keep his immune system in check, but sadly discovered that many were not nearly as effective as they claim. Furthermore, probiotics frequently spend too much time on store shelves, leading to the healthy bugs dying off. Finally, Weitz found that the majority of products were just too expensive for most consumers. He decided that he had to fix this problem, not only for himself but for everyone else. Hence Jetson was born.
CEO Stefan Weitz founded Jetson after discovering both the healing power of probiotics and the ... [+] ineffectiveness of many products on the market. Elyse Frelinger
Jetson produces the world’s first small-batch, seasonal probiotic. It is also scientifically-backed and at $35 per month, more affordable than many other probiotics. Four formulas are offered to keep you healthy throughout autumn, winter, spring and summer. Weitz invested “tons” of his own money to enlist scientists and health experts around the world to synthesize hundreds of hours of research in order to create his company’s products. In addition to serving as the founder and CEO of Jetson, Weitz continues to act as the managing director of ’87, a leading investment fund and incubator for next-generation direct-to-consumer companies including Black Rifle Coffee Company and Fancy Sprinkles.
“Part of what I discovered through my own journey was the amount of evidence pointing to how your gut affects your overall health,” Weitz says. “The number of conditions that a healthy gut can treat are astounding. Science has shown that organisms living in your GI tract can help heal everything from heart disease to diabetes, eczema to depression. It’s mind blowing. I simply had to help other people gain access to a quality product at an affordable price.” His goal with Jetson is to help make 50 million Americans healthier.
His own diagnosis with MS, an autoimmune disorder, inspired Weitz's interest in probiotics. Elyse Frelinger
When Weitz first was diagnosed with MS 14 years ago, he spent thousands of hours and dollars figuring out how to get healthy. He also recognized his absolute privilege as he embarked on that journey. After 20 years working in tech and e-commerce, he had a well-developed network and resources most people don’t have access to. He felt incredibly thankful to his doctor, Mark Hyman, who shifted his thinking to fixing the root cause of his illness rather than simply addressing the symptoms, as well as to mentors at Microsoft who had challenged him to think clearly, and to his parents for teaching him humility and kindness.
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At the same time, Weitz became increasingly saddened by the state of America’s collective physical health. “Whether it be obesity, diabetes, or hypertension, no one can argue America is going in the wrong direction,” he says. “And while the wellness trend is exploding, most recommendations are expensive, inaccessible and unrealistic for everyday people.” Weitz saw an opportunity to simplify health by focusing on the basics: water, sleep, movement, greens, and a healthy gut. He started Jetson to focus on gut health first, as currently there are over 450 brands of probiotics on the market.
Weitz is passionate about helping Americans get healthier. Elyse Frelinger
“There are easier ways to make a living,” says Weitz, whose greatest challenge with Jetson is going up against the massive consumer companies that he feels are “actively trying to kill people. They spend billions to con Americans. Here’s a pro-tip: If a company spends more on their Super Bowl ad than on R&D, you shouldn’t buy their products. These companies think nothing of selling diabetes-causing, cancer-inducing, obesity-creating foods and seek absolution by blaming the American consumer for ‘wanting it’,” he exclaims.
But he remains firmly committed to Jetson because he believes so strongly in the cause. He feels recharged when he hears from people who say that after just one month on Jetson probiotics, their health already has improved. “I want to create systemic change,” Weitz says. “I find far more meaning in helping some woman I’ve never met live a life that is pain-free than buying a spendy watch. To be honest, I’ve found a little sacrifice feels so much better than indulgence.”
So, how can other people tap into their life purpose? “I don’t know if I have anything profound to offer, but realize this,” Weitz says. “You may not ever be the richest, the most handsome, the smartest, the best-dressed, the funniest, the most well-read, or even the best parent ever. But by being open to exploring and growing, and maintaining what my partner calls ‘childlike wonder’ about the world, you’ll make friends and connections by being who you are. And they’ll help you. And with their help, you can change the world.”
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27dde61ad6104dede443188d26ac84b4 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meimeifox/2019/12/09/7-companies-working-to-make-fashion-sustainable/ | 8 Companies Working To Make Fashion Sustainable | 8 Companies Working To Make Fashion Sustainable
While Forever 21 files for bankruptcy and other fast fashion brands suffer, “sustainability” is increasingly becoming the buzz word in the clothing industry today. “Sustainable fashion” web searches have increased by 66%. Unfortunately, the industry still has a long way to go. It is responsible for over 5% of global carbon emissions, second only to the oil and gas industry. Even more tragic, 87% of produced clothing ends up incinerated or in a landfill. Here are eight companies attempting to move the needle in the fashion industry by making it more sustainable.
1) Sourcing Playground
Heather Williams is the founder and CEO of Sourcing Playground. Frederic Russias
Heather Williams is the founder and CEO of Sourcing Playground, a B2B sourcing platform designed to connect fashion brands with more sustainable manufacturers. By helping brands navigate the sustainability landscape, Sourcing Playground makes it easier for companies to make responsible sourcing decisions.
“We’ve made it our mission to reduce the harmful impact of fashion brands by giving them the tools to connect with verified sustainable manufacturers,” says Williams. Manufacturers who are more sustainable harness resources during production to reduce wastage and chemical costs. This results in cost savings, which can be passed onto brands and buyers. So, there is a cost benefit in addition to social and environmental improvements.
Since a young age, Williams has been interested in and worked in fashion. However, when she realized the wastage involved and the negative climate impact of clothing, she felt driven to help change the industry. Her advice to others looking to change the world is to focus on these three things, “Add value, be 100% solution-focused, and never give up! Doing something that you are passionate means working that much harder. Find something you love doing because you will find a way to be brilliant at it.”
2) Queen Of Raw
Stephanie Benedetto is the cofounder and CEO of Queen of Raw. Eli Taylor
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Stephanie Benedetto is the CEO and cofounder of Queen of Raw, an online marketplace where brands can buy and sell deadstock fabric. She is driven to reduce the harmful impacts of the fashion industry on the planet. “I am doing what I am doing to make a difference in the world, not just for myself but for my children and my children’s children,” she says.
According to Benedetto, one t-shirt takes 700 gallons of water to produce. That's enough water for one person to drink for three years. And over 2 million shirts are sold worldwide every year. Says Benedetto, “If we don't make a change to the fashion industry now, in just a few years, two-thirds of the world's population will face shortages of fresh water.”
Benedetto’s family has been in the fashion and textile industry for over 100 years. In 1896, her great-grandfather came to the US from Austria, landing at Ellis Island. After settling into New York City, he began chasing the American Dream. He would find old fabrics and materials other immigrants had brought with them on but weren't using anymore, and use these to create beautiful fashion garments with minimal waste and minimal toxins. This is exactly what Benedetto is attempting to do today, but on a global scale, with Queen of Raw.
To those looking to change the world, Benedetto says, “Don’t be afraid! Take risks, put your ideas out there, and test your solutions in the market. These are important steps to being able to improve your offering and iterate your product effectively.”
3) Boob Design
Mia Seipel is the founder and CEO of Boob Design. Emma Elwin
Mia Seipel is the founder, CEO, and creative director of Boob Design, a Swedish fashion brand that has been making sustainable clothing for pregnant and nursing women for the past two decades. Today, she’s happy to see the tide turning, with both customers and retailers placing demands on fashion brands by shopping for sustainably-produced clothes that are designed to last.
“Since the inception of Boob, it's always been clear that sustainability would factor into everything we do,” says Seipel. “Our target is women who are literally carrying and feeding the future. We must tend to our planet for the sake of everyone. For many of us in this industry, it's very hard to go back once you understand the magnitude of the environmental challenges we are facing, and the responsibility we all have to become part of the solution.”
Seipel’s advice to other people looking to change the world is simple: “Stay true to your ideas and core values. And try to make decisions that allow you to sleep well at night.”
4) The Simple Folk
Jamie Morea and Abigail Brown are the cofounders of The Simple Folk. Mireia Navarro
Jamie Morea and Abigail Brown are mothers of two young children each, best friends, and the cofounders of The Simple Folk, an organic and sustainable line of children’s wear that is also ethically-made.
It was after becoming mothers that Morea and Brown became aware of the dangers of fast fashion – to people and the planet. Think toxic synthetic materials, unfair wages and horrid working conditions at manufacturing plants, environmental degradation and tremendous waste in fast fashion. “Simply put, we had had enough,” says Morea. “We felt compelled to create a more sustainable, non-toxic and ethical line of ‘slow fashion’ children’s clothing to help build a better future.”
To aspiring entrepreneurs, Morea says, “Follow your joy and inspiration and find a way to delegate everything that drains you or that you don’t like to do. When you allow yourself to set your soul on fire for your business, you can build and create from a completely different place; a place where work is play and an act of self-care that serves your highest good. I’ve found that when I follow the path of inspired action, it often feels fun and easy and leads to exponential results.”
5) Nudnik
Twin sisters Lindsay and Alexandra Lorusso are the cofounders of Nudnik. Thomas Bollmann
Lindsay Lorusso is the chief explorer and co-creator, with her twin sister Alexandra, of Nudnik, a circular children’s wear brand. All Nudnik clothes are made from unused scraps of fabric that otherwise would end up as landfill.
The sisters grew up in the waste management industry – their father co-owns one of Canada’s largest privately-owned companies, Wasteco. They worked for him for 15 years prior to launching Nudnik, and thus began to understand the impact we have on our planet as a result of our “throw-away” culture.
“I look at waste as a commodity,” says Lindsay Lorusso. “If we collect our waste separately and cleanly, we can almost always turn it into something new. We are among a handful of ambitious global entrepreneurs who are pioneers in the space of circular design. We are steadfast in our vision to make coveted products from waste.”
To others looking to build sustainable companies, Lorusso says, “It’s all about starting! Reach out to people doing something similar and ask them questions. Reach out to the companies whose vision and values align with yours and ask how you can join their team. If you already know your life purpose and aren’t fulfilling it, what are you waiting for?”
6) Tsouls
Marina Shtatlender and Gero Francis are the cofounders of Tsouls. Patrick Maravilha
Marina Shtatlender is the cofounder of Tsouls, a sustainable footwear brand that makes shoes out of cork. “We love cork in our shoes for many reasons,” Shtatlender says. “It’s organic, lightweight, super comfortable, and healthy for your feet. It’s also renewable, abundant, and easily recyclable. The process of debarking the tree extends its life by 75 years, and when the bark regrows, it reduces carbon dioxide from the environment. For every ton of cork produced, 73 tons of carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere.”
Shtatlender dropped her life-long career as a graphic designer to pursue this path at the age of 55. Her cofounder, Gero Francis is an architect with a business degree who came aboard at age 28. “Yes, you could say we are the odd couple!” Shtatlender says. “But we are true believers in this mission. Neither one of us knew anything about the shoe business before founding Tsouls. We only knew that we wanted to be an innovative company focused on sustainability.”
As a result of her own journey, Shtatlender feels it vital for any changemaker to carefully consider their choice of cofounder. “You must be aligned in your life purpose. This greatly improves collaboration and communication. Without it, the company will have a harder time overcoming unforeseen challenges.”
7) Lucy & Yak
Lucy Greenwood and Chris Renwick are the cofounders of Lucy & Yak. Rory Townsend-Seddon
Lucy Greenwood is the cofounder, along with her partner Chris Renwick, of Lucy & Yak, a dungarees fashion brand that sources its manufacturing ethically and sustainably in India. All products are packed in recycled, reusable fabric bags and shipped in biodegradable mailing bags. Fabrics used are organic and colored with low-impact dyes. And everyone who works for the company in paid a fair living wage. “It always seemed strange to us that we had jobs that didn’t pay enough to live on,” says Greenwood. “We set about to create well-paid jobs for as many people as possible.”
“Start small,” Greenwood advises aspiring entrepreneurs. She and Renwick began their business when they were traveling the world and living off of just over $100 a week. They made a few products, sold them, then made some more. Eventually, they had built a solid fashion business and were able to find a manufacturing partner in India. Recently, Lucy & Yak completed construction of a new factory in India with superior working conditions and solar power.
“Once you achieve a tiny little easy target, the next ones just happen without you doing anything,” says Greenwood. “It’s not about big goals or grand life purposes. Life and business are a collection of tiny events. We’re often so busy looking for grandiose life dreams that we miss the amazing little things along the way. So, my advice is: Don’t have a big goal. The bigger the goal, the harder it seems to accomplish and the less chance there is of it actually happening.”
8) LoveMerino
Pip Smith is the cofounder of LoveMerino. Ian Smith
Pip Smith is the cofounder of LoveMerino, an Australian fashion brand that makes ethical, sustainable clothing out of Merino wool. All LoveMerino products are made from wool gathered from the sheep raised on the Smith family farm, which is also home to Pip’s husband, Norm Smith, and their five children. They use holistic farming methods and adhere to strict animal welfare standards, making their clothing genuinely “flock to fabric.”
In addition, LoveMerino supports local designers and artisans. Each product is knitted, hand-dyed, and finished in Australia. “We have encountered many difficulties in finding processors and manufacturers here in Australia to maintain quality and traceability,” says Smith. “But we have remained committed to the cause and now work with a number of highly talented craftsmen, artisans and designers to produce our quality Merino garments.”
To others looking to align their careers with their life purpose, Smith suggests first coming up with a statement of purpose and list of values to guide you. This will help you generate clear short, medium, and long-term goals. Then put together a team of excellent people to support you. Smith says, “Find your passion in life, what makes you happy. When you get up each day and love what you do, you will never give up.
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772d588ee94dbac87fc72c57f2052d61 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meimeifox/2020/01/19/how-the-search-engine-ekoru-is-cleaning-up-our-oceans/ | How The Search Engine Ekoru Is Cleaning Up Our Oceans | How The Search Engine Ekoru Is Cleaning Up Our Oceans
Ekoru.org is a search engine dedicated to saving the planet. The company donates 60% of revenue generated from clicks on sponsored search results to partner organizations who work on climate change issues. Presently, Ekoru has joined forces with Big Blue Ocean Cleanup, a non-profit that helps clean and protect the world’s oceans, and Operation Posidonia, a cutting-edge project by University of New South Wales which is reforesting oceans by replanting seagrass meadows that generate oxygen and trap CO2. In addition, Ekoru’s servers are powered by hydro-electricity, so every search is environmentally friendly.
Ati Bakush and Alison Lee are the husband-wife team who founded Ekoru. Alison Lee
Founded by husband-wife team Ati Bakush and Alison Lee, who live in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with their four children ages 10 and under, Ekoru is supported by a virtual, global team. Bakush, who is Australian, has a background in developing software for telecommunications and internet service providers. Lee, who is from Malaysia, has enjoyed a career in marketing and communications and was a country marketing manager for Nike. The couple decided to combine their respective areas of expertise in order to build Ekoru, with the intention of making the world a better place.
“We have been personally affected by climate change,” says Lee. “Over the past few years, Malaysia has been blanketed by a cloud of polluted air, a result of the Sumatran forest being burned for commercial purposes. The haze has affected my health and my children's health. Meanwhile, our awareness of plastic pollution has increased while working on Ekoru, and when you know better, you want to do better. We cannot turn away anymore. We have to do something. Ekoru is our way of doing something. To me and my husband, this is not just a career, it is our life purpose.”
Operation Posidonia workers replant seagrass shoots to combat climate change. Operation Posidonia
Bakush and Lee offer these 5 tips for working successfully as partners in both your personal and professional life:
1. Do not talk about work all the time. It is easy to fall into constantly discussing work when you are living and working together 24/7. It is important to separate work and life.
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2. Do not take it personally if the other person is critical of your work.
3. That said, if you have criticism for your partner, be sure that it is constructive.
4. Do not micromanage each other. Trust that your partner knows what they are doing.
5. Do ask each other for opinions and advice, and be open to ideas. Remember, you are working towards the same goal.
Volunteers with Big Blue Ocean complete an ocean cleanup. Big Blue Ocean
The Ekoru founders have faced particular challenges working from home with four young children. They find that it’s not easy balancing parenting and looking after the household with working and being on social media at all hours trying to tap into the most optimal times when people are online. But they manage to get the job done.
To others looking to tap into their life purpose, Lee advises you to find something you are passionate about and then figure out a way to be involved. In addition, she says, “Find a mentor you can talk to and trust. Talk to people who have changed direction and get their advice. Also, be willing to learn. Step out of your comfort zone and be willing to take a risk. Be open-minded!”
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60d49904ed54f208f95bb401baae8a27 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meimeifox/2020/02/03/how-micro-internships-can-help-underserved-students-and-your-business/ | How Micro-Internships Can Help Underserved Students And Your Business | How Micro-Internships Can Help Underserved Students And Your Business
In 2016, Jeffrey Moss started Parker Dewey, an organization that facilitates micro-internships as a way to ensure that every college student and recent grad has equitable access to professional opportunities. Micro-internships are short-term, paid professional experiences that allow students from all backgrounds to explore career pathways, build professional relationships, and showcase their skills to prospective employers. They can prove especially valuable to students who don’t have a stellar academic pedigree, GPA, or family connections, and are therefore otherwise frequently filtered out in the traditional campus recruiting process.
Jeffrey Moss is the founder of Parker Dewey, an organization that helps college students and grads ... [+] land micro-internships. Parker Dewey
In pioneering the concept of micro-internships, Moss harnessed the idea that individuals outside of a company’s walls can complete professional, project-based work on demand. “Instead of thinking about freelancers as cheap labor to get menial tasks done or as an alternative to hiring, companies now recognize that these kinds of gigs provide an effective pathway to identify, assess, and engage potential candidates for summer internships or full-time roles,” says Moss. “This is especially vital to students from underserved backgrounds, as so many of their core skills (e.g. problem solving, communication, adaptability) aren’t captured by a resume, major, or GPA.”
Take Parker Dewey alum Noel Arellano, for example. An engineering graduate from Texas A&M, he is now working as an asset integrity analyst for PinnacleArt. “For me, the college-to-career transition was one of the most difficult challenges in my life,” says Arellano. “Our school’s career fair usually hosts over 450 companies with 10,000+ engineering students competing for an internship, cooperative education, or full-time position. The experience I gained through micro-internships was my way of distinguishing myself.”
Moss poses with University Innovation Alliance micro-interns. Krisanna Sexton
While Parker Dewey is mission-driven, the company is also focused on creating business value for their clients. As a result, the program is sustainable. Specifically, companies appreciate the model because it allows them to have a social impact and also complements business goals around recruiting, diversity and inclusion efforts, retention, and so on.
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Here, Moss offers 5 reasons why companies should consider hiring micro-interns:
1. It helps companies have access to a broad, diverse talent pool while ensuring that all college students and recent grads have equity pathways into your organizations.
2. It builds brand awareness on campus with students who may not know your company or have pre-conceived notions.
3. It improves conversion and retention by allowing for the mutual audition of candidates. The opportunity to do short-term gigs provides insights that can’t be captured from resumes and interviews.
4. It offers hiring managers immediate support on short-term projects that may not be the best use of their time, but would be perfect for an early career professional. And given the nature of micro-internships, the quality is exceptional as students are inherently motivated to exceed expectations.
5. It improves diversity, equity, and inclusion by providing hiring managers with exposure to students from non-traditional backgrounds, allowing them to see the skills, grit, etc. of these individuals.
CUNY students attend a Nasdaq event with Parker Dewey. Parker Dewey
“I’ve long been aware that too many of America’s young people from underserved populations are either unemployed or underemployed – even if they have a college education,” Moss says. “Lack of a pathway to a good job is a major contributor to the economic insecurity that continues to plague these disenfranchised communities – and our country.”
That having been said, Moss considers himself an “accidental entrepreneur.” His prior investment work was related to the education sector, and he was actively involved in several non-profits focused on creating opportunities for students of all ages. This led him to the realization that there was a missing piece in the puzzle: Graduation is not the end point for students from underserved communities; employment is.
“I asked myself why internships need to be limited to ten weeks in the summer,” Moss explains. “Company projects arise year-round. Personally, I had gotten to know many of the students at our schools in poorer communities who had the skills, grit, and drive to succeed. I realized that corporate hiring process are biased against students like these, ones without Ivy League pedigrees.”
Ultimately, through hundreds of conversations with campus recruiters, diversity leaders, and professionals across other departments, colleges, and students, Moss confirmed that there was a need for micro-interns. He then determined how to make the model work, and identified areas of risk and land mines that could cause unintended consequences that would destroy the effort. Thurs, Parker Dewey was born.
While Moss knew that it would be difficult to start a company, he says that he was unprepared for the “daily roller coaster ride.” However, during difficult periods, he needs only look at the pile of thank you notes from students on his desk about how Parker Dewey changed their lives, gave them opportunities they wouldn’t have otherwise had, and offered them a future – and he feels inspired to continue. “To be fair, these early career professionals are amazing people in their own right, however I am honored to think that maybe we played a small part in their success,” Moss says.
Moss offers this advice to young people looking to align their career with their life purpose. First, be intellectually honest with yourself. Find a role that you love at an organization with which you are proud to be associated. Second, recognize that while it is vital to be proud of your role and job, it doesn’t have to be a “feel good” one. “The reality is that your professional life purpose can be different than your personal one,” Moss says. “For example, someone who professionally helps create brands can leverage that experience on a non-profit board. Use your professional talents to do pro-bono work!”
Finally, Moss encourages you to be open and explore. “It’s a shame that we expect college students to know what they want to do even in their first job based upon a couple of internships, some info sessions, and phone calls. Students need to find ways to really explore a variety of opportunities to find their true professional passion.”
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9fa9423bdea702328afd7d57b26e0281 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meimeifox/2020/04/02/how-edible-arrangements-quickly-pivoted-its-business-model-to-respond-to-coronavirus/?sh=7a83bb0f684d | How Edible Arrangements Quickly Pivoted Its Business Model To Respond To Coronavirus | How Edible Arrangements Quickly Pivoted Its Business Model To Respond To Coronavirus
Recently, amidst the chaos and fear brought to the world due to the spread of coronavirus, Edible Brands President Cheikh Mboup took a hard look at the company he leads. Typically, Edible delivers attractive arrangements of diced fruit to customers instead of the more traditional flowers, for occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries, and corporate events. How could the business not just survive and continue to serve customers but also innovate during this uncertain time, Mboup wondered? Systemwide, sales had been around $600 million prior to the current crisis. 2020 had started off strong for the brand with over double-digit growth in January and the busiest Valentine’s Day in the company’s 20-year history. But as with many other companies, as the coronavirus spread, Edible Brand’s sales immediately started to decline.
The first step was ending delivery fees, including on same-day delivery for any orders placed before 3 p.m. However, that wasn't going to be enough. So, Mboup came up with the idea of creating a CSA-style box of produce. This was a logical solution because vendors already bring in big shipments of fruit to make the Edible arrangements. All they had to do was supplement these with more vegetables than normal. Then, instead of slicing and skewering the fruit into beautiful arrangements, franchisees and employees would break the shipments down and put an assortment of whole fruits and vegetables into smaller boxes.
Edible Brands quickly pivoted from delivering arrangements of diced fruit to CSA-style boxes of ... [+] fruit and veggies. Edible Brands
“As health concerns surrounding COVID-19 grew, we recognized that there would be many people and their loved ones who wouldn’t be able to make it out to their local supermarket to purchase what they need to stay healthy during these uncertain times.” Mboup says. “So, over the course of three days, we launched our initiative to offer a fresh produce basket for customers across our entire network, as well as free delivery. By doing this, our goal is to help alleviate some of the issues someone may face as they continue to stay home right now. We continue to think of ways to help our friends and neighbors live as normal of a life as possible.”
Next, Mboup faced the significant task of getting Edible franchisees on board with his idea. Fortunately, he found the franchisees were extremely supportive of the initiative. They were willing to give it a try, feeling it was good for business and also for customers, because they would be getting them the fresh fruits and vegetables they need to stay healthy.
“Our customers have really responded positively to our free delivery of fresh fruit and vegetable boxes,” said Kyle Dumont, an Edible franchisee in Nashua, New Hampshire, who has been with the company since he was 16 years old. “We’re selling more boxes with each new day. The most rewarding part is knowing that we are brightening the days of those who cannot leave their homes under current conditions. As an Edible franchise owner, I’m proud to be a part of an organization that has found a valuable way to stay open in these uncertain times in order to serve the communities we belong to. For me, that’s what it’s all about.”
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Rich Lauria, an Edible franchisee in Rochester, NY, says, “These are challenging times for everyone. Over the course of a week, people's day-to-day lives have changed dramatically. For all communities, Edible is servicing an important need, now delivering fresh, whole produce to people who are homebound and cannot make it out to the store. Our team has adopted strict procedures for touchless delivery to protect themselves and our recipients. We’ve had a very positive response and feel fortunate that we’re in a position to help as we all work together through this pandemic.”
Cheikh Mboup is the president of Edible Brands. Edible Brands
Here, Mboup offers his tips for successfully pivoting your business in response to coronavirus:
1. Enhance two-way communication. Over the course of the last few weeks, we have been in constant communication with our entire network to ensure everyone is fully aligned. My biggest advice would be to not only stay consistent with communication, but to share risks and act as an entire organization. At Edible, we are fortunate to have franchise partners who are willing to try new things and pivot rapidly.
2. Think about the customer’s needs and how they may have shifted. It’s natural for any organization to proceed with its standard business strategy assuming that it will continue to align with loyal customers’ typical expectations. But during times like this, it’s important to follow what the consumer is needing in response to new circumstances so you can model your business to fulfill those new needs. Thinking about life from the consumer's point of view will broaden your horizon to identify how your business can innovate to accommodate their needs during difficult moments. This will push you out of your comfort zone in a much-needed way.
3. Focus on finding the light. We are always so caught up in today’s moments, whether good or bad. It’s important for everyone to remember that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. These uncertain times are not going to last forever. Businesses need to ask themselves, “How do we grow from this problem and move forward once the dust settles?” We need to take what we’re being faced with now and apply what we are learning from it in order to move forward and come out in the end as a stronger organization.
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f48c2e652811cc8d211d4fd7c3b389e8 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meimeifox/2020/05/10/two-companies-revolutionizing-food-delivery-during-coronavirus-confinement/ | Two Companies Revolutionizing Food Delivery During Coronavirus Confinement | Two Companies Revolutionizing Food Delivery During Coronavirus Confinement
The coronavirus lockdown has changed the way we eat. Many people are reluctant to risk COVID-19 exposure by visiting grocery stores. Yet Instacart, Whole Foods, and Amazon Prime deliveries are slammed. Struggling dairy farmers are literally throwing millions of gallons of milk away, restaurant distributors are stuck with tons of food, and many people in the food industry are without a paycheck. Luckily, savvy entrepreneurs are stepping in to fill gaps in an overwhelmed supply chain. Here are two innovators – Moo Cow Market and L.A. Bodega on Wheels – helping consumers in SF and LA gain access to fresh, local food, while also employing workers and supporting struggling small businesses during this period of historic unemployment.
Alexandra and Krish Mysoor came up with the concept and executed on Moo Cow Market. Alexandra Mysoor
1. Moo Cow Market
On April 27, serial entrepreneur Alexandra Mysoor – founder of Par Avion tea and Alexandra Mysoor Home – launched Moo Cow Market in the San Francisco Bay Area. The company offers refrigerated essentials sourced directly from local, family-owned farms, small brands, and manufacturers and delivers them safely, with zero contact, to your home. While Instacart has shoppers go into a store to get items, thereby marking up items and exposing themselves to sickness, Moo Cow Market has created a mobile bodega. Not only does this business model employ people, but also it gets money to farmers and struggling brands faster.
“I began hearing from farmers and other local food manufacturers that they were having to dispose of perfectly good food due to a broken and overwhelmed supply chain,” says Alexandra Mysoor. “I told my 13-year-old son Krish what I was hearing and he said, ‘Hey, what if we could get the eggs, milk, and other food from farmers and deliver it directly to people? Like, actually do the delivering?’”
Krish Mysoor not only helped come up with the idea for Moo Cow Market but also put the needed technology together. He was inspired by attending a debate camp on the UCLA campus last summer. A company there hired students to deliver snacks directly to the classroom. “I was impressed with the assortment,” says Krish Mysoor. “They had all the things I would want as a student. Plus, they worked fast because the students know their way around campus better than anyone and the app was easy to use.”
In order to turn the Moo Cow Market concept into reality, Alexandra, her husband Prashanth Mysoor, and Krish had to move incredibly fast. For example, they had just lined up the SF favorite Three Twins Ice Cream brand to be on the truck, only to find out a few hours later that the company had ceased operations. (Moo Cow Market did ultimately secure the last Three Twins run for its consumers, however.)
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“It was all hands on deck,” says Alexandra Mysoor. “Krish became our de-facto CTO, helping us pick the right technology platform and building some of the features we would need to enable deliveries, take orders, and organize all of our new, low-tech vendors. Since he had taken programming classes and an engineering and app design course, he jumped in to explain to farmers and local brands how Moo Cow Market could help them repackage for retail and distribute directly to consumers through our refrigerated truck network. What this crisis has illuminated is how much we rely on our agricultural community.”
Currently, Moo Cow Market carries such beloved brands as Blue Bottle coffee, Strauss Family and Clover dairy products, Glaum Ranch eggs, Califia farms almond milk, and other products such as locally produced cookies. They are adding local fresh meats and launching pre-curated boxes — including Homeschool Lunch boxes for littles to help overwhelmed parents, and Netflix and Chill boxes for families to have fun movie nights. In addition, the site offers a "Donate Groceries to a family" feature during check-out, which allows you to support people in need during this challenging time.
“We are delivering bags and bags of refrigerated staples to families and elderly who are falling through the cracks,” says Alexandra Mysoor. “This is a difficult time with economic setback for many, but we truly are stronger together.”
Natasha Case, founder of Coolhaus ice cream, started the L.A. Bodega on Wheels . Coolhaus
2. L.A. Bodega on Wheels
Natasha Case, CEO and founder of Coolhaus Ice Cream, recently announced her new project, L.A. Bodega on Wheels – a temporary rolling bodega – as a way to give LA consumers access to fresh, sustainably-produced foods, inspire small businesses to get scrappy and work together with others in the food industry, and keep as many of these business afloat as possible. It also puts some unemployed staffers back to work with tips in their pockets. 10% of proceeds from all sales are evenly divided and donated to charities including Opportunity Fund's Small Business Relief Fund.
“The L.A. Bodega on Wheels is an amazing partnership between business owners across hospitality segments, including restaurants, bars, ice cream shops, and spirit brands,” says Case. “We are rising to the challenge in these immensely difficult times to bring delicious, nourishing products to the community while raising money to give back to those in need.”
The L.A. Bodega on Wheels uses Coolhaus Ice Cream trucks to become “retailers on wheels.” And it’s not the first time the company trucks have been part of emergency relief: Coolhaus delivered cookies and hot chocolate to victims of Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
The delivery radius includes Culver City, Venice, Santa Monica, Brentwood, Westwood, Ocean Park, Mar Vista, and Marina del Rey. Provisions include DIY pasta kits, vegetable dishes, coffee, bread, and wine from The Rose Venice; cookies, ice cream scoops, and ice cream sandwiches from Coolhaus; gin from Future Gin; canned, craft cocktails from VERVET; and miscellaneous items such as face masks and hand sanitizer.
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f0f946107ef615582270ec5a4bb1ed73 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meimeifox/2020/05/13/4-ways-covid-19-has-negatively-impacted-women-in-tech/?sh=206b4f2942fe | 4 Ways COVID-19 Has Negatively Impacted Women In Tech | 4 Ways COVID-19 Has Negatively Impacted Women In Tech
In March 2020, TrustRadius, a software review company, published its second annual Women in Tech Report based on a survey of over 700 tech professionals in America. Since then, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought about abrupt changes to all of our lives, including nearly universal school closures, increased remote work policies, and a historic economic downturn. As a result, TrustRadius decided to publish an update to their initial report highlighting crucial data about how the arrival of the coronavirus in America has impacted women in tech.
Megan Headley is the VP of Research at TrustRadius. TrustRadius
“While everyone is feeling the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were indications that women and people of color might be particularly hard-hit economically and socially, on top of obvious health concerns,” says Megan Headley, VP of Research at TrustRadius. So she decided to lead the effort to find out more.
The TrustRadius survey was open to everyone who works in the tech industry regardless of gender identity. Nearly 600 tech professionals participated, including 270 women, 315 men, 5 non-binary respondents, and 6 respondents who chose to not identify their gender. They did not receive any incentive for participating in the survey. Here are the key findings.
Women in tech are more likely to be laid-off due to coronavirus. TrustRadius
1) Women are more likely to be laid off than men.
At a time of record unemployment, tech companies are far less impacted than any businesses requiring face-to-face interactions, especially in the travel, restaurant, and hospitality industries. Fortunately, many tech company employees are able to work from home and companies have quickly made the pivot to remote work.
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That having been said, the TrustRadius survey revealed that women in tech are 1.6x more likely than men to be laid-off or furloughed. They found that 8% of female respondents had lost their jobs, as opposed to 5% of male respondents. This was consistent with results of a much larger survey of the general US population conducted by Langer Research, which found that 37% of women vs. 28% of men across industries have been laid-off due to coronavirus. TrustRadius speculates that more women have been let go because, according to the Harvard Business Review, they generally have less seniority than men.
Far more women than men in tech are struggling right now with childcare. TrustRadius
2) Women generally bear a greater childcare burden than men.
Women in tech were 1.5x more likely to report feeling burdened by having to care for children, the vast majority of whom have been home from school for months due to coronavirus quarantine. 72% of women vs. 53% of men surveyed said they are currently struggling with childcare. Nearly 60% of the female tech workers responded that they had seen their familial responsibilities increase as a result of COVID-19.
Women in tech are more likely to feel an increased pressure to be productive. TrustRadius
3) Women feel greater pressure to be productive.
Yet even as they are struggling to care for their children full-time, women also are more likely than men in tech to feel an increased pressure to be productive. 40% of the female TrustRadius survey respondents said they feel more pressure, compared to only 31% of male respondents.
Women in tech are more likely to feel concerned about the impact of COVID-19 on people of color. TrustRadius
4) Women tend to be more concerned about the impact of COVID-19 on people of color.
News reports have revealed that COVID-19 is having a devastating impact on African-American communities, with higher rates of infection and death, highlighting levels of racial and economic disparity in the US. The TrustRadius survey revealed that women are 15% more likely than men to be concerned about the impact of the pandemic on people of color.
There were racial differences, as well. 70% of the women of color in tech surveyed said they were concerned about this issue, compared to 51% of white women. “These findings are crucial for raising awareness and increasing diversity in the tech industry,” says Headley.
The TrustRadius team holds a virtual meeting on Zoom. TrustRadius
So, what next for the tech industry? “Surfacing inequality is important,” Headley says. “It will continue to be important as long as inequality in pay, funding, employment rates, and other areas continues to exist. There’s a lot of conflicting research about gender in the tech industry today. For example, there have been countless attempts to find ‘reasonable’ explanations for the gender pay gap. Our research is important because understanding why inequality exists is key to addressing it. Being able to point to data and cite specific stories helps ground the conversation, especially when both implicit bias and explicit discrimination are in play.”
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7b47772a6e23d6684f3e8c4fc5c39e06 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meimeifox/2020/05/26/yes-you-should-keep-selling-during-this-time-of-coronavirus-upheaval/ | Yes, You Should Keep Selling During This Time Of Coronavirus Upheaval | Yes, You Should Keep Selling During This Time Of Coronavirus Upheaval
The global economy has slowed down massively due to the coronavirus pandemic and resulting lockdowns. In America alone, a record 38.6 million people have filed for unemployment. Right now, as the world suffers both literally and metaphorically from Covid-19, entrepreneurs may be feeling serious doubts about selling their products and services. Sami Wunder, who has built a seven-figure business as a dating and relationship coach, says she can relate to the desire to close up shop during the current crisis. However, she advises entrepreneurs to keep on selling – because selling is serving.
Sami Wunder is a dating and relationship coach. Gail D'Almaine
In just three years, Wunder has developed a highly engaged and loyal community of over 85,000 women in 35 countries across the globe, hundreds of whom she has helped to find romantic love. She specializes in working with ambitious, high-achieving women and teaches them how to connect with their feminine energy, to attract the love of high caliber men who are a match for them. Her clientele ranges from Hollywood celebrities and UK TV stars to CEOs, bankers, lawyers, doctors, leading entrepreneurs and more. To date, her company has recorded 177 engagements. Wunder is featuredregularly as a dating and relationship expert in the media, and has appeared in Business Insider, Time magazine, Glamour, the Daily Mail, The Metro, and Cosmopolitan, among other publications.
“When coronavirus struck, I was ready to stop selling my services. I couldn´t see how I could sell and thrive when the world was hurting,” says Wunder. That very same day, however, she received an email from a client, a registered nurse in New York City. She shared with Wunder how emotionally challenging her work was. But thanks to Wunder, she said, she didn’t have to go back to an empty home or face these hard times alone. Her loving fiancé was there waiting for her, helping her disinfect before she entered the home, looking after her daughter, and serving her a hot dinner. She reported feeling immensely grateful to have found her soulmate.
“That message from my client served as a powerful reminder,” Wunder says. “I decided that it was a sign from the universe that my work is service. That this isn’t the time for a leader to step back; it’s time for leaders to step up, give more and sell more.”
Wunder believes that selling is serving, a benefit to your clients, yourself and the world. Gail D'Almaine
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In March 2020, Wunder launched her signature “Leap Into Love” program for singles, which helps high-achieving women attract their dream relationships. It resulted in her enrolling over 120 clients and a multi-six figure launch, completely crashing any belief that people don’t want to buy just because coronavirus has hit.
If you have been struggling with the idea of selling your products and services during the present pandemic, here are Wunder’s top five tips, in her own words, for moving forward with courage:
1) Have a positive attitude towards selling.
In order to be able to sell your services and products well, it’s important to not feel like a bad person for doing it. Consider your business a service. Your programs or products positively change the lives of the people you sell them to. Keeping that in mind is going to give you confidence. You’re actually doing a good thing when you sell because it is by selling that you can help truly change someone’s life.
2) Remind yourself that selling empowers you, your family and the world.
By selling to those who still need and want your services and products, you are continuing to ensure that you are making a positive impact in the lives of others. You also are ensuring that money circulates in the economy, which is critical during the current downturn. Plus, you are being an empowered individual when you sell, so that you can support your own family. This is a virtuous cycle that exists because you are brave enough to sell.
I am able to keep my entire team of coaches and assistants from all over the world employed because I still sell. In fact, they even received bonuses during the launch. If I weren’t selling, if I had given up, these women and their families too would face the burden of my giving up.
3) Recognize that this is the time for leaders to rise, not retreat.
Believing in your message, in yourself and in your business has never been more important than it is right now. During the pandemic, people are looking towards entrepreneurs to provide solutions and rise as leaders with positive and empowering messages. Showing up for your tribe, offering your products and services is one of the most important things you can do to help them right now.
4) Offer flexible payment plans.
If your customer cannot afford your one-time payments because their liquidity is tight, get ready to bend over backwards for them by offering easier and longer-term payment plans. Make it easy on them to make the decision to invest in your products or services by accommodating their needs.
5) Sell, but don’t be an a**hole.
Finally, of course sell, but don’t sell without empathy or a denial of the pain the world is in right now. Selling doesn’t have to be done in bad taste. It is best not to push your products and services into the faces of people who are hurting from the pandemic and can’t possibly afford to take you up on what you are offering because they have lost their jobs. In my community, even though we sell, we offer tons of free content and resources to support those who cannot buy our services right now.
In just three years, Wunder has grown her company to a seven-figure annual revenue stream. Gail D'Almaine
Wunder was born in India. When she was young, she wanted to become a banker and indeed, she became a gold-medalist economist from India's top college for commerce and economics. She then earned an MPP from the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin on a full scholarship. But she did not enjoy her job as a consultant at the various international development organizations she worked for thereafter, often wondering about the impact of what she was doing.
In parallel, in spite of the career success, Wunder’s love life was looking miserable. After the man whom she thought was “the one” broke her heart, she decided to take her love life in her own hands. She read books from top relationship stalwarts and self-taught herself self-esteem, boundaries and feminine energy. As a result, she attracted and got engaged to her now-husband Chris in nine months.
When the couple moved to Paris for her husband’s work, Wunder was left with the choice of finding a job or starting her own business or staying at home as a housewife. At this point, she already was serving as “the chief love advisor” to many girlfriends who were smart and successful women struggling with men in their dating lives. It dawned on Wunder that she could do this professionally.
And so, Wunder became an entrepreneur. Initially, she distributed content for free on blogs and videos. Very quickly, she established a community of fans on Facebook and focused on really serving her clients and getting them results. In the first year, she had built a six-figure business. By the third year, the company hit seven figures and is continuing to grow.
“I don't only share tips and advice,” Wunder says. “I like to keep it real and share things that I might be going through in my own marriage. When it comes to social media, the majority of my focus goes into my Wunder Divas Facebook group, where I've created a real sense of community for smart, successful women to feel supported and heard when it comes to their dating and relationship challenges. At the start of my business, I thought I was an economist pretending to be a love coach. Now I know I was always a love coach, pretending to be an economist temporarily. I have found the gift of my life purpose and nothing beats that feeling of being able to help women attract and keep the love of their life.”
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e723971935b271a305dcdc30f7a262d5 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meimeifox/2020/05/27/russian-billionaire-god-nisanov-donates-millions-to-coronavirus-relief/ | Russian Billionaire God Nisanov Donates Millions To Coronavirus Relief | Russian Billionaire God Nisanov Donates Millions To Coronavirus Relief
As of today, Russia has surpassed 350,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases – the second-highest number in the world after the US. Even as lockdown ends, the country reported almost 9,000 new infections on May 25, 2020. Fortunately, Forbes billionaire God Nisanov, a real estate mogul originally from Azerbaijan, is stepping up to help.
Russian billionaire God Nisanov has donated money, an auto center, a hotel, ambulances and more to ... [+] Coronvavirus relief in Russia and Azerbaijan. God Nisanov
Together with longtime Kievskaya Ploshchad Group business partner and fellow Forbes billionaire Zarakh Iliev, Nisanov has provided an entire 421-room Radisson Hotel in Moscow to medical workers who need to separate from their families. The hotel serves two meals a day free of charge. The Gazeta.Ru, a leading and trusted Russian news source, also reports that the two billionaires have donated the massive Moscow Automobile Trade Center to the city. The building is being converted into a supplemental hospital facility with up to two thousand beds.
Furthermore, Central Market, a gastro project owned by Kievskaya Ploshchad, has been providing free food since the beginning of quarantine to personnel of two state medical hospitals battling the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, Nisanov donated $1.2 million to the Azerbaijan Coronavirus Relief Fund and supplied 10 ambulance vehicles to Azerbaijan.
Nisanov and his business partner have dedicated their Radisson hotel in Moscow to housing medical ... [+] workers. Kievskaya Ploshchad
“The Coronavirus pandemic has disrupted life to a surprising degree, and I see it as my duty to help ensure that our society sustains as little damage as possible,” Nisanov said in an exclusive interview with Forbes. “I strongly believe that given the severity of the dangers this crisis can bring, people need to do what they can to contribute. All of humanity needs to get involved with helping one another.”
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Nisanov was born in a Jewish settlement in Azerbaijan. After graduating with degrees in finance and law, he worked briefly for his father’s canned food factory. Then in 1992, he joined forces with Iliev, who remains his business partner to this day. Throughout his career, Nisanov has funded numerous charity projects, including assisting with the construction of a school and museum in his home town.
“I'm interested in more than just making money,” says Nisanov. “Bringing a project to a successful finish, deriving satisfaction from the results, and making a unique and meaningful difference that will affect people far into the future – all of these aims are expressions of my life purpose.”
To aspiring entrepreneurs, Nisanov offers this advice. “The business and financial aspects of any project are important. But an entrepreneur should be driven first and foremost by the ambition to do something special. Their goals should be facilitated by unwavering focus and a solid work ethic. Make quick decisions, take risks, and don’t be afraid to explore uncharted territory.”
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4f60f268ad777ed66424d66e3365d63f | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meimeifox/2020/06/07/school-of-rock-joins-forces-with-music-idols-in-response-to-coronavirus-pandemic/ | School Of Rock Joins Forces With Music Idols In Response To Coronavirus Pandemic | School Of Rock Joins Forces With Music Idols In Response To Coronavirus Pandemic
School of Rock is the world’s leading music education company. At the end of 2019, it had 270 franchises operating in nine countries serving 40,000 students. But when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, like all schools, this one had to shut down in-person instruction. Immediately, the company launched School of Rock Remote, giving its students access to their music instructors via video conferencing. Then one day, the company arranged for its students to speak with Jay Weinberg, the drummer of Slipknot. 1,600 people signed up and the chat room exploded.
This clued President and CEO Rob Price into the fact that he’d tapped into a big idea. It led to the launch of School of Rock Artist Sessions, connecting music students to their idols via online tutorials and Q&As. Musicians with Sum 41, The P!NK Band, Bon Jovi, Alice Cooper, Guns N’ Roses, Beyoncé and Stevie Wonder already have participated. Furthermore, these iconic performing artists are donating their time to help raise awareness for School of Rock’s philanthropic partner, the Society for the Prevention of Teen Suicide.
Mark Schulman is a member of the rock band P!NK. School of Rock
“During the Coronavirus pandemic, artists are clamoring to create and share and connect with fans. We’ve got a community of students who are looking to engage and eager to learn,” says Price. “These famous musical artists are going beyond the flash and sizzle to talk about the substance of their careers.”
School of Rock was built on an audacious idea – that the traditional model of music lessons needed to be shaken up. One-on-one lessons are complemented with performance training. Students are assembled into bands and work for 10 to 12 weeks at a time on full-scale shows, which are put on at real venues. They gain a combination of technical proficiency and life skills as a result.
Rob Price is the President and CEO of School of Rock. School of Rock
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Price had careers in consulting, marketing, merchandising and general management prior to being recruited to lead School of Rock. Only here, he says, did he discover what a calling feels like. As a lifelong musician and father to three musical sons, he has a deep passion about the life-changing influence of creative expression. “I never would have imagined being able to integrate my professional and personal interests so completely as I have at School of Rock,” he says.
Intellectual and creative exploration is not the total story, Price emphasizes. There is a pandemic of anxiety and depression that has grown more dangerous over the years. The second-leading killer of young people is suicide. “This puts us on the front lines with our young students,” says Price. Especially now, given how the isolation, anxiety and helplessness of the Coronavirus pandemic, with its subsequent school closures and economic downturn, and widespread protests of racial injustice are fueling a mental health crisis.
Students at School of Rock perform a live show in front of an audience. School of Rock
To others looking to tap into their life purpose, Price offers this advice. “Determine what you love to do in your free time that gives your greatest joy. It has become too easy to be a passive spectator of other people’s passions. We could spend all our waking hours consuming what other people create – movies, TV, songs, etc. Discovering something you love to create may be the greatest clue as to what you want to help others to create.
“Once discovered, be realistic that few people will have their dream job early in life. But don’t be discouraged. There is an endless amount of need for competent people to put their energies into their passion outside the workplace by supporting organizations and individuals in need of someone who cares deeply about what is most important to them. While you wait for your dream job, hone your passion and skills. Shape your purpose and your portfolio. Don’t wait for the stars to align. Do an amazing job at your job, even if it is boring. As you do, you become more valuable to those who are looking for their dream candidate for your dream job.”
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4c9489469402d1d829507d56efc6695f | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meimeifox/2020/06/14/5-simple-ways-to-improve-your-mental-health-every-day/ | 5 Simple Ways To Improve Your Mental Health Every Day | 5 Simple Ways To Improve Your Mental Health Every Day
Woman-meditates-Core Core
Americans are 8 times more likely to suffer from serious mental distress now than we were a few years ago. At this moment in time, we’re not only concerned about the coronavirus pandemic, but also confronting a historic economic downturn and suffering the psychological consequences of racial injustice and dealing with widespread social unrest. Fortunately, there are many resources available to support us through these challenges, including a growing wave of online therapy. There’s also Core, a meditation app that pairs with a physical device you can hold in your hands.
Since March 2020 and the beginning of Covid-19 shelter-in-place orders in the U.S., Core has seen the average number of users who are meditating near daily each week increase by 4x, as compared to February 2020. In this short span of time, daily engagement with the app has increased substantially. The proportion of users who use the app at least five days a week has increased fourfold.
Grounded in science and driven by data, Core helps you understand how your body responds to meditation and tracks your progress over time, helping you build focus and self-awareness. Launched in January 2020, Core is the brainchild of Sarah McDevitt, a former athlete and engineering product manager turned entrepreneur and mental health advocate. From game day anxiety to everyday work pressure, McDevitt, like so many of us, has struggled to maintain her mental health. She has experienced panic attacks and the additional physical ailments stress can cause. While seeking a natural solution for stress-relief, she discovered meditation.
With a background in math and computer science as well as an MA in education, McDevitt saw a lack of data-driven analytics and methodology in the art of meditation. While an athlete on the basketball team at NYU, she always meticulously tracked her progress and performance. She realized that she could utilize the same approach with meditation, and therefore designed Core to close the gap. Core is what she dubs “a meditation trainer” – a handheld device that comes with an accompanying app to track your heart rate and stress levels. Vibrations help guide you to a more tactile meditation experience.
Sarah McDevitt is the founder of Core. Core
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Here, McDevitt offers simple tips for maintaining your mental health during the pandemic, protests, environmental disasters, and other crises that are troubling us now, as well as the normal stresses of everyday life.
1) Meditate. The number one tool for maintaining mental health for me is meditating. Every morning, I sit up in bed and do a quick breathing session with Core. It lets me check in with myself by delivering a biometric wellness score.
2) Write things down. When I record my thoughts – especially the funny, bizarre, and tough experiences of the day – it reminds me to be present for this historic phase the world is going through.
3) Stay connected. It’s important to stay in contact with others, even if only virtually – and especially with people who give you lots of positive energy. I've been encouraging our employees to do this. We have virtual happy hours and watercooler hangouts on our calendars. I've been asking everyone to take the time they need for themselves and their families. We can't bring our whole selves to work if we let the other things slip.
4) Get vulnerable. When I chat with friends or coworkers on video calls, I like to share my low points as well as my highs, because everyone can relate. When the struggle is real, these conversations allow me to focus on what a deeply human experience this is — how complex we humans and our lives are, and how meaningful it is to feel things really deeply.
5) Move. I try to go for runs or do some sort of exercise every day. I’ll even get up in between video calls and jump around for 10 seconds. Not only will it bring some levity to long days, but also I find that melting into my home workspace for call after call does not help me bring my most confident energy to my meetings.
Currently, Core is providing free Instagram Live meditation sessions twice a day during the workweek. McDevitt has long been a firm believer in meditation, and during this stressful time, she believes that we need a community to support our efforts more than ever.
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aeec561e0878eefd70f568efc35ddcd4 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meimeifox/2020/06/21/why-you-should-worry-less-about-doing-more/ | Why You Should Worry Less About Doing More | Why You Should Worry Less About Doing More
Maja Miller is the founder and CEO of Be More Lose More. Weston Carls
Maja Miller is the founder and CEO of Be More Lose More, a movement that empowers female entrepreneurs and innovators to love their bodies and achieve their deeper purpose, thus positively impacting the world. She does this through a suite of online courses, individual coaching, and events, building a community of women who support one another. Since 2012, she has coached over 7,000 women on four different continents.
“I know so many women out there who feel the same way I used to – tired, overwhelmed, anxious and depleted,” says Miller. “You've been sold the ‘do more to weigh less’ lie by all the gurus, trainers and nutritionists. But doing more to weigh less is the single biggest mistake women make when trying to lose weight and feel great. Here's a truth bomb: You can only act like a healthy person when you have the identity of a healthy person. Focusing on the doing before the being is backwards. It puts the cart in front of the horse. If you don't feel like a million bucks and love your body, then all the things you've been doing are not the solution.”
Miller empowers women to feel good in their bodies and thus their lives. Weston Carls
Miller discovered her life purpose – which is to empower women to feel great in their bodies and, as a result, feel great about their lives – when struggling to feel good in her own body. About ten years ago, she was experiencing anxiety, depression, IBS, low thyroid function, hair loss and other symptoms, but traditional doctors either told her this was normal or offered no solutions. Some prescribed medication that helped mask the symptoms but didn’t impact the root cause.
So, Miller started reading books and doing her own research. Years later, she visited a functional nutritionist at Santa Monica Wellness who helped her connect the dots. She was suffering from an undiagnosed autoimmune disease, mold toxicity, heavy metal poisoning, adrenal dysfunction and gut issues. “Almost everything I had been diagnosed with was directly related to my environment,” Miller says. “The food I was eating, the water I was drinking, the air I was breathing, the stress I was subjecting myself to. Once I healed myself, it was as if I had been living in black and white, and then someone flipped the switch to make life technicolor.”
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Her personal transformation led Miller to quit corporate life and launch a start-up, Kor180, a boutique Pilates studio chain in Austin, TX. Here, she witnessed many of her predominately female clients suffering exactly as she had. She decided to do something about it. A short while later, she had created Be More Lose More, a 90-day transformational program combining nutrition, rest, exercise, stress reduction and supplementation. It was an instant hit. She sold $20K of the program in the first week and proceeded to generate multiple six-figures over the next 18 months, with a seven-figure predicted run rate in year two.
Prior to Be More Lose More, Miller was founder and CEO of Kor180. Jenna McElroy
The best part of running Be More Lose More, for Miller, has been hearing her clients’ success stories. Hundreds of women have stated that their lives have been transformed thanks to the program. As a result, Miller decided to go back to school, expanding her knowledge of health and wellness at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition and Functional Diagnostic Nutrition.
“As women, we are taught to turn ourselves inside out for others, whether that’s for our jobs, spouses, kids, other family members or friends,” Miller says. “We’re taught that we are selfish if we take care of ourselves first. We’re constantly feeling like we’re never good enough and catastrophically burning ourselves out, until we are unable to even function at the most basic level. Sitting here in 2020, looking at the Coronavirus pandemic, toxic politics, the #MeToo Movement, the Women's March, the Black Lives Matters Movement, and more, it’s clear that women are and will continue to be a big part of creating and executing the solutions that will make the world a better place. But we can do that better if we feel the best we’ve ever felt in our bodies and about ourselves.”
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516b6eb3f9195be3429d2425c566a7bb | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meimeifox/2020/09/04/how-cassandra-cooper-gives-women-of-color-a-voice/?sh=569a9f337a73 | How Cassandra Cooper Gives Women Of Color A Voice | How Cassandra Cooper Gives Women Of Color A Voice
Cassandra Cooper is a media producer who runs OVA, a network aimed at women of color. Robert Zubia
Cassandra Cooper is the founder and COO of the Ova Media Group, a media platform designed specifically for women of color that includes over the air and internet channels, a mobile app, live streaming, podcasts, and a music label. Ova TV broadcasts on Roku, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire, reaching up to 250 million households in the U.S. and parts of Africa, the U.K., and the South Pacific.
“All the major networks are controlled by a small handful of corporations that have an interest in the products advertised,” says Cooper. “Niche networks like ours, which caters to women of color, can curate content to sectors of the population that are not often represented in the mainstream media.”
Ova aims to offer viewers an accurate portrayal of the people represented. “We always want to be entertaining, but we make sure to stay away from stereotypes and anything that may be offensive,” says Cooper. “Having an influence in media is a big responsibility. We have an opportunity to reshape the narrative. I therefore use my moral compass as a litmus test in terms of content. Is it entertaining? Is it educational? Are women and people of color included? They all deserve a voice. We, as creators, must stop being lazy and do our best to move away from the status quo.”
Cooper's life purpose is to give people who don't usually have one a voice in the media. Cassandra Cooper
For as long as she can remember, Cooper wrote her own stories. An only child, she relied on her vivid imagination for entertainment. She saved up money from a paper route to buy herself a blue typewriter, on which she began writing shorts stories and songs. By 7th grade, she had won her first writing award. By the age of 18, she had a publishing deal and had written songs for major artists. She has collaborated with Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey, Metallica, Jay Z, Rihanna, and Chris Brown. Her career next evolved into producing TV and movies. She has worked with Tom Sizemore, Jimmy Carey, and Corey Feldman. Through three different companies, Cooper has released 104 film and television shows, including the hit “Ghetto Court.” Now she owns her own network.
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“My life purpose is to help others find their voice, to tell stories that are not commonly told. When my time is up in this business, my hope is to leave behind an oral history of the lives of people who have persevered in silence,” Cooper says. “I believe I have a finger on the pulse of the real America.”
To others looking to tap into their life purpose, Cooper advises that you look for your Why. “Once you know your big Why, you will have the right fuel to power your dream. We all need something to aim for, but knowing your Why will shape your direction. Make passionate decisions. You have but one life to live. Don't be a could of, should of, would of person.”
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743e6405c0df509ff78d37cf33afe870 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meimeifox/2020/10/22/drinking-too-much-how-to-recognize-and-treat-addiction-during-covid-19/?sh=106627cb22de | Drinking Too Much? How To Recognize And Treat Addiction During Covid-19 | Drinking Too Much? How To Recognize And Treat Addiction During Covid-19
Drinking has spiked in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images
Americans are drinking 14% more often during the Covid-19 pandemic, a recent study found. Women are drinking even more frequently, up 17% from last year. And heavy drinking among women has spiked by 41%. The reasons are obvious. Between the risk of contracting a serious illness anytime we leave home and the economic recession, widespread layoffs and business closures, the strain of quarantine and kids at home, people around the world are experiencing abnormally high levels of stress and anxiety.
At the same time, we have lost access to many of the routine comforts that usually help us cope during difficult times. “Grabbing a coffee at the local cafe and having a friendly interaction with the barista is a ritual that many people use to feel ready for a stressful workday,” says Dr. Barbara Rexer, a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) who serves as the executive director of Advanced Health & Education, a New Jersey-based addiction treatment facility. “That simple ritual isn’t possible in the same way these days for a lot of people. This feeling of loss is amplified when applied to friends and family. Seeing loved ones is now tinged with anxiety: ‘Will I get my parents sick? Is this enough social distance? Can we hug?’ When our familiar comforts aren’t accessible to us during times of stress, it affects our mental health. The anxiety of the unknown and not having an end in sight are also factors.”
Furthermore, the coping mechanisms that many of us typically rely on to keep from becoming addicted or treating addiction – such as weekly AA meetings, counseling sessions with therapists, and interactions with friends and family who hold us accountable – are not accessible in the same way they once were. Many people are more reluctant to keep their regular doctors’ appointments, which is especially critical to those suffering from mental health issues who need medication to help manage addiction.
Dr. Andrew Mendonsa is a psychologist for Sprout Health Group. Sprout Health Group
How to Tell When Your Alcohol Use Is Becoming a Problem
Dr. Andrew Mendonsa, a psychologist for Sprout Health Group, shares how to tell when your alcohol use crosses from a harmless coping mechanism to a real problem. Put simply, does it affect your ability to function?
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“Is your drinking causing impairments or problems in your finances, health, job, relationships, friendships, or school?” Mendonsa says. “Are you having to skip work? Is your marriage or relationship on the rocks? Are you failing school? Are you spending way more money on the behavior than you really have to spend? These are some warning signs that indicate your behavior is crossing the line into concerning territory. Another guidepost is when you start to feel the pull of drinking over not drinking.”
Mental health professionals and doctors often use a mnemonic to help assess if a person’s drinking is at a point where they are at high risk for, or have already reached, physiological or psychological dependence on alcohol: CAGE.
CAGE stands for:
Have you ever felt you needed to Cut down on your drinking?
Have people Annoyed you by criticizing your drinking?
Have you ever felt Guilty about drinking?
Have you ever felt you needed a drink first thing in the morning, an Eye-opener to steady your nerves or to get rid of a hangover?
If the answer to two or more of these questions is yes, then you are at risk of having developed a serious problem. Professional treatment may be needed to ensure a safe outcome.
Dr. Barbara Rexer is the executive director of Advanced Health & Education. Advanced Health & Education
How to Avoid Addiction
At Advanced Health & Education, Rexer oversees the treatment of people struggling with addiction to drugs and alcohol who also suffer from mental health issues such as anxiety or depression. She works directly with patients and the clinical/ medical team to determine what people need to recover long-term. Currently, her facility is seeing an increase in admissions among people who have successfully been in recovery for a year or longer.
“Taking care of mental health issues is one of the most important things people can do to recover from addiction and stay in recovery,” Rexer advises. “This means identifying and treating co-occurring mental health disorders, keeping doctors’ appointments, and committing to the treatment plan.”
Rexer recommends recreating a sense of routine and ritual, especially during these tumultuous times. You can attend online support group meetings at a regular time each week, keep up with regular virtual counseling appointments, and establish consistent times to call friends and family for moral support.
In addition, Rexer suggests getting outdoors for exercise. “Nature and exercise both can be really therapeutic. Walks and hikes can help clear the mind and distract us from the stress of Covid-19. Being outside also allows for a socially distanced way to spend time with friends and family! Finding small ways to recapture a feeling of normalcy and connection with others is an important part of managing not just addiction, but the ongoing stress of the pandemic.”
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1c534aa4aad12d860b56d841551948b4 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meimeifox/2020/11/25/despite-a-bumpy-ride-this-travel-car-seat-is-ready-to-hit-the-road/ | Despite A Bumpy Ride, This Travel Car Seat Is Ready To Hit The Road | Despite A Bumpy Ride, This Travel Car Seat Is Ready To Hit The Road
WhizRider has come up with a travel car seat that's small and light enough to carry in your handbag. ... [+] AFP via Getty Images
Any parent will tell you that car seats are a travel nightmare, especially now that safety experts recommend keeping children strapped into booster seats until they’re 8 to 12 years old. Carrying or switching car seats can prove extremely difficult and time consuming, if not realistically impossible. Renting them from car rental agencies when traveling is expensive. What about car seats in taxis and Ubers? Most parents just give up and say, “Nope!”
In 2017, two jet-setting “dadrepreneurs” decided to tackle this problem. Andy Macaluso and Daniel Schlaepfer conceived their idea while rock climbing. They then spent two years developing and testing WhizRider, a breakthrough harness-style portable child restraint system that solves car seat woes. About the size of a coffee cup and weighing less than one pound, WhizRider is small and light enough to toss into a handbag, backpack, suitcase, or glovebox – so that parents can bring it with them everywhere they go.
WhizRider is a portable harness-style child car restraint. WhizRider
WhizRider is developed based on the latest data from the biomechanics and accident research fields. Its innovative concept prevents children from sliding under the lap belt (or “submarining”), one of the most common safety issues for kids in vehicles today. WhizRider keeps children safe on trips and in a pinch when a car seat or booster isn’t a viable option. It exceeds U.S. federal safety requirements.
Macaluso and Schlaepfer had begun a new fundraising round to grow retail channels and brand awareness in the US back in January 2020. Then the Covid-19 pandemic hit, and WhizRider lost almost 90% off all commitments overnight. In parallel, WhizRider was defined as an emerging brand by Amazon USA and became a member of their Launchpad program. But then Amazon closed its warehouses for non-essential products. Furthermore, families stopped traveling and using taxis or ride sharing apps altogether.
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“We were ready, but couldn’t sell product,” says Macaluso. “It was and is still an extremely difficult situation without real monthly revenue. However, as an entrepreneur, you need to be optimistic. We worked very hard and have been able to win some deals in retail stores in 2021.”
Andy Macaluso and Daniel Schlaepfer are the cofounders of WhizRider. WhizRider
To survive, WhizRider’s cofounders did everything they could to cut costs. They terminated agreements with some partners and reduced services with others. And of course, Macaluso and Schlaepfer decreased their own salaries. They remain motivated thanks to the positive feedback they continue to receive from customers and the retail world in general.
These days, Macaluso and Schlaepfer feel optimistic leading WhizRider into 2021. “With all the positive news regarding vaccines, we are very hopeful that some sort of return to normalcy is around the corner. We strongly believe WhizRider will take off once ride sharing and travel become more prevalent again,” says Macaluso. “We are also extremely proud to be part of the Henry Ford Innovation Nation Season 7, which airs on CBS.”
Andy Macaluso is a serial entrepreneur. Andy Macaluso
An entrepreneur for nearly 20 years, Macaluso says that WhizRider is his favorite project so far. It both solves a real problem in his own life and allows him to work alongside Schlaepfer, a close friend. Schlaepfer’s parents run their own business, so he always felt he’d be an entrepreneur.
Originally from Switzerland, Macaluso moved to Hong Kong for work years ago, along with his wife and young daughter. Like most people who live there, they didn’t own cars but used taxis on a daily basis. Unable to find any viable solution to safely secure his daughter in vehicles, he headed out in search of a solution.
Schlaepfer brought his rock-climbing expertise to WhizRider. Dani Schlaepfer
Schlaepfer, a mountain climber, knew that the product had to be easy to use, reliable, lightweight and secure. “Joining forces with Macaluso to create our own business and support child passenger safety makes me proud. We’re serving the community and making a living at the same time!” he says.
Macaluso and Schlaepfer are facing their share of pandemic challenges trying to support their families while working on a startup without drawing a salary. Also, it has been difficult to find the right investors. Nevertheless, the two fathers remain dedicated to their purpose and seeing WhizRider go mainstream.
“Most startups fail because of the wrong team,” says Macaluso to aspiring entrepreneurs. “Hire colleagues who can add to the mix by drawing upon their own experience, education, etc. You need to be a team member, trust your colleagues and listen to them as well as your suppliers and customers.”
Schlaepfer adds, “Don’t be afraid to make unconventional decisions. Sometimes, getting out of your comfort zone is the very best thing you can do as an entrepreneur!”
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c80f7491a78fa41becbb9e034df055f5 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meimeifox/2020/12/03/goodie-girl-partners-with-jetblue-for-gluten-free-in-flight-snacks/ | Goodie Girl Partners With JetBlue For Gluten Free In-Flight Snacks | Goodie Girl Partners With JetBlue For Gluten Free In-Flight Snacks
The partnership began with a chance encounter between Goodie Girl Founder Shira Berk and JetBlue CEO ... [+] Robin Hayes. Shira Berk
Gluten-free snack company Goodie Girl has a new partnership with JetBlue to offer exclusively their cookies in-flight for the next three years. It all happened as a result of a coincidental encounter between Shira Berk, Goodie Girl’s founder, and JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes. The two were seated next to each other on a flight to New York back in 2016. They got to talking. Berk discussed her entrepreneurial journey and offered a few bags of cookies to Hayes, who shared them with the rest of the flight crew. Everyone loved them.
Over the next four years, Berk continued to cultivate her relationship with Hayes and work on a custom recipe for JetBlue. The result is Goodie Girl’s Homestyle Thin and Crispy Cookies, which will be available on all JetBlue flights through 2023.
Founded in New York and based in Ridgefield, NJ, Goodie Girl cookies are naturally gluten-free, Kosher, and do not contain any artificial preservatives or high-fructose corn syrup. In 2016, the company landed a distribution deal with Starbucks, which led to a significant increase in trial and awareness. The brand’s sales are up 63 percent from 2016 to 2020, with distribution doubling from 2017 to 2020. Goodie Girl products are available in retailers nationwide including Amazon, Walmart, Target and more.
Shira Berk is the founder of Goodie Girl. Goodie Girl
The Covid-19 pandemic has hit the entire airline industry hard. JetBlue signed their deal with Goodie Girl in March 2020, just as lockdowns began to sweep the nation. Although most people aren’t flying these days, the partnership is still going strong and JetBlue customers can expect to find Goodie Girl cookies on all their flights.
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“This was a year filled with uncertainty, but our team and manufacturing partners have been all-in,” says Berk. “As a team, we are nimble, determined, and always innovating. We were able to introduce new products even during this crazy year, and the love notes from happy cookie lovers make it all worthwhile.”
Berk spent years working in the music and entertainment industry before turning her creative instincts to cookies. A self-trained baker interested in healthy living, she discovered that there were “no truly great tasting gluten-free cookies” on the market. So, she spent hours blending different kinds of gluten-free flours in order to create delicious cookies using only natural ingredients before founding Goodie Girl.
Berk developed the recipes for Goodie Girl cookies herself. Goodie Girl
Her mother, who started her own business when she was in her 20s, is a source of inspiration for Berk. “I saw first-hand what it takes and how rewarding it can be to build a business,” says Berk. “I also learned from an earlier age that barriers can become blessings and that business success and motherhood are not at all mutually exclusive.”
Berk enjoys setting an example for younger entrepreneurs by “demonstrating how far you can go with a strong vision, adaptability, and passion for innovation.” She offers this advice. “Meet people, ask questions, talk and listen. Find a mentor. Keep learning! Be yourself, learn how you and only you can uniquely offer a product or service in the way that feels most right for you. Your passion will be felt and you will be trusted when people see how much you care about your business.”
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30db83125867c919ddd6ae213a135fa2 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meimeifox/2020/12/14/how-a-covid-19-mask-company-saved-a-thai-tailor/ | How A Covid-19 Mask Company Saved A Thai Tailor | How A Covid-19 Mask Company Saved A Thai Tailor
Bonrisu harnesses a Thai tailoring company to make high-quality fabric face masks. Bonrisu
Bonrisu sells handmade fabric face masks, which are crafted by skilled tailors with decades of experience. Founder and CEO Herbert Yu started the company to help a small tailoring business in Thailand, which was on the verge of closing due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Aside from providing job opportunities to those impacted by the economic recession, for every mask sold Bonrisu also donates a mask to those in need through Meals on Wheels America, their national partner.
The events that have unfolded since coronavirus hit the globe full force early in 2020, while tragic, have helped Yu to discover his life purpose. Before the pandemic, he loved to travel and meet new people. He was always seeking new experiences. He taught statistics and corporate finance in Kazakhstan, brought his mom to Russia to see the FIFA World Cup, consulted for several multinational corporations, climbed Mt. Rainier, taught English to schoolchildren in a rural village in Laos, and played in a global soccer tournament in Prague for nearly six years – all while managing to visit over 40 countries.
Herbert Yu is the founder and CEO of Bonrisu. Bonrisu
Yu’s globe-trotting came to a sudden halt with coronavirus. Shortly thereafter, he learned that Mana Narula, a Bangkok-based tailor and friend whom he had met while traveling in Asia, was struggling and concerned that he would have to shut his business down. Meanwhile, Yu had friends working in the New York City healthcare system who were desperate to find PPE for local nurses and doctors. Yu spied a golden opportunity to generate business for the Thai tailor and provide lifesaving gear to NY area healthcare workers by designing and producing face masks. Hence Bonrisu was born.
Next, Bonrisu chose Meals on Wheels as their partner in social impact. So far, the company has donated over 10,000 reusable face masks to over 180 organizations in the U.S. and Canada. Those organizations and their volunteers serve over 220 million meals to 2.4 million seniors every year.
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“It was fortuitous timing, as Narula had found little demand for formal business attire during the pandemic. But he employed over 30 men and women, who are significant contributors to the financial health of their families,” says Yu. “It’s been gratifying to build a business that is global, showing that impactful work can be done together when we are connected as one entity. We are just one small business. Imagine if we all were that interconnected and the global mentality were more pervasive! So many problems could be tackled, large and small.”
Yu partnered with Thai tailor Mana Narula to make face masks. Bonrisu
Yu credits his immigrant parents, who came to the US from Taiwan, for instilling in him a desire to explore. “Growing up in a predominantly white area, I looked different from other kids and at times was treated differently. Instead of letting me wallow, my parents reminded me of how big the world was beyond our hometown and that differences should not just be celebrated but sought out. I’ve always known that exploring and connecting people from around the world would be a part of my life. Now I’m getting the chance to put this passion and purpose into my professional work with Bonrisu,” says Yu.
Yu finds leading a global business during a pandemic “a heavy weight to carry.” However, he loves what he is doing and doesn’t look at it as work. “It’s inspiring to know that you can impact the livelihoods of so many people. In addition, Bonrisu is already thinking about what’s next beyond masks to offering other products and services that drive positive social and economic impact.”
To young people looking to align their careers with their life purpose, Yu offers this advice. “Understand that the life journey is better navigated with a compass than a map. Be intentional about what direction you want to go, but understand that seeking life purpose is a journey with many chapters and unexpected detours and turns. Almost certainly nothing will go to plan. Try to have as many conversations with as many people from different walks of life as possible. The connection may be fleeting or it may be a lifelong relationship, but all add richness and help inform your life purpose journey.”
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f46f1304fa119f1c3012d69ea4fcbdf5 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meimeifox/2020/12/20/trouble-in-paradise-most-hawaii-public-schools-are-still-remote/ | Trouble In Paradise: Most Hawaii Public Schools Are Still Remote | Trouble In Paradise: Most Hawaii Public Schools Are Still Remote
I’ve read one too many articles since the Covid-19 pandemic hit hard in March 2020 about “how to balance work and schooling children from home.” Let’s be real: There is no balance. There is only sacrifice. In late November, Merriam-Webster named “pandemic” the Word of the Year. In my opinion, “distance learning” ought to be named the Oxymoron of the Year.
Hawaii ranks 3rd highest in the nation for the percentage of schools that are still operating partly ... [+] or only remotely. Kiran Ramchandran
Here in Hawaii, thankfully, coronavirus infection rates have remained relatively low due to the ability to require first a 14-day quarantine for anyone arriving to the islands and then later, as of October, a negative pre-travel Covid test. And yet many of our public schools remain entirely or mostly virtual. Shockingly, Hawaii ranks third highest out of all 50 U.S. states on this New York Times graph of the percentage of schools that are engaged entirely or mostly in distance learning as of September 2020. According to the article, the number of schools open to in-person learning in our state has “barely changed” since May 2020, whereas in other parts of the country many schools have reopened.
As a working mother of twin 5-year-old boys who started kindergarten at a public school in Honolulu in August, I will speak from my own experience as well as citing statistics. It is impossible for me to write while I am managing my children’s “online education.” Their daily at-home program consists of no more than 20 minutes of a group Zoom with teachers and classmates, 30 minutes of computer-based reading and math programs that do little to engage them, and completing a journal entry. For every component, the boys require constant supervision and support. Otherwise, my husband Kiran and I find them doing headstands on the sofa, staring at the ceiling, fighting, or wandering off to play with a toy. Apart from this limited attempt at “distance learning,” it’s up to us parents to figure out how to educate and entertain the kids.
As of late October, our twin 5-year-old boys go to school in person two days per week. Kiran Ramchandran
According to a recent survey, 74 percent of mothers feel mentally worse off since the pandemic started. In another, one in five working-age adults (predominantly women) said they were not working because Covid-19 had disrupted their childcare arrangements. An article on the US Census Bureau website concludes, “As the nation moves forward in this crisis, research shows that particular attention will need to be paid to schooling and child care not just for the sake of the children but also for working moms.”
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It is not just the parents who are suffering. The Center for Education Reform reports that online education is failing children as much as it is failing us adults. The economic divide has worsened, with poorer children suffering from a lack of internet access and dedicated workspaces. Children are not getting enough engagement with or feedback from teachers. Furthermore, kids are completely denied the social benefits of an in-person education.
Research shows distance learning is failing both children and working parents. Kiran Ramchandran
My husband and I felt extremely grateful when our local elementary school reopened for in-person learning for the youngest grades in late October, welcoming the boys back to campus two days a week. We all love it. They’re overjoyed to see their excellent teachers and their classmates, and we are relieved to have time to work. However, we anticipated quickly moving to full-time in-person learning. We have been disappointed. The school has yet to phase the older children in grades 3 to 5 to in-person, and just announced that the kindergarteners would remain at only two days per week on campus after the holiday break.
Meanwhile, shops, businesses and restaurants in Hawaii have been open since September – with even indoor dining allowed. The fact that businesses are operating while many schools remain completely or partially closed seems absurd.
In most of Europe, the opposite is true. Businesses – including retail shops, theaters, gyms and restaurants – are closed, whereas in-person schooling resumed as early as last May. Schools continue to operate even in areas where the coronavirus is spiking. This is because research has shown that virus transmission rates at schools, and especially elementary schools, are low. Also, the leaders of these nations feel that keeping kids in school is vital to financial recovery and socio-economic equality.
In the US, on the other hand, a group of parents has sued the California Board of Education for schools to reopen. A group of New York City parents is circulating a petition to #KeepNYCSchoolsOpen, putting pressure on Mayor Bill de Blasio, who had promised teachers this summer to shut down schools when the city reached a 3 percent positivity rate.
Our public elementary school started two weeks later than usual this year, and was entirely remote ... [+] until October 26. Kiran Ramchandran
On top of everything else, Governor Ige has just announced that as of January 2021, Hawaii Department of Education employees likely will be forced to furlough one to two days per month due to our state’s $1.4 billion budget shortfall. So now already underpaid teachers will be experiencing a 9 percent pay cut, parents will be forced to deal with an additional one to two days per month of school closures, and our children will further suffer from a lack of education.
Hawaii is tragically mishandling public education during the Covid-19 pandemic. It’s time to get our priorities in order.
What to do? Obviously, teachers should be given high priority in getting vaccinated. The current pandemic has proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that teachers are essential workers. As a society, it is our obligation to look after their wellbeing. Even though we know that Covid transmission rates at schools are low, we still ought to protect people who are working on the frontlines. In Hawaii, teachers are in the second tier of those who will receive vaccines, after medical and health care workers.
That’s the good news. Nevertheless, even after teachers are vaccinated, scientists say we’ll still have to wait months until the populace at large has been vaccinated in order to attain herd immunity. They don’t predict a return to “life as usual” until the coming summer or fall at best.
And so, we need to continue moving forward with reopening schools. We must return to in-person learning with safety measures in place. Here in Hawaii, we enjoy warm weather year-round. Large event tents easily could be set up and classes held outside almost every day! Why wasn’t this happening already as of the scholastic year start date in early August 2020?
We parents are being strung out to dry during the coronavirus pandemic, with little scientific argument as to why. I can only hope that the Hawaii State Board of Education policy changes, and that Governor Ige reverses his decision to furlough our school employees. Otherwise, parents like me and my husband will have to get more vocal and demand change, so that local elementary schools completely reopen in the new year. We working adults and our children need it.
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864bd817f9193d895bfde66af6e50caa | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meimeifox/2020/12/23/high-school-students-donate-over-5000-homemade-face-shields-to-frontline-workers/ | High School Students Donate Over 5,000 Homemade Face Shields To Frontline Workers | High School Students Donate Over 5,000 Homemade Face Shields To Frontline Workers
Jalen Xing, who cofounded Students for Hospitals with Daniel Lan, makes face shields at home. Jalen Xing
When the Covid-19 pandemic hit the U.S. in March 2020, Daniel Lan watched his mother, a registered nurse, and her fellow healthcare workers struggle with a lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) — even as they risked their lives helping others during their long shifts each day. The high school student immediately decided to take action. Lan joined forces with another high schooler, Jalen Xing, to found the non-profit organization Students for Hospitals. Along with a team of volunteer high school and college students, Lan and Xing have since donated over 5,500 face shields to frontline workers at hospitals, clinics, nursing homes and homeless shelters.
With 18 volunteers, Students for Hospitals has raised over $6,000 in funding from various PTAs and school organizations, as well as from churches and individuals within their communities. Not only that, they’ve also won a $1000 grant from the Awesome Foundation to continue their efforts, a Girl Up Grant Award for commitment to gender equity within their leadership team, and a grant from the Youth Empowerment Foundation.
Nurses at Kaiser Permanente tested and approved the homemade face shields donated by Students for ... [+] Hospitals. Daniel Lan
Although the students involved in the nonprofit hail from different schools in the Bay Area, they share the same goal – to creatively use resources available at home to help frontline workers. Since they’re unable to help healthcare workers physically in hospital settings, they provide equipment assistance by designing and making face shields using everyday office and home materials. Lan manufactured his first homemade face shield out of an empty gallon water jug, and has fine-tuned his design from there.
The cofounders’ biggest initial obstacle was finding funding sources and establishing credibility for their organization. “At first, the idea of hand-making PPE wasn’t widely recognized or accepted,” says Xing. “After nurses received, used and approved our initial face shield donations, we had the proof of concept we needed to move forward with our idea.”
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Students for Hospitals volunteer Janice Teoh takes a box of face shields to a local health clinic. Daniel Lan
Next, Xing and Lan started to reach out to different PTA groups, schools, churches, community organizations, and grant-providing organizations looking for funding. In addition, they realized that press coverage would help them to establish credibility. They were able to get featured on Business Insider. This helped the duo to establish further partnerships. Currently, the main obstacle Students for Hospitals encounters is making sure their donations go to the places that are most in need, which requires careful planning.
To aspiring changemakers, Xing offers this advice. “As cliché as it sounds, if you have an idea you should just go for it. As high schoolers, Daniel and I didn’t have much entrepreneurial experience or know much about organizing a team. Still, we were able to make a reasonable impact. Also, you never know who will respond to your emails, so make sure you continuously pitch your idea to people.”
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2fed713a670ab73df6debdd3ad551168 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meimeifox/2021/01/01/sydney-cummings-is-committed-to-bringing-fitness-to-the-world-for-free/?sh=7be892d47450 | Sydney Cummings Is Committed To Bringing Fitness To The World For Free | Sydney Cummings Is Committed To Bringing Fitness To The World For Free
With nearly 1 million followers, Sydney Cummings is a fitness coach who offers daily training videos ... [+] for free. Dustin Houdyshell
Sydney Cummings is a National Academy of Sports Medicine Certified Personal Trainer and Fitness Nutrition Specialist. She founded, owns, and operates Royal Change, a digital fitness media company, along with her fiancé, Dustin Houdyshell. With over 800,000 YouTube subscribers, what sets their company apart is that Royal Change offers daily high-quality workouts at no cost and with no ads interrupting the videos. In addition, their paid membership community comprised of thousands of men and women from all over the world, the Sydney Squad, provides daily group coaching on nutrition and fitness combined with motivation, accountability, and support. Finally, Royal Change sells merchandise including branded apparel and small at-home fitness accessories.
The Covid-19 pandemic has proven to be a valuable time for Royal Change. Although Cummings and Houdyshell already had been operating their company for two years before coronavirus began shutting down businesses and gyms across the globe, their business has seen tremendous growth in the past 12 months. Many people have been looking for effective, enjoyable, and reliable at-home workouts available for free. The YouTube subscriber count has quadrupled since this time last year, and thousands of people have signed up for the Sydney Squad.
“Our workouts have helped a lot of students, parents, teachers, employers, and others who suddenly have had to spend all their time at home have a bit of an escape in their day,” Cummings says. “I truly believe that fitness is both mental and physical. With our videos, people say they have been able to stay healthy and strong. Some people have even told us that our videos have saved their lives.”
Together, Cummings and Houdyshell founded, own and operate Royal Change, a digital fitness company. Dustin Houdyshell
Yet in spite of the growth in the Royal Change following, Cummings and Houdyshell remain committed to keeping their daily videos free and without ads interrupting them. “The greatest reward of this career is seeing the lives we’re able to help change,” Cummings explains. “Unlike just selling a physical product, our business provides a service that can change your whole life. I can’t adequately describe how much that fills me with a sense of purpose. With almost 100 million of my online workouts completed, it’s hard to convey the gratitude I feel daily. There hasn’t been a day I haven’t wanted to work my hardest.”
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Unfortunately, “giving a product away for free can cause an issue with the perception of value and quality of the product,” Cummings says. “As humans, we tend to define the quality of something by how much it costs.” While Royal Change does charge for products, digital downloads, and membership in the Sydney Squad, the cofounders still refuse to make money by placing ads throughout the workout videos
The greatest challenge Cummings and Houdyshell face these days is figuring out how to grow their business “without having anyone to reach out to for advice or any type of manual for how things should be done as this is such a unique business venture,” she says. It can be tough to make fitness accessible to people all over the world at no cost. But because both cofounders come from humble beginnings, they refuse to budge on their commitment to keeping fitness free of charge every single day.
Cummings turned her passion for sports into a full-time career as an online trainer. Dustin Houdyshell
Growing up in a small town in West Virginia, Cummings was always an athlete. In high school, she ranked nationally in the high jump and began getting recruited by various colleges and universities. She chose to attend West Virginia University on a full academic and athletic scholarship.
Life was going smoothly for Cummings until, one year into nursing school, her job at a non-profit was eliminated due to budget cuts. Wondering where to turn next, she decided to follow Houdyshell’s advice and move to Charlotte, VA, where he was working as a CPA, and become a personal trainer at a gym. With her experience in sports, she figured it would be an easy summer job to help make money for her second year of nursing school. What she discovered was her life purpose. She fell in love with personal training and never went back to nursing school. The best part of the job, Cummings felt, was the positive impact she was able to have on people’s lives.
Then, in the summer of 2017, Cummings hit another bump in the road when her younger brother and only sibling Zach died from a tragic ATV accident. However, after taking time to heal, she only felt stronger in her commitment to helping others transform their lives.
Meanwhile, Houdyshell was also following his sense of purpose. He quit his job as an accountant and taught himself photography and videography. He quickly attained success, working for companies like Nike and People magazine. It was the death of Cummings’ brother that inspired him to devote himself full-time to helping her market herself on social media and build their company. He produces all the fitness videos and takes all the photos for Royal Change. “Most importantly, he has pushed me to dig deeper than I ever would have to find the strength within myself to grow my passion into a profession,” Cummings says.
To young people looking to tap into their life purpose, Cummings offers this advice. “Ignore the expectations of others and the traditions of what has been done in the past. Dive into what sets your soul on fire. There is power in understanding that your dreams and ambitions are not going to make sense to most people around you. Relentlessly chase whatever motivates you. It will likely be hard, but it will be worth it. You can’t put a monetary value on happiness and fulfillment.”
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dd20aff2f854a003f0ffe407dfbd5f4e | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meimeifox/2021/01/11/these-2-companies-are-leading-the-clean-wellness-movement/ | These 2 Companies Are Leading The Clean Wellness Movement | These 2 Companies Are Leading The Clean Wellness Movement
The emerging clean wellness industry is about minimizing human exposure to harmful chemicals. AFP via Getty Images
The clean beauty market has been growing immensely in recent years, with people demanding products that are free of toxic chemicals. According to experts, the Covid-19 pandemic has only increased the desire of conscious consumers to spend their money on companies who are committed to sustainability and social change. Here are two companies taking the lead in the emerging clean wellness movement. WTHN offers traditional healing methods including acupuncture and herbs. Genexa makes the only OTC medications that are free from allergens and other potentially harmful ingredients.
Michelle Larivee is the CEO and Cofounder of WTHN. Holly Liss
1) WTHN
WTHN is a modern wellness brand that shares the ancient healing techniques of acupuncture, cupping, and traditional Chinese herbal medicine through its retail studios and a clean wellness boutique that carries their own products as well as others. After opening at the end of 2018, in their first year they earned revenue of over $2 million and gave over 5,000 people their first ever acupuncture treatment. They helped women trying to get pregnant, clients struggling with chronic pain and mental health issues, and more.
WTHN also sells organic herbal supplements for stress, sleep, and immunity-boosting on their website as well as through partners like Goop, Erewhon, and Standard Dose. As the Covid-19 pandemic has forced the closure of the WTHN studio in Manhattan, the company has pivoted to expanding their online healing platform.
“We fundamentally believe that there is a broad shift happening in US healthcare right now toward preventative care,” says Michelle Larivee, the CEO and Cofounder of WTHN. “Health and wellness is defined by being proactive and not just seeing the doctor when you’re sick. It’s about more than just eating healthy and working out. It’s about knowing your body and mind and being empowered to make decisions that are right for you. The Covid-19 crisis has only increased the urgency around the need for more awareness of tools for preventative health.”
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Laviree has worked in the healthcare industry for the last 15 years. But her journey to WTHN began with a personal health transformation. Six years ago, she had a ski accident that left her with chronic neck pain. After countless rounds of physical therapy and other treatments, she tried acupuncture and herbal medicine. Not only did they give her pain relief, but also she found herself sleeping better, less stressed, and with a stronger immune system that resulted in fewer sick days. She also credits the treatments with helping her get pregnant.
“The entrepreneurship journey is all about highs and lows and navigating those extremes, which can be exhausting,” says Laviree. “There is no boss or mentor or built-in comforts like in any other job I have had in the past, so a lot of self-reliance is required. One of the most helpful things I have done is to build out my own very strong support network that includes mentors, colleagues, other founders, and friends.”
David Johnson is the CEO and cofounder of Genexa. April Staso
2) Genexa
Genexa makes clean, safe, over-the-counter (OTC) medicines using the same active ingredients as big brands but without the toxic, harmful ingredients. These medications include antacids, laxatives, pain relievers, and more. The products are available in more than 30,000 stores nationwide.
Along with business partner Max Spielberg, CEO David Johnson founded Genexa because as new fathers, they discovered that there were no clean medicines for their children to take. “We were shocked to find out that many oral medications contain a potential allergen and almost half contain ingredients like lactose, hard-to-digest sugars and more. We believed medicine could and should be made cleaner, so we decided to do something about it.”
Johnson grew up in a healthy household with parents who were naturopathic physicians and used only clean, organic ingredients in everything from food to cleaning products. When he had his son, he therefore found it “extremely frustrating” to not be able to find medicines without ingredients like red dye no. 40 and sucrose. “Everyone deserves clean, safe medicine that works. Being able to provide that to consumers worldwide is my life’s purpose,” he says.
To aspiring changemakers and entrepreneurs, Johnson offers this advice. “Do the thing you can’t stop thinking about, even if you don’t know where to start. My partner and I weren’t scientists, pharmacists or doctors. We were two dads who believed there was a better way. A lot of doors were slammed in our faces, but we didn’t stop trying. We couldn’t stop thinking about what the world would look like if we could make another industry cleaner.”
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ba1ee46fb570ce5f5105f3c1512877ec | https://www.forbes.com/sites/meimeifox/2021/12/31/why-this-ai-company-founder-left-tech-to-become-a-healer/ | Why This AI Company Founder Left Tech To Become A Healer | Why This AI Company Founder Left Tech To Become A Healer
Cris Beasley founded 3 companies before leaving tech to create Becoming Dragon cards. Elisa Galley
After 15 years conducting UX design and product management for tech companies including Mozilla and Sequoia Capital, Cris Beasley took the leap and founded three of her own companies. The most recent was an artificial intelligence (AI) startup. Ultimately, however, she was unable to raise the next round of venture capital funding and had to close it down. She then spent six months recovering from the burnout, coping with depression for the first time in her life.
The outcome of this downward spiral took Beasley in a surprising direction – one she never would have anticipated five years ago, much less in her youth. She decided to become a healer. Beasley has since begun working individually with coaching clients and created the Becoming Dragon card deck, which is designed to help people attain greater self-awareness. She also relocated from San Francisco, California to the cloud forests of Chiapas, Mexico.
“There aren't very many healers who have a product design and UX background,” says Beasley. “There aren't very many healers who've been a CEO and founder of three tech companies. I can't imagine anyone else on the planet bringing the things to the earth that I have brought. This process has made me so grateful for every nook and cranny, every seemingly wrong turn that my life has taken. None of it was wrong. All the threads are now weaving together into a tapestry no one else could've created.”
Becoming Dragon cards are designed to give people greater self-awareness. Elisa Galley
Beasley created the Becoming Dragon card deck to help people feel their full range of emotions. It can prove a powerful tool for personal transformation, and can be used by therapists and healers as well as CEOs and individuals interested in self-discovery. “Inside every dark, scary emotion there is a treasure. I help people find the voice of their inner wisdom. The deck facilitates deep listening to yourself so that you can more fully become yourself,” she explains.
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It was losing touch with her own inner voice and deep emotions that drove Beasley’s transition out of the world of tech startups and towards her calling as a healer. “The irony was thick when I left tech,” she says. “I had been using human-centered design practices, and yet at that moment, I didn't really know how to be a human.”
She began working with a coach and rediscovered empathic gifts that she had developed in her teenage years. These, she realized, were at the core of her life purpose. “I am a recovering overachiever who very much saw purpose as something to do,” Beasley says. “Western culture is about doing things. I have begun to relax into the notion that purpose is a quality of being. I'm coming to trust that my presence is the most valuable part of me.”
Working as a healer has been a far more challenging path than her life in technology, Beasley says, but in a different way. Previously, life was hard because she felt a constant drive to achieve. “It was akin to grinding my way through an endless hunger to overachieve that ultimately never was going to fill that gnawing void within me,” Beasley describes. “My current challenges are much more enriching and fulfilling, like confronting co-dependency and people pleasing. This path has stretched me in ways that I did not know I could be stretched.”
Beasley feels her new path as a healer is aligned with her purpose to help people confront difficult ... [+] emotions and transform. Elisa Galley
To those still searching for their life purpose, Beasley offers this advice by way of her mentor, Pascal Finette: Make your own map. “Fifteenth-century cartographers would draw maps that exceeded the limits of their knowledge,” she says. “They didn’t know what lay beyond because the ships had not yet sailed that far. They would draw a dragon in the ocean and write, ‘Here be dragons.’ Now we’re looking into unknown territories within ourselves and being offered a chance to grapple with our own dragons. Lay back in your small ship, gaze at the sky, and notice which direction the current is already flowing. And only then, when you are rested and ready, put your oars in the water and paddle.”
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f1ad3262f55cc7d1c14ca4cc3d741476 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melaniefine/2020/12/08/the-new-face-of-an-old-nobel/?sh=68d5b7684031 | The New Face Of An Old Nobel | The New Face Of An Old Nobel
Jennifer A. Doudna smiles while posing for photos after being presented with the Nobel Prize in ... [+] Chemistry at a ceremony in Berkeley, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2020. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, Pool) ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Nobel Prize Ceremonies are taking place this week (December 7 and 8) and they look a little different than years past. At a time when everything is different, why should it be the exception?
Well, for one, there is a long-standing precedent of postponing Nobel Prize ceremonies during tumultuous times, such as during World Wars 1 and 2.
And, earlier this November the Norwegian government had granted an exemption from its two-week quarantine requirement so that arriving winners of the 2020 Nobel Prize could attend the award ceremony in person.
Morganton.com | The News HeraldNorway gives quarantine exemption to 2020 Nobel winners
The irony that scientists and other world leaders were given special dispensation to ignore scientific guidelines is not lost.
Still, with the rising wave in COVID infections and deaths, the ceremonies and celebrations usually held in Stockholm and Oslo are being held virtually this year, and the awards themselves have been delivered to the recipients, rather than the other way around.
You can find a full schedule of Nobel Week events here.
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While the world is preoccupied with Covid-19 and rushing a vaccine to market, the Nobel Prize committee quietly achieved a scientific milestone, awarding prizes in the physical sciences to three women — UCLA’s Andrea Ghez shared the Nobel Prize in Physics for discovering what is believed to be a black hole in the center of the Milky Way. UC Berkeley’s Jennifer Doudna and Max Planck Institute’s Emmanuelle Charpentier shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their achievement in developing CRISPR-Cas9, a DNA-editing tool that can search for and edit or remove disease-causing DNA sequences.
Just two years earlier in 2018, it was notable that two women were awarded prizes in the physical sciences — Frances Arnold in Chemistry and Donna Strickland in Physics. Female representation in the physical sciences is less than in the biological sciences, in general, and even less so in physics in particular - especially, where Nobel is concerned.
The Nobel Committee has long been faulted as an old boy’s club — its system of past recipients nominating future recipients has all the implicit bias of a fraternity house selecting its next pledge class.
Yet, as more and more women gain admission to that inner sanctum, the pledge class is beginning to look a little different.
It will take time, however. Including this year’s recipients, only seven women have won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, and four in Physics since its inception in 1901.
It is commonplace for the recipient or team of recipients to be all male, with an occasional female peppered in. 2020 marks the first year that an all-female team, Doudna and Charpentier, shared the coveted prize.
Megan Hochstrasser, Ph.D., Doudna’s associate at the Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI) in Berkeley, spoke about their work at a salon sponsored by Visionary Women, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization focused on the advancement and empowerment of women and girls.
“Sometimes it feels like building the car while we’re driving it,” Hochstrasser remarked about the speed with which this technology has gone from laboratory to market.
CRISPR-Cas9 is already being used successfully on humans in clinical trials, especially in the treatment of genetic blood diseases such as sickle cell anemia. The patients still need to be monitored, but the effects so far appear to be long-lasting.
Now their lab is working not only on CRISPR-Cas9’s effectiveness, but on changing the technology to make it more affordable.
Asked about the number one thing we should be doing as a country to bring more girls into STEM fields, Hochstrasser responded:
“It’s all about supporting people once they show some kind of interest and trying to find ways to show people that they belong. Not even just women, but scientists of color or queer scientists and especially people who hold multiple marginalized identities.
I think there’s a lot of work to be done to show people that they’re appreciated, that they’re valued, and that they’re really wanted in these fields.
Some of that can be accomplished through better representation. So changing the stereotype of the zany-haired white male scientist and showing that scientists are actually really diverse.
Science is not just for people who are study-happy book worms. It’s really [for] all kinds of people. Valuing diversity, encouraging people, hiring and advancing people’s careers based on what they’ve done to advance inclusion, and bringing in new types of scientists to their fields, not just valuing papers and things that are traditionally looked for as success markers in science.
It’s going to require a shift in the way we perceive science and what is success in science.”
Visionary Women, an organization which aims to advance the leadership of women in all spheres of society, is doing its part to make sure women are not only represented, but take their rightful seat at the table and are full contributors to the conversation.
As Hochstrasser said though, representation goes far beyond bringing more women into science and keeping them in the pipeline. Science’s track record in encouraging, hiring and promoting minorities and people with disabilities is far worse, according to the National Science Foundation’s Biennial report.
Diversity in hiring and promoting will lead to more diversity in hiring and promoting. It’s a self-perpetuating cycle whose time has come.
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642ae8cf2f7761d80cdc5b0649880507 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melaniefine/2021/01/14/adhd-a-mothers-journey-to-helping-her-child-take-control-and-thrive-naturally/ | ADHD: A Mother’s Journey To Helping Her Child Take Control And Thrive Naturally | ADHD: A Mother’s Journey To Helping Her Child Take Control And Thrive Naturally
Dana Kay Dana Kay
To Dana Kay, founder and CEO of Our Road to Thrive and the creator of the ‘ADHD Thrive Method 4 Kids’ program, nothing mattered more than having a normal life. But as her son started to grow, she realized that something was a little bit different with him.
Now a Board Certified Holistic Health and Nutrition Practitioner, she’s dedicated to helping families reduce their children’s ADHD symptoms to restore calm and normalcy back into their family life. But before she was able to help any other family, she first had to start with her son and herself.
Life Before the Journey
“When I had my first child, I wasn’t always this passionate about nutrition and neurodevelopmental disorders. My field of expertise was far from it, in Business and Accounting. And for the longest time, I felt like a magician: I was effortlessly balancing a corporate career and a healthy family life. But when my son was 18 months old, and we moved from Australia to Singapore, I began to question whether there was something different with my son. He had an abnormal amount of energy compared to other kids and would have these huge tantrums frequently. I’d often ask his teachers whether this was normal for those his age, and they assured me, ‘Yes, he’s just a boy, it’s normal. He’ll grow out of it.’ But despite their reassurance, I still believed that something wasn’t quite right. I just didn’t know what it was.”
After moving to the US when her son was 4, she sought out a professional assessment from a developmental pediatrician. “After the evaluation, the doctor diagnosed him with ADHD,” Kay recalls. “He said there’s no doubt about it. My son was on the floor wrapped around the table leg while they were having the assessment. I always knew that ADHD was a possibility, even if nobody in my family had previously been diagnosed with it. Without a second thought, the doctor prescribed a stimulant medication. Not knowing what I know now, I agreed with the specialist's treatment plan. I didn't know any better. At first, things were great. He began to become a little calmer. He started sitting and playing with his brother, and it seemed like we found our solution. However, that didn't last long. The doctor increased the dose from 5mg to 10mg, and then 15mg and again to 20mg.
But then, he couldn't sleep. He started losing weight. He started to get extremely anxious. Instead of halting the prescription, my son was given even more drugs. They added another medication for his sleep problems and then a booster dose for the afternoon as the other ADHD medication started to wear off.
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Don't get me wrong; medication has its place. But to be constantly increasing a child's dose of strong amphetamine medication, and to add additional medication to treat the symptoms that the other medication created, doesn't feel right to me. By the time the doctor suggested the fourth medication to treat the symptoms of the other three medications, I was done. We could no longer continue on this path. There had to be a better way. And that's how I started this journey.”
Her Startling Realization
In an effort to help her son’s symptoms the natural way, Kay began to pursue lesser-known options: The ones that she was never told about. “As I delved deeper into it, I realized that there were other options - they just weren’t being presented to me. I started researching and educating myself. I got my holistic health degree and obtained multiple specific certifications to help me specifically in this area. I read and studied everything that I could possibly get my hands on. I worked around the clock to feed myself with as much information as I could to see what other options are out there.”
She started by cutting gluten, dairy, and soy out of her son’s diet, as she read multiple studies and journals that cite their negative impact on gut, brain, and body health. According to Kay, the results were miraculous.
“Within two weeks, he was a different kid. His body calmed down, and from one day to the next, his behavior changed completely. This was a massive step for my son, and we were so grateful to see such drastic change,” she says. Motivated and knowing there was more to the picture, Kay took this as a sign to undergo functional lab testing. “We wanted to see just what was contributing to his ADHD symptoms from inside his body.
After a stool sample, the results indicated that not only did he have a parasite and candida overgrowth, he also had leaky gut,” Kay recalls. Taking things further, Kay identified that her son had compromised detoxification pathways and multiple food sensitivities that may have been aggravating his ADHD. “I knew that I needed to take out damaging foods or they’d continue to break down his gut. What people don’t know is that 95% of your serotonin, and 50% of your dopamine, is made in the gut,” Kay explains. “These hormones help regulate your emotions, maintain your mood balance and your cognitive function, something that kids with ADHD have trouble with. If your gut isn’t functioning well, you are not able to produce these critical neurotransmitters.”
The first thing that Kay did was implement a specific protocol for her son that revolved around diet, rest, exercise, stress management, and supplementation. “I knew that there was not just one thing that was going to help my son and that I needed to take a multifaceted approach. We committed to restructuring his diet and reducing his external and internal stress. It was a long, arduous path. But within four months, his symptoms subsided and I was able to take my son off of medication completely. Fast forward to today, and he hasn’t been on medication for years. He’s doing great at school, and his teachers don’t even consider him to be hyperactive or have behavioral issues. He’s 11, and he’s thriving.
Having undergone my journey, my passion is to help other families through Our Road To Thrive and the ‘ADHD Thrive Method 4 Kids’ to achieve the same results for their child, bring back peace and calm to their house and enjoy a normal family life. It took me years to get to where I am, building off of each and every experience and each and every certification. It was so hard for me to get to this point, and I am determined to help as many families as I can. It doesn’t need to be that hard for other people.”
Having been through it all, Kay reflects on just how far her family has come. “When I was in the thick of it with my son, all I wanted was to be able to bring peace back to my family life. We have that now. We don’t have to worry about what drama is going to unfold next or worry about receiving another call from his teacher about what my son has done this time,” she says. “My husband and I used to dream about going out for dinner and having a family conversation without electronic devices, and we now do this all the time. We’ve got it good, and it’s all thanks to making these dietary changes and following the path towards self-healing. What I want people to know is that there are other options out there. So many are suffering — all I want to do is get this out to everybody who wants a better life for their children and their family.”
A Better Life For Families
In an effort to make a lasting difference, Kay offers a step-by-step solution for those ready to reclaim control over their child’s ADHD. “The main way I serve families is through my program, ‘ADHD Thrive Method for Kids’, which provides all the tools and knowledge necessary to make dietary changes and fight symptoms with food and a natural approach over a period of 12 weeks. While they’re going through the program, I am there every step of the way — I hold their hand, answer all their questions, help them through all the obstacles and guide them towards success.”
According to Kay, diet is the foundation of everything. “If you’re building a house and you don’t have a solid foundation, your house will fall down. Your body is exactly the same,” Kay explains. She believes that any medication, any supplement, and any plan will be a waste of money without also making a crucial lifestyle change in the way that you eat.
“There are other options out there besides medicine. Medicine has its place, but it doesn’t have to be the only way. In my webinar, “The Four Secrets That Finally Reduced My Son’s ADHD Symptoms,” not only do I detail the exact dietary changes necessary for the natural relief of symptoms, but I encourage participants to book a free breakthrough call with me afterward to discuss their journey and their struggles. All we want to do is help people fight their child’s ADHD symptoms in the most effective and natural way. We’re not trying to sell. We just want to listen and be there for families in distress.”
Kay also offers support through her free-to-join Facebook group, the ‘ADHD Parent Nutrition Support Group.’ It’s an online community with over 12,500 members and counting. After speaking with countless parents in situations similar to her own, she reflects on just how deeply parents struggle when they don’t have the right support.
“What I’ve learned over the years is that parents can’t help but feel that, ‘This is not the life I dreamt that I would have.’ They start feeling guilty, and they can’t control it. This is how I used to feel, too. I would say to my husband, ‘I don’t like my son. I love him, but I don’t like him.’ And as a mother, it’s so difficult to admit that to yourself. But I share this with people because I want them to know they’re not alone,” she says.
Having helped families across the world, Kay has received shining reviews from no end of grateful parents. One parent shares their experience, “Our son’s attitude has changed almost 180 degrees. He’s able to engage with us and his brother and sister peacefully, whereas before, it was hard to even talk to him without him blowing up. His defiant behaviors are now almost non-existent. Kay is great, super responsive, and helps every step of the way.”
Kay believes that if you have the right person by your side leading you hand in hand, you’ve got the greatest chance of success. She notes, “My community helps people realize that they’re not the only ones going through this. I used to feel so isolated - my family and friends were supportive, but they never truly understood what it was like to have my child as a son. To promote that sense of unity and understanding in a community of people who can trust and open up to each other has been endlessly rewarding. I used to lay awake at night, wishing I had somebody who could take me by the hand and surround me with support.
As fate would have it, that’s now what I’m doing for others. What I have is what I used to dream, and that’s what I want for the families I help every day. My ‘ADHD Thrive Method 4 Kids’ step-by-step plan helps parents and children fight ADHD symptoms without the stress, and without the length of time that it once took me,” she says.
For those looking to make a change and improve their children’s lives, Kay is a bastion of hope for families everywhere.
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7161b8765951e6f269b41f65c761c32f | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melaniehaiken/2011/06/30/summer-bed-bug-alert-how-to-protect-yourself/ | Summer Bed Bug Alert: How to Protect Yourself | Summer Bed Bug Alert: How to Protect Yourself
Gross! A scary close up of a bed bug from Wikipedia
If you're worried about encountering bed bugs this summer, or -- poor you -- you're already coping with them, you're in good company. One in five Americans has had bed bugs or knows someone who has, and 80 percent are afraid of encountering them in hotels, according to a survey by the National Pest Management Association. And for once, a public health panic is reasonably well-founded; bed bugs are indeed back with a vengeance, turning up in hot spots all over the country, with new infestations in major cities hitting the news with regularity.
I've been reporting on bed bugs for quite awhile. I've covered how to protect yourself from bed bugs when you travel, including a new spray product reputed to fend them off from hitching home in your luggage, and how to get rid of bed bugs if you are unfortunate enough to bring them home with you. I've even offered additional bed bug prevention tips for frequent travelers. In fact, I've become something of a reluctant expert in the science of bed bugs and bed bug-prevention. So now I'm going to tell you what you really need to know about bed bugs that no one else is telling you.
1. Know Your Danger Spots. If your summer vacation is going to take you touring the National parks of the west or southwest, you probably don't have to take more than routine precautions against bed bugs. They really haven't made it out to the hinterlands in great numbers yet. But if your summer travel is going to take you to a major cities, particularly one in the midwest or eastern seaboard, watch out. The list of contenders for the "top 10" danger zones in constantly changing as new pest reports come in, but Cincinnati, New York, Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and, perhaps surprisingly, Denver and Los Angeles consistently make the list. Boston and Baltimore made a recent list issued by pest management company Terminix, which also included Dallas and San Francisco for the first time. Other midwestern cities with major bed bug problems include Dayton, Cleveland, and Columbus, Ohio (in fact the entire state of Ohio is under siege, according to pest management experts), Indianapolis, Minneapolis, and Louisville, Kentucky.
Another list added Houston and Las Vegas to the list of western cities newly introduced to the bed bug disaster. (Thanks to Terminix, Orkin, and ChemtecPest for these lists.) If you want to know how bad bed bugs are in your summer vacation destination, look it up in the bed bug registry, which keeps up-to-date reports which can even be searched by hotel. Warning: gross-out factor high. Be aware, however, that you may be looking at reports from a year or more ago, in which case the particular hotel may have cleaned up its act.
Bed bug stains on a mattress via Cuttlefish
2. Be an assertive detective. No, it doesn't feel polite to go up to the desk and say you think your room might have bed bugs. But wouldn't you rather do that than get bitten or, worse, bring them home? The bed bug situation, unfortunately, forces us to set squeamishness aside and talk about gross stuff. So, as soon as you get in your room (before opening your suitcase, even to take out your toothbrush!) inspect like crazy. Don't just take the sheets off the bed, strip it down to the mattress. Look for the telltale black spots and darkish stains around the edges of the mattress.
You're unlikely to see the bugs themselves, which are a clear color and tiny, the size of sesame seeds. But you can see their "leavings," a disgusting combination of their shells and bits of blood from their human dinner. Check upholstered chairs, too. If you see anything at all, ask for another room, preferably on another floor. If you see anything suspicious in that room, try a completely different wing or, if possible, another hotel. This is really the primary bed bug prevention strategy available: check, look again, and leave if you see anything.
3. Travel Prepared. The last thing you want to do is arrive and start worrying about bed bugs. Take the worry out of travel by bringing protective supplies, including plastic bags to store your clothes in (those air-lock travel bags do double-duty by making extra room in your suitcase, as well as keeping bugs out.) Don't be tempted to hang your clothes in hotel closets or leave them strewn over chairs, unless you're 100-percent certain the room's bug free; bed bugs are now known to favor upholstered furniture and yes, they can climb walls. Put your suitcase on a luggage rack and pull it out from the wall.
If you're going to New York, Ohio, or anywhere else where bed bugs are known to be, well, practically everywhere, you can also bring a household remedy reputed to keep them at bay. (No guarantees here.) These include Vaseline, which some recommend using to coat the legs and rails of the bed so the bugs can't climb up, and an herbal spray, Rest Easy, that promises to repel bed bugs. I travel with it and spray it around the edges of my suitcase and all over the luggage rack, just in case. Or you can take the extreme measure being recommended by some and bathe the bed rails, headboard, and the edges of the mattresses in a mixture of rubbing alcohol and floor cleaner. (Seriously, people recommend this but it smells so vile you're probably better off staying home.) When I come home from a trip, I wash everything I've brought with me and dry it in a hot dryer and leave my suitcase stored in a plastic garbage bag for two weeks, also with "just in case" in mind.
There's a lot more to say about bed bugs, but I've probably disgusted you enough for one day. More posts to come, including how to get rid of bed bugs once you've got 'em. Still excited about that summer vacation? Just kidding.
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3fb70dadf91819351973b7310c938583 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melaniehaiken/2011/07/20/5-foods-that-burn-fat/ | 5 Foods That Burn Away Fat | 5 Foods That Burn Away Fat
If there's one mistake that's sabotaging diets all over America, it's this: Thinking that food is your enemy in the battle against fat. In reality, nutritionists say, some foods actually turn up the heat on your metabolism, boosting the body's ability to burn fat.
Pack your diet with these 5 foods, and the pounds will peel off faster -- and with a lot less misery.
1. Apples
To keep the pounds at bay, eat an apple–or two–a day. Apples are high in pectin, which binds with water and limits the amount of fat your cells can absorb. Apples are also high in fiber, which makes you feel full; numerous studies have found that eating an apple a half hour to an hour before a meal has the result of cutting the calories of the meal. Recent research suggests eating apples has other benefits, too; the antioxidants in apples appear to prevent metabolic syndrome, the combination of high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and prediabetes that tends to accompany thickening around the waist.
2. Oats
Wrongly tarred with the "carb" brush, oats are a whole grain, and are high in soluble fiber, so they cut cholesterol and blood fat. They're also high on what nutritionists call the “satiety index,” meaning oats have tremendous power to make you feel full. Oats digest slowly, so they don’t raise your blood sugar, and they keep you feeling filled up well into the late morning. Oatmeal is, oddly enough, one of the best foods to help you sleep, as well. Old-fashioned steel-cut and rolled oats, with up to 5 grams of fiber per serving, are best, but even instant oatmeal has 3 to 4 grams of fiber per serving.
3. Cinnamon
Okay, so it's not exactly a food, it's a spice, but so much the better; it doesn't add calories, while helping you burn fat. According to a recent study of diabetics, cinnamon appears to have the power to help your body metabolize sugar. Eating as little as 1/4 to 2 teaspoons of cinnamon a day was found to reduce blood sugar levels and cut cholesterol from 10 to 25 percent. So add cinnamon to smoothies, sprinkle it on your cereal, or flavor your coffee with it.
4. Pine Nuts
Rich in heart-healthy fatty acids, particularly the aptly named pinolenic acid, pine nuts have been found to boost levels of the so-called "satiety hormone," ghrelin, which signals your brain that you're full. When ghrelin levels are high, not only do you not feel hungry, you're more able to resist cravings. According to studies done in Korea, a big producer of pine nuts, these same fatty acids have been shown to prevent the formation of belly fat, considered the most dangerous kind. In another report on foods that help you lose weight, I discuss almonds, which have many of the same benefits as pine nuts.
5. Eggs
In case you hadn't heard, eggs have been rehabilitated. In fact, nutritionists wish those warnings about the dangers of eggs had never been issued. Because they're a concentrated form of animal protein without the added fat that comes with meat, eggs are a nutritional powerhouse and the perfect way to start your day with a "bang" of energy. (And they're fine, at least in moderation, for those restricting cholesterol, too.) Dietary studies have repeatedly found that when people eat an egg every morning in addition to (or instead of) toast or cereal, they lose twice as much weight as those who eat a breakfast that’s dominated by carbs.
Food has much more power than we give it credit for; some foods sabotage sleep, other foods help our bodies fight cancer. Do you have any nutrition secrets to share? Do tell. Comment below and credit will be given in future posts.
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Gallery: The 10 Best Foods You Can Eat 11 images View gallery
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7c97154601e3b02b10841bdaacb45517 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melaniehaiken/2011/08/04/a-little-known-health-condition-that-steals-your-sleep/ | A Little-Known Health Condition that Steals Your Sleep | A Little-Known Health Condition that Steals Your Sleep
Dream of Sleeping like a Baby Again?
Congratulations! You finally managed to get to bed by midnight and get close to eight hours' sleep. Yet you wake up feeling feeling like you danced til 3 a.m., weary, fuzzy-headed and irritable. What's going on? According to new research by otolaryngologists, the problem could be a little-known breathing problem called Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome, or UARS.
Sort of a mild version of sleep apnea, UARS is both much more more common, and much harder to detect. It happens when there's "resistance" (hence the name) in the airways, usually from overly narrow nasal passages or the tongue blocking the throat. Although few people have heard of UARS, it's extremely common; one French study found that nearly half of all women with chronic insomnia and daytime fatigue turned out to have UARS.
"UARS is responsible for an epidemic of fatigue in this country," says otolaryngologist Steven Park, author of Sleep Interrupted: A Physician Reveals the No. 1 Reason Why So Many of Us Are Sick and Tired. Park says he sees many patients who attribute their exhaustion to insomnia and stress when the real culprit is obstructed breathing. Low blood oxygen levels signal the brain to wake up over and over again throughout the night, preventing the deep restorative REM sleep that leaves you feeling refreshed. So what to do?
Step One: Find Out If You're at Risk for UARS
Start by looking in the mirror. Oddly enough, there are specific facial characteristics associated with UARS. Do you have a narrow face, a small or narrow jaw, or a thin neck? You're more likely to have UARS. Then ask yourself these questions: Did you have orthodontia as a child or young adult due to overcrowded teeth? If so, Park says, you're very likely to develop UARS. Do you have low blood pressure or cold hands and feet? Additional signs of a body type prone to UARS, Park says. Lastly, are you unable to sleep well on your back? Waking up when you roll over onto your back is a prime indicator of UARS.
Step Two: Get an Exam
Unfortunately, UARS often doesn't show up in traditional tests for disordered breathing, which measure oxygen levels. That means in order get an accurate diagnosis for UARS, you need to see a sleep clinic that's familiar with the condition and has equipment capable of identifying these subtle changes in breathing patterns. Also, UARS is so new, not all doctors are familiar with it. So if you suspect you have UARS, call sleep study centers near you and ask if they're familiar with the disorder and have the equipment necessary to test for pressure changes in your nose or alternations in breathing or pulse wave signals.
Step Three: Treat UARS Yourself
For many people, over-the-counter remedies may relieve UARS symptoms. Start with breathing strips, such as Breathe Right. You can test whether breathing strips will help you with this simple experiment. Look in a mirror and press the side of one nostril firmly to close it off. Then close your mouth and try to breathe. If you feel resistance as you inhale through the open nostril, try holding it wider open with your pinky finger or the flat side of a toothpick. Try this on both sides. If you notice that you breathe more easily with your nostril propped open, you're a good candidate for breathing strips.
Some people also find great benefit from the nasal dilator Nozovent, available online. Other steps to try include irrigating the nasal passages with a saline nasal spray and taking a non-sedating allergy medication such as Claritin if you suspect congestion from allergies. You can also ask your doctor for a prescription nasal spray containing itraconazole (Sporanox), xylitol, mupirocin (Bactroban) and dexamethasone.
You also might want to take these key steps to prevent insomnia.
Step Four: See a Specialist
An ear, nose, and throat specialist can prescribe a number of treatments known to work for UARS. These include a variety of dental devices designed to keep your tongue out of the way of your airway. You might also benefit from CPAP, or continuous positive airway pressure, a nasal mask used for apnea sufferers. CPAP prevents your nasal passages from collapsing and delivers air directly into your airway. There are also minimally invasive surgical techniques available in cases where the obstruction is located in the area of the soft palate.
The latest research has found sleep to be the key to aging well, preventing a host of diseases, and even losing weight. So it's worth investing a little time and energy into finding out if your breathing might be sabotaging your sleep.
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990923b5607fbd285f1cabe59983c054 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/melaniehaiken/2012/01/17/deadly-dangers-from-drugstore-pain-meds-a-painful-surprise/ | Deadly Dangers from Drugstore Pain Meds a Painful Surprise | Deadly Dangers from Drugstore Pain Meds a Painful Surprise
Could pain meds be deadlier than the problems they're meant to treat? (image via Flickr)
Could your attempts to cope with common headaches, sore knees or backache be putting you at risk for heart attack, stroke and liver disease? Recent research suggests that both ibuprofen and acetominophen -- the two most popular over-the-counter painkillers -- carry some potentially and even deadly risks.
Advil and Motrin Linked to Stroke and Heart Attack
Taking ibuprofen and other common NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatories) over a long period of time triples the risk of strokes and increases the likelihood of a heart attack, according to this week's headliner study, published in the British Medical Journal. The new research, conducted at the University of Bern in Switzerland, involved a huge number of subjects; the data were drawn from more than 31 clinical trials involving 116,429 patients. Those who suffered strokes were found to be taking a normal recommended dose (400-600 mg) of ibuprofen three or four times a day.
Meanwhile, the study also found a greatly increased risk of heart attack from all the prescription NSAIDs in the class known as Cox-2 inhibitors. Several years ago, the prescription NSAIDs Vioxx and Bextra were pulled from the market after they were found to put people at risk for heart attack. Another such drug, Celebrex, is still on the market and has also come under attack; a prior study found that people taking Celebrex had twice as many heart attacks as those taking a placebo. The FDA has suggested that people consider alternatives to Celebrex but hasn't withdrawn its approval. The BMJ study raises the spectre that all the drugs in this class could carry this deadly risk.
Tylenol just as risky - but for your liver
Then there's last month's shocker: If you're regularly taking just a little too much Tylenol (generic name: acetominophen) over the course of the day, you could be permanently damaging your liver and not even know about it. In fact, people who regularly take slightly too much acetominophen over a period of time to relieve pain could be at a higher risk of dying than those who take single overdose of the drug. That's the message from a study published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology in which researchers tested the blood of people admitted to the hospital and found that the danger of a “staggered overdose,” was much greater than previously thought, often because doctors can't identify the problem in time to help.
If Tylenol is your go-to painkiller of choice, you're in good company; acetaminophen is one of the most commonly used drugs in the country, with more than 28 billion doses purchased in the U.S. a year. But since it's so common, it's easy to forget it's an extremely powerful drug; Tylenol overdose is the leading cause of acute liver failure in the U.S., leading to 26,000 hospitalizations and nearly 500 deaths annually, according to the Food and Drug Administration.
Pills, glorious pills - but are they safe? (Image via Wikipedia)
Another problem with acetominophen is that's it's a standard ingredient in many combination drugs, such as almost all the popular multi-symptom cold remedies, and it's also in some prescription painkillers like Vicodin. So it's possible to overdose by mistakenly taking acetominophen in several forms at the same time.
So which painkillers are safe?
Ah, good question. There's good old aspirin, which hasn't been associated with serious risks, but also hasn't been well-studied since it went on the market long before the FDA's stringent approval proccess was put in place. Aspirin is an NSAID, and as such carries the risk of the standard side effects such as gastrointestinal bleeding and ulcers. However, aspirin has not been linked with heart attack, stroke or liver damage, so that's something.
Best of all, though, would be to find a treatment that gets at the root cause of your pain, whether it's headache, back pain, or arthritis. Preventing or eliminating pain through physical therapy, better ergonomic practices, or one of the new biomechanical or neuromuscular therapies. There's also surgery, of course, but before going that far you might consider one of the new treatments available as an alternative.
At this point, it's worth considering all your options. Given the risks of these common pain meds, there are many approaches that may be safer in the long run than trying to medicate your pain away.
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