Bossladies

My guest today is Abi Oyepitan. She is best known as being a british Olympic athlete as well as co-founder of Liha beauty, which she founded with her friend Liha. The two of them have wanted to do something together for years and finally found the right project for them, with Abi being interested and more passionate about haircare and Liha more intrigued in skincare the combination became what we now see as Liha beauty. I can highly recommend their Idan Oil and Shea Butter, the smell is magical and it's helped me with dry skin and scalp like no other product has. Abi and I talked about changing careers, the ups and downs of being self-employed, the world of sports, how she became an athlete, her heritage and how that impacted her upbringing, racial injustice and seeing a correlation to her business growing, mental health, and as always so much more. @Abi @Liha Beauty Liha Beauty @Julietta

My guest today is Raphaela Pichler, an incredibly inspiring woman, who I recently met for the first time despite circulating in similar pools for a couple of years. Photographer, musician, consultant, design-o-phile, and lover of life in all its facets. Listening to her story and asking her how she navigates through different trenches paints a picture of the peak and pits of being a self-employed woman, trying to pave her way as a photographer in an industry that is often not taken seriously when looking at it from a monetary aspect. We spoke about photography, our definition of beauty, going inwards, the difficulty of the pandemic job and health wise, the word empowerment and how we find importance in it, female networks, comparing ourselves, self-confidence issues, and most importantly being paid, situations that we found ourselves in, the struggle of receiving payment, negotiating payment and finding it disbelieving how our work is not getting the recognition whereas other professions are never questioned. @Raphaela @Houseofchange @Julietta

My guest today is Nicole Bullock, a dear friend of mine and the perfect person to record this special episode with. I knew that with Season 3 I wanted to address U.S. politics in some shape or form and with the 2020 Election taking place I brainstormed how to thread this into an episode. If you didn't know, I am a U.S. citizen and lived in Florida from 2009 to 2018 on/off. While politics was not at the forefront in terms of things to think about or discuss for many years, I've been voting in every single election in Switzerland and have voted in every election in the U.S. since 2016. American politics has only become part of daily conversations within the last 4 years, since the election of the 45thpresident, also known as Donald Trump. Today is election day, so welcome to a bonus episode of Season 3: Election Edition. Thank you to We're not really strangers for sending out the Voting Edition pack, which I used for this episode in terms of questioning. Nicole and I dig in to voting, how we voted, what voting means to us, what is at stake in this election, what issues are close to our heart, how we deal with speaking to the other side of the political spectrum, and what we hope for in terms of change. @Nicole @Julietta @TheCircus @ImmigrationNation @ViceHateThyNeighbor @TheNewYorkTimesDaily

Rebekah Abdeen, who we've had on here a couple of times and are making it a seasonal regular because the conversations with her are always so special, is the creative director and head trainer at OpenRide, her alias is ‘rocket' as she always sends us to space in her rides and never fails to give her riders the energy, the push and the safety of knowing everything is going to be ok. Her motto: the only way out is through and that speaks to our current time like nothing else. It's been just a little over a year to the day where we first recorded so we decided to have a little bit of a retrospective of the year, in business and in private. We talk about OpenRide and how its grown, out delivered expectations, its growing pains and most memorable moments. We speak about what it feels like to return to yourself, and the importance of sense of self how this past year has allowed us to do that. What a successful life means not just in our society but also for us as individual women. How the current pandemic has affected us and our ongoing anxiety with the unknown of what is to come and of course so much more. @Rebekah @OpenRide @Julietta

Kathrin Eckhardt is the owner, creator and force of nature behind her label Kathrin Eckhardt Studio. Her journey in fashion began when she was a kid, loving to experiment with colors and dressing herself and then some of her classmates who asked for help, this has evolved into writing her own fashion magazine and then later transitioning to stylist and now designer. When experiencing the culture in Ghana and observing how women wore their clothes, she bought fabrics there and created wrap skirts which sold out very quickly once she brought them back to Zurich. This was the starting point of what was to become her now label. She creates clothes to embolden women, to make them feel confident, the primary focus are always other women and what they would love to wear and what they would need in the time that she is creating a new collection. She's a very inspiring woman and we could've talked so much longer but to give you a bit of insight into her life and work we talk about law of attraction, fashion and her journey into it, body image, visualization, daily routine, her evolving experience in Ghana, the social impact she created with her label, cultural differences and the need for re-adjustment, adapting to the pandemic and how it affected her business and facing racism. Social Profiles: @kathrin @julietta @beingepic

Dupi Singh is the co-founder of Daydreamers, a space that allows for creatives and self-proclaimed non-creatives to tap into areas that they haven't explored since they were children, essentially, a gym for creativity. In a society that sees value in racing through life, checking boxes that are deemed important we lose touch with our true self and forget to do things that we enjoy or don't even know we enjoy because we are permanently busy. Dupi and his co-founder Katina have experienced mindless scrolling and streaming and wanted to create something that would allow for offline time, creating human connection and exploration. In our episode we talk about what creativity means, why we lose touch with it, the connotation of daydreaming, technology and social media and its effects on creativity, we touch on his personal story of being a 1st gen immigrant, the current situations the world is facing and so much more. Social Profiles: @dupi @daydreamers @julietta Daydreamers Podcast: Unproductive Podcast

From my living room to yours, here's our thoughts, opinions, perspectives and feelings on current events. We discuss the uncertainty that this pandemic has created within us, how to be alone and how that is not coupled to being lonely, creating a circle of trust, being honest without justifying how we feel, racism, cultural differences and the wonders of figuring life out in 2020. Social Profiles: @sue @homeboundpodcast @julietta References: The Power of Being Vulnerable

From my living room to yours, here's our thoughts, opinions, perspectives and feelings of what happened over the past few days, weeks and months. We are aware we might make mistakes, and say something that's not politically correct but we believe that speaking up and using our voices is the first step and if no one listens in at the end of the day, we'll always have this episode for ourselves to look back on. Social Profiles: @rebekah @julietta References: Podcast 1619 'If not now, when?' T-Shirt Black Lives Matter

You already know todays guest, which is the wonderful Veronica Tucker. I asked in the outro to our episode which we recorded 2 months ago if she would like to continue the conversation because I wanted to chat with her about a few things more in depth and she said yes (yay)! Heads up, of course we didn't cover everything we wanted to but more on that later. This episode is a special one because it really felt like friends catching up, we talk about working from home, a very guilty enjoyment we both share, learning our way around pricing, anxiety and what we do to help ease it, what a working day looks like, imposter syndrome, and of course the creative industry and how devastating the sentence “but it will only take you 5 minutes to do this” or “I can do that myself” is. I knew that we weren't done chatting so, I asked if she was interested to keep doing catch ups and record more episodes where we talk about different topics because we couldn't even cover the ones we wanted to chat about today and since you already listen to the end to find out her answer. If you haven't heard our first episode, tune into that because I also asked her what has changed for her and her label in the last 2 months. Social Profiles: @veronicatuckerthelabel @veronica.tucker @juliettamarie

Natalie Holloway is the co-founder of Bala, a movement company best known for supplying you with the most luxe wrist/ankle weights and other accessories you could add to your arsenal to use in your next workout. Forget sandbag weights that you strap onto your wrists and ankles to add some weight, Bala bangles are more comfortable and come in a variety of different colors so you don’t just end up wearing them as movement enhancers but also as accessories, honestly they’re game changers and I every second person I follow on Instagram has gotten themselves a pair during this pandemic, and you’ll hear from Natalie in a second how the pandemic has affected their supply and demand.We talk about the aha moment, the logistics of creating a bangle, telling a color story, when it became clear that Bala can be considered a successful venture, celebrity spotting, her journey into fitness, starting her career in advertising, the reality of the current job market, what she looks for in a future employee, effects of Covid-19, learning lessons, the life changing moment of shark tank. Social Profiles: @bala @nholloway @juliettamarie

Veronica Tucker is the owner, creator and wonder woman behind Veronica Tucker The Label. Although it wasn’t a deliberate decision to start her label and it was more of a gradual process that resulted from amazing feedback via social media, she’s creating some magical custom pieces for women. The power of Instagram is actually how we came in contact and I couldn’t be more grateful, because I seldomly get to connect with creatives in the fashion industry. I live for her stories and tune into fabric Fridays every week to learn more about textiles, so definitely make sure to check out her profile! I wish this conversation would’ve kept going but in our episode we talk about what it needs to start a label, her first job, creativity vs. what sells, psychological affect of sizing, sourcing, education, eliminating waste, inspiration, what is more important the eye or the technique, copyright, creating a sustainable fashion system and putting a price tag on creative work, just to give you an overview but as always we cover so much more. Have a look for yourself at what beautiful pieces she has and is creating, if you’re looking to invest in something special then I can only recommend to send her a message. Social Profiles: @veronica.tucker @veronicatuckerthelabel @juliettamarie

Carla is the founder and creator of her label Nineteen Seventy, that creates resort wear for men. Her mission is to balance style with comfort, thereby creating pieces that you need in the local climate of the Dominican Republic and want on your next vacation, which we’re all craving I’m sure. Carla is a force of nature and you’ll hear that for yourself in the episode. We talk about what she wanted to be when she grew up, the dream of living in Paris, that we clearly shared, being confronted with the ideal, cultural differences, making mistakes, the importance of fulfillment, sustainability and transparency and yes, we also touched on how covid affects her current state business wise as well as personally. If you’re looking for something comfortable and easy to buy for yourself, her products are the way to go, she ships to the US, Europe and of course within the Dominican Republic. @nineteen_seventy @carlavidalb @juliettamarie

Emi Fukahori is the owner and magician behind Mame, a specialty coffee shop in Zurich with now two locations. This episode is dedicated to all the coffee fanatics who have wanted to learn about the craft of making coffee. It’s a bit of a nerdy conversation in terms of discussing technicality but it brings out Emi’s personality and passion for what she does in the best way and I was so excited that she took the time and answered some of my most pressing questions. We talk about Japanese culture, why she ended up in Zurich, what makes a good cup of coffee, the world of flavors, what creating the right type of atmosphere needs, latte art, championship preparations, learning lessons and the love for people. @mamespecialitycoffee @emifukahori @juliettamarie

Eva Nidecker, owner of Open Ride, some of you have heard her on Radio Energy, some of you have seen her on SRF and some of you have met her at Open Ride, the new ride studio at Europaallee in Zürich. She practices and creates magic, she’s forever curious, she pushes through the challenges and she doesn’t stop. Having built a career in media she had the lightbulb moment of creating her own ride studio purely from her love of riding and here we are in the studio, chatting about having an initial idea and breathing life into the project, finding the right person to partner with, choosing what to offer in terms of product and service, better than sex, consistency, battling stress, fitting into society and so much more. Find and connect with us on social: @evanidecker @openride_ @juliettamarie

Welcome to Being Epic, a podcast where we take honest conversations to a new level. I’m Julietta, your host, and for those that don’t know me I’m a multi-cultural self-employed travel-hungry woman with the ambition and hope to make an impact with this podcast. My guests and I are here to remove filters, stigmas and insecurities and create a collective energy of being vulnerable, of being honest and of sharing each other’s epic ideas. We give you culture, knowledge and inspiration by shining a spotlight on personal journeys so we can adapt our opinions and perspectives and let go of restraints. Being Epic is a state of mind, it’s about following your dreams and ideas and turning them into reality. Doing your thing basically. That’s ultimately when we are our most authentic, when we create something that resembles not just our ideology but also our personality. I hope you’re going to love all that is coming on here and maybe, just maybe it will inspire you to step out of your comfort zone and do something you never thought you would but always wanted to. Let’s be epic together. Love, Julietta x

Natialie Andriani, is the woman Mooi Natural Beauty a store in Zurich that has a great selection of natural beauty products and offers individual natural beauty coaching, Mooi now also has an online store so you can shop her selection from the comfort of your home. As we hear quite early into our conversation, Natalie has been interested in wellbeing and natural products for a while now, due to her education in nutritional therapy which triggered her curiosity and led to copious research to find out what we put into and onto our bodies and why. Her discoveries led to her gradually changing her cosmetics products and seeing an actual change in her skin and a few years later she opened the door of her own natural beauty shop. Transitioning to self-employment from a career in corporate and deciding to open a retail store in Zurich wasn’t a walk in the park but she believed in the initial idea and knew that this is what she wanted to do, which is one of the things she appreciates most about self-employment: making your own decisions. Her shop offers a selection of natural cosmetics and skincare products and she also offers natural beauty coaching as a service where she talks to you about your needs and wants regarding products and what your lifestyle looks like to make your life easier. We talk about the journey into self-employment, what triggered her interest into natural beauty, the myth behind anti-aging products, the stigmatism of wearing make-up, self-care, the workings of natural deodorant, what she misses from employment and the idea of “what works for you”.   https://mooi.me   www.instagram.com/mooi   www.instagram.com/jmt_creative

Alia McKenzie Murdoch, is the woman behind Yalla Alia Dance Productions GmbH and ZEOT Zürich, an oriental dance school in the heart of Zurich. The aim of her productions company as well as the dance studio is to allow for women to experience their bodies through way of bellydance and learn to love their bodies disregarding shape and size but instead to feel strength and connect to the feminine side. Bellydance is a way of expressing yourself and allowing to let go and doing it together with like-minded women. Alia loved dance as a child and as we learn in the episode, was to be her calling, but stepped away from it when a little voice told her it was going to be too difficult and so found her way into the art world, that, interestingly enough brought her back to dance when living in Madrid, and now has her own studio that she manages.  We talk about the imposter syndrome and how we both have experienced it, the stigmatism of bellydance, competition between women and how we can undo that, the female body, empowerment and how it’s become a term that’s overused, the power of feeling strong and celebrating the wins.   https://www.zeot.ch/   www.instagram.com/yallaalia_zeot_zurich   www.instagram.com/jmt_creative

Rebekah Abdeen is the human version of the Duracell Bunny. By job definition she is the creative director and head trainer at Open Ride, but she’s also a brand consultant, contributor at DOSE, and DJ, who pushes boundaries and stays open to the new challenges that come her way. She holds herself accountable to giving 150% in everything she does which is evident the second you set foot into Open Ride, and she teaches each ride like it’s her last one. What started out as an outlet and passion, transformed into her life, she’s been teaching for 11 years now and the bike is like an extension of herself, two systems that perfectly click and create for 45 minutes of insane magic. It’s more than a ride, it’s more than a sweat, it’s release, it’s strength, it’s connecting people through the power of sweat and feeling like you do at 4am on a dancefloor.  As a team they enjoy pushing boundaries and introducing a little controversy with naming their rhythm ride ‘Climax’. Open Ride is not just a boutique studio, it’s a holistic experience and connects people from all over Zurich. The waitlists are very real and for good reason because the experience that you get is like no other. And even after two months, that room is still mesmerizing and an encapsulation of my personality, and as I learned also of Rebekah’s. We talk about what led her to becoming an instructor, why she made the decision to move to Zurich to build Open Ride with Eva Nidecker (CEO), what her fears are, the preparation process, the importance of protecting your vibe, the power of saying no, delivering on expectations, energy, and finding of talent. Check it out for yourself and if you want to know what ‘Sunday Church’ feels like and why I call it that, book Sunday 1pm with Rebekah.    https://www.rebekahabdeen.com https://www.openride.ch www.instagram.com/rebekahabdeen www.instagram.com/openride_ www.instagram.com/jmt_creative

Astrid von Stockar is the CEO behind Swissdent, former journalist, producer and host on Swiss national television, author of the Zurich for Women only Guide and a leading force behind the Filmfestival in Zurich. Interestingly enough, she wanted to be an actress, went on to study economics and then delved into the media business where she navigated through the chaos, that most jobs in larger companies can be, and made a name for herself. Her CV is quite extensive, and spending an hour talking to her about everything she’s done just simply isn’t enough, but through our episode we get a glimpse of where she started and where she stands today, which is CEO of a Swiss dental cosmetics company with a team of women behind her. When she started her career, she felt that women were more critical of her than men, due to the fact that she had children and she wasn’t home 24/7 to take care of them but wanted to have both, family and career. In our society we have become more liberal in accepting women with children to pursue a career, however, that stigma is still there. The topic of women was predominant in our conversation, as we both feel that there still are many opportunities for change to happen. Education, networking, the growing of self-confidence, are all at heart for both Astrid and I. She’s managed creative projects throughout her career, and worked her way up the “hierarchy”, so it is to no surprise that she is now in a CEO position, managing a team on her own and doing something rather different to her previous jobs, purely based on the fact that she believes in what the company is selling.  In our episode we talk about education vs. work experience, what it meant to be a woman in male dominated industry, the judgement of women on TV, gaining self-confidence, the problem of networking, family vs. career, burning bridges and how she defines the word “boss” for herself.   https://www.swissdent.ch www.instagram.com/swissdent www.instagram.com/astridvonstockar www.instagram.com/jmt_creative

Alexandra Kruse, needs no introduction, but if one were to give her titles it would look something like: writer, stylist, celestial communicator and mother, but if we’re honest, she is much more than that. As she liked to say herself: mother of miracles who radiates an incredible energy and fills the room with magic, light and a good dose of humor. After living in almost all the big cities in Germany she came to Zurich where, after working as fashion editor at Annabelle, she decided to quit her daytime job and go out on her own. You might have seen her texts in Vogue, Harpers Bazaar and ICON, her styling work in L’Officiel and Time Magazine and in large advertising campaigns for Credit Suisse and UBS, to simply name a few. Her journey has taken her all over the world and opened her eyes to all kinds of situations, which makes her the queen that she is today. Her heart beats to its own rhythm and being able to talk with her, even for an hour was enlightening to say the least. She has such self confidence that I wish for all of us women to develop and radiate. That energy and confidence also translates through her work, making the woman she is styling feel her best, comfortable, sexy. A passion topic, since she was a child is astrology, we touched on zodiac signs (discussed mine off mic), constellations and the energy that comes from the universe. We talk about the meaning of failure, learning to accept help when you don’t have enough arms and hands to take care of everything yourself, the dynamic of relationships, importance of family, how the fashion industry changed and lot its’ magic a little bit, and a little bit about astrology.     https://www.alexandrakruse.com www.instagram.com/_alexandrakruse_ www.instagram.com/jmt_creative

Elif Oskan is the woman behind Gül, Rosi, and Miss Marshall. Restaurant owner, chef, magician in the kitchen, ice cream queen, truthfully, I couldn’t do her career justice, so it’s best to just go and book yourself a table at one of the restaurants and let yourself be immersed in culture, compassion and cuisine. She’s had the idea for Gül since 2015 and in the beginning of this year, 2019, it finally opened its doors and has quickly become a Zurich favorite. Starting her career in Zurich and then moving abroad to refine her skills and absorb the different cultures. She ultimately decided to come back to Zurich and opened a few pop-ups, built Miss Marshall, a catering business purely focused on desserts and her famous nitrogen ice cream, Rosi, a Bavarian restaurant and Gül, a Turkish restaurant, both of which she opened with her partner, Markus Stöckle. Elif didn’t always know she wanted to be a chef but made her decision when it was time to figure out what to do post school and since then she’s never looked back, we could say she found her calling. Food is truly something special, not just in the Turkish culture but also in her family, sitting together, eating together, sharing, and talking about what to eat next. We talk about whether she realizes how much she’s accomplished, the celebration of food, treating yourself, the importance of family, debunking the stereotype of chefs, how she gets inspired, and who she would most like to have dinner with. https://www.guel.ch https://www.rosi.restaurant https://www.missmarshall.ch www.instagram.com/guelrestoran www.instagram.com/rosi.restaurant www.instagram.com/miss_marshall_queen www.instagram.com/jmt_creative

Britta Kürzi is the wonderwoman behind Kürzi Kakao, a new, artisanal, bean-to-bar chocolate company that challenges the way you think about chocolate, the way you consume chocolate and the way you taste chocolate. Fun fact, she uses all organic ingredients, sourced from the best locations, injects a whole lot of love and passion and thereby creates vegan, palm oil free and gluten free chocolate, that is mind-blowingly good. Consider this your call to action and follow her along her journey on her website and Instagram channel to find out when her chocolate launches and then order it immediately. It’s a taste explosion like you’ve never had it before. Britta’s story has many ups and downs, and it didn’t include chocolate until fairly recently, but once the idea of her business came to her she put her foot down and learnt everything there was to learn about chocolate and traveled across the world to understand first-hand what the process of bean to bar was, how to improve the process and what big factories vs. little factories look like. Fast forward to now, a few months after recording our episode, and she found herself an atelier, renovated it, got it ready for production and is set to launch later this year. We talk about the science behind chocolate, she explains the process and gives us a deep insight into the world of chocolate – as we like to call it “Nerd Alert!”, and then we go way into family issues, the hustle mantra, what being normal means and some behind the scenes of life as an entrepreneur and we had a live chocolate tasting. www.kuerzikakao.ch www.instagram.com/kuerzikakao www.instagram.com/jmt_creative

Britta Kürzi is the wonderwoman behind Kürzi Kakao, a new, artisanal, bean-to-bar chocolate company that challenges the way you think about chocolate, the way you consume chocolate and the way you taste chocolate. Fun fact, she uses all organic ingredients, sourced from the best locations, injects a whole lot of love and passion and thereby creates vegan, palm oil free and gluten free chocolate, that is mind-blowingly good. Consider this your call to action and follow her along her journey on her website and Instagram channel to find out when her chocolate launches and then order it immediately. It’s a taste explosion like you’ve never had it before. Britta’s story has many ups and downs, and it didn’t include chocolate until fairly recently, but once the idea of her business came to her she put her foot down and learnt everything there was to learn about chocolate and traveled across the world to understand first-hand what the process of bean to bar was, how to improve the process and what big factories vs. little factories look like. Fast forward to now, a few months after recording our episode, and she found herself an atelier, renovated it, got it ready for production and is set to launch later this year. We talk about the science behind chocolate, she explains the process and gives us a deep insight into the world of chocolate – as we like to call it “Nerd Alert!”, and then we go way into family issues, the hustle mantra, what being normal means and some behind the scenes of life as an entrepreneur and we had a live chocolate tasting. www.kuerzikakao.ch www.instagram.com/kuerzikakao www.instagram.com/jmt_creative

Emma Hutchings is the woman behind Circle Soaps which are handmade, cold process soaps that are organic and using plant-based ingredients. It was very important to Emma that her company focuses on zero-waste, using recyclable materials for packaging and producing as little waste as possible when making soaps. The idea came when she was looking for soap that is organic, natural, plant-based, locally produced and with a reasonable price tag which she wasn’t able to find so she took the opportunity and decided to fill the niche. She’s a very hands-on person, having experimented with creating toothpaste, lip balms, deodorants, etc. before playing with soap. Once the idea manifested, she took a soap making course in England and then played with different recipes from which she came up with her favorite pieces. We talked about her previous job in the finance industry and how it didn’t fulfill her and she didn’t see the joy in making wealthy people more wealthy, how quitting a job without a back-up plan can be scary but liberating, her journey with zero-waste and veganism, and of course, how she came up with the idea and then launched her company. https://www.circlesoaps.com https://www.instagram.com/circlesoaps/ www.instagram.com/jmt_creative

Kathrin Würtele is the wonderful soul behind Kathrin Würtele Coaching where she focuses on having her clients reconnect to themselves and thereby unleash their true potential and ultimately finding their purpose. She is also the woman behind Ensouling Ideas which is a branding, marketing and business strategies company where she helps clients find the soul of the business and focus on the why in order to also here, unleash a company’s full potential. Her eye for detail and beautiful aesthetics shows in her surrounding, especially her new office, and work, her energy fills the room with love and calmness which makes you feel safe and protected, and her insights and knowledge inspire everyone that has a conversation with her. There are certain people we connect to in ways that are simply indescribable, and this was the case with Kathrin. Seeing and speaking about the work she does in helping individuals tap into their core and slowly undo the knots that have tied them to their limited belief is truly admirable.  We talked about what makes a coach a good coach, the work of a coach and what her intention is as a coach, finding a new expression for the word “coach”, the trend of self-development, what makes a person authentic, being misunderstood, criticized and facing confrontation, unleashing potential, traveling, sources of inspiration and a nod to photography.  The Seat of the Soul by Gary Zukav www.ensoulingideas.com www.instagram.com/kathrinwuertele www.instagram.com/ensouling_ideas www.instagram.com/jmt_creative

Kathrin Würtele is the wonderful soul behind Kathrin Würtele Coaching where she focuses on having her clients reconnect to themselves and thereby unleash their true potential and ultimately finding their purpose. She is also the woman behind Ensouling Ideas which is a branding, marketing and business strategies company where she helps clients find the soul of the business and focus on the why in order to also here, unleash a company’s full potential.  Her eye for detail and beautiful aesthetics shows in her surrounding, especially her new office, and work, her energy fills the room with love and calmness which makes you feel safe and protected, and her insights and knowledge inspire everyone that has a conversation with her. There are certain people we connect to in ways that are simply indescribable, and this was the case with Kathrin. Seeing and speaking about the work she does in helping individuals tap into their core and slowly undo the knots that have tied them to their limited belief is truly admirable. Kathrin and I tend to talk for hours when we have time to see each other and this podcast episode recording was no exception. We talked about her career in corporate and why she decided to choose a different path a few years ago, whether having entrepreneurial blood was a source of inspiration or a possible hurdle, learning new things, opening the space for honest conversation and speaking about the “shitty days” and the ups and downs of social media. www.ensoulingideas.com www.instagram.com/kathrinwuertele www.instagram.com/ensouling_ideas www.instagram.com/jmt_creative

Alina Russ is the creator being Lola’s Kitchen, a vegan, gluten/dairy/refined-sugar free (say that three times fast) cake company. The business began out of curiosity in wanting to make a dessert that she could actually eat, that wasn’t a fruit salad. Her cake was such a hit at the dinner she brought it to that she started getting requests from others via Instagram. The philosophy behind Lola’s Kitchen is that everyone should be able to treat themselves to something sweet, children, adults, and everyone with dietary restrictions. On top of that, she felt that there was a gap in the market for how we purchase cakes, having to go to the bakery and then either being in or out of luck, so she solved that problem by creating an online business, where you can order your cake and it’s ready for when you need it. This formula has led her to the success she is having, and has allowed her to now open her own cake shop (which is set to open this month) and therefore, expand her business. We talked about how she came to her business idea, what it means to run a business, how time management and organization are an integral part and what her advice is to someone that would like to start their own company.    ﹒﹒﹒ https://lolaskitchen.ch https://www.instagram.com/lolasdailykitchen/ www.instagram.com/jmt_creative

Clare Howard is the magician behind Bloem, a flower styling and subscription company with a beautiful message: Delivering Happiness in the Freshest Form. After working in the corporate industry for many years she wanted to re-route and work with her passion, flowers. She had a business idea but wasn’t sure if it would be successful, sure enough, a little over a year later, I think she consider herself, as well as her original idea a success. Clare created a game changer with Bloem, by offering something new, fresh and exciting – a subscription service where you can treat yourself to a fresh hand-styled arrangement, once a week, bi-monthly or monthly, delivered straight to your door by E-Bike. The wildflower arrangements are unique and eye-catching, and have become quite known in the Zurich area, attracting brands such as VIU Eyewear and Calida. Clare has also been moved into events and workshops with Bloem where you can learn first-hand how to create these magical arrangements and how to take care of them afterwards. We talked about how she got the idea to start Bloem, how we handle self-doubt, the criticism of not holding a florist certificate, what we do to turn our minds off from spinning endless circles, how she wanted to disrupt the industry with Bloem and what it means to be a self-employed woman.  ﹒﹒﹒  https://www.bloem.io www.instagram.com/bloem_zh www.instagram.com/jmt_creative

Clare Howard is the magician behind Bloem, a flower styling and subscription company with a beautiful message: Delivering Happiness in the Freshest Form. After working in the corporate industry for many years she wanted to re-route and work with her passion, flowers. She had a business idea but wasn’t sure if it would be successful, sure enough, a little over a year later, I think she consider herself, as well as her original idea a success. Clare created a game changer with Bloem, by offering something new, fresh and exciting – a subscription service where you can treat yourself to a fresh hand-styled arrangement, once a week, bi-monthly or monthly, delivered straight to your door by E-Bike. The wildflower arrangements are unique and eye-catching, and have become quite known in the Zurich area, attracting brands such as VIU Eyewear and Calida. Clare has also been moved into events and workshops with Bloem where you can learn first-hand how to create these magical arrangements and how to take care of them afterwards. We talked about how she got the idea to start Bloem, how we handle self-doubt, the criticism of not holding a florist certificate, what we do to turn our minds off from spinning endless circles, how she wanted to disrupt the industry with Bloem and what it means to be a self-employed woman.  ﹒﹒﹒   https://www.bloem.io   www.instagram.com/bloem_zh   www.instagram.com/jmt_creative

Anja Heimer is the woman behind Anja Heimer Grafikdesign, a graphic design service-based company focusing on print and web design. She doesn’t just bring her multitude of experience to the table, but she also has an open mind, a creative spirit and a truly welcoming personality. She has worked in small and larger companies before deciding to re-position herself and her interests and thereby, starting her own company. She told me her goal is to be able to finance her life through her company solely by next year, which I have no doubt that she’ll achieve that. Our conversation touched on equal pay, our experiences in Advertising and Agency life in general, the development of work-life-balance which can often be construed as more life than work, the importance of traveling, our sources of inspiration and whether we believe to draw focus towards our strengths or rather our weaknesses. ﹒﹒﹒ https://www.anjaheimer.com www.instagram.com/anjaheimer www.instagram.com/jmt_creative

Anja Heimer is the woman behind Anja Heimer Grafikdesign, a graphic design service-based company focusing on print and web design. She doesn’t just bring her multitude of experience to the table, but she also has an open mind, a creative spirit and a truly warm-hearted personality. She has worked in small and larger companies before deciding to re-position herself and her interests and thereby, starting her own company. She told me her goal is to be able to finance her life through her company solely by next year, which I have no doubt that she’ll achieve that. Our conversation touched on whether creatives need a degree from University, equal pay, our experiences in Advertising and Agency life in general, the development of work-life-balance which can often be construed as more life than work, the importance of traveling, our sources of inspiration and whether we believe to draw focus towards our strengths or rather our weaknesses.  ﹒﹒﹒   https://www.anjaheimer.com www.instagram.com/anjaheimer www.instagram.com/jmt_creative

Aline Borges is the owner and creator of The Florist, a floristry company offering flower delivery, workshops and installation work. Ambitious, inspiring, creative, the list goes on, Aline started her company not that long ago and has seen immense success, being asked to create beautiful installations in stores around Zurich. While it looks like she’s been in Floristry for a while, her career began in Fashion, back in Brazil. After working in the industry for over a decade she needed a change and stumbled on Zurich where she felt at home immediately and somehow knew that she needed to make this city her home. Her eye for detail and her style is unique and brings fresh air to the generic florist shops. We spoke about creativity and to not overtly compromise on our artistic visions. How to not allow fear to overcome you and how our days in fashion were both invigorating but a struggle at the same time. ﹒﹒﹒ www.theflorist.ch www.instagram.com/theflorist.ch www.instagram.com/jmt_creative

Jennifer Bänziger and Ramona Kroker are the masterminds behind Atelier Zweigestalten, an interior architecture and planning office. These two women bring energy, knowledge and boss power to the table and are 150% committed to their company. They don’t shy away from challenges, but they know what to look out for. Whether that’s filling out insurance paperwork, working for free and trying to go with the flow. Gender vs. Age, Jennifer and Ramona consider the latter more of an issue (due to experience). Why is being a young business owner seen as critical? Why do women think too much? And how do they feel about their Pantone Color of the Year (Coral) painted wall?  Since we’re celebrating Switzerland’s Independence Day (August 1st), let’s also celebrate these two bossladies, who both happen to be (partially) Swiss, and let them tell you how they became independent business owners, and how they manage to work together (in harmony). ﹒﹒﹒ www.atelierzweigestalten.ch www.instagram.com/atelierzweigestalten www.instagram.com/jmt_creative

Delvis Kunz is the founder of CITRUS by Kunz and the founder of #bossladieszurich, which is where I met her, back in January, so actually not that long ago. She brings the energy to the table, regardless of what the project is and her support is incredible, basically I’m telling you that you should meet and be friends with her.  She started her own company back in the US and her main challenge was what she wanted to produce and how to get it. She had to learn that the consumer behaviour was very different in Switzerland vs. the US and therefore, needed to acquire a lot of patience. The struggle is real. As is trust. And that, for everyone that isn’t Swiss or knows the Swiss, is something that will take you quite a bit of time and brain energy to get. Delvis talked about how she is dealing with it and told me that she’s having a difficult time with it. But as this conversation was recorded at the end of April, I can now tell you that she’s moved mountains since then.  She also told me how #bossladies was founded out of the need for a network and supporting other female entrepreneurs. It started out as a community organizing pop-up events where they could present and sell their products. When moving back to Zurich, she knew she wanted to bring #bossladies with her, with the idea to focus on networking and that is exactly what it has become in the last 6 months. A really cool group of women entrepreneurs.  ﹒﹒﹒ www.citrusbykunz.ch www.bossladieszurich.ch www.instagram.com/citrus www.instagram.com/bossladieszurich www.instagram.com/jmt_creative

Coming this Summer! An interview podcast about women in business where Julietta speaks with women who started their own companies.  The first Series takes place in Zurich, Switzerland, giving an insight into the companies the women have built as well as letting them share their thoughts, opinions and experiences.  This podcast is meant to inspire, engage and learn from fellow female entrepreneurs, as we talk about starting a business as well as touching on relevant topics that affect us. ∙∙∙ www.bossladieszurich.ch instagram.com/bossladieszurich instagram.com/jmt_creative